Time for Laundry - This Time With Style!

It's a small victory in a large war, but the new laundry sink is finally in and ready for action. As you no doubt recall from an earlier post, I needed to replace the old cement & steel laundry sink. It weighed about 900 pounds and the steel legs were rusting away. Not a good combination. I did some test fitting previous to today and had things ready to go, but needed to make a couple of minor changes. With the old tub, the water lines connected to the top of the faucet (which was trashed). The new tub's faucet connected from underneath, so I ran a couple of braided steel lines with shut-off's. Since the sink needs to be up against the wall for stability (it's plastic, after all) I had to drill a couple of 1" holes in the backboard of the sink. Easy solution, and problem solved. A little quality-time with my Ryobi cordless hammer-drill and the holes are drilled for the concrete screws. It's amazing how much more sturdy the sink is with a couple of anchors in place. The last piece of the puzzle will be to take care of the drain line from the water softener (just to the left of the faucet). I just need to cut out about 12" of the line and splice it back together. It's copper, and I added a short length of plastic tube at the end to better divert the water into the tub. To the right of the tub is one of two drain stacks in the house. The last thing I wanted to do was to break anything connected directly to the stack. So far, so good!




While I was in the basement, I took the opportunity to finally get some boxes out of the way. We had started stacking the still-boxed stuff as we were moving in, but when we had some heavy rain I found a small trickle of water coming in at the same corner of the basement where we were stacking boxes. It appears that the gutters hadn't been cleaned for at least a decade, and plenty of water was flowing out over the gutters. After taking care of that mess, it appears that my basement leak problems are done (for now?). To be safe, I picked up some 2x2 floor panels which are tongue-and-groove, with a plastic egg-carton bottom. They're designed for basement renovations to avoid water problems. I'm spreading them out a bit compared to how they're typically used in an effort to avoid more spending than necessary. At $4.95 each, they're cheap insurance from water damage to our boxes.

What has been started must be finished

As I get my battle plan ready for this coming weekend, I've come to the conclusion that before I start any new projects I really need to put the finishing touches on projects I've already started. The 1/2 bath is mostly done (I consider it done because I can use the toilet) but I need to swap out the tank because it drips a little water near the supply line. After screwing around enough with it trying to find the leak, I've determined that it's got to be a defect in the tank. The supply line and connection between the tank and stool is dry, so the water must be seeping out somehow. I've got another tank ready to go, I just need to do the actual work. The floor also needs a couple of coats of sealer for the travertine and I need to stain and install one last piece of base molding.

In the basement, I've got the new laundry sink installed to the point where it is functional, but it's got to be secured to the wall so it doesn't wobble on the cheap plastic legs and f' up the trap. It's great having a faucet for the sink which actually works. The old one on the cement sink (which is still sitting in the basement laughing at me because it knows I can't lift it without help) leaked and the faucet itself was seized towards the left-side tub and wouldn't turn to allow me to use it on the right-side tub.

The following conversation will happen this weekend:
Crappy Old Laundry Sink: "Ha ha, you can't lift me. Now if we were on the moon..."
Me: "Yeah, I know you'd weigh 1/6th as much. Bite me."
COLS: "Hey, what are you hiding behind your back?"
Me: "Oh that? It's just a new friend who wants to meet you."
COLS: "Wait a minute, that looks like a sledge hammer!"
Me: "Yeah - get ready to eat hot death!"
COLS: "Aaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhhh! Not in the face!"
Me: "No open coffin for you, beyotch!"

After my trip to Fantasy Land, I'd also like to get the new back door installed as that's taking up valuable wall space in my temporary work-room/family-room. I still haven't decided if I'm going to add a storm door for the rear door or not. Maybe if money permits... Ha!

Last project for the weekend is to BBQ a brisket. I've been waiting for the weather to cooperate for a weekend cook, and even though it's supposed to be in the 30's this weekend, we're not expecting rain. If that weather report holds true, by Saturday evening I'm going to be in brisket heaven!

Basement Updates

In an earlier post I mentioned the old sump pump and cement laundry tub. We've had some wet weather over the past few days which means the sump pump should be seeing some action. Every time I hear it turn on, it reminds me of how old it is and what kind of damage we could get if it died. I used that as the incentive to replace it today. How old is it? No idea, but the rust makes me think it's been here a few years.




A run to Ace and Menards got me all the pieces I thought I would need. Actually, I went overboard as usual and got two different check valves, various clamps, etc to make sure I could do the job in one shot. I go to these stores so often that I'll just return the extra stuff. Luckily this plan worked, as I ended up using various parts from both places to get the pump installed. A check valve was added at the pump housing, and I added a PVC line from there to the old sump output line. Testing of it found no leaks, and everything appears to work as planned. Besides the piece of mind, the pump should need to work much less than the old pump now that the check valve is installed. The only "problem" is that the new pump sits lower in the sump and keeps the cement covers from sitting close around the pump like it used to. Now there's enough room for the cat to get in there and drown. Oh damn, would that make me sad...




I've also started putting together the new laundry tub. My only concern is connecting the new PVC to the old metal line. Actually, it's not the connecting of the pieces which worries me, it's breaking the old parts when I take it apart which has me worried. I'd like to just connect the parts together without having to remove the entire drain line, but we'll see how that goes. Before loosening the pieces, I'll give 'em a soak in penetrating oil to help them come apart. The new plastic pieces will also be put together with an extra layer of plumber's putty in the joints to help avoid leaks. For once, I'd like to have a leak-free setup on the first try!

... And up to my eyes (Part 3)

Fake brick around a fake fireplace. What are the odds this masterpiece will survive the renovation? Not good I'll bet. The mantle is actually real stone, but I'll still destroy it all as I take it apart. Even my son wants to take a hammer to it - he makes me proud.




The mechanicals in the basement all work, but some of the pieces are in need of updating. The sump pump is older than me and doesn't have a check-valve in the line so every time it pumps out water, about half of it comes right back into the crock! The water softener needs to be disconnected and cleaned out since the old salt has formed a salt-bridge inside keeping it from working properly. Since we moved in a month ago, we've probably run more water through it than it's seen in over a year. The water heater on the far left of the picture is past it's life expectancy, so I expect to be replacing it soon. Fine with me, as it'll be a good selling feature for the house when we move. When I replace the sump pump, I plan to add a battery backup pump as well. The sump runs enough that it makes me worry what would happen if/when the power goes out for any length of time.




The laundry tub (or what's left of it) works, but the faucet is shot, it's got some large rust spots, and one leg is rusted away. Not too safe considering it probably weighs a few hundred pounds and is made of concrete! I already have a replacement sink, faucet, and drain so it'll be replaced soon.




As our home inspector was going through the place, he couldn't help but laugh at this wiring job. That hard-wired connection goes to the stove. Not what I'd call a "safe" job as you can't unplug the stove. The wire also doesn't have much of a drip line to it, so if anybody spills anything which gets behind the stove, it could drip down the wire and into the rigged junction box. Obviously this was not done by a professional electrician or anybody in possession of a clue. We'll remove this joke and the new stove will be set up for gas.




Back to the main floor, we see some lovely architecture from the 60's. The same detail is found by the front door. Both areas will be torn out and modernized when I start renovating these areas.