From the Ground Up Camp/ Cabin Part 2

Please see part 1 first, as this is a continuation of it.

You will see I refer to both "We" and "I" often. I do this because I do often have help, but do most myself. My friend Darin is here most every day, and a few neighbors have been lifesavers. So, please ignore the grammatical foo pahs!

As you saw in previous steps, I am building entirely on my own, with the end result being a 900 square foot cabin/ home. We placed the first 6x6 in the ground on February 12th, 2019 and hope to be in by fall 2019.

Thus far, I have not wasted one board, although I have cut a couple too long and had to re-cut. I have used a few short ones in other places too! The idea here is to do this job as efficiently as possible keeping cost down so as to do without a mortgage.

Now, on to part 2!

Step 1: Exposed Beam Ceiling and Bead Board

So we built the ends for gables on the floor, as we know the exact dimension to meet bearing wall. The bearing wall is exactly 3 feet higher than the exterior walls, so the pitch is about 2 1/2' in 12. Remember we are building under an existing roof so the pitch does not have to be as steep. It will see very little weather, and almost no sun. We cut the 4x4's to length, mitered one end to 13 degrees to meet the bearing wall and support beam flush and attached all with 5 3" hardened #10 screws 3" long. The outside of the beam is lagged to the outer walls with 7" x 3/8" galvanized lags. as the "box" is solid, the ceiling/roof beams cannot fall unless there is a major structural failure of both the inner connection and the outer wall. We then used exterior grade bead board for our ceiling, and only used clear sealer so as to keep the "camp" feel. We placed it perpendicular to the beams, so the "beading?" ran across. As with any use of panel style boards, we started one full length and then as they would all end screwed at the same beam we cut one in half so that every other one was on a different beam. In other words, first row full length 8', then start second row with a cut to 4' piece and then go full length. The second layer will be 3/4" osb exterior with a reflective aluminum side to reflect heat away from the interior. The aluminum acts as a heat sink and dissipates the heat. Now, no matter what you do, you have a 4x4 sitting on the exterior wall you have a gap. On the inside I want to take my drywall right up to the ceiling, which means I have to have something to attach it to, but the big deal is sealing up the area for weather protection and bugs! Here is where the proper tools for the job are a must. I ripped 2x6's to the same 13 degrees to match the angle of the ceiling boards on my table saw, then cut each board to match the space between the 4x4 beams. The reason we couldn't just cut them all as in a perfect world is because the lumber these days is so far from perfect it is shameful. The 4x4's I purchased were pressure treated, and usually they are so wet you can't lift them, but the ones I bought had actually sat in Home Depot for over 2 months which made them better than most. The problem is twist and warp. You try your best to stick on exactly 24" centers, but plus or minus a little is ok. The tough ones are the twisted. You put the lag in the middle, and as it goes in the top plate it tends to twist one way or the other, sometimes leaving it over 1/4" off center. This isn't noticeable, nor does it affect the fastening of the ceiling and roof panels as you have 3 1/2"s to work with. It does however make it tough to cut fillers. So, we cut them all, and placed them loosely in place.

Step 2: A Tribute to the Right Tool: Kregs

34 cut boards. If you have ever tried to "toe screw" anything, you know that "walking" is an issue. You try to get the board right where you want it, start the screw and as it goes in it pulls the board one way or another. I needed a solution, as the drywall has to attach to something, they need to be flat, and I have a lot to do. Enter this trick tool called "Kregs". This jig is magic. Six screws each, 34 boards, and no way I could get all those screws in without something ruining my mood by going in too far, or twisting...or some other nightmare. Kregs made it simple, and all those boards, screws and all went together in no time. I grabbed the first board, drilled it, handed it to Darin and the process for all 34 boards took less than an hour. All flush, all flat and no stripped screws or cracked boards. It even helped in the corners where you couldn't"t screw in straight. I used 4 2 1/2" deck screws to attach each, and although not in the pictures will put another 2 in from the bottom to secure the walls and beams even more. I can use the Kregs drill bit and depth collar to make them all the same depth and grip.

More caulk. I still had a gap triangle at each beam, so I caulked each beam, and then around the entire perimeter of each board. No bug doors here. Of course the caulk will be covered with dry wall too.

Step 3: Knees Shaking But Gables Have to Go Up!

