Yet still waiting for PG&E

Back when the old main panel was changed out, the electric meter was temporarily removed. PG&E is supposed to follow with a disconnect and reconnect at the weatherhead, then add a new seal on the lock ring on the meter.But while waiting for PG&E to do so, which takes forever, conceivably the meter can be kept "unplugged." All that's needed to bring in power are conductors about 1/8" thick and 3 1/2" long to bridge the incoming hot leads (top) to the house leads (bottom). The width between the two hots is 2 7/8" on centers. A rimmed wood block, for example, fixed with copper bars (to prevent shorting) can be inserted in place of the meter. And to be discrete for the meter reader, online accounts show which days of the month they come by!Their delays are getting so absurd, it's truly inspiring some creative thinking. Click on photo to backtrack.

Stair treads

My stair design includes a wide tread dimension where two standard Trex boards would still be an inch shy. So I decided to get fancy by inserting a strip of Ipé wood. It's relatively expensive at $24 for the smallest piece I found (8-foot of 5/4 x6). The inlay appearance turned out nice though. It's also called "ironwood" -- it's denser than water and one of the hardest hardwoods available.I'm also experimenting with invisible deck fasteners. This Deckmaster solution is one of the few that works when boards have a lip overhang like stair treads.The bracket piece was easy enough to cut short with aviation snips. However, it's almost mandatory to put your entire body weight over the fasten point while crouching over in a real tiring position to drive the special screws up from underneath. It's recommended, but still very tiring. Then the screw angle pulls the board off position if it doesn't bite perfectly. I would not recommend it for sloppy workers.

It's not a cheap solution either, at a cost of $40 for the smallest quantity (10 pieces of 22" long brackets suitable for about 25 sq.ft. of decking).

Stair stringers

Lower landing

Floating kicker plate

This is for a level concrete pad as lower landing. The pressure treated 4x6 kicker plate, which was a leftover piece, will determine the top of slab. It's larger than usual size but helps to keep the stringer boards short. Those are deck screws lifting it in position.

Landing frame

It's satisfying to create a vital piece of structure like this that's perfectly square and level. It takes careful trimming and nailing. Hefty 16d hot-dipped galvanized nails and Simpson Z-max connectors were used.Hopefully I won't mess it up later with something silly.

Post bases poured

Two 80# bags of concrete were just shy of filling both boxes to the rim, so the effort in leveling one of them was moot. It helps to have it ready anyway. The embedded connector is a Simpson PBS44AZ post base. The other base gets a 5/8"Ø x6" wedge bolt inserted 3" in old concrete, surrounded by 2" deep new concrete. I am unsure of its effectiveness. The two will be good for comparison.

Post base prep

My original plan was to use 5/8" wedge anchors pushed 3" into drilled holes to secure the post bases, but the slab, I discovered, was too thin at one spot.

So plan B is a regular little footing.

Three inches of concrete is relatively easy to break. A clean controlled break, however, takes some perforating and chipping (unless you have a diamond-tipped hole saw for concrete).

Again my little Hilti 6C was the perfect tool. It took just a few minutes to knock out a 8" hole.

Pulling dirt out was also easy with a post hole digger. I went down a nice 18" in an inverted cone shape for load spread.

Making the wooden box formwork was the time-consuming part, in comparison, due to the varying slope of the existing concrete surface.

1/2" plywood is one material that's stiff enough to hold wet concrete, yet easy to trim. I fastened the sides with 1/4" crown 3/4" long air-driven staples, though nails or brads would have also worked. They need to pull apart later. Getting a tight contact with the slab surface while leveling the tops took several runs on a belt sander.

Wall before landing/stairs

The side facade needed a consistent color across old and new, so before getting blocked by the new stairs/landing, I applied two coats of paint over masonry primer to the area. The rest can be done later.
A code-compliant landing, stairs and guardrail have to be in place before the framing sign-off, which precedes sheetrock, and I'm really anxious to get the interior covered up. It's been a slow progression.

Slider converted to fixed

Another PG&E inspector showed up (finally) to review the utility meters (again). He said the garage window has to be fixed or else the gas meter must be moved. I chose fixing the window as the gas riser comes up through a concrete walk. Breaking the concrete, digging up an unknown amount of dirt (for PG&E repiping,) then backfilling and repaving would be too much work, cost and time.
Lucky for me, these old single-glaze sliders are easy to convert. The aluminum frame is an identical profile all around. The sliding sash takes the inner rail while the fixed sash is just the outer flange.


I simply got some fresh glazing strip from a window shop, a sheet of Lexan polycarbonate from Home Depot, and created a matching glazing panel on the left. The insert channel took some cleaning because crud had built up over the years (compressed air helps), but it was a very easy project.

$20 rubber window strip
$30 Lexan polycarbonate ... for a total cost of $50

Electrical rough-in costs

Room addition and related work (not counting the Powder Room):

	Spent
Relocate old breaker panel (electrician)	$1,416
2nd breaker panel & parts (electrician)	$1,000
Replace meter box/weather drop (electrician)	$841
Parts and supplies for remaining (self-install)	$2,288
TOTAL COST of electrical rough-in	$5,545

PG&E charges for upgrading to 200 amps are still unknown.

Roughed in speaker wires

I decided to add five speaker wires for the heck of it, for potential 5.1 surround sound. At this stage it's easy. The three in front could be flush mount in-wall units. Hopefully the two-gang box will fit all the connectors, including two cables (antenna and Comcast).

Inline exhaust - Fantech

For comparison, I've installed a Fantech inline exhaust fan for the Powder Room. Its circular plastic housing contrasts with the rectangular metal Panasonic installed in the small bathroom. The instructions for this unit say that any mounting orientation is okay but vertical is best for gravity drainage of condensation. Makes sense. Finding a good spot to do so then becomes the challenge.

I went extreme and mounted it 25 feet away, on the gable wall, using up the entire run of insulated 4" duct. At 100 CFM (their smallest unit), it's oversized for the 156 cubic-foot room anyway, so slight reduction in velocity is okay. Testing reveals sufficient air movement. The only noticeable noise is the "wind" blowing past the dampers. Maybe it'll be totally silent with the grille in place.

Cost for the complete kit with halogen light (model PB 100H) is $203 delivered. Cost of ductwork, wall vent, supplies is $50.

I think the ideal combination would have been using a semi-rigid duct (lower part in photo) for the inlet side as well, instead of the plastic-wrapped-wire type (top in photo), with the Fantech mounted no more than 10 feet away from ceiling grille. Insulation would be necessary in colder climates. The drawback in using very flexible duct is the restriction of air flow when the run is long and/or not fully stretched.

Wall end stiffener

To stiffen the wall end, I've fastened a heavy Simpson strap (MST60) to an extra-deep double blocking that's secured four ways. The floor joists are only 2x8 though.

It helps, but there's still some movement. I think I'll have to add something at a right angle to it. I didn't want to do so originally because it would be an obstacle or tripping hazard. Maybe some kind of built-in bookshelf could function double duty.

Last of interior framing

A coat closet near the entry is always nice. Some might say it's a functional necessity. My design includes it, though tight, and now I've barely pulled it off. It's extra narrow but extra tall. The side studs are framed flat-wise to maximize space. Framing for the water heater closet is conventional. All those long studs terminate at a pitched ceiling between trusses, so it took some care.

The half-height partition adds privacy and creates functional zones within the large space.

Lumber costs another $45.