At Home In The Woods

[PAGUY]

[We are also required to have an outside outlet at every exterior door.]

I like that idea. Simplifies a lot activity like christmas lighting, power washing outside, entertainment on deck, etc..

 

[Obed]

Planning for Future Shower Plumbing Repair

Last night when looking at the plumbing for the hall bath shower, it occurred to me that if we ever needed to repair the plumbing for the shower, it would be a royal pain to access the plumbing. I figure the shower fixtures will leak at some point; it's just a question of how long it will take.

The first picture shows the shower on the right and a bathroom closet on the left. Here's a closer view. The yellow arrow shows the stud that would really be in the way if we ever needed to repair the plumbing later. The horizontal blocking is also in inconvenient spots.

 

[Obed]

Today the framing crew moved the offending stud to the left and repositioned the horizontal blocking per our direction to provide more convenient access to the plumbing.

We are on the slow track to building the house. Had we been on the fast track, we would likely have missed a lot of stuff like this when it could be easily changed. We are fortunate that we had a delay in starting the brickwork. The delay enabled us to catch the improperly installed doors. If the brick had been installed immediately after the walls were framed and drywall had been quickly installed, we would have had trouble with all our exterior doors for the lifetime of the house. Living in the camper is not ideal but it has some advantages because we don't have to be in a hurry and we can inspect things a lot closer since we are always here.

 

[Obed]

[We are also required to have an outside outlet at every exterior door.]

I like that idea. Simplifies a lot activity like christmas lighting, power washing outside, entertainment on deck, etc..

I agree that having outside outlets by the exterior doors is convenient. However, I don't think that the government should be requiring conveniences. This scenario seems to me to be something that should be left up to the bugdget of the homeowner.

Obed

 

[Obed]

The dryer vent ductwork got installed Friday. I am very happy how it turned out. It's straight as an arrow and slopes so it will drain outside. Of all our vent ducting, this is the one I wanted most to be installed well because it seems to be most likely to cause problems if not done right. Per earlier discussions in this thread, water will condensate in the ductwork and will collect in low spots if there are any. The resulting pools of water will cause the lint in the dryer ductwork to collect in the wet areas and eventually clog up the duct. We have a long run from the laundry room to the back of the house so this ductwork needed to be done well. I'm very happy.

 

[dave1949]

I agree that having outside outlets by the exterior doors is convenient. However, I don't think that the government should be requiring conveniences. This scenario seems to me to be something that should be left up to the bugdget of the homeowner.

Obed

One of the electricians will correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think it 'convenience' that is at issue with outlet requirements. It's all about reducing people's use of extension cords to a minimum for shock hazard and fire safety reasons I thought.
Dave.

 

[dstig1]

One of the electricians will correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think it 'convenience' that is at issue with outlet requirements. It's all about reducing people's use of extension cords to a minimum for shock hazard and fire safety reasons I thought.
Dave.

Ayep. That and tripping over/damaging cords. The way regular interior outlets are required in the code is a great example. No place on a wall can be more than 6' from an outlet. Guess how long cords are on table lamps - yep: 6'. Doesn't solve all problems but helps a lot. Also any wall segment 2' wide or greater requires an outlet. Why? Well when the little woman decides to put a cute little plant stand with a lamp there, you won't have to run extension cords across doors. Same in the kitchen. Rather than risk cords dangling everywhere or across a hot stove, outlets are required every 2' (and on every piece of countertop big enough), and kitchen appliances generally have 2' cords...

There are exceptions to those rules, but that is the main reason for the key code rules/logic. usually somewhere back there someone (or many someones...) died for that reason.

-Dave

 

[dstig1]

Dave, you deserve a prize if you waded through all this.

Should I send you my address in a PM? :laughing:

All our circuits will be 20 A including the lighting circuits. There will be no 14ga wire. It will all be at least 12ga.

Sure can be done, it is just a real bear to get good wire nut connections between 12ga and those fine little wire pigtails they put on light fixtures these days.

Arc fault breakers are required for the outlets in all our bedrooms. At $40 each, they are pricey.

Slight correction: AFCIs are required on ALL CIRCUITS in the bedrooms, not just outlets.

-Dave

 

[Pops15]

Should I send you my address in a PM? :laughing:



Sure can be done, it is just a real bear to get good wire nut connections between 12ga and those fine little wire pigtails they put on light fixtures these days.



Slight correction: AFCIs are required on ALL CIRCUITS in the bedrooms, not just outlets.

-Dave

Where I live code doesn't allow #14 wire anywhere. Been that way since 1987.

 

[Pops15]

Dave, you deserve a prize if you waded through all this.

All our circuits will be 20 A including the lighting circuits. There will be no 14ga wire. It will all be at least 12ga.

I plan to wire for a generator at the outdoor service entrance panel (pedestal). The nice thing about having the jack at the pedestal is that I can run my tractor and future PTO generator 100 ft. from the house without blowing diesel exhaust and noise in the house.


Arc fault breakers are required for the outlets in all our bedrooms. At $40 each, they are pricey. We are also required to have an outside outlet at every exterior door. Editorial Comment: The way the code beaurocrats are headed, it gets more cost prohibitive every year to build a new house.

Obed

The US EPA is now firmly involved in controlling remodeling of pre 1978 houses. Google RRP.