tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59511906626587235032024-03-25T12:09:58.657-04:00Survivor: RemodelThe story of a house and things we've done to it.T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-5563659463714557382024-03-25T12:05:00.004-04:002024-03-25T12:09:26.141-04:00More Trees<p>I talked a bit at the end of 2022 <a href="https://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2022/12/trees.html" target="_blank">about our trees</a>. Today we added two new trees to the side yard: a red maple (<i>Acer rubrum</i>) and a bald cypress (<i>Taxodium distichum</i>). The maple is an October Glory cultivator, which is supposed to have really nice red–orange foliage in the autumn. They were delivered and planted by <a href="https://caseytrees.org/" target="_blank">Casey Trees</a> (for free!) as part of a city program to help increase Hyattsville's tree canopy. Both trees are pretty substantial, 8 feet or taller, and we're looking forward to seeing them grow.</p>
<p>When the arborist came out in the autumn to consult on possible species and placement, I asked him about getting a sassafras (<i>Sassafras albidum</i>) and while Casey used to grow them apparently they didn't have much luck with them in an urban context so they didn't offer them. He did, however, identify a spot where I could put one if I could source one. That guy (a more affordable 4-foot tree) arrived in December and I got it into the ground then. I've been worried that it didn't make it through the winter, but the arborist who came to help plant the new trees took a look at it and said it looked like it was still alive, so I should keep watering and see what happens. 🤞🏻</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBWptrL6d0H6jv0zjb6-SGect8lmdLmOEuxR3AgQVjcXVKgnlQiu8Otj9iY3NRc8VoCZAldvo7xak7yPLwNsUOIRddUmxMl2vWHul1tTUr5Gkk0TXnpnfXzTTOxX-mZJL0_LF7xK1fwI-Dmz_1Bub7Km1cuGQKHbCaL0obTdN5DOI_vwNEAj3IM9t0LNX/s4080/IMG_20240325_111129074.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2296" data-original-width="4080" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBWptrL6d0H6jv0zjb6-SGect8lmdLmOEuxR3AgQVjcXVKgnlQiu8Otj9iY3NRc8VoCZAldvo7xak7yPLwNsUOIRddUmxMl2vWHul1tTUr5Gkk0TXnpnfXzTTOxX-mZJL0_LF7xK1fwI-Dmz_1Bub7Km1cuGQKHbCaL0obTdN5DOI_vwNEAj3IM9t0LNX/w400-h225/IMG_20240325_111129074.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>
<p>The maple is in the foreground, the sassafras to the right, and the cypress in the back. Behind it, near the fence are three pawpaws (<i>Asimina triloba</i>), one of which was translated as a little seedling from a neighbor.</p>
<p>All three of the new trees are now protected with cages to help ward off nibbling deer (we don't get those too often, except for when the apples are out, but better safe than sorry) and they just need to get watered weekly (twice weekly come summer).</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-81745907822023457432024-01-25T14:58:00.003-05:002024-02-19T12:16:03.033-05:00Small Things<p>The linear drain we put in the <a href="https://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2017/08/house-update.html" target="_blank">basement bathroom</a> looks great, but the spacers used to keep the cover positioned in the trench were just free-floating little plastic rectangles. They could block some of the waterflow and, if you tried to clean the filter basket while the shower was in use they could float around or even end up in the drain.</p><p>I recently found these <a href="https://www.noblecompanyonlinestore.com/product/448/solutions-linear-drain-grate-risers-set" target="_blank">grate risers</a> as a replacement. They clip to the cover, keeping them stable, while positioning it properly in the trench without affecting waterflow. Sometimes small things can make a real difference.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1cgYPalu43ipsISPCZH23qZ-Czx2mPHUq8CUH-o2coFHTDEfsoHLLQbXDsAh5C1iKOxKBwfdIQsQIAwcxp-q2bJ_ntcVx6MnrDzv0AnqsotLRuezWM53O5tkeA1afn76IhocDecVqFwwuo-U9CdPjVTPHbV5yfx2Bqqr3gEGG1nQaGfo7UsMVF586k_qI/s3072/IMG_20231218_085954212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1cgYPalu43ipsISPCZH23qZ-Czx2mPHUq8CUH-o2coFHTDEfsoHLLQbXDsAh5C1iKOxKBwfdIQsQIAwcxp-q2bJ_ntcVx6MnrDzv0AnqsotLRuezWM53O5tkeA1afn76IhocDecVqFwwuo-U9CdPjVTPHbV5yfx2Bqqr3gEGG1nQaGfo7UsMVF586k_qI/s320/IMG_20231218_085954212.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Thinking of small things, in mid-December we had a bit of excitement when we awoke to the sound of the water alarm under the kitchen sink. The Grohe Blue system takes up a lot of space in there with the chilling unit, CO<sub>2</sub> tank, and water filter. The filter head uses an unusual push-to-connect fitting for the outflow from the filter to the chiller.<br /><p></p><p>As can be seen in the photo, the plastic sheared apart, letting water spray from the filter into the kitchen cabinet (and down through the bathroom ceiling below. It was easy enough to shut off the cold water to the sink and then a surprising amount of mopping things up given that it wasn't spraying for too long.</p><p>The problem was then finding a new piece. Once it was late enough for the Home Depot to open, I headed over there. They had similar fittings, but nothing that was female-to-female with European threading. Driving a bit further, I tried Lowes with no luck, and then both Ace and True Value Hardware shops. Nothing.</p><p>A pain, but not the end of the world. I figured we could last through the weekend and I could try a plumbing supply store on Monday morning. (We did find out, thanks to the water alarm again, that using just the hot water also caused some leakage thanks to water backflowing into the filter, so the sink and dishwasher were out of commission until we could get a new part.)</p><p>Monday morning, early o'clock, I visited three area plumbing supply stores with no luck.</p><p>Next step was to call Grohe and after a few false starts I had the exact part numbers needed ... but it wasn't something they could provide. Searching around online wasn't giving me too much confidence in finding the right piece event with the Grohe-supplied parts number.</p><p>I thought I'd ID'd the right piece at <a href="https://www.mcmaster.com/" target="_blank">McMaster-Carr</a>, but I called them to make sure. After a bit of back and forth, the best we were able to figure out was to replace it with a female-to-female (British threading) coupler and then a male-to-female push-to-connect fitting. It made for a slightly longer piece, but not so long that it wouldn't still fit under the sink.</p><p>I hit submit order on the website while still on the phone with McMaster-Carr, which was good because the sales person was able to change the order to ship the pieces diectly to me. Otherwise, it would have meant driving to somewhere near Trenton, N.J., to pick them up. (Although, because UPS was so busy with pre-Christmas packages, it might have been less frustrating if I had made the drive; the UPS app showed that the driver was just a few blocks away for about four hours before he finally dropped off the package. At one point, I took Lucy for a walk and saw him resorting boxes in the back of the very crowded van trying to make the deliveries more efficient.)</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-75345427006627203152023-11-17T13:42:00.004-05:002023-11-17T14:24:40.096-05:00What Paint Where?<p> So after 23-<sup>5</sup>⁄<sub>12</sub> years in this house it's no surprise we have a bunch of partial cans of paint in the basement. I was looking this morning to touch up a few things (and looking ahead to a patch job that I need to deal with in our bedroom) and the first white I tried doesn't match what's in the kitchen ceiling. I looked back in the blog and while I made sure to <a href="https://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2014/06/day-57-few-coats-of-paint.html" target="_blank">note the color on the walls</a>, I did a poor job of recording what's on the trim and ceiling.</p><p>I spent some time going through them all, finding a few that need to go to hazardous waste disposal and trying to figure out where the others have been used. It's a mix of Behr, Benjamin Moore, Sherman-Williams, and Glidden paints. I think the Glidden ones may be from before we bought the house ...</p><p>A few have varying degrees of helpful notes written on the lid, but others are a total crap shoot. I can say for sure that our bedroom is Behr Silverware (#3B45-2) in a Ultra Pure White interior eggshell base; Q's room is Benjamin Moore Blue Orchid (#2096-50) in Ultra Spec 500 interior flat base; the upstairs bathroom is Ralph Lauren Seven Seas (#SS38) in a neutral tinting base (#RL 1393); and the basement bathroom and hall are Behr Lunar Surface (#N460-3) in an interior eggshell enamel medium base. The kitchen is Benjamin Moore Wales Gray (#1585) in an eggshell finish base, and I <i>think</i> the living room is Benjamin Moore Offshore Mist (#PPU13-16) in a Premium Plus Flat White base.