What are you working on?

[b-body-bob]

Neither Lowe's or Home Depot have anything bigger than 5/8"; this is a 3/4" pipe so it takes a 7/8" compression. I got it at Menard's just because they were the only place that had it in stock.

I'm planning to beg my BIL who is a plumber to help me with sweating a couple of PEX adapters onto the copper. We'll see how that works out. The begging, I mean.

It dripped constantly and I knew I was running out of threads but what else could I do but keep cranking on it and hoping it would seal. Ain't much different than the mess I would've had trying one more sharkbite.

My knuckles are a bloody mess from cutting the pipe that's tight to a cinder block wall. Ouch.

 

[b-body-bob]

I hired a fellow who dug around in his car and found a 3/4" coupler, a few inches of 3/4", and an IPT fitting, that along with the PEX adapter from the compression fitting got me going. He used a shop vac and maybe half of the bottom of a hamburger bun to hold back the water and sweated it right together like it was nothing.

He said if I could hold off until it warms up he'd be interested in helping me run PEX. Says the standing pipes that require wall repairs to replace rarely ever go bad and he can be sweating PEX adapters to that while I'm stringing PEX. He's at least 70 years old, about 5' tall, and sort of looks like a teenager. It's kind of weird.

 

[Dr.Jass]

He's at least 70 years old, about 5' tall, and sort of looks like a teenager. It's kind of weird.

Dick Clark isn't dead. He's hiding in WV and doing the odd plumbing job to make ends meet.

 

[thrashingcows]

Finding an old timer like that is pure gold!!

 

[thrashingcows]

Was out plowing with Sno-ball last week and the lower rad hose popped, Again! Had some time after getting the exhaust manifold done on Patches so moved it into the shop. was able to steal a lower rad hose off one of the parts Ramcharger I picked up a couple years ago...just had to shovel a path and a couple feet of snow off the truck so I could get the hood open, then lay and crawl under the truck in said 2 feet of snow....good thing I love Winter and snow!

Then clean and swap the hose onto Sno-ball...then re-fill with the filtered coolant I drained out of Patches during the summer, I always keep it around if it's in good condition for situations like this..

 

[b-body-bob]

It's leaking again, at the repair. He's religious so I don't feel right even calling him today.

 

[b-body-bob]

I think the problem has been caused by a ground clamp I installed. The other guy had removed it, and I put it back, which put it in the front of my memory. I just loosened it up and the drip pattern slowed down so I suspect it cracked the solder joint.

We're managing the leak and catching up laundry, then I'm just going to cut the copper out on the far side of the HWT, omit the ground clamp, and have hopes that the first two sharkbites I try will seal. I don't know what I'm going to do re-establish the ground at the moment, but that's coming anyway once it is all PEX.

 

[b-body-bob]

Well, I replaced that piece including a coupler that tells me this is a different piece of 3/4" than the one I've been fighting, and sure enough it leaks too. I'm getting a drip every 10 seconds. I even used a different brand Sharkbite type fitting this time and not the name brand, with the same result,

Debating fighting it more, or managing it until I save up some more PTO so I have time to work under the house and move forward with replumbing.

I just put the ground clamp back on the pipe where it's nowhere near a joint and tried to not over tighten it this time. Stupid me bought the wrong gauge wire, needed 4 bought 8. It should be OK for now since it's grounded back to the pole - unless something goes wrong and I don't plan on shorting anything out in the near future. I'll eventually get the right gauge and run it all the way back to the box to make it right.

 

[Stretch]

Some mid week progress

 

[69.5CUDA]

after doing that twice.....i swore if i did it again id weld or punch nuts into the floor for easy tunnel removal for rod adjustment and such....think truck 4wd tunnel cover how its bolted down

 

[Dr.Jass]

after doing that twice.....i swore if i did it again id weld or punch nuts into the floor for easy tunnel removal for rod adjustment and such....think truck 4wd tunnel cover how its bolted down

Removing the seat, kick panels and sill plates to pull the carpet so you can remove a floor tunnel seems like a lot more than just sliding under the car and adjusting linkage.

