DIY Renos

Ouch! Oh! That was the golf club warmer.

 

Fiberglass colours for cars?

As usual, when working on Noah's Ark, you have to make things fit. My wife and I are under 6 feet. The fiberglass shower is 6'-8" and the upstairs bathroom ceiling is at a 45 degree angle for half the width of the ceiling, SOOOO... I have to customize the angled side. Luckily the taps and showerhead are on the tall side.

In my typical Link-fester mode, I went sleuthing for 'Fiberglass Shower Repair' on the WWW, and found some nice How-to articles which can be useful for car repairs too! AND! the best part is that the kit is made by BONDO, somebody who actually knows all about it. AND it comes with tinting kits for the gelcoat finish! I wonder if my wagon would look good in a bathtub colour?



Here's the How-To articles:

http://www.wikihow.com/Repair-a-Fiberglass-Tub-or-Shower

Same one in Print format (Print command is at the bottom of the link above)
http://www.wikihow.com/index.php?title=Repair-a-Fiberglass-Tub-or-Shower&printable=yes

This article is more generic (fiberglass repairs in general, and tub/showers as an example)

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-repair-fiberglass.html

Since the upstairs bathroom drains and watersupply lines are above the main floor bathroom, I have to get the plumbing/drain lines in to install the main floor ceiling. Can't do that without the shower platform and taps installed and the sink drain. I have to notch the ceiling for the drain pipes by lowering part of it by 8". No great loss, since its an 8' 6" ceiling anyway.

 

This shower came with the house, as I said before, but it was installed in the basement. The 84-year old fellow that owned the house before, used the shower instead of the tub on the main floor.

We took it out and stored it in the attic about 12 years ago, so I took it outside yesterday and washed it down with TSP and scuffed the panels and base with 3M's brown pads (about 220 grit or '0' steelwool).

Then I used Rustoleum's Epoxy Appliance white to refinish it, from a light grey to white. Nice spray paint. They give the usual 'one-minute' shake instruction, but they really mean it for this epoxy paint. If it isn't properly mixed, it goes on almost dry and that makes the finish kind of flat. No drips with this paint. It dries enough for a second coat in under 30 minutes, or you have to leave it for a whole week! 3 cans did the floor, the back panel and one side. There's about half a can left. But I'll need 2 more, after I do the angle mods.

I'm basically going to saw off the top edges and lower them to the new height. The back panel might be tricky, where the 45 degree angle has to go, but I figure I can cut it, use pop-rivets with aluminum sheet on the back side and cover the rivetted cuts with a band of epoxied moulding.

I'll take pics and post them when I get to that stage. Meanwhile, the side panels will be stored in plastic vapour barrier. I just need the base installed right now to finish the bathroom and paint it.

 

Pride always precedes the fall? In joy, not overjoy? Well, I jumped the gun. I had to locate the drain lines for the upstairs bathroom sink and shower, and hit two snags. The first was the finished floor height. Our building code says that you need a 1/4" per foot slope to the main drain, which I got by setting the shower base at 3/4" above the new sheething, for the finish floor height. I used 3/4 plywood under the base, until I get the finished flooring in.

The second snag, and this is where I got so pleased with myself, was the drain assembly. I did such a perfect ABS glue up on the drain with its 2" to 1-1/2" reducer and elbow, and pranced around singing "Oh Lord, its hard to be humble, when you're Perfect, etc." that I forgot about venting the shower drain!!! Luckily, I hadn't glued the drain pipe to the assembly. Off I go to my plumbing guru, Bill, at Home Depot, and he asks me a couple trick questions and tells me how to deal with it. Our code says that if the drain starts more than 4 feet away that it has to be vented. But that doesn't necessariy mean a new roof vent. I could use an OATEY vent, like on laundry drains:

http://www.oatey.com/Channel/Shared/ProductGroup/40/Sure-Vent%c2%ae+AAVs.html

AND!!! I could mount it under the bathroom sink, just above the 'P' Trap!!! I had the drain 'T' and the Oatey valve already, so I didn't spend a dime! Didn't have to cut a new roof vent! Didn't have to wreck my nice drain assembly. WHEW!!!! A cheap lesson in humilty for me!

