Yearly Archives: 2016
Master Bath Sink Plumbing
The new underground plumbing for the master bathroom met the old vent pipe. The old sink drained into this pipe and the new sink will too. But I had to reconfigure the pipe for the new sink. I replaced the … Continue reading
Master Bedroom Doors
We planned for double doors to the master bedroom and it is truly exciting to see the entrance finally framed in. The door is at an angle to the living area and hallway to the back rooms. We thought the … Continue reading
Radon Sealing
There is a lot of attention to detail that has to be paid during the construction. One requirement of the radon mitigation is to caulk all the penetrations through the slab. Since our water lines and drains do penetrate the … Continue reading
Electrician’s List
Most of the walls are in and we are planning to get the electrical done as soon as possible after the walls are built. Last summer the electrician redid the service box and put in the outside disconnect and we … Continue reading
Two Doors
These two door frames are in the master bedroom. The door on the left is for the walk in closet and the one on the right accesses the bathroom. The angles were a little tricky in order to fit two … Continue reading
Trying a Chiller Again
I do not give up easily on an idea, especially when my research shows it is viable. It is just a matter of setting up the right combination of cooling and circulation to create a chilled floor. About a week … Continue reading
Pocket Door
We have friends in construction who don’t like pocket doors. They say no matter what the door will eventually move off track and out of alignment and they are a pain to fix. But I had planned for a pocket … Continue reading
Fixing the Plumbing
After our courtesy rough plumbing inspection, there were a couple of items I had to take care of. The side drain to the bathroom sink had too many connections. Only one is allowed between the trap and the wall pipe. … Continue reading
Cooling and Thermal Mass
We are finding that the house holds heat well. In winter that is a good thing. In summer, it is more difficult to cool the house. It gets cool at night in Colorado. The humidity can go up at night … Continue reading
Slow but Steady WALLS!
We have been putting up walls since we returned from vacation. Each wall’s placement must be finalized and the base plate is glued down first. The base plates are weighted and then we wait at least 24 hours to build … Continue reading
Well Pump Electrical Box Moved
I had put off moving this electrical box because I thought it was a big job. It was not. All I had to do was shut off the electricity and unscrew the box from the wall. The utility room wall … Continue reading
Summer List 2016
Yeah, yeah, I know that these lists are kind of a joke. Very few projects seem to get finished yet we keep working. Kind of crazy isn’t it? Nevertheless, here is my list for the summer, now that it is … Continue reading
Summer Solstice and Shading
The actual first day of summer was June 20th but it was cloudy here. So yesterday I took photos of the shading effectiveness of the fiberglass overhangs on the windows and doors in summer. Most references specify an overhang of … Continue reading
Home Again and Bathroom Wall Planning
We have been on vacation with the grandkids for two weeks and just getting back at our daily grind. No really, every day is a vacation, we are retired! Dave is having tons of used topsoil delivered in 7 gallon … Continue reading
LEED Paperwork!
After the rough inspection, Adam the evaluation representative from Energy Logic sent me an official list of documentation that is required for each LEED point category. I have kept lots of paperwork for the project but had not organized it … Continue reading
A Study in Contrasts
Oh for a bit of clean looking drywall! These two photos are essentially taken from the same angle and of the same area of the house. Looking from the living room to the kitchen in both cases. On the left … Continue reading
LEED Rough Inspection
I have been emailing my new project person from Energy Logic for over a year and he has been very helpful, but now I needed to have the rough insulation inspection before we covered more of our Roxul rock wool … Continue reading
Big Snakes…
These two guys were in our front yard near the deck. I did some research and they are bull snakes that can imitate rattlers. That is supposed to be a defense but people often kill them for the imitation not … Continue reading
Storage!
We are drowning in building supplies that are not being used right now or were extra from earlier projects. One large item is extra rock wool insulation that I over ordered for the house. We have seven full bolts of … Continue reading
Attic platform
I finished building the attic platform over the guest bathroom and pantry. This area is going to hold the ventilation system and also encloses the plumbing vent on this side of the house. We have the walls up around the … Continue reading