Twinsprings Research Institute

Electrical Fixes

Posted on September 10, 2016 by ellen

The electrical fixes were completed while I was in the hospital although I did call the guy back to fix the area between the 2 x 2’s at the corner of the master bedroom. He still stapled the wire to the 2 x 2 even though at the back, he didn’t have an 1 1/4″ clearance so he redid the wire to clip against the studs instead.

2 x 2 wall in master bedroom

The ceiling wires are now in a steel wire casing. (Aluminum was not considered strong enough.)

Steel covered wire in ceiling

The distance from the furring is at least the required 1 1/4″.

Steel covered wire in ceiling 1 1/4″ away from furring.

Extra steel plates protect the stud holes not drilled exactly in the middle of the stud.

Plates over shallow drill holes

I set up an inspection for Friday and I was supposed to get a different inspector, but the original guy who knew the issues came instead at the end of the day. He passed the fixes but noticed in the mudroom that there was an expanse of more than 2 feet that did not have an outlet. The one outlet in that wall was further than 6′ away from the opposite wall so he said one more outlet was needed but he said I could get the switches and outlets installed now and let him know that they put in that extra outlet. He will be back for final inspection.

Posted in Electrical, Inspections | Comments Off

Setback!

Posted on September 6, 2016 by ellen

I had emergency abdominal surgery because of a hernia trapping my intestine and killing part of it! No preliminary warning, just one week of fever with no stomach upset or pain and then one final large painful experience.

I was rushed to the hospital and given emergency excision and happy to say I got there fast enough and the care was smart and good enough that I survived. Actually came through the operation quite well.

First Meal

However, this is a pretty major setback for my do it yourself approach to the house remodel. Looks like I’ll be contacting contractors for the rest of the major jobs in the house.

We are actually closer than ever too. Midway through the rough inspections and almost to the drywall stage.

My family wonders if it was work on the house that gave me the hernia–who knows? Why did it do so much damage that the outcome was losing small intestine?

But I was extremely lucky. If bowel obstruction is not treated almost immediately it is deadly. Mine was treated and I’m fine.

First Meal Day–Released on the 31st.

Thanks to the EMS service that arrived in minutes, treated the terrible pain, got fluids into me, and got me to the Emergency Room so that I was taken right in. How fortunate is that?

So despite this setback I’m feeling very fortunate indeed.

Posted in Diversions | Comments Off

Central Vac Install

Posted on August 19, 2016 by ellen

The new central vac was installed today and I spent all day on an incorrect piping system that I had to change based on this diagram.

Vac Line

The very first pipe I put in was a three way Y directed vertically at the vac input. That meant half of the piping at that point would be subject to dirt falling into it due to gravity. The supply pipe takeoffs must be horizontal. So I had a heck of a time re-figuring the piping to fit.

Three way Y fitting

I took out the Y fitting and replaced it with a wide 90 degree so I had to attach all three of the lines to that. The main truck line is a vertical going up to the garage attic and the ventilation chase, the airlock entry pipe joins the mail line through a bend in the pipe and then the garage inlet is a 90 degree to the back wall.

New Piping

This new piping arrangement makes the dirt entry either from a horizontal pipe or from above. That was the rule–no vertical dirt entry tees.

I think the machine looks pretty impressive installed in the garage. The top pipe attached to the muffler is the exhaust.

Central Vac Installed

Then I slept on it and decided that the 45 degree angle would also allow dirt to fall backwards into the pipe so I changed it again to all horizontal pipes where the dirt enters.

New piping with 90 degree angles

But I had to use a short 90 degree elbow instead of a sweep to fit the pipe in the existing space. So it still breaks a rule. I sent the photos to the company to ask which one would be the best. I’m hoping I hear back from them after the weekend.