</p><p>For outside, we just used Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior Semi-Gloss, white, on the porch, and the retaining wall was painted with Sherwin-Williams Rock Garden (#6195) in an exterior acrylic latex Ultradeep base.</p><p>That leaves a Benjamin Moore #N539-01 Ultra Spec 500 Interior Semi Gloss that's marked as "Trim Living Room Hall & Stairs", a Benjamin Moore Premium Semi-Gloss Interior marked "Dec o/White", and a few cans of Benjamin Moore Intense White (#OC-51) that says "Hall & Stairs" ... I'm guessing that last one might be the ceilings, so I'll have to try a discrete spot to see how it looks.</p><p><b>UPDATE: </b>Yeah, OC-51 is not the ceiling...</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-52768119804614599072023-10-08T15:20:00.004-04:002024-02-19T12:18:09.193-05:00Just Needs Some Caulk<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFK5aencHblTccvKyK2hFrG-gGUaBc2g5osAUniVNyRsTByUyXtSUnNS-cdWqrw25-8QZ5BJ88qwnmtLQK8IPmupcSSJ0gQpVQkbT9LMm0olRTFRwYNxQ5Bm8oM7vVSTrGmvPeBHy6m0_l7xnB_I71hjYVKFIuDPsjeTsgws94lbPxFw-Khvp922RfvpH/s4080/IMG_20231007_160414219_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4080" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhFK5aencHblTccvKyK2hFrG-gGUaBc2g5osAUniVNyRsTByUyXtSUnNS-cdWqrw25-8QZ5BJ88qwnmtLQK8IPmupcSSJ0gQpVQkbT9LMm0olRTFRwYNxQ5Bm8oM7vVSTrGmvPeBHy6m0_l7xnB_I71hjYVKFIuDPsjeTsgws94lbPxFw-Khvp922RfvpH/w400-h301/IMG_20231007_160414219_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Things are looking good here. There's still a little bit of caulking I need to do and then touching up the paint, but most of our summer of exterior work is now done. After the roof work was complete, we were able to get the porch work finished up. (I also scrubbed the siding, removing most of the green algae that had built up over the years.)</p><p>The braces added to the columns were a nice touch that Evelin thought up. She'd seen another house in the area that had something similar, then did some digging and discovered these <a href="https://www.ekenamillwork.com/thorton-rustic-wood-brace-1" target="_blank">Ekena Millwork Thornton</a> knee braces. We went with the smooth finish western red cedar ones and they really do look good.</p><p>We also moved the house numbers from one the short porch column (where they were hard to see, but not blocked by the camelia or the flag (or the now-moved crepe myrtle) to the lightpost. It's not perfect, but it'll do until we decide to try something else.</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-60233921193745822742023-09-09T20:12:00.001-04:002024-02-19T12:18:30.386-05:00Drainage Solutions<p> It's been a dry end to the summer, but when it has rained, it's tended to be aggressive with a lot of water falling in a fairly short amount of time. That's exactly the sort of rainfall that was giving us grief. The good news <sup><small>(knock on wood)</small></sup> that the new gutters and the adjustments made in how they connect to the house seem to be working. We've had heavy rain (at one point last night, it was falling at almost 3 inches per hour), but none of overflowing of gutters and sheeting down the side of the house.</p><p>Despite that good news, I was still worried about water backing up in the walk-out basement well and potentially flowing under the basement door. There's a small drain there with a cast-iron pipe headed out into the yard. I've never really known how that works. It might lead over to the retaining wall, but it doesn't seem to be connected to any of the weep holes in the wall.</p><p>When we first moved in, I cleared a lot of dirt out of the drainage hole, which had been blocking the pipe. More recently, I picked up a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drain-King-H34-Unclogs-Outside/dp/B0002YUWQG/" target="_blank">Drain King H34</a> hose attachment that jets water down the pipe. The idea is that the bladder swells to keep water from flowing back down the pipe and it forces out whatever is clogging things. I did manage to make a little progress with that, but it also led to water just bubbling up in the yard about 12 feet from the drain.</p><p>Concerned that I was going to cause a sinkhole if I kept forcing water down the pipe and into the yard, I eventually called in a professional.</p><p>A go at snaking it came back with just a hunk of the local clay indicating that (as expected) the pipe either had broken/collapsed or it did actually just dead-end into dirt (clay). After some discussion of options it was decided to just put in a new pipe, but angled like the gutter drain to flow into the side yard. There's a good change of elevation that direction, which made it easy to ensure the pipe would be emptying out. It took a few hours of work (interrupted by a crazy thunderstorm), but it's now complete. </p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-12202376745512479122023-08-14T10:14:00.003-04:002023-08-14T10:14:47.298-04:00Re-Roofed<p> And after a quick visit this morning to put on the last two downspouts, the roof and gutters are done.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZm5vsbag0vnmihN8sy0UIiTE0yKOdFWsE8LBBl71Ry7f-uCU63qBsTEF1IIxnwj6FZK2hw1C80Va6usYzmCRiooCp3MviM-0xlZ4JdD_dYsU5SB8jnSHp01oVD-5zwMXLehQHYDeddG5KjVhBjaWt2tC-kvJ6Kd2fE9COHra2aGGWuK56ozPmkKRlQmC/s4272/IMG_5746.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZm5vsbag0vnmihN8sy0UIiTE0yKOdFWsE8LBBl71Ry7f-uCU63qBsTEF1IIxnwj6FZK2hw1C80Va6usYzmCRiooCp3MviM-0xlZ4JdD_dYsU5SB8jnSHp01oVD-5zwMXLehQHYDeddG5KjVhBjaWt2tC-kvJ6Kd2fE9COHra2aGGWuK56ozPmkKRlQmC/w400-h266/IMG_5746.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>We need a good rain (and, of course, the leaves to come down the fall and oak silks in the spring) to see how well it all works, but it looks good. The bigger gutters and the band of 2×8 around the top give a little heft to the look of the roof, which looks pretty good. (left before; right after)</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIym93hKM3SFNmt3UDSoa2DfTVA0c9uPgxHMEMfo5yg-0XdI3qdKsmnzaWc7oDk3WKoIxlu3az8ZlMy4R-vDlNI3w4z5x-G1FohoiM6uXfiIp6fFt_t0Hs9TwoHt5NXTQfMjL69PbjG0E8yBRHKKFR5JQcOEspcFI5MZnwZobuk7bHCLk_CFnnVWmZK4Xp/s4272/IMG_5729.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIym93hKM3SFNmt3UDSoa2DfTVA0c9uPgxHMEMfo5yg-0XdI3qdKsmnzaWc7oDk3WKoIxlu3az8ZlMy4R-vDlNI3w4z5x-G1FohoiM6uXfiIp6fFt_t0Hs9TwoHt5NXTQfMjL69PbjG0E8yBRHKKFR5JQcOEspcFI5MZnwZobuk7bHCLk_CFnnVWmZK4Xp/w200-h134/IMG_5729.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDlOzvs25WH3ASXYVofTv7hzB1OwbXDq1vnr9US4iuoNNtNsAJyHH9xpTejK1Oh-POPIWCKtVHn4wm-FS_8iduotfpuZVNSMSpjeMByFxBHoJ8Onhl6BFcDAIDL7PIe4dXUXMqUvXDklbqJC1BbN00ZLfWb6v_BNnELtiZlZDNOTQsG5kCmRCQ7GUW2hm/s4272/IMG_5747.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDlOzvs25WH3ASXYVofTv7hzB1OwbXDq1vnr9US4iuoNNtNsAJyHH9xpTejK1Oh-POPIWCKtVHn4wm-FS_8iduotfpuZVNSMSpjeMByFxBHoJ8Onhl6BFcDAIDL7PIe4dXUXMqUvXDklbqJC1BbN00ZLfWb6v_BNnELtiZlZDNOTQsG5kCmRCQ7GUW2hm/w200-h134/IMG_5747.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><p>There's still some caulking and touch-up paint/carpentry that needs to be done on the porch, and I need to see if pressure washing or something will clean up the old siding, but it's good to have the work done. (Next, at some point, replace the siding and replace or remove the faux shutters on the first floor, and paint/replace the door, and ...)</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-62158246865276504112023-08-10T09:35:00.003-04:002023-08-10T09:53:22.605-04:00New Roof<p>Yesterday was a hive of activity with the shingles and old gutters being ripped off and new shingles going on. Lucy was not a fan of the noise, particularly when things being thrown off the roof passed by windows she was looking out. I have to admit all the banging and hammering and feeling like we couldn't leave the house for fear of falling debris did start to weigh as the day went on.</p><p>But the bulk of the work is done ... there was more damage than expected on the porch roof, so that wasn't finished by the time the crew reached the end of their day, but the roof is done (including adding the new venting for the bathroom fan) and the course of 2×8 that were put as a ring around the top of the house for the new roof and gutters to connect to is in place.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbHudT3GzVQ9GWXBxY_6wMpoIxOIvqNVuwP4XFDqg6NFnbykE3l_I1O1BxHRcNb22s_0f5V2ubnbTqOIAW_XAanOs7pe6-COG4UYeEq25w9uHqKSlbZUQTxrTcqoC4QPxsyRmrKZDymXvNvENqAHLGnsue07cmpHHOn5EfsX_7i5LoxzglgoYAXHfgTsg/s4080/IMG_20230810_095152749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4080" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbHudT3GzVQ9GWXBxY_6wMpoIxOIvqNVuwP4XFDqg6NFnbykE3l_I1O1BxHRcNb22s_0f5V2ubnbTqOIAW_XAanOs7pe6-COG4UYeEq25w9uHqKSlbZUQTxrTcqoC4QPxsyRmrKZDymXvNvENqAHLGnsue07cmpHHOn5EfsX_7i5LoxzglgoYAXHfgTsg/w400-h301/IMG_20230810_095152749.