Monday, January 28th, 2008
Ever since I went out this past Saturday and purchased a new dishwasher, I have been preparing for its delivery and installation. The appliance store will be doing the delivery and I will be doing the installation.
Setting everything up is actually pretty fun. This post is about the plumbing part of it. Here are a few photos to get things kicked off. It’s simpler than one might think…
The first thing I did was to drill two holes in under the sink in the wall facing the dishwasher. In this photo, you see four holes. That’s because I drilled the two upper holes first. Then, I thought for a little while. I figured that I had no idea what the back of this new dishwasher was going to look like and how tight the fit was going to be. Those two first holes may be too high and go right into the side of the dishwasher “tub.” I then thought that it would be a better idea to drill two holes in the floor of the sink cabinet and then out the side down below. I know the tub part sits up a few inches, so this should clear everything. For now, these two hoses don’t go to anything, since the dishwasher isn’t here yet, but just in case you were curious, the fat hose is the drain hose and the braided one is the hot water feed.
This next picture is of the drain hose hooked up to the sink drain. This was pretty simple to install. Lowe’s and Home Depot sell these pieces of pipe with the drain spout sticking out. All I did was to remove the existing pipe and trim the new one to length. Then, I popped it in and hooked up the hose with a hose clamp. On the inside of the pipe is sort of a “shield” so the water will only go in one direction. Pretty nifty.
This is a photo of the hot water feed that is currently connected and the new braided hose with the “T” connector. Lowe’s and Home Depot sell these connectors especially made for this. I am going to connect the white hot water hose in the back to the top part of this T. That will also give that white hose some slack.
That’s about it for the plumbing part of the dishwasher preparation. All that’s left is the electrical and the actual dishwasher installation. I will share when they are finished.
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Friday, January 25th, 2008
So today was all about getting the kitchen sink working again. That has really been the pain in my side this whole time.
There is actually a funny little story that goes along with today. As you know, we installed the old sink and faucet in the counter top last night. I was trying to save a few bucks…kill me. The sink is white and I wasn’t sure if it would match the rest of the kitchen. The faucet is aged brown. After we installed them, they actually did match pretty nicely. Tim, next door, called me cheap because I was using the old stuff. I just couldn’t bring myself to throw a perfectly good sink in that big garbage island in the Pacific.
Anyway, I took a trip down to Lowe’s this morning to pick up some plumbing stuff for under the sink as well as a range vent. I needed the vent for the light above the oven. I like to turn off the main kitchen lights at night, but keep the small ones on. I got the stuff from Lowe’s and came home to hook it all up. I hooked up the vent first…
The reason I got this new vent is because the old one was 36″. This new kitchen only offers a 30″ space. I think it looks pretty good. I even got extra small CFLs as lighting.
One other thing about lighting…I finally found CFL candelabras. Can you believe it? They were right in Lowe’s. I got four of them for the ceiling fan lights.
Ok, back to the sink. I hooked up all the plumbing beneath the sink and was very excited to see the water running in the kitchen once more. I stood up and moved the faucet lever backwards. You know the little sprayer thing that you can pull out? It’s the thing attached to the hose. Well, it decided to spray all over me. Actually, the handle was cracked in half and that’s where the water was coming from. I was a little ticked off. I guess there was water in the system when I stored the whole sink and faucet system out on the porch for a month and a half (during Winter). The faucet wouldn’t work. I checked under the sink to see if there was anything I could do. Apparently, the only option I had was to buy a new faucet. I priced out what was already installed and it came up to $218. That ticked me off even more. I found a great looking “Peerless” replacement at only $62. I ran back down to Lowe’s (which ticked me off) and got it and put it in.
Here is a nice photo of the plumbing job I did under the sink…
Everything works beautifully now. Tomorrow, I am running over to a neighboring town to buy a dishwasher. They deliver for free, so they are my kind of people.
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Saturday, December 8th, 2007
I set a goal for myself today…to finish the kitchen. That didn’t happen. It almost did. All I have to do now is to sand the joint compound, reapply and then sand again. Then, I paint…and all done for me. Well, I still have to do some prep work for the floor, but that’s fun.
