Twinsprings Research Institute

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 proof spigots for the supply on the garage side.

I worked with what I had at first. Took a full afternoon to drill holes in the drywall and install the outdoor spigots and connect to the existing drain pipe. I had used the back plates that came with the spigots and just bolted them to the drywall.

Spigots Bolted to Drywall

They seemed firm enough but upon reflextion there was nothing I could do to stabilize them if the drywall cracked from the pressure of turning them on and off. I had also created a huge turn around to the existing drain that just looked weird.

Drain Connection to Existing Pipes

So I decided to take apart what I did one day and do it again the next. I installed a board to back up the faucets and support the drain pipe too.

Installed Support Board

I drilled holes through this board for the faucets and the drain rests on top of the board.
Then I cut out all of the drain I had assembled and realigned the drain pipe with a new cleanout and a new tee fitting that faced the right direction.

Redoing Drain Position

New Tee and New Cleanout

The new drain looks more normal and should function better too.

New Drain

The faucets are now screwed through the drywall into the board making them much more sturdy.

Spigots Screwed to Support Board

Finally I completed the supply connections and the rough in was done.

Completed Rough In

I guess I’m glad I did think twice about this install.

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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 am using a linear drain so I will have to try to duplicate the Schluter linear drain construction with the Kerdi liner. But I splurged on the family room shower and bought the Schluter drain system.

Yesterday I installed the drain body and I used the power hammer to break up the concrete around the drain pipe. As with the master bathroom shower, that took most of the day. Then I had to measure down the exact amount to cut the standing pipe the right height to glue on the drain body and keep the drain level and high enough to sit on the foam spacers.

Schluter Kerdi Drain

The sloped foam floor will fit under the drain body and there is another piece that fits inside for the drain plate.

Schlüter drain design

The brushed brass finish on the aluminum plate will match the Delta faucets in this bathroom.

Schlüter Brass Drain Cover

I had just enough time left to also rough in the sink drain in the master bathroom.

UPDATE: This piping is wrong! See Fix Plumbing Inspection Issues.

Master Bath Sink Drain

Only a few items left on the rough plumbing list. The bar sink off the kitchen, the garage sink and the header over the shower in the family room bath. Plus a few cross pieces to support the pipes.

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Family Room Shower Plumbing

Posted on October 26, 2016 by ellen

The shower in the family room bathroom is long and narrow. The faucets are all Delta Water Sense and I chose the champagne bronze color for this bathroom. The color is similar to brass which I thought would give it a more rustic appearance. It was not easy finding discounts on all the parts for the shower and sink but I was able to order everything from Amazon or Ebay at reduced cost. Thank goodness as faucets are ridiculously expensive. As it is the most expensive part of the bathroom was this hardware.

The shower valve is generic Delta and can work with most of the trim packages that are sold separately. My son-in-law pointed out how handy it is to have Delta shower faucets because they have separate controls for the temperature and the flow. The temperature can stay set from shower to shower. With a temp controlled valve like the one I bought for the master shower (17T), the temp is automatically regulated to stay the same even if the hot and cold ratio changes, but I have less expensive pressure controlled valve (17) in this shower which makes the pressure of hot and cold balance but not the temperature. The rough in valve was installed about the same height as in the master bath, or about 44 inches from the finished shower floor.

Shower Valve

Since this is a large shower, it seemed as though a hand held shower would be a big help for both cleaning the shower and for an additional source of spray. I didn’t want the hand held right next to the shower head so I looked for installations that placed it on the opposite or side wall. I decided that the best position would be next to a bench that I hope to install at the opposite end of this shower head. The diverter valve is a bit smaller than the shower valve and with the furring on the wall there was about enough space to install it flush with the eventual finished wall.

Depth for Diverter Valve

I reused the 1/2″ copper from the demolition to install the diverter valve. Copper has a bit wider inside dimension than 1/2″ pex so I thought it would be more likely to deliver a higher volume to the spray. And I had the copper to reuse.

