Computer Room Renovation
Complete gut to the studs.
One of the features that attracted us to our current home was the comfortably sized computer room in the addition. All it needed, we thought, was a coat of paint and new carpet. I was preparing to paint the room when I noticed the switch plate did not fit tightly against the wall. I thought it would be a simple fix to reposition the device box, but there was such a confusing mess of wiring that I decided to remove some of the drywall to take a closer look. Removing a small section of drywall revealed inadequate vapour barrier (too thin and the joints weren't taped). Soon, I had the whole room gutted back to the studs.
There were a number of problems with the vapour barrier. It was too thin, being 4 mil instead of 6 mil. And not only were the seams not taped, in some cases there was no overlap at all, which completely defeated the purpose of having vapour barrier in the first place. While indicative of the level of workmanship in the rest of the addition, I could at least fix the problems in this one room while I had it opened up.
The exterior walls were 2x4 construction, which allowed approximately R-12 insulation. I ran horizontal 2x2 strapping which allowed another R-6 (approximately) of insulation by separating the batts in half.
Left to right: My first attempt at coping the corner was a dismal failure. Fortunately, fancy corner blocks made the job much easier. However, there wasn't much I could do about a badly positioned doorway.
The original flooring was institutional carpet tiles, which were also used for the base molding. I chose to go with red oak molding with golden oak stain for a much richer look. The carpet is a good quality Berber, which is more suitable to a home office. The oak trim may be more expensive, but you just can't beat the look.
The window was trimmed out with 1/2" thick oak. The sides and top were cut to be flush with the drywall. The bottom sill was cut to overhang by about an inch, with the side wings each extending about an inch past the edge of the casing molding.
Unfortunately, I made numerous mistakes. The trim work is not perfectly square, which presents a problem for installing blinds.
Several months after finishing the computer room, I noticed a problem. The inside corner bead between the wall and the ceiling was pulling away from the ceiling. This is most likely because the wall is not supported by floor joists and there is simply too much bounce in the floor, causing the entire wall to move. The floor is simply not strong enough to support the weight of the wall. Unfortunately, there is no access to a crawl space under this area of the addition, so I cannot easily beef up the structure to prevent further damage. Actually, the floor joists in the addition are inadequate anyway, and there are numerous other deficiencies. The easiest and likely most economical fix is to completely tear down the addition and rebuild it properly. Alas, this means my work in the computer room will be obliterated in a couple of years....