I have amassed some tips for drywalling. These are from my brother, Jeff and my neighbor, Tim. There are only three…
1. Mark the ceiling and floor where the studs are. This will help when it comes time to screw.
2. Hang the drywall vertically. This will help not have “mounds,” since you will be butting the beveled edges together.
3. Start in the middle of the wall. This helps the cut edges stay in the corners.
See, that helped me in my drywalling endeavor, and I have never even done this stuff before. I am a little proud of myself for kicking ass today.
So, do you remember those before photos? Well, I have some “in the middle photos” for you now.
This was today after Paul came over to pick up the cabinets. I had to single-handedly unhook the sink piping and cut apart the wood underneath. That was a real pain. Then, I had to cut the counter top and unscrew them (from being screwed together). Then, I had to unscrew them from the floor. I am not sure why they screwed to the floor. Did these people think the cabinets where going somewhere? Maybe that’s the norm. Anyway, I finally got everything away from the wall so I could work. I finished taking down all the sheetrock and was ready to put it back up.
For the rest of the afternoon, I hung sheetrock and taped. I really like taping and am glad I got the five gallon bucket of joint compound. I fly through the stuff and it’s nice not to have to worry about running out.
So as I said above, all I have to do is finish up the walls and paint. Then, prep the floor for the tile guy and my job is done. All Laura and I have to do at that point is to wait for the kitchen guys to show up with the cabinets (in a very messy house).
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Thursday, November 22nd, 2007
The tile guy came over at 8AM this morning to finish up the tiling. All he had to do was the grout.
I must’ve gotten up about eight times last night for various reasons. I do this all the time when I am expecting someone to come over early in the morning. I heard a bump at about 6:30AM and I hopped out of bed. It wasn’t him, but I just stayed awake.
He did a really nice job. We both put the toilet back in (of which I bought the correct bolts). Then, after he left, I put the vanity back in and hooked up the plumbing.
All I have to do now is to hang the door moulding and installed the threshhold moulding on the floor in the doorway. It should look nice. After that, THE KITCHEN!!!
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Thursday, November 15th, 2007
If you starting seeing my hand in magazines, don’t be surprised. As you can see, my hand is model quality and I hope you appreciate it.
Back when I was taking up the tile in the bathroom, I noticed that the sub-floor to the side of the toilet was a little wet. I thought this could be caused by two things…the water that shoots out of the shower because of having a lousy shower curtain setup or from the toilet tank sweating. I have recently come to the conclusion that most of the moisture is coming from the shower, so when we put the tile in, I will make sure things are nice and caulked back there.
I did notice a small ring mark around the toilet tank feed pipe as well. This leads me to believe that during the summer, that pipe (and maybe the toilet tank) sweats due to the heat and humidity. There are a few ways one can deal with this type of issue. You can insulate the inside of the toilet tank, insulate the feed pipe, run hot water into the toilet or install a tempering valve. I think the best thing to do is to purchase a pre-insulated toilet tank and wrap some pipe insulation around the feed pipe. There are mixed views on the tempering valve.
Mr. Paul was kind enough to give me a tempering valve that he was not using. I think he said he changed the size of his piping, or something like that. That’s fine with me, because I wouldn’t mind giving the tempering valve route a try.
Some people have claimed that after installing a tempering valve, they didn’t notice any difference and their tank still sweat. I hear that more often than not and I think it is because of the length of pipe from the hot water heater and the toilet tank. By the time the warm water gets to the tank, it’s already full. What’s the way around that? I would guess it would be to hook the hot water up directly to the toilet tank. That way, when the toilet is flushed, the cold water in the pipe will partially fill the tank and then the rest will be filled by the hot water. I am not sure if I have ever heard of anyone recommending that, so don’t do it. Actually, you can do it and then leave a comment here letting us know how it worked out. Just don’t yell at me if it turns out bad.
When I get a chance, I am going to install the tempering valve. I think that having it is better than not and I also want to use my new torch again.
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Sunday, November 4th, 2007
I thought I should take a few pictures to show you what I was talking about in the last post when I mentioned that I was having difficulties with moving the vanity, due to the water feed pipes.
