Floor Outlets Installed
So.... did you ever manage to do a video that shows the construction of your beautiful house? I had to go all the way back to page 479 to find the initial post! You've probably got hours of footage to use!
I didn't go back as so far as to find the posts about the quiz... that I think is never coming...
Interesting you bring that up
Thirdyfivepickup. My son and I were discussing that very subject earlier this week. I do indeed have
several hours of video that needs to be edited down to create a video showing the time lapse house build. He has kindly volunteered to help edit when the time comes. As I'm still doing some construction, that hasn't been done yet.......but it will be.
I've previewed a rough video I put together with the construction sped up and it's entertaining for sure. Right now my priority is getting the wood shop finished.
Since I'm doing the wood shop electrical work right now, a couple of days ago I installed electrical outlets in the floor of the great room.
Because we didn't know quite where the furniture would eventually be placed in that room, I didn't know where to place the in-the-floor electrical outlets during the initial construction phase. Having finalized end table and table lighting placement, I could now proceed with installation of the floor outlets.
Not a big deal right? Yeah,
except for the fact that I've got...
... water filled radiant floor heat tubes installed under the sub-floor. Nick one of those puppies drilling or cutting and spring a leak in the floor and I'd be in a world of hurt!!
This is looking up at the sub-floor from the basement. Everyone of those white tubes carries distilled water to provide for heated floors.
These aluminum plates are screwed to the sub-floor and the heat tube...
...is snapped into place in the provided channel. The picture shows the tube just sitting on the channel, it is not snapped into place here. There are 2 of these aluminum plates installed between each floor joist with enough room between them for the floor outlets to be installed.
It turned out one of the electrical outlets needed to be placed right above this round A/C duct so I had to temporarily remove the duct to gain access to the sub-floor area above it.
Here you can see the outlet installed and why that duct needed to be removed. There was no room to do the outlet install with that duct in place.
So before drilling and cutting the floor I did a
very careful measurement of the initial hole placement.
You're working blind, the hole needs to be in the right spot in the room, but I also have to miss the heat tubes under the floor which you can only see from the basement side. Working in the basement I drilled a very small pilot hole from under the floor, working sub-floor side up. That way I knew exactly where the water lines were and hoped it came out in the right spot upstairs. This is the outlet template taped to the floor for layout purposes and that's an awl for precise marking of the center.
With the initial pilot hole drilled and proper outlet placement confirmed...
...I could then proceed with drilling and cutting the floor.
I scored the outline with a chisel to minimize splintering on the outside edge of the cutout. The floors are made of hickory, the same wood as the rest of the house with the exception of pine used on the ceiling.
I also used blue tape to help control side splintering. The jigsaw blade I used had 20 teeth per inch (2.5 cm)...
...and it worked perfectly. No splintering, just nice, clean edges on the cutout.
A total of 3 outlets were installed with 2 shown here.
The room was disturbed a bit while this was going on.
Once the holes were cut, the rest was easy.
The trim cover plates are brass with a very thick rubber gasket under them to prevent liquids on the floor from going into the outlets. The 2 individual brass cover caps screw into place.
It took 14 hours from start to finish. I'd been thinking about how to do this little task successfully for months. There was very little margin for error so I was very slow and deliberate in every step. I made frequent trips upstairs and down to the basement to confirm everything. Measure 5 times, cut once! It was all worthwhile, the outlets are placed right where they were suppose to go and the installation was neat and tidy. Now with the completion of that little project another punch list item gets crossed off.
Electrical work in the wood shop is virtually complete with the exception of the lighting. That will be done along with the installation of the finish, drop ceiling. But first comes installation of the dust collection system. I'm starting to see some light at the end of a very long tunnel. Thanks again everyone. Don't give up on me just yet!
Thomas
For almost 44 years I've realized what a special gal she is. You find a good one and then you keep 'em.
