If you haven't built an entire house before, it's easy to look at a project like this and feel like things and moving along nicely when the big, pretty steps in the process are complete, but this is really just the beginning, it's all the little things that eat the most time. Case in point: I came home this afternoon after a few days away determined to get something done on the trailer. With plumbing looming, I thought I'd install the sink. Put the old faucet back in, replace a drain basket, add silicone, no sweat. But wait, the counter dips where it shouldn't, meaning I'll have to add a reinforcement under that part of the counter before I can set the sink. Subtract two hours. Next problem, I lost the tiny plastic clip that holds the spray attachment to it's copper stem. Get online, find a replacement, get it shipped. Subtract an hour, and 3 days of waiting for shipping.
Ok, what can we do? How about that shower pan? It turns out that I routed the spot where the drain goes just a bit too deep, so now it's time to build it back up with epoxy. Level the pan on saw horses, make a tape dam, mix and pour in epoxy. Subtract a half hour, and a day of waiting. Next problem, it turns out I nicked the drain fitting that the shower pan needs to drop perfectly into while trimming the hole in the floor with a jig saw. Solution: Cut a larger hole in the floor so I can reach through and clean it up so the shower pan fitting will drop in when the time comes. Subtract 30 minutes. So, the next step in a day or so will be to put the shower pan in? Wrong! because the shower wall needs to be painted first. But wait, before the shower wall can be painted, I need to cut the hole for the shower fixture that I'm adding to the outside of the trailer, then install that fixture and it's stub outs, then patch the hole on the inside with a sheet of aluminum and rivets, and then I can paint the shower wall? Nooooooo.... because before that happens, I have to install the ceiling mounted curtain track so I know where exactly I'm painting to. THEN I can paint the shower wall, let it dry, and THEN install the shower pan, which of course is only part of the battle, because after that's in, I still need to build and finish some waterproof paneling down the bed side of the shower, which of course can't be done, because I recently realized that I screwed up the bed math and the bed is 1/2 inch too short and my clothing tubs won't fit under it. So first we dismantle and reassemble the bed, and THEN we build the waterproof wall, and THEN we install the shower pan. Once the pan is in, it's time for a faucet and sprayer, but before that happens a custom fixture mount has to be fabricated, new handles and cartridges need to be sourced for the old fixture I'm keeping, and I actually have to get plumbing over to that area. Before I can get plumbing to that area, however, I have to pass by the hot water tank, which it so happens needs to have accommodations made for both a solar AND a wood fired hot water loop, as well as a PRV drain, normal drain, and a thermostatic mixing valve. These things must be planned when deciding the initial orientation of all the ports because otherwise I could have a very difficult time in a few weeks when I install those things, not to mention the small task of running a dedicated electric line in conduit (which first has to be painted white to match the walls, subtract two hours) over to the water heater itself.
THEN I can bring the plumbing over to the shower. Stopping by the direct water hook up regulator to throw in a diverter and a few ball valves along the way, riveting u-clips to the walls as I go. Plumb in the shower, then it's on to the sink.
All of this needs to be done by thursday at noon. That's two and a half days from now.
Ok, what can we do? How about that shower pan? It turns out that I routed the spot where the drain goes just a bit too deep, so now it's time to build it back up with epoxy. Level the pan on saw horses, make a tape dam, mix and pour in epoxy. Subtract a half hour, and a day of waiting. Next problem, it turns out I nicked the drain fitting that the shower pan needs to drop perfectly into while trimming the hole in the floor with a jig saw. Solution: Cut a larger hole in the floor so I can reach through and clean it up so the shower pan fitting will drop in when the time comes. Subtract 30 minutes. So, the next step in a day or so will be to put the shower pan in? Wrong! because the shower wall needs to be painted first. But wait, before the shower wall can be painted, I need to cut the hole for the shower fixture that I'm adding to the outside of the trailer, then install that fixture and it's stub outs, then patch the hole on the inside with a sheet of aluminum and rivets, and then I can paint the shower wall? Nooooooo.... because before that happens, I have to install the ceiling mounted curtain track so I know where exactly I'm painting to. THEN I can paint the shower wall, let it dry, and THEN install the shower pan, which of course is only part of the battle, because after that's in, I still need to build and finish some waterproof paneling down the bed side of the shower, which of course can't be done, because I recently realized that I screwed up the bed math and the bed is 1/2 inch too short and my clothing tubs won't fit under it. So first we dismantle and reassemble the bed, and THEN we build the waterproof wall, and THEN we install the shower pan. Once the pan is in, it's time for a faucet and sprayer, but before that happens a custom fixture mount has to be fabricated, new handles and cartridges need to be sourced for the old fixture I'm keeping, and I actually have to get plumbing over to that area. Before I can get plumbing to that area, however, I have to pass by the hot water tank, which it so happens needs to have accommodations made for both a solar AND a wood fired hot water loop, as well as a PRV drain, normal drain, and a thermostatic mixing valve. These things must be planned when deciding the initial orientation of all the ports because otherwise I could have a very difficult time in a few weeks when I install those things, not to mention the small task of running a dedicated electric line in conduit (which first has to be painted white to match the walls, subtract two hours) over to the water heater itself.
THEN I can bring the plumbing over to the shower. Stopping by the direct water hook up regulator to throw in a diverter and a few ball valves along the way, riveting u-clips to the walls as I go. Plumb in the shower, then it's on to the sink.
All of this needs to be done by thursday at noon. That's two and a half days from now.
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