After a day of paddling last year I asked my friend Scott if he knew of anyplace for rent near where he lives. He got a kind of funny look on his face and said "Well, we have a rec room we never use any more, and the wife and I have discussed converting it to an apartment". And so began the Steampunk Studio project. The space is about 650 Sq Ft up over Scott's garage and while it had power, that was about it when we started. I'm getting a bit of a late start on this log, especially since the project actually began last September, but what they hey. Once I had confirmation that the project was a GO, this was the very first thing I bought. 3 by 6 feet of fiberglass bathtub. The entire rest of the apartment, the position of the walls and doors, the location of the kitchen, etc etc, was all determined by where the bathtub had to go. Priorities, you know Most of my materials, including the bathtub and these kitchen cabinets came from the Re-Store, a local non-profit that salvages building materials and re-sells them. Probably half the money spent has gone there. I got this 5 piece cabinet set plus the corner cabinet for $260 Beginning to lay out the walls. You'll notice the horrible pink paint on the walls. When the place was built, Scott, his wife, and some friends got really drunk and spent an evening sponge painting three of the four walls. I still hear about how much fun that party was. It took 4 coats of good primer to hide the pinkness Tying into the existing septic system would have been prohibitively expensive, so we ordered a composting toilet. The toilet is a waterless one and the sewage drops into a heated vault where microbes convert it into compost. Gaurenteed by the manufacturer not to smell The sink is something my mom bought literally 25 years ago and has been storing since then because she was sure she would use it eventually. We have a weird process around here The screen is something Scott's wife used to use for sifting compost, but I have something else in mind for it. Believe it or not, this is my plumbing diagram. We didn't want to open the walls more than necessary and copper pipe looks cool, so it's all being installed on the outside of the walls. The water is teed off of the garden hose faucet on the front of the garage, goes up the wall in 3/4" PEX, and into the apartment next to the toilet. From there it goes into a 1 1/2" shutoff valve (referred to as the Valve of Doom) and then into a 1 1/2" riser. A 3/4" line supplies the tankless hot water heater, and three 1/2" lines come off the rider to supply cold water to the two sinks and the bathtub. On the other side, a similar riser for hot water branches off to feed the same three outlets. Not shown here, because I didn't know I needed one, is the drain line for the pressure relief valve on the water heater. Most people just punch it straight through the wall and let it vent outside, but I'm actually plumbing mine into the drain line. Did I mention I've never soldered pipe before? Due to the tight confines of the bathroom, a conventional swinging door was never going to work. The original plan was to use a pocket door, but then I found the hardware for this sliding barn style door. The door itself was another Re-Store find, and I sanded it down and repainted both sides of it. The door fits into a recess in the wall on the left in this picture. Once the drain piping on the tub was installed and passed leak testing, the tub could be framed in. The walls around the tub, as well as the floors in the bathroom, kitchen, and entryway all got cement backer board and primer in preperation for tiling. Turns out I like installing tile. Cement board... not so much. The kitchen floor getting tile. The tile on the kitchen floor, as well as some of the bathroom wall tile and a few other pieces all came from the Re-Store. The bulk of the bathroom walls were done with tile from the Habitat for Humanity Home Store, which sells dontated items and building materials to fund their home construction programs for poor people. I could have really used one or two more pieces of floor tile in the kitchen. I had the manufacturer and the product name from the boxes it came in, so I looked it up online and found two websites that listed it, but both were out of stock. One was in Poland and the other in the Czech Republic. Apparently this stuff was made in Italy and exported to Eastern Europe years ago. No idea how it got here, but I wish there were a couple more pieces of it. This was my first truly steampunk item. I saw these light fixtures made of black iron pipe on ebay for $250 from China and thought "I can make that for less". Well, I was half right. I did indeed make this one, but by the time it was said and done, I'm not sure I saved much money on it. The bulbs are filament Edison bulbs, also from China. The original bulbs have been burning out at a disturbing rate and are being replaces by LEDs that actually look like filament bulbs. One of the advantages of building the walls is that I was able to put a reinforcing board in to hold the rather substantial weight of the fixture.
