Boxed in pot lights, metal framing and spray foam

i should make some things clear here:

1/ i'm trying to tell the story of our renovations - not teach you how to renovate. i'll describe some things that we've done .. but they might be horribly bad descriptions full of lots of rookie mistakes. but you gotta start somewhere. to learn stuff we generally do the following:

a/ consult the home depot book and decide that it's not detailed enough

b/ look stuff up on the internet and get frustrated that everyone does everything differently

c/ check out home depot and harass the employees for everything that they know - the caledonia home depot tends to be less busy easier to get an employee's attention. if it's plumbing we hit up tino at downtown lumber (the home hardware on ossington). he's in the plumbing centre and knows everything. he deals with tons of unsquare, unplumb toronto-type situations. he's great and willing to walk you though things and get you all the right bits for the job.

d/ ask any trades people that we come across for their thoughts on our problems

e/ ask our friends

f/ make it up as we go along

2/ provide a forum for people to ask questions about silly things that you normally don't encounter when you're renovating. but when you're faced with a renovation in an old house -- you gotta work with what you've got.

3/ provide inspiration for how you can turn an old house into something cooler and more you

4/ to give myself a place to bitch :}

nothing is rocket science. and as isaac says -- no one's going to care as much about the job that they do on your house as you do. so maybe it'll take us a few tries to learn the tricks and get it right .... but by the time that we're done -- it'll be right.

this post is about some decisions we made in the basement. we're setting it up for a tenant with a galley kitchen, bathroom, big closet and washer and dryer. it's a bachelor -- but a pretty big one. the ceiling height isn't great in all parts -- but it's not terrible either. we decided to do some metal framing for a few reasons. first -- when we first hired some framers to do the work -- they used metal frames. they did a pretty good job. they were kinda hoodlum-y ... but they framed some great bulkheads in our kitchen on the double. however. now that we're more educated on how tough framing is (for simple walls -- not that hard at all) - i can honestly say that we waaaaay overpaid them. here's the gist of metal frames - there are 2 different kinda of pieces for basic framing. a/ top and bottom tracks and b/ up and down bits. directions -- attach the top and bottom tracks to the floor and ceiling with screws (we used tapcons to go into the floor. i think that isaac drilled holes first and then put in the screws). the top and bottom tracks should be

a/ directly on top of each other

b/ parallel to the wall.

once the top and bottom bits are screwed in it's time for the up and down bits. cut the up and down bits so that they fit into the tracks that you just made. if the top and bottom bits are right on top of each other (which they should be or else your wall will be wonky) the up and down bits will be parallel to the wall and plumb. cutting the top and bottom bits : you want them to fit in the track (too long is a bigger pain than too short) but you want them to overlap with each of the tracks so that you can put screws horizontally into the track and the uprights (up and down bits). is that as clear as mud? we have a bulkhead in the basement -- but we didn't attempt that one.

for lighting, we decided that pot were the way to go. but our electrician for some reason decided that pre-construction pots (ones that you can use if you're insulating the ceiling) wouldn't fit. he was far more concerned with the esthetics that practicality. which is nice in some ways -- but a pain in the ass in others. he told us that we could build our own boxes around the lights out of drywall. and that it would pass the ESA inspection. so that's the plan and that's what we've been working on.

finally -- i mentioned that the basement was kinda puddly from the super rains. i was talking to a tradesguy today who suggested that we consider spray foam for the few exterior basement walls. we're a row house ... so it's only about 15 linear feet at the back ... but that's the dampest part and apparently spray foam has some waterproof properties. i'll check it out on homestars tomorrow and get back to you.