Mechanicals…Electrical, Heating, & Plumbing

The Electrical, Heating, & Plumbing guys are all moving along nicely. The plumbing inspection is complete and the electrical and heating inspections are scheduled later this week. Most of the photos below contain elements of all three mechanical services. The first shows the water distribution manifold just beyond the meter. The main supply for the house goes straight up. Supplies for the irrigation system, 3 silcocks, and the “hard water” feed to the kitchen are to the left. The next photo shows the upstairs laundry with electrical outlets on the wall, water feed and waste lines in the floor, and the gas line. We are setting the laundry up to accommodate either a gas or electric dryer.

The next photo shows one of the 3 gang electrical switch boxes in the dining room and three PEX water feed lines running to the second floor in the wall.

If you look closely in the last photo you will see switch, ceiling, and outlet boxes in the bonus room. We are also plumbing a gas line to the far end to provide a contingency for a separate heating system in the future.

Deb’s Dad…A tribute

Deb’s father (Bruce Condit) died Tuesday (one week ago) in Bottineau North Dakota. He spent his last morning tending to his cows in the pasture and visiting with the neighbors. He fixed dinner for Deb’s mom (Nita) and suffered a heart attack sitting in his easy chair in the living room. His passing was sudden and unexpected.

We spent the weekend in Bottineau saying goodbye to a Father, Grandfather, and Friend.

Plumbing…Days 10 & 11

The plumbing inspector approved all of Jeremy’s work this afternoon. He spent the last couple of days finishing up the hot and cold water feeds throughout the house and added the outside plumbing this morning. The first photo shows the water heater and copper feed pipes. The next photo shows an outside silcock and the feed for a future irrigation system exiting the house outside the dining room wall.

The last photo shows the new tub in the kids bathroom. We switched to a 6’ acrylic tub from Kohler (Archer K-1125-LA) because their cast iron tubs are only available in 5’ versions.

Electrical…Days 4 & 5

The Wire-Rite guys spent the last couple of days roughing in the wiring to all the boxes spread around the house. The photo below shows one wall in the master bedroom with wiring installed into a switch box and three outlet boxes.

The next photo shows the mechanical chase in the dining room with an outlet, a switch, and a sconce all wired. The last photo shows the new service entrance on the garage wall.

Grading & Landscaping…Trenching

The JLM landscaping crew dug a pair of trenches at the “L” Shaped House this morning. The first trench will house PVC pipe for the drain system in the patio area outside the basement walk-out door. The plan calls for two 12” drain boxes at the outside corners of the patio connecting to two 4” diameter PVC pipes that will run all the way to the hillside beyond the utility pole. The first photo shows the trench viewed from the walk-out door in the basement.

The next photo shows the trench for the patio drains from an upstairs window. The last photo shows the excavator working on a second trench for the electrical power lines. This trench will house a pair of PVC pipes that will bring power, and the cable/phone lines to the service entrance on the garage wall.

Electrical…Day 3

The Wire-Rite guys have spread out all over the “L” Shaped House. The panoramic photo below shows the new wiring going into the walls of the master bedroom. They figure on being done with the rough in sometime early next week.

Plumbing…Day 9

The Steinkraus plumbing folks (Jeremy) installed a whole bunch of the water feed lines in the house this morning. He is using a PEX piping system that includes plastic feed lines to distribute water throughout the house. The photo below shows the water pipes as they pass through the living room ceiling on their way up to the master bath. The fittings have barbed ends and the hose is clamped using an interesting compression ring. Read about it here…PEX plumbing.

The first photo below shows the main water feeds from the basement to the second floor in the stub wall in the kitchen. The second photo shows the hot and cold water PEX tubing for the master bath terminating at one of the copper manifolds Jeremy built yesterday.

The last photo shows PEX tubing connecting to the copper manifolds that will eventually feed the fixtures in the kids bathroom sinks. Done this way all of the PEX tubing lives behind the walls and the valves are connected using traditional copper fittings.

Roofing…Shingle wrap up

Gill Riehm has finished up the shingle roofs on the “L” Shaped House. All that is left is the standing seam roof above the front porch. Gill and his Dad removed the roof & wall brackets, cleaned up and left yesterday afternoon. They did a very nice job on the roof!

Electrical…Day 2

The main electrical service will enter the “L” Shaped House on the garage wall adjacent the stairs to the bonus room. The main service panel will feed a sub-panel on the utility room wall in the basement. The electrical system will be split along the crawl space wall. Everything to the West of the wall will be fed from the panel in the basement. The rooms above the crawl space, the bonus room, and the garage will be powered from the main panel. The photos below show the main service panel and sub panel installed in the walls and some of the wiring already in place.

 

The Wire-Rite guys have been busy installing boxes, light fixtures, and running wire. The photos below show lighting fixtures in the kitchen ceiling, and more supplies stacked in the living room.

Plumbing…Day 8

Jeremy has finished up almost all of the PVC waste lines. The plumbing is split into two main waste lines that run into the basement floor. The first photo shows the waste line that comes down the East end of the house draining the first and second floor bathrooms and laundries, and the kitchen and mudroom. This line breaks the plane of the floor in the utility room and connects to the main beneath the basement floor. The second photo shows the waste line that comes down the West end of the house that drains the master bath sink, toilet, and shower. It breaks the plane of the basement floor in the first closet in the guest bedroom. Each waste line has a clean-out just above the floor.

The next photo shows the PVC plumbing in the open web trusses in the crawl space beneath the first floor laundry room and bath. All of the waste from the East end of the house ends up in the 4” waste line at the left.

After finishing the PVC waste lines Jeremy is starting on the water feeds. The “L” Shaped House is going to contain an interesting mix of PVC, Copper, and PEX (plastic) pipes. The first order of business is an “assembly line” to make up the copper connections for the various faucets with PEX fittings on the back ends.