Posted in Central Vacuum | Comments Off

Electrician’s Discussion

Posted on August 18, 2016 by ellen

We met today to discuss the changes needed in the electrical work. The inspector gave us a 2 hour time frame and came about 10 minutes after it was over. So the project manager and I had a nice chat in the living room for two hours while waiting.
While we were waiting I went over what I understood the inspector to say at the inspection and I was mostly on target with a few mistakes and omissions. Here is the list as I remember it after listening again.

1. Some studs have holes for the wire that are closer than 1 1/4″ to the edge of the stud and these need metal plates. (I counted about 16 places.)
2. Where wires are within a 1 1/2″ chase they need to be stapled 1 1/4″ away from the studs. Using a different kind of staple will take care of that. (2 places in master bedroom/bath)
3. Where wires are exposed in the ceiling they will have to be changed to steel armored and must run 1 1/4″ away from the furring strips. Screwing through to the stud with a different kind of clip will take care of that. Boxes will have to be changed to accept the metal clamp connectors for these wires. (There are four ceiling fixtures and one outlet supply line that need to be replaced.)
4. The wood boiler supply wire will need to be placed in armored cable.
5. The wire mold stubs will need wiring ends. Home Depot does not carry these so I ordered two from Amazon.
6. In the ceiling chase, the wires that touch the old gas pipe need to be separated from the pipe with ties and insulation.

Otherwise the inspector said that they were a good company and it looked like a good job. Just a few things that they don’t run into every day that can’t pass. So with some electrical talk going on about NM wire and P Clips or whatever, they were able to come to a decision.

I really didn’t want the guy who had argued with me back so I asked the project manager if I could get the work done by the guy who came just one day whose work looked nice and neat. He said he would send the same helper with him. I may have to wait longer for this team but he will call me tomorrow to let me know what their schedule will be.

I need to be ready for drywall and get that put in soon as the electrical inspector can’t do the final inspection until it is drywalled and painted. So I better get moving on the membrane and the ventilation chase so it is ready for drywall.

Posted in Electrical, Inspections | Comments Off

Central Vac Arrives

Posted on August 16, 2016 by ellen

I’m unaccountably excited about the new Central Vac. I don’t like cleaning at all. It seems like such a relentless and thankless task and I’m wired to want to do something more permanent I guess. But installing the vacuum is exciting. Something I knew nothing about and now have some idea how and why to use this fancy machine.

I bought the scratch and dent model so looked it over carefully for any damage. Not that I wasn’t expecting a dent here or there or some scratched paint, but whatever the imperfection I really couldn’t tell. The machine is impressive too.

Aspria Central Vac Front

Aspria Vac Back

It is kind of beautiful in a robotic sort of way and all the attachments and installation bits are intriguing. I’m really looking forward to the install. If we can just get past the electrical inspection!

Posted in Appliances, Central Vacuum | Comments Off

Failed Miserably!

Posted on August 16, 2016 by ellen

We failed the electrical inspection! Sad to say the inspector was not happy with so many things he requested a meeting with the contractor that will happen in a couple of days. So I had a feeling about those workers! With such a particular job it would have been good to have the best they have. So we will revisit the installation.

None of this wiring in the ceiling will pass. It must be back 1 1/4″ from the surface or in conduit.

Wiring in Ceiling

Several of the mid wall holes are not centered so need metal plates. The wiring in my 2 x 2 wall is stapled too close to the surface too.

The small lengths of wire mold that were installed for the track lights do not have end caps that the inspector said they need.

The corner where the fireplace will be enclosed is not built so the inspector can’t pass it for inspection as it is. Again the wire would need to be in conduit.

I guess I am not actually upset about this delay. We have taken this long to complete the project for sure. It is just that I think the workers didn’t care about this project and did sloppy work wanting to argue with me instead of find solutions. That was the hard part for me. I care so much about it that having someone else come in and assume the system is wrong because they have not seen it before is depressing.

I think I’ll request a different crew for the fixes. One last day a new guy showed up and wired the wood boiler electrical box and the work just appears so much neater. Maybe I’ll ask for him.

