Well my "master carpenter" just left and I'm feeling a little underwhelmed to say the least. I was very excited to go down into the basement today to see how it looked but when I went downstairs I found I was looking at things and thinking "what happened here?" This could be my own lack of knowledge of proper framing techniques so I thought I'd get some opinions.

Here we go...

I wanted two doorways, one into the laundry room and the other into the workout area. He gave me two doorways wide enough for a washer and dryer to come out easy if needs to be. I guess I pictured there not being a bottom plate in the doorway I would have to step over to get into each area. Is this normal?

workout area door
http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/doorway.jpg

laundry room door
http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/laundrydoorway.jpg

I've never seen anything framed like this before so it might be an approved technique, or not.
http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/stairs.jpg

Looks like there would have been enough room to do it the normal way right?
http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/stairswidth.jpg

He left this corner like so , how would I ever be able to hang drywall on that?? :confused:
http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/corner.jpg

more to come...

All of that is normal. The bottom plate in your doorway will get cut out when you get to hanging the room. The stairs are done so you have a way to have the drywall seals connect well. Only issue is that one corner, but that isn't hard to finish up.

Hes probably not done framing. They'll cut out those bottom plates..

Yep, looks normal and the one wall is probably not done. The base plates that are at the bottom of the walls will get sawn out. They are left in place for stability. I just built some walls today with door way openings. When you build the walls on the ground and then lift them into place you want that wood there otherwise the wall section becomes very weakat the bottom. You wait until the wall is up and mounted then cutout the bottom plate to the doorways. Now he can cut them out at anytime.:cool:

great! I'm glad so far most of my worries have just been of my own ignorance. I was thinking of hanging the doors myself or at least giving it a shot before hiring any more work out. He was paid today and he said "it's all done" so I guess I'll need to bring up my issue about the corner with him.

A couple of more pics of things I came across while snooping around down there.

He framed a box around my electrical panel so it would be hidden but the bottom of his area where the door should go looks to be too high as it would be pretty difficult to get a screwdriver in there to loosen the screw to wire anything into the panel. It's also not secured to anything at the top as it's in between joists so I can wobble it. Would drywall take that instability away or should it be connect to something at the top?

http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/electricalpanel.jpg

http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/electricalpanel2.jpg

finally, nothing has been secured to the floor in any manor, no concrete nails/screws and two sections of the frame that is underneath the steel beam are a bit shaky as well. I have a ramset of my own that I've used in the past to secure another section of framing I did personally to the floor. Will shooting a nail through the bottom plate into the slab tighten up the shakiness at the top? He didn't use any type of liquid nails either.

Thanks so much, this forum is outstanding!

FWIW, I'm also one of those guys who doesn't know much about carpentry either, and I thought for sure your work was a mess. Good news is that the guys who do know something say you're within what's reasonable (although I have a bad feeling your latest revelation about your framing not being secured at the bottom, joists being wobbly...and the fact that the guy was "one and done", might change that perception a bit).

I was also going to suggest that, IMO, it's important to be able to talk over concerns with your GC, without them either making you feel stupid, or just trying to bulldoze you over, because you don't know any better. But again, with your guy being outta there, I guess that doesn't come into play anymore.

CD

Panther

On the stairs I can see why he framed it the way he did. Its so that when you hang the drywall it will line up with the existing drywall up above the framing. I would probably have him redo the framing around your service panel just for the reasons you stated if you ever need to take the front off you need access to the screws

First, the doorways are wrong. There should be a full stud and then a shorter stud (cripple) next to each full stud on both sides of the doorway. There should also be a header (horizontal )above the door with approx. 3 short pieces above that and then the top plate. The only thing that's right is that the lower section of the door gets sawn out.
The corner is all wrong. Enough said.

Make sure that the studs are placed 16" from the center of one to the center of the next otherwise your drywall isn't going to have anything to fasten to.
The top plate and the bottom plate have to be fastened.
You should look at some of the pictures that other members have posted as far as the framing to get some ideas. You could also purchase a carpentry book at any home improvement store. (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.)

