Skwerl's new cabin

[irishpwr46]

just so you know, youre going to have to either swap the hookups on the sink or flip the cartridge in the shower body. im not sure which is which coming up through the floor

 

[skwerl]

The hot lines have red tape around them where they come out of the slab. We replaced most of the pipes but they are plumbed up just like the old ones. And the plumber who did the work has been plumbing for 15 years.

edit: I just spoke with him on the phone and he said he never even looked at the pipes, just did it like it was done before. Looks like the previous owners just lived with the shower valves backwards. He said he will fix it for me. Thanks for catching that!

 

[irishpwr46]

anytime

 

[skwerl]

I got all my ceiling fans hung including swapping one from my old house. There are now working lights in every room with ceiling fans in the living room, dining room, 2 bedrooms and the shop. I've given up on waiting for my drywall guy so today I began experimenting with taping seams. I'll see how it goes back in the spare bedrooms before moving out to the hallway and kitchen. I also hung a garage door opener but need to get power to it. I can't believe there has never been a garage door opener on this house. I also picked up some light switches and electrical outlets and began swapping them out. Every outlet in the house has been painted over and they look like crap.

Here's the living room and the dining/office area both pretty much finished except for base.

 

[AndrewNagle]

Looking good

 

[skwerl]

Thanks, Andrew. I spent another 12+ hours there today with about 10 on drywall taping and mudding then finished off with a couple hours of painting. I'm making good headway and should be at substantial completion with the drywall tomorrow (not counting the bathrooms or garage). Taping isn't that difficult and I can always throw on another coat of mud if it isn't good enough.

I also got my garage door opener working by running an extension cord. Wired up the controller and safety sensors and had to lube up all the garage door wheels and hinges. Now I can secure my garage plus I don't have to lock the door from the garage into the house.

I'm really disappointed in my 'buddies' who were going to jump in and help. For 6 months they were all enthusiastic about helping me get my house together. Today is 16 days since closing and I've had two guys show up for about 6 hours each. After tomorrow I'm going to be at a standstill without the plumbing in the bathrooms resolved and still no sign of my well guy who was going to get my water treatment setup resolved. I need my carpenter friend to hang the three doors, I can't do anything with the garage until the kitchen door is installed because the garage will be open to the outside air.

 

[skwerl]

Today I went back to work cutting trees and my plumber buddy was able to come over and fix the two shower valves. He also finished hanging the drywall and started on the shower pan. I'd love to head over tonight to mud and tape the drywall and get the toilet reinstalled in the front bathroom but I'm exhausted so it will have to wait.

 

[skwerl]

Been working on the bathrooms the last couple days after work. The plumbing was completed so I was able to close up the walls, install the shower drain and floor pan, install the dura rock and built my half wall for the shower.

Took a nap this afternoon from 1:30 to 4:30 so I have been working at the house all evening. Here's some pictures.

 

[skwerl]

Finished the master bath shower today and applied the first coat of Red Seal. Tonight I'll go back and put the second coat on and tomorrow I'll begin tiling. Bathrooms are so stupid expensive it isn't even funny. Today I picked out my vanity, sink, faucet, mirror and matching shelf over the toilet and that was $862. And I don't even have a toilet yet.

 

[Doug M]

Looking good Brian! Congrats man..

 

[skwerl]

Started tiling the shower today. Been a long time since I installed tile and I've never dealt with 24" long tile before. Luckily my shower is pretty straight and square so it's not going too bad so far. The reason for the gap at the bottom is because I'm trying to make it so I don't have any horizontal cuts at the ceiling. I hope my math works!

My buddy finally came by and installed my water softener today. My water has so much iron in it you can fill up a bucket and 3 hours later the water will be orange from the rust. Looking forward to clean water and no more stains on sinks and toilets.

I stopped back by after dinner and put the first coat of paint in the front bathroom. Hoping to get the vanity and toilet installed tomorrow, along with seeing how much more tile I can get installed.

 

[Gabe]

That's gonna look really cool when finished ... I still haven't gotten back to finish my tile in my bathroom, the new retaining wall a and other things got in the way.

You're moving along nicely though, good job!

 

[skwerl]

Thanks, Gabe. I appreciate the info on the Red Gard, that stuff was a lot easier to use than I expected and I think it's going to work great.

 

[Premium08]

Good work man

 

[Gabe]

Thanks, Gabe. I appreciate the info on the Red Gard, that stuff was a lot easier to use than I expected and I think it's going to work great.

You're welcome. What mortar are you using for the tile? I found out that it's supposed to be polymer modified stuff ... I bought the FlexBond stuff

 

[skwerl]

I'm using the stuff in the 4.5 gallon bucket that says 'tile adhesive'. I never even looked at it.

Today I put up more tile, almost every piece is a cut so it is taking a long time. I also got the front bathroom functional with a working sink, toilet and shower.

While trying to dig out a camphor tree stump that had grown up between the pool plumbing, I broke the middle of 5 pipes coming out of the manifold. I dug it all out and got the stuff to fix it. Cut the pipe and the hole filled with water. Of course the ball valve on the line at the pump is frozen so I had to drain the pool. I finally thought I had it licked at about 8pm but the coupling slipped at the last second and stuck in the wrong place, so now I get to do it over again tomorrow.

 

[weather man]

If your softener has trouble with your iron, there are options out there that do a good job. My brother had very high iron in his well water.

 

[skwerl]

If your softener has trouble with your iron, there are options out there that do a good job. My brother had very high iron in his well water.

I'm completely unfamiliar with water systems. This is the first time in my life I've ever been on well water. My buddy supposedly hooked me up with what I needed though. As soon as I can I'm going to build a lean-to and enclose everything against the side of the garage and I'll get pictures of the setup then.

 

[Wicked GT]

Coming along nicely!

 

[i am ryan]

That tile is AWESOME. You're rocking and rolling on this. Nice job, man.