Posted in Electrical, Inspections | Comments Off

A Few More Electrical Details

Posted on August 14, 2016 by ellen

The electricians asked if I would cover the wiring in the attic to protect it from the drywall installation. I said sure. They also requested that I provide a chase in the kitchen corner and I thought I had that solved but they proceeded to add wiring without moving it down into my chase so I had to redo that plan. Finally we needed the framing for the stone pillar so that the electrical box can be roughed in there.

I got to work on covering the wiring in the attic. I knew I would put a plywood box over the wiring and that I would frame it with 1 x 2’s and 1 x 4’s. It was relatively easy, once I moved some of the wiring down to make room for the frame. I also put the membrane up on the wall first and screwed the frame to that below the outside wall. You would think they would have thought ahead about the box so that the wires would be loose enough to stretch to the adjoining walls and also lay them flat against the beam but I had to pull several staples to reorganize wires to reach the wall or to lay flat under the cover and staple them in a row instead of willy nilly.

Wiring Cover in Attic

I was kind of upset that the wiring for the kitchen light switch was installed above the cove molding chase that I showed the electricians after they wired the half wall for outlets. I had to redesign the solution for that corner and it made me mad that they completely forgot or paid no attention to that solution by not stretching the new wires to the floor where the cove was going to be installed. They just laid them across the corner about mid wall.

Once I figured out how to redesign the corner I was less upset as the new design provides some stability to the half wall. I just installed two triangle areas at the floor and the top of the wall to be covered in wall board. I may have to cut out a slice to fit the corner of the cabinet back against the wall though. This would not have been an issue with the first design.

Corner for wiring chase

Figuring out these angles took me awhile as I wanted the triangles as close to the wall ends as possible.

Corner triangle at floor level

While I was working on these two projects, Dave was building the wood framing for the pillar. I am very happy with the result. It will look great covered in the faux stone siding that I bought on Craigslist. And there is plenty of room for an outlet on the post.

Living Room Pillar

With these projects finished I believe we are ready for the rough electrical inspection tomorrow.

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Central Vacuum System

Posted on August 14, 2016 by ellen

LEED allows one point for installing a central vacuum system to improve air quality within the home. Central vacuums must have HEPA filtration and exhaust to the outdoors to meet this requirement. There are at least three different types or categories of central vacuum. Many do not need to be exhausted but some allow for exhaust if desired. Many have a HEPA filtration system and some do not but a HEPA filter can be attached at additional expense. Cyclonic vacuums require exhaust and they are more expensive. Bagless models are popular but these makes emptying the dirt more difficult. Since the vacuum chamber only needs to be emptied about two or three times a year, I decided the cost of bags is negligible.

There are several brands of central vacuum, although I read that several are made by the same manufacturers just branded differently.

Central Vacuum Brands

Another list of brands at ThinkVacuums.com

More Central Vac Brands

This site has a pretty good explanation of the various types of vacuums; bagged, filtered, and cyclonic.

These are the diagrams used to explain the differences.

Bagged Vacuums

These have a motor and a catch chamber lined with a bag.

Filtered or Inverted bag Vacuums

These have the motor and a filter, either a washable or self cleaning or disposable cartridge, that keeps the debris from flowing into the motor. A Hybrid filtered system can be used with a bag or without.

Cyclonic Vacuums

This seems to be the controversial design. The air movement separates the debris from the air and protects the motor as in this diagram. These must be vented to the outdoors.

Vacuums can also have more than one motor and the motor can be separate from the containment tub. They can be made of metal or plastic and have varying warranties for motors, parts and cases.

Comparison points include the type, the physical size of the units, the “air watts” or total suck rating, the air lift, which is another measure of suck, and the CFM’s cubic feet per minute of air for the fans. Motors can be one, two or three stage which is basically the number of blades on the fans. A larger diameter motor is considered better and the units I studied had motors between 5.7 and 8.2 inches. Many of the components are made in China although assembled in the US or Canada. Ametek-Lamb motors are made in Ohio.