Diverter Installation

The supply pipes I used had originally fed the washer and dryer in the utility room before the demolition. These pipes are connected directly to the cold and hot water sources and don’t go through the water loop. But the proximity to the heater means that there should not be a very long wait for hot water at this connection. Plus the service is 3/4″ copper to the wall that holds the valve. I installed two shutoffs in the utility room that control just this shower.

3/4 inch Shutoffs

The copper connects to 1/2″ pex and to the shower valve in the wall.

Copper to Pex

Since I was running out of elbows, I just bent the pex in a wide arc to fit in the wall and connect to the shower valve.

Pex Shower Connections

The copper feeds the diverter valve and then goes back to the shower head. The valve will allow the shower head to spray, or the sliding hand shower, or both.

Reused Copper to Diverter Valve

I also reused the metal plates that protect the pipes in the furring studs. I had just enough to do this section.
Next I have to put the sink faucet and toilet plumbing into the walls and set up for a wall mount faucet to the sink.

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More Electrical Work

Posted on October 25, 2016 by ellen

The electricians started the rough electrical work on August 5th. Today they may have finished with everything on the original plans. There were some changes that were challenging, like the fact that the ceiling wires had to be enclosed in metal flex conduit to pass inspection. I also had planned an indoor outlet for the mini split but it turned out that had to be an outdoor outlet which ended up being an outside junction box and a service outlet.

Outside Wiring

The setup looks very fancy for a small mini-split air conditioner that runs on only a 15 amp 110 circuit. There is a breaker in this sub panel that I believe is for the service outlet.

Lone circuit breaker in outside box

I am assuming a second breaker would be needed for the actual air conditioner. The electrician put two 20 amp breaker feeds in the new outside breaker box to this box but only one 15 amp in the box. I wish he had just put in the second breaker so the wiring for the air conditioner could be done more easily but I guess the idea is that they don’t put in the breaker unless the device is ready to be hooked up. Same with the wiring for the oven. They didn’t hook it up at all. I tried to find the 220 breakers that were hooked up to the stove and electric dryer electrical boxes and had to ask where they wired them. It turned out they were not hooked up in the breaker box. I told the electrician I needed an outlet for the oven I just bought. He moved the box that would have powered a stove to behind the cabinet where I will put the oven and had to install it higher but he put in the outlet for the oven.

Oven 220 Outlet

But he said he didn’t have an outlet for the dryer box. So I asked him to hook it up in the breaker box and label it anyway. I haven’t checked the box to see if he did this though.
He also finished installing the lights for the closets and the utility room. The two closet lights were wired but didn’t have junction boxes, and the light in the utility room had to be wired. He said he wired it to the washing machine outlet. The switch is next to the washer dryer stack, but there is enough room to use it.

Utility Room Light Switch

The closet lights are above the doors and because the fixtures I bought are LED they only have to be 6 inches from the storage areas instead of the usual 12 so there is plenty of clearance. They originally had issues with code and installing these lights, but I found the code and bought LED’s and asked for the lights over the doors which would have passed even with incandescent lights.

Closet light wiring

The fact that the electrical work has spanned three months seems to indicate that the project is just a slow one overall, and despite doing the work ourselves, we may not be that much slower than the professionals!

UPDATE:
The outside breaker box was installed too low so the electrician returned to put it up on a pole to avoid typical snow levels.

Box on Pole

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Plumbing Progress

Posted on October 22, 2016 by ellen

We’ve been making progress on the rough plumbing install. The corner cabinet framing for the pressure balance valve and plumbing for the master bath tub was completed.

Corner Cabinet

The next step was to connect the tub plumbing. There are shutoffs that will be below the cabinet floor and connections to the pressure balance valve. I turned the supply ells around so the pipes would line up a bit better.

Master Tub Plumbing

I also connected the sink, toilet and shower piping in the master bath.

Shower Plumbing

The supply pipe for the kitchen was moved into the half wall and one of the shutoffs was replaced with a 3/4″ shutoff in the utility room so I would have enough 1/2 inch shutoffs for the master tub.

Kitchen Plumbing

Ready to move on to the guest shower and bath. Here is the assembly for the rear shower wall.

Guest Shower Wall Assembly

And that wall installed. There will need to be a shower ceiling to conceal the dryer vent that runs above the shower. The vent elbow was moved to just below the roof and the angled pipe continues to the dryer vent.

