Construction Update - Cutting Back 2nd Floor For Staircase Header

Hello everyone! Here's an update on construction at my house.  It's been a loooooong time and a cold winter, so quite a lot has changed since my last update of this sort.  Yesterday I worked on two significant tasks on the house.  The first was to cut back the second level floor and joists so that there is enough "run" or space to be able to construct building-code compliant stairs down to a new landing and exterior door.   The second project is to sister a number of cut-away joists that hold up the main second unit bathroom.  These joists are long... about 16 feet each, so inserting them and jacking them up is a bit tricky.  More on that in a second post.  For now, take a look at the work to prepare for building the staircase.

Here is a view of the area on the second floor that needs to be cut back.  If it's not cut back and I build the stairs, then the stairway will be too steep, and it will fail the building inspection.

Here's a view from the bottom.  Actually I have already cut away the new double header that I'd originally built.  This was added primarily to strengthen the structure at the bottom of the old staircase that leads up to the third floor.

Another angle.

Here are my initial measurements and cuts.  I used a laser on the bottom side to ensure that everything was straight and square, and drilled small pilot holes up through the floor (which is about 2.5" thick).  I used my circular saw to make the bulk of the cut.  I set the initial depth to be shallow, then increased the depth by ~1/2" until it was fully extended.  Next, I used my sawzall to cut the joists

 

The last cut was along the right side, and ... "voila!" the whole floor section dropped down the the first floor.

...like so!

Here's a closer look at the piece.

....and another.

Here's a close-up of the cut itself.

The view from the top-down.

The view from the opposite side.

Next, it's time to sister the joists that run underneath this floor.   Stay tuned for my next post.

Staircase Removal (Part 2 of 2)

Here is the next installment in the removal of the staircase from my home. In this post, you'll see how I remove a non-load bearing wall and prepare the area so that I can away part of the 2nd-floor area that leads up to the old staircase.  This will allow me to build a new straight-run set of stairs to a new exterior exit on the first floor.   The reason for all of this work is to make sure that the second floor unit has a secondary exit, for safety's sake and so that my rental property is in compliance with the fire code.  More on this later.  For now, check out the progress!

Here is the wall.  The staircase is behind this wall.

Here's a look at the original entrance to the old staircase.

Dusty, but a view up the old staircase nontheless.

Using my drill-driver, I first removed the ~one dozen screws holding this steel framed wall to the ceiling.

Next I removed the screws at the bottom.

I then demolished the 3/8" drywall and carried it out to the waste bin.

Progress!  The staircase is revealed.

I unscrewed all this metal.  I have a friend who scraps metal with his truck.  He came by a couple of days later to pick it up.

Another shot.

The side view.  Starting to make more sense now?

Look at the old wall paper!  This was originally a very nice, large one-family home (101 years ago).

Getting there.  Working in daylight now.

Note the last remnants of the tin ceiling.  This came out after after this wall was removed.

And, coming full-circle, look at this difference from this angle.

Note the old metal sill-plate on the floor.

The side shot.

Much better!

You could practically eat off of this floor! A thing of beauty ;)

C'est moi.

The money shot.  Hello everyone!

Staircase Removal (Part 1 of 2)

Ok! Here is the next installment in the renovation of my 101 year old New England home.  In this chapter we'll cover the first steps in the removal of a central staircase.  There are several reasons for removing this staircase:

•  The house was originally a one-family home, however 30-40 years ago it was converted to a two family house. In order to meet fire-code, I have to add a second exit to the upstairs unit (on floors 2 and 3).
• The original staircase landing is inside the first floor unit.
• I'm changing the first-level floor-plan to make it more practical.

I had to be quite careful about this project, as the wall that was adjacent to the staircase was in fact bearing load.   While not initially (101 years ago), intended to bear load, the floor above it had settled, putting a great deal of pressure on the framing.  Here's a photo showing the last 4 remaining vertical framing elements.

 This photo will help you to get oriented.  See the door on the left?  The entrance to the stairway headed upstairs is right in front of said door (which is open at the moment).  It's behind the steel-framed wall.  In the upper-right you can see the switch-back landing of said staircase.  The four remaining vertical old-growth wood framing elements are also shown.  These are under a great deal of load from the wall above.

Here is another perspective, looking up the staircase.

The switchback landing.

The last three steps up to the second floor landing.  The Kitchen is ahead and to the left.

..and here we are underneath the landing.

Looking down from the top of the staircase.

The view down to the first floor.  The dust in the air is from construction, and interfered with the auto-focus on my camera.  Sorry about the blurry or 'noisy' photos!

 Ok! Let's get to it.  In this photo, I've removed the carpeting leading up to the first three stairs.  Next, I used my crowbar and 3-lb hammer to begin to break apart the stairs.  Note the stringers.

Next, I removed the flooring on the between-floors landing.  The planks I'm standing on are the same as the ones we previously looked at in my subfloor post, and are also 7/8" thick.

Ok! Initial demo work completed.  Note the circular saw.  Later, I'll use it to cut the floor leading up to the three stairs.  Stay tuned!

Another view, this time with the room below in-focus.  Note the partially completed subfloor below.

 The view from below.  Note that most of the original wall framing is now gone.

Next, I knocked out the remaining framing, and then cut away the landing framing and joists.  I then cleaned up, and called it a night.  We'll continue in my next post, where I'll finish removing the staircase, including the steel-framed wall that you see in this photo.

Catching Up! Subfloor Progress

Here is the partially completed floor.  Take a close look at the original, 101 year old plank floor.  These planks are old-growth wood, which is incredibly strong and has shown great rot and mold resistance.  These planks are 7/8" thick. The old subfloor rests on joists that are spaced 18" apart.  I put in >5000 new ring shank nails to tighten this down in order to prepare for the installation of the new subfloor.  I chose to use Advantech 23/32" OSB.  It has an increased moisture and water resistance.  This is important since the basement is a "fieldstone basement" and is a wet basement.  This means that the basement is not (and will never be), water-tight.

Here is another view.  Note my tool room.  This has steadily filled up as I've gotten further into the renovation project.  The halogen light is for when I work at night.  Also note my shop-vac.  I've filled and emptied this several hundred times in the past 6 months.

Each sheet of OSB / Advantech is glued and screwed down.   As well, it is "tongue and groove", meaning that the edges of the sheets fit together like Lego, increasing the rigidity of the final floor.

Liquid Nails!  This is the glue I'm using to hold down the flooring.   After this, I lay down the sheet, then use a laser and pen to mark screw holes along the joists.  This has to be exact, or else the screws will not have anything to bite into and the floor will exhibit play / movement and will likely develop squeaks.

Several sheets further along.  Starting to look much nicer!

Here is a close up.  OSB joints are offset, which improves rigidity.  Note the screws.  Each one is aligned by laser, then hand-marked.  Next I pre-drill each hole.  Then I switch to an "impact driver" and drive in 3" composite deck screws one-by-one.  This floor is not going anywhere!

Each sheet is cut to line up with the new 2x6 framing.  I'm done about 80% of the first floor now, and will try to finish it early this week.  This will lay the right foundation to install my Noritz combi-boiler and baseboard hydronic heaters.  With the recent New England snowstorm, some heat in this house would be very welcome.  I'll take photos tomorrow and post them to show how much snow we've gotten... it looks like a lot!