Today started out with the usual, trying to find the right supplies for another strange issue. One would THINK, that you could walk into a roofing supply company (that means that ALL they sell is roofing supplies) and ask for a flashing to go over a 3/4 inch copper pipe. One's conversation may go something like this...
One - "Good Morning"
Guy sitting at desk of roofing supply company -- ...............silence
One - "Would you have a roof flashing for a 3/4 inch pipe
Guy -- Yes ... for a 2 inch pipe, right
One -- No, 3/4 inch copper, it's for a water pipe through the roof
Guy -- "those are normally a 2 inch vent pipe
One -- No, I'm putting up a solar collector. (explanation... yada yada)
Guy -- I can probably order something like that
One -- ah, how long would it take to get here
Guy -- probably a couple of weeks...
What!! You've got to be kidding me. This pretty much describes the normal expectations of people when it comes to the building trades. I can get on eBay and within two days have just about anything I want. BUT, if you don't know exactly what you want in advance, it would be nice to be able to actually buy something like this. The kicker is that he can order it, wait 2 weeks, another trip into town to pick it up, and then it costs twice as much as the internet.
I guess I'll be paying shipping, then... eh??
Roof progress, it's beautiful! And it's the only finished surface on the whole place except for the garage floor.
The other day I showed you the frame supports for the solar collector. I painted them, and then had to go up on the roof and lay them out and attach them. This was accomplished by determining the location, then drilling a hole through the roof so my wife could figure out where I was from below, then, while she held a 2x6 in position, I put 4 giant lag screws through everything to sandwich the roof deck between the board and the flange. Also put roofing sealant everywhere to keep things watertight.
Today, the roofers came back, and in additon to a million other things, they installed the roof tile around all the brackets and flashed everything with giant sheets of lead. I wasn't there, but it looks like they pound the lead over another tile to copy it's shape, and then place it similar to a tile over any holes they have cut. Pretty cool system, actually. The lead is not cheap...
Another thing the tile guys did was show me how to walk on the tile roof. The other day I broke a tile getting up there, which is obviously a bummer. Anyway, you walk on the peaks of the tile, with your foot spanning the valley, so your weight is distributed over two tiles. AND, you have to walk on the bottom edge of the tile, because that is the spot on the tile that connects directly to the next tile below it, and thus distributes your weight to the roof deck rather than making a tile bridge, which breaks the tile.
So, I had so much confidence with my training that I hand carried the collector frame right up into position.
What you MAY notice is that the copper connectors do not GO anywhere... That is because I had some holes drilled into the roof deck where the copper pipe comes out from the attic, but the roofers saw those holes and promptly fixed them.... So, one more thing to ask them to redo. It's easy to make the hole, but it bumms me out to have the guys rework stuff.
BUT, if the roofing supply company would have had the dang pipe flashing... We wouldn't have this problem....
The other thing that had to be figured out was how to get the sensor wires from the thermistor down through the tile and roof deck. After some thought, I decided I would just drill a hole in the frame pipe, and another through the deck directly under the pipe flange (through the mount), and push the wire straight down... Which I did... Should have taken a picture... It was cool.
OH, to enable me to HAVE this thermistor, I had to buy the entire Solar Pumping Station... Why?? because, of course, nobody keeps a thermistor like this in stock. They can order it, though, which goes from the plumbing supply store, to the distributor, back to the factory, and then has to repeat the return trip... Since I eventually needed the pump station I just bit my lip...
Here is a picture of the Taco Solar Pumping Station...
Na, that's the cat infestation.... There is an idea... Use cats as a packing material... How about this...
I also learned to solder (or sweat) copper pipe. There are many things that need to be sweat fitted together.
The leg bones connected to the thigh bone...
The thigh bones connected to the hip bone...
etc...
Goodnight...
Ok, that's it for now... We will soon talk plumbing again... Goodnight...
Your wife is a saint. And a strong one at that.
ReplyDeleteLove the cat infestation.
She is a saint... Tonight she made King Ranch Chicken... Yumm.
ReplyDeleteSo, as for the cat for a packing material, the advantage is that the cats get into the box all by themselves, you just present the open box, and they're in there in a second.
When we get to the trim phase, we are planning on making "cat holes" so the cat doesn't get suck in the 3 bedrooms, and can escape through the cat holes in the closets. Will keep him off limits from the guest room....