The pressure is on

That is the pressure tests.  The gas line from the meter into the house was installed today and that was pressurized and is awaiting inspection.  Then this evening, Andrea and I finished up a last couple connections on the last radiant heat loop and I got that under pressure as well so we can have that inspected.  If both of those items hold pressure and pass inspection, there is a chance that there could be heat in the addition by Christmas.

Radiant panels and manifolds are on the "finished" wall.  That is the first room to have it final wall finish installed!  The copper tube looping down is the gas line.  As always, when Andrea and I are both in the addition, the iPad is nearby with Reuben on the video monitor so we can watch for seizures.  There are also two outlets in place...more later.

Yesterday two friends were over for a couple hours to help me get the last pieces of sheetrock in place so I can insulated the attic spaces.  As well as get plywood up on the wall of the mechanical room so that we could mount the radiant heat panels and manifolds on the wall to be ready for the gas line and boiler installation. 

It's a whole lot easier to hang big pieces of sheetrock on the ceiling when you've got more than one, or even two, guys!

 Today I also had some help from a friend getting the fabric up on a lot of the exterior walls in preparation for blowing the inner layer of cellulose insulation into the walls.  That won't happen for a bit yet, as I have to finish the rough-in on all my plumbing and mechanical before I can close up all those walls, but it is another step closer.

The walls are starting to turn white.  Not sheetrock yet, just the breathable fabric that holds the blown-in cellulose in place while letting the air escape back into the room.

For the last week, Owen has been constantly asking if he can help hang drywall with his screw gun.  While he is most certainly willing, there have only been a few locations where he has been able to help me because most of the work at this point is overhead and up high.  However, today he was able to staple the fabric to the studs.  One staple every 1 to 1.5 inches...that is a lot of staples.

As you can see, he was a very happy worker!  He is such a wonderful worker and it able to do a lot of valuable work that saves me time and gets real work done.  It was really fun to be able to have something like this for him to work on rather than turning down his offers for help and seeing the disappointment on his face.

Today was also the first day I flipped the breaker for the sub-panel in the addition.  The insulation blower requires two plug-ins for two motors and I figured it would be best to have this running on different circuits and I will also need some lighting up in the attic where I'll be working as well.  As such, I put in the receptacles for the mechanical equipment and the main panel plug so I have two circuits available within the 50' reach of the cords that come with the blower.  No sparks and three working outlets...what a good feeling that was.  I had been a little nervous about actually flipping that switch!

Now that the panel is live, it was time to put the panel cover on. (Andrea gets a kick out of the "season's greetings" bag covering the end of the flexible duct hanging to my right.)