Detached Garage, Sturgeon Falls
STARTING POINT:
Customer knew exactly what they wanted, they needed the design drawn to get the permit.
RESULT:
In ONE DAY, we developed the drawings from footings and concrete block foundation up to the roof, including site plan.
Bungalow, Greater Sudbury
STARTING POINT:
Customer found a floor plan that was close to what they wanted. Worked together to make it exactly what they wanted, then created the documentation to obtain the permits.
RESULT:
Complete set of documents: ICF heated crawl space, wood frame building, cathedral ceiling in main living area.
Deck Addition, West Nipissing
STARTING POINT:
Customer's deck too small as existing, add a 10ft extension.
RESULT:
Drawings showing new footings, extension, and revised railings.
Cottage, West Nipissing
STARTING POINT:
Customer knew approximate floor plan and size and needed the design drawn to get the permit.
RESULT:
Pier foundation, stick frame, design leaves flexibility to add decks in the future.
Mud Room, West Nipissing
STARTING POINT:
Customer knew what they wanted, but needed documents to apply for permit. Mud room addition to existing home with heated crawl space.
RESULT:
Documentation needed to consider insulation requirements and exterior changes.
Shower Room
Rural Home Shower Room
This project was to convert two bedrooms into a larger bedroom plus ensuite shower room. The most interesting part of the project was the shower which was to be:
- a "vertical spa" - which means that in addition to a conventional shower head, it has horizontal body sprays.
- no-step entry.
- easy to clean - no door tracks
Permit Requirements
- Because there was structural and plumbing work, a building permit is required.
- The addition of a bathroom changes the septic system loading and so a "file review" by the Conservation Authority was required to check whether septic was OK as-is.
- ESA electrical permit required - all the old wiring in the two bedrooms was taken out and new wiring put in place.
Before the file review or the building permit could be applied for, the plumbing system needed to be defined, and the next few sections describe this process.
Shower Concept
In order to design a vertical spa, an excellent starting point is this guide by Moen. It shows various layouts, describing features of Moen's various solutions. Other companies have products that do the same job - Delta and Pfister for example.
The product chosen for this job was the 3/4" ExactTemp by Moen, with a main showerhead, a hand-held unit, and four body sprays.
Once this was chosen, the next question was whether the water supply would be sufficient.
Water Supply
A quick internet search tells you that this type of shower arrangement won't work with a shallow dug well, but it worked great here. There was also a worry that the hot water tank might be too small for such a system.
First item to check was the spec on the well pump - what is the maximum flow rate so it can maintain pressure. This was verified using a timer and some buckets, and then comparing measured flow rate to the ratings of the shower heads.
The main shower head is generally around 2 gallons/minute (gpm), with little variation. Body sprays vary a lot more, and for this job we chose Riobel sprays which work over a range of 0.5 to 1.6gpm. In total, four sprays plus the 2 shower heads were 10gpm, which was much less than the capacity of the well pump.
The hot water tank is 40 gallons at 140F/60C, which is sufficient for 30 minutes of 40C showering at 2gpm, or for 6 minutes with all showerheads running.
The decision was to proceed, see how it went, and respond with a larger hot water tank, or a tankless system, or a larger well pump, if there was an issue. And there was no issue - 2 years on and the original pump and tanks are still in place, and hot water has never run out.
Supply and Drainage
In order to supply water at the maximum possible rate of 10gpm, Moen recommends upgrading the entire system to 0.75" supply lines. Supply lines from the well pump to the sediment filters and UV treatment were already 1", so the 1/2" lines from there were upgraded to 3/4", with ball valve shutoffs wherever required.
The next question was whether a linear drain by Schluter could cope with all this flow, and the answer is yes - feeding into a 2" pipe and trap.
With all of this worked out, we could apply for the septic "file review" (no changes needed), start the design, and then apply for electrical and building permits.
End Result
The end result was a big improvement to the house and it is very easy to keep clean. Large format tiles (62"x31" and 48"x24") were used for walls and floor, smaller herringbones for the shower floor, and glass side walls. No shower doors.
For interest - key suppliers included:
Schluter: waterproofing system, linear drain, tile edges.
Moen: plumbing valves and controls.
Delta faucet: vanity faucet, shower head.
Riobel: body sprays
Pfister: hand-held shower.
Mega Tiles, Sudbury: all tiles, grout.
Vanico Maronyx: vanity, linen cupboard.