Well, the "ground work done, my help for the roof beams and ceiling bead board gone, I have to do the ladder work to finish the gables. Uh oh. Here is where measuring correctly and taking your time comes in to play. The gable framework was built on the ground, and each end is a mirror of the other. So, I only had to measure once on one end, write those measurements down and I could cut all of the panels. Saved a lot of shaky knees on the ladder! On the east side, we used "z" channel between the wall t-111 and the gable t-111 so no water can get in the seam. On the west, as it is inside the barn and not exposed we used 50 year caulk to fill the seam and will put a trim board over the seam caulked as well. We can't do that on the east wall as the covered deck roof will be covering the seam.

Step 4: Caulk, Caulk and Paint

This is where I got a lesson. I caulked every seam, every screw hole where I missed a stud, and every place there may be intrusion of anything. I'm ready to paint. I go buy a couple rollers, and 2 minutes after I got home I decide there is no way I can paint this monster with a roller. I ask my friends if any of them have a paint sprayer, and one comes over with a little Wagner that only holds a quart of paint. Nope, I can only make a mess with that, and by all my calculations I will have to fill it somewhere around 14 zillion times. So, I call Home Depot and inquire about renting a commercial sprayer. $100.00 for four hours, $150.00 for a day. I am building 29 miles from the Home Depot, so four hours would give me about enough time actually using it to microwave a hot pocket and drink a Coke before having to clean it and take it back. I look on Craigslist, and there are a few for around 200 bucks, so I decide to just buy one of those knowing I will need one again. The one I decide on is $200.00, I call and the guy seems nice, but he is going to the river with his family so we plan to meet the next day, Monday at 7pm.He texts me and says someone has offered more money. I tell him to be a man, or sell it to the other jackass. He agrees to sell to me. This means I have to drive all the way back in town to get it after my wife gets home from work. We (she and I) decide to have dinner and pick it up. He's late. He can't find the hose or the spray handle. He tries to sell me a better handle, blah, blah, blah. I tell him to shove it. No paint sprayer. Next idea: Pawn shops. I've bought many tools from them, and if you find a good one you win...just wheel and deal a little. I find a what appears to be a good unit at a reasonable price (about 75 bucks under new) and buy it. I'm in! I drive 29 miles, ready to paint and the wind is blowing a little hard so I wait til morning and with plans to accomplish a big step. I mix all of my 15 gallons of paint to a color I like, and pour back and forth so it all is the same and start the generator. I stick the hose in the paint, flip the switch and....nothing. sonofembeach is dead! Now what? I call the pawn shop and they were amazing. "just bring it back, we'll take care of you!" So, next day, 29 miles in to town, I return it and see a badass Milwaukee Airless/ HVLP unit that is crazy nice. I ask what the deal is, and offer them to swap. Cool. We take it out back, plug it in and viola it runs. I'm excited! I swapped to a better badass machine that will do a lot more, and no cost difference! Back I go, I get ready to paint...and notice the damn thing has no tip! What the #%$$%^^^&(&%^^!!!! Back down that 29 mile road to spend SIX DOLLARS AND THIRTY-THREE cents!!! Now I'm painting...I hope. I get it all set up, ready to rock and I'm a painting machine...I get one small wall primed, and hear a weird noise and it seems like I lost pressure. I look around the corner and see more paint flying around the machine than was ever coming out of the gun! Seal blown. Aw hell no. Yup. Takes me 2 hours to clean all that paint off the machine. Now, knowing that pawn shops don't much like returns, nor twice I look on line to see if I can just buy parts for this thing. It must just be an o-ring or something...and I find that the regulator is no longer available! No parts, no painting.

Now I learned long ago that getting upset does very little good when you are wanting a hero, so I call the pawn shop and act like a puppy just caught eating a shoe. They are so nice..."just bring it back, we'll take care of you" is all they said. Amazing. I take it back, and not one to give up say I'll try one more time. We grab a Magnum off the shelf, and once again take it out back, plug it in and it performs flawlessly. Before I leave town I go buy a new tip, because you just don't know. I'm glad I did, because I must have left the other one in the 2nd broken one...wow. Finally I paint. All of it. I dance a little jig, smack myself in the head for being stupid and on we go.

Here's a bit of advice. If you can afford it, go buy a brand new one. You can get a decent one for about $250.00 at Lowes or Home Depot. Once you are done with it, throw it on Marketplace or Craigslist and sell it as a used once machine for $200.00 and smile all the way to the bank. I, however have to give a shout out to Lone Star Pawn in Port Charlotte Florida for being the friendliest, nicest bunch I have dealt with. They went over and above to make me happy and really had no reason to. https://www.facebook.com/loanstarpawnllc/

Step 5: Memorial Day 2019 the First Window?

