New Life

It's a Sink!

My life has changed completely - I can see the future of my condo and it is bright. After a year and a half without a kitchen sink, I have the sink in, temporary counter tops and now running water and a working garbage disposal!

Working sink!

My friend Karl couldn't believe I had been living in the condo a year and a half without a kitchen sink. And remember it wasn't just me - J, K and dog Largo also lived there. I made dinner every night and we ate on real plates and used real utensils. Crazy.

Karl spent his two days off last week working on my kitchen - not just hooking up the pipes but making sure everything is to code - much old wiring and plumbing and much of the new J put in wasn't right, he said. Not that J didn't try - it wasn't total crap, Karl said, but just wasn't up to code. Plastic Pex running water outside the wall behind the stove could have caught on fire - we replaced it with copper. Pigtailed wiring from dishwasher to wall wiring also could have caused a fire. We added a plug and an outlet for that and put the wiring in a box. Karl also installed an outlet for the disposal - both GFCI.

Karl also added valves at the stub-out points for the water lines and under the sink so I don't have to turn the water off in the entire condo if there is ever a problem.

About $300 in materials but it looks great and works great. No leaks. (Update - found a leak last night. It's possible the water is just splashing through the make-shift counter top but the pvc pipes underneath may need to be tightened).

AND the switch I changed from the dimmer for the garbage disposal works! I did it correctly!

I have amazing friends. Erin - Karl and Erin are a couple - brought pizza and moral support. I'm not sure how I will ever repay any of them - Chris, Jess, Kate, Brad, Karen, Marc, Lynn, Elana, David, Guy and many more -  I know I'll never say no to moving help, babysitting, dog sitting, house sitting, filing help - whatever they need.

There is still a lot more to do before even the kitchen is finished - the counter top based isn't even because part of it sits on tile and part of it sits on concrete - I need to tear out the tile. Can't afford that right now. So the permanent counter tops have to wait for that or they won't be even - I'm going with concrete.

The stove hood needs to be moved over to center over the stove - Marc, Brad and I moved the stove for the counter top base. The hood also needs to be vented outside - that means going through the concrete wall onto the lanai.

I need to finish the trim, build some shelves, build out a pantry so everything looks like it was always supposed to be there. Before I can ever consider refinancing to get a lower rate, I need to do all this.

But the sink, running water, knowing I'm not going to burn down the place - huge huge huge.

Shopping with Karl

The faucet

The faucet installation

The complicated plumbing because I moved the sink location

More complicated plumbing and the disposal

One of two new outlets

The second outlet

Yay!

Stumped And Stopped

Permits? General Contractor? 

I got all excited last week because I thought I was going to have a working sink, which equals a finished kitchen, or nearly so. It also would mean getting to test out my garbage disposal switch.

My plumber friend squashed those dreams when he walked in and said, "Is this permitted?"

The world stopped right then and everything went into slow motion. Say it with me slowly. "Is this permitted?"

Permit. General Contractor. Words I have feared. It means more money, inspections and slowed progress. Inspections are good - I want the work done right. Everything else - ugh.

I had heard that working on a condo on my little island could be a pain. That the rules were long and vast. You can't even get to the rules on the city's Web site - there's  a secret code for contractors to get in and find out what needs to be permitted - or it seems that way. Apparently just about everything needs a permit in a condo. J ignored these rules and since no one stopped him, he just did the work - or some of it as you already know.

But now what?

Chris (marina, Jess's husband) gave me the name of a GC who worked on his place. He promptly returned my call and said it sounded like no sweat to pull the permit (though I know it will likely be a few weeks - I have heard permitting nightmare stories). However, this guy's license doesn't cover condos so he was going to have another guy call me. It has been almost a week - no call yet. I'm going to try him again today and then move on to someone else if I get no response - though the original GC was super nice and helpful. It's just busy this time of year.

