Like Butter . . .
Wanting to get any early start, I was up about 8:30 (for me, that’s early)and off to the hardware store in Columbus soon after.
In fact I was back by 9:30 with everything I needed to finish up the faucet install; two flexible supply lines and and two 1/2” barrels.
I pre-installed the supply lines to the new Moen faucet after wrapping the threads with Teflon tape, figuring it would be easier to do it now rather than reaching under the sink.
I was glad to see that this faucet uses an all-metal clamping system to hold it to the countertop, rather than the plastic nut that I had so much trouble getting off on the old one.
And this clamping system let me just insert everything from the top, and then reach under with a 7/16” box wrench to snug it all down. A couple of more minutes to connect the coach supply lines to the new faucet flexible lines, and I was done.
Turning the water pump back on, I gave it a quick test, letting both hot and cold run for a few minutes while checking underneath for any leaks. And with everything showing high and dry, I was done with Job #2.
So now it was time for coffee and an English muffin, and to check in with Jan who had spent the night at Brandi’s.
And now came the part I’d been kind of dreading; cutting large holes in the bedroom wall. I measured the height of the shower faucet and then drew a 10” x 6” outline on the bedroom wall.
A while back I had bought this Harbor Freight “Multi-Function Oscillating Tool” just for this,
so I was anxious to see how it was going to work. I was only going to be cutting 1/8” wood paneling, but at least I would have an idea.
And since several readers had ask me about these tools, I recorded a video to show you how it did it. And I can tell you it cut through the paneling like butter. And when I made a small test cut into one of the 2×4 cross braces, it went very buttery as well.
One thing to note here is that I was trying not to cut too deep in case a water line was right against the back of the paneling. Otherwise it would have been much quicker and easier.
After making my three cuts and removing the cutout piece, I found this.
Absolutely no sign of any leak.
Bummer!
You’d think at least ONE of these three plumbing jobs could have been easy.
So now I’ve got to make another cut at the bottom. But before I did that, I wanted to check in with American Coach to see how it was hooked up down there. But it was their lunch hour in Decatur, IN, so I grabbed a sandwich too while I was waiting the 45 minutes until I could call back.
When I finally got through to American. I found out that the water supply first comes in by the toilet, then feeds the lavatory sink, and deadends at the shower. Which means I should just have the two lines, hot and cold, coming down that way.
I did my second cutout about six inches above the floor, right over where I could feel a horizontal brace.
Well, now I was seeing some signs of moisture, but more cobwebs than anything else. The wiring feeds one of those inset floor lights right underneath, and on the piece of paneling I cut out next.
Well, now I’m seeing signs of moisture and mold, but still no actual water. In fact, since I been off shore water and using the pump for the last several days, the carpet has not been near as wet as normal, I think due to the lower water pressure,
So I think my next step is to go back on shore water and then just wait a couple of days to see what happens. But that will have to wait until Jan and I are back at the rig tomorrow night.
Right now it was time for me to get ready and head into Katy to meet up with Jan, Brandi, Lowell, and Landon for dinner, and then Jan and I will spend the night there.
The original reason we were here was so that Jan and I could take Landon to school tomorrow morning while Lowell took Brandi in for her day surgery. But today they moved her appointment back to 1pm, so Lowell will take him in as usual.
But since we’re meeting friends tomorrow night in Pasadena for dinner, and then a visit to the Pasadena Opry for the Christmas show, we’ll just stay here tonight and shorten our trip.
For dinner tonight we tried a new place called Slim Chickens. It’s a small chain, with about 25 locations in 9 states, starting in Arkansas about 10 years ago.
Turned out to be really good, with breaded to order chicken tenders, chicken wings, chicken and waffles (the waffle is shaped like the state of Texas), grilled chicken salads, and grilled chicken wraps.
I’m detecting a pattern here.
It looks like they’re building one up in The Woodlands area, so I’m sure we’ll give them a try again.
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Thought for the Day:
Coincidences happen if you work hard enough to make them happen.
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