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Guest cabin

As I mentioned in the Friday thread, the propane guy came while I was out of town, set the tank, and ran new lines to both houses.

I came back to find that he didn’t run the line under the electrical feed (which I trenched under) to the guest cabin, leaving it only a few inches under the grass. He also left about 5’ to 6’ extra in length that wasn’t going to fit in the trench. :dunno:

So I shut off the tank, disconnected the regulator at the house, pulled the regulator and line out of the trench up past the electrical feed, fished it under the electrical, relaid the line in the trench, and reconnected the regulator. I also connected up the regulator at the guest cabin which had been capped as he didn’t have the fittings with him to attach it.

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I got everything tested for leaks, pilot lit on our gas heating stove again, and the trench backfilled before the rain started.
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So for those not familiar with propane systems, the pressure at the tank is anywhere from 0 to 150 psi. Depending on the run to your house and number of appliances the regulator setup will vary

On our old tank, the gas heating stove was the only appliance. They fitted that with a dual stage regulator that dropped the pressure down to 11 WC (Water Column), which what the stove needed.

On the new setup, I plan to add a tankless water heater at the house and eventually a forced air furnace. So at the tank there is a first stage regulator that drops the tank pressure to 10psi, the lines running to both houses is about 3/4” @ 10psi, then each house has a regulator that drops that to 11 WC for the appliances inside

There are configurations that have an outdoor regulator that drops the pressure to 2psi, and each appliance has its own regulator to drop to the needed pressure for that appliance. This type is sometimes used when there are multiple large appliances, or to reduce the size of line needed to run throughout the house. Copper is a standard type of line used in this application, so smaller line = lower cost.
 
I also moved our queen bed up to the cabin as I needed to get our king bed out of my cargo trailer. I’ll be switching this to a a different bed frame at some point to gain a few more inches of walk space around the bed. I still have some trim painting to finish up, but will work around it
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Our king bed doesn’t leave a lot of room around it either, maybe 20” on each side, but will make it work until we do the addition.
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I’ll have to also figure out a headboard for it soon. At our last house I made an upholstered headboard that was attached to the wall, might be a challenge with the windows here.
 
I made a plumbing parts run to get drain connectors, Emory cloth sandpaper, and other needed fittings.

When I got back I installed all the water valve shutoffs and final sink connections. That went so well that I got cocky. :rolleyes:

I cut off the toilet drain flush with the floor and glued on the toilet flange. It seemed a little high, so I promptly got the toilet basin out of the box and checked the fit, sure enough, it was 1/2” too high. :doh:

I debated for a minute or two about what to do. I had a plunge saw there that I used to cut off the pipe, I decided to cut out the flange as I was going to have to chisel out some concrete anyway.

I made a few cuts into the piece off the toilet flange and pried out each with a screwdriver. Then did the same to cut the pipe pieces off the outside of the flange. They actually came off quite easily as the solvent had not yet set completely.
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So I chiseled out a bit of concrete and cut away some of the vinyl flooring to recess the flange. I still had a good 1/2” - 3/4” of overlap of the pipe and flange, so went ahead and set the flange again.

Next issue was I decided to try a silicone seal kit, problem is the funnel on it is for a larger pipe.
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I ended up cutting away the funnel portion, which should work just fine.
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I did check the hole size on the bottom of the toilet, it is the same size as the inner hole of my flange, so shouldn’t be any restrictions here.

Anyway, will work on getting the water connected tomorrow, still have a cabinet, mirror, and shower rod to install. Need to pickup a vanity light and towel bars.
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I think the funnel is important to make sure there is smooth transition for waste to flow into the pipe without getting hung up on the flange opening. Personally I would use either the correct sized silicone seal or get a wax one the correct size.
 
Bill Satko said:
I think the funnel is important to make sure there is smooth transition for waste to flow into the pipe without getting hung up on the flange opening. Personally I would use either the correct sized silicone seal or get a wax one the correct size.
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Agree. In the pic of the seal sitting in the flange there's a ledge that will likely catch waste, leading to a potential clog. Might as well get the proper sized seal and do it right.
 
If I didn’t know any better, some might accuse you two of trying to increase my hardware store run count. ;)

I will consider a new flange seal. My thought was that the hole in the toilet is the same size as the inner part of the flange and that “should” work, but you’re probably right, and should keep the flange a bit cleaner.

Also with grandkids and little ones, human waste isn’t always the only thing getting flushed. :)
 
Well, knock on wood, only two small leaks. One at the toilet shut-off valve, needed to tighten the compression fitting. The other was on the hot water pop-off valve, which was a factory installed fitting, it had a micro leak that came back every 10 minutes or so.
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There seems to be enough water pressure, but the tub is a little slow. I ordered a test gauge to check the pressure, which will be here in a couple of days. Hot water is flowing.
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Install at the house went smoothly too. I cut the line after the water softener and tee’d in a shut off valve. I also added a drain valve below where the line enters into the house.
 
Thank you, it is getting there. It is at least to the point it is usable or just about to be. I think it will see some use this spring.

Any way, still checking fittings, no leaks yet. Finished up the hot water relief valve drain
Need to run a tube up to the condensate drain on the exhaust. I think I have the tubing though.
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I picked up some shelving and a closet rod to install, and a new paint cup as I found my old one got left with paint in it. :doh:
 
Got the parking area excavated and 2” base down tonight, despite some hydraulic connection issues. Need to replace some o-rings and will box blade the entire driveway.
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We’ve got some rain coming and hoping to get some of the dirt settled and rock washed down.

I plan to eventually do retaining walls on two sides of the parking area, with concrete steps in the corner. The deck stairs are temporary, there will be a landing added, they will go down to the left from the landing, and a walkway to around the front of the porch will be added where they currently land.
 
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