Greetings, all. New user here, hope to learn a lot and possiby share anything of use... My question concerns what sequence I should do things in re: remodeling an ex-garage/basement area. This area, we call it the basement but it is all entirely ABOVE grade. It is a large area about 30 by 15 in toto, currently subdivided into a laundry area at one end, and workbench along one wall. I will be remodeling this area in to a den/computer room/library, and keep about half of the existing "workshop" area, and retain the laundry area. The room currently is drywalled pretty much on all wall, concrete floored, and exposed joist ceiling (the floor of the 2-story addition this basement is to) with batt insulation. There are a few flourescent fixtures hanging from the joists to provide some light. I plan to hang suspended ceiling (2x4, probably) over the entire room area, and lay a wood flooring of some type and manner over the existing concrete floor. In addition, the walls will be finished with panelling (??) or some other material. Then I'm building in the desk/computer workspace, tossing in some bookshelves, etc, and in one corner, adding a lavatory and toilet. My question is, what should I be looking at doing first? My thoughts are that if I lay the flooring down first, then all the subsequent construction debris/sawdust, etc etc would get ground in to it. Not good. If I put in the ceiling first, then the wall/ceiling joints will be hard to handle. So that leaves the wall treatment, whatever it might be. Should THAT be first??? Appreciate any guidance here. Thanks very much Ol' southpaw Jim

I heard a strange noise in the house recently. Not sure where it come from. It sounds like the friction between the track and the wheel of a train when the train is coming to a stop. It is short so I have not been able to trace down the source. Its occurance is not consistent. It ranges from once a few days to three/four times a day. I'm just afraid that this might be a sign of something major. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Any suggestion on where I should look into? Many Thanks!