Plumbing! (AKA Plumbing 3)

As long as I've been working on this project--yes, many years--I have found it nearly impossible to hire trades people to do the plumbing and wiring on the JayBee. (Maine has a lack of people working in the trades and the ones we do have are booked solid for many months in advance with way bigger projects than mine.) Luck has been with me this year, thank goodness. Not sure why, since all the trades are more tightly booked this year than ever--even going out to 2023 in some cases. I'm just embracing the luck, though, and counting my blessings.

In mid November, I heard a rumor from some neighbors that a former state plumbing inspector lives nearby, is now retired, and takes on occasional plumbing jobs. When I called him, it turned out he had been the state plumbing inspector when I reported the plumber-thief years ago. I recognized his name, and he recognized my name and the case; that's small-town Maine for you! He was skeptical about working on a tiny house, but he agreed to stop by and see my project. After seeing it, he agreed to finish up my plumbing!

My new plumber wanted to change four things about the plumbing that had already been done. First, he pointed out that an elbow installed on the kitchen-sink drain line had been installed upside down. Note how it curves upwards instead of down. Makes me shake my head. That's why I hired out the plumbing--so it would be done right. I had not noticed this mistake.

Next, he didn't like that the drain line for the washer was going to put the p trap under the floor--making it susceptible to freezing. Third, we debated how to vent the washer. I didn't want another hole in the roof for a separate vent, and I didn't want a bunch of vent line cluttering up the loft as it snaked across to tie into the bathroom vent. The Code Enforcement Officer agreed that we could use an air activation valve on the washer--as long as it would be accessible in case it needed to be serviced down the road. Finally, the plumber didn't like that the water line to the outdoor faucet did not have its own shut-off valve.

The plumber was very excited after his first full day of work, so I stopped by after my work day to check it out. When I drove up, I saw a lot of plumbing supplies lying on the slab, but I didn't see that much work had been done.

When I got down on my knees, though, and looked up on the underside of the JayBee's floor, my jaw dropped. Even though I was fully aware of every plumbing fixture in the house, I just didn't envision how much piping was going to be required underneath the house. I'm sure glad I didn't try to figure out this maze by myself!

On subsequent days, the plumber fixed the drain line to the kitchen sink.

He ran water lines to the bathroom sink and toilet.

He ran water lines in and out of the water heater, and over to the washer. He also brought the water line up through the floor (missing the support beam for the trailer underneath) and over to the water heater.

Now the washer's p trap is above the floor (in the conditioned space), and the outdoor faucet has its own shut-off valve.

The washer is vented up the wall of the closet and is capped by an air activation valve (on top of the vent pipe).

The last bit the plumber did was wrap the water line under the house with heat tape and insulation.

There was no way not to have the p trap for the shower underneath the house, so I built a box around it to insulate it.

I loaded the box with insulation...

After I finished adding insulation to the box, I screwed its last side onto it.

The only plumbing things left to do are: connect the two sinks, install the toilet (flooring has to go down first), and turn the water on. I don't want to turn on the water until all the electrical boxes are live and functional, the house has functional heat, and I have the skirting installed around the outside of the house. I have my work cut out for me!

Also see:

Plumbing 1
Plumbing 2

One additional thing I've done recently: I hung this heater in the bathroom. It's installed higher on the wall than recommended--but it's the only place it would fit in the bathroom. I have an identical heater that will be installed in the living room--down at the height that it belongs. The two heaters, along with the electric radiant heat in the floor, should keep the JayBee nice and toasty!

You Know You're Taking Too Long to Build Your House When...

...your building permits expire. I mentioned in a prior post that I was going to have to pay for new building permits because I am taking so long to build the JayBee that my permits had expired. That is what I was told by the Code Enforcement Office in mid July.

Good news! When I went to City Hall this morning to get the inevitable over with, I learned that I will not have to pay for new building permits. Since I have been having regular inspections (including one that occurred in late July), the Code Enforcement Officer told me today that she considers my building permit to be still "active," even though my project has taken years. Apparently, as long as I keep working steadily and get regular inspections, I should be all set. Thank goodness!

