New Life in the Woods

Just another day like yesterday and the day before… except today I almost finished!

I got all the copper pipes out today, including those nasty little right-angle bits in the tricky corner at the bottom-left of the bathroom. Then I started putting in the new PEX pipes and fittings. Most of it went in without much trouble, but again that little corner at the bottom-left of the bathroom (as viewed from outside) was the most trouble. I have the new plastic PEX pipes laid out now from the utility closet to the bathroom and from the back of the shower around the front to the toilet. Then I ran out of PEX pipe.

Seems I underestimated the total length required when I told Dan (my brother) what I’d need. Makes sense, in retrospect, because one generally has to run the pipe, leaving extra at both ends before cutting and connecting it to the fittings. There is always some waste… plus, I wasn’t accounting for that complex little jog around that problem corner at the bottom-left of the bathroom. But now there’s just a short stretch of about 5 feet running from the bathroom sink to the shower where I need to run both the hot and cold water pipes. So, at minimum I needed about 10 more feet of pipe. However, I also want to run some pipes up the wall for a washer & dryer, which just makes sense as long as I have the wall open. I’d forgotten about that when I talked to my brother.

I went into town and got the additional pipe I need, plus a few more fittings (plus one of those little blue things that are used to disconnect the fittings, just in case). That used up the last of my gas so I got another tank full. All these expenses, plus running into town every other day, means money is gonna be tight again for a while until I send Susan the receipts and get reimbursed, but that’s Ok.

The good news is that tomorrow the plumbing is done! I just have a short list of things that remain:

• Finish running the pipes from the bathroom sink to the shower;
• Install hot and cold water pipes in the wall just to the other side of the bathroom for a washer (and cap them off for now);
• Run the 220 volt wiring for a dryer to the same area (but I’ll leave this unconnected for now);
• Reconnect the incoming water supply to the rest of the plumbing;
• Insulate all the pipes;
• Fill the water heater with water, turn on the power, and test it;
• Examine everything for leaks;
• Patch up the plastic covering the walls outside and then put the siding back on.

That last bit could take a couple extra days, and it is cold without the siding on a big section of the house. Tons of cold air is getting in, but the wood stove still heats up the place fairly well. It just doesn’t last till morning as well as it does when the house is tight, so you can believe that I will be buttoning up the house again just as soon as I am sure there are no more leaks!

So, it’s just another day… or, to put it another way, just one more day until I have all the pipes replaced and can have a shower here. I did think about putting out a light on my extension cord when I got home to finish up, but I don’t want to run water through the pipes until I have put insulation around all of them. After all, it does seem to be getting down to freezing temps at night (despite what my outdoor thermometer tells me). So, better safe than sorry. Tomorrow is soon enough. I am looking forward to a nice hot shower, or even a bath (my muscles sure could use that!) but with the cabin so cold (without the siding ad insulation on the outside) I might just freeze when I get out of the shower, so I am resigned to wait a couple days until I get everything done… maybe.