The next issue was the upstairs bathroom sink. We went looking for a modern wall-mounted, no cabinet, no pedestal sink (wife hates cabinets in humid areas) and it had to be less than 20" deep from the wall! I checked out Kijijii, and there were a couple, but for more money than I wanted to spend, and I'd still have to refinish it! Checked out a Demolition salvage yard, and they were in bad shape. Hit the Habitat ReStore, ditto! So I posted a 'WANTED' on Freecycle.org, here in town. 3 hours later, after they approved the ad, I had a quick reply, and I'm off to pick it up in the next 10 minutes! I love it when a plan comes together!

 

Never heard it called an Oatey before, Norm. That's a plumbing supply company. Maybe they make enough Studor valves to now become the common name for it. The Studor valve is normally used in the application you mention. Does it look like this?.......


Studor Mini Vent Air Admittance Valve

 

You old fox! Yeah the Oatey AAV is similar to that. Never heard of a Studor, unless it was a choice like a 'Stude Or' a Hemi???

 

Well, I picked it up. Its all porcelain. No refinishing! And its a Canadian Legend made for the T.E. Eaton company, way back in the way back. Looks better for the main floor bathroom.

My neighbour is a junk meister, and he had a wall-mounting bracket that fits my main floor sink (cast-iron) and the original steel bracket can be tweaked to fit this porcelain sink. Nobody carries those locally, those brackets. One lucky puppy.

 

Glad to read it's going for ya, Norm........... In my next life I'm gona rent...rent a appartment. Soooo, in 10 tears (not years), witch one of us will be done first?:banghead3:.....


I'm.......

 

Now I understand why people move into condos !
Just read the rest of both reno stories. As usual, I need a break!

 

I think you'll be done first... Still have all the drywall to do, and built-in furniture and cupboards and kitchen, and stairs, and........

Reading Tedy's project makes me jealous, all that local help. He can tell ya, that around here, in Winnipeg's Northend, you don't let any local inside. They're scoping out what ya got.

Once I get done with the security tweaks, the only way IN, will be in a massive fire. A buddy of mine used to say that Locks are to keep honest people out. Around here, that's very true.

Renting up here, in this city, is way too expensive for what you get. Cheaper to buy and renovate.

 

I keep striking paydirt with this little sink. The thing was left outside, when I picked it up, and it had a partial towelrack tube attached to what I discovered was one of two missing support 'basin legs'. So I did my usual WWW search for the most likely suspects.... Mind blowing what the rich and stupid spend their money on...

Once I found out that they were still available, I learned that it would take 3 weeks to get them in from WATTS:

http://www.watts.com/pages/_products_details.asp?pid=2216

I can still buy the original support legs from a local wholesaler for $45 (SRP) $32 wholesale. The look like this:


US vendor: ($30 retail) (we don't like getting hosed, but what can we do? )
http://www.builderdepot.com/showbrand.ihtml?id=1657

My neighbour had one leg in a junk barrel, and that's what I needed to set the Height for the mounting bracket on the wall, and install the plumbing stubs, until I install the upstairs bathroom fixtures. They adjust from 27" to 28-1/2" below the front sink rim.

The fat cats pay from almost $300 to $1,200!!!

http://deabath.com/Sinks_and_Sink_Drains/Wall_Hung_sinks/Lavatory_Legs/lavatory_legs.html

And here:
http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/Kohler-K-6880-CP-Memoirs-Table-Legs-Polished-Chrome/45854/Cat/49

My house would have a stroke if I put those in!

 

I'm alwready plotting the next round But gona have a breather in between as I posted in my thread.

Yeah, Northend, even in my time there...........

And yeah, I remeber the days of when a lock was only used to keep honest people out

 

Water Filter Saga

A couple years ago, I bought a matching On-Demand electric water heater to add to the new whole-house plumbing system. The heaters are made under license from the UK company, and made in Puerto Rico. Good folks and decent prices.

http://www.marey.com/index.asp

This is the one I bought:
http://www.marey.com/productDetailsi.asp?productID=14

I bought them from the same company, but they had them 'private branded' via a Chinese company. They don't sell them anymore. I know why. Here's the filter. I bought 2. I just finished installing them and connecting them up and ran water through them. 45 minutes later, one of them broke the inner threads holding the clear filter cannister in place. When I took it down, I saw that the threaded collet plastic was broken and cracked.

