Author Archives: ellen
Attempted Structural Inspection
I was under the impression that the walls needed to pass inspection before the electrician could use them for installing electrical. However, when the inspector arrived yesterday, he said the rough electrical and plumbing has to be done first. But … Continue reading
Shower Drain
The rough in shower drain flange is installed in the master bathroom. I had to use the power hammer to break up the concrete around the drain and eventually cut out a section of rebar to fit the drain below the … Continue reading
Re-Piping the Chiller
I tried repiping the chiller to a primary/secondary delivery system. The Taco 11 pump was set up to pump through the primary loop and feed into and out of the secondary loop powered by the Grundfos variable speed pump. I … Continue reading
Short Walls and Shower Ceiling
A few extra walls have been built and we are very close to being finished with them. I have scheduled a structural inspection for next week. I hope the walls pass inspection without issues. This short shower plumbing wall had … Continue reading
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