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>The siding modifications needed to accommodate that are done, so all that's left is to add the metal cap over that course and then the gutters. Plus finish the porch roof. (And once the porch roof is done, the handyman can come back and finish up that work.)</p><p>Today some rain and thunderstorms are expected, so they won't be back to finish things up until Friday, but we should be good and weather tight until then.</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-39500405605377126622023-08-07T21:12:00.003-04:002023-08-10T09:55:16.991-04:00Up Top<p>So ... the roof. When we bought this house in 2000, we knew a new roof (and siding and gutters and windows) were going to be needed soon. The windows we put off, but during our first year we went ahead with the roof and probably made some mistakes. We went with conventional asphalt shingles, seamless gutters, and a Dutch-lap vinyl siding. All in all, it held up okay. Moss has taken root on the north side of the house and the 5-inch gutters were always too small. Plus, squirrels.</p><p>For the new roof, we're keeping most things the same, but better. We've had an issue in recent years of heavy rain overflowing the gutters and sheeting down the house. It's a hip roof, so the water flows down all four sides to the gutters. There are downspouts at each corner, but only on the north and south sides of the house; water has to turn a corner to come down to the ground (or go over the edge of the gutter). I added an additional downspout on the east side of the house, which helped some, but even when the gutters are freshly cleaned, they're too small to handle all the water from some of the storms we've been getting. Plus with all the overhanging oaks leaves, oak silks, acorns, etc., are a year-round issue.</p><p>We flirted with the idea of adding an 8-inch (or so) overhang to the house to help get the water way from the wall, but when we found out that would a few months of having formal plans drawn up and getting permits, we opted for a simpler solution that adds a new band of fascia caping around the edge of the roof and putting a new J-channel for the siding below that. This — along with 6-inch gutters, 3×4 downspouts, and a <a href="https://shurflogutter.com/" target="_blank">Shur Flo</a> gutter cap system — should help channel the water flowing off the roof down to the ground.</p><p>Shingles have improved over the past two decades, too. We opted for <a href="https://www.atlasroofing.com/products/roof-shingles/pinnacle-pristine-shingles" target="_blank">Atlas Pinnacle Pristine</a> architectural shingles in "heatherstone" (basically a grey with some variation in shades) with a <a href="https://www.atlasroofing.com/products/roof-underlayment/roof-underlayment-synthetic/summit-60-synthetic-underlayment" target="_blank">Summit 60</a> synthetic underlayment under most of the roof and <a href="https://www.atlasroofing.com/products/roof-underlayment/roof-underlayment-peel-and-stick/weathermaster-ice-and-water-200-underlayment" target="_blank">WeatherMaster Ice & Water 200</a> granular underlayment around the eaves. Supposedly the Atlas singles are designed to help reduce moss growth.</p><p>One unexpected change was the rain barrel. The RainReserve diverter we installed whenever the barrel was first installed was designed to fit a 2×3 downspout. The roofing guys planned to fit an adaptor in line to reduce the 3×4 downspout to fit the 2×3 join with the diverter, but I thought it would be better to just get a new diverter. At first, I thought we'd need to go with a different type of diverter but it turns out in 2011 the <a href="https://rainreserve.com/rain_diverter" target="_blank">RainReserve diverters</a> were reëngineered to work with 3×4 downspouts ... so a replacement was ordered.</p><p>Work is set to begin this week...</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-84394023257364568812023-07-19T10:21:00.005-04:002023-07-19T16:45:25.888-04:00Office Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x6fMMSiyJ08lu9GVHKrQOwhhXvPdP54hMJtiM44LnkCm8-Nz0Zh29NGY_62Dsn0jSv8aeRRo-MVfHZ4969bfj8IHp-rRMT7bNToy8iTvKX34WakVyuEi1YGlmXSBwvJZq2u5jC6ZQxyBKhfWrAikxF2_r8lgndtMSj4ECqtzPCzbshKoOYypm_Eglkxg/s4080/IMG_20230719_164013109_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4080" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6x6fMMSiyJ08lu9GVHKrQOwhhXvPdP54hMJtiM44LnkCm8-Nz0Zh29NGY_62Dsn0jSv8aeRRo-MVfHZ4969bfj8IHp-rRMT7bNToy8iTvKX34WakVyuEi1YGlmXSBwvJZq2u5jC6ZQxyBKhfWrAikxF2_r8lgndtMSj4ECqtzPCzbshKoOYypm_Eglkxg/w400-h301/IMG_20230719_164013109_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The front porch is 90% (or so) complete. We're pausing on some of the finishing work because some bits of the repair will be handled when the gutters and shingles are torn off for the reroofing. (Basically, we discovered more extensive damage to the wood at the squirrels' and racoons' entry point, and replacing that makes more sense to handle as part of the reroofing.)</p><p>We haven't figured out where we'll put back up the house numbers, and we are waiting for new brackets to see if the iron handrails can be more stable (if not, we'll probably have the carpenter make new wood handrails for the steps up to the porch). Evelin also is thinking about adding a façade-beam across the front to give the look of an arch across the front from the street. It would mimic some of the Craftsman houses on the block as well as the arch inside between the living and dining rooms.</p><p>But the posts and some trim have been replaced, along with a few other touchups. Everything's been painted, and since an engineered wood product and pressure treated beams were used, hopefully things will stay looking nicer and stronger for a long, long time. We also got a much nicer, <a href="https://www.birdrockhome.com/Traditional-Pet-Gate-4-Panel-24-Inch-Tall-White" target="_blank">free-standing gate</a> to keep Lucy dog contained.</p><p>As for the roofing work, the contract's been signed and we're just waiting to hear with the weather and their schedule align to get the work done. (And, yes, the siding needs to be replaced too or at least cleaned well. The later will probably happen first, but the former is in the cards too. The shutters too.)</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-78312843249189738152023-07-13T10:34:00.003-04:002024-02-19T12:26:27.838-05:00The Office Remodel<p>COVID changed a lot, including Evelin's job going all virtual. Even before the pandemic, Evelin enjoyed working on the front porch on her telecommute days. Now, she's out there more often than not in her open-air office. But not this week.</p><p>For years we've had trouble keeping squirrels out of the porch roof, but despite our best (admittedly not effective) efforts, the accumulation of squirrel damage and water damage from where they kept reopening an access point had noticeably rotted some of the wood. Other parts of the porch were also looking rough — both things like needing paint and other areas where wood needed replacing.</p>
<p><a href="https://alphacanismajoris.blogspot.com/2009/09/we-finished-porch.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Back in 2009</a>, we had work done to replace the decking and railings. As part of that, the posts were also partially replaced, but it turns out that job was more a patch than a longer-lasting repair.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_Jxw7GzeB1D176mezypJWYDaqa3DRTYbNot421RoXKFePk7_pWxLtPpblfwafNMnWVuRP2qbQjP3nSrE6YOJ0-9Nz931aJAegm9i75F3GamyjJTZmNgNcKEWVtthxEUb4OJvIR2EwMPzr4vnpp7DA3A0M-9HqD8OYZoKo0x_tZVm_Y-HibGmcy87LWKq/s4080/IMG_20230710_161458120_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4080" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_Jxw7GzeB1D176mezypJWYDaqa3DRTYbNot421RoXKFePk7_pWxLtPpblfwafNMnWVuRP2qbQjP3nSrE6YOJ0-9Nz931aJAegm9i75F3GamyjJTZmNgNcKEWVtthxEUb4OJvIR2EwMPzr4vnpp7DA3A0M-9HqD8OYZoKo0x_tZVm_Y-HibGmcy87LWKq/w400-h301/IMG_20230710_161458120_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<p>So here's the situation as of Monday. The corner posts were completely removed; well, sort of. There weren't actual posts there, just boxes built from untreated wood. It's no surprise we had continuing problems with rot. Luke (the carpenter) braced everything and demo'd the posts and is replacing them with 8×8 posts that will be clad with weather-resistant material. The one on the right had the added complication of acting as the channel for the porch light's wiring, but he figured it out.</p>
