There's a Hole in my Life

4-08 thru 2-09

Plumbing became this epic adventure for me. I kind of enjoyed the puzzle of getting water from point A to multiple point B's, following the rules of the city's plumbing code, and avoiding any beams that can't be drilled through. I learned how to sweat-solder copper, a task that was familiar to me from soldering audio and power connecters over the years. Mostly I enjoyed it.

It took a lot longer than I had planned on. I didn't factor in how much time it takes being a stay at home dad. I had to constantly reprioritize groceries, laundry, housework, dinners, kid time, homework, Wife time, and a plethora of miscellaneous chores. However, it’s a part of the reason we decided I should be a stay at home dad. Now that it’s been inspected, and passed, it’s on to Electrical, and complete home audio, video, & Internet.

Fixing a hole where the rain got in.

I had dug this hole with the help of my friend (Thank you Finneous) last fall. My kids loved playing in it, and even built a fort with boards and a cardboard box over it, to create a two-level play space. Over the course of the winter, the rain had washed about one foot of dirt back into it. Nathaniel ‘helped’ me dig it out. I found all kinds of treasures that were forgottenly stashed from imaginary bad-guys.

Staining the Front Door

9-13-08
Staining wood is a very difficult process at best, complicated by the fact that I have not done any significant quality staining in many years, and you only get one chance to get it right. Armed with this knowledge, I am attempting to do just that to the single most important feature of a home, the entrance.

I have done many color samples on the outside edge of the door frame over the last two months. Kelley and I have compared the look, color, and texture of our dining room table to the samples (see earlier posts' picture), and I have finally come up with the proper custom blend of color and finish.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

9-1-08

Imagine this; my petite wife Kelley and I, a 420 pound deep-soak, cast-iron tub, and a lot of hemp.

If you ever read the book in the title of this posting, there is a scene where a couch is permanently stuck in a stairwell with no way to get it in or out. People have been climbing over it for years. Kelley and I found ourselves in this very situation on Labor day. It all started when "I" had the brilliant idea that we could move this behemoth of enameled iron 10' up a stairway with a 6-to-1 block and tackle system and a few ratchet straps. I was right, Mostly. It took us all day. We turned the stairs into ramps with 1/2" plywood, and I put a large eye-screw into the framing for the block to hook into. I used a hydraulic car jack to get the tub up on blocks and onto the dolly. We heave-hoed it up the first flight of stairs, only to find that it could not make the corner (even though I had checked the measurements). I ended up loosening the leading stair-rail support, and carefully tweaking it back out of the way. The second set of stairs didn't go as well. The dolly couldn't make the corner and stay on the ramp, so as we were maneuvering it, the tub slipped off the 4X8 blocks and we ended up dragging it up the stairs. The edge of the tub came millimeters close to the window, one false move and we would of been bathing in our back yard. Our neighbor came over to check out the commotion, and helped Kelley and I haul the tub up the last part of the stairs, back onto the dolly, and into it's resting place in the bathroom.

Preston and Nathaniel were home with us, so we had alot of 10 minute breaks. We also took an hour for lunch and a swim. I didn't get video, because I was either straining my back, or my brain.

Shopping for Fixtures

6-20-08


Kelley and I had shopped just about everywhere for bath fixtures. We spend at least 5 different day-trips, going from big retailers to speciality stores. We eventually agreed upon a set of features, and then refined that by price and quality. Then I went online and looked up product name and numbers. I found a site that was constantly low. I priced them and went back to Great Indoors, because they were having an inventory clearance sale, and our product was going for 55% off. After getting a quote from them for the cheapest they could do, it was still cheaper online, even with shipping. So you guessed it, I orderd them from Plumbing Direct, and everything went great. The Tub and Urinal were on back order, but everything else about the order was perfect. This is what the faucets look like.
6-20-08
Kelley and I had shopped just about everywhere for bath fixtures. We spend at least 5 different day-trips, going from big retailers to speciality stores. We eventually agreed upon a set of features, and then refined that by price and quality. Then I went online and looked up product name and numbers. I found a site that was constantly low. I priced them and went back to Great Indoors, because they were having an inventory clearance sale, and our product was going for 55% off. After getting a quote from them for the cheapest they could do, it was still cheaper online, even with shipping. So you guessed it, I orderd them from Plumbing Direct, and everything went great. The Tub and Urinal were on back order, but everything else about the order was perfect. This is what the fixtures look like.
http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/newproducts_detail.jsp?section=2&aid=1163361215304

Plumbing woes

4-15-08

I spent the last many months working on plumbing, along with ALOT of other stuff. Some weeks all I got done was a run to the hardware store. It's getting harder and harder to keep motivated. I contacted a few plumbers to give me quotes on the project, and I asked for some advice while they were here. I learned that if you asked 10 plumbers how to do a job, you will get 15 different answers. Some things, like parts of the drain line, I redid, after learning what framing members I could drill holes through. I also had to move the tank-less water heater from my original location because the city inspector would not allow me to put it in the garage, because of venting distances and logistics. I expanded the utility/laundry closet upstairs to mount it there, which worked out great. I added a circulating pump to get the hot water moving through the system near the points of use (Bathrooms, Kitchen sink, Laundry) and I'm building a push-button and LED light system for controlling it from said locations.

The city inspector also noted that my biggest and most expensive window, which happens to be overlooking the driveway and front of the house, did not meet egress regulations. That means I need to buy another more expensive window 6 inches bigger.

Reclaiming the Dining room

2-5-08
Kelley and I were feeling a little bit cramped having to eat dinners on the coffee table in the living room for months. Since I had built false walls to separate the old house from the new construction, the time came to move them. We had also just received our new dining room set and needed a place to put it. We kept the sideboard, and china hutch in their crates, but unpacked and assembled the table and chairs.

As you can see in the background to the left of the french doors, there is an open door. That is the same door that was our Front/Kitchen door earlier, just reconfigured to it's new home.
I would like to mention, that our house is full of holes at this point. Where the front door is eventually going to go is covered in plywood, inside and out, but spiders and cold air find their way in. Also, another reason the moving of the door was good timing; I needed to run the plumbing across the dining room ceiling to the kitchen sink and dishwasher (which we haven't had in months as well), and there now is a hole in the wall where the plumbing makes it's transition to the outside wall.

I had to remove a window in the master bath, because of the new Front door configuration, so I sealed up the interior of that old window space this week with drywall.

The Front door is on order from Lowes, and should take 4 to 6 weeks to get here.