So now that I have the paneling complete in the kitchen corner right up to the top edge of our log wall, plus three runs above that, I feel like I can begin construction and mounting of the water tank.
I was ready to start on it a day ago actually, but then realized that perhaps I should test the factory installed plugs to be sure they didn’t leak. It would be a real tragedy to discover that they didn’t hold water AFTER I had sealed the tank up and mounted it.
Kenny assisted with buckets of water, and I poured about four or five of them into the tank. I admit that we didn’t take the time or water to fill it, but I suspected if they were destined to leak, they’d leak already at such a small amount of water.
I propped the tank up on some scrap paneling, to ensure that the molded fitting wasn’t subjected to any undue pressure. Then I proceeded to dry the tank off so that I wouldn’t be fooled by errant water drops.
We left it overnight, and I checked on it again this afternoon – it was nice and dry! Yeah!
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| Awesome job by Larry and his son at Surecraft! |
In this picture, you can see where Surecraft Plastics welded on a panel with my bulkhead fittings pre-installed. They did a fabulous job, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back there for future needs, or recommend them to others.
So today I began cutting up some 1/2″ closed cell foam sheets to attach to the tank for insulation purposes. Seeing how much condensation forms in the sauna in wintertime was a real eye-opener. I knew I couldn’t deal with that much concentrated moisture in the cabin!
As per my idea, and Larry at Surecraft’s reinforcing confirmation, I attached the sheets to the tank using Tuck Tape – the same tape I have been using to seal up my plastic air barrier throughout the rest of the cabin.
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| A double layer on the bottom to also cover those three white and blue plugs that I won’t be using |
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| And the finished product! Ready for a plywood box to give it more support and protection. |
You can see in the photographs that it turned out rather neatly. My one disappointment is that on the narrow side, the tank was actually 12 1/8″ – so I had to cut those sheets out of a 24″ piece of material with large amounts of leftover “waste”.
It wasn’t waste though – not when Kenny turned it into a Fort/Wall that he could hide behind!
Now I have to figure out how to easily attach a fitting to the molded one on the tank, and build a plywood box to give it more support and protection. Stay tuned!