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Gulf Island Building.

1M views 8K replies 149 participants last post by  Katie Cabana 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi all:
Since the summer of 1997, I have been building a cabin and house on our 1/2 acre lot here. Before I dive into that part, I am going to show a few photos to set the stage a bit. We are remote here. No services of any kind, except that which we provide for ourselves. So don't expect to see any paved roads with big trucks delivering any materials.
We live at the head of a small bay, which is both a blessing and a curse.
When the tide goes out, we have to clamber over hundreds of yards of rocks to get to our boat. When it is in, I can float logs right up to my little railway to move them onto the log deck. Well, not any more, but more about that later.
This is the bay in front of us.
 

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#7,070 ·
I hadn't thought about that, it could loosen the tile or grout or crack it.

Keith that would be easier to use the grinder than the engraver, I didn't think of that either, that is why you two make the big bucks. Thanks to both of you.

I will send him the link, I am sure he will jump on that. He also helped design the old Hemi engine back then, he was a design engineer at Chrysler. I just remembered that Tom lived in Canada for years. Here is a link to his site, Tom Rock Productions.
http://rockontrains.us/
 
#7,072 ·
I was hooking up the ABS drain this morning, when the tailpiece came off the sink. Just fell off.

It seems there was hardly any thread on the chrome section.

I could hardly believe my good luck (that's a switch) when I found another one in the house.

Take a look at the two different threaded ends, no comparison. The one I found went right in no problem.
 

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#7,073 ·
The brand of the original is American Standard, something I have bought many times over the years.

When I checked where it was made you can probably guess..... beautiful downtown Shanghai! Mind you, the new piece was probably made in China as well.
 
#7,075 ·
You guys may enjoy this video I found on You Tube. This is Union Pacifics Engine 844 travelling at seventy-five miles per hour. Nebraskans get to see this ole girl every once-in-a-while. She was here this year again. Coming from her home in Cheyenne Wyoming and approaching Grand Island Nebraska from the west she began whistlin' about seven miles west of town and there was no mistakin' what you were hearing. She rolled into the UP yard where she stayed for a couple of days before moving on east. This is an amazing old machine.

Notice the late-model diesel engine unit a couple of cars back. The diesel engine is her insurance if anything serious breaks down on the road.

More interesting is the fireman standing between 844 and the coal tender, watch that guy bounce going seventy-five miles per hour. Would you ride there?

This kind of stuff gets me choked up every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRTYNxtbnjI
 
#7,076 ·
This is kind of interesting too...

Nebraska is home to the world's largest rail-yard (Bailey Yard). Complete hump-yard and maintenance facilities with turn-table.

A few years ago they built an eight-story building in the yard that resembles a rail road spike. At the top is an observation deck where you can view the entire yard and all of the activities. The car humping is done with diesel engines that are remotely controlled from an onsite control center but some of the activities are remotely controlled from Omaha Nebraska from what I understand. This is an amazing place to visit.

http://www.goldenspiketower.com/bailey_yard.php
 
#7,077 ·
Bud, have you ever seen any of the 4000 series Union Pacific Big Boys?

The engine in your video is a 4 - 8 - 4, meaning it has 8 driving wheels. The U.P. Big Boys were a 4 - 8 - 8 - 4, the biggest engines ever built. I believe (if my memory serves) that they were numbered from 4001 to 4025. They were built to move mountains of coal out of West Virginia.
 
#7,078 ·
Not sure what I've seen to tell you the truth. I have seen one larger than this one here about ten or twelve years ago but have no idea what it was.

These things are abundant in Nebraska but they are most all static and in parks and museums. Hell old railroad engines in Nebraska are like old Army Tanks and Jet Fighter Airplanes everywhere else. Unfortunately way too many of them have seen the cutting torch over the years and are now probably high-rise buildings or automobile frames.:)
 
#7,079 ·
Just a little hint for all you DIY plumbers out there...for years I have been using one of those small butane bottle kits. I guess it has always worked, but a couple of years ago I bought a new Bernz-O-matic torch with a bit more oomph. I only just undid the package a few days ago.

What a difference. It has a built in lighter which works like a charm. It is obviously much hotter and will allow a joint to be soldered in between 20 and 35 seconds depending on how much copper you are heating up and the flame is much more concentrated. This was a big plus for me because I needed to do some soldering fairly close to a wood wall. Not even a hint of any burning. And one more thing, you can twist the angle of the tip which makes it very easy to get at the area to be soldered very easily.

