TheWizard: 2010.06

2010-06-29

Fully Functional Bathroom... not!!!

Subtitle:
Stupidity: Parts 1 & 2

Part 1: I finally, last night, (this morning?) got to the point of hooking of the drain to the sink and the water lines to the sink & the toilet. The sink drain is 1 1/4" diameter, and the old fittings were 1 1/2". Blame that one on stupidity and not checking the parts closely.

Part 2: However, the one that caused me to laugh, was hooking up the old water line to the toilet. After installing the new backer board for the tile, and the tile, I hadn't even contemplated that the supply hose from the floor to the toilet would now be 3/4" too short!!! After all, all I did was raise the floor by 3/4".

I have one last chance for redemption (tonight) before I'm off to Girl's Camp & Bishop's night.

2010-06-24

Pretty Floor....

All the tile for the floor is now installed. Grouting tomorrow and we can reinstall the toilet by the weekend... maybe....

Pretty picture is forth coming... I had a problem sending pictures from my cell phone to gmail. Finally got around to calling t-Mobile tech support: the solution - remove the battery from the phone. Phone now sends pictures fine again. The tech said to remove the battery for a few minutes 3 times a week! I guess rebooting isn't enough anymore.

2010-06-21

Watering Grandson

The flowers aren't the only thing that need water:

Mirrors

Yesterday, I got the mirrors installed and the electrical alterations finished. For those that were wondering about holes cut for the mirrors, each of the two new mirrors is a medicine cabinet. I also got about half to 2/3's of the tile laid.

911 Superhero

Today was a 100 mile bike rally. Our crew ran the medical support. Part of the problem with medical support is having a large enough crew to be able to handle the need, and staying occupied. Sometimes crew members get bored. And bored people frequently find something to do. One of our older members had wandered by the face painting booth and gotten a batman mask. It was not a far jump until the EMS flag became a cape.

As for me, I played cribbage and took a nap - maybe not as much fun as dressing up like a superhero, but a bit more dignified..

2010-06-18

Wiring

I hate snaking wire. I guess I'd like it better if I used something other than a coat hanger. Here's the view of the spaghetti in the wall, before Chaelomen came and helped pull it through.

That's a flash light hanging in the 2" X 3" hole for the wiring box with a cosmetic mirror in the hole at an angle so I could see whether I was pulling the right wire or had some other problem.

Buzz Light Year

So, Squirt and company came to visit the office. As we're on the way up in the elevator (the freight elevator was the one working that day), Grandma took a look at the construction cone in the corner and asked Squirt "Do you think Buzz Lightyear is under there?"

And then Grandma looked... just to be sure.

2010-06-17

There's a Floor

I got the hard board installed Tuesday night... finally. The first piece was a pain to cut. I measured & cut, then recut, because it was too big to fit, and cut some more (you get the idea). The second piece had many more corners, but I got a bit smarter. I took one of the cardboard boxes (which weighs quite a bit less then the hardiboard, cut it down to a 3' by 5' piece, then further cut it down for water pipes and doorways. Once the cardboard fit, it was an easy job to transfer to the hardiboard, then cut & it fit the first time!

Tonight, I cut the holes for the mirrors; tomorrow, I need to reposition some wiring... seems the light switch for the adjacent room is in the wrong place.

2010-06-14

Squirt on the slide

New home; different toys. Here's Squirt going down the slide backwards:

2010-06-10

No More Mildew

The good news is that there's no more mildew in the corner by the bathtub.

However, on the other hand, there's no more floor... We'll see what trouble I can get into tomorrow. There has not been a great deal of time to work on the bathroom since Monday - Tuesday was our Ward's night at the Temple; tonight was the youth activity night; tomorrow there's a moving project; Friday, a Ward dinner / talent show.

Friday the new mirror arrives, so hopefully we'll find a way to be ready to paint by then...

2010-06-08

The deconstruction of the bathroom

The reconstruction of the bathroom is underway. We ordered new cabinets & counter top a month ago, but didn't want to get serious until after the new parts had arrived, which they did while David & Sarah were here. Today I was off work for my annual physical & for an eye exam, so in between trips to the doctors, the deconstruction of the bathroom was mostly completed. Pictures before & during demolition:

Removing the mirror was a bit tricky, but a trip to the internet advised us to cover the mirror in duct tape (to make cleanup easier when it breaks), wear safety glasses & long sleeves, and to pry carefully, using shims to slowly pry it from the wall. Turns out the advise worked & we didn't break the mirror, although the sheet rock got a bit ripped up.

This project got started because there was a soft spot in the floor. I went downstairs to the furnace room so I could view the damage to the floor from the bottom side. The view was obstructed by heater ducts, but I got a different view... a puddle by the water heater... CHANGE PROJECTS!!! The condensation drain pipe from the A/C was not draining in the drain, but next to it.... and leaking through the floor to the crawl space / storage area. Some PVC fittings were required to add a leg to the drain to make it drain three inches into the floor drain. While I was at it, I also modified the drain for the water heater catch pan so that it would drain into the same drain... rather than next to it. The picture, worthy of "there I fixed it" is forth coming.