Good luck, and either call this guy back and get your money or hire someone that knows what they're doing.

Everything looks fine. The corner just isn't finished. You need top plates, bottom plates, and three studs (common stud on the corner or double for extra strength in case the kids run into it). What kind of door are you putting over your panel? I'd flush the framing up and just put a little plywood door over it. I can't see any way someone would think that panel framing was good work regardless of the door type. But to use a little prehung mini door, you'd have to have that clearance away from the panel.

It's also not secured to anything at the top as it's in between joists so I can wobble it.

It should be secured to blocking that is attached between the two straddling ceiling joists.

I agree with a lot of the things pointed out by the other guys. I don't see a single anchor on the top or bottom plates. What's up with that?

I think the reason your guy was available is that not many other knowledgeable contractors find his work acceptable. I see a minimum of a day to clean up all his unfinished work.

One last shot. That work around the electrical box should be ripped out and replaced. you can do it so that the drywall is flush with the electrical box and the metal cover of the panel covers the edges of the drywall. You got taken my friend.

I'm thinking that the guy is an alcoholic and was in a hurry to get your check so he could go on a binge. Can you stop payment on the check?

One last shot. That work around the electrical box should be ripped out and replaced. you can do it so that the drywall is flush with the electrical box and the metal cover of the panel covers the edges of the drywall. You got taken my friend.

I'm thinking that the guy is an alcoholic and was in a hurry to get your check so he could go on a binge. Can you stop payment on the check?

Leave it to BIG not to tiptoe around the ugly truth. And I mean that in the best way BIG.

CD

First, the doorways are wrong. There should be a full stud and then a shorter stud (cripple) next to each full stud on both sides of the doorway. There should also be a header (horizontal )above the door with approx. 3 short pieces above that and then the top plate. The only thing that's right is that the lower section of the door gets sawn out.
The corner is all wrong. Enough said.

Make sure that the studs are placed 16" from the center of one to the center of the next otherwise your drywall isn't going to have anything to fasten to.
The top plate and the bottom plate have to be fastened.
You should look at some of the pictures that other members have posted as far as the framing to get some ideas. You could also purchase a carpentry book at any home improvement store. (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.)

Good luck, and either call this guy back and get your money or hire someone that knows what they're doing.

On the first pic I don't think he could do a header because the door is right under an I-beam and therefor not enough room.

thanks for everyone's replies, I emailed the guy last night and he responded this morning.

Al,

I just wanted to touch base with you over the work you've done over the last few days. First of all I'm amazed at how fast the two of you worked while here and I'm also impressed with the fact that you cleaned up the area so well after you were done. I did have a couple of concerns I wanted to voice with you.

The frame around the electrical panel was a good idea but the bottom portion of the frame doesn't allow for a screw driver to get in and unscrew the lower right hand screw to take the panel cover off. Also that section of framing isn't connected to anything at the top and is wobbly to the touch, I'm not sure if that was supposed to be secured to something or not? Same deal with the section of frame behind the staircase. The sump area was not framed in either, I don't know how I didn't notice while we were down there but I thought that was part of the job we agreed upon? The corner down by the window and the steel beam is missing some framing around it which would make it impossible to hang drywall around. I took some pictures to help illustrate my points, I hope they help.

No problem-- I can rework the area so that you can take that cover off when I fasten the walls to the floor.
Onto the matter of the tops of the walls not being fastened.After I secure the bottoms I will plumb up from the bottoms with a level and secure at the top.In reverse for the wall near the stairs as that top is fastened.
The sump pump I missed---We can set that up in 10 min.
A couple of studs nailed to the corner at the end of the steel will provide backing for the DW.
No problem.
I was aware of everything you mentioned here other than the sump pump area.I missed that.
These other items were loose ends that I planned on getting when I fasten the walls down.Gotta have the bottom in place in order to plumb UP and fasten.Im sure you understand that.
Not to be concerned---your in very good hands and I would not leave you with anything undone.
Let me know when your guy needs to rough in the electrical and I will return a day or 2 before that and button those items up and do the additional framing on the ceiling

