never ending projects

Update on Project Status

2008-12-21T22:15:00.001-08:00

Since the last update we have started/completed the following

Upstairs bathroom remodel – Completed
Basement bathroom addition – 99% complete (little touchup to do)
Lifting/Leveling/Pouring new foundation under Nursery – Completed
Bedroom/Office addition in basement – Started (10%)

Published Sewer Photo

2008-09-05T21:41:00.001-07:00

I guess people do actually read my blog and look at my photos even though I don't get around to updating them much. There are a ton of projects in process that I have not posted (except for the photos here) The other day I was contacted by a local newspaper interested in using one of my sewer lateral photos for a story they were writing on having your sewer lateral checked . I was flattered and said sure! 1 week later while looking at the paper in Safeway, there it was. A link to the online version of the paper is here or the PDF version here

Addicted to Open Source

2008-03-25T22:24:00.001-07:00

I have been using GNU/Linux and open source software for the past few years. It started as a way to give life to old PCs that I retired for more powerful machines to run Windows. Those GNU/Linux machines were mostly experimental acting as file servers and web servers. It wasn't until this past year I went to the other side and started using GNU/Linux as my preferred OS.

The last server I built, I designed to run Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows. Now I run Windows on my older machines. There are still plenty of applications I use my Windows machines for and they work well, but when I look for a application to fill new need I look to run it on my Ubuntu machine. More specifically, I look for web 2.0 applications using LAMP (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP). This allows me to use the applications from any browser on any machine.

My current web applications running on on this server are:

The most recent addition was dotProject. It meets all my needs for project management that Microsoft Project offers yet is free and always available online (as long as my server is up). As a web enabled application there are other features not available in MS Project such as easy collaboration by multiple users via the web and automatic emails of tasks assigned and reminders when they are due.

List of Projects

2008-03-24T20:11:00.001-07:00

Since buying this fixer house last year we have had number of projects to complete. Some are complete, some in process, and some not yet started.

~~Replace sewer lateral to the street (complete)~~
~~Insulate attic(complete)~~
~~Re-pipe water lines(complete)~~
~~Re-pipe gas(complete)~~
~~Install central forced air heating system(complete)~~
Add laundry room in basement (started)
Add office/guest bedroom in basement
Add bathroom in basement (70% complete)
Remodel/Upgrade kitchen
Remodel/Upgrade upstairs bathroom
Upgrade electrical system and re-wire (started)
Re-enforce basement cripplewall (20% complete)
Add new foundation under 2nd bedroom, level and re-enforce
Gut and remodel 2nd bedroom and convert to nursery
Change interior walls and add hallway into bedrooms and bathroom
Landscape front and back yard
Replace from porch and steps
Paint house
Sheet rock and texture whole interior of house
Paint Interior
Replace all hardwood floors
Rebuild all windows and sashes
Finish attic for storage

So this is the short list of the major projects, I'm sure I will think of something I am missing.

Getting back into the projects

2008-03-23T21:59:00.001-07:00

It is now time to get cracking on the projects have have been on hold since the arrival of Zachary.

This weekend I got back to work on the basement bathroom. We got some paint on the walls, re-attached the lighting and test fit the vanity and sink.

There is still quite a few things left for the basement bathroom.

tile shower floor
tile bathroom floor
grout tile
install baseboards
install crown molding
install sink fixtures
install toilet
install door
install wall fixtures

Once I put them all in a list, it doesn't seem like that much!

First morning at home

2008-01-27T11:50:00.000-08:00

Mom and Zachary sacked out

2008-01-25T22:56:00.001-08:00

Shower in the Basement

2007-12-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

We recently started construction of a new bathroom in the basement. All the photos of the previous demolition and framing can be seen here.
For the shower we decided to use the Schluter-KERDI shower system to ease the installation of tile.

After the plumbing and framing was complete the shower was enclosed with green board and cement board. The installation of the Schluter membrane was next. This provides a waterproof barrier that the tile can be directly adhered to.

