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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1956)
SUNDAY, JANUARY 1. 195b KERACftAND NEWS. KLAMATH FALLS. OREGON PAGE THREE Basement Spa ce Utilized For New Television Room big . . By ANDREW C. LANG It started this way. I said to my wife. 'What we icitu a miumer room. She satd, "Why?" I said, "So we can watch TV : wunout rearranging the living room furniture every night, so we tun emenam more Ulan two guests at one time, so the boys can pjay . ni iu meir irienas wunout stumb ling mi over us." Slie said (and this was surprise), "You're risht." Since there was no place to build an extra room except In the base ment, we decided to build the .extra room In the basement. Since mere was no one else to build me extra room except me (the uuys are allergic to building ex tra rooms), we decided that 1 . should do the Job. There would have to be a built in space for a TV set . . . another for some books and a couple of trophies ... a way to read the water and gas meters ... a place iur a reiresnment Oar ... a plan ir covering me overhead pipes . . . ana nan a dozen other tilings you ordinarily don't think about wnen you blithely decide to make room in the basement. First came the Job of making me uasemeni waterproof and dry, but that's another story. I used a piece of chalk to out line on the basement floor the planned location of the walls. decided to put the studding two feet from -the concrete walls rath er that attach furring strins direct ly to the masonry. It would allow plenty of room for builtlns. and It would enable me "to get behind tne walls if there ever was a wa ter problem. Besides, Its always preferable to have a free circula tion of air behind any finished walls in a basement where con densation could occur. Tlie usual way to put down the sole plates the wood on which the studding rests is to attach them to the floor with cut nails, expansion shields and bolts, or some other method Involving mak ing holes in the concrete floor. But I thought I'd try something else that had been recommended by a professional . . . attaching the sole plates to the floor with what are called (Miracle) anchor nails. These nails do not go into the floor, only into the sole plates. Each nail has, at one end, a 2-inch square of perforated metal. When the nail is driven into a 2 x 4, the metal plate then lies flat against the wood. After enough nails are hammered into the wood I used one every 12 inches or so a dab of a special adhesive is placed on each metal plate. The 2x4 then is placed in position on the floor, with the metal plates against the concrete. After a day or two, the wood will not budge. As I found out later, this type of construction is now being used even in heavy industrial work. But you must use the special water proof adhesive sold by the same dealer from whom you buy the nails. Any one who has ever put up studs knows what the biggest problem is getting the studs to remain perfectly straight up and aown. You 11 notice I say re main straight, because it's easy enough to put them into position una get mern properly vertica with a level. But keeping them mat way under the stress of nail ing is another matter. iue proiessionais toenail one side into place and then the other, assuming that the slight move ment either way will balance. works most of the time for the pros. It works only sometimes for tne amateur. , Since I had 80 studs to put up, ana Knew from past experience now annoying it could be, worked out a little scheme that meant spending a little more money lor wood and a little less money for aspirin. However, let me say rigiu nere mat u s something none oi you should attempt without power saw, because it involves cutting up a lot of 2 x 4's Into pieces exactly 14?i, Inches long. nere s now it works: The sole plates are down and the headers are up. (the headers are nailed Into the basement cell ing beams so that they are directly above the sole plates) and you must now put the studdinsr between mem. xou want tne studs to be IS inches apart 16 inches on center. So you nail a piece of wood 14?. inches to the sole Plate Now you place a stud flush against me piece oi wood and nail it. You nail the stud sideways into the wooa not, in the conventional manner, into the sole plate. You do exactly the same thins on the other side: nail a stud sideways into the 14-lnch niece of wood Presto the studs are automatic ally 16 inches apart on center. mat's been use a 2-inch stud ac- tually Is only 1 Inches. Add 1 to it-,; ana you nave IB. Of course, tne same procedure is followed along the header as along the sole Plate a stud, a piece of wood a stud, a piece of wood, and so on. Alter changing my mind (with my wile's help) about 15 times finally decided to use nlvwood for the walls. Same Intensive shop- pmg-around followed. I almost abandoned the idea of using nlv wood. The cheaper varieties would nave required too much work in finishing: the hardwood varieties would have required an extra mortgage on the house. Then I ran across a new kind of hardwood plywood I had never heard of something called Sam ara, which comes from French Equatorial Africa. Resembling light mahogany, it has a beautiful grain ana, as l later discovered, finishes very well. It's less expensive than the better-known hardwoods and is imported. (By the United Stales Plywood Corporation.) Four by 8 panels of this quarter- Inch plywood were placed across tne studs in a horizontal position. To do away with a "too much flat plywood" appearance, squares of striated plywood (Weldlexi were used from the 4-foot level to the ceiling. Before putting up the squares, they were colored with a dusky gray stain. By alternating the directions of the strlations dur ing the installation, a pleasing op- - And When You Need Help In Designing JUST