From my previous post…
Well, then I hit a snag. I opened the doors to get under the sink. I removed all the stuff under there and noticed that there was a drain pipe (PVC) and two copper water feed pipes. Well, the two copper pipes were poking up through two holes drilled in the thick wood base of under the sink. I started to think how the heck I was going to get the sink pulled out, when there was no way to do that with those pipes the way they were. I had to drill, grind and cut a chunk of the wood base away. I must say, the first time this vanity was installed probably was a snap. Removing it wasn’t. That took a few hours, I’m sure.
Do you see what I am talking about? I had to cut away that big chunk. I have to admit that I sat there for a few moments scratching my head, wondering how I was going to do that. I began by using my new Dremel, but later moved on to my reciprocal saw. The really hard part was getting to that board in the back, going down the wall. After I cut that, things were a little loose. I had to ask Tim next door for some wood. He gave me a chunk, which I cut and screwed in underneath as a brace. It’s good now.
Also, the drain pipe was leaking a little. Let me ask you a question…but first, take a look at this picture -
Who is the genious who thought up the idea of having 15 different pieces of PVC for about 12 inches of pipe? I mean, cars, buses, trucks and airplanes use nice, flexible pieces of hose all throughout their engines. They are under all different types of stress…temperature, movement and wear and tear. Those hoses last for years. Now, we move over to under a sink. The distance is less and the stress is much less. Yet, we need all different pieces to go one foot with a bend. WHOAAAA. A whole bend. Couldn’t we just use a flexible piece of hose with a bend in it with two hose clamps? I guess not. I went down to the hardware store this morning with this idea in mind. Nope, I came back with two packages and six different pieces. Oh yeah, by the way…can you think of a sink drain pipe that has ever leaked? Yeah, that’s a hard one. They leak too.
Sooo, I put that back together and we can use the sink again. Now, just waiting for the flooring guy to get here.
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Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Well that sucked.
I thought this was going to be an easy job…just unscrew some stuff under the sink, pull it out and take off the toilet. That’s all there is, right? Wrong.
I got half the floor up and was cruising along beautifully.
I was doing well under the baseboard heating (not viewable in photos) and things were going smoothly.
Well, then I hit a snag. I opened the doors to get under the sink. I removed all the stuff under there and noticed that there was a drain pipe (PVC) and two copper water feed pipes. Well, the two copper pipes were poking up through two holes drilled in the thick wood base of under the sink. I started to think how the heck I was going to get the sink pulled out, when there was no way to do that with those pipes the way they were. I had to drill, grind and cut a chunk of the wood base away. I must say, the first time this vanity was installed probably was a snap. Removing it wasn’t. That took a few hours, I’m sure.
I pulled the vanity away and removed the floor underneath.
Then came the toilet. That was easy enough, in the beginning. I turned the water off and removed the feed line. Then I removed one of the side bolts without incident. I went over to the other bolt and the sweet surprise was that the bolt kept turning with the nut. Hmmmm…that was fun. There went another hour of my day. I want to smack the person who designed these things.
Anyway, I got the toilet up and took up the rest of the floor.
It’s a little wet in the corner…probably from the shower spatter. We are going to have to figure that one out. Now, at least it’s all set and ready for the new floor. I better get some of this stuff back together again or Laura is going to yell at me when she gets home. Just kidding, she doesn’t yell. She is well aware of my power.
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Friday, November 2nd, 2007
Here is an exciting post. It’s about the new medicine chest and shower rod we bought last night.
We had to go down to Sam’s Club anyway, so we decided to hit Lowes first. We needed a few things, with the medicine chest being the most important. The shower rod and the little chrome thing that goes around the shower spout came in second and third.
Since we decided to stay with the white vanity, the shopping was easier. It’s much easier to match white than woodgrain. The only thing you have to keep your eye on is the bevel designs. Everything is so damn cheap anyway, I’m not sure it even matters.
So, here are some pics -
As you can see, we decided to keep the current lighting (it has a bulb out). I just unhooked it from the wall and cleaned it up a bit. Then, I reinstalled it slightly higher, to accomodate the longer medicine chest. I like this new chest because it is more “classic” than the old tri-pane one.