Once the membrane is bonded with thin-set, the tile will be installed. The complete set of photos can be seen here

Laundry room - Plumbed in

2007-02-25T18:41:00.000-08:00

We finally got the washer downstairs and hooked up. It was not as easy as previously planned. We decided to move the plumbing to the left of where we originally planned. This meant that we needed to finish the studs for the wall that it would be attached to. Before we we finished studding out the wall we needed to shear wall the wall behind. Before we put up the shear wall we needed to insulate. Before we insulated we needed to remove and fill in the window and add the door framing. Before we added the door we needed to remove some supporting posts. Before we removed the supporting posts we needed to shore up the house. What seemed like a simple action to move plumbing 3 feet to the left turned out to be an all weekend event.

Once the wall was in place and the connections in the location we wanted, Mary started plumbing in the sewer while I worked on the supply lines by running copper and tying in with the existing galvanized pipe. Once the rest of the basement is gutted and we know where the plumbing for the kitchen and bathroom remodel will be I will re-pipe the entire house with copper.

At the end of the day we were able to hook up the washer and run a load.

All the photos are here

Laundry room - Getting started

2007-02-14T18:37:00.000-08:00

It is time to move the washing machine next to the dryer. Currently our washing machine is upstairs on the main floor in the kitchen and our dryer is in the basement. The previous owners had it this way and I have no idea why. There were only dryer hookups in the basement and only washer hookups in the kitchen. Just ridiculous. Before we can bring in the plumbing and electrical we started by creating some walls we can run everything in. The exterior walls I also plan on insulating and reinforcing for earthquake protection. We started just behind where the washer will go and will work our way from there. My goal in the next couple of weeks is to at least rough in the hookups for the washer so we can get it into the basement. You can see all the photos here.

Time for a new bathroom

2007-02-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

This is what we currently have.

Plan 1 - clawfoot tub, 1 sink, & standup shower

Plan 2 - 1 clawfoot tub, 2 sinks, & standup shower

Plan 3 - 1 clawfoot tub, 2 sinks, & standup shower

Plan 4 - 1 clawfoot tub, 2 sinks, & standup shower

Now comes the difficult task of figuring out which plan to go with, or maybe design a new one. hmmm... any suggestions?

Sewer Lateral - Ready for inspection

2007-01-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

This weekend we finished up the connection to the street, repaced all the clay pipe and made the new connections to the house with cast iron. It took less than 3 hours to finish it up with the help of my friend Dave and one of his employees Vic.

Now all I need to put this project behind us is to get the inspector out here and conduct an exfiltration test. I set up the test on Sunday by plugging the line at the street and filling all the lines with water. There was no drop in the water level after 30 min proving that the new sewer line is leak free.

Sewer Lateral - Commited

2007-01-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

Today I planned to undertake the removal of the old clay pipes and replace them with the new ABS. Before we were committed I wanted to make sure I had all the right parts. This morning I didn't have a choice, part of the clay pipe collapsed and opened up. I came out to look at my ditch only to find everything we flushed down in the past day floating in it's whole form. I was now committed.

My friend Dave came by to drop off supplies he picked up at the local plumbing supply shop. (It is good to have a plumber friend)We were planning on doing the replacement together but he had to run. The other problem we ran into is that there were a couple of parts and tools missing. I was on my own to get the sewer hooked up enough to be able to flush the toilet and not have it end up in the ditch.

I proceeded to remove sections of the clay pipe hoping at some point to make a clean break that I could attache to the ABS. I was missing a chain cutter so I was trying to make a clean break with a cold chisel, I was not having very good luck. Eventually I came to a point where I could slip on a no-hub connector.

It was amazing how full of roots the pipes were. I'm surprised anything drained, solids collected in the mesh of roots and the liquids slowly leached through.

Mary came home early and helped me fit the new sections of ABS together so we could get hooked up again. We finally got everything hooked up by 6:00 this evening.

The final sections and clean-outs will get attached tomorrow hopefully (pending my friend with the chain cutter schedule) There is a good chance we may have to finish this weekend.

All the photos can be seen here.

