New House Blog: Episode LXVIII - A Mystery Solved!

Happy New Year, and welcome to the 2014 version of the New House Blog.  It's been a while since the previous Episode, but that does not indicate that we have been idle at our New House.  As the title for this Episode states, we have solved a mystery and uncovered a new mystery or two.  We also have a new addition to our household, but first up for us for the new year is another guest appearance by the Parents' House.  You should remember the Parents' House from this Episode and from this Episode.  And I am happy to announce that our grand winter project is underway.

New Dishwasher

Our recent visit to the Parent's House was for the purpose of installing a new dishwasher to replace a dishwasher that had come to the end of its useful life.  As in the previously-chronicled work at the Parents' House, Becky was not involved in this project - it was a solo effort by me.  Fortunately I have some experience already in dishwasher installation, so I had a pretty good idea of the time and labor that would be needed.  When I arrived at the Parent's House the new dishwasher had been delivered and dragged inside, and the old dishwasher had been removed from the premises.  Thank you to all who took part in delivering the new and removing the old.  This is a picture of the space where the new dishwasher will go.  Note the existing grey drain line and the conduit containing the electrical connection.

The first step for this install was to remove and replace the existing dishwasher shutoff valve.  The house was built with plastic push-pull type shutoff valves, and the inlet hose was crimped onto this shutoff valve.  Since I would be replacing the inlet hose I would need to also replace the shutoff valve.  A little research on the internet enlightened me as to how to remove the old shutoff valve - simply get a good grip on it and unscrew counter-clockwise (make sure the water is turned off first).  This worked like a charm, and I was left with a bit of PVC sticking out of the wall, as can be seen in the picture below.

This is the old inlet hose and valve.  Note that the hose is crimped to the inlet valve.













A quick trip to the local Home Depot was needed to procure the proper PVC-to-threaded connector, and once again the Sharkbite brand had exactly what I was looking for.  Connector in-hand, I headed back to the Parents' House and continued with the dishwasher installation.

 This is the new 1/4-turn 1/2" to 3/8" Sharkbite shutoff valve.

This is the new valve with the new inlet hose connected.












A dishwasher install is not hard, per se, but does invlove a lot of steps.  If I recall correctly the next step was to install a new air gap.  The pictures below show the sequence of removing the old air gap and installing the new.

 This is old the air gap as seen from below the sink.  As you can see, it is basically a y-connection with an air vent above the sink.

 This is the new air gap, also seen from below the sink.  The black hose connects to the garbage disposal.  I made sure to verify that the drain plug was knocked out of the disposal.

This is the top of the air gap.  See how shiny and new it looks.  The vent is on the back side, and therefore not visible from this angle.

This picture shows the new drain line after it was connected to the new air gap.

















At this point I decided it would be good to look at the dishwasher installation instructions and see what they told me to do.  They directed me to lay the dishwasher on its back and connect the electrical connections.  I have no pictures of this, but rest assured that my signature yellow electrical tape was involved.  After that it was time to put the dishwasher back on its feet and connect the inlet hose and new drain line to the dishwasher.  After a quick leakage check I inserted the entire assembly into its space, secured it to the cabinetry, and installed the bottom access panel.  Below you see the installed dishwasher.

This is what it looks like when it is sitting idle.

This is what it looks like when it is active (note the blue lights).


















Mystery Solved!

After long months of deep academic and archaeological study, we can finally reveal the solved mystery of the multitudinous ceramic tiles we unearthed during many of our Back Yard Archaeological digs.  These blue tiles can be found in this Episode, and a picture is included below to refresh your memory.

The famous blue tiles

The study of the tiles was long and arduous, and the many hours spent pouring over ancient manuscripts and looking at photos of similar tiles in other locations can never be reclaimed.  The forensic study of the fracture patterns and the chemical analyses were expensive, but they produces stunning results.  The attempt at carbon dating was, however, a complete waste of time and money - there is no organic material present in the tiles.  All of the time, energy, and money spent in pursuit of this knowledge payed off in the end.  Revealed below is the true and accurate recreation of the mosaic of blue tiles as it used to be in pre-Bishopian times.

First, however, let us look at the tiles after they had been sorted by shape and size.  Here you can see the right-angled "wing" shape in the left, the "scalloped" shape on the right, and fragments at bottom center.












Here, finally, is the true reconstruction of the blue tile mosaic.

As you can see, it clearly says, "Bishopia 1971."  As you can also see, there was clearly more to this mosaic that has probably been lost to history.  Rest assured, however, that each and every fragment we do have is shown in its correct and accurate position, relative to the rest of the mosaic.

As mentioned in the intro to this Episode, the solving of this mystery has uncovered a new mystery - what does this inscription mean?  While the evidence allowed us to accuratly reconstruct the mosaic there is no remaining evidence (at least that we could find) indicating the meaning of the text or the cultural significance of the mosaic.  We were also unable to discover its original location.  We have ended our research on this mosaic - we believe it is not possible to discover any more information about it (excluding time travel) - but we will assist in any way possible if you would like to do your own research into this enigmatic blue tile mosaic.

New Household Addition

Recently, we adopted a new kitten.  The sequence of events leading up to his adoption is as follows: Miles, Becky's cat, needed/wanted a pet of his own; he told Becky what kind of kitten he wanted - coloring, age, gender, name, etc.; Becky told me; we went to the animal shelter and found him.  His official name is Edgar, and he is about 5 months old.  His unofficial name is Edgar of the Squinty Eye, or Squinty.  So far Edgar has shown himself to be quite bold and quite friendly toward people.  Edgar likes chasing things, purring, and greeting people as soon as they walk in the door.  As of this writing he is still being kept separate from the other cats so that we can introduce all of them in a controlled and friendly manner.  You can see his adorable cuteness below.

After those cute pictures, what more is there to say?
     bIsh