Rescued by Master Butler

Even though we passed the rough plumbing inspection, we still needed to extend the waste plumbing vent stacks up above the roof before insulation and final inspection. The insulation is penciled on the schedule for October 10th, so we needed to get these vents run as soon as possible.

The waste stack vents go on the high side of the shed roof -- way up there -- so that the shedding snow doesn't tear them off. To accomplish the task I originally had a 40' ladder scheduled for pickup at Sunbelt Rentals. Then a neighbor framing their cabin down the road offered to loan me his 40' ladder already on site. (I have to be honest that I really hate going up that high on a ladder.) Then on Friday, in answer to my silent prayer, one of my dear friends, Tom, called asking if there was anything I needed help with at the cabin on Saturday. Tom owns Master Butler. His company specializes in residental home maintenance services using tall ladders. If you need gutters, windows, roofs, dryer vents, or holiday lights hung, I couldn't recommend his company more highly. Honest as the day is long and always impeccable service. (Even Tom hates 40' ladders.)

Long story short, Tom showed up with a ladder Saturday afternoon and knocked out the above-roof vent extensions in a couple hours with my feeble, on-the-ground guidance and encouragement.

Tim Fricke, the Master Butler

Prior to Tom's arrival, I spent the morning connecting the master toilet room vent stack to the shared toilet room stack and then up and out the eve.  Of course, I forgot to take pictures of all that work. 

Katie arrived about noon and took on the task of resolving the inspection note on the lag screws missing from our ledger board. She drilled installed twenty-five 1/2" lag bolts ten inches apart in the ledger board. 

Katie installing the lag bolts. 

The lag bolts on the ledger board. 

As soon as we completed the vent stacks, I sent Tom home, and then went to work on resolving the blocking issue noted by the inspector.

Crush block installed between the foundation cap and 1st floor
in the laundry room below upper floor wall post.

Crush block installed between the foundation cap and 1st floor
in the bathroom room below upper floor wall post.

For the morbidly curious, here are all the inspectors notes from the inspections this week. Not all of them have to be resolved now, but many of them (the green and blue) do need to be resolved before we can insulate.
(Green = already resolved, Blue = need engineer's approval, Yellow = not urgent, resolve later.)

1. Ledger lags 10 O.C. per plan.
2. 24-hour timer each floor by final.
3. Engineering approval w/ stamp for roof rafters 3-1/8 x 15-1/2 Glm 24” O.C”
4. 6-3/4 x 7-1/2 squash block basement bath."
5. 6-3/4 x 7-1/2 squash block utility room."
6. Switched bunk room & brm does not line up w/ shear walls below at main floor. Provide eng stamped remedy w/ detail approval for joist blocking etc. for mst straps; and submit new floor framing plan for review w/ stamp.
7. Toe nail & mortise joint sufficient for tie in at the angle 6x12 to cant 6-3/4 x 18 outlook beam.
8. Provide eng stamped detail where angled columns tie in to corner post at bottom.”
9. Front deck cant beam not 2/3-1/3. Provide eng stamped detail w/ solution.”
10. All stairs to code by final.
11. 80” headroom basement stairs
12. Fir out for R-21 basement
13. No mantle by final = headroom = traffice, etc.
14. Temp windows below 18" off floor -or- guard rail 24" maintain max 4" at egress below
15. Hook up all exausts to exterior, kitchen, baths, laundry,
16. FSK behind Fireplace after insulation
17. Extend DWV up through roof
18. Smoke detector immediately outside bedroom upstairs
19. Draft stop at rafters, maintain 2" clearance

Passes and Fails

When we arrived Monday morning for the inspections, I worked on getting the plumbing stack filled with water. Of course, after I got it filled I couldn't get it to hold water. Some fiddling with my method and process for pressurzing the cleanout balloons finally rectified the "leaking".

While we waited for the inspector to arrive, Katie and I worked on running the low voltage Ethernet cabling to various locations in the house. We ran out of cable before we could complete the runs for the back door camera and the corner outlet in the main room.

When the inspector finally arrived after 3pm, he quickly discovered that although we had 3 copies of our blue prints, none of them were the official "county stamped" set. (!!) Normally an inspector would walk away at that point and tell us to have the set next time we call, BUT he graciously got as much done as he could.