The filter replacements cost about $10 from Home Depot. Up here, they only sell expensive units, so I went to another specialty shop and found another brand that would take the same filter and fit on my mounting board for $35.

Here's the Asian MFR. and the unit I bought from Marey.
http://www.comfortable-china.com/pr...=comp-FrontProducts_list01-1298617276712.html

This other one is made in Taiwan and distributed by Boshart Industries in North America. It's all Food Safe plastic, and only 2 pieces, not 3 like the first one, from China.

The problem with the collet is they used a cheaper grade plastic that is brittle. The main top manifold is unharmed and solid.



Anyway, I bought the original pair to filter out sediment, before it gets to these On-Demand water heaters. And I bought them as 'single' units, in case one died (like it did). So I made up a custom mounting board and did a bunch of soldering up of unions and other fittings, including a 'post filter' valve. The pre-filter valve is down near the water meter, 'after' the water meter. The idea is that I can run a soldered up tube, and run on one filter (like it is now).




http://www.boshart.com/pinfo.php?sect=05



There are no industry standards for water filters except the size of the replacement filters.

My plan is to add one other type to filter out chlorine and change one of the 2 sediment filters to catch the microscopic little beasties. Too old to get sick on bad water, and stubborn about not buying bottled water.

Some of the other types are bigger, etc. but up here, our water comes from a lake 143 miles away, and the City has been caught and fined by the Province ($500 million) for not maintaining the Minimum standards. I'd like to be around and healthy, when the City pays that fine, not laying in a hospital bed unable to sue the busturds!

 

Hot Tip!

The chinese filter unit (and I guess most filters) has 1" MIP female threaded entries. The faulty one and the good one were just a bit too big (Brass inserts embedded in the plastic manifold). The good one leaked even with 5 wraps of the thin white Teflon tape. I asked the grey-haired expert at Home Despot. He told me to use either the pink or yellow Teflon tape (used on old iron pipes and gas fittings.) It's thicker. And it works! I had a roll, but never knew if I should use it on brass. Very helpful fellow throughout this Plumbing adventure. Contractors wanted huge money ($25,000) to do what I did, mostly because there's a lot of unforeseeables in an old house. The details can't be overlooked. Right from new Drains into the city line, and moving all the plumbing from the East side of the main beam to the the West and installing new kitchen, laundry, and bathrooms (we only had one, now we have 2). One throne each!

I know more about woodwork and framing and electrical, so I went slow and did it so I could repair it. Sure got lots of soldering experience too. The only leaks were at the threaded unions and stop valves for one WC. Amen! I'd left the unions tight, but not the final tightening, to see if my soldered joints would fail. I wouldn't want to tear down drywall to fix those.

The rest should be like playing with Lego blocks.

 

Pride precedeth the fall

When I saw that in the Bible, I always caught myself when I felt a bit cocky. Yesterday, I understood the difference between False Pride and Arrogance and downright, Honest-To-God Pride!

400 solder joints, over 120 elbows and tees, 25 threaded unions, 16 shutoff valves, all new Drain and Vents right from the roof to the basement, and only 4 solder joints that had to be touched up. My plumbing masterpiece is all done. It took one good book with lots of pictures and dimensions and 'angle-of-dangle' plumbing codes, only 3 rolls of solder, 3 cannisters of propane gas, and 3 rolls of Teflon tape.

Yesterday, one of my wife's co-workers asked her how the house was coming along, and where I got my experience to do all this plumbing. We're sitting down for dinner, and she asked me.

I told her "From a Book, and watching my father cuss everytime he screwed up a soldering job. She went and checked for leaks, and came back and winked "Nice job", she said. I just grinned.

Well, pop, whereever you are, I broke the black magic. Dam, I did a superb job.

I designed it so I could shut off any major plumbing zone, without affecting the others. and did it for both the Hot and Cold water lines, as well as the water filtration.

Somewhere between a Happy Camper and one proud SOB, leaning to SOB!