Floor Box - Day 14-17

DAY 14 (Wednesday, January 21) (2.75 hrs): Today my task was to spray Great Stuff Gaps and Cracks expanding foam in the gap between the trailer and the floor box. Great Stuff is closed-cell polyurethane foam and has an insulating R-value of 6.6 per inch. Since the gap is about half an inch on all sides, that means it will provide about R-3.3 between the trailer and floor box. What does that mean? I don't know exactly, but something good, I'm sure. It will also keep water and air from infiltrating up through that gap and coming in contact with the subfloor, which is probably even more important than the R-value.

I was a little concerned about the foam's performance in cold weather. The label said that low temperatures would adversely affect its performance, and all I could find online is that the ideal operating temperature for Great Stuff is about 70ºF. It was 45ºF today and... it worked just fine. Pshhhaw, worrying for nothing!

It was fun, too (except for the fumes--being outside was good!). I just had to remember that the foam keeps expanding after it bubbles and bursts out of the little applicator tube, so really, heed the can's advice about only filling the gap halfway. After the first application--halfway filling the gap, from the bottom--had hardened a bit, I went around and filled the rest of the gap with a second layer.

It took three 12-oz cans of Great Stuff to pretty much do the whole thing. I'll put one last layer on the back end once all the insulation is in place, then use the rest of that fourth can to seal any gaps in the insulation. (Once you start a can, you have to finish it or waste the leftover--after it's open, it will cure in place and stop up the can.)

To kill time between applications of foam, I taped Tyvek to a few more bays.

DAY 15 (Thursday, January 22) (2.5 hrs): We had to fix the fact that some of the 2x6s stuck up above the bed of the trailer, or else we'll never get the subfloor smooth and level. We went to the local hardware store and rented an electric hand planer. Dad planed the 2x6s down while I held the shop vacuum at the ready to suck up the shavings. They still got everywhere, but...

Lesson 23: Tool rentals are great! It only cost $5 for a two-hour rental, which was plenty of time to shave down the errant joists. Since we won't be needing a planer very often, probably, it makes a lot more sense to rent than to buy.

Lesson 24: Wear hearing, eye, and respiratory protection, and gloves! Just do it.

Also, I taped a couple more bays and Dad went around and put Loctite thread locking adhesive on the carriage bolts so they don't vibrate loose when I take this thing on the road.

DAY 16 (Friday, January 23) (1 hr): Windy and rainy. I taped a few more bays, until my Tyvek tape ran out.

DAY 17 (Saturday, January 24) (1.5 hrs): Unseasonably warm day! Felt like, I don't know, April or something--56ºF!

I stopped by Lowe's and got a couple rolls of house wrap tape--Lowe's brand, not Tyvek, since they were out. I taped up six more bays (i.e. I'm down to 15 minutes per bay) before realizing it was already 3 PM and if I worked much longer I'd lose the daylight I needed for... drum roll please...:

My first trail run in a month and a half!

I've been nursing an Achilles tendon stress injury since early/mid-December--probably a result of running on rough trails in a pair of shoes that weren't designed for my underpronating gait (I knew better! But they were Gore-Tex and it was muddy!). It's been a bear not being able to run. The pain began just when I was starting to get really into running, too--just when I started to actually look forward to going for a run. Ugh. But today I ran 2.5 miles on a mostly smooth-ish forest trail, with no pain. Yay! (But I'll try not to jinx myself, and I'll take it slow.)

Anyway, but I seem to have lost a piece of Tyvek. Dang it. The wind yesterday must have blown it away, but I couldn't find it anywhere in my grandparents' orchard. I put a provisional piece of tape on all the untaped ones left, to keep them in place until I get around to them.

Finally: kittens are the freaking best, you guys.

Oh my gosh. The. Best. Except maybe for puppies...