Showing posts with label Tile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tile. Show all posts

Monday, August 6, 2012

BA's Plumbing Update





This is the Pressure Tank and water heater I purchased from Sears outlet online. They were new in box at a heck of a deal. The pump is on the left from Harbor Freight at $119 minus the 20% off coupon. TIP: purchase the insider track club membership from Harbor Freight, it will save you tons of money. I purchased a 2000 watt inverter for $89.

Above is the cistern from Tanks for Less on the left. On the right is the shower I need to finish. If you have any suggestions for the ceiling, let us know.We love your feedback. I had to purchase sand to place under the cistern to level it.


Until last week, I did not know how to plumb a house. With the aid from neighbors, great ones at that, I was able to connect our new 2500 gallon cistern to a Harbor Freight 1 HP pump, a 38 gallon pressure tank, and a 20 gallon water heater. Unfortunately I listened to the Home Depot person first, which cost me a day of work, and more money than I needed to spend. When my neighbors came to help, I took back all of the PEX and Sharkbite fittings to Home Depot and purchased regular 1 inch schedule 40 PVC and all the attachments at 1/4 of the cost of the other stuff. Don't waste your time on the expensive stuff. Also, when buying plumbing materials, buy extra. It will save you from making 3 trips to Ace hardware, and 3 trips to Home Depot like I did.  Of course there were some minor dripping at places that was easy to fix. There is a place where the cold water line to the house, from the cistern is leaking. I am blaming that on Blanco Electric and Plumbing since they are the ones who decided to install mobile home tubing instead of PVC for the house. Now, I am having them come back out to fix the leak. It it hard to go from that type of tubing to PVC. I purchased the cistern for $884 plus $70 shipping from Tanks for Less out of Austin Texas. Great company. They also had the 2 inch to 3/4 inch connector that I needed that Home Depot did not have. I was also able to wire the water heater up after trial and error, and a smart neighbor. Next, I plan on building a shed to protect all of these things from reclaimed wood from the concrete blocks we had built. I was able to take a real shower last week. It was awesome. There is a lot of little things that I have to do inside and out. Make it easy on yourself and keep a running list. Mine keeps getting bigger and bigger. Next we have to install a window and a skylight in the bathroom, make a way to open the double doors and attach the wood to them, build a tire wall to house one side of the septic system, install a real toilet, finish some tile on the shower, do something with the bathroom ceiling and closet, attach some more trim boards, paint the ceiling, and tile the kitchen back-splash. Whooo! I am going to be busy. All this and working full time and going to grad school for a teacher's certification. They do say that once you have a house, the work is never done. - BA

Friday, June 22, 2012

New Updates from BA

Shower Time-If your wife or significant other tells you to hire a tile person, DO IT! This was the hardest part so far of the entire project. I will pay someone for the master shower next time. For those of you who think you can do this kind of house building on your own, I would consider the already pre fab shipping containers ready to go. It might cost twice as much as we have spent, but it would be worth it. Start out with a prefab, and then add on yourself. I still have 3 pieces of tile to put in, as well as the skylight and the ceiling. I am not looking forward to it.


Taking Time Out To Play-
As a bow hunter, it is impartible that we keep up our archery skills for the Zombie Apocalypse. Here are some pics of some fun activities on the ranch. If anyone knows where to get cheap mannequins, please let us know. I want to have a Zombie Archery Range. Ohh, what fun!






DEER OH DEAR!!!
I had just got the deer to come eat at our feeder filled with yummy protein, when the wind knocked it down and took out the timer and the solar charger. Look at my post to come this weekend with pics of the great deer we have, as well as some local critters. I will be fixing the feeder in the next couple of weeks. I think I will also put out water for them. We have two 8 point bucks, two 6 point bucks, a spike, and 3 does. I will also post a you tube video on how to make a wind turbine, solar water heater, which I built this trip, and one on homeade septic system building. Check back soon.
-BA