The number of square feet the vacuum will cover is an unreliable measure and at any rate the advice I read was to double your house square footage and then get a larger rated unit. I had to check if the filtration type was HEPA, and finally sound ratings in decibels will help determine which unit would be the quietest to use.

I had to put several system units on a spreadsheet comparing these qualities. Finding all the data on each required lots of searching. Of course I wanted the highest combination of features for the most reasonable price. I found it at an independent brand not mentioned above. Aspria Systems has several models of central vacuums and the Duragetec had the best combination of features for the price on my spreadsheet so I ordered the Hybrid model as a scratch and dent to save another $100. This vacuum includes Hepa filtration and can be vented which works for the LEED requirements.

Aspria Duragetec Hybrid CPU8429HQ

Aspria Systems (formerly VacDepot) also had the least expensive prices on attachments and supplies. I had already ordered pipe and a connection kit but I added some electrified inlets and two hose systems with attachments for different parts of the house.

Now I am researching the best design for piping and locations for the inlets. I’ll have low pile oriental carpets in the family room and living room so I want electrified inlets in those locations. I’m planning a vac pan (a device that allows sweeping dirt into the inlet) in the kitchen and a hybrid inlet/pan in the entry. I’m hoping I can fit an inlet over the crawlspace too although the path could be tricky and it is the furthest away from the unit. I don’t want to do all that work only to have poor suction in that part of the house. I can use a long hose instead. The pipe will go in the ventilation duct chase and I think most of the inlets will be inside closets where I will store the attachments. I’m looking forward to this convenience in the house, something I never would have installed if not suggested by LEED.

Posted in Central Vacuum | Comments Off

Service Chase Rules

Posted on August 13, 2016 by ellen

We chose to create an expensive air barrier inside the house with Siga Majpell, a breathable membrane that forms an air barrier while allowing for the drying of the interior of the wall or ceiling should they get moisture inside. To protect the membrane from most penetrations and also to allow for a nailer for the drywall that is firmly screwed through the 1 1/2 inch polyiso insulation layer on the ceiling, we installed 1×4 battens similar to these pictured on a Green Building Advisor posting. These battens also create a service chase for wiring in the ceiling.

Sample Ceiling Service Chase

I think because I allowed the garage wall to be wired internally the principle of no penetrations did not set well with the workers. The electrician commented several times that he wished all the insulation and membrane were not “in the way”.

Garage wall used for wiring before membrane is installed.

For a narrow outside wall near the master bedroom outside door we had to install an outlet to meet code. That was also the most convenient spot for the outside light switch. I chose to fur out the wall to a 1 x 2 depth to avoid penetrating the membrane. The project manager was OK with that plan to install the outlet and switch in front of the membrane.
Imagine my surprise when the electricians cut the membrane and pulled out insulation to install the boxes in that wall!

Cut Membrane

When I told the electrician that the membrane could not be cut, he argued that the size of the box was a certain cubic inches and had to be used. I said no, the membrane could not be cut. It was a difficult thing to have the argument and it made both of us upset. But I said we could ask the project manager. He was called and he came over to investigate and told them they could use a different kind of box in that wall. So they took out their boxes and I repaired the membrane overnight.

Insulation replaced and membrane repaired

I also sealed the outside light wire through the membrane again, this time from the edge.

Outside Light Penetration

The electricians were then able to use a different kind of box to stay within the service chase. It was not pleasant but isn’t the customer always right?

New Boxes

I found that in the article about the service chase another builder was frustrated by the trade workers. His answer was to forget using a service chase in the future.

I spent the majority of the building phase biting my nails and micromanaging all the trades to ensure they didn’t compromise the layer. Now it’s time to constantly annoy the occupants… for years and years.

I disagree that as occupants we will continually be annoyed by the service chase though. Instead we will enjoy the benefits of a well sealed home with very few service penetrations.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Electrical | Comments Off

Electricians Are Here

Posted on August 5, 2016 by ellen

We are not going to miss the wiring hanging over our heads in the kitchen.