Here is the new shower rod. I know, how exciting can shower rods be? Well, when your old one tore the paint off the wall and fell down all the time, a new one can be kind of fun. This new one is nice and heavy and screwed into the wall.
In other news, I ran down to the tile place in town again today and picked out the tile. We ordered it. They are going to give me a call with the availability for installation. I met the owner…he is a nice guy. I am glad I decided not to “Home Depot” this job.
I also ran over to the hardware store and picked up one of those big wax sealer things for the toilet. We need to temporarily remove it for the tile installation. The tile dude told me to get the biggest one I can find, to accomodate the new height of the floor.
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Wednesday, September 6th, 2006
I happen live live in a very beautiful area of New York. The Shawangunk Ridge is absolutely spectacular and visiting the Mohonk Preserve has become a favorite activity. Unfortunately, it seems that the western side of the Hudson River has water that smells like rotten eggs. I know there are towns on the eastern side that have this problem, but I know of more over here.
We moved in to this house on the hottest day of 2005. I am not exaggerating. It was honestly the hottest day. I remember it well. We unpacked half the truck and I was sweating bullets. I stopped because I was out of breath. I asked anyone if they would like a glass of water, they accepted and I walked in the house to get some out of the faucet. I filled three glasses and walked back outside and handed my friends the glasses. We put them to our lips at the same time…and all at once we said…”Eeewwww, rotten eggs!” Boy, what a delight! We had sulphur in our water!
As with any problem I am confronted with, I immediately say that I can fix it and then my mind starts to go. I thought of the biggest and the best carbon filter I would get. After I put that baby in, there would be no more smell. Well, my friend Craig tried that up in Oneonta, NY, to no avail. My father also tried that in Wilmington, NC and he is always changing the filters. If that doesn’t work, what was I supposed to do?
We lived with the smell in the water for about a week. We weren’t too far past the closing on the house, so I wasn’t too thrilled with dropping a bunch of money. I asked around at work and got a nice wide variety of answers. No one seemed to know what they were talking about. Things were getting worse because when we got out of the shower, the smell would follow you until you completely dried. This had to change FAST!
The next day I got on the phone with a few water purification companies that I found in the yellow pages. Most of them said that there was iron in the water. I said, “No, you must be mistaken, I have Sulphur in the water.” They said, “Yes, but Sulphur is created by Iron.” What? Well, apparently, they were correct. The way it works is this: Water with small traces of iron enter the house through the well. Then, the water sits in the hot water heater. Somehow, the heat changes the iron in the water to sulphur and then, whalla, stinky sulphur water! I am not too sure of how this works. My friend Paul wrote a much more informative entry in his blog about water treatment.
The answer to my problem was to get a Whole House Iron Filter - a Manganese Greensand Filter. I was talking with my neighbor about this problem and he recommended a local water guy to do the job. He said he was the most reasonably priced in the area and new what I needed. I gave this fellow a call and he came out and tested my water. He said, “Yep, your water isn’t hard, but you do have iron in it.” I said, will the filter you install get out 100% and make every thing perfect?” he said, “No, but about 95% will be taken out and you won’t have the smell anymore.” That sounded good to me. My only concern at this point was how much I was going to have to give this guy to fix my problem. I had to have him install it because I didn’t know the first thing about it, didn’t know where to get the filter and had no way to get it to my house. He told me it would cost $1100, said and done. I told him that was fine, just get over here and do it ASAP. The picture below is the actual filter he installed.
The water guy told me that this filter was one of the best on the market. No shortcuts were taken and it would last for about 20 years.
He did a great job installing the filter. The soldering of the copper pipes looked good and he ran the backwash line to the septic pipe in the basement so it wouldn’t make a mess outside when it backwashed the greensand with the Potassium - water mixture. It does this about every 4 days at 2AM.
He also flushed out my electric hot water heater and put some bleach in there to kill any bacteria. He told me to put about 2 cups of bleach in our well every year. I have done this and it’s amazing how good the water smells after I do it. I am happy to say that ever since this very maintenance free water filter was installed, my rotten egg smell has just about disappeared!
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