Plumbing

Plumbing 101

Taylor McCarthy of Frontera Homes recommended Seamus Leslie of Watershed Plumbing as his sub. We had a terrific experience with Seamus and his team. The plumbing portion of the reno started in late March 2020 - setting up the chases - with the fixtures following later in the spring. The majority were to come to the island from Cantu, plumbing supply shop in Vancouver the architects recommended. They were exceptionally good to work with. There was a time early in the pandemic where just about everything was shut down and no shipments were arriving. Fortune looked favorably upon us. We did not have to cope with delays. The Watershed team was on site throughout

To summarize the assignment - before the rubber met the road - we had ambitions to incorporate both aa rainwater capture and grey water irrigation system. We turned to Ecologic but could not make the totality of it city code compliant. A rainwater fed cistern irrigates the back yard. No greywater in sight. Aside from that, the plumbing plan is standard. There are a number of things you can do to save energy and water - quite straightforward to implement. We did not go as far as composting toilets in our reno. Maybe next time.

When good intentions run up against regulations

We could not pull off what we’d hoped - which was to reduce our water use by capturing rain water for flushing toilets and washing laundry, and by using grey water to irrigate the garden. We had a beautiful system designed, but could not make it city code compliant. Municipal and provincial codes are sometimes at odds.

So we ended up reducing run off significantly by using rainwater to irrigate our garden. We hooked the gutter system to a 850 gallon cistern which sits under the back deck. The cistern is periodically drained into the back yard wildflower meadow. The soil acts as a sponge. This approach seems to be working. The pear trees are blooming magnificently this spring. The Garry Oak appears to be thriving. More newly established shrubs and trees (Portuguese Laurel, Magnolia, Russian Olive and Winter Hazel will need additional hand watering for the foreseeable future.

Plumbing Fixtures we like and some sources

Cantu in Vancouver supplied all the plumbing fixtures except for a couple of vanity sinks, the kitchen sink, a shower pan and an enameled tub. In the main, we used Duravit (for the toilets) and Aquabrass (for the faucets and shower heads). The kitchen faucet was made by Hansgrohe. We got it on sale at Victoria Specialty Hardware. They have a great selection too. Sink drain/strainer came from Kohler. If you are tackling this on your own get all your ducks in a row ahead of time and be aware that what you are buying meets code. The shower head are energy efficient and the toilets are low flow dual flush. we hooked our gutters up to a cistern which can store up to 850 gallons of water. We follow city code and drain it once a month in the rainy months. The back yard acts like a sponge. We are diverting substantial rain from the storm drains.

Reducing water waste and recycling old fixtures aka our tub

Coming soon:How to shop for water saving devices…. and where to deaccessions fixtures you no longer need

People and Places to Turn to to Look for old house parts: Al of Haul it Up…. Richard of Island Muffler…. Used Vic, Up Island Salvagers, The ReStore of Habitat for Humanity, The Salvation Army

Hot Water Heaters - Facts and Figures

We settled early on on a Rheem Water heater (image below). It set us back about $1700 and the installation ran another $750. The device qualifies for a rebate of $1000 - so strikes us as a rather efficient and economical solution. The payback with savings should only take about two years. There’s a cheery 3 minute video extolling the merits of this Hybrid electric water Heater - they claim is the most sustainable water heater on the market in North america

NRCan puts out a wonderfully thorough overview of hot water heaters to help you make your decision. Studded with little known facts like - after home heating, water heating is the second most significant home energy expense. And the operating cost of the water heater over the life span of the equipment can be more than eight times the purchase cost.

Regrets ….I have a few. when I took a snapshot of the heater label for the rebate I saw the unit was assembled in Mexico with connections to a plant in Alabama. Alabama is a right to work state (pretty hostile to unions) and many maquiladoras are located across the border in Mexico where wages are dismally low. I googled the company and found that it had been bought out and that a large plant in Chicago was shuttered by the management a few decades back. I wish I had considered union made equipment expressly in considering options. Hubbell is one, and Giant is made in Canada.