Help disguising plumbing access...wainscoting??
Cindy Smith
6 years ago
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Cindy Smith
6 years agoklem1
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Big pond - please help with plumbing and pump location (pic)
Comments (20)I did pipe boot connections on my retrodrain through the wall of the pond. Didn't make my hole as large as what Horton suggested--only 1/2 the diameter of whatever size pipe. Most recent was 3" and made a 1 1/2" hole in the centre of where I wanted the pipe. The liner stretches but it takes strong fingers. Easy to do and as far as I know no leaks. Curious why aren't you looking at external pumps for your pond? They are more energy efficient, easy to winterize. I have a priming pot on both of mine even though they are below ground but had a problem with quilt batting getting wrapped around the impeller of the older pump before using a priming pot. I have a Sequel 4350GPH pump that is very quiet uses 175W. This year I plumbed this pump to my sc and the old pump (Sequence 750 4200GPH but only pumping about 1/2 of that due to bent shaft) to my skimmer. I probably don't need both pumps as also changed my waterfall out this year so is smaller. The Sequence is noisy and leaks a little on start up around the shaft. Long story short I love the external pumps. Aquaart carries good external pumps and also the bottom drain that is mentioned either here or other forums. I also like the skimmer--it collects alot of surface stuff like dust! In the fall I run my pond on the skimmer only so that I can remove my drains (have a midwater drain now which is also awesome) before the water gets too cold. Like Horton my pumps/sc are hidden under a deck. Two pummps might be an idea for your pond as you need less flow through your biofilter and more flow through your waterfall. One idea I saw here if you only use one pump and need the circulation (in your case at least 5000GPH) was to pump part of the water back into the main pond and the rest through the biofilter/stream. Aquaart has a diagram of how to do this. As for valves depends on if you have a drain on you skippy filter etc. I have a knife valve between pond and sc on the bd but on the midwater drain which also goes into sc I don''t--I use a standpipe. After skimmer and sc 2" ball valves--I know could have used knife valves there but ball valves are more reliable. My check valves are after the pump but before the ball valves to the waterfall filters. This is to keep the water from the waterfall filters coming back down through the pump and into the pond if power goes off which it does here frequently. Because I have priming pots, sc and skimmer I don't need check valve before the pump. Can't remember when you need check valve before the pump--sorry. Ball valves after the check valves to control flow to filters. I know that I could get away with running one pump now due to the changes I made in adding a midwater drain to my sc (had alot of draw down!) and waterfall changes as the valve on my Sequel pump to higher waterfall is turned down more than 1/3rd. It's just time consuming and more pipe to change it out again. I don't know if you are allowed to use ABS in the US. I use it here as fittings are available and it stands up to my climate. Also because it's black any pipework in the pond lie retro bd don't show as much. You have a fun project on your hands! It can get rather overwhelming but there are many knowledgable people on this forum who can help you. Good luck. Patti...See MoreInterior shower plumbing located on an outside wall
Comments (26)The building code for 1 & 2 family dwellings is mostly prescriptive which means it actually sets minimum and maximum values and sizes structural members for a given location in the house. This is not intended to be used as a design guide but to place limits on what you might design yourself. Using the code as a design guide can result in deficiencies but that is not the fault of the code writers. The joist size tables do not consider long span bounce. The wall systems described are the ones most commonly used but the code does not intend to forbid the use of others. The waterproofing requirements are not extensive or adequate although the addition of the requirement to install materials according to the manufacturer's instructions was intended to fill that gap. Concrete foundations and slabs should be designed to ACI 332 since the IRC does not consider many common detailing problems. Placing pipes in an outside wall is a design problem that may be addressed by some codes but there is no reason to prohibit that condition. If there were to be a restriction it would have to be based on a map or list of locations similar to the requirements for wall vapor retarders. You can base your decision about the location of pipes on anecdotal information and other people's opinions or you can design the wall to avoid freezing of the pipe. If you choose the latter, you can use the formula normally used to locate the dew point in a wall in order to determine where the temperature would be 32 degrees or lower. Ignoring air infiltration for a moment, a water supply pipe 1 1/2" deep in a 2x4 stud wall and insulated with 3 1/2" of fiberglass insulation would probably freeze at about -10 degrees F. Ironically, removing 1 1/2" of the insulation on the warm side would lower the outside temperature needed to freeze the pipe to about -50 degrees but for fiberglass insulation air-infiltrations makes that prediction unreliable. So the design solution is to air seal the stud cavity and