Rough Plumbing and Electrical

Running the electrical and plumbing, both water and gas, was easier before putting plywood on the sides. Everything originated in the back utility closet area.

I used black steel pipe for gas. Very tough and not likely to get punctured. Plus the pipe is run low on the wall behind the range, refrigerator and bath tub, so it will be protected. The utility closet will hold one or two propane tanks for the water heater, range and optional heater. The only fittings are in the closet and where the appliances connect, so no fittings are hidden in the walls.

Tee for propane tank in closet

I used pipe dope suitable for gas lines and pressure tested the lines, at various stages,  to make sure there were no leaks.

Pressure testing left side gas line

Plumbing the water supply was a bit more involved. I needed to provide for a water tank with pump, and gravity intake, a hose intake, a way to drain everything for cold weather, and a water heater. I needed to run hot and cold lines to a bathtub, bathroom sink, and kitchen sink, and cold water only to the toilet. I used hard copper pipe in the walls, with soldered fittings coming out of the wall where needed for future connection to the various faucets and valves. The valves I used were Sharkbite, so required no soldering and are removable. Sharkbites don't seem like they will seal as they can turn on the end of the pipe, but they do. That ability to be turned is convenient when connecting faucets, etc. Both the hot and cold water lines were pressure tested in a similar manner as the gas lines.

Lines coming from closet into bathroom

Drain lines were not installed at this time. These will all go through the floor, or in the wall between the bathroom and kitchen area.

Electrical rough-in required  installing an electrical panel in the closet, and separate lines for outlets and lights. I chose to have three 15 amp / 14 ga. circuits (left side outlets, right side outlets, lights and loft outlets), and a 20 amp / 12 ga. circuit for an outlet near the stove to handle higher power appliances.

The electrical panel uses four CAFCI breakers to protect against arcing and a potential electrical fire. Although these breakers do not provide ground fault detection,  ground fault outlets will be installed in the left and right outlet circuits in the bathroom, so all lower level outlets, which are potentially near water, will be protected. A 100 amp breaker serves as a main breaker. A ground wire runs from the panel  to the gas and water lines and on to the bottom of the house where a ground rod will be attached when the house is set up.

Electrical boxes were installed at appropriate locations for outlets, switches, and lights. Wire was run from the panel to each box. Romex 14/2 was most common. Since four way switches will be used to control loft and living area lights from both areas, 14/3 was necessary between those switches. There are different ways to hook up four way switches, depending on the order of input power, switches, and lights in the circuit. the 20 amp circuit required 12/2.