- Dan Schumacher
Laying Some Pipe
The plumber showed up as promised on Friday. I got to play the role of an apprentice for the day which was very educational. The bonus was that there was another person working in the basement with me. It was a challenge to figure out where to run the drain-waste-vent lines while keeping the existing fixtures operational and taking into account the future plumbing needs. We got the two three inch sanitary pipes in which will give us the necessary infrastructure when I start to renovate the main level.
The next steps are to get the underground work inspected, mix and pour some concrete, and then frame the guest bedrooms and downstairs bathroom.
Earlier in the week I was able to open up the hallway leading to the guest bedrooms and bathroom. Per the structural engineer's report I needed to install a five and half inch LVL microlam beam with two jack studs at each end to support the load bearing wall.
I learned a valuable lesson the last time I put some shoring in place, it is very hard to nail up a 2x6 and 4x4 all by yourself. This time, I was able to get Trish's help before she went to work.
Once the upper supports were in place it didn't take long to put up the screw jacks supported on a 4x6 beam.
Done! Almost. I still need to cut off part of the bottom plate and demolish the concrete footing that is on the left side of the opening. Since cutting the concrete creates so much dust I am going to wait and demo all of the footings at the same time.
We decided to get out of town for a day and on Saturday drove up to Sandpoint, ID and Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Schweitzer was about an hour and forty five minute drive. About 15 minutes longer than the other ski area we went to. The mountain was much nicer and is the largest ski resort in Washington and Idaho. Already looking forward to snow so we can try it out (NOT!)
On Sunday we took the dogs for a walk at Riverside State Park. It was a beautiful day. Sunny and almost seventy degrees. The trail took us along the Little Spokane River. The water must be very cold because Poncho wasn't interested in anything more than taking a quick dip. I was surprised to see Fenway get that close to the water.
