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Queequeg grows stuff, and fixes junk.

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plants:
if they look crumy, its because they are.
need water and ive been lazy, ill go back out there and water them at some point today.
also got SMASHED last night by some nasty wind...
 




victim of mine, not the wind. pvc hose sliped off the table and snapped it.
serrano dosent seem to care though. we shall see what happens...





lettuce plants.



cactus plants.



tobacco plants from last winter... i chopped these down to a stump but they grew back. ive not watered these what so ever since last... december ?
no clue why they are alive still.



fertigation machine. in pieces.

my intention here is to shrink the system down substantiall.... such that it fits into the trunk of my car. im going to fold my old design into 2 pieces... and push the frame out into the third dimension.
im also going to add a filtration system. the filtration will require a far more substantial pump, so im going to just mount this onto the frame as well as the filter.





my fancy pump. grundfos up15-58 with a custom plastic head from some other hydronic heating company.



can anyone identify this plug? if so i will kiss your mouth.
spent like an hour on the molex website... im 60% sure its not a molex branded connector.



 
Click to expand...
thank you gentlemen.
 
these are the boxes im installing in the bricks... the have metal wings that expand and grip the sides of the opening. dual purpose of holding it in place and reinforcing the mortar joint.
 

 
both light fixtures up... you can see the brick plug in the back there... the mortar is latex modified and takes like 72 hours to cure fully, after which the mortar matches just about perfectly. im speaking from experience here... repaired a dozen or so loose soldier bricks with the stuff thus far and it all comes out swell.
 

 
other light fixture. they are not great fixtures to be honest...just cheap place holders for now. 
i dont like them a whole lot, but this patio area literally is never used. the house had a pool and patio area put in during the 1980s... THAT is where the time is spent, and that is where i will install decent fixtures. 
 

 
yet more soffit.
 

 
fixture at the front door that i installed way way back. i just got around to shooting a picture of it... it looks real nice. its on the photocell circuit w/ a 5 watt cfl at 5500k.  its just enough light to illuminate the door area viewed from the driveway. 
 

 
new air tight boxes for the electrical at the front door. the front door is where all of the switching is installed for the new photocell circuit as well as the new atrium lighting circuit. 
 
both of these circuits are 3 way circuits hence the need to run new 3 conductor cable, hence the need to cut drywall out to the top plates.
because i had to cut out drywall, it only makes sense to upgrade the switch boxes while i have access to them. 
 

 
I dont actually like these boxes a whole lot. the gasket on the face is nice... but the gasket on the cable entries are a joke... good and tight for the entries not in use, but once you stab a cable through they leak badly and require foam or sealant.  
 
im ordering different boxes for single and double gangs. three gangs and up i have no choice but to use these carlton units.
 

 
these are the most absurdly expensive wall switches you likely have ever seen. they are just three way switches with a center off position... yet they cost like 60 bucks retail. they do not scream quality... the snap action is nice but very loud and sharp. they are "industrial" switches though, what ever.  got them on ebay for like 30 bucks a pop. still absurdly expensive.
 
why do i need these fancy switches? both the atrium and photocell circuits are three way circuits with a sensor taking the place of the other switch. 
 
when the switch is in the up position, the circut is in "auto" mode so to speak... the sensors control power.
 
when the switch is in the down position, the circuit is overridden on. 
 
without a center off switch there is no way to power the circuits down... hence the center off position switch pictured here.
 

 
i COULD have accomplished the same thing with a reg. switch in addition to the three way switch, but it would have been confusing and hacky.
 
been a while.
 
ive been working more hours, only doing shit around the house Friday-sunday.
 
replacing shitty r11 bats.
 

 

 
dont like these boxes... the foam gasket is a joke.
 
new network cable and structured media box to hold the wireless and modem.
 

 
cover door things
 

 
box went in where ugly ass cat painting is now. i forgot to shoot a pic of it i guess... ill do that later tomorrow.
 

 
window ive been meaning to install... this is the flashing i use.
 
http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/Q...scia rehab/image003small_zpsko87y3b5.jpg.html
 
first coat of "filler" the fast flash goes on after this layer.
 