• The plumbing inspection took barely 5 minutes. Pass. What a let down. I was SO prepared to explain everything.
• The shear wall inspection took maybe 10 minutes. 
• He niggled the fireplace roof framing *again* and asked for a simple correction to the roof joist.
• He tagged our staircase to the downstairs as not providing enough headroom (80"). We'll need to shave the beam (with engineering approval) or have Norm redo the staircase.
• In looking through the fireplace manual, he advised us not to install a fireplace mantle until *after* final inspection due to clearances.
• He noted the need to fully comply with egress window and staircase code -- but not required until final inspection.
• He wants a smoke detector in the hallway outside the master bedroom. The one on the other wall near the bunk room is apparently not sufficient... (even though L&I passed it.) :-|

So, the final results for Monday were:

• Shear Wall - Completed
• Rough Pluming - Completed
• Rough Mechanical - Requires Reinspection (@ Final because the fan vents won't be run until after drywall)
• Chimney Roughin - Requires Reinspection

We didn't depart until after 5pm, and when we arrived home I immediately went out to the garage and located the stamped set of plans. (Doh!) Then attempted to reschedule the Floor Framing and Rough Framing inspections for Tuesday.

I got confirmation about 8am on Tuesday morning that he would be up there early afternoon to do the floor and framing inspections. I worked the morning at my office, then left with the stamped plans about 10am.

Even though he had previously done substantial framing inspections when the framing crew was on sight, he didn't recall any of that and completely revisited everything. Rather than bore the reader with all the details, the basics of the inspection results are that there were some changes in how the framing, block, and strapping were done when compared to the plan. I thought his inspection would focus on where holes had been drilled in joists and studs. He wants an engineer's stamp on the changes to sign things off.

Final results for Tuesday were:

• Rough Framing - Requires Reinspection
• Floor Framing - Requires Reinspection

We're back on the phone with Norm to figure out how to best engage with the project engineer to document and get his stamp on the as-built changes. (Heavy sigh.)

I'm completely stressed out.

We've paid a 50% deposit to the insulation contractor, but we can't insulate until we get everything passed off. The first snow at the pass is forecasted for Thursday. I've got a construction loan that should close by end of the month. But if I don't get this place insulated and heated before the snow falls in earnest, I can't make any progress this winter.

I'm headed up this weekend with a rented 40' ladder that I'll use to finishing runing the waste stack vents above the roof line. Also, need to make some tweaks to the water shutoff and finish running the Ethernet cable. If you enjoy climbing ladders, you're warmly invited.

Inspections Scheduled

The push this entire Summer has been to get KnArrow Haus insulated and heated so that we can work on it when the snow falls.

After retrofitting the cleanouts above all the slab pipes, Katie and I ran up Monday evening just to ensure that we could successfully complete the waste stack test. Basically, you fill it all up with water, and make sure it holds water and doesn't leak over a 15 minute period.

Picture of the waste stack vent pipe after filling it (at 7:01 PM)

Picture of the waste stack vent pipe after 15 minutes (at 7:16 PM)

With the confidence that we can pass the waste stack pressure test, I scheduled the following inspections for this coming Monday.

• Rough Framing
• Shear Wall
• Rough Mechanical
• Rough Plumbing
• Chimney Rough-in

If we pass all these, we will have clearance to insulate. Our insulation contractors are standing by.

We spent yesterday (Saturday) cleaning-up, making sure all our nail plates and support straps are installed. Made sure all the toilet flanges were anchored down.  I mounted brackets on the water shutoff so that it's permanently affixed. And Katie did a massive clean-up, sweep and vacuum on each floor.

Hopefully our inspector is in a good mood Monday morning. Cross your fingers. Knock on wood. Say a prayer. 

17 years in the waiting

I've been slow-rolling KnArrow Haus construction for several yeaers just waiting of the water connection to be approved. And the water system has been waiting for over 17 years! A story for another time. 

But as I considered the prospects of connecting up KnArow Haus to the water main, I chickened out. The thought of attempting to connect up without leaving my neighbor's connection in a shambles was just too daunting. My line to the house is 1" poly. My neighbors line is aging 1" PVC. And the water main is 1" poly terminated by a PVC shutoff valve.

I was able to round up a professional plumber on the East side of the mountains willing to come up on Wednesday.

The "old" water box with its 1 existing connection.

The water system shutoff with the neighbor's PVC connection.

The pros at work.

The pros at work.

The resulting "new" connections with independent shutoffs -- expansion PEX and brass.

The carcasss of the neighbors old water box connection.

New Water Box

The new water connection necessitated a new box. Too many holes and scars on the old one.

The old box prior to our connection.

The new connections, sans box.

Katie wrapping insulation around the connections.

The new box with insulation both outside and inside.

