We regrounded the house to where the copper water pipe comes in from under the street. We cut the copper pipe disconnecting the house plumping. That was that - no turning back. We installed the whole house shut-off valve and installed the pex to where the pex manifold will go on the concrete wall. I painted the wall with drylock. I installed a T and more pex to a brand new 50 gallon electric water heater - which I moved to a convenient spot *for me*. Since all the plumbing is new, I don't have to put the water heater where it was - I can put it where I want it, so it went in the corner. The connections are purchased, the special orders have arrived and now I am just going to wait for the second coat of varnish on the floors to finish the plumbing.
Really getting there!
I LOVE the Pexcaliber crimping tool. Absolutely LOVE it. I also love the name. I'm cheesy like that.
Showing posts with label plumbing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plumbing. Show all posts
Monday, January 12, 2009
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Rain in laundry room and Back porch finished - almost
So Vincent calls from downstairs: "MOM! There is a whole lot of PITA dripping from the ceiling down here!" Who says he doesn't have a sense of humor. Yeah, it was raining in the laundry room. The kind of rain that can't be ignored. He had just started the dishwasher. Dan had been downstairs earlier and reported that the place had been dry. I removed the items from the kitchen cabinet and found no real water. I looked in the laundry room and saw that the water was coming in from around a pipe. We couldn't really gather where the pipe was coming from though... It made no sense. I sawed a hole in the wall under the sink. Nothing. Everything seemed dry. I uninstalled the dishwasher. Ok, Dan helped (I love you sweetheart!). I sawed a hole behind the dishwasher. Nothing. Everything seemed dry. I drywalled back the dishwasher wall. We reinstalled the dishwasher. We scratched our heads. We ran water. We reinstalled the dishwasher. I went to connect it back to the water source and HEY! I got wet. Turns out it was a PVC leak under the sink. Hell and half of Germany later and it was a PVC leak under the sink. It was a terrible job of PVC plumbing under the sink, too, so I decided to purchase all new. So another trip to Lowes. $15 later and another hour and it was all back together and everything was cut to the right lengths and tight and perfect. ALL DRY! I drywalled back the hole behind the sink. That pipe in the ceiling in the laundry room? Probably just a vent. Do yourself a favor and check all PVC connections under the sink if you have a mysterious plumbing leak. Seems this one was intermittent. It's fixed now, so I'm much happier. But it was a setback because it caused me to have to take another day away from the goal of fixing the little house enough to move in...
Scott from Matthew Millsaps finished the back porch - almost. He came out, sistered two rafters, cut back the porch 15 inches, reworked the gutters, and re angled them, replaced the fascia boards, removed the wooden soffits and replaced them with the vinyl soffits that were there before (now the soffit vents actually vent!) and put in a drip edge and new .45 mil EPDM fully adhered rubber roof. They did the work well. They reused as much of my own materials as possible to keep my costs as low as possible - especially since this was an unexpected expense and since this will be the rented and eventually sold house. Not to say that the quality is not good - it is very good. A EPDM rubber roof is, IMO, the only way to go on this flat roof. There is not enough of an angle to use roll asphalt and other materials are more expensive. The drip edge all the way around will save the wood underneath from rotting out again. This basically saved the entire porch. The only thing left for him to do is reattach the downspout to the gutter and pin up the corner soffit where it came loose.
Now, I just have to build stairs. I plan on using premade stringers and reusing the treds because the treds are not rotten. I'll also use my other scrap pressure treated wood. Then I'll paint the whole thing brown to match the porch and it will look as new as it is - brand new. Unfortunately, I cannot leave the steps and rent out the house. It is not safe. :( Fortunately, I know how to build steps.
That leaves only 4 more "big" house projects. Finish the bathroom. To do that I need to install the vanity top, the faucet, and run the plumbing. I have done these tasks before and am happy to do them again. I need to drywall the ceiling in the laundry room and reinstall the light fixture. I also need to install the hot water heater and purchase and install a furnace. I can do the water heater and furnace after renting out the house because their counterparts still work - they are just not as efficient as they could be.
Tonight: BATHROOM VANITY.
Pictures at 11.
Scott from Matthew Millsaps finished the back porch - almost. He came out, sistered two rafters, cut back the porch 15 inches, reworked the gutters, and re angled them, replaced the fascia boards, removed the wooden soffits and replaced them with the vinyl soffits that were there before (now the soffit vents actually vent!) and put in a drip edge and new .45 mil EPDM fully adhered rubber roof. They did the work well. They reused as much of my own materials as possible to keep my costs as low as possible - especially since this was an unexpected expense and since this will be the rented and eventually sold house. Not to say that the quality is not good - it is very good. A EPDM rubber roof is, IMO, the only way to go on this flat roof. There is not enough of an angle to use roll asphalt and other materials are more expensive. The drip edge all the way around will save the wood underneath from rotting out again. This basically saved the entire porch. The only thing left for him to do is reattach the downspout to the gutter and pin up the corner soffit where it came loose.