<p>The old railings will be put back in place (those were <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lifechange/3964554802/in/datetaken-public/" target="_blank">built new in 2009</a> and mimic some other porch railings in the neighborhood and still look decent and work well. We don't know yet about the iron handrails flanking the stairs. If there's a way to make them more stable/sturdy, we'll probably keep them, but we may end up having new, wooden ones built for it. Oh, and there's still the issue of the rotten wood at the upper left (partially visible in the image). That's being cut out and replaced.</p>
<p>So what about the squirrels? Luke isn't doing anything about their access point because we're getting the roof replaced. Just waiting on word as to whether or not a permit will be required before we sign the contract.</p><p>I'll put more details once things are set, but the plan is to fully reshingle and do something to extend the eaves a bit so that the house has a little overhang. With some of the more torrential rain we've had over the past few years (<code><sarcasm></code>thanks, climate change!<code></sarcasm></code>), we've had issues with the gutters being overwhelmed, rain sheeting down the house and getting into the basement. Tweaking the roofline (along with higher-capacity gutters and gutter guards) should address the issue. We'll also add in a better way of venting thorough the roof the bathroom exhaust fan among a few other improvements.</p><p>More to come.</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-26820510085226435072023-07-09T17:34:00.054-04:002024-02-19T12:27:48.788-05:00Sidewalk Games<p>Back in 2021, when my parents visited after COVID restrictions loosened, my father and Evelin had a conversation about the deck. He's a firm believer in power washing, and we'd been letting the deck weather naturally. I wasn't there for it, but shortly after the 'rents returned to Louisiana, an Amazon driver dropped off a <a href="https://www.kaercher.com/us/outlet/products/k1700-11061090.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kärcher K1700</a> power washer (along with the <a href="https://www.kaercher.com/us/accessories/11-surface-cleaner-87558480.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">11-inch surface cleaner</a> attachment).</p><p>So the deck was cleaned, along with the front porch and stairs and more.</p><p>Celeste and Evelin quickly had the idea of using the pressure washer to add some fun to the sidewalk in the form of a hopscotch grid.<sup>*</sup> It was great seeing kids of all ages stop on their way to/from school to hop through the course, but dirt and grime build up and the 2021 hopscotch grid was pretty faded.</p><p>So today, they were back at it. Replacing the hopscotch grid and adding more elements of whimsy: sasquatch footprints, a sea monster, various stars and squiggles.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaPziR42HeAweYeKSs4BfTubM0xeWwDRcoUiaaCaAX8PWbSjgsdA-u6xFPoWJ_AN7LKgX93s2C9hL1cmIDpcyQUpk2IHba6H2jxxUP5Uk2A36zsmI2xrnL0zlvYJ6-56qvH6ETTHdWG7HbOP6BItQkhj14i1vBKNj5CARrG_TUxFSnaybF1Vf1Au64ii_/s4080/IMG_20230712_164845748.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaPziR42HeAweYeKSs4BfTubM0xeWwDRcoUiaaCaAX8PWbSjgsdA-u6xFPoWJ_AN7LKgX93s2C9hL1cmIDpcyQUpk2IHba6H2jxxUP5Uk2A36zsmI2xrnL0zlvYJ6-56qvH6ETTHdWG7HbOP6BItQkhj14i1vBKNj5CARrG_TUxFSnaybF1Vf1Au64ii_/s320/IMG_20230712_164845748.jpg" width="241" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1uYRLGMpZEHsLW83e0c-RMdmns8Sgb4jll-11bonB5BxNP0Olwzd96eul9kReRZyA9x3EkqkdgGyTqddLlwCbP0NU7fEkPe9ZjC5UQjLWqvhvH_v1fXwlvVjY0d7ZIpHbRYzZw6d6yMFKx3LLRmwfBBWmgqjyq6GNjUpq9a1_Eyi2ULtuazZyk2STNtV/s4080/IMG_20230712_080547902.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1uYRLGMpZEHsLW83e0c-RMdmns8Sgb4jll-11bonB5BxNP0Olwzd96eul9kReRZyA9x3EkqkdgGyTqddLlwCbP0NU7fEkPe9ZjC5UQjLWqvhvH_v1fXwlvVjY0d7ZIpHbRYzZw6d6yMFKx3LLRmwfBBWmgqjyq6GNjUpq9a1_Eyi2ULtuazZyk2STNtV/s320/IMG_20230712_080547902.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><p><sup>*</sup> I'm not sure if that's the best word. Is it a grid? a course? a field? a board?</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-49613398188470786922023-06-13T14:06:00.005-04:002023-07-13T14:02:10.618-04:00The Passage of Time<p>All in all, a decade shouldn't be too long in the lifetime of an appliance. At least, it seems like it shouldn't be. Back in 2014 when we ordered <a href="http://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2014/05/day-14-rundown-of-appliances.html" target="_blank">all the new appliances for the kitchen</a>, I wouldn't have imagined that less than a decade later we'd be on our <a href="http://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2021/03/warranties.html" target="_blank">second microwave</a>, the ice-maker would go kaput on the fridge, and the dishwasher would have to have its door springs replaced.</p>
<p>(Looks like I never blogged about the fridge: Basically the wiring harness goes through a pinch point by the hinge at the bottom of the freezer door. The repair guy said there was no official repair, but he did find a number of people with the same problem in his research. He tried splicing things together and it did work ... for about a week. We use silicone ice cube trays now. The dishwasher fix was pretty easy and handled as a recall; not a big deal at all, but still a pain in the butt. I also had to replace the rinse-aid door cover because the seal on it degraded.)</p>
<p>Now it's the oven's turn. A while back we noticed the top oven's thermostat was getting a bit inconsistent. Under 350°F it wouldn't only warm up to about 275°F. Above 350°F and it would be better, but not really accurate until around 430°F. A pain, but we worked around it mostly by using the bottom oven. This weekend, we ran a self-cleaning cycle on the bottom oven and then when C wanted to bake a cake last night discovered that it no longer was preheating.</p><p>We tried a few different modes and I checked to make sure it wasn't in Sabbath mode. I tried cutting power to reset things (that works for computers, right?). Nothing was working. So I called back in the repair guy. We'll see what he things on Thursday.</p>
<h3>Update</h3>
So, a fairly simple fix. The regulator that determined when to open up the gas line for each oven had gone bad. Once he secured the parts, Shem had things working well pretty quickly (and we now have to unlearn the little adjustments we'd been making to compensate). He also noted that the spark module, which ignites the burners on the cooktop, seemed to be not working consistently for all five burners. Again, we have a workaround (good-ole <a href="https://www.diamonddoesitbetter.com/product-category/matches/" target="_blank">red-top matches</a>), but it looks like a fairly straightforward repair so I'll probably swap that out at some point.T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-89991984039034119622023-02-23T10:41:00.002-05:002023-07-19T16:46:24.057-04:00Smart Home<p>An interesting article in <i>The New York Times</i> this morning talks about problems some home buyers have had with Internet of Things devices installed by previous owners ("<a href="https://nyti.ms/3Zd1Uzk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unwanted Connection: Who Has Control of Your Smart Home?</a>"). While there is <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/live/smart-homes-need-smarter-real-estate-pros" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">some guidance out there</a>, it isn't typically part of the closing process to make sure control of such devices is transferred to a new owner at closing.</p><p>Overall, I like using wi-fi to control things in the house. They're easier to set up and manage than traditional timers for lights and you can check-in on things while away. Most of what we have is not hardwired in and will likely leave with us, but there are a few things that will stay. Those are noted here in the interest of not forgetting something ...</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Nest thermostat</li><li>Nest Protect smoke detectors (not hardwired, but still) on each floor</li><li>Kasa wi-fi light switch in the basement (for the light above the back door)</li></ul><div>The portable devices include multiple wi-fi enabled plugs (not hardwired), the string lights under the deck, the leak detectors in the basement and kitchen, color-changing LEDs in Q's room, and several Alexa-enabled devices (Dot, Echo, Glow, ...). And then there's the SmartDry device that made our "dumb" dryer smart ... at least until the <a href="https://www.connectedlifelabs.com/meetsmartdry" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">company decided to end support</a>, effectively bricking it.