CALL DRAKE LUMBER WE CAN DO THIS FOR YOU FREE WE CARRY A COMPLETE STOCK OF MOST EVERY ITEM IN THE BUILDING LINE DRAKE LUMBER CO. tical. effect was created. A special type of moulding was used at the point where the plywood panels una . me squares came together witn a narawood -.front and an aluminum backing, the moulding was nailed to the studding. There is a groove along-.clther side of tne moulding into which the panels ana me squares were inserted i Throughout all this Installation-, spaces were left here and there for various bullt-lns and for access to utility meters. Also, small open ings had to be cut into the ply wood panels for electrical outlets. (I had the electrical work done proiessionauy Del ore putting up me wans.) There were ' two problems con nected with the ceiling. One in volved a couple of small pipes running along the beams. The oth er concerned a much larger heat pipe suspended about a foot below the beams. By dropping part of the celling a couple of inches and covering the area with the striated squares, stained a dark color, it was a fairly easy matter to cover the 2 small pipes. The large pipe presented some what of a problem. Already cov ered with asbestos, it could have been painted. But I bought a bam boo blind and stained it the same dark color as the striated squares covering the small pipes. The blind then was cut into strips and Ihe strips were wound around the pipe. The entire celling with the exception of the row of straited squares was covered with ivory ceiling tiles in the conventional fashion. This wasn't too difficult a task, but my neck resented it for couple of days. It would have been a lot worse except for the use of a rented stapling machine for attaching the tiles. Ordinary crown moulding was used at the point where the walls and ceiling met. Tills and other types of moulding used for inside and outside corners were stained mahogany, using the same pene trating stain wmcn had ocon brushed on the dropped part of the celling. Asphalt tile, which can be placed directly on concrete, was put down on the floor. There were quite a few irregularities in the concrete. I-patched them up with a readv- made concrete mix before laying the tile.' Asphalt tile stiliw rnlhfr than wood were used for the base board.. They were attached with 'the same adhesive used for the floor tiles. Two door openings were made One serves the double purpose of reading utility meters and getting ociiina me wans u necessary. Be cause It Is in a corner of the room where a door cannot be opened and closed conveniently, bamboo drapes, stained mahog any, have been hung over the opening. The second, a regulation door, is to provide a handy means of getting to the sink while tend ing bar. The bar, by the way.' is fairly small because I made it to fit a recess at one end of the room. But it's a little different, being made of that new do-it-yourself (Reynolds) aluminum. Except for the laminated plastic top. every thing visible on it is aluminum. The front and sides are of the embossed type, to avoid that "too shiny" look. Tile Colors Aid Bathrooms A few basic rules for selecting colors in bathroom tllework and fixtures have been worked out by experience. Color experts say that If a bath room is small, as most of them are, the wisest course is to use the same color for both the walls and the floor. If you have two or more tile colors, you will auto matically limit your choice of col ors for accessories, since they will have to go with all the tile shades. with a single tile color, on the other hand, you can use a number of different shades for accessories and still have a satisfactory room. ine color scheme can be changed completely from time to time by using towels, shower curtains and bath mats -in a different shade. Such a change of accessories will do as much as an ordinary decorat ing Job to freshen up the room. Hardware Stes Sell New Alarms For most homes, the fire alarm Is the family dog or the family itself. It's an inefficient system at best with statistics of fatalities and property damage to prove it. Your hardware store, however, carries home fire alarms that hook into the household electric current iut do not use electricity unless Ihey are sounding the alarm. One company. Edwards, makes a compact detector with trans lormer that is smartly stvled and can be Installed flush with the wall or mounted on the surfr-ce. Most units never need adjust ment and never require addition al servicing. A COMPLETE REMODELING SERVICE From Planning Through The Finished Job! ' Carpentry Mason Work Cabinet Work Painting Tile Work Porch Enclosures CALL US! WE GIVE ESTIMATES GLADLY! Dick Carlson Phone 2-0901 ' 3110 Summers Lane Now is the time to come to the aid of your Country . . . and your community! Klamath Falls must pro par for an influx of mort than 400 service man's families! Now, during thf winter months the time fo remodel and repair. Now it the time to construct those apartments. Air Base personnel Will stert arriving January I. We must Neve adequate housing facilities to greet them. No matter if you're remodeling rredeeorafing plans call for the construction of a complete basement or garage apartment, or Just a touch of paint here and there, you'd find everything needed for the job right here at Basin Building Materials. Plywood, masonry products, lumber, sheet rock, paint , . just name the materials you need and we'll fill the list. No Down Payment Up to 36 Mm. To Pay On F.H.A. Terms IT'S EASY TO REMODEL OR REDECORATE IF YOU USE OUR NEW REVOLVING BILD-A-COUHT CREDIT PLAN Our new credit service h m ease) easier ! for bextget-Mi is used just like charge ccosm. belt huteod of poyissaj tto feS) pay only one-sixth of pie eaiungoel credit limit each me nth. people. It you Basin Building Materials 910 Sprinq St. Phone 5610 47M Sooth Sixth 2-251 t I
