Monday, October 30, 2006

Drainage Plumming

I did not know how to drill a hole in the heavy steel wall. I have a 12v battery powered drill that I bought last winter at the pawn shop for $15. I went to a tool sale and asked if my drill had enough power to drill thru heavy steel. They said I needed at least an 18v drill, preferably 24v. The cost of an 18v drill was over $100 plus I would have to buy the hole bit adding about $25 more. I did not want to spend that much money to drill one hole. Next I checked at a tool rental shop. Their only battery drill for rent was a 14.4v at $15 per day and I still had to buy the hole bit. I was getting discouraged at this point.
I then called Phil (the man who put in the door for me last spring). He suggested that I get a regular 3/8" or 1/2" bit for my drill, trace the outline of the pipe where I wanted the hole, and drill small holes along the traced circle. Then I could snip out the hole. It took 17 small holes, five battery charges, and five days to complete the circle. I got the drill recharged each time by a friend in town. What a great feeling to finally knock the hole out. However the hole was very ragged and the pipe would not fit thru. Aghhh!
I called (bothered) Phil again. He suggested that I get a round file and file the metal. The file worked great. The pipe went thru the hole. Now I went to work laying out the piping inside and outside. Its been a long day and week. Tomorrow I will do a test and pour water thru the piping and if everything is ok (no leakage), glue and calk. Wish me luck.

1 comment:

DirkStar said...

Relax, have a beverage...
I'm exhausted after reading your blog. Whew.

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