After eight months of procrastination, seven trips to the store for plumbing parts, three changes in plans, and five leaky pipe joints, Bessie has running water.
Even a spray nozzle for the kitchen sink! For all those tough-to-clean disposable camping plates. Guess we have no reason not to reuse plates now. Both sides of the sink work (they allow water to be poured on them) and the sink stoppers are incredibly effective (by that I mean they stop things, like water).
Look, no leaks under the sink! Pex pipe with Sharkbite fittings make plumbing a very simple task. Once you figure out how to do it right, of course. (see Sharkbite 101 post)
Above is a photo of the cold water running to the bathroom (kitchen to the right, bath to the left). The plumbing line heading out of the trailer is connected to a city water pressure regulator so that I can hook into city water. In this photo, Bessie is hooked to our outdoor water hose. Since there is still threat of freezes, and that's bad for pipes filled with water, I have not tested the fresh water tank yet. Draining the fresh water tank and the lines seems like a task I want to do as infrequently as possible, so I'll wait until there is no more threat of freeze. Like when it's okay to plant flowers or vegetables here. Sometime after St. Whacking Day (the Happy Irish Drinking holiday). Connecting to city water bypasses the fresh water tank and water pump. I think city water pressure will destroy the Whisper King. It will yell at him and he won't be able to handle it. Lots of surprises potentially in my future with that fresh water tank. Did I hook that up correctly? Tune in next month, same Bat time, same Bat channel...
The terlet now flushes. And yes, I peed in it. But not for this picture. That would be gross. I would not post photos of my pee. This is a clean flush of a clean bowl.
And in case it wasn't a clean flush of a clean bowl, there is a high-pressure sprayer to help clean the bowl. Delightful imagery, I know.
Above is a photo of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, the sonofasnitch (TWO refs in one sentence!). The faucet we're using for the bathroom sink that we purchased from Habitat for Humanity for $15, has a leak. But not in the plumbing - the leak is within the faucet itself. It leaks from the bottom of the swan-neck water faucet. Frustrating since I have to remove the plywood countertop to get a ratcheting angle on the faucet and in order to do that I have to remove the spray nozzle, disconnect the plumbing lines, take off the aluminum trim (15 screws) and remove the countertop in order to merely attempt a repair. Stupid Habitat for Humanity selling us bogus parts. (For cheap!)
Griping aside, I'm so happy to finish this task. To have non-leaking pipes pumping endless water through the faucets feels great!
I'm very proud of the above photo. Everything that you see has our handiwork all over it. Starting with the aluminum railing in the foreground that I installed (epically and horrifically, with a circular saw as a router), and moving to the red marmoleum countertop that Brie and I chose so long ago that my parents helped us install, to the machine-age spray nozzle I installed two weeks ago that now operates flawlessly, to the new sink covers I cut and drilled and covered in marmoleum, to the brand new kitchen sink faucet Brie and I chose at Ikea in Portland and installed, to the red marmoleum backsplash in the background that I cut and installed shortly after my parents left, to the aluminum railing enclosing the same backsplash that I polished with cleaner last summer, to the aluminum-painted fan cover on the wall (under the faucet arc) that was installed last summer and caulked and sealed last fall and recaulked and resealed this winter, to the paint on the walls that Brie and I double-coated after two coats of primer, to the beautifully sanded, sealed, and lacquered mahogany walls that Brie and I broke our backs on last spring, to the light fixture that's barely visible at the top of the photo that we repainted and installed last summer. Absolutely everything in this photo is something we've refurbished, reinvented, or restored, and that just feels great. We've come such a long way since we were posting thoughts like "Can't wait until we can finally start putting things back into her".
I can feel the maiden voyage around the corner....
