First Interior Wall

We almost finished the exterior wall studs today. The area around the shower is a bit complicated by the raised curb. Then we had to decide how high to run the studs, as the ceiling is eight feet, rather than nine feet in the rest of the house. We ran 9’ studs and will drop the ceiling (which is the floor of the mechanical room) on ledger boards with joist hangers.Oraldo and Gabriel built the first interior wall - between the garage and kitchen seen at left through the garage door opening - with Jake and Eli checking the dimensions and layout. This is the only 6” thick wall, using staggered 4” studs. It holds the main water shut-off, power panel, and communications panel, as well as the electrical ground to the reinforcing steel in the slab and foundation. (This latter is a new requirement for me.) The kitchen side will be blocked to support the upper wall cabinets in the kitchen.

Each North-South wall structurally supports the roof trusses, so the studs must be spaced 2’ apart and in line all across the house. The one between kitchen and living room is complicated by the opening to the kitchen. The supporting wall between living room and laundry is complicated by three air ducts, plumbing for the laundry, and a 4” pipe to evacuate radon from beneath the floor slab.

Meanwhile I went to the window dealer and finalized the window crank color, door hardware color, door handle shape, door escutcheon shape, exterior cladding color, insect screen type, window frame thickness, and wood species for both doors and windows. The interior designer came, too, and brought the flooring, tile, and counter samples, as well as stucco color chart.

The architect designed 30" high upper wall cabinets in the kitchen, leaving 24" open above them. I have 42" high cabinets both in Seattle and in the house I'm renting during construction. The top shelf requires using a stepladder, but is useful for seldom-used items. Bill says the narrow space above the cabinets doesn't look right. I say the wide space looks wasteful.

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