 

 
foaming gaps etc.
 
http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/Q...scia rehab/image005small_zpsgzyze6mz.jpg.html
 

 

 
masonry clips.
 
http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/Q...scia rehab/image007small_zpshvd2iygb.jpg.html
 
 

 
oops.
 

 
finished.
 

 
30 f**king dollars for these stupid caulking tools.
 

 
my new favorite boxes... you inject foam into the cavities in the front and it expands and seals around the cable. no stupid ass foam gasket garbage. cheaper too.
 
 

 
cladding columns.
 

 
old test piece. 

i changed gears two weeks back... focusing on a new m bath shower for now. i need to get shit ready for the re plumbing.
 
going to demo the guest bath owing to noted problems with the sill plates... resulting from water leaks.
 

 
demoed old shower/tub and drywall, tile etc.
 

 
 

 
dust shields.
 

 
tashed that wall... this required backing out those galvanized pipes and capping them off inside the attic space. i cut into the ceiling to do this... as a result i had to make a shitty patch untill im ready to lay cement backer board for the tile.
 

 
shitty harbor frieght pipe wrenches were worth every penny( 7 bucks).

bump this high class escort please.
 
Runescape said:
Bump. Definitely looks like you've been busy...
Click to expand...
 
 
yea but its like... not even a dent in this shit heap. 40 year old house and this is the first time its ever been given a thorough f**king with.
 
 
anyway like i said... the master shower needs doing now so i can take down the guest bath and fix the insulation issues therein as well as rot caused from bad install of the guest bath some 40 years ago. ive been taking my time with this. like i said im on week two of this buisness, and ive only busted a hole  and f**ked with pvc thus far.
 
ive had to do some serious reading and book buying, but im fairly confident i know what im doing here... new shouwer should last far longer than the previous, provided who ever owns this house down the line keeps up with the caulking.
 
 

 
wall down and everything cleaned up.
 
 

 
rented this "11 lb" demo hammer... this was a HUGE MISTAKE. i should have gotten a full sized stand up jack hammer. problem is the floor was unexpectedly deep. the concrete was over 18 inches deep in places. given the time of construction and quality of the framing... naturally i assumed they did a shit job on the concrete too. i was wrong though.
 
took me like 5 hours to get the floor chipped out for the new drain.
 

 
lol, this is the bull point bit i used to chip the concrete out. about half way through it needed sharpening, as the dulled point would not hold straight line when i was chipping, i was already stupid tired by now and kinda chilled at the bench grinder for 30 minutes sharpening like some monk meditating after morning prayers. i think i did a decent job considering i broke the tool rest off the bench grinder way back. its just a shitty "skil" grinder i use for tungsten electrodes.
 

 
location of post tensioned cables located with 35 dollar harbor freight metal detector. as i got close to a cable... i used a cheap 15 dollar hand held harbor freight "pin point" metal detector to make shure i was not getting too close to the cable.
 

 
I FOUND SELECT FILL UNDER THE SLAB!!! i was honestly impressed by this. i think the sub that poured our slab was actually a competent and honest man. there is around 8 inches of this material, pretty good.
 

 
chipping done more or less. after this i started excavating. with these shitty garden shovels... i promptly broke one owing to shitty  spot welds. 
 

 
bad pic... but yea the pipe elbows up from about 36" down. i was just able to get my arms down to the bottom of the hole. spent most of the day on my chest which sucked the next day. felt like i had penumonia or something.
 
ill get the pictures i forgot up some time soon.  hoping to back fill with cement stabilized sand today. hoping to rent an SDS rotary hammer on monday, dowl in rebar, splice rebar, and MABY pour the patch on tuesday, but thats probably not going to happen if im honest here.
 
Chilima said:
bummp
Click to expand...
 
yea ill update this some time soon, this weekend maby.
 
been busy with some unforseen issues. fixing unforseen issues uncovered more unforseen issuesm but its all comeing back together now.
 
ive got most of the equipment save for the super expensive shower hardware junk, and takign delivery of windows this week hopefully.
 
ok... bump this post though.

what with there being shit loads of pictures.
 
 
heres the enclosure i mentioned earlier. its still as pictured... im in no hurry to finish it honestly
 

 
these are the patch panels for the phone lines and the ethernet. idk why there is a bottle of sriracha in that photo, but what ever.
 

 
back to the bathroom...
 
