The pipes, the pipes are calling

Pretty hectic week last week. The Bakan Brothers, Sace and Enver, popped in last weekend to look at what needed to be done for the sanitation and heating installation, then announced they'd start on Monday. Well, no time like the present! I had wanted to be at hand to do the dirty work, in an attempt to keep down costs, so thanks to a very understanding boss, I took a half day every day and worked on the house from lunch till pretty late in the night. But brilliant progress from Enver and Edgar in a week.

(note: quality of photos may not be the best, as our camera has completely died from dust inhalation)

Cellar 4 has been transformed into a wonder of waterworks, and this is just the start. The mains water pipe has been directed from the other side of the house, and from here everything will be controlled. The core installation is now finished, including the pump for the rainwater cistern so we can pump out for the garden.

The main waste pipe is in, running from the top of the house to he bottom, so I had to put the skates on and finally build part of the shaft, which was till now an open hole through three floors. This also has the side effect of closing off the remaining "shortcut" from the kitchen to the bedroom, making the kitchen feel more like a proper room. Makes for a nice, neat installation too!

Bottom of the shaft.

One level up, with two sides built.

The other side of the shaft, in the corner of the kitchen.

They got the guts of the first floor bathroom plumbing in already, so the position of the shower, WC and sink are now fixed. We've plenty of play in floor height to make the shower a walk-in one, so that should make the small room feel a bit more open than having something you have to step into. A quick underconstruction build the other night to set the levels for the shower mixer battery.

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We've planned where all the heating distribution manifolds are going (basically ranks of valves to control the wall heating system), so some dirty angle-grinding was done to cut channels in the kitchen sub-floor, under walls etc, so there's plenty of room to accommodate them. Three manifolds per floor should be enough.

The 2nd floor (main) bathroom is a bit problematic pip-wise. We've very little clearance in the floor for burying pipes, and there are oddly-constructed parts of the floor that I'd like to change to accommodate the pipes, but can't figure out a decent way to do it. Hiding them behind dry construction walls might not be an option, as we'd lose too much space, and no wall runs at 90 degrees to another, so gaps quickly narrow over the length of a wall. But at least the pipe is in for the shower drainage, dropping straight into the kitchen below and behind the wall framework there, which is great, as long as I don't put a screw through it later. And, of course, the main waste pipe is up at that level, so we know where the WC is going (because somebody wrote it on the wall).

So, a good week, with lots of pressure to keep the pace going. And as a bonus, Sace brought his chainsaw over and cut out the last beam that was blocking the new hallway to the bedroom. Now we no longer have to duck

This was the blocker

Now a clear run through (from the other side)