New box fully installed.

Re-plumbing

Very discouraging to fail a self-test on my waste stack. After consulting with several friends in the trades, and then getting a plumber up to the site, they were all unanimous that I should install cleanouts on every pipe going in to the slab. Installing them will allow me to isolate all the waste plumbing above the slab from the already-tested-and-passed plumbing below the slab and from the septic line that is not designed for high pressure.

The carcasses of the pipes I cut out in order to install cleanouts. 

Cleanouts installed in the main waste stack (left) and the downstair shower vent (right).

Cleanout in the downstair toilet vent.

Cleanout in the downstairs wetbar sink stack.

Cleanout downstream from the washing machine p-trap and vent.

The good news from the plumbers who pre-inspected everything was that I appear to have done everything else correctly.  I won't be able to use an air admittance valve on the two top floor toilets, but connecting their vents to each other and running them out the high side of the roof will be fairly easy and straightforward.

I had hoped to retest after installing the cleanouts, but Amazon shipped me clean-seal plugs for 1-1/2" pipes, not the ones for 2" pipes that I ordered.  I'll pick up the correct 2" clean-seal plugs in a plumbing supply store in Ballard on Monday.

Water!

We have water.

Or at least we have the legal right and ability to hook-up to water.

After nearly 2 decades of applications, waiting, grumbling, more applications, waiting and more waiting, our little development finally received authorization from the county health department to allow additional connections to our water system.

I've been slow rolling my constructions for the last 3 years knowing that I would not be able to get an occupancy permit unless and until we had a legal water connection.  So, we'll take the foot off the brakes, and try to get this thing finished up (by next Spring).

All that's remaining is to pay the not-insubstantial connection fee and attach my homes poly water line to the tee at the edge of the street. 

Pwned by Plumbing: drip, drip, drip

I've spent the last two weeks attempting to get a good pressure test on the plumbing stack.

Well...this is not what you're hoping for when you do a pressure test on the plumbing stack.

Looks like I missed a joint on the glue-up. (But now is the time to find this -- not when everything's buttoned up.)

Even getting this pressure test done was a multi-week ordeal. Because we don't have ready access to water yet, I attempted to do an air pressure test: 5 PSI for the waste stack, and 50 PSI for the water.

I fiddled and futzed with the various fittings and solutions to pressurize the waste stack, and even made a special trip in to Leavenworth to pickup a 2" cleanout tee needed by one of the tools. After all this I couldn't ever get the waste stack to get above 2 PSI. So, finally, I resorted to asking my neighbor to turn on his hose spigott, which he did yesterday.

There was so much pressure built up behind the plug ball to the septic that when Katie started to let the air out of the ball, Katie was drenched by the pressure and the ball got wedge in the Tee, forcing us to pop-it in order to extract it -- a $50 balloon...

The PEX water system was slightly more encouraging.

I was able to get it charged to 50 PSI.

But slowly over a 10 minute period it leaks pressure. 

I thought I bought the right adapter fitting to charge the PEX with water yesterday, but I needed a Female NPT to Female Hose, not a Female NPT to Male Hose.

I think HomeDepot must be getting weary of all my returns, a weekly occurence.

Downstairs ventilation

I always make sure I have a second project to revert to knowing that I'll likely hit roadblocks on the plumbing. Yesterday, I finished up the downstairs ventilation.

The downstairs ventilation consists of a Panasonic Whisperlite fan (240 CFU) that is double-switched in both the laundry room and the bathroom.  I used standard 6" galvanized metal ducts to route the intakes from the bathroom and laundry to the outside.

The fan intake in the bathroom.

The fan intake in the laundry/utility room.

In the laundry room against the exterior wall toward the bathroom.

I've chosen this for to cap the ceiling intakes, when we get to that point. 

Bunk Platform Timbers

We have a spare 6"x8" beam left over from framing that has been stored in the basement. We decided to use it to make joists from the bed platform on top of the master bedroom closet.

That beam was about 20 ft. long and VERY heavy. I cut it in to rough lengths using a circular saw. Then used our miter saw to cut the beams to finished length.  Then Katie sanded them to clean them up and make them suitable for indoor use.

We put them temporarily in place on top of the closet.

After insulation and drywall, we'll install the beams permanently, put a plywood deck on them and install railing, ladder, and a matress.

Let there be light (on the outside)

Katie did a bang-up job of drilling the hole through the siding above the back deck door, mounting the rough-in plate, caulking the hole, wiring and mounting the light fixture, that we got at Home Depot earlier this week.