The joys of renovation work

[jhetley]

Email exchanges this morning between my client and the state agency funding renovations to an apartment house for homeless veterans, regarding an existing door. Since said door opens into an unheated section of the second floor that will be used for storage only, the agency wants that door insulated. _However_, this house is over a century old, and the door is a trapezoid, not a rectangle. Cut to fit to a sloping floor, etc. Now, modern doors presume rectangular format and level conditions. You can't really trim a modern insulated door to that configuration.

Fun. We'll probably end up patching something together with foam insulation and weatherstripping on a wood door, then protect the insulation against flame spread and impact. I like putting jigsaw puzzles together, too.

Got my 500+ words in this morning, the Shrew skiing in to meet Beowulf and inspect the mammal rehab site he runs. Sparks fly again. This represents backtracking in the story flow, chapter 9A after I finished 15, but that's the writer's life. More jigsaw puzzles.

Comments

[anisoptera.livejournal.com]

We glued a thick piece of foam board (the pink stuff) to the door of our attic. Is there something else we should do? How does one protect against flame spread and impact?

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

You are talking about a single-family residence, yes? If you _want_ to do something, probably you should take a piece of 1/2" sheetrock, cut it to fit, and use either glue or sheetrock screws to hold it in place. You don't need to worry much about it, though, if you don't habitually snuff out cigarettes on the back of that door.

This project is financed by a state agency and will be an apartment or single-room occupancy, and that makes the rules tighter. Most foam insulation products don't meet agency requirements for maximum flame spread rating if left exposed. Building codes and public housing agencies deal with . . . intellectually challenged . . . people on a regular basis.

[anisoptera.livejournal.com]

*sigh of relief* Thanks for the info. :)