No, your squinting eyes do not deceive you. This first picture is of the completed-that's correct, completed Inspection Record fro
m the L.A. County Building Department. Yes, that means its done-at least as far as the County is concerned. The Final Inspection was done today, December 28th, 2010, but there isn't any water in the spa and I haven't flipped on the breakers or tested the equipment. But I'm certain that you understand that this was a big day for me! Lets back up a little bit and then I'll explain where I am and where I go from here toward the first big soak.
I've been working on the electrical layout and wiring for a number of weekends, with the valuable help via email from my cousin, Mike Thomas in Boise (Thanks Mike!).
It turns out that electrical work is much more that understanding electricity-its hard tedious work in small places with sharp wires, the wrong tools and no leverage.
I started with the easy stuff first-drilling holes in the studs inside of the garage in order to run 3/4" and 1/2" conduit from a sub panel by the equipment to the main panel. I rented a cool tool called a right angle drill so I could drill the holes in the studs. Then I bought a special drill bit that goes through wood like nobodies business. This is a serious machine that will throw you around if you don't have two hands on it and good footing-which of course I never had-getting into odd positions around, behind and underneath the various obstacles in the garage.
Next I pulled the conduit through the holes in the studs and drilled the holes in the wall to access the sub panel and J-box for the waterfall switch. Tommy helped me pull the wire through the conduit. I didn't plan on wiring the sub panel or making the final hook up to the main, so the wires just stayed as I pulled them until the electrician made those connections some time later.
I had never thought about how the elements of the equipment should be connected. It took some time to wrap my brain around the big picture, but eventually it made sense. But I can be my own worst enemy when it comes to designing a plan. I like to figure out how everything is best laid out in the most efficient way. I can't just lay it out so it works correctly-I didn't want anything redundant, especially conduit and wires. It is a good idea, especially in a small space, but it made it more difficult when you're dealing with really stiff wires (#6 awg) and flexible (yeah right) waterproof conduit. I developed a whole new appreciation for electricians!
I had to customize a waterproof specialty J-box for the spa light relay, which meant drilling through the heavy gauge steel box to accommodate two watertight fittings. I didn't have a drill bit big enough so I had to drill small holes in a circular pattern to knock out and file smooth.
I removed two pumps from the concrete slab because I had to wire the waterfall pump and rewired the spa pump.
I don't seem to be very skilled at stripping and bending wire. I pre-wired any items I could, but I still had a fair amount of trouble making proper connections. I did, of course, but it was interesting. I do not easily get into or out of some of the positions I had to be in to work in the space where all of the electrical connections are located.
It amazed me how often I could get in the wrong position to accomplish a particular task, and how I never seemed to have the proper tool within reach. I do not know how many trips from the equipment location to the garage and back I made, but I actually wore a path in the grass!
I broke out a hole in the stucco near the breezeway for a switch to turn the waterfall on and off, and Mike walked me through the wiring (Thanks again, Mike).
After I had done all that I felt comfortable doing, I called Mark The Electrician to wire the sub panel and make the final hook up to the main. I actually thought that we might be swimming on Christmas. But then it started to rain. And rain. And rain. And rain. I hate the rain.
When it finally stopped raining I had a spa filled nearly one third with water, water I could not use just yet. So 150 buckets later (Thats right, I counted them) the spa was empty and I could finish gluing in the jets-the last thing before I could call for the final inspection.
I have some clean up and other fixtures to glue in and then I'll be ready to begin filling the spa. That will be the next really big test. I'll find out if there are any leaks in the plumbing I did over a year ago. Any leaks in the equipment connections I will be able to address as the spa fills, but the pipes from the equipment to the spa are mostly under an awful lot of dirt. I sure hope they're fine, or someone may want to call the number on the bottom of the Emergency Lifesaving Techniques sign!