</div><p></p><p><br /></p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-80963081447063931962023-02-07T16:38:00.003-05:002023-06-13T14:09:31.468-04:00Warming Things Up<p>At the end of January, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/01/31/northeast-arctic-blast-polar-vortex/" target="_blank">an Arctic blast</a> brought super-cold temps to New England, but even down here in Maryland we saw a rapid drop in temperatures down to the low teens. Thankfully, it came after we got the furnace repaired.</p><p>The week before the Arctic blast started off pretty warm, which is why it took until late Tuesday for me to notice that the house was chillier than it should have been. The Nest thermostat is programmed to stay around 64°F during the day unless we raise it (which happens more often now every day is a work-from-home day). I was feeling a little chill, so I bumped up the heat a few degrees and noticed that the display was saying it was currently 60°F inside. What was really odd is that Nest reported the furnace had been running for about 12 hours the day before, instead of the usual three or four hours.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujiyALy10FnosleocNAeJpw0zJt4L-pn5Yn6IbNomvECgIR77pbzmQzPwzRuoOsH3WVAqVqkp37hzbD2pMy2VktoBhoWqXgjoW1yUcSzPIcMNxi-eN7FmIB5VfI0w1nBBY4swjctOuHkYhYadPcRAey_1KmmQdF4eTZI7r7P5bNM7TZ92a03BYX21LQ/s1083/Themostat.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="1083" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujiyALy10FnosleocNAeJpw0zJt4L-pn5Yn6IbNomvECgIR77pbzmQzPwzRuoOsH3WVAqVqkp37hzbD2pMy2VktoBhoWqXgjoW1yUcSzPIcMNxi-eN7FmIB5VfI0w1nBBY4swjctOuHkYhYadPcRAey_1KmmQdF4eTZI7r7P5bNM7TZ92a03BYX21LQ/w400-h264/Themostat.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>I went to check the furnace and it was cycling, but not properly firing, so ... time to call the HVAC guy (the same guy who did a <a href="https://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2017/08/house-update.html" target="_blank">great job with our AC in 2017</a>).</p><p>He was able to stop by late that afternoon to check things out; unfortunately, the diagnosis wasn't good. The gas valve was shot and needed replacing ... something he wouldn't be able to do until talking to the manufacturer in the morning.</p><p>Overnight, we added some extra blankets (including for the guinea pig) and by morning the temperature in the house had fallen to about 50°F. We pulled out a space heater to try and warm things up a little bit, and it did help some. We were able to raise things to about 54°F...</p><p>After initially hearing from the HVAC guy that the parts store's computer systems were down and he wasn't sure when he'd be able to find out the proper replacement part (and whether or not we were still under warranty), around midmorning I got the call that he had the replacement valve and could head over. Before lunch, he had the furnace back up and running and gradually the house reached its normal level of winter chill.</p><p>Despite the furnace working as it should, the basement (and particularly the basement bathroom) remain as cold as ever, so I went ahead and ordered an <a href="https://www.eheat.com/envi-220v-hardwired-electric-panel-wall-heater-3rd-generation/" target="_blank">Eheat Envi 220v LE5022D</a>. We went with the 220V hard-wired version both because of the increased efficiency of the 220V power and the cleaner look of not having a plug. It should arrive early next week and hopefully the electrician can run the new wiring shortly after that.</p><p><b>UPDATE:</b> The Eheat Envi unit was installed on February 10 and is working well. It's designed mostly to "take the chill off," not be a primary heat source, and it seems to do that well. It works best when the bathroom door is closed and it's given time to run a little before it's needed, but even if you just turn it on as you step into the shower, it helps warm things up by the time you're toweling off.</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-43393083910879477292022-12-28T15:26:00.006-05:002023-07-19T17:13:31.060-04:00Trees<p>When we bought this house in 2000, one think we liked about it was how shady the lot was. There were three big oak trees (one with a twinned trunk) in our yard and another two in the neighbor's yard near our house, mostly white oaks (<i>Quercus alba</i>), but also one Spanish oak (<i>Quercus falcata</i>). Also in the neighbor's lot (which we ended up buying in 2012; it had originally been connected to our house until around 1983 when the house was sold but the buyer didn't want the side lot) was a large American cherry (<i>Prunus serotina</i>), a white pine (<i>Pinus strobus</i>), American holly (<i>Ilex opaca</i>), and two nice-sized hemlocks (<i>Tsuga canadensis</i>). We had a few smaller hemlocks closer to the house and (in both our main lot and the side lot) a few Japanese maples (<i>Acer palmatum</i>), dogwoods (<i>Cornus florida</i>), a redbud (<i>Cercis canadensis</i>), a non-fruiting mullberry (<i>Morus ?</i>) or two, and a fig tree (<i>Ficus carica</i> cv. Marseilles) that we were told was <a href="https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/marseilles-fig/" target="_blank">Thomas Jefferson's favorite variety</a>.</p><p>Over the years we've added a few apples (<i>Malus domestica</i> cv. GoldRush, Fuji, and Honeycrisp), pawpaw (<i>Asimina triloba</i>), swamp magnolia (<i>Magnolia virginiana</i>), and crepe myrtle (<i>Lagerstroemia indica</i>), among other trees, including a few volunteers that we're letting stick around.</p><p>Not all of these trees have lasted for us though. A small hemlock in front of the house was root-bound and fell over after a long wet period. The GoldRush produced one apple before we lost it in a drought year. Evelin didn't like the white pine so it was cut down after we bought the side lot. The fig suffered a similar fate. A few of the long-lived volunteers (a small American cherry and a mulberry or two) were also taken out at various times. The redbud was dropping limbs and splitting so we had it taken down, but didn't remove the stump — and it has regrown itself as an oddly tall bush that looks pretty funny in the winter.</p><p>One of the white oaks (not one next to house fortunately) succumbed to a disease or something that has <a href="https://extension.umd.edu/resource/browning-and-defoliation-white-oaks" target="_blank">been hitting trees in the area</a> and the big American cherry was also deemed to be dead or dying, so both were <a href="https://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-wall.html" target="_blank">taken out at the same time</a>.</p><p>Our Harry Lauder's Walking Stick (<em>Corylus avellana</em> cv. Contorta), a type of hazelnut tree, also succumbed to an infection that's killed a few others of its kind in the neighborhood. It's a shame because it was really interesting looking — there's a reason it's also known as a contorted filbert or corkscrew hazel — and because it was <a href="https://lifechange.blogspot.com/2011/05/nightmares.html" target="_blank">one of their favorite trees</a> when C was little.</p><p>This morning, Evelin went to let Lucy out on the deck when she noticed that one of the hemlocks in the side yard had fallen over.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RMuARevnJPksKQRUJcucB7NvSZZvFiJ_caLty-jgnDXuDWFll32Sp8nbqchTzXk0IORWRAWwTSMh6Wpy01MhEfKzEF0JJwOJupYww98h4qpZQebi2X-KVnZkWz9tOumX3AwhOMyuR7j7Yt_XhR9LWGMA3_v_jwqjlT03Y6OitrwUx9ubW-olXrNsJA/s2048/322389219_1378880802649114_4555748303085577790_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photo by Evelin" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RMuARevnJPksKQRUJcucB7NvSZZvFiJ_caLty-jgnDXuDWFll32Sp8nbqchTzXk0IORWRAWwTSMh6Wpy01MhEfKzEF0JJwOJupYww98h4qpZQebi2X-KVnZkWz9tOumX3AwhOMyuR7j7Yt_XhR9LWGMA3_v_jwqjlT03Y6OitrwUx9ubW-olXrNsJA/w400-h300/322389219_1378880802649114_4555748303085577790_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><p>We'd noticed that it was looking poorly this summer. There were some bare branches and areas where the needles looked dry or had fallen off, and Celeste and I had noticed what looked like boring holes and weeping sap at one point. If it had been an ash tree, I would have guessed we had a problem with emerald ash borers (<i>Agrilus planipennis</i>). I had seen scale on the tree before, but not hemlock woolly adelgid (<i>Adelges tsugae</i>), which is <a href="https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/hemlock_woolly_adelgid.aspx" target="_blank">a growing problem in the area</a>. It's possible we had a stressed tree and a hemlock borer (<i>Melanophila fulvoguttata</i>) issue ... but we likely won't know for sure and can only hope the issue was confined to the one tree.</p><p>It was a good tree. Quin used to spend a lot of time in her <a href="https://www.hearthsong.com/products/hugglepod-original-canvas-hanging-chair" target="_blank">hugglepod</a>, which hung from it, and at one point early on we had a bird feeder in it. I remember one night waking up and looking out our bedroom window to see a big possum staring in at us from that tree. It was also the quickest route for squirrels to reach the roof and infiltrate the attic.</p><p>Luckily when it fell it didn't only landed on some bushes and didn't hit anything major, but now we need to clean things up. I'd been trying to grow a bunch of ferns at the bottom of the hemlocks, so we'll see how they adapt to the new environment. I doubt we'll try to plant a new tree in the same spot, but who knows what time will bring.</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-66902426196255767492021-10-02T21:40:00.000-04:002021-10-02T21:40:10.266-04:00Even More Lighting<p>Out in front of the house is a small lamp post. It was wired together with the porch light, so a single switch turned on/off both lights. The problem was that there was no good way to have the lights controlled with a dusk/dawn sensor; the porch light would have to always be on or we had to turn them on/off manually. At one point, I replaced the light switch with a timer switch — and it worked for a while, but it was always a pain to adjust with the seasons or if we were travelling.</p>