Now, I just have to build stairs. I plan on using premade stringers and reusing the treds because the treds are not rotten. I'll also use my other scrap pressure treated wood. Then I'll paint the whole thing brown to match the porch and it will look as new as it is - brand new. Unfortunately, I cannot leave the steps and rent out the house. It is not safe. :( Fortunately, I know how to build steps.
That leaves only 4 more "big" house projects. Finish the bathroom. To do that I need to install the vanity top, the faucet, and run the plumbing. I have done these tasks before and am happy to do them again. I need to drywall the ceiling in the laundry room and reinstall the light fixture. I also need to install the hot water heater and purchase and install a furnace. I can do the water heater and furnace after renting out the house because their counterparts still work - they are just not as efficient as they could be.
Tonight: BATHROOM VANITY.
Pictures at 11.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Inspection Happens...
I had the inspection today! There was good stuff, bad stuff and ugly stuff.
I'll touch on the highlights.
There is a stair step crack in the foundation. He is not sure if this is a terrible thing or not. Honestly couldn't tell me. He said I needed to get it looked at by a structural engineer. SO, I called around and found one and gave them a call. They can maybe come out to give it a looksee tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully it is nothing too horrible and they can anchor it with their cable system for not too much trouble and expense.
The plumbing. Ohhh. It is bad. Pretty much it leaks everywhere there is a pipe that brings water to a faucet or back from a drain! But he gave me a tip. He said to look into PEX plumbing. WOW! I can do that. I could replumb the whole house in a day or two using pex. It is flexible tubing with special fittings. No elbows. They even have special manifolds with separate shut-offs so you have the water come in from the street to the water heater and then to the manifold and then there is a separate shutoff for each new connection - like a breaker box for your water lines! Running up the costs associated with replumbing the entire house with PEX (including that new bathroom I want) and replumbing the whole drainage system with PVC - totals about $800 and this suddenly becomes do-it-herself-able. Wow, wow, wow.
The roof. It needs one very soon-like. Sooner, rather than later. They never used flashing. It has two teeny tiny vents. That's it. It needs a ridge-vent or something. The chimneys are not doing well, either. They need to be rebuilt or removed. The rafters need to be tied. They are just toe-nailed together.
There is water damage in the basement, but it is water damage that can be fixed. Oh, a few 2x6s. No big deal.
Heat and air work fabulously!
Floor in bathroom is sound and nice!
Wood looks good!
Good bones!
Under the asbestos, there is wood siding... The house used to be red. How about that!
He agrees that there are two columns missing from the front.
The electric service is good! Modern 200 amp service with good looking wiring.
So the next step is to get the foundation looked at.
The plumbing is a non-issue to me.
I'll touch on the highlights.
There is a stair step crack in the foundation. He is not sure if this is a terrible thing or not. Honestly couldn't tell me. He said I needed to get it looked at by a structural engineer. SO, I called around and found one and gave them a call. They can maybe come out to give it a looksee tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully it is nothing too horrible and they can anchor it with their cable system for not too much trouble and expense.
The plumbing. Ohhh. It is bad. Pretty much it leaks everywhere there is a pipe that brings water to a faucet or back from a drain! But he gave me a tip. He said to look into PEX plumbing. WOW! I can do that. I could replumb the whole house in a day or two using pex. It is flexible tubing with special fittings. No elbows. They even have special manifolds with separate shut-offs so you have the water come in from the street to the water heater and then to the manifold and then there is a separate shutoff for each new connection - like a breaker box for your water lines! Running up the costs associated with replumbing the entire house with PEX (including that new bathroom I want) and replumbing the whole drainage system with PVC - totals about $800 and this suddenly becomes do-it-herself-able. Wow, wow, wow.
The roof. It needs one very soon-like. Sooner, rather than later. They never used flashing. It has two teeny tiny vents. That's it. It needs a ridge-vent or something. The chimneys are not doing well, either. They need to be rebuilt or removed. The rafters need to be tied. They are just toe-nailed together.
There is water damage in the basement, but it is water damage that can be fixed. Oh, a few 2x6s. No big deal.
Heat and air work fabulously!
Floor in bathroom is sound and nice!
Wood looks good!
Good bones!
Under the asbestos, there is wood siding... The house used to be red. How about that!
He agrees that there are two columns missing from the front.
The electric service is good! Modern 200 amp service with good looking wiring.
So the next step is to get the foundation looked at.
The plumbing is a non-issue to me.
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