My New House & Workshop

[RobbieD]

The brick motif for an outhouse décor shows pure design genius. It will definitely be a throne room fit for a king.

 

[Shran]

I would probably replace that meter can and mast with new stuff - you can reuse the mast part if you want, it's just a piece of pipe - and doing that is very easy but you need to read up on electrical code regarding those a bit as the mast has to be a certain height from the roof and maybe off the ground as well, and the meter itself has to be at a certain height. Maybe it's all fine already - just have to double check that.

You will have to get new wire from the meter to the mast, hardware stores or electrical supply places will have it in stock and sell it by the foot. 3 conductor wire sized according to the amp rating of the service you have coming into the building is what you need. Aluminum wire is fine here and inexpensive. Probably will need a new ground rod and that will need to be tied into the meter and your breaker panel.

Doing all that is really straightforward once you have an idea what you need, there are a bunch of little things like conduit bushings & stuff that you're supposed to use that are just not obviously needed. I wired my entire shop from the mast all the way down to every outlet with just a couple hours of advise from my old boss who was an electrician and the inspector said it looked great. Electrical is not hard if you have someone to ask about technical issues.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I would probably replace that meter can and mast with new stuff - you can reuse the mast part if you want, it's just a piece of pipe - and doing that is very easy but you need to read up on electrical code regarding those a bit as the mast has to be a certain height from the roof and maybe off the ground as well, and the meter itself has to be at a certain height. Maybe it's all fine already - just have to double check that.

You will have to get new wire from the meter to the mast, hardware stores or electrical supply places will have it in stock and sell it by the foot. 3 conductor wire sized according to the amp rating of the service you have coming into the building is what you need. Aluminum wire is fine here and inexpensive. Probably will need a new ground rod and that will need to be tied into the meter and your breaker panel.

Doing all that is really straightforward once you have an idea what you need, there are a bunch of little things like conduit bushings & stuff that you're supposed to use that are just not obviously needed. I wired my entire shop from the mast all the way down to every outlet with just a couple hours of advise from my old boss who was an electrician and the inspector said it looked great. Electrical is not hard if you have someone to ask about technical issues.

Thanks Shran. I hadn't thought about running the wire between the meter and the panel and from the meter up the mast. I have a book on building and remodeling that discusses service drops. I'll have to look into it.

 

[franklin2]

It's a very common practice to make a 2x6 stud wall where there are going to be a lot of pipes in the wall. They also sometimes put two, 2x4 stud walls side be side for the same reason. It can also give you more depth for a flush mounted medicine cabinet.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I went to buy 8-gauge Romex to hook up my water heater.

Why is 8/2 Romex stranded and not a solid wire like 12/2 Romex? I was questioning whether I got the right wire, but I don't see an 8/2 solid Romex.

EDIT:

Just looked at my wiring book. Looks like 8ga and larger is all stranded.

 

[snoranger]

Flexibility. Solid 8ga wire wouldn’t be very flexible and inside of walls only have so much room for wires to bend.
Solid wire can handle more power vs the same size stranded wire (up to a certain point). After that point, skin depth comes into play… where power only flows on the outside of the wire strand. You will never run into that in typical household wiring. (Somewhere around 11/16” diameter wire at our normal 60 hertz, IIRC.)

 

[Jim Oaks]

Why can't anything just work the way it's suppose to?

I turned on the water to valve to check my plumbing, and was thrilled to find no leaks.

But then I opened a valve to let the water run, and there was no water.

WTF!!

Then I rembered that when I replaced a section of water line going to my house late last summer that the water didn't come on right away.

I suspect that the line is air looked since it's been shut off for years.

I also decided to check to make sure the water is coming from the house and not another meter.

I dug on the backside of this spigot. I already know the there's a water line on the other side that runs to the house because I replaced it, and there isn't any line running off of the main between here and the meter.

As I was digging I discovered a 3/8-inch copper line running towards the shop.

I dug outside the shop and found the 3/8-inch copper line running under my shop, and now understand why there was a cable buried near this spigot. Likely do a metal detector would detect it.

​

I didn't find any shut off for this line.

Who the F runs a 3/8-inch copper line 40 feet to a sink and toilet in another building. I figured it was 3/4-inch. Maybe even 1/2-inch. Not 3/8's. WTF.

