Construction Journal Entry Week of 6/23/13

6/24-26/13 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Monday through Wednesday.

My schedule was moved ahead one day this week so that I could make an appointment on Wednesday afternoon. On the way I spent a lot of time talking to a plumber at McLendon's Hardware in Woodinville. We talked about the problem of faucets working properly with the low pressure that I have. He was sure that standard faucets would not work so I explained my plan of using half-inch ball valves instead. He wasn't sure I could do it, but I think I can. He suggested that I go to Second Use and buy used faucets to get the handles and spouts I will need. I bought most of the parts I will need for the drains and for the faucet construction.

From there, I proceeded on to Monroe where I visited with Uncle Charles. I arrived at Camp Serendipity at about 1:00. I brought a big bag of safflower seeds with me so I filled Dave's bird feeder right away. Then, since it was a little chilly, I started a fire in the wood stove.

I was pleased to see that Moonlight Tile & Stone had been there and had finished the granite countertop installation. It looks great and I took a couple pictures.I called Moonlight and paid them over the phone with a credit card. I told them how pleased I was with their work.

I was also pleased that there were no mice in any of the traps.

After lunch I tried to nap but I was too eager to get to work on the plumbing so I gave up on the nap. I needed some ABS pipe and after searching around I found a length of it under the front porch. I started installing the bathroom drain and had a few false starts because of the two different sizes involved. I also discovered, actually re-discovered, that I needed an extension tube for the drain. When Dave had temporarily installed the old temporary sink, we had used a discarded caulk tube as an extension. I should have remembered that.

I drove the 20-mile round-trip to Plain and bought an extension tube at Plain Hardware. When I got back, I installed the bathroom drain and tested it for leaks. It worked fine. Before I quit for the day, I did some figuring and planning for the kitchen drain and the faucets.

On Tuesday morning I started work on the kitchen drain and learned that I needed a 1 1/2" ABS trap adapter so I drove back to Plain and bought the adapter. I also bought a 1 1/2" p-trap which I also needed.

When I got back, Bert showed up, so he followed me up to the cabin and got a biscuit, a tray of gravy, and his customary hugs and strokes.

Then I began getting the pieces ready to install the drain. I wasn't sure how to install the sink strainers and there were no installation instructions on the package. On each strainer, between the big nut and the flange, there was a rubber washer and a fiber washer. I figured that the seal was going to be made between the flange on the strainer and the sink, so I figured that the rubber washer should go between them. The plumber had said that the fiber washer was to reduce friction when tightening the nut so I figured that should go under the sink between the sink and the nut. That's where I put them.

It took some figuring to decide where the Studor vent should go and whether to use an s-trap or a p-trap. Some of the tubes needed to be cut and I wanted to make sure not to make a mistake and cut any of them too short. So I took my time.

After lunch and a nap, I resumed work on the kitchen drains. I cut sections of the ABS pipe to make the parts to install the Studor vent and when I was about ready to glue it up, I discovered that the pipe was smaller than the vent and I needed a reducer. For the third time I drove back to Plain Hardware and bought an ABS reducer.

When I got back, I glued up the ABS parts and then assembled the entire drain system under the kitchen sink.

I poured a jug of water in each half of the double sink and saw that it leaked. I could stop the leaks in the plastic tubes by tightening the nuts, but one of the sinks leaked at the strainer.

Another problem was that the sinks didn't empty. That rubber washer that I had installed on top made the strainer higher than the bottom of the sink so it dammed up the water. That was unacceptable.

It was about then that I remembered the instructions that the McLendon plumber had given me. He said I needed to seal the joint between the strainer and the sink with silicone, and he had put a tube of silicone in my pile of merchandise. That's what I get for not paying attention.

It was time to quit for the day so I went to the shower planning to fix the kitchen sinks in the morning. I had a scare in the shower that really worried me.

The pressure was lower than usual so that only about half of the holes in the shower head were squirting water. The only explanation I could think of was that the leak up at the spring had gotten so bad that the water level no longer reached my outlet pipe. That would mean that I was showering with the water that was still in the pipe, and as the pipe emptied all the way, the pressure would drop until I would get no water at all. I was pretty panicky trying to come up with a plan for fixing the problem.

Then it hit me. I had opened the valve out on the front porch a couple hours earlier to water the giant sequoia named Brian and had forgotten to close the valve. I shut the water off, got out of the shower, went out on the front porch buck naked, closed the valve, and got back inside before the mosquitoes out there even noticed me. I was super relieved to have full pressure when I got back in the shower.

On Wednesday morning I reinstalled the sink strainers but since the silicone is supposed to cure for 3 1/2 hours, I decided to leave the plumbing alone and do something else. I spent most of the rest of the morning whacking down weeds and brush around the lower roadway and the parking area. Then I did some preliminary design work on the faucet system using ball valves. I had my lunch and left for home at about 1:30.



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