One other note: DocWayne, Russ, Gus, everyone.... please keep giving me the suggestions and the "did you remember to ____?" thoughts coming. You never know when I might forget something or mess up or whatever. Best to have more than one set of eyes keeping watch over what is going on.

Thanks everyone!

OK...The 2x4 brick "guide" makes sense..as does that facing trim....I just went outside to look at the brickwork, and sure enough, there is a trim board up there....I'd never really noticed it....

Gus, there ya go! So that means I must be doing it right!

About a year ago, there was a new house built down the street, I would go over there in the evening and look around to see how things were done. I already knew alot, being in construction, but there were a few things I wasn't sure about when it came to residential construction. Anyway, I saw how they did the brick trim and soffits and such.

DocWayne... Now that I think about it, i don't recall any new houses down here being done with vinyl or aluminum. I have seen the vinyl or aluminum replacement siding and soffits and such. Do they use alot of aluminum and vinyl up north?

Gary:
Vinyl or aluminum siding are pretty standard in Ontario. Of course, we have a lot of wood as well. Our first house had aluminum and our current one has plastic. Well, brick veneer on the first story and siding above that.

As David says, lots of vinyl and aluminum on homes around here. New homes are almost always vinyl where siding is used, and a lot of the trim is now being done in vinyl, too. It's still aluminum for facia and eavetroughs, in most cases, though. I'm a big fan of its use, as I dislike painting of any type.

Wayne

I need to drive around some new neighborhoods down here and see what they are using. As I mentioned, the only aluminum or vinyl I have seen was where they go to an older house and put the new stuff over the old stuff. I did search the net for aluminum and vinyl soffits, and it looks good and seems pretty simple to install.

Gary if you could rent one of those machines to lift the sheetrock for you that would be a tremendous help lol. You also bring up a good point, it is a fairly small job for a contractor, and then to only hang the roof, it would be tough to get it done for a decent price lol

Josh, we'll figure out something for the ceiling. I haven't checked for a lift anywhere yet, but the sheetrock is still some ways off. Going to finish all the soffits and trim first. I am going to buy small loads of sheetrock over the next couple of weeks and get it stockpiled though.

On another note, I worked late at the real job today, so didn't get a single thing done on the building. Plus, it has been drizzling rain all day anyway. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather this weekend, I may be able to finish all the exterior work and get'er ready for brick.

I googled "tips for drywalling ceilings" and saw a "T"-shaped brace for holding one end of the board to the ceiling, while you lift the other end while ascending a short step ladder - the upright of the "T" should be an inch or two taller than the ceiling is high, and, obviously, that end of the sheet needs to be butted against the wall or the edge of the previous sheet. I would have provided a link, but the same site also recommended boarding horizontally and finishing tapered joints 14" to 18" wide - obviously there's some sinister connection there to the Drywall Mud Marketing Board.

Here's a comment from that site, attributed to "Anonymous":

"Working solo, avoid jack rental with 2X4 jig built on site that pivots sheet to ceiling. Think of letters H and U attached at their top corners; H is floor to ceiling brace, U raises the sheet. H adjusts for sloped ceilings."

I was going to add my own comment about finishing tapered edges only to the width of the taper, but they required too much information when I attempted to register - I don't need the goons from the mudders' union comin' around to "set me straight".

Gary, I've been thinking about what you said concerning how vertical boards are supported at all of their edges, as opposed the horizontal ones, which are supported at only three edges. It follows then that the edges of the ceiling boards, applied in the "accepted" manner, that is, perpendicular to the ceiling joists, are supported only at the 4' ends. On the other hand, the edges of boards applied parallel to the joists, while still supported at only two edges, those are the 8' edges.
This one might be a saw-off, since both methods obviously also support the centre of the sheet, but it'll give you something else to ponder. Oh, and don't forget -5/8" for the ceiling, 1/2" for the walls, and 3/8" for areas that will be coved. :hey: And when you do the sanding, wear a dust mask.

Wayne

"....sinister connection to the Drywall Mud Marketing Board....."? , "....goons from the mudders' union..."? Hmmm..

Gary S Wrote:One other note: ...everyone.... please keep giving me the suggestions and the "did you remember to ____?" thoughts coming.

Allrighty then... glad to see your thinking about running a water line down there. You'll be thankful when you start mixing all of that hydrocal or plaster for scenery. Make sure when cleaning up later on that you don't wash that stuff down any inside pipes though as it will create havoc later. A simple utility/mudsink with a drain to the outside would probably be sufficient.

TN, I will just have a spigot on the outside. The slab is already poured and I didn't rough in any plumbing. As for dumping water, it'll just go in the yard.

DocWayne, I haven't searched the net for the tips yet, but have been thinking of making a pivoting rack that could be used to get the rock up to the ceiling and hold it in place. Years ago when we did our kitchen remodel, I simply made a T-brace from scrap lumber and Vicki helped me get the sheet up and screwed in place. With near 800 square feet to do, we have to figure out an easy way.

Concerning your thoughts on the parallel versus perpendicular for the ceiling, I'll have to go perpendicular. I'm one of those oddball framers who prefers the approximately 19 3/16" spacing on the rafters and joists instead of the 16" or 24" spacing which is normal. The rafter spans were so short that 16" was overkill, but I really do not like 24" centers. Therefore, the "triangle" mark on the tape measure! (96 inches divided by 5 instead of divided by 6)

What are your thoughts on the 5/8" for the ceiling? In residential, I have only seen 1/2" for walls and ceiling.

As for the coves, I am looking forward to doing that. 3/8" in the corners and the masonite brings it out to 1/2" to match the straight walls.

I did see on one website that they recommended Liquid Nails on the ceiling joists, along with the screws or nails.

scubadude Wrote:"....sinister connection to the Drywall Mud Marketing Board....."? , "....goons from the mudders' union..."? Hmmm..

Not to worry.... no one will know, and besides, I am in good standing with the folks in the construction business.

On another note....

WOOHOO!!

It has been raining for two days now, and NO LEAKS!