Plugging Holes

After moving the fresh water tank, we had some holes in the floor to deal with. Some were small screw holes, one was a 5/8 inch hole where the drain line had been.

I've used the same marine epoxy with non-blushing hardener for a number of years. I mixed up a small batch and made sure each of the screw holes was soaked with resin. I also coated the walls of the larger hole and sealed the bottom of it with masking tape.

I added wood flour (from the filter on the sander) to the remaining resin to thicken it to a frosting consistency and filled the hole with it, making sure to work any air out of the resin in the hole. After it's cured for 24 hours the masking tape on the bottom is removed and we have a waterproof repair to the old drain hose location.

Toilet Supply Valve

There's more than one way to limit the amount of fresh water that the toilet uses. It's not a big deal if you're paying for a place with water and sewer, but if you're set up in a beautiful meadow there's no sense wasting water. I've heard of people installing them on the supply line under the vent tube or on the supply line in the back corner of the closet, but neither of those locations resonated with me.

Since I was in a plumbing mood (i.e. all the tools were already in the trailer) I figured I'd keep going. Working with the PEX (Poly Ethylene Cross Linked) plumbing is very easy and made easier by fittings that don't require special tools to retain the hose on the barbed fitting. It was even easier because my local Ace Hardware stocked the Flair-It  brand fittings.

I decided to cut the supply line near the vent and then carefully rotate the section connected to the flush valve so that the cut section was vertical. I drilled a new hole through the bathroom wall into the closet and installed the valve and elbow assembly onto the vertical line to the toilet valve. The old hole through the wall was filled and sealed with silicon.

Added a section to connect the supply in the closet to the new higher location and then pressure tested the whole works. Now I can sleep at night, even when we forget to turn off the water pump. And it's easy to reach the valve when you want to turn it on.

The End of the Road

While the title might be applicable to a number of situations, don't go jumping to too many conclusions! I've always enjoyed traveling to the end of the road, be it the west end of Route 66 in Santa Monica, the north end of 101 in Lund, BC, or the end of an occasional logging road. Our son made my day when he sent a couple pictures from Deadhorse, Alaska. This is the stop sign at the north end of the Dalton Highway, aka the Haul Road. I really want to include this road on the Alaska trip next summer.

The second picture is self explanatory and all the more reason to visit. The sign was hanging on the counter in the terminal while he was waiting for his flight to turn around.

Just a bit over four months until we can start visiting the ends of more roads!  If our shingle is hung out, stop by to visit.