T'anks But No Tanks

The cats pretty consistently wake us up at 7:30, and they did so today but with more ruckus than usual as they took a boisterous victory lap over the mouse they killed overnight and left under the bed. It's tempting to say they've started earning their keep, but they keep us. Their antics keep us laughing all day, no matter how hard the work gets, and today did get kind of heavy.

Started easy though by setting up a dishwashing station on the back deck: soaking tub, soapy sponge in its own bucket, and rinse basin with a touch of bleach. A satisfying short term solution but we're jonesing for a functional kitchen and today's efforts brought us one small giant step closer to that glorious dream.

The once and future sink.

This house is on a community well, water main connected to a pumphouse down the road. But it used to be on its own well out back, and so there were not one but two defunct pressure tanks cluttering the crawlspace under the kitchen. This is a concern because it limits access to the plumbing and we also want to cover the bare dirt with plastic to keep ground moisture down--literally.

The older tank looked pretty skinny and I theorized it was probably designed to fit between joists--a gap of 14 and a half inches, typically. Well, everyone's got a theory. With pointed shovel, posthole digger, and rockbar, we dug and pried, transferred soil in 5-gallon buckets to wheelbarrow, dumped multiple loads in the low spot on the other side of the house. Had to be real careful not to disturb the plumbing, pipes going every whichaway like Seattle's interstate exchanges.

 

After moving a bunch of dirt, we'd made enough room to slide the tank clear of a major beam. Water sloshed inside. Does it make me a pessimist in this case if I say it was half full? It sure was heavy. We slung tow straps underneath and tilted to drain it. Then we tried to lift it between the joists but the tank was just a smidge too wide. So much for my theory.

We'd have to try to push it out the side access, which was blocked by an even bigger tank. It also looked too tall to pass under the newer ABS drain pipes, so we'd have to dig out many more loads. And we weren't even sure if the old tank had been disconnected.... Luckily, it was, with two cut ends of PVC pipe plainly visible. So we went around outside to the concrete access shaft and lifted the rotting hatch. It came apart in our hands. No matter. The real task would be digging out the bottom in order to inch out the big blue tank. So big. What if it didn't fit? "If they got it down here, we can get it out," I theorized. Theory.

I used a reciprocating saw to cut the PVC supply line and was only slightly surprised when a mini geyser gushed forth. It was just residual, quickly drained out. But it did make me wonder if it might flow more if the water table rose after the rain, in which case that would dump a lot of water into the crawlspace. Somehow I remembered I had a rubber stopper left over from years ago in the bottom of my plumbing bag and it felt sort of miraculous to find it.

With crawlspace opened up, we cordoned off the kitchen with heavy plastic. I had to tighten security after Sunny almost managed to break through the one spot that wasn't completely battened. I remedied that.

The tanks are smooth as suppositories, no edges to grip, tricky to lift. We finagled the big one out first, angled into the corner with not an eighth of an inch to spare. Hoisted with a tow strap up top and a ratchet strap hooked to the base. Felt great to get it past its pivot point and send it rolling through the grass. In this case, the theory was correct.

The second tank required both more brute force as well as finesse. It had been years since I'd done a leg press, but that's what got the steel cylinder moving through the dirt and towards the exit. Then I went around to the low side while Sarah pushed from above and I lifted and guided it under the pipes, around a 90 degree bend. Again, nothing to grip but there was just enough of a lip where they cut the pipe that I could use vise grips. As a grip. To grip it.

With the space cleared out and slightly expanded to ensure future access to the plumbing, we can next button up the kitchen floor. Good thing the 3/4" tongue and groove plywood subfloor finally got delivered today--only two weeks late!

Once the subfloor is down, I'll reattach the sink. All that's left after that is: insulation, wiring, lights, finished floor, cabinets, ceiling, and appliances. Anything else? Probably. But I'm just going to focus on the sink.

Side Note

Sarah found a bat in the woodshop this morning, hanging from a lumber rack, motionless. Twelve hours later, it was still there. Unresponsive. A hard day for rodents here.