So it's 8;35 Monday morning, and my wife said yesterday she wants to put in the first window today. We have family and kids coming later for the Memorial Day required barbecue...hot dogs, potato salad and stuff...so here I am drinking coffee waiting for her to get up... Hopefully breakfast in my future. Well, now it's 9:30...guess no breakfast, and not going to be a good day for windows either, so I just read for a while and plan for windows during the week.

As I purchased windows at such a deal, I built the cabin with those measurements in mind. I pre-framed the locations when we built the walls, so once the painting was done I can just cut the holes, square and level the windows and caulk them in. Sounds easy. Problem is I have 4 of the heaviest windows I have ever seen. Hurricane rated, double pane, UV coated and vinyl framed. I also found triangular shaped double panes for the gables as accent windows, which will allow morning sun and late afternoon sunset light. Going to have to wait for help to lift those things in the holes. So, today we'll focus on the smaller ones, or one. I have a small frosted window for the half bath, another slightly larger for the master bath, and a small window for the north wall of the bedroom. I drill holes in each corner of the pre-framed hole through the siding, which gives me a cut line from the outside. I cut the hole with either the skil saw or sawzall and trim to flush with the framework...but that didn't work.The minute I grabbed the saw I knew it was going to be a disaster. The sawzall doesn't cut straight, so no. The skilsaw is just awkward because of the guy holding the grip. Hmmmmm. Once again kudos to the tool gods, and Harbor Freight. They have what I need, so another hundred bucks and Viola! Holes cut right! I bought a saw designed to cut flooring out from under the toe kick of cabinets thus the name "toe kick saw", and it cuts flush to the side. I also bought an oscillating multi tool, which trimed the corners where the round blade doesn't go. Here's where I differed from general construction once again. When you build a structure conventionally, you make the hole for the windows about 1/2" bigger all the way around so you can shim to fit. Well, as I know the floor is FLAT, and the walls were built on the ground and measured with very close tolerances ( I used a jig to cut every board exactly the same length, so I only made my pre- built frame 1/4" too big. So when I test fit the window before caulk and final installation I know it is level and square. Still I check and shim very little (even at 1/8th inch if you don't shim you distort the vinyl frame. I grab the caulk and goo the living H%$#* out of the frame and window. Then, we set the window in place and using a torpedo level I shim the window frame to level and screw through the frame securing it. As you can see in the pictures, the "lip" around the outside of the window is quite small, so by cutting the holes to a closer tolerance my sealing surface is as big as it can be instead of barely useable. I will trim later with a 1x3" trim board painted the same as the interior ceiling beams.

Step 6: To the Roof!

After we put down the bead board on the ceiling beams, we are using a product made of USB boards, with a reflective aluminum coating on the underside. Between these products we have a roof that is 1" thich and sealed with another product called Hydrostop. The USB is held down with exterior deck screws, and then we start on the roof goop. We tape the seams with gorilla tape so the liquid does not seep through to the bead board, then we apply a coat of elastomeric roof coat over the seams. While it is still wet, we roll a fabric that is woven in a multi-directional pattern over it, and with the roller push it into the roof coat, which is absorbed into the cloth. We then roll another coat over the cloth, and cover the entire roof as well. The cloth with the roof coating resembles duct tape when done right, and creates a waterproof membrane. We will apply 3 coats of the elastomeric, which not only is a reflective white color, but has mold resisting properties and a 10 year guaranteed life span. As it is under another roof, I doubt I will ever have to re-coat in my lifetime.

Step 7: Hanging Doors...and More Cool Tools!

