More Vault Framing

We couldn’t get all of the vault framing finished before we had to leave Missouri. So, on our next visit, we started with more framing to finish it up.

The wall that faces a person when they step in the front door. I’m excited to decorate this wall. Thinking about a large welcome sign.
No vaulted framing above the hallway and behind the front door.
Vaulted framing above the hallway. Baby, the Golden Retriever decided to get in on this photo.

Framing the Vault Part

We had to build an angled top part on the upper part of the walls that are in the vaulted section of the house. It was very challenging to make the correct angle cuts and we were also exhausted which meant we made more mistakes than usual. Ultimately, we decided to stop production and go home, starting this project again when we travel to Missouri next time.

My guy talking to his brother on the phone from his work site.
Another 2×4 goes in to frame the upper wall.
He finished the framing and took a break to talk to his brother for a bit.
View from the back door. You can see the 9ft lower wall and above that, you can see framing for the upper wall that goes to the ceiling to accommodate the vault.
Baby, the golden retriever, is relaxing on the front porch, keeping watch for anyone or anything that might need to be barked at.

Bathroom Finishes

I decided to start shopping, researching and ordering bathroom finishes for the upstairs bathroom.

Options for the floor pan depth. I selected the one that is second from the left.
This is a close up of the two different wall color options I narrowed it down to. I selected the one called snow swirl.
A sample of the walls I ordered for the shower.
We looked at several options for hardware, but didn’t purchase any of these options.
This is the floor time I selected. Disregard the broken pieces. I sent those back.
The vanity is in storage, making it challenging to get a good picture.

Framing walls Upstairs

Baby, the golden retriever, ‘helps’ Rick layout and begin to assemble a wall.

Wall to Mikiah’s bedroom upstairs.
Rick and Rick discuss the wall between the master bedroom and upstairs bathroom.
He seems happy with his work. 😂
This piece, modeled by Duchess the tortie kitty, will be installed as a transom over the top if the master bedroom door.

Barn Beam Stair Posts

After hours of prep, removing 100 years of dirt and grime, it was time to install the beams along the stairs. They will help support the first floor in their locations.

Cutting the beam to size.
The bottom needed a hole drilled in it to set on a metal ‘spike’.
One beam before installation.
This is where one of the beams will set.
This is framing around a drain pipe. We will not be able to set a solid wood barn beam in this middle part of the stairs.
Close up of a beam with and without wood wax applied.
Final look after installation and before wood wax.

Framing bathroom & laundry room

Next, we worked on the hallway framing (headers over the bathroom door and laundry room door).

Looking out into the hallway. I’m standing in the future Landry room.
Selfie since we are pleased with our progress.
Framing under the stairs.
More framing.

Framing interior basement walls

We spent time framing the basement interior walls during a ‘vacation’ from work and school.

Rick, Rick and Mikiah installing a header board across the top between the utility room (you can see the well tank in the corner) and the ‘man cave.’
Rick using the nail gun to attach wood to the floor joists.
Charlie, the chocolate lab, is impressed with the progress.
Action shot of me working on the wall between the basement bedroom and bathroom.

Stair Posts

Mikiah and I prepared the two large barn beams by sanding and using a wire brush on them. We were removing approximately 100 years of dirt and grime off of them. It was a lot of hard work!

Baby, the golden retriever, is patrolling and offering emotional support.

In hindsight, I wish we would have put them up on the saw horses and saved our backs, but I suppose that is why they say hindsight is 20/20.

Rick and Rick placed the beams up on the saw horses to cut them to length.

Caulking to Seal Exterior

There are lots of little (and bigger) holes and cracks around the doors and windows. So, I decided to evict the variety of insects that had set up homes within them and to apply caulking to seal them up.

Charlie, the chocolate lab, was my helper. 🦴🐾🐕‍🦺
Before removal of cobwebs left side.
After caulking is applied. The holes and cracks are filled in left side.
Before caulking is applied and before canned air/cleaning right side.
After caulking has been applied right side.

Front Porch Soffit

In order to prepare to complete the front porch soffit, we ordered 20 more boards of tongue and groove yellow pine car siding. Then, we had to repeat the process (sand, polyurethane, sand, polyurethane) to prepare them for installation. In laying them out across the drop cloths, it became obvious that the previous board were 14 foot long, not 16 foot long as we had thought.

Boards up on the saw horses (much easier on the back than working on them on the floor).
Here are the 16 foot boards laid out on drop cloths before we applied polyurethane.
Finished boards – so shiny and beautiful. They are ready for installation.