Bringing Water to the Cabin, Nearly There!

The water and sewer taps were put in. The trench for the water line was dug and the water line was  laid inside PVC pipe to protect it from rocks. The sewer line was put in with extra clean-outs because it is so long. We passed another inspection, covered it all back up, planted grass and called in for the final inspection!

On April 15 we were still waiting for the water and sewer pipes, but the plumbers dropped off some materials and did some work under the cabin.

The cabin came with all of the plumbing pretty much done, but some things had to be done by the plumbers on site. Pipes can’t be sticking out below the cabin while they move it.

The plumbers showed up,  but they were just dropping off equipment.

Nobody has stood up into the metal bracket holding the heat pump yet, but it is only a matter of time with all the work that is going to be going on under the house. So I wrapped it with a piece of pool noodle.

We got water and sewer taps and the next morning early the plumbers showed up and started digging the water line. They started at the water meter by the road.

They let Cliff drive the excavator!

He did a really good job! Now he REALLY wants one.

Jeremy finished up near the house.

The next morning the plumbers showed up with more materials.

There is a cut-off inside the cabin in the mechanical/laundry room. They added an additional water cut-off just inside the crawls space door.

The trench for the water pipe had a lot of very sharp rocks, so Jeremy recommended we sleeve the waterline to protect it. Good thinking.

He put the PVC together with primer and cement.

They ran the waterline through PVC pipes. It’s a very long water line and we really don’t want to be dealing with leaks in it.

The water line runs from the road up hill to the cabin. It has water pressure on it, so it doesn’t matter that the line runs up hill.

The sewer has no pressure. It has to flow downhill. The cabin is on a hill, but not much of a hill. So Jeremy used a self-leveling rotary laser and a level to make sure that the trench sloped evenly toward the sewer pipe connection.

The sewer line is really long, so we have additional clean-outs.

Jeremy checked along the way that the slope was right. They put a metal wire on the water and sewer lines so a metal detector can find them.

Jeremy told a pre-wire horror story. A gas line was bored using one of the moles like they went under our road with. They couldn’t tell a sewer line was there and went right through it. The home owner called a plumber because their drains backed up. The plumbers used the kind of drain cleaner that spins sharp cutting blades through the pipe to cut away clogs or roots that have grown into the drainpipe to the sewer. It cut the gas line and the house exploded. When I searched for the story, I found a LOT of stories. Here is one article; When gas lines meet sewer lines: The worst case scenario lurks across Tri-State.

The entire sewer line is not that far below ground. I’ve never heard of sewer lines freezing around here.

The inspector passed the trenches and pipes, so they can cover them up. Jeremy said Cliff could do it, but then it started to rain, so they had to get moving faster. Crushing.

They added a hose bib to each side of the house.

They got the two trenches covered. The rain was already making the dirt sticky and hard to spread smoothly.

Here it is! The moment we have waited for! Jeremy turned on the water!

Water!!!! Finally!!!!

Cliff and I ran over to McNeely’s to get some seed and straw before the rain picked up. We thought we were picking up bales of hay and Taylor thought we were picking up bales of hay, but there was a breakdown in communication and we have straw blanket instead. Way more straw blanket than we need, so we will be returning some of it today.

If you are ever rolling out straw blanket, take a look at the label. It tells you what direction to unroll it. If you cut the wrapper and the label off without looking at it, it is like trying to start a roll of cheap toilet paper and it is always upside down and rolling the wrong way.

Straw blanket is way faster and easier than straw bales. It took no time at all to spread the grass seed and cover it.

We have the final inspection scheduled!!!!