So far the cost of the project:

City Permit = $129.30
Concrete cutting and removal = $475.00
Hired labor for digging the trench down to the pipe = $400.00
Materials = $450.00
Scooping up everything you flushed the night before = priceless

Sewer Lateral excavation

2007-01-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

Our first major project for the house in Alameda is to replace the sewer lateral. It is a city requirement that when title is transferred on an old house the sewer lateral needs to be tested and replaced if necessary.

When we purchased the house we were given an estimate of $5000.00 to replace the lateral. We plan to complete it ourselves and save a few thousand bucks.

We have started with the first step in replacing the sewer lateral from where it exits the house to the connection at the street. The pipe consists of 100 year old terracotta clay sections buried up to 4 feet deep. You can see it is above my waist in the photo and I am 6'3" tall. We had to remove 40 feet of concrete sidewalk and dig a trench about 55 feet long. There are a number of joints that have been infiltrated by tree roots causing clogs and sewer to leach out into the ground.

You can see more photos here.

Our next step is to remove the old pipe and install 4" black ABS plastic pipe in place of the old clay pipe. we will get to that in the next couple of days.

Cost so far:
City Permit = $129.30
Concrete cutting and removal = $475.00
Hired labor for digging the trench down to the pipe = $400.00
Watching raw sewer leaking into the trench = priceless

Attic Insulation

2006-12-25T17:05:00.000-08:00

The project blog is back!

Our first major project for the new house in Alameda is to insulate. We discovered the first few nights in the new home it held heat about as well as a tent. Upon further inspection we discovered there was zero insulation in the attic.

We weighed the various options to insulate and decided on cocoon cellulose blown in insulation. It is economical, environmentally friendly, has a high R-value and we don't have to do any cutting and fitting.

We found the local Lowes carried the insulation and rented the blower.

By the time we finished half of the house was covered in cellulose dust including us.

To see all the photos click here

Outsourcing, does anyone spellcheck?

2006-06-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am the first to admit I'm not the best speller, but if you are going to produce something in mass or publish, you should at least have someone double check your work.

This is a classic example of having your product produced in China. Mary recently purchased this CO detector and “Fresh Air” was spelled “Fhesh Air”

Picnic at the reactor

2006-06-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing says romantic, like a picnic next to the cooling towers of a nuclear reactor where the water is warm and the fish grow huge. More photos here

Hanging sheetrock at a snot's pace?

2006-04-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to err on the side of sanity, I decided it was best not to use power tools while hungover on Sunday. How novel! So the Coach had to wait for another week. I did, however, finish up the last of the sheetrock project I've been working on.

One of these days I'll get around to posting a pic or two.

Now that the sheetrock part is done I just need to slap on a few coats of paint, grab a glass of champagne, and toast my newly acquired skill.

Mmmmmm...champagne...

And you know, it occurred to me just now (because my memory is moving at a snot's pace lately) that I have totally neglected to make updates about the Coach's bedroom and the window regasketing that took place there within.

Uh yea.

I really SHOULD get around to that.

I am on TOP of things!

As for the pending weekend. I have a ton of stuff I want to get covered, so my upcoming blogs should be interesting, if not entirely incoherent and disjointed due to the exhaustion I am sure to exhibit come this time next week.

Or we'll just get drunk and lie around hungover all weekend again like we did last weekend.

In my defense there WAS a wedding in there somewhere - and drinking was, like, a requirement.

Especially since the actual event was non-alcoholic. We had to make up for it when we got home.

Naturally.

Ebbing, flowing, and general projecting

2006-03-16T16:27:00.000-08:00

So a girl might think that she's pretty busy. She might think that between her hypothetical job, her social life, her husband, her projects, and her two cats (one of which who vomits with the regularity of something that should be exorcised)...she might have puh-lenty of things to keep her occupied.

By the way - anyone got a good priest lying around that specializes in exorcisms?

She might even think that on top of everything that she maxes her days with, that she still did a good job maintaining regularity at the gym - enough to get a "Hey Mary!" every time she comes and goes - and still, at the end of the day, nurture a healthy addiction to wine and cuddling with her husband in front of Tivo.

