Slow Going

I didn't get much done this weekend. What I did do was buy the following and do a bit of basic carpentry:

4'x8' sheet of 0.703" ply
R13 fiberglass insulation
Dow Blue styrofoam insulation panel
4"x4"x8' pressure treat lumber

With the above I hope to create a ~62"x48" wall behind where the solar storage tank will be. Currently the wall is completely unfinished - just studs, mineral felt, and stucco. On the wall my plan is to nicely, neatly mount plumbing pipe, valves, etc. around the tank. As long as I'm finishing the wall, it might as well be sealed (with Great Stuff (tm)) and insulated. The exact timing of which will depend on when I determine how the solar collector loop pipes are going to be run, as I don't want to seal up the wall before I've plumbed it. I haven't figured out how I'm going to get them from the roof to the garage (attic or outside run). I'm hoping I'll get up in the attic and be able to see a clean hole to the garage. As our attic is cramped, filthy, and bristling with cranium puncturing nails I'll procrastic at least another day on this.

I've decided that I should have a plumber on retainer b/c it's annoying trying to figure out plumbing code. For instance, the solar storage tank has a backup electric heater which I'm not going to use, and it's my understanding that electric hot water heaters don't need to be on stands in the garage, but who knows? I might get an inspector who doesn't like the distance between my eyes and thus deem my homemade stand (4"x4" and ply) DIY devilry. Pay now or potentially pay later.

Pardon the whining, but tinding time for all this with a toddler and a busy schedule is probably the most difficult part of this project.