Sticking up the bathroom tile. The blue paint on the walls was also a Re-Store find. Leak testing one of the risers. This riser was literally the first piece of pipe soldering I ever did. Usually when you are putting multiple fittings together you leave an inch gap of regular pipe between them to make it easier to solder them. Nope. I wanted the fittings touching eachother, or at least very close, so I made them that way. The end result looks better (IMHO), but has taken me three full days to find and fix all the leaks. Doing it the hard way has certainly taught me better skills. This is the rest of the space. The hard stuff (plumbing, most of the the electrical, gas piping) is in the bathroom and kitchen, so that's where I've spent the bulk of my time. In the left of the piucture is a tile hearth with a propane stove for heating. I like indirect flourescent lighting, so I made a trio of fixtures to light the main space. There is a two tier built-in corner desk in the right corner which will probably be the subject of it's own build log. A closer view of one of the light fixtures. The ballasts are twin T5 High Output and the bulbs are special 6700k ones sold for growing marijuana indoors. I like the higher color temperature because it works like full spectrum mood lighting for me. The fixture frames are made from recycled Maple flooring (Re-Store) with a layer of blue plexiglass and pierced stainless steel sheet on the outside (both eBay). The effect comes off more Star Trek than Steampunk, but oh well. The fixture fronts hinge downwards for easy bulb changes and are held closed with metal latches. Another view of one of the fixtures. I knew we were going to have to run the power for these through the ceiling, so I got chrome plumbing pipe from the Re-Store and used it as conduit. Each fixture has different piping. The kitchen in it's current state. The left lower cabinet was actually supposed to be an upper, but we modified it a bit to go in it's current location. The upper cabinet in the corner is going to move left to the other side of the window and I'm going to build a proper corner upper. The stainless double sink and the tile behind it both came from the Re-Store, and the fancy faucet was an eBay item, direct from China. Due to the space constraints in the bathroom, there was only 25" for the cook stove andf it took MONTHS to find one. Mom finally went up and bought one off Craigslist in Canada while I was in California. Right now, the priority is getting the plumbing and gas piping done so I can move in, and a lot of stuff like moving cabinets, getting rid of the last of the pink, etc are on hold while I focus on the critical things. Some projects, such as baseboard trip may take years to get to, and that's OK The door to the bathroom. This thing has about 15 coats of red stain on it, plus clear gloss polyurethane. Need to do something about the old doorknob hole, but that's only going to become an issue if I have company. Almost done with the tile. It's all up and grouting got started today after this picture was taken. You remember that grille I mentioned earlier? That's it in the bottom corner of the tub. I cut it down, reinforced it, wire brushed it and applied a clear sealer. It's there to provide ventilation to the underside of the tub and allow access in case of a leak in the drain plumbing. The fan cover is ugly and the pull-chain mechanism doesn't work well, so both are going to be replaced with something cooler. The bathroom mirror is an antique we found at Goodwill. It had to go up first because it's width defined where the water system would go. The PEX pipe is supposed to go into the Valve of Doom, visible behind the toilet, but that should get hooked up next weekend after some more leak tests. The completed bathroom light fixture This is the control box for the bathroom light. It's an old volt / ohm meter I found on eBay which had US Navy acceptance stamps on it. The bakelite inside was cracked and the actual meter was busted, so I gutted it and replaces the range selector with a dimmer switch. The plan is to install LEDs in the holes around the top where the probe sockets used to be and control their brightness with the meter adjust pot to serve as a nightlight. All the parts are here, it just has to creep up the priority list. The tub / shower plumbing. I couldn't find a valve assembly designed for exterior mounting, so I made my own. Now I understand why those single handle shower valves are so expensive, it took me 4 regular valves to achieve the same function! The water system with the Valve of Doom hooked up to the cold water riser, which finally passed leak check today, mostly. It's still weeping a tiny bit at the threaded fitting for the boiler thermometer on top, but that's a pipe dope and a big wrench problem rather than a soldering problem. I have a picture on my phone of the fully assembled (but not soldered) water system which I will upload if I can. So that brings us up to date on the project so far. I've got a lot of other cool stuff in the hopper for once the plumbing and gas are done. Check back for more!
This is sort of what the manifolds should look like when finished. There is a boiler thermometer in the top of each riser and the tankless hot water heater goes between them. The thermometers were actually fairly cheap, finding the thermowells that they screw onto was extremely difficult and ended up costing more than the instruments themselves! Apologies for the bad picture, but this is the almost complete system in the mockup phase. The design has changed a little since this was taken, but you get the basic idea. There is over 20 feet of 1/2" copper pipe just in the manifold itself! When nit's finished there will be a sheet metal cover over the hot water heater to hide it with some assorted gauges and switches and whatnot on it.