And then?

The best friend goes and gets engaged.

And this girl?

She apparently decides the she can squeeze in obsessing over dresses, and colors, and flowers, photographers, sites, rings...pant pant...like it's her own wedding all over again.

Cuz people?

Seriously - planning weddings is fun.

And I WILL do it if it SUCKS the final free moments from my day.

Because I love this friend...

That and I get to help plan a wedding and not PAY for it. This is key.

But it also means I might periodically, GASP, defer on some of my, SHUDDER, projects.

Do not despair!

If you've ever witnessed the planning of a wedding you would know it goes in ebbs and flows. Or some crap like that.

So right now we're flowing...to sites and more sites...and then some more sites again.

But then it will ebb a little. And we will return to our regular schedule projecting.

And doing projects too.

Oh! But I did try my hand at sheetrock recently! I'd show pictures but I have yet to magically move the pictures from our camera to the computer.

But then I can post them for the world to know just how handy I am with gypsum, joint compound, and a putty knife!

A microwave walks into a bar...

2006-03-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

So I'm sure some of you have noticed the sudden silence on this blog.

And if you have followed my other blog, you might have assumed the sudden silence was because I suck, and am lame, and am just not blogging for whatever unacceptable reason.

But you would be wrong!

I mean, yes, I am guilty of those afflictions. But in this case, it's not directly a result of said accusations!

It's because we took some time off from the projects. It was rather involuntary actually. I make it sound like we took a vacation or something. Rather, Trevor has been inundated with schoolwork which left me somewhat high and dry when it comes to working on the Coach.

He's, like, extremely handy or something...and I sort of use him for his brain and creepy ability to know just about anything and everything when it comes to electricity, plumbing, carpentry, or any other thing that ends in "y" or "ing" that involves restoring an RV.

But then I decided to strike out on my own!

Reclaim my independence!

Have some faith that I have learned enough to branch out on my own and not burn anything down. Or break something beyond fixing. Or maim myself to the extent that I might cry for my mother.

So I sat down and thought about all the things we have to do on the Coach, and then thought about all the things that didn't require either a second set of hands, or the higher skills and education for which I rely so helplessly on my husband for.

And that is how I came up with this weekend's project.

I installed a new microwave!

There once was a gaping hole where a microwave lived:

And along came a nice, brand new, fancy schmancy microwave that has NEW! and COOL! and revolutionary! Inverter Turbo Defrost technology!

And it made a nice little home in the previously gaping hole so Mary and Trevor could enjoy microwaved popcorn and reheated leftovers whenever they pleased:

The end*

*well...sort of. I still have to finish the trim around the edges. But hey! We have a microwave now and I did it without loosing a single finger, or breaking anything beyond repair.

Cranky and unmotivated

2006-02-14T12:36:00.000-08:00

Nothing much to report after this last weekend.

Saturday started off alright. Trevor flushed the blackwater tank more thoroughly that morning. I think he's finally satisfied that it's about as "clean" as it's going to get.

I, feeling particularly unmotivated, decided not to do much at all. The heat making it a bit on the stifling side - and the general malaise we were feeling about the passing of our bunny, Trouble, on Friday - did not make for good productivity.

We called it a day after lunch and went home where I proceeded to lie around not knowing what to do with myself.

I don't do well with unplanned laziness. Sure, if I PLAN on not doing anything, I can be great at it! Sleep in, lie around, read, nap, watch tv. I'm great at it!

But if I was planning on getting things done, and then failed? I lie around staring at the ceiling apparently.

No seriously. This is what I ended up doing.

On the carpet, staring into space.

So stricken with the intention of getting things done, but feeling so unmotivated and dejected about the whole idea that all I could think to do is lie in a sort of confused paralysis. A bit of a productivity limbo if you will.

I stayed like this until Trevor got so disgusted with my pathetic attitude and ordered me into the shower to get cleaned up for a date.