The rules seem random. If you are in an single-family home, the owner can be her own contractor and pull permits AND do most of the work. In a condo, I can replace a toilet on the first floor, do tile and trim work and paint. I think that about covers what I'm allowed to do. I'm pretty sure that installing my storm door might have needed a permit - something I learned way after the fact and haven't confirmed.

No one in the condo complex has said anything though all three board members are in town for the winter.

Of course I will do what is required. It's just a matter of figuring out what that is and finding someone to get me there.

I have visions of "The Money Pit" - a 1986 film featuring Tom Hanks and Shelly Long. "Two weeks," the contractors repeatedly told them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmDX0tgONFs

While I wait, I think it's time to work on sailboats.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpM8FjO4Vko&feature=youtu.be

Making Every Mistake

Hot Water!

Someone commented the other day on my bathtub drain installation saying I could give him pointers as he remodels his new foreclosure condo. I responded that I very much could especially since I had made all the mistakes on every project I have completed. My home-improvement projects are a lot like my life. 

Tonight was no exception.

After work at the marina, I set about adjusting the hot water valve in the recently fixed and update main  bathroom shower. When I first turned it on, it was just lukewarm. This would not do - I'm a woman - I like my showers nearly scalding. It's a known fact.

I asked friend and plumber Chuck what could be done. He said he could come over again and adjust the valve inside the handle. I said "isn't this something I can do?" He said sure but didn't tell me how - to be fair, I was working and busy and neither of us really had time.

Google and YouTube to the rescue - again. 

Mistake No. 1: I didn't watch the entire video, which included my particular model second, before I started taking the handle apart. I took it apart about two steps too many. I figure it's a learning device - I now know what the rest of the insides look like. Ha ha.

This is where I should have stopped - at the valve that needs adjusting

I stopped here

Mistake No. 2: After going back two steps, I put the rotational limitation stop - the black plastic ring - on in the exact opposite position I wanted - so when I tested the water, it was still just lukewarm.
I only had to remove the screw again on the handle and adjust the ring again.  Then success! Hot hot water - I put the handle cover back on and voila!

A 5-minute project that took me 45 minutes. It's par for the course. But I did it and I feel pretty damn good about that.

Time to take shower. 

Of Bathtubs And Things

Love and Hate Plumbing

I have a love/hate relationship with plumbing projects. On the one hand, I feel incredibly accomplished after I tackle and defeat a plumbing project  - case in point: powder room faucet, refrigerator water line.
On the other hand, it's gross in there. Moldy, smelly. Yuck.

Weeks after plumber friend Chuck fixed my main bathroom shower - it finally has hot water running through it - I have completed the bathtub/shower part of things.
Determined to complete SOMETHING, last night I changed out the bathtub drain and replaced the overflow cover so that all the bathtub and shower fixtures match. Woo hoo!
When I took off the old overflow cover, I almost threw up. Nasty black mold all in the pipe. Totally normal, Chris said when I called and asked what kind of mold needed testing. He said to pour a cup of bleach in and cover it back. Done.
Always happy to ask for advice, I text Brad to see if he had ever removed a bathtub drain and did he have any advice since I couldn't seem to get the thing out. Ten minutes later, Brad and Karen and their kids Faith and Dylan stopped by to lend a hand in person (because they are awesome).
I had "the tool" but it didn't work or I couldn't get it to. I even went to ACE and bought a full-sized ratchet set (I have a small one that is great for changing out my air condition filter). I should have also purchased a 1/2 inch extension bar and that would helped turn the tool to remove the drain. Brad just put a screwdriver through the middle and used that to turn the tool - he had the drain out in a minute. But hey, I needed a ratchet set anyway.
Next, I cleaned up the old plumber's putty around the pipe. I then coated the cleaned area with clear silicone and screwed in the new drain - with an easy foot-touch open and close. Today I'll fill the tub up and make sure it doesn't leak.


For now, it looks good anyway!

The tool! 

Rubber Duckie Friends