Sick of plumbing yet, because I.... OK, I'm not going to lie to you, I'm actually still enjoying plumbing [/IMG] The manifold assembly is finally finished! This project has been by far the biggest part of the whole build and a whole new set of skills for me. I need to get one more stick of pipe and a few miscellaneous hoses and adapters, but plumbing is basically done! I decided not to post a picture of it, but the gas supply piping is about 70% done as well. This is a case of my ideas running into each other, literally. The supply pipes to the sinks were supposed to come straight out, but once I got it up on the wall I discovered that would cover the outlet. A few modifications later you get what you see here. Despite the added complexity, I think I like the angled pipe runs. Sort of an overview shot showing the pipe run from the manifold to the tub and shower assembly. I'd like to get a shot of the whole thing, but hard to do without a full angle fisheye lens. With the plumbing done I'll be at an interesting point. While there is still work to do, it will be the first time in months that I won't feel like I need to be there working on it. Most of the remaining projects are the landlord's responsibility. Maybe I'll even go paddle my kayak this weekend!
Your posts are like a young kids project!!!!! If you've nothing nice to say, don't bother, and find another forum to troll. Else, it'll be 'seeya' and you'll be crying to your mummy like a young kid('s project!!!!!). Oh, and learn to use apostrophes. OP - that plumbing is ace. I love the symmetry of it
First off, thans for the supportive comments everyone. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks this is cool! One final plumbing picture. We got the water supply hooked up last weekend and lo and behold, water came out of everywhere it was supposed to! Unfortunately, it also came out of a few places it wasn't supposed to, so still chasing leaks. It turns out the water heater in the pictures isn't going to work, but it's replacement showed up today from eBay. Picked up a shower head and hand wand thing from the ReStore and put them on the ends of their respective pipes. The grout in the shower got finished and sealed, and then I had to chip a pile of it out of the tub drain. First world problems. Note the ugly cover on the vent fan... ...Which got replaced with this! That was originally a light cover and I have the glass bowl that came with it somewhere, but I found the brass mesh and after a few hours with a pair of trauma shears and 2 part epoxy got what you see here. And here it is up on the wall. It's possible I will fill in that space with tile one of these days, but it's a pretty low priority. If anyone noticed, there was a cutout on the board that the plumbing is mounted to for an electrical box and the crappy pull chain mechanism, which never worked reliably, got replaced with a waterproof switch mounted in that box. My fancy kitchen faucet, direct from China. I was expecting something about twice this size, but it's still cooler than anything else I've found, so I'm keeping it. The two bay stainless sink was another ReStore item, as was the two tone green tile on the backsplash. Still looking for something cool to go in those other two holes in the sink... Here's an overall shot of the kitchen. The upper corner cabinet I made from scrap melamine from another cheap piece of furniture which had fallen apart. The only thing in there that I paid actual money for was the piece of glass in the door, which was a buck at the ReStore. It's not great, especially up close, but it was a learning experience where I could afford to fail. The end result is functional, if not pretty, and the lessons learned go into the next project which will turn out better. Another little project I worked on recently was the trim for the bathroom door. The wood was free on Craigslist and after a few (dozen) trips through the planer turned out pretty nice! it was pretty old, and rotten in places, so I'm letting it sit a while before I finish it to see if it will dry out some. And we have window coverings! These are Warm Windows which consist of two layers of cotton covering with quilted batting and a mylar layer between them. In addition to excellent insulating properties, they are also absolutely light proof, which is great for me. They have a cord on the side and when you pull on it they accordion fold up on strings to sit against the ceiling. Mom made these probably 20 years ago, but wasn't using them anymore, so I snatched them up for my place.
Now here's an example of my creative process... I found this tripod with equatorial mount for a telescope at Goodwill. The telescope was missing, but the mount was pretty cool, and for $7.99, I figured I could use it for something. But what... Why, a desk lamp, of course! I attached the base to a piece of leftover 1" copper pipe, added some fittings, and the broken remains of a desk lamp (also from Goodwill), and off we go. I rewired the while thing and the 300W halogen bulb is getting replaced with a 10W LED one. Here's a close-up of the base bolted to the table. The nuts holding the copper tube to the base are going to get replaced with brass acorn nuts and the braided stainless hose will eventually thread onto a nipple through the table top which carried the cord. haven't figured out where the switch is going to go yet. The whole thing is adjustable in about 47 different axis (Axees? Axsis? Axisisises? ) An overall shot of the desk. That's a 15 outlet power strip above it and my intention is to continue the desktop in both directions eventually. I'm hoping to put speakers in between the desk levels and install a 3 x 5.25 cage in the center section which will hold an optical drive, dock for 2.5 and 3.5" SATA drives and a card reader. The computer itself will life under the desk and will not get touched except to turn it on. I'm referring to the concept as "Desk as a Peripheral" or DaaP
If you moved to London you could rake in a fortune, doing custom plumbing jobs for people with more money than they know what to do with.