And he took me out on the town for a delicious dinner at California Fat's and then we saw Walk the Line.

Such a good husband.

By the time Sunday came around I decided to just take the day off altogether from the Coach considering that we had things going on in the morning and were going to drive back to the Bay Area to see Michele and John for dinner.

Cuz they're ENGAGED.

And I HAD to see them.

So that's it. No real project developments this last weekend.

But this weekend should be more exciting. We'll be moving the Coach over to her new yard where we are within stumbling distance of the house.

Cheers to that!

And I'll finish the tiling in the bathroom and maybe we'll start building the vanity.

So yea. Like everything we were planning on doing this last weekend.

Go us!

Oh my aching back

2006-02-07T12:10:00.000-08:00

So Saturday was probably one of the most filthy, disgusting, gross, and hopefully soon-forgettable days I have ever had.

We flushed out the black water tank.

With a drain hose that was too short to reach the actual drain hole.

Do you get the gravity of the situation yet?

We had to just let the hose drain into the basin.

To be more specific, we had to WATCH what came out of the tank.

I’m not going to bother with much detail as I’m sure anyone who’s reading this can imagine the fowl sludge that poured from within the tanks.

But what I will tell you is that it involved an awful smell, multitudes of tiny maggots, and a desire to NEVER EVER EVER go into a career involving plumbing.

Once that was done…shudder…I tackled the tiling of the bathroom floor and Trevor, apparently having not had enough of the sewer, rummaged around in the Tank Underbay and worked on disconnecting the sewer lines so he could pull out the black water tank and address the issue of the malfunctioning tank gauge.

Here’s a pic of him getting a little too friendly with the black water tank:

And here’s a pic of where the tank gauge used to be:

Can you see why, maybe, kinda, sort of, why it’s not working? Yea. We’ll be putting in a new one.

That pretty much sums up Saturday. Sunday I worked on tiling the walls in the bathroom. I was pretty determined to finish ALL of the tiling this weekend. But there was a lot of precision cutting for around the shower and I started making a lot of mistakes. As much as I can be fiercely determined in a very bratty way to complete tasks, I also know that I’m fiercely a perfectionist in an EXTREMELY bratty way and there was NO WAY I was going to be satisfied with the caliber of work I was doing by the end of day two of cramped neck-hands-back-thighs fest 2006.

He-ya some pics:

Pretty no?

More pics can be found, as always, here.

Yes, I’m quite pleased. And…AND! It smells NICE in there. Kind of a new-car smell sort of nice. Quite honestly I would have been satisfied with a no-longer-smelling-of-shit smell.

See in the pic? See the hole in the ground? There is NO sewer attached to that right now. Which means there is no longer a collection of stewing, steaming, festering glop hanging out right below that hole. And by the time there IS a sewer tank attached to it we’ll have a nice fancy schmancy toilet that actually seals shut. Yes, unlike the old toilet, that kind of sort of closed, but sure-as-hell did not SEAL shut.

And because of this lack of a giant cesspool, The Stink is gone. For those of you who have never set foot on the Coach you will not know of what I speak. But for those of you who have? Yes, THE Stink – the perpetual constant undertone of sewer Stink. The Stink that got really bad when the tanks were full, but was ALWAYS there stink Stink.

Apparently there was a leak under the toilet which, combined with the never properly sealing toilet, created quite a delightful ode-to-crap smell. So we’re glad we pulled out all the sewer lines after all because now we can get rid of that pesky leak and everything will smell like roses. Well, at least new vinyl tile flooring.

So The Stink is gone, the bathroom is tiled (mostly) and we are just about ready to rebuild the sewer lines back up and put the sewer project to bed.

Trevor took a break from the sewer stuff on Sunday and spent most of the time rooting around in the dashboard. He kind of took it apart actually. Apparently crazy wiring nutjobs were let loose behind the Coach’s walls and there is some KUH-RAZY wiring done. For example, he found an amplifier that wasn’t in use, it was just taking up space behind the dash with all its wires cut.