I still plan to replace the water line from this spigot to the water meter with PEX. I could also replaced this line with a larger PEX line, but I would have to run a new line inside the building. Instead of cutting up the floor I wonder if I could run it along the base of the wall at the floor??

A cabinet and sink goes here. The shop is on the other side of the wall where the brick panel is. I could run it through the wall and connect to my new plumbing.

In the meantime, I need to figure out how to get the water flowing.

 

[ericbphoto]

Sure, why not. Another possibility would be to run it up into the attic and then down into the wall where you need it. Give it some insulation in case the weather ever gets cold.

 

[Rick W]

Why can't anything just work the way it's suppose to?

I turned on the water to valve to check my plumbing, and was thrilled to find no leaks.

But then I opened a valve to let the water run, and there was no water.

WTF!!

Then I rembered that when I replaced a section of water line going to my house late last summer that the water didn't come on right away.

I suspect that the line is air looked since it's been shut off for years.

I also decided to check to make sure the water is coming from the house and not another meter.

View attachment 106692​

I dug on the backside of this spigot. I already know the there's a water line on the other side that runs to the house because I replaced it, and there isn't any line running off of the main between here and the meter.

As I was digging I discovered a 3/8-inch copper line running towards the shop.

I dug outside the shop and found the 3/8-inch copper line running under my shop, and now understand why there was a cable buried near this spigot. Likely do a metal detector would detect it.

View attachment 106696
​

I didn't find any shut off for this line.

Who the F runs a 3/8-inch copper line 40 feet to a sink and toilet in another building. I figured it was 3/4-inch. Maybe even 1/2-inch. Not 3/8's. WTF.

I still plan to replace the water line from this spigot to the water meter with PEX. I could also replaced this line with a larger PEX line, but I would have to run a new line inside the building. Instead of cutting up the floor I wonder if I could run it along the base of the wall at the floor??

A cabinet and sink goes here. The shop is on the other side of the wall where the brick panel is. I could run it through the wall and connect to my new plumbing.

View attachment 106697​

In the meantime, I need to figure out how to get the water flowing.

Wow, it sounds like you’re upset. Justifiably upset. I’ve been waiting for the right moment, but it appears to be upon us, and I don’t want to cause you double work or put yourself at risk.

Where are you going to put the bidet?

And number two, no pun intended, be really careful about contaminated water when you turn that thing on the chute and jewels!

hope it helps…

 

[Jim Oaks]

I'm not installing a bidet.

I like to squat over my lawn sprinkler and clean myself. Not only does it make me feel fresh and clean, but it waters and fertlizes my yard as well.

You should try it.

 

[Rick W]

I'm not installing a bidet.

I like to squat over my lawn sprinkler and clean myself. Not only does it make me feel fresh and clean, but it waters and fertlizes my yard as well.

You should try it.

That’s F’n hilarious!

And I think we’ve bonded closer from that visual….

 

[Rick W]

That’s F’n hilarious!

And I think we’ve bonded closer from that visual….

Is it one of the swirly things, or one of those things that goes back-and-forth in an arch?

 

[Shran]

So is it leaking or something? Did I miss why there’s no water, is it air locked like you said?

I’d pick an outside wall, dig down under the slab and drill a hole thru the cement from inside the building, in that wall and run your new pipe through the hole to the meter or whatever and bury it. Then run your new pex through the walls to your sink/pooper shutoff. Insulate any pipes that are on an outside wall,

I know it is popular to run water lines in attics down there but I would not do that. Way easier to fix a busted pipe near the ground and patch a wall than it is to fix it in the ceiling, plus the ceiling itself and the walls and whatever else it sprays onto.

 

[Jim Oaks]

So at the moment I'm dead in the water. I used my shop vac to try and suck the water through the line thinking it's air looked. I'm not getting anything.

I have this bad feeling I'm going to have to quit on the building and finish replacing my water line to remedy this problem.

 

[Rick W]

So at the moment I'm dead in the water. I used my shop vac to try and suck the water through the line thinking it's air looked. I'm not getting anything.

I have this bad feeling I'm going to have to quit on the building and finish replacing my water line to remedy this problem.

Actually dead without water…

Journey of 1,000,000 miles starts with a single step, or with a single shovel full of dirt chasing down the waterline. It will be glorious when it’s done!

I’m sure you’ve got an air compressor. Tap it into the line and maybe you can see where the air is coming out in the yard.

I hope it helps