And Another Project

Keeping a list?  You can add "build room in the attic."

We bought a new furnace a little while back.  When we did the buy the march of progress took us from a 75% efficient unit to a 90+% efficient unit.  That was swell.  But there's a wrinkle.  The new, more efficient units have a water line and a drain.  In many installations this wouldn't matter even a little bit, but in this particular case it does because the furnace is in the attic.  The attic of our house is insulated on the floor such that air can come in through the eaves to cool the roof in the summer.  This arrangement means the roofing lasts longer, but the attic is vulnerable to freezing in the winter.

Most of the time one wouldn't care if the attic froze as long as the house underneath it remains toasty warm.  That was true of our house right up until we installed a furnace in the attic that had a water line.  FWIW we complicated it a little too by adding a humidifier - I mean as long as water was going to be a problem we might as well go all in, right?

So I have to build a room in the attic.

My thought was to get a guy.  The job is mostly within my skillset, but I figured it would be nice to have someone else to blame when something comes out less than.  I had a number in my head - well a couple numbers: what I thought the materials cost would be, what I thought the bid would be, what I wanted to pay, and what I thought I'd get away with.  When the bid came in it was about 100% over the number I thought the initial bid would be.

So I have to build a room in the attic.

A couple of days ago I made a start...

When I started the job I started a spreadsheet.  Gonna be interesting to see where I come in against the number I got from the contractor.  On the first day I learned something new about my car: the roof rack on my car (having traded my truck in after the boy was born) will hold 16 2x4's on a single layer.

The loading thing has been bugging me for a while.  Somewhere along the way I am going to have to bring in some sheet-rock and the roof rack really won't accommodate it.  Suddenly I'm cruising the internet looking for rack bars that are sized to accommodate sheet goods.  Kind of a bummer.  Most of the time when I do a home project I manage to find a way to buy a new tool along the way.  This job felt right for a cordless mitre saw, but now it looks like I might have to do a roof rack.

Or I guess I could just rent a truck for the day.

Watch this space for project updates.