This is, like, a MAJOR no-no. Seriously? Leaving stuff to take up space on an RV? Space! Space which is at a premium in such a tiny living area!

Between that, and the rats nest of wiring that is actually not connected to anything, Trevor should have his hands full. But he did find that the headlights do in fact work, that the switch just needs replacing. Yea for not having to spend a lot of money on that!

Blah blah blah.

I’ve blabbed long enough.

So for next week!

- finish the tiling in the bathroom

- put in the baseboards and chair molding in bathroom (if I can get my ass to Home Depot and actually find something I like)

- Drink

- install new toilet flange to floor

- attempt re-build of sewer lines

- Drink some more

- laugh at our attempt to start rebuilding sewer lines because something is bound to creep up and throw us off course. That and we’ll hopefully have been drinking in copious amounts by now which always makes things funnier.

- attempt to start building the bathroom vanity. Wee carpentry!

- Oh yea, and somewhere in there we should probably move the Coach to it’s new home at Laguna RV storage – a mere 5 minute drive away from home!

- Marvel at our really smart idea at moving the Coach within walking distance so we can now drink while working on it and then walk home.

Is that all?

2006-02-01T16:36:00.000-08:00

So I dug up the inventory we conducted of all the things that we felt needed to be done to the Coach in order to make it habitable and then some. This was something we did the first month we had it - maybe a year and a half ago or so.

Here is what we thought we wanted to do to the bathroom at that time:
- replace faucet
- replace toilet
- clean floor

If you haven't caught up on our recent bathroom escapades, please do so now.

Now read on.

I would like to take this moment to pick apart what it is like to be Mary and Trevor.

The insane DIY couple.

Apparently, to us, replacing the faucet means not only take the faucet out but also the counter it's attached to. And while we're at it? Why not the whole vanity? I mean, they're all inter-connected right? People, we have a perfectly good table saw and biscuit joiner just LYING around going to NO good use. Why not build one from scratch?

Clean the floor? Hell, wouldn't it just be easier to pull out the whole floor altogether? I mean, then it really WILL be clean. And you know what? Some of the wall is kind of near the floor and by mere association it seems like it should come out too.

About the only thing that we got right was "replace the toilet". Oh, but yes, we're going to tear out the sewer lines and power wash the black water tank it's attached to. So even that was a pathetic attempt at predicting what we would end up doing.

What I'm getting at here is that we are crazy. Totally insane crazy peeps that should be locked up. Or, at the very least, not given projects to do.

Yoga...help me now

2006-01-31T16:31:00.000-08:00

Another weekend, another two days of cramming myself into small quarters armed with a chisel, a hammer, and a crowbar.

And my face within 3 feet of a sewer opening at all times.

Wee fun.

So I crossed most things off my list that I had scheduled for the weekend. Things west smoothly...a little toooooooo smoothly. I've grown somewhat accustomed to major roadblocks getting in our way as we embark on our projects. A day with nothing but what I expect and am fully prepared for is somewhat confusing if not downright concerning.

Could it be that we're learning and getting better at this?

Eh. Not likely.

So anyway!

I chiseled the teak floor up. That was tedious and easily comparable to the amount of fun derived from cleaning the grout in your shower with a q-tip. But hey. It's done now and I'll never have to do it again.

And now I can say I've removed a teak floor.

Cuz that's totally one of those skills my resume was lacking.

For those of you who are visually stimulated:

Sunday I spent the day cutting and fitting 1/8" plywood sheeting to go down as the subfloor. I know, I know, there's already a subfloor. But it's sticky and not level and not appropriate for applying tiles to.

Once the new subfloor went down I caulked it and primed it in preparations for the new tiles.

Notice how I didn't prime the wall? Yea, cuz I'm smart like that. I thought I'd prime the floor first so it would be wet and make it impossible to prime the wall.

Guess I'll add that to my to-do list for Saturday morning.

While I was busy getting intimate with the poop-hole in the bathroom, Trevor spent the weekend outside pulling out the old in-house vac system so he could get at the blackwater tank.

And it fell in the dumpster. How sad for it.

