Teddy is surprised the different contractors don’t trip over each other some days! Sometimes the subs working for TLC Construction in building the 1,800 square foot addition are there at the same time. And sometime the subs bring their workers too! Teddy has found it interesting that particular subs do things he wouldn’t have thought are in their areas of expertise!
Teddy knew the plumber would run the piping for the faucets in the bathrooms and utility room. It made sense the plumber would also run pipes and install the sump pump. But Teddy was surprised the plumbers would also run the new gas line! They ran it from the gas meter, not only to the new furnace, but also to the water heater and gas fireplace. Yes, the addition is so large, it needed its own furnace!
Then Teddy saw silver ducting running up and down through many walls. He understands how ducting runs bring heat to floor registers from the furnace. Teddy learned the registers are usually placed under windows on outside walls as windows have a greater heat loss than walls. But Teddy noticed there were also metal runs to open grills high on inside walls! The heating contractor explained those are return air ducts that draw air back to the furnace so the air is heated in the winter and cooled in the summer. Yes, the heating contractor is also the air conditioning contractor! He needed to locate the ducts so the addition is not only heated in the winter but cooled in the summer.
Blue boxes have been tacked up around the addition for several weeks. When Teddy asked what they were for, the electrician explained some boxes were for outlets; some were for light switches; and others were for lighting fixtures. By putting them up early, it allowed the home owners to walk through the rooms and envision turning lights on and off and plugging things into outlets. The TLC Contractors, the home owners and the electrician walked the space together discussing the placements and making adjustments before the wiring was run. Then Teddy noticed a silver box on the wall in the new basement. It looks a lot like the one in the old basement! The electrician explained to Teddy it made more sense to put in another service panel (circuit breaker box) than replace the original one. Teddy understood the wires would run from the service panel to all the lights and outlets, but he didn’t think about all the appliances needing power.
No, there isn’t a kitchen in the addition but it does have a new furnace, air conditioner, and water heater – which are also called appliances – and even a gas fireplace!
So much goes into building an addition – especially when the addition is as large as some homes, thought Teddy. Join Teddy next time to see what all the city inspectors thought of the TLC Construction crew’s work!
The adventures of Teddy LC Bear! 