<p>At some other point, an electircal problem cropped up and the lamp post stopped working. I did some digging around, but not much actual digging. My guess is the fault was somewhere underground between the house and post and it wasn't worth trying to suss out. We onsidered trying to just remove the post, but then I found a solar-powered LED replacement that fit the post (<a href="https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-Solar-Outdoor-Hand-Painted-Sanded-Iron-Post-Lantern-with-Seedy-Glass-Shade-46240-300PS/203077159#product-overview" target="_blank">this Hampton Bay light</a> looks similar to what we got). It worked well for a while (I don't recall exactly when, but it was prior to when the <a href="https://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2014/05/day-38-lighting-roundup.html">other exterior lights</a> were installed/replaced in 2014. Over time, though, charging grew slower and the light turned off earlier even after sunny days (it is in partial shade, so charging would sometimes be an issue).</p>
<p>The solar panels were on the flat top of the lamp and after years of exposure to the weather, they were pretty dirty. One day when Celeste was pressure washing the front steps, I had the bright idea to try and clean the solar panels with the pressure washer. That didn't fix the problem, but it did accelerate the need for a replacement. The thing pretty much stopped working.</p>
<p>This afternoon, the replacement arrived — a <a href="https://lutec-lighting.com/products/london-led-solar-light-with-2watts-300lumen-for-outdoor-yard" target="_blank">Lutec London/LED</a>. Installtion was pretty easy (despite the large number of spiders and ants that had made a home in the old lamp) and it surprisingly turned on at dusk despite only have a few hours of late=afternoon sun. The solar panels on this one are arrayed around the top at an angle, so hopefully they will be more effective than the older one. If nothing else, they are a lot cleaner, which is sure to help too.</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-90995269118812029562021-09-26T19:11:00.004-04:002023-08-10T09:58:57.196-04:00Repositioning the Swing<p>For her birthday Evelin got some <a href="https://www.wayfair.com/outdoor/pdp/union-rustic-claytor-patio-chair-with-cushions-w004603348.html?st=1" target="_blank">new chairs</a> for the deck. The Adirondack chairs we've had for years or definitely showing their age, and generally feeling unstable. Unfortunately after the chairs arrived, we quickly found out that their cushions were not weather-resistant. The tags actually say to keep them out of the sun, rain, and other weather ... despite being outdoor furniture. 😠</p>
<p><img align="left" border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4096" height="240" hspace="15" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HPyjhrmu_Mc/YVD8kqQn1zI/AAAAAAAAlyw/R4-GBiSpZ1YtZiQwhvrFDkvvUkDiAc5FQCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_20210926_164352136.jpg" vspace="5" width="320" />I tried some weatherproofing spray on them, which helped, but we still thought it best to move the new chairs to a more sheltered location — the front porch. However, this meant relocating the swing that's been here since before we bought the house. It's acutally a pretty comfortable swing, despite having needed a few repairs and bracing over the years. At first we figured we'd just stash it somewhere, but looking at the deck the from the ground I realized (once a shrub was moved) it might work under the deck ... and it does. It's not a bad location at all. I found a decent <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Hanging-Rotating-Hammocks-Sandbags/dp/B08C7T781J?ref_=ast_sto_dp" target="_blank">suspension kit</a> that worked for the location (the springs work pretty well) and it hangs at a nice height. It's surprisingly pleasant.</p>
<p>Kind of visible behind it is the small <a href="https://www.iktaum.com/lockable-uv-weather-resistant-double-door-resin-outdoor-storage-shed-with-floor-easy-lift-hinges-store-it-out-woodland-4-ft-x-2-ft-plastic-lean-to-garbage-shed-brown-by-michael-trunnell" target="_blank">Trunnell resin lean-to shed</a> that I set up last November for the lawnmower. It's only about 4 feet × 2 feet and doesn't fit much of anything besides the mower, but it works. I'd originaly been looking at ways to close some or all of the underdeck area as a shed. That would have given us more storage space (freeing up room in the basement), but it would have made the swing solution unworkable, so I think the little shed/box was (again) the right solution for us.</p>
T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-32624254340144405082021-03-31T14:18:00.002-04:002023-08-10T09:59:53.439-04:00WarrantiesIt's been nearly seven years since the kitchen was remodled. Actually, it's six years, seven months, two weeks, and a day since since the appliances were delivered, which is important because the warranty on the magnetron on the Sharp microwave we installed was seven years. About two weeks ago, the microwave started making a big noise when running and it stopped heating things. After some back and forth with Sharp and a visit from their recommended service technician, a fully covered replacement unit was delivered today. It's the same unit, although the model number (<a href="https://shop.sharpusa.com/1-5-cu-ft-1100w-stainless-steel-sharp-over-the-counter-carousel-microwave-oven-r1214ty/" target="_blank">R-1214-TY</a>) is slightly different. It's a wall-mounted, under-cabinet model and thankfully the same mounting plate and rig worked so it was just a matter of unplugging, taking out a few screws and then swapping out the unit before putting the screws back in. The kids are glad to be able to quickly make oatmeal for breakfast again ... and (<a href="https://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2014/05/day-39-theyre-here.html">just as they did seven years ago</a>) they're happy to have a big box to play in.T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-76874329316624204812020-12-31T13:33:00.002-05:002021-10-02T21:48:13.563-04:00A Christmas Present<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gA7m_1XwQdM/X-4XF5DSE2I/AAAAAAAAiuE/Snp4oeDe6EYteRnatlh6IuEpIlPtbhQYwCPcBGAsYHg/s4096/IMG_20201231_130557406.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" hspace="15" vspace="5" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3072" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gA7m_1XwQdM/X-4XF5DSE2I/AAAAAAAAiuE/Snp4oeDe6EYteRnatlh6IuEpIlPtbhQYwCPcBGAsYHg/s400/IMG_20201231_130557406.jpg" /></a></div>For Christmas this year, Celeste brightened the upstairs bathroom with a bit of art. A while ago, Evelin mentioned the idea of painting the inside of the bathroom door with a pattern similar to the one she had painted on her phone case; during Christmas break (and with some parent-supplied materials) she took up the challenge.<div><br /></div><div>We <a href="https://alphacanismajoris.blogspot.com/2011/02/bathroom-update.html" target="_blank">refreshed the bathroom</a> a few years ago (and I just replaced <a href="https://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2020/09/not-plumber.html" target="_blank">the sink hardware</a>), but it's still defined by the original 1940 mint tiles. Despite this, using dark blue paint (<a href="https://www.myperfectcolor.com/paint/63294-ralph-lauren-ss38-seven-seas" target="_blank">Ralph Lauren Seven Seas</a>) and <a href="https://www.finnstyle.com/marimekko-unikko-blue-shower-curtain.html" target="_blank">Marimekko Blue Pieni Unikko</a> shower curtain gives the space a nicer look.
