pex, pipes, and plumbing

The last of the underfloor heating tubes into the entryway.
Where the tubes gather...Warming up the waterproofing membrane while I take practical photos so we know where the tubes went if we need to know after slab is poured.Some more flowering plants I found.
May be Fool's onion Triteleia hyacinthina

Random...

Random early summer stuff - more tubing installed for the under-floor heating in the great room.Not the same ones, but a pack of orcas was through a week ago. Lots of sightings - including one of 2 orcas killing a full grown sealion in the surf zone not far north of here. (photo attribution - blog.oregonlive Associated Press/File)
And sights like this in a number of coves, injured sealions that didn't get eaten by the orcas and that hauled up to rest, only to die and become a feast for the carrion birds: crows, seagulls, and of course lots of well-fed...
turkey vultures.Summer: surf - small, but fun on a longboard.
Summer also means surfing schools. Goodness only knows why they try to learn here in the summery 50 deg F [10 deg C] water.
Our place has a new spectrum of flowers this week...
Large Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)
Including a patch of striking Columbia lilies that I didn't mow so the can set and scatter seed so there's more next year.
Meanwhile back in the bakery, some fun with different bread styles.
Very striking and unusual [for western tastes] barbari bread that is a flat bread that can be successfully made with soft white wheat [SW].
And some product development for the food barley program - marvellous 50% barley pita bread. [HW = hard white wheat]

For James

a link to the jello ultra slow-mo on the other blog...

http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/deliciousnessw09/2009/05/11/the-most-amazing-footage-of-energy-storage-and-elasticity-in-jello/

Downpours, mudslides, and radiant floors...

Showing the line of thunderstorms that passed through OR, south to north on Thursday June 4th. The only time since we've been here that a storm through Benton county had an official National Weather Service severe thunderstorm warning. Another severe one did pass 20km to the east of us the day before as well. We got at least 2 inches (judging from the height of water in vertical walled containers) within about 1/2 an hour. This is EXTREMELY rare weather for these parts. The aftermath - more [expletive deleted] mud from the back wall. Grading from naught to about 300 mm thick, wet slimy, at least not hard packed, that flushed down from the same back wall.

A few muddy hours later...
Meanwhile up above, E was working with Josh Storer, of Barefoot Radiant Heating Corvallis OR, putting in the first of the pex tubing for the radiant floor heating of the main floor. This is the first time we can really make out the rooms. The tubing already laid down is in the kitchen floor.

E, I suspect, showing Josh the troubles were having setting grade around the step-down into the great room.
Getting it right.

Like a duck swimming...

... not much seems to be happening but there's a lot of action going on under the surface.


Bracing for the stair headerBracing for the little pieces used to make up the 45 degree corner under the great room.

Rebar for the beam under the garage.
The view from the top (great room view window goes here)
Waterproofing starts to go on

Rebar mat for the garage floor

Detail of rebar hooks connecting floor to walls.And up we go - the first increase in the height of the walls for a while.