I feel a little better that he admits to knowing about those items and he didn't think he was done yet I kind of feel like he set it up so he locked himself in to come back. The "framing on the ceiling" is simply a 2x4 nailed up to give clearance around a pipe, that's it. It will be interesting if he tries to charge me for any of this because it should have been part of the original work while framing no? The ceiling I can see being extra because that was discussed after the fact but the rest I would consider part of the original job.

thanks for everyone's replies, I emailed the guy last night and he responded this morning.





I feel a little better that he admits to knowing about those items and he didn't think he was done yet I kind of feel like he set it up so he locked himself in to come back. The "framing on the ceiling" is simply a 2x4 nailed up to give clearance around a pipe, that's it. It will be interesting if he tries to charge me for any of this because it should have been part of the original work while framing no? The ceiling I can see being extra because that was discussed after the fact but the rest I would consider part of the original job.

Well, it sounds like you guys had a lot of miscommunication going on; you gave us the impression you had paid him for the job, and that you were under the impression he was done. Like you say, he clearly feels like there is a phase II in your future...and his response indicates he's planning to do your drywalling? Doesn't sound like the two of you had a very good agreement about what was getting done, when, and for how much. Why weren't these concerns addressed before you paid the guy? Surely you walked through with him and looked over the work?

CD

you gave us the impression you had paid him for the job, and that you were under the impression he was done.
I did pay him and I did not think he was coming back. The conversation about the ceiling was a casual "this is what you could do" type of conversation, not the "i'll come back and do this" type


Like you say, he clearly feels like there is a phase II in your future...and his response indicates he's planning to do your drywalling?

I don't know where he got a phase II idea from, there wasn't any talk of him doing any work after the framing I requested him to do. No "do this now and then I'll need you to come back again" conversation took place.

Why weren't these concerns addressed before you paid the guy? Surely you walked through with him and looked over the work?

I totally blame myself for not seeing these things clearly during the walkthrough of his work, I think I was blinded by the fact that I know had framed walls, well from what I could tell at the time.

I only noticed these things later in the day when I was showing my wife what had been done while she was at work. I'm going to be calling him today to see when he can come fix the items of concern. I'll update you guys after I get him on the phone. Thanks again.

Sounds like he is a pretty professional liar who knows exactly how to respond to people who point out the deficiencies in his work. I'm willing to bet there are many others where he used the same tactic.

You have to ask yourself, if he wasn't done why did he clean up? On construction of new space you only want to clean up once at the end of your job. If you are remodeling in the middle of space in use then I totally get cleaning up at the end of each day.

While I'm on a roll, did he rough out the door openings for the size door you are planning? Just add two inches to the size of the door for the rough in. A 30 inch door should generally have a roughed in opening of 32x82 Those openings look a lot bigger in the photos.

Sounds like he is a pretty professional liar who knows exactly how to respond to people who point out the deficiencies in his work. I'm willing to bet there are many others where he used the same tactic.

You have to ask yourself, if he wasn't done why did he clean up? On construction of new space you only want to clean up once at the end of your job. If you are remodeling in the middle of space in use then I totally get cleaning up at the end of each day.

While I'm on a roll, did he rough out the door openings for the size door you are planning? Just add two inches to the size of the door for the rough in. A 30 inch door should generally have a roughed in opening of 32x82 Those openings look a lot bigger in the photos.

I asked him to frame out a big enough door so that the washer and dryer could get in and out easily so he said he would match the door at the top of the stairs where the washer and dryer obviously came down through, the opening for both doors measure 31 3/4" from inside to inside of the studs, sound right?

For him to leave the job like that and expect to get paid knowing he's leaving it like that says he's a shady contractor. I would tell him your electrician is coming in the next couple days and you need him out there asap to complete the job that you hired and paid him for.