Temporary Wiring in Kitchen

Now we have a junction box for the old wiring and new wires run to meet code for outlets and appliance power.

Electricians installing Junction Box

The first task they had was running down all the existing circuits.

Circuit List

They found some that we were not able to find!
Then they began installing the new outlet boxes. These were the very first ones.

Outlet Box over Kitchen Counter

Next they ran the new wire in the walls.

Wiring from Junction Box to Kitchen and Utility Room

They are also running any existing wire in good shape to this junction box. Some existing wires extend all the way to the master bedroom where they will junction them for that side of the remodel.

Existing wires to Junction Box

I compromised on my NO ELECTRICAL PENETRATION IN OUTSIDE WALL policy and the wiring on the garage side is in the wall. That is not as bad as an outside wall since it is protected by the garage which is insulated. I will have to seal around the boxes and inside them with the vapor barrier and caulk.

Garage Wall Wiring

The electricians expect to be working all next week which would make it a 10 day job. I’m looking forward to having this step completed and inspected and signed off.

Posted in Electrical | Comments Off

Coolness

Posted on August 2, 2016 by ellen

I had to give up on the chiller again. I had repiped through the heat exchanger with a single path for the return water to pick up the coolness but the chiller could not reduce the temperature in the floor piping. It could do a fine job on its own loop without pumping the floor water through the heat exchanger, but the temperature of the water in both loops went up to about 73 when cooling the floor. That temperature did nothing to cool the house during the day.

Heat Exchanger Piping for Chiller

Chiller setting without floor cooling

So when my cousin was visiting I opened the windows at night and let the fans blow in cool Colorado night air. But during the day that was not enough.

Fan in Window

The electrician asked me to clear out the utility room to make it easier for them to run wires there. So I took out the storage tank for the wood boiler and disassembled the chiller and removed it too. Before my brother and sister-in-law arrived I also installed the evaporative cooler in a front door. This is exactly the spot we had it installed in previous summers but we had a window then.

Evap Cooler installed in Door

Evap Cooler Outside

No more running around opening and closing windows each morning and evening! We open the windows opposite of the cooler and leave them open. The cooler keeps the indoors about mid 70’s even on the hottest days. I do turn it to low at night. One morning we woke up and it was 65 degrees in the house. It needs to run on the high speed during the day though.
These things works so well. Too bad I have to put a hole in the house if I want to install one that we don’t remove in the winter.

Posted in Radiant Cooling, Ventilation | Comments Off

RecoupAerator!

Posted on July 31, 2016 by ellen

Between visits I contacted Todd at AE Building Systems to finally purchase the Energy Recover Ventilator. I had long ago planned to install this device to meet the LEED requirements for air exchange in our well sealed house. Todd had one in stock and I drove over to pick it up that day. The Ultimate Air RecouperAerator is considered the most energy efficient ERV built in the US. I bought the 200DX model which is the larger of two that they now manufacture.

Since we are expecting the electricians next week I wanted to be sure they were aware of the size and electrical requirements for the ventilator and for the radon fan in the small attic. They will be installing a junction box in the same little attic area so it will help to see what else goes up there.

Ultimate Air RecoupAerator Unpacked

ERV Side without Cover

I took advantage of my brother’s visit to have him help lift the 72 pound unit up into the attic area. Two of the rubber feet fell off as we jockeyed it around but they do slip back on.

John placing the ventilator in attic

I have the ducting plan and will build a chase for the ductwork to distribute the fresh air and exhaust the stale air. This must be done before the drywall is installed.

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Family Visits!

Posted on July 31, 2016 by ellen

A few breaks this summer included camping with my grandson, Wolfgang and his parents while his mom counseled at a camp for kids. It was near the ocean and a beautiful place.

California Coast

We stayed in a KOA Campground cabin near Santa Cruz. No bathroom but otherwise pretty luxurious camping.

