What Next…And Next and Next?

What Next….and Next and Next?

It’s nearly impossible to make a chronological to-do list when completely gutting and rebuilding a home—especially a home with as many quirky elements as this one. We did not have a blueprint because there were too many unknowns at the start, although we did have a detailed computer-generated drawing of our plans printed on a very large sheet of brown paper. We followed it for as long as we could—until it basically became irrelevant because of all the changes we had to make due to structural issues and practical design adjustments. Since then, we’ve been modifying regularly as we move along. This need for flexibility in design has made it difficult to complete any one task because so many things are interdependent. So, we find ourselves in a very ADD mode—jumping from project to project, often without completing anything—because something else has to be done first.

In today’s blog post, we’ll focus on the plumbing (specifically the drainage)–just to make things easier on the reader. Though in reality there were many trips to the hardware store for just the right parts, and there were many days when we made a little progress but then moved onto another project–or five. Or ten.  A chronological diary of the myriad things we’ve done each day would make your head spin, so here we go with just a glimpse of the massive plumbing project over time.

PVC anyone?

Everything was pulled in the demolition phase, so we’re basically starting over. The plumbing had all been above the slab (if you’ve read previous posts you may remember the bathrooms that were on platforms…), so Kevin blasted a trench in the slab and designed all the plumbing to route through it to the sewer drain and out to the septic tank. It all had to be reconfigured, and of course the slope of the pipes has to be just right.

Plumbing pics

 

The kitchen plumbing is all lined up in a plumbing wall before it joins the drain under the trench. The new upstairs addition adds in a master bath, guest bath, and laundry room, so all that plumbing eventually flows together and joins up with the rest. Last, but not least, the plumbing for the first floor bath joins all the other drain pipes just before the sewer drain pipe.