Month: March 2021

Network Conduit

March 18, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I mentioned in the last post that Dean and I ran some conduit for networking. I had decided early on that even though I’m a computer guy, we use tech everywhere, and I genuinely prefer a wired connection, there wasn’t much point in running a whole patch panel home run network install. It uses a ton of wiring, it takes up more space in the basement somewhere, and everything has to go down to the basement just to come back to where it’s going.

This junction ties together the master bedroom, the back attic room, the first floor den and back of the basement, as well as connecting to another junction serving the front of the house

Instead, I wanted point to point conduit. Essentially, this means that if I need to I can connect any two rooms in the house with a cable, presumably ethernet, but anything else that the future brings that isn’t wireless like coax, fiber or even HDMI. Because this wasn’t a conventional networking setup, I didn’t have the electrician do this. With the suddenly spray foam situation we had last Thursday evening, this plan was paired down to a minimum, but since we learned they were only going to spray the first floor on that Friday, it meant that I had the rest of the weekend to put in more conduit.

I picked up ten sticks of 3/4″ EMT because there was a bulk discount, assuming I wouldn’t need all of it, but I managed to go through it, in addition to the handful that were already lying about. It’s big enough that I can run several cables in the same tube. Dean and I had run conduit in the living room to connect a TV to the basement as well as support a hidden wire wall mount. We also ran a second line from the basement to the office area in the back of the first floor and then all the way up to the attic behind the knee wall.

  • Complicated conduit bending
  • Looks better when installed
  • Adding a drop to a room
  • Post-spray foam work in progress

I ran a line from Derek’s bedroom up and over the attic bedroom and down to a junction box in the crawl space behind the knee wall on the other side of the house. From that junction it drops to a connection in Emily’s room as well as a box in that guest room.

On the other end of the house, we added a drop in our bedroom that goes up to a box in the back attic bedroom above, then jogs over to a second box in that room on the other side. I decided this made more sense than putting a junction in the knee wall crawl space, because it’s much harder to access in this part of the house. This same box also connects to the line that Dean and I ran up from the office. I started running a second line down to the other side of our bedroom, in the event we (or more likely future owners) have a non-wireless TV on the wall opposite the bed.

The spray foam installation wrapped up late Tuesday, and after I picked up some more EMT, I got the junctions on either end of the house connected together and connected the last few parts of this system. For all I know, I’ll never use this, but it’s good to have it in the event I need it. The electricians got a couple remaining items checked off the list, and the plumbers finished up the rough-in for the tubs in our bathroom and the main second floor bathroom.

Spray Foam

March 17, 2021 / / 0 Comments

As I mentioned in my catch-up post, we got spray foam installation. They showed up Friday and did most of the first floor, then came back Monday and finished late Tuesday. The difference is amazing. Not only does the house look much closer to finished, it feels warmer and quieter and more stable. We got some windy days and the previous “sway” we’d notice in the upper levels is much diminished. It even smells better! We did have some scrambling to prepare for this at the last minute, but it’s exciting to have this step done.

One interesting part of this process is how they did it. With spray foam, the concerns are under spray, over spray, and gaps. They did a really good job of this. They filled wall cavities very thoroughly, only a handful of areas that weren’t 100%. To counter the overspray, they used a wire brush wheel on an angle grinder and just smoothed everything down. This resulted in a colossal mess of tiny foam pellets, but they did a decent job of vacuuming it all up. They also followed up with canned foam to get all the small gaps, including windows, doors, and narrow spaces between studs.

The crew put down plastic sheeting on everything before spraying, so there wasn’t much in the way of drops or mess other than the aforementioned pellets that blow around, and as I said, they did a good job cleaning up. The house is now staying a comfortable room temperature, and we’re very pleased.

Catching Up

March 5, 2021 / / 5 Comments

Wow, there has been a lot going on recently, so much that I scrapped some posts-in-progress since I’m falling behind. So, let me catch you up on where things are, what’s happening next, and I apologize for not providing all the details as it’s happened.

Pex connections in the mechanical room

First, with the radiant panels installed and the core upgrade complete, I finished pressure tests and got the manifolds connected on each floor. Dean helped me get the new controller mounted and hooked up. We just jumpered the first and second floor thermostats to the basement, since we don’t have thermostats on each floor yet.

I got the first floor filled, but the water didn’t flow initially because of all the air in the lines. I had to loosen and then re-tighten individual lines on the manifold and let the air out, catching the water with a rag, then I flushed several buckets through until it was finally flowing. The new pumps have a GPM meter, but since the old one doesn’t I don’t really know if the rate is good or not. I ordered and installed some air bleeders for each manifold, thinking this would make the second floor go more easily, but it really didn’t. Ultimately, I had to do the same process to get the air out of the lines before it would start flowing. So, water is flowing through our radiant floors, the attic radiators won’t be hooked up until after drywall.

Next up, we finally got our new permit! After the final corrections from the architect were submitted, they issued our permit and I used bill pay through my bank to pay the fees as well as the expeditor. Meanwhile, the GC scheduled rough inspections. Unfortunately, that bill pay took forever, and when the framing inspector showed up, I still didn’t have the official paper permit. As luck would have it, he was pretty understanding, and he passed us anyway. We signed the previous permit and noted in their system that it was passed for the new permit.

The expeditor did get the check and the physical permit, and I drove over and picked it up. Then the plumbers had rough inspection, but in the months since they were here before, I’d received some things like the bathtub and valve bodies for the showers, so they were rushing to get that installed as well as run the rest of the supply lines. Since that involved them shutting off the water and being in the basement, we got an AirBnB for the day and just left them to it. They wrapped up and passed inspection. Electrical inspection was Friday (all of this was last week), and he passed as well.

Next the GC said that the spray foam contractor was going to come out to provide an estimate on Monday, which he did. I’ve continued working through my list of items and figured I could wrap some of that up this coming weekend. Then the GC called me yesterday afternoon to say the spray foam guys were coming today (Friday)!

Solar tube installation in progress

With less than a day notice to get everything ready, Dean came over and we started rushing through some items that needed to get done for them to be able to spray. Some of it was simple, like putting down more ram board to protect the radiant floor or moving stuff away from the exterior walls. Other items were getting the bathroom exhaust ducts connected and caulked, finally getting started on the interior portion of the solar tubes, getting that second floor radiant flowing (so it would be warm enough to spray), and vacuuming out the walls and attic to remove the sawdust and debris that keeps building up through this process, which Sarah did most of. Dean and I also ran some conduit for the TV and network, not as much as I’d planned originally, but enough for what we need. Most things are wireless these days, so I’m not too worried about it.

Today the spray foam installers showed up, and we learned they were going to start with the first floor today. They covered windows and doors with plastic and got to work. We couldn’t get any shots in progress because I couldn’t get in the front door while they were working, but after the first day alone, it’s a transformation. They almost finished the first floor, but a lot of the time was prep. They put down plastic sheeting over all the windows and along all the walls.

AC installation should be in a few weeks or so and drywallers are getting lined up. I need to run the wired security system once the foam is in. I may try to run a bit more conduit for network.