Guest Shower Wall

I had to order more shark bite elbows. Could have gotten them locally for a bit more but decided we could wait. We have visitors so I can’t move the sidewalls out of this bathroom to put the piping in the walls yet. Maybe next week.

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Mang Ox Filter Repair

Posted on October 16, 2016 by ellen

Leaky pipe on iron filter

The chlorine batch connection to the iron filter started leaking few months ago. I didn’t have time or inclination to figure out what was wrong with it after a few quick tries to tighten the connection didn’t work. I was worried that something major was cracked in the Fleck 7000 controller and didn’t want to deal with that. So I reprogrammed the control to leave out the chlorine rinse. This is an optional feature anyway.

But it seemed like the drain for the filter was getting black and there was a sizable amount of iron getting through the filter into the whole house carbon filter that follows it. Also some iron was staining the older toilet, although not the newer one. So I decided to take another look at the chlorine batch system.

I cleaned out the side tank that holds the chlorine rinse water and refilled it with fresh water. Then I took apart the connection and tried over and over to reconnect it without a leak. But no matter how hard I pushed on the pressure connection and the clip, it still leaked.

Batch Hose Connection

So I called the Clean Water Store where I purchased the system. The support person was very knowledgable and recalled working on the systems and having a problem with the batch control valve that pushes into the controller head and to which the hose attaches. So I tried again to push the valve into the system and look for a leak–it still leaked. But I partially broke the clip pushing too hard and I just asked if I could order another one. I was able to buy a whole new valve for about $18 with shipping.

Batch Flow Control

The vendor added the clip which he told me to ask for in the notes. When I got the new valve I connected it with the new clip and it STILL leaked. Back to the drawing board–or the installation instructions.
The instructions showed the order of placing the hose onto the valve by demonstrating the correct layout of the gaskets on the hose. Somehow I had installed them out of order! Of course it worked for the first 2 years like that, or at least I think it did as I don’t remember removing and repositioning the gaskets. But they were upside down and after I turned them over and reconnected the hose, it no longer leaked. Sometimes I wonder how these errors can escape notice for so long.

Batch Hose Gaskets

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Central Vac Piping Revisited

Posted on October 10, 2016 by ellen

I was writing support emails to Aspria about the vac connections before I got sick and today I reviewed the email and repiped the vacuum. Temporarily as they still need to be glued.

Here is the advice sent to me by Aspria.

Suggested Central Vac Connections

Vac Connection Labels

The difference between my plan and this one is that all vacuum connections are above the intake. Then they can descend to connections that start below the intake. I was able to duplicate the suggestion connections almost exactly. So after marking, I’m ready to glue this par.

Vac Connections above the Intake

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How Could I Explain This to a Plumber?

Posted on October 8, 2016 by ellen

The faucet for the roman tub is a freestanding antique style, meant to be exposed and reach over the rim of the tub. But we have a slab so getting the plumbing to the faucet is a bit tricky.
I had scheduled a plumber just after my surgery and it was going to be a couple of weeks before he could get to the job. But in a couple of weeks, I realized that I was going to have a heck of a time trying to have everything the plumber needed and be able to tell him what needed to be done. At about $200 a hour, it was going to be an expensive contract. So I was feeling well enough to get started on the project myself at my own slow pace. It is probably costing me way more time but much less money to get the job done.
The plumbing inspector who visited months ago, told me that because the tub faucet has a shower head spray, it needed to have a pressure balance valve to avoid scalding a bather. I already have a whole system hot water tempering valve so I don’t need one at the faucet. I found a nice Newport Brass pressure balance valve on ebay for a reasonable price. It is all brass and quite sturdy. This valve will balance the hot water with the cold so that if the cold pressure goes down, the hot will also go down so as not to deliver water hot enough to scald a person. Although our hot water heater is only set to 140 degrees and is temperature balanced, the inspector told me it is code to have a pressure balance valve at every shower head. The Delta faucets include pressure balance in the rough in valves, but this faucet did not.