I wouldn't doubt if he asked for more money based on his attitude. Rule from now on: Get a contract/agreement for all subs! Even little jobs. I also ask for a waiver at the end. I trade the final payment for the waiver. The waivers will say he and all subs have been paid and waive their right to do a mechanics lien. I also would not use him for the drywall or anything else.

the opening for both doors measure 31 3/4" from inside to inside of the studs, sound right?

Measure the door at the top of the stairs. If it is 30 inches wide it will work IF the studs are plumb. But, it will be a tight fit and not a lot of space to shim the door and plumb it. If the door you plan is 28 inches or less than he is wasting your lumber because you are going to need to put in another stud and make the opening smaller before inserting the door frame.

just wanted to update this thread...

The carpenter called me back and let me know he would be out today at 12:15 to finish up what he left from the last visit. My wife called me and let me know he did come out, went into the basement, were down there for 5 minutes and came back up, left without saying anything and never came back. I had my wife do a quick look around to see if anything was missing and she didn't see anything obvious. This guy had me buy a box of clipped head nails for his air compressor nail gun. My wife checked the box and said there was only like 5 nails left in the box. This was a box of 2000 nails and I checked between his last visit and today and it was still almost full to the top and now it's almost empty. I'm not even sure why he bothered to show up if he just left 5 minutes later never to return. I will give a more thorough look when I get home to see if I notice anything missing.

I of course call him on the phone after hearing this. I asked him what happened and he said after it took me 5 months to respond to him after my initial inquiry he thought I was a weasel and "this" confirmed it and he wasn't going to do a ****ing thing for me. I'm of course blown away and start asking the wtf questions, and he hangs up on me.

I call him back and he was still pissed and said "i thought I was going to do the wallboard and you're a ****ing weasel I'm not gonna do a ****ing thing for you" and hung up on me again.

When he did the initial walk through he mentioned he can hang drywall and he asked if I wanted him to give me a quote on the wallboard and I said sure but I never said or implied he was going to get the job. I never received a quote and it was never talked about again.

I'm not really sure where to go from here, I called him back once more and he didn't answer so I left him a message saying he never finished the job we did agree upon and that I paid him for. I'm sure I'm sunk here now and will have to finish up the work myself which really isn't a problem, it's just going to take longer than having someone else do it and with my daughter its going to be tough finding the time I can get down there to do it so I'll be asking lots of questions here I'm sure.

I feel sick over this whole thing. :(

just wanted to update this thread...

The carpenter called me back and let me know he would be out today at 12:15 to finish up what he left from the last visit. My wife called me and let me know he did come out, went into the basement, were down there for 5 minutes and came back up, left without saying anything and never came back. I had my wife do a quick look around to see if anything was missing and she didn't see anything obvious. This guy had me buy a box of clipped head nails for his air compressor nail gun. My wife checked the box and said there was only like 5 nails left in the box. This was a box of 2000 nails and I checked between his last visit and today and it was still almost full to the top and now it's almost empty. I'm not even sure why he bothered to show up if he just left 5 minutes later never to return. I will give a more thorough look when I get home to see if I notice anything missing.

I of course call him on the phone after hearing this. I asked him what happened and he said after it took me 5 months to respond to him after my initial inquiry he thought I was a weasel and "this" confirmed it and he wasn't going to do a ****ing thing for me. I'm of course blown away and start asking the wtf questions, and he hangs up on me.

I call him back and he was still pissed and said "i thought I was going to do the wallboard and you're a ****ing weasel I'm not gonna do a ****ing thing for you" and hung up on me again.

When he did the initial walk through he mentioned he can hang drywall and he asked if I wanted him to give me a quote on the wallboard and I said sure but I never said or implied he was going to get the job. I never received a quote and it was never talked about again.

I'm not really sure where to go from here, I called him back once more and he didn't answer so I left him a message saying he never finished the job we did agree upon and that I paid him for. I'm sure I'm sunk here now and will have to finish up the work myself which really isn't a problem, it's just going to take longer than having someone else do it and with my daughter its going to be tough finding the time I can get down there to do it so I'll be asking lots of questions here I'm sure.

