Home Improvement Today?

I have 2 bay windows in the front of my house. The plywood sill board gets very cold and I doubt is insulated. The outside "floor" board is also plywood, I haven't measured but my guess is there is 2x4 framing between there. I'd like to insulate and air seal the window somehow. I thought about spray foaming in there somehow, but now I have a new idea. Get some rigid foam insulation, cut to size, and glue it to the underside (exterior) of the window. Maybe 2-4 inches, fill any gaps with foam spray and use some PVC boards to trim out the exposed edges of the foam board under the window. I can take pics tomorrow and post them up. What do you guys think is best?

 

The builder probably put some fiberglass batts in there but didn't air seal. I would pull the plywood underneath the window and fill the framing cavities with foam insulation rather than attaching insulation to underside of exterior. Aesthetics would be better and if u packed it with foamboard and spray foam it would keep air from moving thru there and we all know air infiltration robs heat and introduces moisture. Also u would be able to make sure the builder air sealed and insulated the area where the window hooks into the wall.
If u wanted to u could add more foamboard underneath the assembly to increase r value but I'd completely cover it with something for looks and durability

 

I did that on this job too for the steel post to beam connections lol

 

This is what I did. I'm going for the yeti effect

Caulk and leftover ridge vent foam, to allow some air in, and condensation out. Added insect protection



Spray foam to seal top



And finally house wrap on the inside of the girts. 6" faced fiberglass will be installed before the walls go up.



Leaves an insulating air gap, and seals out bugs. That's my story and I'm, hopefully, sticking to it.

 

Curious why you guys don't put the housewrap on the strapping prior to the installation of the metal siding ?

 

We've been busy as we work to wrap up our reno…since I last posted, we have:

- Exterior done - repair/replace rot, new caulk/paint.
- Finished the dining room w/ new beadboard wainscoting and chair rail
- Been installing casings, baseboards, and base shoe in all rooms
- Shiplap accent wall in kitchen eat-in area
- New windows in entire house, added 2 in lower level
- Repaired/replaced wood rot in sun porch (painting that this week)
- Finished master bathroom

I’m sure there’s a lot of other random stuff, but those are the big things. We basically have miscellaneous touch up paint (so ignore bad paint lines in after photos) and other detail work inside and out left, and then it’s just down to decorating and such. Only major project left is to rebuild the bar area at some point in the next year or so. In this post are some of the before pictures from the listing – I’ll be adding progress and after pictures in next post. We are not pros…we had no construction/renovation experience before starting this. We’ve just been learning as we go, so it’s not perfect, but I think it’s turning out pretty good for a couple newbies.

 

During/after photos...this is just a sampling, obviously we have a lot more.

 

insalled security cameras this weekend....it can be quite an annoying task.....




also, during the process, i decided i wanted attic access from the bathroom

 

Few shots from last week and this weekend

 

Ripped out the old deck this weekend. Starting to level the ground for the new patio.

 

Can I suggest if you have some money burning a hole in your pocket to get an Arborist to come in and trim back your silver maples so you don't have so much moisture around your house too! looks like you have algae or moss growing on your siding and foundation!

 

Alright. Which of you is this?

https://youtu.be/11uArgKiblc

 

Actually, I always seem to be the guy standing behind that guy waiting for him to finish so I could ask the "associate" why the inventory shows they have 50 nail plate stops in stock but the shelf is empty.

 

Haha yea that's on the to do list. It was a foreclosure and the previous owner didn't really take care of the property. I don't think any of the trees have been pruned in 40 years. I've just been to lazy/occupied to powerwash the outside, considering we're residing the house soon as well.

 

For me it was an afterthought. Plus I would prefer to leave the air gap as another "layer" of insulation.

 

Good question
Was told to spray foam barn so didn't think about it. Then started thinking about other possibilities. Metal horse barn was built by a crew that can't understand we're going to live in it.

 

Looking for an opinion on what framing nailer to go with. I have narrowed it down to these. Does anyone of these stand out over the others?

Hitachi https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hitachi-3-5-in-21-Degree-Framing-Nailer/3020227

Rigid http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-21-Degree-3-1-2-in-Round-Head-Framing-Nailer-R350RHF/207103100

Porter Cable http://www.homedepot.com/p/Porter-C...in-Full-Round-Framing-Nailer-FR350B/203555586



Thanks!

 

I have the Hitachi. No clue if it's better than the others but it's worked fine for me framing out my basement and doing other various tasks around the house. I use finish nailers all the time, but the framer is one tool that while I dont use it a lot, I'm sure glad I have it when I do.