So, as with the windows I am learning as I go. Sure, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express once, but making doors square, level, and sealing them against weather is a whole 'nother animal. You get one shot. If you make a mistake, you could ruin a $500.00 door. So, I started with a $20.00 used 2-0 door for the second bathroom. (2-0 is builder speak for a 2 foot door 24", so a 2-6 is a 30", etc.)The door already has hinges in place, so no cutting the slots, and is a metal covered one with a window. When building the wall which it will be placed in, Darin and I laid it out with some extra room for casing and shimming. We lifted the door 3/4" off the floor allowing for the threshold and then marked where the hinges hit the casing. With a chisel and hammer, I cut the recessed portion where the hinge will sit. Then, a few screws, and tada! It fit!. Now for the tough part. As this door is exterior and not pre-hung, I had to fashion my own "stops" and weather seals. I could buy casing with the seals, but Home Depot was out (because some guy bought what they had...jerk. Oh, it was me for the french doors) So I decided to make my own. I bought 1x2" pt wood, and the seals separately. Because the seals will sit between the casing and the 1x2, so I used a router with a 1/4" bit to cut a groove for it to lay. I then stapled it to the 1x2 and mitered the corners. As with everything else, I screwed the trim in place after checking for proper sealing. Then, we used glass block to add a feature above the door, and trimmed it all with 1x4" pressure treated boards painted the same as the ceiling beams. We lucked out at a sale purchasing a set of ridiculously expensive french doors for pennies for the east facing side. As stated earlier, the jerk that bought the last pre-built casings was me, and thankfully that made it much easier, however my skill with a tape measure was poor. You see, apparently although these 2 doors are 3-0 doors (36") one was actually 37" wide. This could have been a disaster because I built the entire wall, header and all thinking I had 2 36" doors. That meant I left about 2" for casings and shimming. Now I lost 1" and there was not enough room for casings on both sides! Dammit!!!!! Dumb luck once again I had purchased a Delta 12" planer a few months ago thinking I may need it for shelving or finish stuff. Well, even a blind squirrel gets a nut once and a while. All I had to do was plane the casings down from 3/4" each to the right size and poof! One was a little skinny, one ended up at 1/2" and the other at 1/4" but I won. These doors also had hinge recesses so I installed them, raised the door for threshold and marked the casings. I then cut the recesses in them with a chisel and the multi tool. We slid the door into place and screwed it in place. Now we had to do the same with the other door. This is where it gets tricky. In order for the doors to operate and look correct, they must line up perfectly, one can't be higher or lower, nor could the gap be anything but parallel. Sim and look, shim and look...cut the hinge recesses and keep your fingers crossed. They fit perfect! Woo Hoo!!! We are now on the final french door set, these being brand new 15 panel hardwood doors. We acquired them new, but only paid $100.00 for them as they were ordered wrong for someones home. These doors sell for over $400.00 each! They were unfinished real SOLID hardwood doors! We lightly sanded them and applied 2 coats of Polyshades, which is a poly and stain combined. Normally here in Florida you wouldn't dare use poly or varnish on any exterior wood because the sun would kill it in one season, however these are under the barn roof and only will see sun around sunset so why not! Once they dried, we used steel wool and lightly removed the bumps and smoothed them, then applied 2 coats of clear spray on poly. This protects even more and creates a smoother finish. I then, after purchasing one more special tool proceeded to drill the holes for the door latch and handles. The one from Stanley was excellent. We used pressure treated "five quarter deck boards for the jamb on this set, as they were the perfect size to almost totally eliminate shimming. I used a board about the same width as the threshold and the flooring we will use and set the door on it, then marked the hinge position on the jamb. With my trusty multi tool, I notched the jamb for the hinges and making sure it was level and square installed door 1. The first door is easy, the 2nd is the tougher one as you must make them match exactly or one would look crooked. I used 1x4's for the weatherstrip/ jamb boards, but this time I used my table saw to cut the slot for the weatherstrip. It worked much better, as the width of the blade made for a tight fit to slide the trim in instead of stapling and gluing in place. Then, with the doors square to the opening, I attached the boards with the weatherstripping partially collapsed to insure a good seal.

Step 8: How to Make Your Stuff Fit...

As I have been shopping for a while for deals for this project, it is sort of built around certain things, not the other way around. I purchased an awesome shower enclosure for pennies, and it HAS to fit! The original layout didn't work but I don't care, I want it! I bought a kitchen cabinet set, and some bathroom vanities also, and that meant moving walls. Best way to do that? Set it all up and move it around! My wife and I set up the kitchen with our stove and dishwasher and placed it approximately in place. We then knew that the original wall was wrong. The refrigerator and freezer we have would not open where it was. We laid boards on the floor where the wall will eventually go for the kitchen, the walk in pantry and the diagonal wall for the bi-fold doors. We then did the same for the monster shower, the vanity and toilet for the master bedroom bath too.

Step 9: To the Inside!