I'd have to make a fortune to be able to afford to live in London. I'd also have to find an actual Polish plumber to do the soldering. I can do the design and fitting, but people tend to complain when the joints leak
Aaaand, we're back! The gas piping got finished today, but there is a slow leak somewhere which is going to be a right PITA to find. Ecpect several hours on a ladder with a spray bottle of soapy water. The water system is done, though there are still a couple small leaks in the plumbing for the shower. On the other hand, these only get water when the shower is running and drain into the tub, so... whatever. The new water heater is up and connected and the last big headache will be running the vent piping for it which has to go up through the ceiling, hang a left, and then go through the outside wall. Once that's done the toilet system can be put together and we'll be basically set! Now that the big stuff necessary to move in is mostly done, I've been able to work on some of the smaller projects that are finally starting to bubble up the priority list. Here is the finished base on the desk lamp showing how the wiring got fed through the stainless braided hose and through the table top. There is a 1 1/2" nipple going through with a threaded flange piece on each side to secure it. The hose is long enough that the lamp has full range of motion. Right now it's just wire-nutted to a plug, but will eventually be switched once I figure out how the rest of the desk is going to work. And the finished assembly making light! The most expensive piece of the whole thing was the LED bulb. A couple more light fixtures have gone up. This one is in the entry way. The fixture actually went up quite a while ago, but when I put bulbs in it, the cover wouldn't go on. I think it was designed for really short, low wattage, bulbs, but either way, I was stymied for quite a while. In the end, I discovered that I could replace the screws with longer ones and while it's not a perfect solution, it's on the ceiling and not noticeable. Longer bolts beats trying to machine new parts. I found this fixture at the Habitat store and while it's not perfect, it does a decent job of matching the theme. It was still in the box and had the protective plastic film on it, but the sheet metal it was made from had corroded in one corner, so I got it quite cheap. In the bathroom, I got this little shelf up over the sink. Like most of my material, it was a scrap piece of wood I had that got a little sanding and a few coats of stain. Now that the plumbing is hooked up I find myself running the faucet at least once a day, not because I need water for anything, but it just feels good to see it run after all the work it took! On the opposite wall is this. It started with the cool breadbox and the knowledge that I was going to eventually do a towel rack out of pipe. I also realized that sooner ir later I was going to need a space for soap, razors, and assorted other bathroom stuff. This was the result, or at least part of it. The only piece of wood in there that I paid for was the top, which was an old cabinet door from the ReStore. The rest if it was fscraps I got for free. The visible wood is reclaimed lumber from Craigslist, and the internal parts are largely melamine which is readily available from broken up furniture and easy to work with. The drawer pulls came from China via eBay. There is a towel rack that hangs off this, but I didn't have the ambition to solder it together until after the pictures were taken. And then there is the chair. This is actually quite a nice mesh backed office chair that was free on Craigslist. When I got it there were two bolts in the side that were held in their holes with duck tape, and when they fell out the whole back flopped over. Once I got it apart it became clear that those bolts were intended to thread into holes in the frame, but at some point they had been over-tightened and stripped out. My initial thought was to replace them with a piece of threaded rod and some acorn nuts running the entire width of the mechanism, but Scott suggested tapping the holes for the next size larger and just replacing the bolts. Plan B worked beautifully and avoided yet another trip to the hardware store. So, I have a question for you guys... I want to put speakers in the outermost bays of the desk, but I'm not sure how I should go about it. The easiest route would be to get some cheap computer speakers, and put them in there with or without a subwoofer on the floor. Another option would be to try to build speaker boxes and find some suitably sized "naked" speakers to go in there. The vertical clearance in the bays is 5 1/2" and I would ideally like a volume control built into the desk somewhere. What is the best way to go about this?
I do like the no nonsense plumbing style, I prefer to keep it to places like a garage though. Infact I'm very tempted to do something similar to your shower when our pre-fab PoS gets replaced with a proper block one. On a more serious note: Have you looked into corrosion protection for the pipes in the bathroom? Warm and moist is the perfect environment to promote corrosion.
I haven't looked into it specifically, but the way it generally works is that the outer layer oxidizes and that oxide, called a passiviation layer, protects the metal underneath it from contact with air and further oxidation. Aluminum, and I think copper as well, forms very hard oxides which protect the metal under them very well. Iron oxide is fairly weak and flaky, but as long as the rust isn't being disturbed (i.e. wave action, pipe getting bashed, etc) it's fairly effective. As far as I know, corrosion in domestic water systems is a basically negligible concern.