place R-10 or greater insulation on the cold side of the pipe. This is best done with spray foam (Icynene, etc.) and if the studs are 2x6's, the R value would be as much as R-14 which would put the temperature of the pipe at about 55 degrees when the outside air temperature is -30 degrees F. At that outside temperature the house temperature would need to drop below 45 degrees for the pipe to freeze. This design is roughly equivalent to a double 2x4 stud wall with no insulation in the interior wall and 3 1/2" foam or dense-pack cellulose insulation in the outer wall. The way it was done in my house back in 1903, was to put a "double wall" of wood lath and rough plaster at the middle of the full 2x4 stud cavity throughout the house and at the shower pipe the space behind the pipe was filled with vermiculite plaster. This pipe has never frozen but because of the risk of air infiltration I don't count on protection below -20 degrees. Remember that these calculations assume that the interior temperature is 68 degrees or higher, so if you set the thermostat at 55 degrees or the bathroom is under heated or you close the shower door you should adjust the calculation....See MoreNeed kitchen layout help ASAP
Comments (8)Thanks for the comments so far. Keep them coming! Cindy, yes, I was similarly concerned about the limited space between the sink and rangetop, as well as the lack of landing space near fridge. We originally thought the counter near the dining room would be close enough (within 48" across from french door style fridge), but that doesn't seem to be the case. We might be able to go with a 33" fridge instead (maybe standard depth?), then have enough room to the left of it to put the microwave over there... Something to think about. Moving the door or wall between the dining room and kitchen, however, aren't appealing options. This particular house really calls for a more formal dining space, and the traffic pattern would be too awkward if the doorway were to be significantly relocated. I believe it's also load-bearing, so probably not feasible at this time anyway. Dilly, thanks for the reminder to not rush into anything. Good advice, as we're definitely feeling the urgency. I LOVE the idea of and L shape and an island, but wasn't seeing how that setup would be very functional. I think my initial idea was similar to yours--put the sink under the back window (although it wouldn't be aligned very well), the DW to the right of the sink, then have cabinets/counters all along that long wall. It would be a bit awkward dealing with the unmoveable wall in the middle of that run, but I guess we could have a break in the countertop there and disguise the wall with some sort of built-in hutch or something. The range could then be shifted to the right a bit, with the ovens at the far left (or even a not quite so far left end to the kitchen if we bump the pantry out as you suggest). My concern was that the space really doesn't seem large enough for an island, does it? If we allow 36" space between counters and island (which seems pretty minimal, really), and another 36" on the other side, plus another 12' or so for some open shelving on the wall between the DR, can really only fit an island that's about 3 or 3-1/2' wide. That doesn't seem like much, since we'd also want it to provide counter seating (and in which case we'd need to make that "walk-thru" lane to the backyard wider, too. It also doesn't seem like the island could be very long, since we'd need to allow for both counter depth and walkway at the short L end, and we don't also need to keep the traffic lane open for folks heading to the pantry or basement (guest quarters). Oh, and I was also worried that it would seem impossibly far from the fridge to the sink, even without an island to navigate around. Probably about 15', with a turn. I don't see anyplace else to put the fridge though, or any better use for that little corner between DR and basement stairs. Ugh. I'll think some more about these ideas. Looking forward to hear any other suggestions for this challenging space! PS - We like to use the DR for family dinners, as well as the "adult" dining when we have guests. Not enough room in there for all the kids, so really do want some eat-in space in kitchen, even if only for 3 or 4 people....See MoreIs it possible to remove kitchen bulkhead that houses plumbing
Comments (19)redirecting can be done most likely but probably between $2100-$4000....we are putting clear glass door uppers...since I really won’t be using them. (plumber) said he can put it in 3 joists (So these are I-joists vs old school 2 x joists?) That is spending quite a lot of money for something you aren't planning to use. Especially given that your ceilings are 9'. We're flying blind without pictures and a floor plan sketch. Try thinking out of the box. A couple of other ideas... Lower the ceiling in just the kitchen? (Iffy if this is an open floor plan...) Or, rebuild/ resize the soffit over the problem area and hang solid cabinet doors on the soffit and stack the real glass door boxes on another wall. I'm assuming that these will be full overlay cabinets so using dummy doors should work. But you will likely need a good finish carpenter to pull it off convincingly. Or a really good, experienced 'cabinet installer'....See MoreCindy Smith
6 years agowritersblock (9b/10a)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoCindy Smith
6 years agowritersblock (9b/10a)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoUser
6 years agoCindy Smith
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