 

[thrashingcows]

after doing that twice.....i swore if i did it again id weld or punch nuts into the floor for easy tunnel removal for rod adjustment and such....think truck 4wd tunnel cover how its bolted down

or just toss it up on the lift....

 

[dodgechargerfan]

Well, I replaced that piece including a coupler that tells me this is a different piece of 3/4" than the one I've been fighting, and sure enough it leaks too. I'm getting a drip every 10 seconds. I even used a different brand Sharkbite type fitting this time and not the name brand, with the same result,

Debating fighting it more, or managing it until I save up some more PTO so I have time to work under the house and move forward with replumbing.

I just put the ground clamp back on the pipe where it's nowhere near a joint and tried to not over tighten it this time. Stupid me bought the wrong gauge wire, needed 4 bought 8. It should be OK for now since it's grounded back to the pole - unless something goes wrong and I don't plan on shorting anything out in the near future. I'll eventually get the right gauge and run it all the way back to the box to make it right.

Jeebus!

Plumbing mojo.

 

[dodgechargerfan]

Not really working on it, but working to pay for it…
Mrs DCF has been wanting to enclose the front porch for a long time.
While getting it quoted out, we got the back patio quoted too.

I got a look from her that told me I was signing the contract. Ya know that puppy eyes kinda look. LOL!

The back patio materials came in first and the installers were here for the last two and a half days.

The roof and the three exterior posts were there. Just the posts and rails and glass are new.












The glass panels slide to the front corners like this:



and the handles have locking latches.



The overlap and window whiskers are less obtrusive than they look in these pictures.

Suffice it to say that any bonus cash I make from here on out can go to car parts.

 

[69.5CUDA]

that is NOT what i picure when someone says "enclosed porch" and i grew up as slave labor to dads const company...

gotta say im impressed by the setup

 

[thrashingcows]

That's a really nice enclosure!

 

[restoman]

That looks great!
Our deck faces south... I'd love to put up a sun porch back there, for days like this when it's too cold for just sitting without some breeze protection.
I spend most of my waking day outside when it's warm enough. Stuck inside when it's not drives me crazy.

 

[dodgechargerfan]

Thanks!

I really pushed for the “almost no frame showing look” and wanted to avoid any traditional window look.

With this system, the only frame is the top and bottom rails, post where there were already posts and the strips at the walls.
They did a little fixed panel of acrylic over the window well to finish off one of the side walls. I was worried about what that would look like, but they did a great job and even made up a cover for the window well out of the leftover acrylic. No critters will bed down in that well again.

There are houses in the neighbourhood that have enclosed their front porches and it just looks like another entry system with a storm door, and I hate that idea. The whole idea of a deep covered porch is to be under cover while unlocking your front door. What I’ve seen just moves that activity outside and back in to the elements. And it looks awful on the style of porch that most houses have in this area. It looks bolted on and doesn’t match. Going mostly glass, I think the view is minimally impacted. Hopefully I’ll have pics of that in a week or two.

 

[dodgechargerfan]

That looks great!
Our deck faces south... I'd love to put up a sun porch back there, for days like this when it's too cold for just sitting without some breeze protection.
I spend most of my waking day outside when it's warm enough. Stuck inside when it's not drives me crazy.

We get some southern exposure with this back patio. I’m hoping it warms things up in there.

This system is just panels of glass. So, no thermal characteristics or anything like that, but a greenhouse is a greenhouse if you get enough sunlight cooking it, and it will block the colder breezes that sometime make an okay temperature just a bit less comfortable.

 

[dodgechargerfan]

Front porch got done today. Took them about 3 hours.





Side is three panels that slide.


Door is one that swings in,


and another that slides over and then swivels in over the first panel. This opens up the front for moving stuff in and out of the house.

That track is negligible when you’re stepping in and out. I was worried about it, but I’ve gone in and out a couple of times and I made no change in my step.

I think I’m going to have to paint the flashing around the garage doors.