Time for walls! As I showed you earlier in this instructable, I had already put up the main bearing wall prior to the ceiling/ roof. Now it's time for interior walls. We had already laid out the rough idea of where they would go, but now it was time to actually build them. We have 3 different types of wall. One meets the ceiling between the beams, one attaches directly to a beam, and the last one...goes across the beams. This creates challenges, as the exposed beams mean the only attaching point for walls that go across them is to screw to the beam. Strong yes, but a gap on top of every one. Fix? We'll use the cutoff pieces of 4x4 and slide them in the slots, and attach to both the wall and the beams adding even more strength! The walls running parallel to the beams will either sit on the beam or along side, so they won't have the problems. All of the walls have to match the ceiling/ roof angle, so the top of each stud has to be cut to match. We assembled the walls mostly laying on the floor and stand them into position. I cut all of the studs slightly longer than the actual height so they also carry a slight amount of roof load. because of that, we had to tap them into place to get square and plumb. These interior walls are 2x4's on 16" centers. As you can see in the pictures, I am using pocket doors whenever I can. This is to create more wall space as well as eliminate "swing area" from a conventional door. They are really easy to install, as they come pre built.

Now for a little artsy stuff! If you go way back to the building of the roof, you'll see the gable ends are built with a triangle in each side, well here's why. I purchased another hell of a deal from Habitat for Humanity; 2 crates of triangle shaped double pane, argon filled windows. I've had them for a few years, and the plan was always to put them in the house as some kind of??? So, when building the ends, I thought it would be cool to have them for morning sun and sunset light too. I measured, cut and built the shape into the gable ends, and still covered with siding until ready to install. Using my trusty toe-kick saw and a sawzall, I cut the siding flush to the framework. I then cut 1x3's to fit the hole, mitering the corners to make it look right. I caulked under the 1x3's and installed them flush with the outer siding. I then caulked the edge where the window will meet them and slid the windows in place. While I was cutting the 1x3's I also cut 1x4's for the inside trim and to hold the windows in place. This method creates basically a sandwich, with the window held in place between the 2 boards. You will notice that in the outside view the regular windows are not centered under the triangular ones. We would lose way too much wall space if we put them evenly under them being as there is a bearing wall in the center, We were more concerned with the best use of inside space, and with that wall there you never will see both at once!

Step 10: Wiring X 2

So here we go...As I am using direct DC for all lighting, the best way to wire is 2 completely separate systems. We will have normal 110/120 wiring for receptacles, kitchen appliances, TV's, etc but also standard style switches for all lights. So, I have to pull 2 entire sets of wire through the entire house. I used 12-2 romex for the longer runs for the kitchen and appliances, and 14-2 for the wall receptacles. Nothing spectacular there, but code and correct. ALWAYS over do your wiring, I am a firm believer after teaching electrical that a little bigger wire than called for is a safe bet. Standard practices are important, your wiring cannot be all over the place, nor can it be at a height that you would hang pictures, shelves, etc. Think before you do anything like this, and if unsure, use an electrician. Most home fires are caused by only a couple things, wiring, cooking and carelessness (and the occasional need cash ones.....just kidding). Use the correct breakers, and test everything!!! For the 12 volt, I chose to use extension cord style wire, round and 12-2. The reason I decided this was the ease of identifying the difference later on. I also labeled the wiring inside the boxes. I am using all standard fixtures which you will see in future pictures, and ordered 12v LED bulbs with E-26/ 27 fittings (standard house bulbs). As ridiculous as this system sounds, it would be more ridiculous to convert solar power to A/C power just for lights.

Step 11: More Insulation...ARRRRRGHHHHH!!!

As previously, I used styrofoam blocks cut to size for wall insulation. The blocks are 12x12x20, so each one has to be cut to 5 1/2" thick, then cut to fit between studs (as the wall studs are not perfect) so, one cut to thickness, then another for width...120 feet of wall, 5 panels per stud...2 cuts per block.....you can see where this is going! Plus, all the cuts for electrical boxes. Also, as the wires have to go between the studs, I cut the blocks in half to sandwich the wires. Both my friend Darin and my wife got in on the action here, as it was just an overwhelming task. They did most of the measuring and fitting, I just cut what they told me and cut, and cut, and cut...

Step 12: Oh, How I Hate Drywall

I won't bore you with drywall, but a couple things to notice. I placed all of the wall switches at four feet to the top of the box, so that all the cuts can be marked and cut simply instead of in the meat of the drywall. Also, as the walls are exactly 8 feet to the top, two sheets fit perfectly. Often in general construction the tolerances aren't as tight so more cuts are needed. Now, an admission: I have done tape and mud before, but I suck at it. So, for the first time I actually hired a guy to do the job. Best $300 I ever spent. He was in and out in 2- 5 hour days! I would have taken weeks!