Miscellaneous Updates

In no particular order...

• Plumber/Thief:  Some of you may remember that, a year and a half ago, a plumber took a deposit from me for rough-in plumbing work on the JayBee--and then did no work, didn't return the money, basically fell off the grid. In April 2017, I won my Small Claims case against the plumber/thief, but he did not keep up with his payments. I'm taking him back to Court next week. <sigh> It never ends. One interesting fact: I served him myself this time. Yup, it's true. After paying a Sheriff for an unsuccessful service of the plumber/thief, I served him myself. Where there's a will...
     
• Building Permits: My building permits expired in July and, while I hoped the Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) would take pity on me (being such a slow [but steady!] house builder) and cut me some slack; no such luck. I will have to pay again for more permits. In the meantime, Maine appears to be moving ever closer to adopting new codes for tiny houses. Since I have to get new permits, I'm concerned that what had been going smoothly with the CEO will be disrupted and a new set of rules will be applied to my build mid-project. I guess I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it. [See update posted here.]
    
• Bathroom Fan/Vent Fallout: Remember my long torturous day of installing the vent for the bathroom fan? The day I endlessly dropped things and spent hours combing through the thick foliage for my lost items? I ended up with some poison ivy on my hands as a result of those shenanigans. The gift that keeps on giving.
    
• Bear: Still no Bear. Within two weeks of Bear going missing, my neighbor's cat disappeared as well. While there may be some outside chance that Bear will return, I think it's probable that he is permanently gone. Here is a gallery of Bear.

Oh, Joy. The Permitting Process.

I have a building permit! I am proudly displaying it inside the JayBee.

Why is this so momentous?

When I began building the JayBee back in 2011, my plan was that the house would be a place to live temporarily while I tore down my existing wreck of a home and built something to replace it. I got a permit for an Individual Private Campsite that would have allowed me to do just that. With that permit, all that would have to pass inspection were the water and septic hookups. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I would only be allowed to live in the JayBee for 120 days out of the year. (Can you imagine me building an entire house in 4 months? Yeah, well, me neither.)

Over the intervening years, several things have changed. I fell more in love with the JayBee and decided that I want it to be my permanent home. I would rather completely downsize now and not build another home after this one. The contractor I found to do the site work was concerned that the current location of the JayBee would make hooking up to the septic system difficult because it would be hard to achieve the proper slope with the waste line. Since I want the JayBee to be my permanent home, he suggested that I tear down the current house, build a proper pad in its place, and move the JayBee onto the pad--thus positioning the JayBee where the current house stands. What a great idea! It makes it possible to put a better foundation under the JayBee, makes all of the connections to utilities easier/better, and puts the house closer to the river view.

Having read a lot of stories about the code obstacles tiny-house folks have encountered in communities all across the country, I dreaded going to city hall to pursue getting a real building permit. My initial meeting with the code enforcement officer (CEO) went better than I had anticipated. It turns out that my city has a minimum house size of 80 square feet; since the JayBee is 238 square feet, the total building size is not a problem. After I submitted my permit applications (I also had to submit an application for a Shoreland Zone permit), the CEO presented some issues I had to address. She would not accept the gravel pad my contractor had designed as the JayBee's foundation, even though that is perfectly acceptable for mobile homes, because the JayBee is not being built by a certified, approved mobile home manufacturer. I have resolved that objection by agreeing to have a cement slab foundation constructed instead. The CEO also objected to my planned R40 ceiling insulation, noting that the code requires R49. I found a subsection in the code that allows a cathedral ceiling (with no attic space) that cannot accommodate enough insulation to achieve R49--in other words, the JayBee ceiling--to go as low as R30. That issue is resolved as well. I had no issues with being in a shoreland because I am not removing any vegetation with this project, the proposed house will not be any closer to the river than the house I am removing, and the total square footage of buildings on my property will be lower once the houses are swapped out.