I feel sick over this whole thing. :(

Wow, I sure hate for it to be at your expense, but it sounds like the perfect example of a cautionary tale for the rest of us. Those of us who don't exactly know what we're doing, and are at the mercy of different contractors that is. Makes me really appreciate my guy; I see a little something extra in his future.

Hang in there; these guys will get you through it.

CD

This is exactly why so many of us prefer DIY. You are in total control of exactly what we know nothing about. At least here we are among friends and get most of the advice we ever need.

Just a FYI, if you put the guys name or company name in the title of your thread (you can edit it) then anyone doing a reference check of his work will be directed here. Often AVS threads are the first link shown due to the popularity of this forum, the volume of views and how Google calculates the ranking of links. You notice that he only took a nasty tone after enough time had passed that your check cleared.

No pun intended; but I think Big has this guy "nailed".
:)

Leave it to BIG not to tiptoe around the ugly truth. And I mean that in the best way BIG.

CD

Wow, major turd. He's calling you a weasel for not calling him back quickly enough and actually hiring him for the job??? I agree with Big's comment about why most of us here go the DIY route.

I also had a big blowout with this guy who was nice upfront and did halfway decent work at my old place, but when I had a problem it took him forever to come back and take care of it. When he did he did horrible job with I had a problem with, when I called him out on it he told me I was bustin his OO. Then it got ugly :mad:

2panther,

This is a real bummer, and you have every right to feel taken. However; if it is any consolation:

Someone in this thread said early on that his shortcomings could be corrected with about one day of work.

I think many of us have been taken at some time in the past. At least one of us (me) has been taken for several thousand $$ years ago, from an unscrupulous service provider.

So no need to feel extra special: most of us have "been there done that".

You will recover from this all the wiser!!

Good Luck
Craig

This suggestion will not help you financially but mentally. A call and complaint on this crap contractor to the Better Business Bureau will help others down the road.

it continues

he called me back finally after I left a message for him. He began the call with "now what the **** do you want?!"

me!!?!?!? wow

this guy is bi polar, I swear. He asks me if I want him to finish the job!!?!? am I in a Twilight Zone episode or something?

I said I don't even know if I want you to complete the job now since you've been a complete dick to me on the phone for no reason. He said he was upset that I wasn't going to have him do the drywall. I asked him what made him think that I wanted him to in the first place. "well you know I work cheap and fast so you know I would give you a great price on the drywall"

uh

First of all you never gave me a quote on drywall and how the hell do I know what "cheap" is, that's like asking you to guess how much my company would charge him to design and host a website for him, there would be no way he could guess. I said so wtf now you were f'ing me on the phone and hanging up on me earlier and now you want to finish the job!?

I'm not sure what to do here, half of me wants him to come back and finish what I paid for and the second half wants me to tell him to **** off and find another answer.

oye! :confused:

Oh man, that is tough. My gut says to cut your losses and tell this guy to go fly a kite. Then my brain says if you paid this guy he should do it right and you should get what you paid for, but can he make it worse than it is already? Is that a chance your willing to take?

Run don't walk away from this MF. Find someone else to fix and do the things you can't do yourself.

This really stinks. I don't have anything stellar to add that the more veteran posters haven't already mentioned, but...Probably my greatest fear about building an HT is not knowing what I don't know. Back when I first started researching, I'm pretty sure I would have missed some of the spotty things he did, too. Not now, because all the info you need to do your own room (DIY) is here regardless of skill level. I even recall a thread on "how to choose a contractor" or something like that. There is also a thread floating about on how to negotiate payment terms for your hires. I don't mention this to rub salt on the wound, but as a reference for when you continue to ENJOY finishing your room.

If you are short on skills, take $100 bucks and buy Home Improvement, Electrical, Carpentry, and maybe Plumbing books from HD, Lowes or the bookstore. You will shock yourself with what you can do if you've never done it before.

