4.30.2017

I may have mentioned it before (or a dozen times?), but I have the best.husband.ever.  Really.  So, if you've been following along, you know that once Jim got all the studs in place in the bathroom, all the wiring done, and the light bar ready to go, he had to move the studs to accommodate the blocking he needed to attach the pedestal sink.  Then, as we were coming up with our list of things to order from Lowe's, I found a great Kohler framed medicine cabinet I really wanted.  But of course, it didn't fit in between the studs.  So (here's the best husband part), today Jim moved the studs again to accommodate the medicine cabinet!  Once again, he had to move the light bar, fix the wiring, move the studs, make a new piece of blocking for the sink.  Hopefully this is it!

 

 

Jim continued to do plumbing work too...gluing caps on the washer drain...

 

...and the shower drain.  These will enable Jim to fill the system with air when it's time for pressure testing of the system.

 

High 53/Low 46

 

 

4.29.2017

Jim is putting in more electric - we decided to put security lights in the back of the house.  That necessitates a switch in the living room as well as running more wire.  He got the receptacle box mounted and then drilled the hole through all the layers.  He glued the conduit through the hole once I got there to push down on the upper piece - but I failed miserably on taking a picture of it.  That will come! 

 

I also failed to take a picture - or even look! - at the stack coming out the roof.  Tomorrow!  Once I got there today, we were busy.

Jim did some rearranging of things in the metal shop.  He moved some insulation out of the way...

Then rearranged the chipper.  Even with trickle-charging the battery, it's totally dead so that's another thing on the to-do list.

Then Jim moved the new bandsaw out of the way.  All of this enabled Jim to get the lawn mower out of the corner and make things more accessible.

Then the rest of the afternoon, we worked outside.  During one of our deliveries, the driver totally missed the driveway and made huge ruts in the yard.  Time to fix it!  Jim brought dirt from a pile he had near our sand pile - he probably brought down 15-20 tons of dirt!

I was on rock duty, picking out all of the rocks from the dirt and using some to fill in the ruts.

Taking shape...

All done!  Jim was picking up some grass seed at Lowe's - the last bulk grass seed we bought doesn't seem to be doing anything - so we wanted to experiment with some other kind.

 

Some of the items from Jim's Lowe's order came in so he headed out to Lowe's at the end of the day.  He picked up a few more plumbing items along with the grass seed, so we'll be good to go!

 

High 68/Low 40

 

4.28.2017

Jim worked this morning on bringing the vent stack up along the roofline (through the giant hole he cut in the blocking yesterday)...

Then  it went up into the attic and will go out the hole in the roof that Jim made and that we got the special cap for.

Because part of the stack will extend out of the roof, Jim wanted to paint it gray so that it would be less noticeable.

Finishing the painting...

It was a beautiful day so this afternoon, we decided to do more yard work.  Jim wanted to make sure the main power cables were covered well with sand so he first uncovered them.

Then we shoveled sand on top...

Then it was grading time...

When Jim was filling in close to the house and behind the stairwell, I stayed below getting all the rocks out and moving them away from the cables.

As we filled in more dirt, Jim put the warning tape back down so that it was well above the wires.

Look how amazing it's looking!

Jim is making good progress extending the driveway back as he scrapes dirt off to use for fill.

 

 

At the end of the day, Jim put the painted pipe on the stack - I'll take a picture of it tomorrow!

 

Jim wanted me to find pictures of exactly how the temporary water line came out of the well so he would know when he starts digging for that project.  We did that back in April of 2014 - just a few days after Jim had meniscus surgery on his knee.  It was crazy looking at those pictures though - almost 3 years ago to the date, there was no carriage house at all - here's what it looked like at the end of April!

 

 

High 73/Low 53

 

4.27.2017 - Bathroom Subfloor

Jim continued with more plumbing chores this morning - including finding his pressure test kit.  In order to pass inspection, Jim will have to make sure that the pipes don't leak and hold pressure.  Thankfully, he had this one he made for our Ohio house plumbing test.

He also spent time figuring out how he wants to do the urinal drain over to the main stack.

And he got the kitchen vent all installed and glued - he changed the design a bit to allow more room in front of the vent for the garbage disposal.



If you look closely at the picture below, you can see a big hole cut out of the steel blocking - this is the biggest hole Jim had to drill through the steel - it took him over an hour and left him with spaghetti arms!  But he got it done.  This is the path the vent will take up to the attic and out the roof.

 

Meanwhile, I went to Home Depot to pick up the type of glue Jim wanted to use for attaching the Durock in the bathroom.  Jim was prepping the floor when I got there - using a wire brush over the deck material to rough it up a bit so that the glue would make a better seal.

Then we vacuumed really well to make sure there was no dirt or metal filings (which are everywhere!) to cause issues.

Then it was time to put down the glue...

Jim had numbered each piece of Durock before he removed the pieces from the floor so he would be sure to get the pieces back in the right spots!  My task was to make a grid on each piece so that Jim would have a reference for fastening.

Putting down the first piece...

Then putting in the screws...

And we continued working as team, getting closer to the door.

Parging the glue for the last piece...

Putting the last piece into place...

Fastening it down...

How amazing does that look?  It looks like we have a floor!  It's an exciting first step towards flooring!

 

After I left, Jim worked up in the attic a bit, seeing how the procedure will work to screw through caps to attach the rigid foam board.

 

High 73/Low 57 - beautiful!

 

4.26.2017

Jim started working on the Durock this morning in the apartment bathroom.  He first cut the piece for the back corner where the toilet will go.  He went down below and drew a circle where the opening needed to be.  Then he drills small holes all around the outside of the circle.



Then he's able to punch the circle out...



The Durock down in its place...



Trying out the flange...



Then he was able to cut the rest of the pieces for the floor!

 

There was just one more piece to go underneath the shower.  First Jim scores the board...

Then he can break it along the score...

Doing his drilling for the drain area...



All the pieces are down!  Jim wants to get a different kind of glue than they had at Lowe's, so I may go to Home Depot in the morning.

Jim was also busy with plumbing - including another lunchtime trip to the plumbing supply company.  But he was able to figure out the drain and loop vent for the urinal!  He didn't glue it yet - since this is an unusual setup, Jim wants to make sure Jerry is okay with it first.

Gluing the kitchen vent pieces...

Working on the drain/vent for the kitchen sink.  He needs to make sure to leave room for the garbage disposal - all this stuff seems impossible to do without all the parts and pieces there!

More insulation work at the end of the day.  First putting the pieces of insulation at the top of the wall...

Then the first batt...

Getting it glued and taped...

End of the day...  Jim is leaving the one space open so that he can crawl up in the attic when he is working on venting - easier than trying to scamper in and out of that little hole in the attic!

 

Of course, Jim kept working after I left.  He made this H block of wood...

 

Which is a perfect fit for the pipe...

He put it between the vent and drain for more support...

 

High 66/Low 51