KOA Cabin

Dad and baby and I hung out and visited Mom for comfort and nursing during the day. Mom joined us at night. So much fun!

Wolf and his Dad

Then my cousin and her husband and my brother and sister-in-law visited these past couple of weeks. We got to sit in the spa, drink Moscow Mules, do some hiking, eat good food and take little trips with my Mom around the area. Plus we got some work in while our guests went out to play.

Cousin Jackie and Grant at the Buckhorn

Ellen and Jean hiking past friendly alpacas

John and Mom hiking near Clear Creek in Golden

Posted in Diversions | Comments Off

Attempted Structural Inspection

Posted on July 20, 2016 by ellen

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 he was kind enough to do a courtesy inspection of sorts. The walls are good at 24 in OC and floating. I explained the version of the door framing we used and he even agreed it was a good way to frame them. I was impressed again with how helpful and kind the Arvada inspectors are!

We do need to strap one area of multiple 2 x 4’s that was original to the house and he said to be sure to plan for hard-wired smoke and carbon monixide detectors in the correct positions in the halls and master bedroom and entry. Also the plumbing channels need metal plates to protect them from nails.

Many visitors are amazed by the extent of our remodel. The idea of taking out a concrete floor and repouring it boggles most people’s minds. But we were willing to take on the project without much hesitation. Instinctively we knew that this house has “good bones”.

Starting the new slab

We disassembled the house interior above the slab area, broke out all the old concrete, and designed and installed a more stable and efficient floor.

Walls come tumbling down

Then slowly but surely we put back the underground plumbing, the heating system, the slab and now the walls.

Master closet and bath walls

Of course the list of things to do is still very long but now that the walls are up we are ready to close her up again. What a great feeling.

Posted in Floating Walls, Inspections | Comments Off

Shower Drain

Posted on July 19, 2016 by ellen

The rough in shower drain flange is installed in the master bathroom.

Master Bath Shower Drain

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 floor. I trimmed about 2″ off the existing pipe and then filled in around the hole with expanding foam. The drain sits level with the concrete bottom of the shower.

Power Hammer and Shower Drain

The lineal pan drain I want to use will sit about 1″ above the rough in drain. The shower floor is recessed about 1 1/2″. I am hoping at 1/4″ per foot, I can slope the shower floor enough to have a curbless shower. In order to avoid two levels of shower pan, I plan to use a Schluter system which is described as a single layer system.

Colorado Shower Drain

Posted in Plumbing | Comments Off

Re-Piping the Chiller

Posted on July 17, 2016 by ellen

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 put in closely spaced tees and sent the water into the “hot” supply side of the radiant system where it is pumped through the open valves into the cold return system and back into the chiller.

Primary Secondary Chiller Piping

The front of the chiller is the input from the return side of the radiant system. The return pipe connects to the primary loop through the closely spaced tees then through the chiller to the output water from the back of the chiller through the pump and then to the tee that feeds the supply side of the radiant system.

Closely Spaced Chiller Loop Tees

Unfortunately, the new system’s return water was even hotter than without the primary secondary piping. The controller read about 74 degrees and running the chiller all night did not reduce the temperature of the input water from the radiant system. In theory this return water would continue to get cooler and eventually cool enough to shut off the chiller. Running the chiller also added heat to the room so the morning temperature was over 80 degrees inside with 66 degrees outside.

This lack of chilling of the water in the pipes makes no sense to me. I figure each 106 ft. of 1/2 inch pex holds a gallon of water. There are about 1470 ft. of pipe in the floor and maybe 80 more ft above the floor. Some of that is 3/4″ or 1 1/4″. So approximately 14-15 gallons in the floor and 80 ft. of 3/4″ pipe would add about 2 gallons to the total.
The chiller is rated to cool 300 gallons of water at 12-22 gph. Of course it is adding heat to the air around the tank but it seems that it should be chilling the water going through it anyway. When the pipes to the floor are shut off, the chiller comes on correctly and shuts off when the water cools enough. But I can’t get the radiant system water to cool so that the concrete floor can be chilled.

