Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Hooray for MAPP gas!

The "Sweets of the Soul" concert at RLC on Sunday wiped me out. Monday was pretty much lost to resting from that. The concert was a big success. People had a lot of fun, and we raised a lot of money for Hurricane Katrina relief and rebuilding. Let's pray that they don't get clobbered by Hurricane Rita in the mean time.

Tuesday I was thinking the forecast thunderstorms (thunderstorms? in the Bay Area? mooOOoo!) might slow down work, but instead it was taking one of our cats, Rosie, to the vet that did. She had YAAOHB (Yet Another Abscess On Her Butt), basically an area swollen from infection, usually caused by getting bitten by another cat. Since she's been indoors except for a few closely supervised trips outside on harness, the only possible source of that would be our other cat, Star. But as much as they tussle sometimes (mostly stalking and chasing each other around the house), we've never seen them get that violent with each other. Hmmph.

But along the way I've finished the floor framing, installed the duct work for the furnace, and gotten some of the water supply lines roughed in. I still need to finish those, and rough in the DWV (drain, waste and vent system), then get all that inspected. Then I can put the floor down, and start building some walls!

It's been a while since I sweated copper pipes. The last time was when I remodeled the bathroom. The window was rotten and the wall was starting to go, so I redid the whole thing, including replacing the galvanized plumbing with copper. I was almost driven mad by trying to solder di-electric unions (the special parts that connect galvanized pipes with copper), until my friend Jim told me to get some MAPP gas. It makes a lot hotter flame than a regular propane torch, and makes things a lot easier. But my skills were a bit rusty, so I practiced before sweating any joints that matter. We'll see how well I did when I actually pressure test things, but the MAPP gas made things go pretty smoothly.

3 comments:

Katarina said...

Hey, the Google ads paired with this topic include a do-it-yourself spiral staircase kit! I know our loft isn't going to be THAT high, but still, the kitties will need a classy way to ascend and descend....
:-)

Katarina said...

I feel the need to add a second comment so the little indicator tag won't say, "1 comments."

Unknown said...

Ah, yes, Wonder Bread. Though if I recall correctly, we had to settle for an organic pugliese rather than the real deal. I may be calling you for help again before this is all said and done :-)