The bathroom swap

Oceana and I came up for another working weekend.  This weekend was a big weekend.  We are planning to bring the new bathroom online.  Up until now we’ve done a lot of behind the scenes work to get to where we’re at and this weekend will bring it all together.  A few weeks back (blog post here) we ran new drain and water lines for the new bathroom but the water lines still aren’t tied in.  The existing water lines throughout the house are a combination of corroded iron pipe, copper, and CPVC.  We’ll be replacing all of the water lines throughout the house with Pex and in doing so, we’ll tear out all of the old lines. 

Connecting the Pex

To connect the water to the new bathroom, it was time to transition from the old water piping to the new pex piping.  Previously (blog post here) we trenched and laid a new PVC water line from the meter to the side of the house and brought it through the foundation wall just below the new bathroom.  Today was the day that we’d connect the new Pex pipes to the new water line.  Also as part of this, we’d run new Pex lines to the water heater as well as the kitchen sink. 

Running more Pex

Sunday morning I started with drilling holes in the floor at the water heater and at the kitchen sink.  I got geared up and headed down into the crawl space.  Oceana fed the Pex lines down the holes by the water heater and I drug them across the crawl space to meet up with the Pex lines from the new bathroom.  I made the connections and then secured the pipes to the floor framing.  Oceana then fed the Pex lines in the holes at the kitchen sink and I drug them over to the lines by the water heater and connected them there. 

New Pressure Reducing Valve

With the lines ran, we made a parts list and did a quick supply run.  We made it back just in time for lunch.  After lunch, it was time.  We turned off the water to the house (both the old and the new lines) and I got back into the crawl space where I made the connection between the Pex and the 1” PVC water line.  As part of this connection, I installed a pressure reducing valve which will keep the water pressure at 50 PSI versus the 75 PSI that is coming from the city water.  75 PSI is great for showering but not so great for all of the valves inside of toilets, showers, etc.

Fishing….for bolts…

With the Pex tied in to the new water lines, I installed the shut off valves at the faucet, toilet, and kitchen sink.  I then reconnected the kitchen sink to the new shut offs.  In the bathroom, we assembled the toilet and set it in place on its wax ring.  This was rather uneventful except that I dropped one of the toilet mounting bolts down the drain.  I confirmed that they were magnetic and then sent a magnet down the drain and retrieved the lost bolt. 

Water on!

It was time to turn on the water.  I went down in the crawlspace while Oceana turned on the water.  I could hear the water flowing through the pipes as pressure built and then quiet.  Oceana ran through the house and checked all of the piping.  All good!  Back in the house I opened up the valves on the water heater and then bled the air out of the lines at the kitchen sink.  We turned on the toilet valve and the toilet filled as expected.  Awesome.  I turned on the shower and was disappointed by what I saw – a trickle of water. 

Bad shower head

I thought maybe the valve was airlocked so Oceana shut off the main water while I disassembled the shower valve.  It looks fine.  I reassembled and tested again – same results.  I disassembled and then reinstalled it again, same results.  At Oceana’s urging, I removed the shower head.  There was good water flow coming out of the arm that the head mounts to so that means the valve is working properly.  Guess we have a faulty shower head.  Bummer. 

Pedestal sink

Last piece of the puzzle is the sink.  I will be building a pecky cypress vanity with a Corian countertop.  I’m real busy with work right now and haven’t got around to building it yet.  So as a stopgap measure, I figured we can take the pedestal sink from the back bathroom (which is now decommissioned as the water has been turned off to it) and install it temporarily in the new bathroom.  What a pain in the butt this was.  If you’re going to be installing a pedestal sink – you’ve got to lay out the rough plumbing accordingly so everything lines up.  We weren’t planning on installing the pedestal, so our drain lines were way too low for the pedestal which causes interference with the pedestal base and the drain line.  Another supply run to grab a shower head and some drain parts.

Good showerhead. Stupid sink.

We got back and hooked up the new showerhead.  Good pressure.  Awesome!  Then we turned our attention back to the pedestal sink.  I installed the new drain pieces and just generally fought this God forsaken piece of porcelain for the next hour or two.  It’s connected.  The drain leaks a little.  It’s temporary.  Whatever.  It will work for now.

Rocket launch – from the dock!

We finished up the day in time to grab a quick snack and head down to the dock to watch the 7:27 PM launching of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with its human payload.  This was pretty neat.  It seemed like everyone was on the lake for this.  I could hear those on the south side of the lake say “there it is!”.  A few seconds later we were able to see it.  It stayed in view for nearly 5 minutes.  Very cool!

Good neighbors

It was good catching up with the neighbors this weekend.  Mark and Kelly stopped over and then invited us over for a tour of the new tile Mark did in their bathroom.  Well done Mark!  Bud and Diana stopped over for a bit.  Tom dropped by (right after I dropped the toilet bolt down the drain) and Joe and Eric stopped by while we were chatting with Tom.  It’s really nice to have good neighbors.

That’s all, folks

That’s all for now. Thanks for following along on our journey!