Start with Pressure Balance Valve Connections

The pressure balance valve connections are the two exposed chrome water delivery pipes and the water supply pipes. It needs support but also access as it can wear out and may need to be replaced. So the plan is to create a corner shelf unit between the door and the tub with a false floor for access to the plumbing and a shorter shelf outside the cabinet to cover the valve but expose the chrome piping.
I started laying out boards for the floor plates and then cut some 2 x 2’s because the walls of the cabinet need to be shallower than a 4″ wall. The outside step will be a 2 x 6 that is topped with either plywood or cement board and will be tiled over. So access will have to be through the floor of the cabinet.

Establishing the Layout

The next step was to cut the floor plates and arrange them getting the valve and the faucet enough distance from the tub to expose the piping and allow the faucet to be installed level vertically and horizontally.

Corner Cabinet and Tub Faucet Layout

I cut the floor plates to include a 2 x 6 at the front edge of the step platform, and the front board here is placed against the 2 x 6 as an alternative. I’m going back to the cut a 2 x 6 for this corner and will move the front cabinet plate shorter to fit.
The position of the faucet will not be centered at the tub end because the pipes have to connect within the enclosed space. But the tub will be about an inch closer to the wall once the back wall is tiled so the offset will be a bit less than it appears in the photos.

Faucet Position from Rear

I believe this would have been very difficult for the plumber to figure out or even understand if I had had it totally figured out beforehand. This way I can figure it out as I go and end up with a good install with any idiosyncrasies fully explained.
I think this faucet is really beautiful. It came with the tub which was only $100 and I had to buy a matching knob for $98, a set of rubber washers for $10.60, the pressure balance valve for about $45 and two floor flanges that are just galvanized instead of chrome for about $10. Total faucet investment if you agree the tub itself cost $100 was under $175. The faucet of course sells discounted for about $1400 without the risers–sold separately. Kohler still makes them and compared to plastic filled junk, you can tell the difference–not a thousand dollar difference but still a difference.

Faucet Front

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Updated Operation and Training Manual

Posted on October 4, 2016 by ellen

Lots of time goes into the documentation for a LEED certification attempt. I have actually enjoyed the work because it is so centered in research and bringing together expert advice in many different areas of building science. The Operation and Training manual is meant to help occupants of the home understand its unique qualities and to support them with enough information about the home to maintain the energy saving practices and systems.

I have just completed revisions to the manual and posted the new copy. I also created a “home file” which is a set of documentation for the systems in the house that includes any maintenance they might need. It contains documents about all of the following:

The product manufacturers’ manuals for all installed equipment, fixtures, and appliances (home file)
1. Windows and doors
2. Waffle boxes
3. Water filters
4. Challenger boiler
5. Radiant layout
6. Thermostats
7. Wood boiler
8. ERV
9. Radon design and fans
10. Faucets and fixtures
11. Appliances
12. Central vacuum

Some of these documents are also in the LEED verification items but they needed to be duplicated specifically for potential future residents of the home. Of course some documents may change–especially for the appliances, but all the current energy star appliances are included.

The manual will also include LEED certification information, the signed accountability forms, and the completed durability checklist. Could you imagine any builder compiling such a document? I’m not sure I can.

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Powder Coating on Bathroom Sink Stand

Posted on September 25, 2016 by ellen

I first heard about powder coating when I was in college. I was a school librarian in training and we visited a central district media center in Indianapolis. The media specialiast was a mover and shaker who provided all sorts of great services in addition to classroom materials. She ran a centralized copy center and could turn around teacher orders in a day. I was very impressed. She talked about budget and how to cut corners–one idea was to send all the old metal wastepaper baskets and other office accessories out to be powder coated. She said it was not as expensive as we might think and provided a nice bright blue complement to the work spaces and gave the operation a first class appearance.

So all these years later–really over 40 years–I remembered the idea of powder coating to create a professional looking finish. Originally I was going to sand and spray paint the metal bathroom stand that I bought with the sink and faucet for $50. After the operation though I decided to pick out things that I could have done instead of doing myself. I researched local powder coating businesses and contacted a couple but this local business seemed most interested in my project. Wise Powder Coating Industries in Arvada has a Facebook page to advertise the business. I spoke to Clay who took the sink stand to a separate sand blasting business in Golden and sanded the rough cut opening before powder coating the surface in a bronze color which I had chosen from the color chip catalog.