Or, if you decide to hire the pros - check them out thoroughly and check the aforementioned threads. That guy is a bum.

Like the other posters, sorry to hear about this. But, good luck moving forward.

EDIT: He called back, huh? Wants to come back? Give me a chance to lay hands on...nevermind.

Run don't walk away from this MF. Find someone else to fix and do the things you can't do yourself.

+1 on Option 2...except spare this guy the asterisks. Seriously, the phrase "fool me once, shame on me..." comes to mind.

CD

EDIT: He called back, huh? Wants to come back? Give me a chance to lay hands on...nevermind.

I was thinking the same thing. I'd be half-tempted to tell him "sure...let's put our differences aside and just get the thing done"...and buy about 4 of my biggest friends a sixer each, and wait for this dude.

CD

I'm going to tell this guy to pound sand and finish this myself. I'll start a new thread because I already have questions, I'm sure you guys will get sick of me real quick!

Thank you for the replies, I thought it would have been faster to hire this out but looks like that isn't the case here. I'm on the job now!

Tell him to Bugger Off. Seriously. Also, contact the Better Business Bureau about him. No way you should have to deal with this kind of crap - especially in this economy when people are literally lining up for work around corners.

This kind of crap make me mad...

Mark

Loose Cannon Alert !!!!!
True story (leaving names out) My friend worked in a restruant several years ago. A young man was hired by his boss, who he did not trust from the start. he voiced his opinion to his employer that he had a bad feeling about this strange man. After a week of screw ups,he was let go, That day, the strange young man killed and dismembered the old couple renting a room to him along with 2 of thier friends who went looking for the couple when they failed to answer repeated phone calls. Now, my point in this story is, these people had no idea this man was unstable.....
Dramatics aside, this "contractor is obviously combative,verbally abusive and apparently incompetant. I would not want him back in my home or around my family if he showed a client that much disrespect. Do not escelate the situation further. Simply tell him his services will not be needed. Cut your losses, Don't deal with a Dirt bag.

I agree, stay away from this guy. Check 2-3 references from now on. I usually only hire contractors that my builder, GC or friends have used in the past. I would recommend the same.

This is exactly why so many of us prefer DIY. You are in total control of exactly what we know nothing about.

BEAUTIFUL!!!! This is exactly what my headstone should say:D

why? in case its a load bearing floating wall? lol

:rolleyes:
First, the doorways are wrong. There should be a full stud and then a shorter stud (cripple) next to each full stud on both sides of the doorway. There should also be a header (horizontal )above the door with approx. 3 short pieces above that and then the top plate. The only thing that's right is that the lower section of the door gets sawn out.
The corner is all wrong. Enough said.

I like guys like this. We do more construction because of them. :)

It is truly unfortunate you've had this miserable experience with this guy and he shouldn't be allowed in others homes. Did you permit the build? Did he? If it was permitted, and he is licensed, you can have a code inspector check his work putting his license in jeopardy. If you didn't permit the job and if he's not licensed, then I wouldn't take this route.

Just a FYI, if you put the guys name or company name in the title of your thread (you can edit it) then anyone doing a reference check of his work will be directed here. Often AVS threads are the first link shown due to the popularity of this forum, the volume of views and how Google calculates the ranking of links. You notice that he only took a nasty tone after enough time had passed that your check cleared.

You see, that's the last thing I would do. If you go this route you can just as easily open yourself up for retaliation. If you don't have anything in writing and if five months have passed, let it go. You won't win.

You see, that's the last thing I would do. If you go this route you can just as easily open yourself up for retaliation. If you don't have anything in writing and if five months have passed, let it go. You won't win.

Unfortunately you are right. He may return the nails he stole pounded into the tires.

I agree you need to let this guy go. I know it's hard to not want to rearrange his face, but you have to let it go. In project management, it's called "sunk costs." When a project gets so far behind budget that there is little hope of getting back on track, you just basically have to cut bait and start again from the point you are at and IGNORE THE SUNK COSTS. You thought it would cost you X dollars to get to this point, well it cost you X+Y dollars to get this point. Now you just start over again from there. And that usually entails bringing in a new team.

