9.24.2017 - Toilet in!

Today was a long-awaited day - installing the first toilet in the woodshop bathroom!

 

This PVC pipe has been through the floor since we poured concrete in the deck!  

He used his special saw to cut the pipe flush to the floor...



Testing to make sure that the flange (stainless steel!) fit perfectly into the pipe...



In order to fasten the flange down, Jim first marked the locations on the floor...



We had to buy a special small diamond drill bit just to drill through the porcelain tile.

After he had drilled through the tile, he had to get out the hammer drill to drill through the concrete.

Vacuuming up all the concrete and tile dust...

After Jim got the flange to fit perfectly into the pipe, he first put primer on...

Then the glue...

Made sure it was a good tight seal...

Jim had bought a stainless steel flange so he also bought stainless steel tapcons to attach the flange to the floor...

Cutting out the plug in the flange...

Filing it down to make sure everything is smooth...

Wax ring on the toilet...

A little caulk on key places...

Then setting the toilet in place!

Making sure it's in the perfect spot...

Testing it out to make sure there are no leaks!  We aren't going to connect the plumbing to the toilet yet.  If we start putting water into the Pex tubing into an unheated structure, we could potentially have issues if things get too cold.  So we'll wait on that part.

Tightening up the flush valve...

Attaching the tank...

Everything attached!!!

 

Jim filled the tank up with water and there are no leaks - so exciting!  This sure has been a long time coming!!

 

High 87/Low 60

9.23.2017

We got back to Angel about 4:30 or so in the evening.  It was so good to see Jim - always feels like you are gone longer than you really are!  Jim was excited to show my mom the carriage house for the first time in person - rather than her just seeing it on this blog!  I was glad to catch up on all that he'd done while I was gone.

 

Yesterday, he worked on getting the next piece of drywall up.  Again - the round window sticks out so far that it's difficult to get enough screws in to hold it in place so that he can cut the window out.

 

He had to make some special blocking to hold it in place at the bottom...

As well as on the sides...

 

But he got it up and the window cut out as well as the bottom piece on.  This wall is done and looks amazing!  I can't tell you how different it looks to walk into the stairwell and have it look like a finished room!

 

Jim still had to be mindful of the wasps and go out when they weren't swarming as much, but he got the last of the shingles attached!!!  Trim pieces are all that are left!

He got started on the rake trim pieces...

 

He also got the next piece of drywall cut and in place in the laundry room - he just needs to fasten it down.

 

 

 My mom and Jim at the property!

 

 

High 83/Low 46

9.22.2017

My mom and I headed back to NY this morning. We stopped off at IKEA in Columbus - we had never been in one before. We're staying the night in a hotel in Erie PA and will head to NY tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Jim had another busy, accomplished day. He started back on insulation in the stairwell - these were difficult cavities with lots of blocking and wiring to deal with.

Then he went back to putting drywall up on the ceiling...

Next piece...

Ceiling is done!!

Next Jim did corner blocking...

Next was the first wall drywall - the round window sticks out quite a bit so it was difficult for Jim to get the piece fit well.

But look how amazing it turned out!!

Jim kept checking but the wasps were really swarming today. He was finally able to get out at the end of the day.  Of course, practically each piece needs multiple cuts on the rows but he's almost done - one more row!!

High 76/Low 48

 

9.21.2017

I'm I decided to drive to OH to pick up my mom and bring her back to NY for a visit. She's never seen the area or the project except through the blog so it's definitely long overdue!

Jim promised he would take some pictures of his work while I was gone!

This morning, he spent a long time stuffing insulation in the tops of the walls in the wood shop. 

Then he moved out to the stairwell. We had a lot of things stored there - like the microwave, garbage disposal, lights, etc - all of that had to be moved out first. Then he started putting fiberglass in the walls - looks great!

Then he headed back up on the roof to continue working on the siding. As you can see, he's now above the ridge!

After cleaning up from that job, Jim had to bring the drywall lift down from the apartment and set up everything in the stairwell. He started putting drywall on the ceiling!

This piece required cutting out for 3 light boxes - well, half of them!  Crazy to see drywall in the stairwell!!

High 79/Low 49

 

9.20.2017

Jim did a ton of work in the laundry room today - including this entire wall of soundproof insulation!  This was difficult to do because there are so many outlets on both sides, lots of wires, blocking and plumbing - all that Jim needed to fit the fiberglass around.  He's glad this job is done!

 



The view from the kitchen...

He got the first piece of drywall on the knee wall - again, the other piece has to wait until the venting for the dryer is complete.

We got the first piece of drywall cut and marked and Jim is putting it in place...

This piece came with its own challenges - most of the bottom of this piece rests on the decking material, but a little bit rests on the tile flooring in the laundry room.  So Jim had to cut that out as well as for the door header.

We took a break from drywall to do some siding.  It's that time of the year, but we have so many wasps flying around when it's sunny.  Jim first went out right after lunch but the wasps were all over so we waited until later in the afternoon.  Again, Jim is making very custom pieces to go around the flashing cap and roof peak.

All the pieces installed that he could do today...

But he got the next group figured out, cut and primed - you can see these pieces will go around the peak.  Once he gets past all these custom pieces, it will be back to normal siding - and then it will almost be done!

Back inside, Jim is prepping for the next piece.  There was a live switch and GFI outlet in this area, so Jim had to turn off power and take both of them apart.

The piece is cut and marked and Jim is making his initial cuts for the boxes.

Carrying the piece into the laundry room...it always amazes me that Jim is able to get these pieces in place!

A perfect fit...

Initial screws are in and Jim is doing the final box cuts.

Finishing the fasteners...

Oops...we forgot to mark the location of the vent area for the back of the refrigerator!  Jim was able to get it figured out and started to cut out the area...

All done...

Rewiring the boxes...

High 79/Low 59