by In my last post I ended by stating I would call in an inspector for the framing. I did that and the inspector showed up, but unfortunately I was not ready for a framing inspection. The inspector informed me that, although I had completed (most) of the framing, it is not ready for inspection until the plumbing and electrical are done because they can impact the framing. So that was good to learn.
I also mentioned at the end of the last post that I had a problem to fix that was of my own creation. In the front bedroom that will become the workshop, the door opening was not right. The right side was wider than the left (as you enter). You can’t hang a door properly with that.
Although in the above shots it’s hard to see the problem, I show them so that you can get some idea of the repair that took place. I pulled down the drywall in order to get a better idea of what was going on.
From what I could tell, the furring strips where the problem. I had not accounted for the extra thickness they added on the other side of the door opening. But rather than adjust for that, I decided I would frame the entire wall as I had done with the master bedroom and the like. That would provide the same benefits and solve the alignment problem too. So that’s what I did.
With that issue fixed, I started working on the electrical and plumbing that would affect the framing. This involved adding new wiring and and securing the existing wiring to the new framing. I started by adding ample outlets to the east wall of the garage. These will be GFCI protected and required 12 gauge wire.
For the master bedroom I ran some new wire under the large window so that one of the outlets next to the bed will be controlled by a switch as you enter the bedroom. Another outlet in the master bedroom was already controlled by that switch, but it was in a place that was of no use to me, so I rerouted it.
Also in the master bedroom, I fashioned a couple of supports to secure the conduit for the Ethernet and the PEX pipe for the spigot.
I secured the laundry room outlets for the washer and dryer.
Although not required for the framing inspection, I removed the tiles from the floor of the master shower. I had been watching a lot of YouTube videos about how to create a shower pan, so while I was “in the neighborhood” I decided to take care of that task.
I then moved to the laundry room to hook up the drains for the washer and the utility sink (that will be relocated to the garage) and their respective supply lines.
With the laundry room plumbing hooked up, I could now start building the closet to enclose it. I started by opening the ceiling some more so that I could install nailers to support the framing that was to come.
After that I attached the bottom plates for the closet. The closet will have a 24″x80″ bi-fold door, so the opening you see below will accommodate that.
Although it is just a small closet, the sloped ceiling made it a bit tricky. I was only able to get two sections put up that afternoon. I was hoping to do it all in one day.
If you look closely at the section next to the garage door, you’ll notice that there is no vertical framing member up against the adjoining wall. This is because I did not have the room for it (the red PEX pipes are in the way. Because of that I will add OSB sheathing along that side to provide extra support for the drywall when it goes up. It will be tight, but there will be a small gap between the drywall and the garage door casing when it’s all done.
The next day I was able to finish the framing.
Here you can see the OSB sheathing I mentioned above. The opening in the ceiling outside the closet will be drywalled. I made sure there was sufficient nailing surface for that. I don’t think I will do anything inside the closet to pretty it up; only add insulation. There are places where I could add drywall, but I don’t think I want to close anything in. I want to be able to get full access to all the plumbing, so I think it will remain raw. I can always change my mind about that later. I also may find that I want a light in the closet some day, so keeping it unfinished makes that easy.
The remaining work related to the plumbing closet involved wiring up the 3-way switch, moving the switch in the garage for the garage light, and patching the opening I left when installing the PEX. Here’s a reminder of that big hole.
And here is the repair.
From the image on the right (above), you can see where I moved the switch for the garage light. In the original position it was a bit of a reach. Because the switch box for the 3-way switch for the laundry room light was occupying that space (nailed to that stud), the original builders used the next closest stud to attach the switch box for the garage light. Since I had to move the 3-way switch to the side of the plumbing closet, that space became available, allowing me to move the garage light switch to the more convenient location.
Above left is the newly hooked up 3-way light switch positioned on the side of the plumbing closet as you enter the laundry room from the garage. In the image on the right I’m showing the wiring behind it. Notice that I had to introduce a junction box to extend the existing wires. Even though the switch was only moved a foot or so from its previous location (just around the corner), there wasn’t enough slack to make up that small distance. Since I had to add extra wire, I decided to move the existing wires to a location within the closet that was less likely to interfere with the red plumbing lines, which is why you see them coming down from above.
I still have more plumbing and electrical work to do before I can re-request a framing inspection, but some of that is dependent on the design I’m waiting for. I’ll be meeting with Jennifer (the designer) this coming week, so I hope to have more information to guide my next set of tasks and the content of the next post.
nuntawob 