Projects – Page 2 – projects on the go

plumbing begins today

2025070320250624 by Allan

Plumbing begins today. This is the part of the project we’ve been working toward for the past few weeks – or more. It’s the age-old issue – before plumbing, this has to be done. Before this, that must be done. Before that, … etc. Well, now the plumbing can begin.

Toilet plumbing:

Lining everything up wasn’t the issue. Gluing everything in place was because of how rigid 3-inch pipe is and because it is such a short run to the drain / vent stack.

Vanity, shower plumbing:

Note on floor structure:
Drilling through the double floor joists wasn’t an issue as these blocks were added, keeping the compression on the top, tension on the bottom scenario to a minimum; that is to say that adding 50% more material over 18 inches or so helps to spread the tension / compression around. Plus, it also improves rigidity to the double joist system, almost eliminating movement. There are no herringbone struts to stabilize the joists because they are only 7-1/2″ deep (very little room to add stuff). Plus, the house never had it before, and ‘officially’ changing the structure is not what I had in mind – only replacing s*** that others had done to this poor, old house.

sleeve removal

20250622 by Allan

This is a repost from someone else.

Yes, this just happened to me – not at the toilet but, rather, at the laundry inlet of the drain stack. (See my comments.)

shower arrived

2025062220250620 by Allan

Yay! The shower arrived! It was supposed to be sometime next week, but it arrived today.

HFT and I opened it up outside and took each part up separately. We put the drain on the shower pan to see the final elevation of the drain.

supplies for blocking, drain & vent stack, flooring, etc.

2025052920250524 by Allan

We got a load of 3/4″ plywood for the floor, pipes to divert the drain / vent stack, and more soundproofing panels for inside the floor. Now that the joists are set in place, we can get blocking done (got some joist hangers from Rona) and get ready for the next few steps. Slow going!

final (?) joist almost done

2025052420250523 by Allan

We were diverted by ceiling work in the 1st floor, but now we’re back!

The final joist is almost in place. Still missing one 8′-length of 2×10 to tie it all together.

Wow, the number of spliced, pieced-together pieces of s*** – we’re talking 2x4s nailed to 2x6s and everything else – is just incredible. Who would build in such a way!? So we’re almost done this task.

3/4″ ply to replace the floor boards
vapour barrier for main floor bath ceiling
1/4″ or 3/8″ ply for main floor bath ceiling
pipes to divert & rebuild the vent / drain stack
soundproofing panels for floor
…and many, many more

1F ceiling removal

2025052420250523 by Allan

Our work was cut out for us today. Some ceiling panels fell down a few days ago, and I wondered if they would all, one day, coming tumbling down on top of someone’s head.

It turns out my hunch was correct. When beginning to take them down, they all came tumbling across my head – about 20 panels, all at once.

kitchen window

2025033120250328 by Allan

The old kitchen window (new kitchen location, old window) came out today. The old sliders that are in the house now don’t seem very old, but they are stiff to open and close, and plastic parts are broken. The new one is a triple pane casement.

The removal didn’t take much effort, but altering the framing did. By building code, if we are not enlarging the window, the original framing can be used without being required to add king, jack, or cripple studs and headers. The old window was 30W x 60H, and the new one is 30W x 40H.

LG laundry machine arrived

20250321 by Allan

Yay! My laundry machine has arrived.

1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250321_093435 LG WashCombo All-In-One lanudry machine delivered, right.jpg
1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250321_093443 LG WashCombo All-In-One lanudry machine delievered, back.jpg
1403 3 Ave N Lethbridge AB up 20250321_093500 LG WashCombo All-In-One lanudry machine delivered, left.jpg

It’s an all-in-one machine (washes and dries). Of course, I can’t use it yet as the whole place is currently in shambles.

stairway reconstruction

2025021820250217 by Allan

I’m really not sure why they built the upstairs with this weird little crooked landing area. Was it a feature? Did they run out of lumber? Was there not enough headroom in the first floor? (It already intrudes at a 45° angle halfway through the bathroom entrance.) Was the last step too steep, so they added a little landing?

We tore off the top layers to see how this thing was built. It seems that the entire set of stairs are attached to the floor joists by two lag bolts. Hmm. And the top step, the landing, is kind of resting on the ceiling boards of the first floor. It’s not framed very well.

not yet shovelled sidewalk

2025021820250216 by Allan

It seems that nobody wants to shovel their sidewalk.