House renovations

[BriarFox]

So, here's a thread for house renovations, partly because I'm curious about what you folks are up to and partly so I can show off my wife's and my latest project. We bought our house about a year ago and have been working on the downstairs. This project has taken about six months from design to finished product, but we turned the old, redundant dining room into an office slash library. I still have to cut some bifold French doors to size and install them, and do a little finishing work, but the project is mostly done. Check it out. Before and after photos below.

Before:
hemenway6.jpg

After:
2019-04-18 21.36.26.jpg

[Astray]

What was the reason for losing a door? Or was something lost in translation here?

Anyways, just got done converting a house with cast iron pipes into pex. I did an initial inspection and found some bullshit. When we cut deeper, it got worse. I don't have the picture on my phone anymore but one of the pipes was so badly corroded, it had been turned into a baseball sized knot of minerals.

Before:


Jesus Fuck:

[BriarFox]

C0899A13-15DE-48E0-BEC9-34FB06505EC9.jpg

Ugh. Plumbing can be such a pain in the ass. At least the pex should last a good 50+ years now. We had a copper pipe separate from its elbow while doing this project. Had never been properly soldered. It’s right above the desk, so I’m glad we found it. That door in the back was a closet/pantry built to hide plumbing and heat runs. The house is so old (c. 1850) that it didn’t have them originally and doesn’t have room in the walls for them. I redid three 7” steel heat runs with 6” insulated flex duct and then boxed them in. That cabinet on the right is actually a heat chase now. Plumbing to the bathroom above runs down the back of the left one. I saved the door and I’m going to refinish it and flip it to the other door on the side I’m taking the photo from. It’ll make a nice office door.

[Astray]

Ugh. Plumbing can be such a pain in the ass. At least the pex should last a good 50+ years now. We had a copper pipe separate from its elbow while doing this project. Had never been properly soldered. It’s right above the desk, so I’m glad we found it. That door in the back was a closet/pantry built to hide plumbing and heat runs. The house is so old (c. 1850) that it didn’t have them originally and doesn’t have room in the walls for them. I redid three 7” steel heat runs with 6” insulated flex duct and then boxed them in. That cabinet on the right is actually a heat chase now. Plumbing to the bathroom above runs down the back of the left one. I saved the door and I’m going to refinish it and flip it to the other door on the side I’m taking the photo from. It’ll make a nice office door.

Nah man, it's super great to crawl under a house with a grinder and cut through cast iron. Without goggles or a mask that's not a piece of plastic shit.

Pretty good stuff though. 6 months? Was it between work and stuff?

[BriarFox]

Nah man, it's super great to crawl under a house with a grinder and cut through cast iron. Without goggles or a mask that's not a piece of plastic shit.

Pretty good stuff though. 6 months? Was it between work and stuff?

Super fun. My first job was HVAC. I sympathise. 6 months ... mostly waiting on the carpenter to build the cabinets. Guy was slow as hell.

[Astray]

Super fun. My first job was HVAC. I sympathise. 6 months ... mostly waiting on the carpenter to build the cabinets. Guy was slow as hell.

Six months for cabinets? Oof.

[Parkbandit]

C0899A13-15DE-48E0-BEC9-34FB06505EC9.jpg

Ugh. Plumbing can be such a pain in the ass. At least the pex should last a good 50+ years now. We had a copper pipe separate from its elbow while doing this project. Had never been properly soldered. It’s right above the desk, so I’m glad we found it. That door in the back was a closet/pantry built to hide plumbing and heat runs. The house is so old (c. 1850) that it didn’t have them originally and doesn’t have room in the walls for them. I redid three 7” steel heat runs with 6” insulated flex duct and then boxed them in. That cabinet on the right is actually a heat chase now. Plumbing to the bathroom above runs down the back of the left one. I saved the door and I’m going to refinish it and flip it to the other door on the side I’m taking the photo from. It’ll make a nice office door.

I wish I was that confident in pex. It's 100x easier to use than copper or regular pvc, but 20 years from now, are we going to see the seams giving out and leaking all over?

Previous versions of pex are already leaking. They claim to have fixed the problem, but we won't really know for another 10-20 years.

[Wrathbringer]

I wish I was that confident in pex. It's 100x easier to use than copper or regular pvc, but 20 years from now, are we going to see the seams giving out and leaking all over?

Previous versions of pex are already leaking. They claim to have fixed the problem, but we won't really know for another 10-20 years.

pvc fails over time too, though. Seen many of those pin hole leaks in pvc. Unless you're putting out the cash for copper, pex is the way to go, imo. Just redid our home's old pvc with pex last year. Made hot and cold water manifolds with individual shutoffs for each line. It was fun.

[Astray]

I wish I was that confident in pex. It's 100x easier to use than copper or regular pvc, but 20 years from now, are we going to see the seams giving out and leaking all over?

Previous versions of pex are already leaking. They claim to have fixed the problem, but we won't really know for another 10-20 years.

Pex is fine. The problem comes in people doing shit installation or bad crimping. In the picture I posted, whoever did the pex in that wall should've known better. If you crimp pex, the line will have to be under some absurd amount of pressure before they give out and it's the pex line that will burst, not the crimp seal. As for wear and tear, it's a tube of plastic in your wall. It'll last until the end of time or until your replace it. If you use an RO system though, that puts a strain on every kind of pipe but still, pex is good for a long, long ass time.

[Taernath]

Yeah pex is the way of the future... or present, really. Super easy to use, much cheaper and very reliable. Other countries have been using pex since like the '60s.