So, I now have three permits: a building permit, a shoreland zone permit, and a demolition permit. I imagine there may be other code-related issues that arise as the inspections/approvals occur but, for now, this feels like a big step forward.

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On a completely different note, I have become obsessed with the hordes of snakes that are living in my yard. At any given time, I can find at least three snakes out in the open, and I find myself checking multiple times a day.

Here's one.

George was curious and followed this one, but stayed a respectful distance away, a far cry from what he would have done years ago--kill it and proudly bring it to me.

Here's another one.

And another.

These aren't itsy bitsy garter snakes; they're two-foot-long creatures that scare the wits out of me.

There is also a bird that has been hanging out with me lately. (See her sitting on the sign in the photo below.) She has become way too cavalier about hopping around on the ground and things that are close to the ground, given that there are two cats living here. Granted, neither of my cats act like master hunters now that they are older, but they would not hesitate to grab easy prey either.

A few mornings ago, I just had to capture the sparkles on the water...and the cormorant on the buoy.

Autumn Bits and Pieces

I took today off of work to try to get a bunch done. It turned out to be my first work-in-the-yard day in quite some time that it did not rain at all, and I did end up getting a lot done.

During recent rainy days, I had put together a new house number sign for the end of the driveway. (The old one was falling apart; for some reason, woodpeckers had taken an interest in it.) I screwed the new sign onto the tree today. It looks normal during the daytime...

and is highly reflective at night. Since I've had to call an ambulance before, I want to be sure I'm easily found.

I renewed the JayBee's registration today. Only five months overdue! Since the JayBee has never been out on the road, it's not like it was illegal. But I do have to devise a better reminder system for myself, in order to keep up with it.

I stopped in to see the Code Enforcement Officer because I thought the JayBee's building permit had expired as well, but I found out that the expiration date on it doesn't apply since the work is underway. I actually have another year before it expires. Good thing, given the way I'm taking my time with this project.

Next, I worked on the door latch and dead bolt on my old house--the house I have to limp through yet another winter. The latch and the dead bolt haven't worked for a couple months now. Since the door hinges look fine, I thought the problem was possibly due to the extra humidity from the recent rain. I've been keeping the door closed with a chain and padlock, but this has gone on long enough that I decided I needed to fix the problem. I lowered the holes for the door latch and dead bolt by 1/4 inch, and now the door works perfectly!

Next, I moved on to the JayBee. Just as I started, the furnace-cleaning-guy arrived to clean my furnace. As long as the guy was there, I could only dub around with things on the JayBee because it became a major challenge to keep the two cats out of the guy's van (since he left the doors open the entire time) and out of the basement (since the entrance is through an outdoor bulkhead). At one point, on one of his many trips between the furnace and his van, the guy nodded his head toward the JayBee and asked, "What project have you got going there?" I explained that I am building a house on a trailer to live in so I can tear down the existing house. He exclaimed a few times and then summed it up by saying, "Not many people would take on a project like that!" I laughed and said, "With good reason." Once the guy left, I managed to get a bit done on the JayBee. See my next post--Entryway 6. 

At one point, after I brushed a "leaf" off the ladder, I realized it wasn't a leaf at all. It was a praying mantis. I used to love watching these when I was very young! I haven't seen one in many years, so this was a bit thrilling. She stayed so completely still, I thought she might be dead--but it was just a good act. She was very much alive.

Here is Bear acting all sedate and well-behaved--after the dramatic show of ill behavior earlier.

Momentous (Paperwork) Week

Even with all the hours I worked this week, I was able to carve out time to get some JayBee-related paperwork done. The trailer is now registered...

...and I have the building permit I need for the project.

The house itself doesn't require a permit, but the plumbing connections to the water and septic systems do.

These things may not seem like much, but they feel hugely significant to me. Now I feel like I have a green light to proceed. Time to place a lumber order! (Due to work, it will still be a few weeks before construction really takes off but, if I can continue to get materials organized and on site, everything will be set for making real progress soon.)