No, I don't sell them, just happy with the product.
 

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#7,080 ·
Bud, I remember way back when I was a kid living way back out in the sticks. On a clear, crispy cold morning when the wind was still, you could hear the old steam engines way off back down in the hollers just huffin and puffin and blowing their whistles. That was such a comforting sound then and I still love to hear it when I can now days.

Keith, is that Mapps gas you got? That is a neat set up there, I have a torch that I just pull the trigger and it lights up but the tip doesn't turn like yours, I can see where that would come in handy.
 
#7,081 ·
Keith, is that Mapps gas you got? That is a neat set up there, I have a torch that I just pull the trigger and it lights up but the tip doesn't turn like yours, I can see where that would come in handy.
Not sure what kind of gas Jim...next time I use it I will look.

You can turn the business end of the torch right around for 360º. :thumbsup:
 
#7,086 ·
Mapps gas burns a lot hotter, you can even braze with it, I am told. I am going to have to check out that new type of torch, I have a lot of sweathing to do coming up soon.

Keith, it you have an Ace Hardware up your way, they have a small heat shield made out of thick aluminum foil and some kind of white insulation, I put this behind the pipe I am sweating and the wood behind it doesn't even get warm. You probably already knew this though.
 
#7,090 ·
As for the drains...well, nearly there, but it took over two hours to get a hole through the floor under the kitchen sink.

My faithful 1/2" B & D drill finally bit the dust. It has been on the way out for some time, but today was it's final go round.

I ended up trying to get a hole through the floor - which is about 2 1/2" thick - with a brace and bit and hammer and chisel. That's where the two hours comes from.

Now I have the pleasure of crawling under the house and connecting all the drains into one. I am starting to wonder how I can fit a 200 pound lump into a 150 pound space.
 

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#7,091 · (Edited)
All your plumbing looks really impressive Keith, the on demand water heater is sharp, I have thought about one when our old tank goes out. Could you let me know how you like it?

Buddy I sure know what you mean about under the house, talk about sore, I discovered places I didn't even know I had places.:whistling2: I will be glad when I see 200 pounds again, there is about 37 pounds of me that Judy is illegally married to, ya know what I mean.
 
#7,092 ·
Jim:

Because of our location, there are quite a few people who have the tankless water heaters. Of course, they come in all sorts of capacities and prices to match.

The little one I have here is a small Bosch for which I paid $500. The only things you need to watch with the tankless heaters are making sure that the water pressure remains high enough - typically 40 p.s.i. - and that you don't try to run more than one thing at a time. So, if you are having a shower, Judy will need to wait before she runs the dishwasher.

I have chatted to two people here who have tried to run these water heaters with the small boat pressure pumps, and that just doesn't work. They have nowhere near the capacity. But for anyone on a city type water supply you will have no problem. And right there is the main reason that I installed a big pressure tank (10.3 gallon drawdown) with a real jet pump.

Now Dan here on the other side of the island has the biggest tankless you can buy. It has two propane lines run into it because it is so big! I don't know what kind of pressure system he has, but knowing Dan it will be the biggest and the best. I have a hunch he also uses his for his hot tub.
 
#7,093 ·
Thanks Keith, pressure is no problem here at all, it is just the other way around here. We are 1 mile from Lookout Mountain and they have to really ramp up the pressure to get the water to the top of the mountains. I had to install two pressure regulators because the pressure was blowing everyone's water heaters up. If you turn the hoes on out side you better not let it stop spraying, it will blow the best of water hoses up.
 
#7,103 ·
CoCobolo..thanks!!

Just surfed in, and viola, there was a 'gold mine' of info..on of all things..Lipitor..and the exact same problems I have been having..getting around on garage floor, and I will take that info to my Dr. as proof! I thought it was 'old age' but I am not in that bad shape, that I have to have something above me to help me get up from Garage floor!! I am excited, to maybe have found an answer, when I was looking in the wrong direction!! Thanks! Nice to see your efforts also!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
#7,104 ·
Just surfed in, and viola, there was a 'gold mine' of info..on of all things..Lipitor..and the exact same problems I have been having..getting around on garage floor, and I will take that info to my Dr. as proof! I thought it was 'old age' but I am not in that bad shape, that I have to have something above me to help me get up from Garage floor!! I am excited, to maybe have found an answer, when I was looking in the wrong direction!! Thanks! Nice to see your efforts also!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Do a google on pros and cons of Lipitor, it will open your eyes. I refuse to take it, chances are your doctor will argue that the benefits out weight the side effects, do the reading you will see that it does not.
 