Celeste drew upon the Pieni Unikko pattern for her painting, working in a few similar flowers and added in a few shades of purple. Since she used acrylic paints, we figured things needed to be sealed, so two coats of varnish were added giving it a nice gloss.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next up, I just ordered a cabinet bar pull (<a href="https://www.hardwareresources.com/naples-polished-chrome-624pc.html" target="_blank">Hardware Resources Naples 624PC</a>) that will replace the old towel bar that broke a while ago. The bar pull won't project out as far as a typical towel bar (about 1½ inches instead of 2¾ to 3 inches), letting us open the door fully. Mounting it will be a little difficult — I figure I'll have to sink the screws on the outside of the door, putty over them, and then repaint that side of things — but it should work well.
</div>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-55363809782253219122020-12-29T22:04:00.002-05:002023-07-19T17:10:39.386-04:00Today's Weather Forecast ...Not really a change to the house, but I got an <a href="https://ambientweather.com/amws2902.html" target="_blank">Ambient Weather WS-2902C</a> personal weather station for Christmas. One 10-foot pole later and it's up and running in the backyard keeping track of wind and rain and (this time of year) cold. The house, retaining wall, and tree will have an impact on wind speed and direction measurements, but the temperatures, UV, and rain readings should be pretty accurate ... and most importantly, the signal is received strongly in the house. I might try adding an extension pole to get the sensor array up two or three more feet (it's currently about 7.4 feet above ground), but all in all <a href="https://ambientweather.net/dashboard/4c406256e3514c4d08d3ecc86494ef39" target="_blank">the data looks good</a>.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ctaCKQjRqLI/X-vrjx1VVqI/AAAAAAAAisg/DbvbJRn21o4w5wOKmZ8GAG_yDq7GfoKWACLcBGAsYHQ/s1080/weatherstation.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="1080" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ctaCKQjRqLI/X-vrjx1VVqI/AAAAAAAAisg/DbvbJRn21o4w5wOKmZ8GAG_yDq7GfoKWACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/weatherstation.jpg" width="575" /></a></div>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-58318681642802446952020-09-24T21:02:00.005-04:002023-07-19T17:05:02.205-04:00Not a Plumber<p>Back in 2011, when we had <a href="https://alphacanismajoris.blogspot.com/2011/02/bathroom-update.html" target="_blank">the upstairs bathroom spruced up</a> we put in a new sink. I wasn't tracking very well the models/fixtures we were installing back then, so I'm not sure exactly what the sink/vanity combo we selected was, but it was an American Standard and had a wide-spread faucet and Evelin was really happy with it. As part of the job, we had new pipes put in but since we only redid the floor tiles and not the walls, the new supply lines came up from the ground and not out of the wall.</p>
<p>When the vanity was installed, the contractor pushed it flush to the corner, which is how the old, much bigger box vanity was placed, but it left it off-center from the mirror. Evelin did not approve.</p>
<p>Once the placement was corrected we were left with two holes in the bottom of the vanity that didn't line up with the supply lines. Not the end of the world; flexible 30-inch braided steel supply lines were used to make the connection and it all worked well for nearly a decade.</p>
<p>However, a little while back the faucet started dripping. Shouldn't be a big deal right? Except things were all corroded inside and I (see the title of this post) am not a plumber so when I couldn't figure out a way to pull and replace the cartridge we moved on to plan B — replace the whole fixture. The original one had some issues with the spout getting wobbly and not being able to keep it tight in addition to the leak, so no big deal, right?</p>
<p>We agreed on the look of the <a href="https://www.moen.com/products/Essie/Essie_Chrome_twohandle_bathroom_faucet/84716" target="_blank">Moen Essie (84716)</a> so a few days later I picked one up and got to work. See again the title of this post.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-quaVP4Aeht0/X20-O48db3I/AAAAAAAAg_A/G4n0PpxZ-FcSGKyFBgYHcnilVwMRtpqwwCPcBGAsYHg/s4096/IMG_20200924_160634739.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" hspace="15" vspace="5" height="320" data-original-height="4096" data-original-width="3072" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-quaVP4Aeht0/X20-O48db3I/AAAAAAAAg_A/G4n0PpxZ-FcSGKyFBgYHcnilVwMRtpqwwCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_20200924_160634739.jpg"/></a></div>
<p>So it turns out the cartridge (assuming it has one) in the old faucet was not the only thing that was a bit corroded. After wrestling with tight spaces and tools that didn't quite fit, I got all the old hardware off except the faucet stems. They wouldn't go down the hole without removing the chrome ring and they couldn't come up without removing part of the brass fitting. I couldn't figure a way to get either to happen with what I had on hand, so after some text messages to friends and neighbors with more and better tools than me — specifically a <a href="https://www.dremel.com/en_US/products/-/show-product/tools/sm20-01-saw-max-tool-kit" target="_blank">Dremel Saw-Max</a> — I was quickly creating a lot of brass dust, making a mess, and cutting the fitting in half.</p>
<p>After cleaning things up, installing the new fixture went fairly smoothly (despite the still cramped space and not all the right tools. It was going relatively well (thanks to some help from Celeste in making sure the stuff up top was lining up while I was positioning things from below) right up until it was time to reconnect the supply hoses. The 30-inch ones that were used to handle the issue with holes being drilled in the wrong place. The ones that Evelin still is bothered by.</p>
<p>The Moen faucet stems are just a wee bit higher up than the old American Standard ones. And 30-inch supply lines are the longest ones Home Depot seems to carry.</p>
<p>So everything is hooked up. The drain is draining without any leaks ... but we're waiting on the 32-inch supply lines I ordered online tonight to arrive before we find out if there are problems anywhere else in the new setup. And the kids have to brush their teeth in the tub until then, too.</p>
<p><strong>Update: Sepetember 26, 2020</strong> — <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JH9L31J/" target="_blank">New hoses</a> arrived as expected and the extra two inches made all the difference. No evidence of leaks and teeth brushing can happen at the sink now.</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-78751605784564543552019-11-04T06:51:00.001-05:002023-02-23T10:46:32.435-05:00A Little More Light<p>Last month, we had an electrician come and expand the exterior lighting slightly. Back in September, my office moved locations and now I'm able to regularly bike to work. Since we don't have a shed or anything, the bikes are kept in the basement and I use the walkout to exit the house each day. Fifteen years ago, when Celeste was a baby, I used to leave the house through the same basement door in the middle of the night,<a href="#ft1"><sup>*</sup></a> and while it was always dark, it wasn't that big of deal.</p>
<p>My goal is to be a bike commuter for as much of the year as possible. Figuring that as winter nights grew longer it might be helpful to have some light by the basement door when I was wrangling a bike and backpack and everything else, it seemed logical to add a light by the basement door. Evelin suggested that since we were having electrical work done anyway, we also add another exterior outlet in the same area.<a href="#ft2"><sup>†</sup></a></p>