Bronze powder coated sink stand

A bit more about powder coating. It is a dry paint powdered polymer that is electrostaticly sprayed on a grounded surface. The powder also is collected and reused so there is very little waste. Metal is most often powder coated but plastic and MDF can be coated too. This diagram of an electrostatic gun and more information is at finishing.com

Powdercoat-sprayer

The powder coated item is then baked in an oven at about 320 to 410 degree temperature to melt, gel, and solidify the coating. The coating is scratch and chip resistant and adheres better than liquid paint.

When the dynamic media specialist had her office furniture powder coated, it was a relatively new process introduced in 1967, but since then it has become the finish for most industrial machines and is considered quite durable. Funny how a passing influence can stay with you for decades.

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Patch Concrete Edge

Posted on September 23, 2016 by ellen

There was a large gap between the edge of the new concrete floor and the steps.

Hole in concrete at stairway

I think this gap was caused by the moisture barrier plastic curling up at this edge, keeping the concrete from flowing all the way to the stairs.

Hole in concrete on other side

I had been meaning to put concrete in the gap for some time, however it was just the sort of small job to do while recuperating. Dave is still working on his recycled concrete wall so he was making concrete anyway and brought a bucket of the stuff to me after I cleaned out the hole and chipped off the edge where the cement curled up above the level at the steps.
This is day two of drying.

Patched hole in concrete

I patched the whole concrete edge both deep sides and the smaller area in between.

Patched concrete edge

I have a plastic foam sheet over it to keep it from drying too fast.

Plastic foam to retard drying

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It’s Fall!

Posted on September 23, 2016 by ellen

Fall begins in Arvada

So with the change in seasons as well as my immediate health condition, a new list is proposed.
First look back at the summer list.

Summer 2016 List

~~Finish building walls~~
~~Finish membrane on ceiling~~
~~Move electric box in utility room~~
~~Build pocket door for utility room~~
~~Fix water filter and dishwasher drains~~
~~Fix family room bathroom drain~~
~~Install master bedroom door wall~~
Cut down rustic doors to fit openings
Build fence for pool
Set up pool
Put shade structure over hot tub
~~Set up master bathroom~~
Install radon fan and piping
Build ductwork for ventilation
Install ventilation
~~Research radiant floor cooling~~
~~Set up refrigerated floor system~~
~~Fill in concrete edges and caulk~~
Plan for crawlspace ventilation
Fix crawlspace radon mitigation
Install polyiso in crawlspace
Install tile on slab periphery
Install siding

Actually 10 out of 23. I believe I can count filling in the concrete edges because I just did it yesterday, although not all the caulking. Not too bad I guess. And as is typical, we scotched some items and added others. I posted that I gave up on radiant cooling because I needed more btu’s to chill the thermal mass of the floor than the 1/3 hp chiller could produce. That would mean an expensive heat pump system or large chiller system. We put the evaporative cooler back in one of the living room front doors and the portable in our bedroom and they took care of cooling for the rest of the summer. Also the pool never got set up because we needed the electrician to extend our outdoor electricity and they didn’t get that job done until mid-September. A bit too late to set up a pool. But we got the electricians scheduled and the house remodel wired. Not on the summer list. We always like to start a new list with something x’d out anyway.

Fall 2016 List

~~Schedule electrician to wire remodel~~
Pass electrical inspection
Schedule return of electricians to install outlets and switches
Schedule plumber to install rough plumbing
Pass plumbing inspection
Pass structural inspection
Finish membrane on walls
Build ventilation chase
Install ductwork for ventilation
Schedule drywall
Install radon fan and piping
Install ventilation system and outdoor piping
Plan for crawlspace ventilation
Fix crawlspace radon mitigation
Install polyiso in crawlspace
Install tile on slab periphery
Install siding

Another 23 items. I’ll wait on the doors as that is kind of a finishing step and I really hope to get to the drywall install before the end of this year! Five years of ownership in January of 2017 and it is about time the place is better put together.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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