Also agee that from what I can see, you should be able to fix these problems. To me, the joy of the DIY is figuring it out, doing it, then stepping back and seeing what YOU'VE done. It may take longer (something I'm somewhat of an expert at), but it WILL be the way YOU want it to be. It doesn't take long to get realtively good at whatever phase of the build you're in. I practice soldered a couple of joints and next thing I know I'm running all the plumbing. But I DID permit it, so I have that extra pair of eyes.

Have a go at it...you'll never know until you try. You'll get plenty of great advice here.

it continues

he called me back finally after I left a message for him. He began the call with "now what the **** do you want?!"

me!!?!?!? wow

this guy is bi polar, I swear. He asks me if I want him to finish the job!!?!? am I in a Twilight Zone episode or something?

I said I don't even know if I want you to complete the job now since you've been a complete dick to me on the phone for no reason. He said he was upset that I wasn't going to have him do the drywall. I asked him what made him think that I wanted him to in the first place. "well you know I work cheap and fast so you know I would give you a great price on the drywall"

uh

First of all you never gave me a quote on drywall and how the hell do I know what "cheap" is, that's like asking you to guess how much my company would charge him to design and host a website for him, there would be no way he could guess. I said so wtf now you were f'ing me on the phone and hanging up on me earlier and now you want to finish the job!?

I'm not sure what to do here, half of me wants him to come back and finish what I paid for and the second half wants me to tell him to **** off and find another answer.

oye! :confused:


My Advice:

Alcoholic, Bi-Polar, ?

Whatever; All are good reasons to absorb this hit and move on.

I would cut all ties promptly with the least amount of emotion possible (remember; he is unpredictable and unstable).

I didn't read the whole thread of responses but looking at the pictures this guys framing skills need a serious upgrade. I could do better with half a day and no helper.

I have an idea... (I wish I were closer to NY). Why don't you gather up a bunch of NY AVS brothers, and have a hammer party. You buy pizza and drinks, have a few guys come over and help out?

If you lived in Michigan, I would be over on a weekend, no problem. Framing is fun, so little work, but looks like so much was accomplished :)

haha I'd love to have a hammer party, I can buy beer, pizza and provide really bad jokes, my wife will provide the eye rolling :D

I am done with this guy Bear with me as I'll probably ask some questions that have obvious answers about fixing this guys mistakes.

how can I secure this section to the floor? If it was sitting in it's normal orientation I would use the ramset that I purchased and shoot it into the floor but in this "on it's side" orientation I don't think the ramset nails are long enough.
http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/stairswidth.jpg

this is what I had in mind for this corner...
http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/corner2.jpg

and then I would have 2 (?) 2x4 studs going up to the ceiling connecting to similarly arranged header. Sound right?


I have some questions about the electrical panel area and also where he framed around the water meter. I'm not sure how the ends of the drywall will secure to it but I need to take some new pictures to help with my explanations.

haha I'd love to have a hammer party, I can buy beer, pizza and provide really bad jokes, my wife will provide the eye rolling :D

I am done with this guy Bear with me as I'll probably ask some questions that have obvious answers about fixing this guys mistakes.

how can I secure this section to the floor? If it was sitting in it's normal orientation I would use the ramset that I purchased and shoot it into the floor but in this "on it's side" orientation I don't think the ramset nails are long enough.
http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/stairswidth.jpg

this is what I had in mind for this corner...
http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/corner2.jpg

and then I would have 2 (?) 2x4 studs going up to the ceiling connecting to similarly arranged header. Sound right?


I have some questions about the electrical panel area and also where he framed around the water meter. I'm not sure how the ends of the drywall will secure to it but I need to take some new pictures to help with my explanations.

I agree with most here on the replies. I was a framer for 6 years before i ventured into AV sales and engineering.

