23 July 2019
We've been hard at work doing more prep for the HVAC, among other things.
I did a little bit of landscaping work to create pads for the two outdoor condenser units that will be installed. One of the condensers will be on the south end of the house just outside the utility closet. The other one will be on the east end of the house just outside the pantry.
For the one on the east end, we first had to move this heating oil tank. That's one of our neighbors, Isaac, giving me a hand. He's also in the process of building his house, so we help each other out from time to time.
Once the tank and footers were out of the way, I had a tree stump to remove. The work this took to get it out did not fill me with kind thoughts about the previous owner. Why she let a tree grow up under the oil tank I will never know.
Finally I got it out of there. I only bumped the brick wall once. Just a tiny bit.
I chiseled a hole through the wall for the line set and electrical wire and then mortared in a PVC pipe for those to go through. I also created a gravel bed for the condenser pad to get it up off the dirt and keep grass away from it. I like things to be nice and neat if I can help it.
Amy and I also built a platform up in the attic for the air handler that will go there. It's a full 4'x8'. Seems a little large to me, but that's what Vonnie (our HVAC guy from Davidson Heating and Air in Lexington) told me they wanted. So there it is. You can't tell now, but there are a lot of shims under there to make it level. Those old 2"x6" ceiling joists have sagged a lot over the decades.
We're re-using a few of the vent holes from the previous forced hot air heating system on the first floor, but mostly I'm cutting new 4"x12" vent holes in all the rooms.
After talking with Isreal (the HVAC job foreman), I built a plenum for the first floor air return under the stairs. There will be a grille on both sides, one in the foyer, one in the living room.
Our front porch and driveway became a large staging area while they were working. They're not done yet, but should be by the end of July. No hurry since there are several other things that have to be completed before we can move in anyway.
One of those things, which is really four things, which is really fourteen things, is getting the 3 full and 1 half bathrooms completed. I've got most of the toilets in, a couple of the vanities are done, and the tub on the second floor is in place.
Three of our toilets are standard 2 piece tank and bowl combinations. We picked these because of the way they look. To us they kind of fit our old house style.
The box said they use a new patented "Vormax" flush system with "2X" the bowl cleaning power. I was surprised to find that they were being quite literal. These toilets actually have two flush valves! I hope they don't turn in to maintenance headaches.
We are making nearly all of our bathroom vanities from furniture pieces. These take a little while to set up because we have to cut a hole in the top for the sink, cut holes in the back or bottom for the pipes, and then modify the drawers to fit around everything. Amy put two coats of shellac on the tops before I drop the sinks in.
This is the tub in the shared bathroom upstairs. It will be a tub/shower combo with a metal curtain rod going all the way around the tub.
I've also been working on the laundry area. The dryer vent is ready to go.
And I'm halfway done with the laundry hookups in the pantry.
Oh, and we've also started looking at a counter top for the kitchen island. It's probably going to be this granite from Schneider Stone that sort of looks like soap stone.
We've been hard at work doing more prep for the HVAC, among other things.
I did a little bit of landscaping work to create pads for the two outdoor condenser units that will be installed. One of the condensers will be on the south end of the house just outside the utility closet. The other one will be on the east end of the house just outside the pantry.
For the one on the east end, we first had to move this heating oil tank. That's one of our neighbors, Isaac, giving me a hand. He's also in the process of building his house, so we help each other out from time to time.
Once the tank and footers were out of the way, I had a tree stump to remove. The work this took to get it out did not fill me with kind thoughts about the previous owner. Why she let a tree grow up under the oil tank I will never know.
Finally I got it out of there. I only bumped the brick wall once. Just a tiny bit.
I chiseled a hole through the wall for the line set and electrical wire and then mortared in a PVC pipe for those to go through. I also created a gravel bed for the condenser pad to get it up off the dirt and keep grass away from it. I like things to be nice and neat if I can help it.
Amy and I also built a platform up in the attic for the air handler that will go there. It's a full 4'x8'. Seems a little large to me, but that's what Vonnie (our HVAC guy from Davidson Heating and Air in Lexington) told me they wanted. So there it is. You can't tell now, but there are a lot of shims under there to make it level. Those old 2"x6" ceiling joists have sagged a lot over the decades.
We're re-using a few of the vent holes from the previous forced hot air heating system on the first floor, but mostly I'm cutting new 4"x12" vent holes in all the rooms.
After talking with Isreal (the HVAC job foreman), I built a plenum for the first floor air return under the stairs. There will be a grille on both sides, one in the foyer, one in the living room.
Our front porch and driveway became a large staging area while they were working. They're not done yet, but should be by the end of July. No hurry since there are several other things that have to be completed before we can move in anyway.
One of those things, which is really four things, which is really fourteen things, is getting the 3 full and 1 half bathrooms completed. I've got most of the toilets in, a couple of the vanities are done, and the tub on the second floor is in place.
Three of our toilets are standard 2 piece tank and bowl combinations. We picked these because of the way they look. To us they kind of fit our old house style.
The box said they use a new patented "Vormax" flush system with "2X" the bowl cleaning power. I was surprised to find that they were being quite literal. These toilets actually have two flush valves! I hope they don't turn in to maintenance headaches.
We are making nearly all of our bathroom vanities from furniture pieces. These take a little while to set up because we have to cut a hole in the top for the sink, cut holes in the back or bottom for the pipes, and then modify the drawers to fit around everything. Amy put two coats of shellac on the tops before I drop the sinks in.
This is the tub in the shared bathroom upstairs. It will be a tub/shower combo with a metal curtain rod going all the way around the tub.
I've also been working on the laundry area. The dryer vent is ready to go.
And I'm halfway done with the laundry hookups in the pantry.
Oh, and we've also started looking at a counter top for the kitchen island. It's probably going to be this granite from Schneider Stone that sort of looks like soap stone.
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