Suppose we'll replace that with a much smaller and uber-cooler wet/dry shop vac.

The intent was innocent enough. We needed to get to the blackwater tank so we could inspect why the tank gauge is reading the tank as perpetually full. By the time Trevor got to the gauge at the top of the tank it broke off in his hands from all the years of corrosion.

Guess we know why it's not working.

And while I'm in the middle of trying not to drop important tools down the toilet shoot, Trevor comes to me with this hairbrained idea that we should pull the blackwater tank out (fun!) and give it a good cleaning (more fun!) and then we can re-pipe the sewer lines and deal with some leaks we suspect exist.

I can't tell you how excited I am with this plan.

The anticipation with which I am racked with at this very moment cannot be summarized. I exude delight with this idea.

And the best part? By re-doing the sewer lines I will be able to pull off the toilet flange (previously referred to as the "toilet shoot") that is in the bathroom floor and replace it with a less-urine-soaked one.

In fact, I believe the ones they give you at the store are urine-free. I'll have to check on that.

Oh oh oh - but that's not the best part...the best part is that, well, did you look at that pic? Go back and look...see how there are lines in the new subflooring? The ones filled with caulk? Yea, those are cuts.

Cuts I made to get the flooring around the toilet hole.

Cuts that were a PAIN IN THE ASS to make because you are doing them with a utility knife because there's really no good way to cut 1/8" plywood other than with a fricken' box cutter.

It took me, like, 3 hours to painstakingly measure, cut, and lay that little piddly floor (no pun intended).

And now I'll be able to just remove the flange.

The very item that required that I spend 3 hours measuring, cutting and caulking for.

Wah wah wah.

Ok, I'm done griping.

So I guess the plan for this weekend is to lay down the tile in the bathroom...and get intimate with a big black metal box that has contained my family's shit and piss for many many years.

I'll be sure to post lots of pics for that.

drip, drip, drip, pour

2006-01-26T20:24:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago when we took the coach home for the weekend to start on the interior improvements I noticed a small spot on the concrete under the front of the bus. I checked all the fluids and everything looked normal. I figured it was most likely either power steering fluid or maybe a little water possibly a small leak from the hot water that circulates up to the from of the bus for the heater. There wasn’t much so I added it to my list of things to watch and investigate when I had the time and desire. Well last weekend the coach decided I was to work on it’s terms not mine. While parked in front of our house I noticed a much larger puddle and when I started the engine it was a steady pour. I took a 2X4 and reached it under the coach to sample the fluid and sure enough it was bleeding ATF (it was the power steering). We could not work on the coach in front of the house (already received a notice from the HOA for having the bus in front of the house over 24 hours) so I had to get it back to storage and work on it there. I topped off the fluid and headed back to the storage. By the first turn the power steering was completely inoperable. We made it back to the storage lot and I was exhausted, not an easy vehicle to steer without power steering.

The next step was to figure out a way to assess the damage and fix the beast. We created a ramp to drive up on out of stacked 2X8’s.

Once I got underneath I investigated where the fluid was coming from. I was worried the master cylinder had blown and would need to be rebuilt. That piece alone was nearly the size of a normal car axle. Best case would just be a hose or fitting. Turned out it was a hose that blew. I was relived; it was a challenge to remove, but could have been much worse.

Now where to go to get a replacement power steering return line for a 1960 GMC PD4104 bus? I took it back to San Jose and would try my sources there. It’s not like you can go to the local corner Kragen Auto Parts and get the part off the shelf. First I went Specialty Truck Parts in San Jose, they usually have everything for large trucks and engines. They took one look at my hose and said, “we don’t have anything like that, you will need to have it custom made” Specialty sent me to a custom hose fabricator in San Jose called Royal Brass Inc. I went to Royal and gave them my hose. Fifteen minutes later they came out with the new hose made to order. I couldn’t believe it! And it cost only $40.00, now I know where to go if I ever need a custom made hydraulic hose in the future.

Next weekend I will install the new hose and bleed the system. To see all the photos click here