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Total House Rebuild - Bungalow to Two Storey

200K views 1K replies 50 participants last post by  123pugsy 
#1 ·
I bought my bungalow 14 years ago and along came a wife and a couple of beautiful kids so it's time to expand. It's taken a long time to get the drawings done and a permit in my hands but I finally have them.

The original plan was a 2nd story addition but that would have left 2x4 walls and also would have left behind all the leaking windows which were not worth saving.
It would have cost more than framing two new stories.

Figuring out a brick ledge was also a problem as the existing house has siding on three sides. I did however manage to figure it out and the engineer was happy with my design. That was, of course, until "Pugsy luck" :furious: as my buddy puts it, hit once more. The construction company that was widening the road in front of my house sent a guy around looking for any damage that homeowners may try to peg on them and the fellow found a crack in the block foundation wall.
OK then, more changes to the drawings and a lot of added expense.

Pics of the existing house below.
 

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#5 ·
Make sure you allow room for large sized ducts and plenty of return air and supplies to the upstairs. 2 stories are always a problem with AC and sometimes heat as the furnace is so far away from the rooms and the air slows down by the time it gets there.

If you want specific advice visit the HVAC forum.:)
 
#10 ·
So I wanted to get started on anything at all for the house while I was waiting for multiple surveys and site plans due to the City extorting 5' of land from the front of my property before I could have the honor of applying for permit.

I figured since I am married to the persuasian of people that love cooking with oil and woks, I had better consider how to get the grease outta the air. Our current kitchen is covered with a beauty film of dust embedded grease that just does not like to wipe off easily.

I checked around and came up with an 830 (approx) CFM inline fan and thought that could probably suck up the greasy slime and perhaps the MIL all in one shot. (fingers crossed)

I was using some black zinc for a work project not long ago and thought it would make a nice range hood.

I got a friends shop to cut me some hammer forms for the ends of the hood and did a little tap-tapping. After that, a few holes and a joiner strip were needed. A couple (hunert) pop rivets later and things were looking up.
 

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#12 ·
Of course, something was missing. Decorative strips of course.
Solid copper bars, 2" wide by 3/16" thick did the trick nicely. Rivets and bars always are a good fit so we couldn't leave those out. They were threaded so that I wouldn't slip with the air chisel peening them.
The bars and rivets were then subjected to some patina juice.
 

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#20 · (Edited)
HVAC issue

First let me ask a few questions:

How many sq feet are you going to have above grade?

Are you going with triple pane argon windows and 2x6 walls? I have them and you get no drafts by the windows even in Winnipeg.

Luxaire is York so post the model # and I can look it up along with Beenthere.

Maybe get a mod to move this into it's own thread on the HVAC forum as it will get long. PM Beenthere or one of the others can do it if they read this.

I will give you a Honeywell link so you can start reading.

Basically it is a generic zoning system and any dealer can access it unlike a Lennox or Carrier proprietary system. It uses motorised dampers and I would zone your house main and 2nd floor and use 2 thermostats. It has a air pressure operated bypass damper so when 1 zone closes it bypasses air and lets the unit keep running. PERFECT if you have a DC ECM variable speed motor.

You would need to find a contractor willing to do it. Watched some videos on their site and it looks fairly straightforward.

If you have a skilled contractor and use 6" pipe for your upstairs supply runs and good return then you can balance the system and your DC ECM fan can compensate. Zoning is nice but you need to research it.

https://www.forwardthinking.honeywell.com/products/zoning/zoning_products.html
 
#24 ·
I have a speed control set to medium built inside of the hood where no one can touch it. Also, when the fan is set to medium or high, power will be sent to the damper to open a 6" return air duct.
My heat or cool, depending on the season will indeed be going up the stack. As long as that grease I mentioned goes, all is good.

There is a power block built into the hood. Just need to bring in the wire from the damper and attach it. This has all been inspected and it has a label on it from ESA.
 

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#22 · (Edited)
Hmmm, I am not that HVAC busy yet and Ontario is not far away. Free good food and get in some Pro sports in TO in return for a HVAC consult.:laughing:

Colby makes a good point. If you have a powerful Jenn Air or exhaust fan you can depressurise a house. In Alberta bldg code says it has to be interlocked to the furnace fan with a fresh air pipe from the outside if it is over XXX cfm. Cannot remember how many cfm/ 200 I believe. 830 cfm is is large as a 2 ton AC fan is 800 cfm. Hopefully it has a speed control.
 
#25 ·
Sounds good or maybe like a rocket at full speed.:laughing:

I would rather have a dedicated 6" return duct than mess with the furnace. I would not want a gas water heater with a chimney as it could downdraft even with that duct and then produce CO. Electric is safer or a thru the wall or tankless. That is a huge amount of air that fan can exhaust.
 
#26 ·
So at this point I have only an exhaust hood and nothing else. Like the cartoon where Daffy Duck yells to the guy "hey bub, you need a new house to go with this door knob"....

I was still waiting for permits and had to keep busy. I decided to start the kitchen cabinets. I don't have kitchen walls yet, but what could go wrong? Just build the walls in the correct places and everything should fit. We'll see later I guess.

I got some strips of 7/8" thick poplar cut at a customers millwork shop and got started during Christmas break. I also picked up a Kreg router table and beaded face frame system. I also need a pocket screw system and grabbed one of those while I was out shopping.
 

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#27 ·
I forgot to mention, only the doors and face frames will be wood. I will have the guys in the shop make up some stainless boxes and screw the completed face frame/door assembly onto them.

Some random pics below.
 

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#28 ·
With all the face frames together, I needed to start the doors. Since my garage is not set up with a table saw, I figured I would cut all the door rails and stiles exactly to size using spacers as my guide. This would save me a step of trimming each door to fit each frame opening.
What a mistake . I cut some of the pieces short and I had to use shims when gluing them up.
 

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#29 ·
1/4" MDF was used for the panels. I made up a little jig for drilling the hinge screw holes from bits of metal laying around the garage.
 

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#30 ·
Some random pics of frames/doors going together.
 

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#32 ·
Pre-cat primer was selected and the spraying was started. Everything was hit with primer and then sanded smooth with 320 grit.

AlexPlus was used in every joint between the moldings and door faces/panels. A damp cloth was used to wipe the access for a real clean look. I'm not a woodworker by trade and this tip came from my neighbor, Dino. He has a millwork shop and shared a few nuggets of info with me throughout this project.
 

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#33 ·
I selected a Behr color and then ordered it in pre-cat as well.
 

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#34 ·
I made up a small cabinet section for the drawers at work for a test run and everything seemed alright until I tightened up screws on one drawer face and cracked the paint. The drawer box was not exactly as flat as nice wooden ones are and caused the problem.

I will need to shim the ones I make for the island counter if the face does not sit exactly flat.
 

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#35 ·
That's the end of the kitchen cabinets for now.
This week, I need to finish getting everything out of the house and then start trenching for drains. Again, putting the cart before the horse but I have no choice.

I must keep doing something, towards getting the project going while I wait for the gas company. 44 days to disconnect. Unbelievable. There is no one else to call either.
 
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