Framing the sunroom - part 2.

In part 1, I layed out the more important design considerations of the sunroom. Now, in part 2, I'll get on with some of the practical aspects. Back in spring, I was putting a "push on" to get the sunroom to a point where I would be able to leave it alone for a few weeks as we were planning to visit my family out west by the end of May. Since I was working hard to get things done, I unfortunately didn't remember to take as many pictures of the process as I would have liked. Apologies in advance.

Wall framing is all 2x6 24" o.c., while the roof joists are 2x8 24" o.c. for the short span over the door switching to 12" o.c. for the longer span on the east side. The window and door headers were set flush with the inside of the wall since the sheathing will be applied on the inside - as with the rest of the house. Overall, I don't intend to superinsulate the sunroom, nor do I intend to make much effort to reduce thermal bridging through the studs and joists. I am, however, committed to making the sunroom as "tight" as I can for durability reasons.

Step one in the sunroom process was to first insulate the exterior wall of the house and then cover the insulation with Typar. Once this was done, I was able to measure and mark where I wanted the ledger board to go. The height of the ledger board was determined by the height of the threshold of the kitchen door - the kitchen door opens onto what will someday be a deck which will be at the same level as the sunroom roof.

Once the ledger height was marked on the Tyapr, I applied strips of asphaltic "peel and stick" membrane over each stud - this was just left-over ICF waterproofing membrane. The purpose of the "peel and stick" is to provide a water seal around the lag screws that were used to fasten the ledger to the studs. Additionally, it also creates a small drainage gap between the ledger and the Typar while also creating a capillary break between the studs and the ledger (if water ever does get in behind there).

Decorating the Typar with strips of "peel and stick" prior to installation of the ledger board. Notice the lack of exterior sheathing and that the Typar extends well above where the top of the ledger board will be. The 1/2" furring that has been applied will be used to back vent plywood sheathing that will be installed at a later time.

Framing the walls was straight forward and the air sealing details were accomplished in the same manner as for the exterior walls of the house. Some thought had to be given to the eventual installation of electrical components. To this end, I used a short piece of PVC conduit to create a chase for wiring to be pulled through the exterior wall of the house and into the sunroom walls. This is a strategy I will be using for all future electrical penetrations and I will be posting further details on this approach down the road.

Look closely to see the hole that lines up with the conduit that passes through the exterior wall of the house. There isn't much planned for an electrical system in the sunroom, so the conduit needn't be large. Air sealing the conduit is accomplished by flashing it to the plywood sheathing with a piece of EPDM and then packing electrician's putty into the conduit around the wire. More on these details in later posts.

Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier - Corb Lund