Underlayment

It seems like forever since I've written about the Momplex. For those of you new here, we've been DIYing a duplex for our Mother's to live in up here in Alaska. On Mother's Day this year, we'll be at it two whole years.

Things take time when you do every single thing yourself. But they also cost less, and you know things are done right.

That Mother's Day goal .... it's looking pretty intimidating right now. Especially since we will be DIYing every single kitchen cabinet, closet organizer and piece of furniture inside.

We've been traveling for the last few weeks it seems - you all understand that work comes first unfortunately :( - so progress has slowed way down up at the Momplex. But there's been one other thing slowing everything down.

Will spring every get here?

You see, we've been heating the Momplex with a makeshift woodstove, while we install the in floor heat upstairs. Then our plan was to wait for a warm sunny couple of days and pull the wood stove out and replace it with a boiler. It's important to have the boiler in to move on to finish work for two big reasons: We can't finish drywalling the garage until all the pipes are run and the boiler is in the utility room, and we can't mud and tape without a constant even heat to aid the mud in drying.

And we can't pull the wood stove and replace with the boiler until spring gives us a few warm days in a row to install the new boiler.

Bear with us - I know more than anything how this mechanical stage has dragged on and on and on. It's especially frustrating to us. And there are definitely days I'd like to skip over blogging steps - but then I worry that someone could possibly have used the information. So please, hang in there, we are so close to picking out flooring and painting walls!!!

It's going to happen!

Momplex

Step 1 Diagram

Step 1

And the good news is today we are finally done with the upstairs in floor heat system. Finally done. And that means we get to say goodbye today to the floor that you can't walk on!

Step 2 Diagram

Step 2 Instructions

The Ram sprays down the manifolds one last time with soapy water. We've got air in the system at pressure, so if there's a leak, the pressure gauge will start dropping and bubbles will appear at air leaks.

Nothing.

Shall we then?

Step 3 Diagram

Step 3 Instructions

Part of the intimidation is knowing we are gluing down the underlayment. If for some crazy reason we get a leak in the floor, it's no two second job to fix it.

We'll be remodeling and putting new floors in.

But we have to glue down because we don't want a floor that creaks when you walk on it. And by gluing, we can also use nails!

Step 4 Diagram

Step 4 Instructions

You all already know the nail gun is much faster than screwing. We actually purchased a pneumatic stapler for the task.

We are using 1/8" lauan plywood for the underlayment. It's resistant to water damage, very very smooth on top, reasonable priced, and thin. Thin is good - this above floor heat system was an after thought, so we are very tight on room below the deck door threshold.

Step 5 Diagram

Step 5 Instructions

One thing about this above the floor installation is it significantly easier to work on a floor, as opposed to above your head. The lauan underlayment plywood is placed on the floor, we start with a full sheet, and then just go from there, measuring and cutting and laying the plywood down.

Next sheet, please?

Step 6 Diagram

Step 6 Instructions

This actually went really fast.

The only thing slowing us down in the Ram insisted that we trace out the heat pipes on top of the plywood so we can avoid nailing into a pipe.

Step 7 Diagram

Step 7 Instructions

So yes, every loop, every turn, all 2400 feet of pipe is drawn out on the floors.

Step 8 Diagram

Step 8 Instructions

That took more time than putting the underlayment down!

But once the underlayment was down, I felt newly encouraged. The heat system is now hidden forever. Mom will never even know it's there ... until she walks on a cold floor with bare feet and thinks, "hmmm ... I wonder why my floors are always so warm?"

Step 9 Diagram

Step 9 Instructions

And now the Momplex has stopped looking like a construction zone, and started looking again like a room that just needs paint, flooring and furniture! <img src="http://ana-white.com/sites/default/files/3154825879_1366817781.jpg?1366…; class=" selected" style="width: 470px;" alt="" /> And little granddaughters running from room to room.

Step 10 Diagram