List of Projects

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.

Laundry room - Plumbed in

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

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.

Sewer Lateral - Ready for inspection

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

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

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