Nature, travel, pets, home renovation, and geekery
Excavator with concrete crusher twirling rebar
There is a bridge over Four Mile Run that connects Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia that is being destroyed. I love walking over near the site and watching the destruction take place. Today I took some video of (what I am fairly sure is) an excavator with a concrete crusher pound and crush the concrete of a former column. It then separated the rebar and twirled it like ribbon to consolidate it. So very cool to watch.
Deconstruction is finished in the master bathroom, and now the reconstruction has started. (Photos of deconstruction and reconstruction can be found on Home Renovation Phase 3.) The new pipes and values have been installed, which includes fittings for the toilet, two vanity sinks, the bathtub, a thermostatic valve for the shower, and an overhead and a hand held shower head. All the new wiring and recessed electrical fittings have also been installed, which includes recessed overhead lights over the aisle, the shower, and the bathtub, vanity lights over the sinks, and wall sconces in the toilet area. Two new exhaust fans have also been installed, one in the main bathroom area and one in the water closet area (because code required it), and the HVAVC crew have run new pipes to vent the fans to the exterior.
Plumbing and electrical rough-ins done
Plumbing and electrical rough-ins done in vanity area
After the rough-ins were inspected, I installed insulation in the cavities of the exterior walls. In the shower area, this was a little difficult because of the pipes. I used foil-backed foam, which unfortunately only has an R-value of 6 behind the pipes. Between the foam behind it, and leaving the space in front of the pipes uninsulated to get heat from the bathroom interior, hopefully the pipes will not freeze. I also installed insulation in the floor at the suggestion of the plumber and inspector. The insulation is mainly to help sound-proof the area to the bedroom below.
Insulation complete