Finicky Friday!!
Yes, I'm going to pick and choose to write about whatever my picky little heart desires. The thread that connects Finicky Friday posts will be alliteration. If I can't make it sound like Friday, it will go somewhere else (like Free-Style Sundays). First up, a post about learning to frame a wall, hence the post title: Framing Friday. Furnishing Friday will still make an occasional appearance, as will some of my favorite suggestions--Fun Friday, Fiscal Friday, and Physio Friday.
Now, on with the post:
I had a few days off this week, so I decided to make a quick trip home to visit my parents (my mom kindly pointed out that I hadn't been down in several months...). Mom and Dad have many hobbies (feel free to read about them over at their blog), but house-building seems to be chief among them. They started building their house in 1990, but the drawing of plans and making of models started decades earlier. I think this may be where I picked up my own habit of doodling floor plans. Now, many people say their built their own house when what they mean is that they paid someone else to build a house for them. This is perfectly fair, and I think I would probably say the same thing, but it just isn't the case with Mom and Dad. They actually built their house. Someone else poured the foundation for the main part of the house, and they had much of the drywall installed by professionals, but they learned all about framing, electrical, plumbing, and roofing (and everything in between) from books and tackled the job themselves. Every time it seems they are finished, they start making plans for another addition (decks and porches and actual wings). Last summer/fall, they put in the support structure and subfloor for the most recent addition. Then winter/spring hit. This week, they got started again by framing the walls.
This is where I come in! I was too young when they built the main part of the house to actually participate (much less be helpful), and I was in college when they built the second part (so, not available). This week, I had my first experience with framing, raising, and installing exterior walls! The best part of the process (I think)? The compressed air nailer. The last time I was involved in any way with building at their house, my parents still used old fashioned framing hammers. I don't care how many times I've been told how to hammer a nail, I'm just not terribly good at it. With the nailer, you simply put it where you want the nail, depress the safety, and pull the trigger (oh, and squeeze your eyes and turn your head...if you're me).
Now, because a picture is worth a thousand words (and I've rambled on entirely too much already), here is what we did--
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| Me--Demonstrating the wince and squeeze method of nailing |
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| Dad--doing it the right way |
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| Nailing plywood to the outside of the wall we framed |
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| Nailing the wall to the sub-structure |
1 comment:
i, for one, am super impressed with your skills.
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