this is the plumbing, solvent welded and beign aligned such that the vent is somewhat plumb coming out of the slab. its just a rough plumb measurement. ill get it dead plumb and out the ceiling later on.  the junk you see on the bottom is decomposed granite. its a great compactable fill. you add water during the final compact to get it almost rock solid the water entrains the smallest particles, forcing them to fall into the larger pore spaces locking the whole mess together like a rock.
 

 
mixing cement stabilized sand. this is what i back filled with... all the way up to the slab bottom. yes its expensive... but peace of mind is never cheap.
 
cement stabilized sand was 90% sand. 5% good quality portland, 5% water. the sand MUST be bank sand grade. UNSIFTED. 
 

 
final plumbing rough in. i spent an hour or so making sure everything was dandy. concrete, after all is somewhat permanent.
 

 
rebar, epoxy anchoring adhesive and alot of swearing.
 
though of putting rebar staples in to hold together the skinny bits, but thought it was unnecessary.
 

 
cement curing. this was during the first skim... you can still see some water sheen. when this water sheen dissapears i do a final coat with the 14" steel trowel  to get it perfectly flat.  after it cures to "thumb print" hardness- the point where it becomes difficult to push your thumb into the concrete, then i drag a stiff bristled broom across it to scratch a good deep texture into the surface.
 
this sractched surface will hold the thinset that will underpin the showers mud pan. that will have to be explained later on.
 

 
scratch coat.
image004small_zps14s4kkwk.jpg
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this image was the start of a nightmare that i had not expected.
 
http://s1195.photobucket.com/user/Queequeg152/media/Shower build/image004small_zps14s4kkwk.jpg.html
 
what this picture shows is three 2x6 joists nailed onto a doubled up 2x6 header. this header landed onto the old closet walls.
 
this bathrooms ceiling was always shiit... beign sprung like a drum head, it always had poped drywall nails and this is why. shitty ass work gentleman.  never should have passed an inspection, assuming this was ever inspected. i doubt it was.
 
this kicked off a 2 week long delay as i had to order some engineered lumber to replace these joists.
 
while i waited, heres how i kept the place warm/cool. whilst this giant drywall hole was in place.
 
 
second hole filled in.
 

 
laying down sill places.
 
pro tip. forstner bits are excellent at fine tuning notches.
 

 
sill plate in place. that pipe is the shower vent.
 

 
anyway... owing to the need to replace three joists that span the entire ceiling... i decided to pull down the entire ceiling. this will require dealing with a shot load of cellulose. so i set up this fan. 1/5th horse power. it should clear the air as this shit storm is stirred up.
 

 
sealed up the door with plastic film.
 

 
them shazaam-cellulose island.
 

 
what i forgot to get a picture of... is the giant vacuum bag i use to recover this celluose. afterall, its perfectly good celllulose, not terribly contaminated with random shit.
 
it gets blown into this giant fabric bag to be recycled later on. ill get a picture of this next time.
 
these are the joists im replacing. you can see them sagging just under their own weight. totally shit.
 

 
random mystery joist ill have to cut away. no clue why it was left uncut like this.
 

 
totally garbage duct work. ill have to straighten this out somewhat prior to replacing the drywall.
 

 
replacement joists. 
 
these are 2x8 LVL(laminated veneer lumber) joists. they cost a pretty penny, but are far FAR stronger than the 2x6 no. 3 shit joists they are replacing. 
 
i would have preffered to replace the joists with prime structural grade 2x10's, but the roof prevents. it. there are no rim joists... so the roof rafters sit directly ontop of the top plates. a 2x8 is all that would fit without cutting back a shit load of the 2x10.
 

 
pic of the LVL. they are lovely things... but very costly.
 

 
cutting back the ceiling joists.
 
this jig ended up taking far too long to set up. i resorted to just free hand cutting with the circ. saw which was fine.
 
 

 
cut face.
 

 
holding up the old joist header whilst i install the lvls one by one.
 

 

 
inviting place to take a shit right?
 

 
initially i was going to relevel the ceiling with strings and levels... but as you will see later on i went a different rout.
 

