After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, the work of the day was to lay in the floor in the "weird room". This area used to be an enclosed porch until someone added it to the house by way of a sliding glass door between it and the house. But they didn't do much else.
Randy has made a lot of improvements but one of the major problems is that the floor isn't level and it isn't the same height as the house floor. Randy R and Aaron are here to help fix that. Randy had decided the best way to create a level surface was put a level brace around the sides of the room, then measure and trim each individual 2x6 joist according to what leveling was needed every 16 inches. So no two boards were cut alike.
The concrete floor underneath the 2x6s was so out of level that eventually they had to transition from a large brace to a small one, and eventually they could only use 2x4 joists.
Sometimes it looked like Randy and Aaron were supervising Randy R doing all the work
But sometimes he got to supervise them.
When they had installed enough floor joists to hold a sheet of plywood, they started laying the floor. Before they laid the plywood down, heavy-duty glue was applied to each joist. Between that and the supports they nailed to each 2x6, the floor couldn't squeak if it had to!
Then they manoeuvred the plywood down to sit square on each side.
Lucky Randy R got to insert the ton of screws it takes to hold flooring in place.
The front door had to be removed because it was too low for the newly-raised floor. So the guys had to take it out, which was not an easy task because Randy put it in and he builds things to last.
Some places it just wouldn't budge, and a little extra leverage was needed.
Once it finally came out, Randy used a saws-all to remove the bottom plate.
We got a little extra supervision from Frank, a snowbird neighbor recently returned from New York.
Fitting the last piece was tricky but they got it by continuing to cut each joist to it's own level measurement and measuring the doorway entrance.
When the last piece was installed, we had a new sub-floor!
The next step was to reinstall the door. Unfortunately during the process of inserting screws to hold the door header in place, one screw went right through one of the wires. The guys all quickly pulled the old wire and replaced it with new. Then the header was replaced (was it coincidence that Randy R welded the screwdriver this time?)
Meanwhile Randy finished the electrical repair.
Time to reinstall the door. Lots of leveling on this part. Eventually Randy R just laid down on the floor so he could insert shims as needed, according to what Aaron read on the level.
Silicone caulk was used under the door to ensure a waterproof, weatherproof seal.
Aaron and Randy R did the finish work on the door, shimming it where needed, adding screws to pull the frame tight, and making sure everything was level.
And by the end of the day, the "weird room" floor was properly connected to the rest of the house!
Time to celebrate with a dinner of steak and potatoes, followed by bread pudding. When the pudding came out of the oven Randy sprinkled the top of it with chocolate chips.
Then he poured the warm caramel sauce over it all.
And for a finish, he topped it with freshly whipped cream because, well, at this point, why not?
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