Category Archives: Plumbing

Plan and install plumbing system

Drawer Dishwasher

Posted on July 23, 2018 by ellen

Shortly after returning from Germany we went out to see our son’s family and meet his new baby girl. I decided to order a Fisher and Paykel tall tub single drawer dishwasher to install in their apartment. This will be … Continue reading →

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New Toilets

Posted on April 20, 2018 by ellen

I was tired of looking at and trying to clean the old biscuit colored toilet in the back bathroom. It flushed fine with its 1.6 gallon flush–a water saver in its day. But the tank and the bowl were stained … Continue reading →

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Passed the Final Inspection

Posted on April 1, 2018 by ellen

April Fools!  But we did have the inspector come out at the end of February and we are very close. We had three things that needed to be done to pass: first, finish the showers; second, caulk around the bathroom … Continue reading →

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Shower Tile Design

Posted on February 10, 2018 by ellen

This was a big week. Two shower designs were laid out and one shower was almost completed. Bill Boyd is our tile guy and also our nephew in law. Unfortunately he lives in California. But he agreed to come out … Continue reading →

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Solar Thermal Plans

Posted on February 1, 2018 by ellen

I have been wanting to install solar thermal panels to help heat the hot tub water since the hot tub is the major draw on our electrical power. We have prime sunshine and solar hot water heaters were very popular … Continue reading →

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Shower Schluter

Posted on January 20, 2018 by ellen

I applied the Kerdi membrane to the large family room bathroom shower. Getting these showers tiled is a big job that will be done quickly due to having my nephew-in-law visit to do the job. Then we will be able … Continue reading →

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Schluter Kerdi Shower

Posted on December 2, 2017 by ellen

Schluter Kerdi is a thin waterprrof membrane that feels like a thick paper with a fleece side that gets embedded in mortar and what must be a polymer infused side that is waterproof. The directions say to make the mortar … Continue reading →

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Koffee Korner

Posted on November 19, 2017 by ellen

We kept the plumbing location from the old kitchen sink even though we had moved the wall. Originally I thought we might install an outdoor sink near this water supply. But as the house progressed I thought a bar sink … Continue reading →

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Family Room Bathroom Vanity Sink

Posted on September 7, 2017 by ellen

It is a granite sink on a heavy and thick granite slab. I originally had the sink sitting on the logs of the vanity stand but with the addition of the slab I needed to figure out how to hold … Continue reading →

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Another Leak Fixed

Posted on September 3, 2017 by ellen

The Victorian style sink I’m using in the master bathroom was in the shed when my daugher and her husband bought their new house. There were a pair of them. I told her I wanted them and they said sure. … Continue reading →

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Leak Central

Posted on August 30, 2017 by ellen

It seems like no matter what I’m installing in the master bath, I’m having an issue with leaks. I had to install an offset toilet drain because the original drain position did not account for the extra insulation we decided … Continue reading →

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Tilting the Tub

Posted on August 20, 2017 by ellen

The phrase “tilting at windmills” comes to mind after multiple attempts to fix the leaking tub drain. The solution seemed elusive for a long time. We had to tilt up the tub on its side to get to the drain. … Continue reading →

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Tub Leaks!

Posted on August 11, 2017 by ellen

The master bath tub had a couple of leaky places. The plumbing under the tiled step was oozing water and the drain was leaking worse. The faucet hookup was leaking at the brass elbow couplings. These were too close together … Continue reading →

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Kitchen Progress

Posted on May 27, 2017 by ellen

After days of work that did not show lots of results, today progress was made. First job was to connect the kitchen drain. The cabinet is now closer to the side wall so I thought I should move the drain … Continue reading →

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Drywall Prep: Decide About and Alter Master Bathroom Wall

Posted on April 3, 2017 by ellen

Seems like it shouldn’t take two days to complete the wall in the master bathroom and closet but it did. First I put up the membrane in the closet area as the bathroom was done already. The 50 amp wire … Continue reading →

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Drywall Prep: Insulate the Plumbing in the Walls

Posted on March 19, 2017 by ellen

I almost forgot to insulate all the hot water lines in the walls. LEED requires at least R4 pipe insulation but I was able to order more R7 insulation from Supply House. We were out of town for our Mom’s … Continue reading →

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Fixing Plumbing Inspection Issues

Posted on December 3, 2016 by ellen

The bar sink drain was improved by moving the drain pipe to the middle of the 2 x 6 wall. I raised the drain to the level of the trap and reinstalled the air vent. The master bath drain just … Continue reading →

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Rough Plumbing Inspection #2

Posted on November 8, 2016 by ellen

Failed again! I was disappointed to find that there were several errors in the plumbing that I have been working so hard to get to the inspection stage. I broke a couple of rules, one that I knew about and … Continue reading →

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Don’t Think Twice

Posted on November 3, 2016 by ellen

The plumbing for the garage sink originally went through the garage wall and ran to the sink on the garage side. I was advised to bring that plumbing into the house to protect it from freezing and to install freeze … Continue reading →

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Drains

Posted on November 1, 2016 by ellen

The master bath shower drain is just a regular clamp drain. But my brother was really happy with the Schluter shower system when he installed it so I bought the sloped foam underlayment for the showers. In the master I … Continue reading →

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