I hope I can eventually figure this out.

Posted in Appliances, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

Short Walls and Shower Ceiling

Posted on July 16, 2016 by ellen

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 to be six inches wide to allow for the water supply pipes and vent.

Shower wall with plumbing

Stepping back, these are the walls in the master bedroom that form the closet and the bathroom.

Master closet and bath walls

Another six inch wall separates the dining room from the solar hall in the living room. It was built to hold both the plumbing for a bar sink if we decided to install one and the electrical outlets so they would not penetrate the outside wall.

Dining/Living Room Wall

Between the kitchen counters and the bar area in the living room, a half wall was built about six inches above the counters for electrical outlets in the kitchen.

Kitchen/Living Room Half Wall

We also needed a ceiling in the shower area to hold the horizontal fan and shower light.

Shower Ceiling

I ordered the outside vent for the bathroom fan and a 4 1/8″ hole saw to install it. The electricians will install the fan/shower light combo that I purchased. It is a Panasonic FV-08VRE1.

Panasonic FV-08VRE1

The fan is hidden behind the shower light in this version. Although not the most energy efficient, it is Energy Star rated. It has an efficiency of about 4 CFM/Watt. The Whisper Green is about 11.5 CFM/Watt.

The existing bathroom fan will be upgraded to a Whisper Green Select with a Humidity Control Module. But this recessed fan will have a humistat on the wall as well as switches for the light and the fan. I have ordered the condensation sensor/timer/light switch for this fan (FV-WCCS2-A) from ebay.

FV-WCCS2-A

Posted in Appliances, Construction, Energy Efficiency, Floating Walls, Ventilation | Comments Off

Master Bath Sink Plumbing

Posted on July 15, 2016 by ellen

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.

Old master sink plumbing

I replaced the black pipe up to the old vent pipe with new 2″ white PVC and moved the drain from the front to the rear of the vent pipe.

Reconfigured Plumbing

The new plumbing will run along the wall behind the vanity and connect under the sink. Simple change but it made room for the new shower wall.

Posted in Plumbing | Comments Off

Master Bedroom Doors

Posted on July 9, 2016 by ellen

We planned for double doors to the master bedroom and it is truly exciting to see the entrance finally framed in.

48 inch Doorway from inside the master bedroom

The door is at an angle to the living area and hallway to the back rooms. We thought the angled door would make the hallway seem less narrow. I believe it works.

Door to Master Bedroom

The door will be a focal point for the room both inside and outside. Especially with the Rustic doors.
The doors will open into the bedroom and across from these double doors is the outside door to the patio area. Beautiful access to the hot tub and lounging area outside. There will be a small framed bookshelf next to where the radon pipe is boxed in. There will be a platform/shelf above the door that is framed in by 2×6’s.

Master Bedroom Entry with Outside Door and Rustic Doors

Finally seeing the walls up is fantastic for us. And the electrician is scheduled for August 1st. So the push to have walls ready for all the outlets and the ceilings for the light fixtures is on.

Posted in Floating Walls | Comments Off

Radon Sealing

Posted on July 8, 2016 by ellen

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 slab, I have to remove the cushioned foam at the slab level that protected the pipes during the concrete pour and caulk the edges around the pipes.

Caulking at dining room plumbing

Sealing around some of the openings required a LOT of caulk. I used the Loctite Heavy Duty PL375 low VOC caulk that we have been using for the whole project. There is a lot of caulk to bridge the wider gaps caused by the double pipes in some places. I filled the gaps with backer rod and then caulked over the gaps.

Master bath shower wall caulking

The penetrations without gaps in the concrete slab were much easier to caulk.

Master bath tub supply caulking

The caulking precedes the walls that go up around the pipes. So tomorrow these bottom plates will be glued for walls to be built next week.

Posted in Radon Mitigation | Comments Off