Some electrical work and a lot of organization

I spent two whole days sifting and sorting through my tools and working on running some electric for outlets. I also got the shelf installed for the Hydronic heater and the plumbing roughed in for the sink.

I need to pick up some paint to take care of the walls before installing the heater.

Plumbing cold line and sink drain installed.
After this shot was take I added some additional R-19 insulation from the pile of leftovers
before installing the plywood walls.

It was a bit dark in the building so I adjusted the camera to lighten the image.
Not too good, but you can see the Hydronic heater in it's future place.

Corner bath and sink

A/C OK - Hydronic coming along

Last week we had frost on the ground, yesterday it was warm enough to run the Air Conditioner through a start cycle to make sure everything was in order. So far, so good - the compressor switched on, I could hear the freon running through the system and then came the fan and resulting cold air. No sparks, no smoke - all good!

After shutting that down for the season I got busy assembling the Hydronic heater so I could measure off the supply and return lines. I needed those measurements to route and secure the lines in the bathroom wall. The assembly is progressing well enough that I don't see any reason why it won't be up and running by the end of this coming weekend.

Tonight after work, I'll get a list of materials and supplies to do the rough plumbing for the sink and get the drain in place so that I can install the plywood wall behind the sink. That needs to go on before I can attach the mounting base for the Hydronic Heater.

The ridiculous number of parts needed to get the vent ready for installation

All together now (upside down)

Hydronic heater with vent, expansion tank, circulation pump and supply/return lines installed for measuring The green board there is the top of the mounting base for the system.

Punched through the bathroom wall awaiting the heater connections

Working on the bathroom walls with leftover lumber from the cement forms

Installed a chase for the plumbing drain to the sink

Hydronic heating mock-up

I didn't get quite as much done as I wanted to, but my son and I did manage to move some stuff around to where we thought it might work best.

I still can't find anything at the moment which is a real aggravation.
It'll take an entire weekend or more to organize and clean my tools and storage bins.

At any rate, I did get to mock up the hydronic heating configuration and prepare the bathroom wall for the mounting location. As expected, I'm a couple of parts shy of completion. I'll get those today when I pick up a new battery for the KIA and some Antifreeze for the system.

6-Gallon water heater with a circulation pump attached to the COLD side

The "T" is for the expansion tank, but I removed it in favor of a top mounted configuration

Fill valve and air vent - the expansion tank will be mounted on top of the fill valve

We have heat!

Friday was spent running the wiring for the HVAC through conduit and getting the disconnect box set up. I used some left over wiring that was a bit too large and just barely fit into the 1/2" conduit, so it took about four hours to get the run completed. The wiring could have been smaller and the conduit could have been larger - both options cost more money, but in the end I've got a splice free connection of over-sized wire that will easily handle the 30 Amps required by the A/C compressor.

Saturday morning I had to run to Springfield to show the apartment and get a contract signed. I also had to build out a stair railing for one of the tenants. I got home after lunch and started on the gas connections and thermostat. At the end of the day, I was a 1/2"x2" black iron nipple away from completion and asked one of the kids to pick up the parts for me since they were still in town.

Which brings me to this morning.

By 0800hrs I had everything connected and leak checked for the initial firing. I clicked the thermostat switch to HEAT and just like that everything spun up as expected, the gas fired cleanly and the furnace kicked on. I had to open the side door a little while to air out the burnt oil odor from the new furnace, but it really wasn't so bad.

I ran it through a couple of cycles and did a second leak check. No issues whatsoever to report, but I'll be keeping my eye on it for a while.

And FYI - there was frost on the ground two days ago, so we were cutting it a little close.

After church service today, I'll be working on the hydronic heating and maybe I'll get to run a few outlets.

Initial firing - some steam from the exhaust

Temporary (Oversized) Air Filter

Garage Door Installed

Thursday Morning as promised, the garage door arrived and was installed by 1400hrs. After I signed off on the work, I grabbed a couple of kids to help me move everything from the garage over to the shop. It looks like a yard sale in there at the moment, but I'm just so happy to have most of it moved over!

What a mess!

HVAC Supply and Return installed

After work I set up my laser and used it to mark the sections for the HVAC supply and return ducting. I was a bit concerned about cutting into the vertical beam inside the building so I took my time and measured everything several times and then drilled a pilot hole to confirm the markings.

Once that was all done, I used a 4" (100mm) grinder with a thin disk metal cutting blade to zip through the metal. After that, I cut and installed some left over sheet metal angle to serve as a drip edge before pushing the ducting pieces through the holes and attaching them to the HVAC unit.

The cut edges turned out really accurate and left a 1/8" (3mm) gap all the way around the ducting which was really easy to seal up with some flashing caulk.

After that was done, I sealed up the edges with caulk and aluminum tape.

Marked sections of metal to be removed

One section removed

Inside view - supply and return straddles the vertical beam

Just about ready to be attached to the HVAC unit

All taped and caulked

All taped and caulked

Working on the bathroom - Main door is scheduled

A few shots of the bathroom framing in the South East corner.
It's really small, just enough room for a urinal and access to the power panel. I wanted to get this wall done last night so I could get the power panel installed and wired in.

That went well, no problems except for the time spent walking back and forth to the garage to pick up different tools as needed. Speaking of which, the main door should be arriving tomorrow afternoon at the Overhead door shop and is scheduled for installation this Thursday morning!

And finally, the insulated HVAC ducting pieces for the Supply and Return are supposed to be ready for pickup later today.

Raw corner

Small bathroom will have just a urinal

Reusing lumber from the slab framing to build out the bathroom

Power panel installed. Hydronic lines (red) will be attached to a water heater and pump for slab warming

HVAC in place

Over the weekend I was able to get the pedestal made. We also got the unit moved up into position.
I ordered up some insulated ducting to punch through the North wall. That should be ready for pickup by tomorrow evening.

Using some left over lumber to hold the vertical beams in place

Lumber removed. I used a laser to mark the lines for cutting

Cut to proper height

The pedestal gets the unit up off the ground for easier mowing and maintenance. It also moves the supply and return vents up higher on the interior wall.

HVAC moved up onto the pedestal

Insulated ducting is being manufactured to punch through the North wall

HVAC - and even a sink...

Today I received the HVAC unit. It was the last deliver of the day for the driver and he wasn't in a rush so he didn't mind taking the time to maneuver his trailer around the trees, trailer, RV and cars to drop the 470lb (213kg) unit really close to the mounting location. I told him he was was a "Rock Star". He liked that.  :)

I also got the shop sink in, so I've got some fun projects already lined up for the weekend!

Really nice Stainless sink there, I better mount it quick before my wife sees it and claims it has her own! :)