 

 

 
discovered a cracked joists. shitty work gentleman. every journeyman carpenter knows to never place a joist with a knot facing downwards. the bottom chord of lumber sees tension forces. knots need to be on the top chord, where the lumber sees compression forces, and cracks cannot propigate.
 
i had to sister this 2x6 with another 2x8. 
 

bump this garish wench please.
 
thank you sir...
 
more strings.
 

 
strut supporting hip roof. must be replaced yo. its clearly not working properly, what with it flopping abotu like some gimp polio legs.
 

 
lol dat joist is cracked yo. what ever will i do?!?!
 

 
 
laser beam mounting point. what with magnets and all.
 

 
laser beam magnets .  this is how i ended up leveling out the ceiling. with laser beams.
 

 
laser beam and string level dichotomy.
 

 
dem lasers.
 

 
laser beam benchmarks.
 

 
fixing that cracked hip rafter thing. the jack is sitting ontop of a ladder btw. 
 

 
cracked joist if pumped full of urethane adhesive... so it will hold screws later on when i scab on a new piece of wood.
 

 
cutting a new hip roof rafter thing. this is a compound angle cut... hard to explain but its beveled and mitered.
 

 
sistered that cracked joist mentioned earlier on. urethane glue was applied and a shitload of 3.5" #10 screws were fired on this day.
 

 
this is where i will install a nifty attic access hatch.  these wired however will have to be relocated!. they are blocking the nifty attic access hatch location.
 

 
the glue is now CURED. my god. its full of stares!.
 

 
scabbed on repair what with the glue and fancy hip  rafter cut thing and the ls50 angled simpson tie thing and all. hurricanes can f**k off now. this roof will never be lifted from whence it came. f**k off hurricanes.
 
tornadoes too.
 

 
lol electricians from the 1970's must have been high. ill have to fix this later on.
 

 
plumbing walls with laser beams. dodging tie fighters and  wookies and shit.
 

 
lovely flat wall you can f**k on. if it were horizontal. its actually vertical though.
 

 
laser beams.
 

 
urethane ashesive oozing out of the sill plates as it cures.
 


bump yo.
 
laser beam plumb bob. this is why i bough the laser in the fist place. what with the laser plumbing being faster than the string bobing what with the undamped pendulum oscillations.
 
oscillations are for gays.
 

 
laser beam plumbing walls. flatter than shit. drywallers be high fiving me till my hands bleed yo.
 

 
lasers. 
 

 
 
PEX. i decided to replace the galvanized plumbing in this part offy the house with pex class a plyubing. its far superior to the cave manpluming of yester year.
 
for some time now i had edecide on repacing the entire house with class a pex... owing to numerous reoccuring pinhole leaks... this wil be the start of such decision.
 
 
lets fuck irl.
 

 
pex expander head. it expands yo.
 

 
pex tee that i cut out after some reflection on hydro dynamics and pressure losses across assymetriical fittings.
 

 
pex angle stop valve. lovely valvce. crome plated.4 bucks each. an outrageous sum. for the price of 5 of these valvces i could of had a hand job.
 

 
where i tied into the old cave man galvanized plumbign with the fresh and funky new pex plumbing. like a man. with a huge hog.
 
bump yo.
 
pic of both shower walls. pex is dropped from the ceiling and capped off with a special pex plug thing.
 

 
fancy bend support replaces traditional drop ears... they cost like 2 bucks a pop verses 11 bucks for a real brass drop ear. less pressure loss across this fitting too. its just a toilet though so who cares.
 

 
fancy pex manifold fittings. these were not used owing to some unforseen issue.  they will however, be used elsewhere. all of the pex systems have these lovely fittings. very nice.
 

 
all lumber is bent yo. its just a matter of choosing to correct it or not.
 
i choose to correct this minor bowing. the lumber was placed with the crown facing inward for obivious reasons.
 

 
more bend fixin.
 

 
new closet framing. this will accomidate a pocket door some time in the future. 
 

 
steel studs are the shit yo. i can carry 20 of them on my shoulder easy. these will be used to furr out the ceiling, which is way uneven. 
 

 
first stud going up.
 

 
more studs
 

 
i pop holes in the stud with an old tapcon screw. makes running the pan head screws that hold the stud 10x easier.
 

 
drywall backing clips going up. i put a blob of adhesive on these then screw them down. later on i remove the screws to keep the cement backer board flat.
 

 
and thats it.
 
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