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