His framing is sad, but have seen worse. The non load bearing doorways nare merely a frame out for the door itself.

be sure to confirm the rough openings, and that you have room for trim.

The on edge stud is fine, but i would have used a 2x2 bottom plate as opposed to 2x4, for the exact reason you state, how to secure to the floor.

You may have to sister another 2x4 on the floor and secure the 2 together with l brackets or some well placed screws...

The corner can frame out exactly as you show. drywall really only needs nailers. In fact, i would chekc your studs on center to be sure drywall will fall properly, otherwise you could be in for a rough day...

NY AVS er here. one hand washes the other PM me we can get together, you can email or call if you need help

The electircal box access , i just dont like it. I would leave more room there, definately re frame that section fully.

I will be tearing out the framing he did around the electrical panel tonight and putting up new framing at the correct height for the panel. When making sure the walls are plumb and all that I'm guessing it doesn't matter if I start securing at the top or bottom? I have a 4' level I was planning on using to make sure it looks good before using the ramset to secure it to the floor. Anything else I need to know?

I had 1000 feet of cat6 delivered today that I will be running to low voltage boxes and terminating at keystone jacks. I'll be picking up some electrical wire so I can put in some electrical outlets as well.

There ya go - PM Dan, take him up on his help, spoil him, and take pics of the after results! You will have a blast, plus learn too!

The one tip I can give you.. frame the walls with DRYWALL in mind... meaning make sure you visualize where your drywall seams will be, add nailers to the corners as necessary.. use a 4x8 sheet of foam board if you have to. I even marked on my studs where the drywall seems would be so I knew which direction to hand the drywall. (Don't forget to compensate for the overlaps in the corners...)

Make sure you mark all of your studs on the concrete floor, to eliminate a lot of guesswork when putting up drywall.

http://mydropzone.net/images/basement/corner2.jpg

Don't forget your drywall attach points in the corners.. Easeist would be to nail up 2 more vertical studs in each one of the corners. That way when you put drywall on your new peice you add, you have surface on the walls to attach the drywall.

I know this thread is old, but I have to ask. What kind of saw would you used to cut the base plate out of the doorway? Do you have to do this by hand?

A saw like this one....

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/039725027375lg.jpg

or this......

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb215/RTROSE_album/039725033901lg.jpg

Would do the trick.

Regards,

RTROSE

So would this:

http://www.allproducts.com/tool/ark/Product-2007122161353-s.jpg

CJ

So would this:

http://www.allproducts.com/tool/ark/Product-2007122161353-s.jpg

CJ

That's all I use. Cheap & works great.

Since you are cutting all the way down to the concrete I wouldn't pull out one of my good hand saws for the job. Unless you are skillful you are likely to end up dragging some teeth on the concrete.

Instead I would pop a used blade in my reciprocal saw. Cut it with abandon and just toss the blade if you mangle it.

Since you are cutting all the way down to the concrete I wouldn't pull out one of my good hand saws for the job. Unless you are skillful you are likely to end up dragging some teeth on the concrete.

Instead I would pop a used blade in my reciprocal saw. Cut it with abandon and just toss the blade if you mangle it.

Guilty. It is surprising how fast concrete can dull a nice hand saw blade! :o

Now I only use old saw blades for this purpose.

As always Big gets the useful information prize.....Again.......

Regards,

RTROSE

Get yourself a $35 harbor freight multi-tool (like the fein multimaster) it work wonders on plunge cuts at the bottoms of the doors. It is very handy and for the price you cannot beat it. (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=67256)

ah, i have the harbor frieght tool, didn't even think of it until the other guy suggested the jamb saw (never really thought of a jamb saw in that sense).

Thanks

so i tried out the harbor freight tool on cutting the PT today. Didn't work out too great. The teeth on the 2" long silver blade arent sharp enough, and the black half moon saw blade cant get through the whole 1.5". I'd imagine i'd have similar problem with a reciprocating saw (not getting close enough). I resorted to a hand saw.