#7,113 ·
The only other thing I had to make sure of was that the supply lines were kept well back. Remember that I don't have the hot/cold lines buried in the wall here, they were added after the fact.

Not the best pic, but you get the idea.
Sometime when you need something to do (ha ha ha) you could build a cover to hide the plumbing under that sink. Maybe a five-sided cover (box) with an open back that would sit on the floor and slide into place against the wall. Paint it to match the cabinet - out of sight out of mind.:thumbup:
 
#7,115 ·
Hmmmmmm...note to self: check the other 1,849 items on the "to-do" list and see if it is on there. If it isn't...to hell with it. :whistling2:
 
#7,114 ·
Was just wondering....

Keith, I noticed you are using copper pipe for the plumbing..and..my whole house had same, but when I was in the process of 'doing' basement..etc., I eliminated all the copper and used 'Pex' tubing and fittings..just because I thought it was newer and better..and now..a "Sage' such as yourself, is using copper..just curious, if you had a reason, other than past experience with same, or..there is something I don't know which is a 'negative' for using .."Pex".
 
#7,116 · (Edited)
Keith, I noticed you are using copper pipe for the plumbing..and..my whole house had same, but when I was in the process of 'doing' basement..etc., I eliminated all the copper and used 'Pex' tubing and fittings..just because I thought it was newer and better..and now..a "Sage' such as yourself, is using copper..just curious, if you had a reason, other than past experience with same, or..there is something I don't know which is a 'negative' for using .."Pex".
Syd, there's nothing wrong with either copper or Pex. If I were starting a new build today I would go with Pex just because it is so much faster. Push the pipe into a fitting and that's it.

I do have two Pex lines running from the utility room to the kitchen sink (hot and cold) and the reason for those is because I had to somehow run the two lines through the insulation in the floor - foamboard - and up to the sink. It should be posted somewhere on the thread.

As for the copper, well I got a whole boatload of fittings at the right price (read free here) and then I ran across about 200 odd feet of new 1/2" copper tubing up at Habitat for an absolute song. So it was a no brainer to use copper for most of it.

Still have lots of copper fittings left over and just one piece of tubing.

Adding a bit about Pex. The push in fittings I mention above are for going from copper to Pex. Just push the lines into the Pex and that's it. I think the usual fitting is a crimp on jobbie.
 
#7,122 ·
Is that when you took up laying tile?
That was when I lived in Texas.

Is that when you took up laying tile?
I gave up plumbing and I took up laying tile not too long after I reached in-under a dishwasher to disconnect it and when I pulled it out there was a nest of scorpions under that sucker. They began running in circles and in all directions, it was maddening, I was able to stomp most of them and finish the dishwasher job but that was pretty much [it] for me and plumbing. That was when I finally realized what was meant by; "Don't Mess With Texas".

Well then there was also the time I opened the door on my pickup and there sat a copperhead all coiled up and attentive. Have no idea how he got inside my truck.

Had another snake incident (IN TEXAS) while out fishing one day. A friend and I were trolling my boat in shallow waters under some overhanging tree limbs and a damned cotton mouth dropped into the boat with us. Now that was funny as hell (AFTERWARD). My partner was more afraid of snakes than I was and he scrambled trying to climb on top of the motor and I stood on a pedestal chair and netted the snake and threw him overboard fish-net and all.
 
#7,123 ·
A friend and I were trolling my boat in shallow waters under some overhanging tree limbs and a damned cotton mouth dropped into the boat with us. I stood on a pedestal chair and netted the snake and threw him overboard fish-net and all.
Seems like a waste of a perfectly good fish net. You should have chopped him up and used him for bait. :)
 
#7,130 ·
You sure we aren't cousins in law, I thought I was the only one who did stuff like that. :yes: When I was on the fire department in West Tennessee, I stuck a firetruck in a bog and almost turned a pumper over twice, There just isn't enough room here to even start telling the things I have gotten into. Neat story Bud.
 
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