Plumbing in Pea Gravel

I think I've been stalling on telling the tale of where we began putting in our own sweat equity on the project. Meanwhile, I've managed to scan in and add some photos from early in the process, as we didn't go digital until midway through the project. One of the first things we did was frame up a temporary “pony wall” to attach the outside electrical box, so the power company could bring power into the site. Cordless tools don't last that long without a nearby charger, and while we did run extension cords from the neighbor's house for a couple of days, that's not exactly ideal. So getting power onto the site as soon as possible is a good thing.

Our first task was installing the plumbing that would go under the basement slab, after the foundation walls were poured. We needed to install drainage for washer, utility sink, shower, toilet, and sink, main drainage to the septic tank and allow for venting. A floor drain is also recommended in a basement. The drainage pipes have to be installed at an appropriate angle to assist with gravity flow out of the house. At the same time we also installed an H of perforated PVC pipe to allow for passive radon venting that would eventually be vented through the roof of the house. It's lots easier to assume radon is likely to be an issue and install radon venting at the project outset than to try to engineer a system with fans and such later on, usually an expensive prospect. We also installed the connections where the water line from the well comes into the house and extended the line to where it would come into the pressure tank (in the stairwell). It seems my husband spent a long time kneeling in the pea gravel under the summer sun working out the pipe layout. Although plumbing inspection was not required outside city limits, we requested a review from the local plumbing inspector who was happy to look over our initial work before we glued everything in place.

Once the plumbing drainage was done, the next step was to install our radiant heating tubing. First we laid 2” blue foam board across the entire floor, except where the bearing wall footing was to go. Next, the concrete guys installed the grid of rebar that would go in the slab. Then it was our turn again. We purchased are radiant heating system through Radiantec, a company in Vermont, who provided lots of instruction with the materials. It is important to plan out the tubing layout so rows of outgoing water are alternated with rows of incoming water to keep heat more even across the floor. I did most of the weaving of the web in laying out the tubing with the help of my step-son. We then tied the tubing to the rebar with plastic tie-wraps. In retrospect, I wish I would have put the first row of tubing closer to the outside wall edges, as the floor is cold for the outside foot. We also wish we'd put insulation outside the footing along the daylight basement wall to help hold in more heat. I purposely left another area blank where we planned to install a food storage closet, so that could be kept cooler.

We use a propane heated Polaris high efficiency hot water heater for both domestic water and radiant heating. Maybe it is the rising fuel costs these days, but I have been disappointed with cost of heating. However, it's gotten better as we've gotten further along in the project and better insulated. Fast forwarding, I'll say we do love the radiant heating. It is delightful to have a warm basement floor in the winter, and it keeps the room evenly heated at a comfortable temperature. On the other hand, in the summer, the basement is delightfully cool, so we enjoy year-round comfort. We've also been happy with the insulating value of the log walls, but that is jumping ahead in the story.