Step 13: A Few Tricks

I had roughed in wires for ceiling fans, and planned on hanging on the open beams. Problem is the wires would be exposed. That would look cheesy. So, I painted matching 1x4's and cut a slot with a router using a straight bit. The board matches the 4x4, so once screwed in place, unless you really look for it you can't even see the difference.

Oh boy, the wife wants an island! Not in the Bahamas, but might as well be if you have priced them. I came up with a solution as simple as attaching a 30" and a 36" lower cabinet together, removing the kick plates and making a 2x6' frame underneath to support a set of wheels so it would be movable.More on this soon

For wall sconces (fancy word, huh?) I bought the cheapest garbage lights, painted them with hammer finish copper and glass beaded the globes to frost them. Some will remain permanently, others will be replaced once we decide on final decor.

As I said earlier, I purchased an entire kitchen minus appliances for 50 bucks. It was white, and as in the pics from their ad you can see quite plain. So, My wife wanted blue, so I mixed up some blue paint/ primer in semi-gloss, cleaned and sanded the melamine and painted. After that dried, I sprayed them with a water based urethane clear gloss with an inexpensive automotive spray gun. This made the finish smooth and gloss. As you can see in the finished pictures, they look totally different than before. Adding our stainless appliances makes them really "pop".

Back to our island. We had a couple inexpensive ideas for the counter top, but none would look as good as butcher block. So, on one of our many trips to Lowes we happened to notice they had 72" x 39" butcher block tops for a very reasonable price. Knowing that 39" was way too wide but planning on a bar/ serving shelf also, I bought it. Now I'm fair with a table saw, but a $300 115 pound piece of lumber is more than I care to wrestle so I took it to a local cabinet shop (Consolidated Cabinets in Port Charlotte, Florida) John is an amazing craftsman and his staff is top notch...and he put it on his huge saw and cut it perfectly for me. You may pay a few bucks for someone to do it but the result is worth every penny. I then took the pieces home, rounded the cut edges with a sander and screwed the counter top down. My woman wanted a place to put all of her big commercial spice canisters which are 8" tall, so I had to make the serving shelf/ bar accommodate them. For the uprights, I used 2x6 Koa 8-1/2" tall pieces. I had a 12' piece of Koa wood, an amazing hardwood that I had no idea was as expensive as it is. Thankfully I did it right the first time! Look that stuff up! I got to use my Kregs jig to screw & glue the uprights to the top, then glued and screwed it to the counter. We oiled it all with 5 coats of food grade mineral oil and it's done! The same wonderful cabinet shop cut me a piece of melamine large enough for the back. To purchase this very large island would be crazy money yet we are in it less than 400 bucks.

Step 14: Plumbing

I realized just now that I have no pictures of the primary plumbing. So, here's the quick version. Because of the home being built 3' off the ground, all I had to do was "stub out" the interior fixtures prior to drywall. I used cpvc because despite all the hubub about pex I don't like it. Why? Because I do a little handyman work for friends, and had a friends shower faucet leaking. When installing pex, they get fancy and use a manifold type of shut off system that isolates each pipe running through the house with a simple shutoff. Well, with hard water, the shutoffs were so hard to turn I actually broke off the handle. No big deal, it doesn't leak. I did however have to shut off the water to the entire house after messing with it for a half hour, just as I would have if not for the fancy newest fad plumbing thing. So, cpvc it is for me. I made all of the hot and cold feed pipes in advance, which consisted of a 2' piece of 1/2" with an elbow with mounting hols to screw to a backing board. On the other side of the elbow I put a 3" piece, for attaching the shutoff valves after the walls were in. I basically did the same for the drain pipes. For the toilets, I glued an 18" piece of 4" PVC to the toilet flanges, drilled a hole through the floor and...done. Well almost. The flange should sit on top of the flooring, so in the next step another fun job...tile.

Step 15: Oh, How I Love Tile...

I have done a bunch of tile in my life, and almost every time I have found walls so out of square that the job is a pain in the...well you know. Cutting every tile along a wall, realizing that the house has no square floor, and wondering how builders could be so careless. Well, I have no excuses here, I built the place!. You will see in the pictures that my walls are square! That plus the fact only the baths are getting tile made short work. Obviously we didn't make it for fall, but work gets in the way also. Shooting for February now...so the saga continues...