As Above So Below

Two milestones were achieved today:

The first being that the bathroom sink was installed and is semi-functional. Semi-functional in that it drains. The water supply has yet to completed. We purchased this sink at Habitat for Humanity's Restore in Durham, NC. The pedestal sink sold for $65. Not bad for a good quality Kohler. Installing this was somewhat challenging in that I had to account for the future flooring and also line up the sink with the mounting holes in the wall. In addition, there are the fumes from the septic tank to contend with. Until all the drain piping is assembled and water added to the P-trap, it gets a little smelly. You may notice that I failed to install an escutcheon where the drain enters the wall. Well, I did purchase one, however, it was the wrong size. And I wasn't about to go out and purchase a replacement.

Now Christy and I can brush our teeth in a real sink and not have to spit in a bucket or outside.

The second is that the ceiling fan was installed and is fully-functional. We purchased the fan new, and online. It's an Energy Star rated fan manufactured by Monte Carlo. We chose this fan for two reasons: aesthetics and efficiency. This particular model is one of the most efficient Energy Star fans available at 240.7 CFM/Watt on the low setting. Contrast that to 155 CFM/Watt for the least efficient Energy Star rated fan.

Unfortunately I'm going to have to replace the 24" downrod because the fan blades are about an inch away from the ceiling at their closest point. It may not be an issue, however, at the high setting it gets a bit noisy due to the vortices created. I may go with a 36" downrod, but in the meantime we'll enjoy the heat from the wood stove being distributed more uniformly. The installation was fairly easy with the exception of attaching the fan blades. I would've been better off installing them prior to hanging the fan. The instructions have you install them after hanging the fan. This was quite tedious when doing the installation alone, on a ladder, 14' up in the air - a third hand would've been useful.












A quick thank you to my mom and step-dad for giving us their old toilet (low-flow) and kitchen sink. And also to Stephen Eckberg for providing us with the wood stove. All items were given to us free of charge. If it's free, it's for me!