<p>Per my preference for dark-sky friendly fixtures, we got a John Timberland <a href="https://www.lampsplus.com/products/danbury-5-inch-high-galvanized-steel-led-outdoor-wall-light__7k633.html" target="_blank" title="Danbury 5'' High Galvanized Steel LED Outdoor Wall Light - Style #7K633">Danbury Modern</a> LED barn light. Instead of a normal lightswitch, we went with a <a href="https://www.kasasmart.com/us/products/smart-switches/kasa-smart-wi-fi-light-switch-hs200" target="_blank" title="Kasa HS200">Kasa HS200 Smart Switch</a>, which makes it easy to program the light to turn on/off automatically when I'm leaving/coming home and, if it is off for some reason, I can turn it on with my phone. We have a few other wifi-enabled plugs (mostly Kasa and one WiOn) and they're much better than traditional mechanical timers and are also great for things like Christmas lights.</p>
<p>Up next? Still slow-going thoughts on expanding the house up or out, that old carpet in the basement, and who knows what else.</p>
<p id="ft1"><sup>*</sup>When Evelin went back to work part-time after C was born, she went in to her office two afternoons a week. On those days, I shifted my work day to align with (then) IMAS's Italian office and left the house at 3-somethingalltooearly in the morning. Evelin was concerned that the front door was too noisy, so I started using the basement door.</p>
<p id="ft2"><sup>†</sup>When we bought the house, it had one exterior outlet on the side of the patio that was primarily for the pond's pump. After the <a href="https://lifechange.blogspot.com/2005/05/almost-back-to-normal.html" target="_blank" title="Lifechanges ... Delayed: Almost Back to Normal ...">patio and pond were removed</a>, I stupidly cut that wire off at the exterior wall and sealed off the wires inside; years later I realized it would work to have an (interior) outlet there instead of a sealed junction box. We added an exterior plug to the front of the house at some point and one on the deck as part of the huge kitchen project, but now there's one more set of outlets on the back of the house.</p>T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-58136716610487570842019-05-21T08:57:00.001-04:002023-07-19T17:12:03.539-04:00The Wall<p>Evelin has long wanted to do something about the retaining wall in the backyard. It's painted cinder blocks and while I did pressure wash it <a href="https://suvivorremodel.blogspot.com/2014/06/day-49-ancillary-projects.html" target="_blank">once a few years ago</a>, getting off a good bit of dirt, grime, and some of the old while paint, I'd agree that it didn't really look great. In my mind, it looked organic and rustic; for Evelin, it just looked shabby. (Picture below cira 2014)</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePpKBjfiTRw/XOaale2t2PI/AAAAAAAAXsI/JFxH1edpGs0iABEKcFIevZ746P0jva6rgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMAG0066.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePpKBjfiTRw/XOaale2t2PI/AAAAAAAAXsI/JFxH1edpGs0iABEKcFIevZ746P0jva6rgCLcBGAs/s400/IMAG0066.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
<p>This spring, Evelin pulled the trigger and called the painters. She did agree to go with a dark green color, instead of the black she'd initially been pushing for, but Celeste remained worried that it would be too dark and ugly. For Evelin, the goal was to have the wall basically "disappear" if you were looking at it from down the hill or through the neighbors' yard from the street behind us. It's still too dark for Celeste, but I think it looks good and gets the job done. (Picture below circa yesterday)</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-umiIDvE-BCo/XOafC77KzrI/AAAAAAAAXsU/vpJh0M-wIQA9JUAerBH1YRery-MES1obACLcBGAs/s1600/20190522_062959.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-umiIDvE-BCo/XOafC77KzrI/AAAAAAAAXsU/vpJh0M-wIQA9JUAerBH1YRery-MES1obACLcBGAs/s400/20190522_062959.jpg" width="600" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" /></a></div></p>
<p>One other undocumented here change: Last August, we took out two dead/dying trees in the side yard: A black cherry (<em>Prunus serotina</em>) and a white oak (<em>Quercus alba</em>). Both were big enough to require city approval for removal, but both were clearly dead enough to necessitate it. We still need to plant two trees to replace them, we've talked about doing pawpaws (<em>Asimina triloba</em>), although a sugar maple (<em>Acer saccharum</em>) would be cool (albeit not at all right for the climate), but we haven't yet. The city did plant two new trees in the right-of-way — a pin oak (<em>Quercus palustris</em>) and something else (<em>Not quite sure</em>) — so we haven't felt pressure to replace them just yet.</p>
<p>Inside the house, no major improvements or changes of late, other than replacing the downstairs smoke alarm with a <a href="https://store.nest.com/product/smoke-co-alarm/S3000BWES" target="_blank">Nest Protect</a>. The old one alerted us at 2 a.m. last Saturday night that it was dying. At some point, I guess I'll replace the basement one with a Nest and then everything will be networked.</p>
<p>Still undecided is if we should ever get around to popping the top and adding a third floor master suite.... Quinlan would love the opportunity for a larger room (her current room would become a critical part of the stairwell), and the roof is going to need to be reshingled in the next year or three, so we probably need to think seriously about it, if we're going to do it.</p>
T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-62228965520751584572017-08-14T10:28:00.007-04:002023-07-19T17:01:39.718-04:00House UpdateIt's been a while (3+ years), but I wanted to document a few additional house changes. After the kitchen project ended, some friends and I redid the basement bathroom, after that a leak led to needing to do some work in the hallway/under-stairs area in the basement, we had the upstairs bathroom reglazed, and (prompting this update) we replaced the AC (again). Still in the future? The old carpet in the basement should go at some point, the retaining wall out back needs painting (as does the front porch), the shutters should be replaced, and we may eventually follow through on the idea of expanding the house.<br />
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<h2>
Basement Bathroom</h2>
A few months after the kitchen was finished, we discovered a long hidden leak, which led to a very compromised vanity and drywall. What began as ripping out some bad spots lead to a full demo. It took a long time with lots of starts and stops, but the old pink tub is gone, replaced by a nice tiled shower (United States Ceramic subway tiles), vinyl floor replaced with nice tiles (<a href="http://www.ceramicasantagostino.it/en/collezione/75" target="_blank">Ceramica Sant'Agostino Aspen</a> series), and everything else redone, too. One nice touch (after a lot of discussion over storage solutions): school-style <a href="http://www.lockers.com/products/standard-metal-locker-five-tier-box-style-1-wide-5-feet-high-12-inches-deep/" target="_blank">gym lockers</a>. As part of the project a lot of <a href="http://www.roxul.com/products/walls/interior-partition/" target="_blank">Roxul ComfortBatt rockwool insulation</a> was added (along with more than a few <a href="http://www.dcbrau.com/" target="_blank">DC Brau</a> cans ... I do wonder, when some future homeowner goes to redo the space, what they'll think of that ...)<br />
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For the shower, we used a <a href="http://www.tileredi.com/double-curb-shower-pan-with-left-trench-drain-36x42-rt3642ldrpvcbn3" target="_blank">Redi Trench</a> shower pan with a solid linear drain, a <a href="https://www.vigoindustries.com/pirouette-frameless-shower-door-375-in-vg6042" target="_blank">VIGO Pirouette</a> frameless shower door, and a <a href="https://www.symmons.com/product/symmons-elm-shower-system-s-5501" target="_blank">Symmons Elm</a> commercial shower faucet. The sink is a Mirabelle <a href="http://www.mirabelleproducts.com/product/Mirabelle-MIR24198A-White-848873?Ns=Primary_Finish%7C1%7C%7CSort_Order%7C1&N=103+214+80+3000122" target="_blank">console</a> on a <a href="http://www.mirabelleproducts.com/product/mirabelle-MIR2419R-polished-chrome-669743?tb=" target="_blank">stainless-steel pedestal</a> with <a href="https://www.deltafaucet.com/bathroom/product/553LF-SS" target="_blank">Delta Vero</a> faucet and a <a href="http://www.feiss.com/29342/Infinity-Mirror-MR1151.html" target="_blank">Feiss Infinity Collection</a> oval mirror. The light over the sink is a <a href="http://www.kichler.com/products/product/caparros-2-light-bath-light-brushed-nickel-ni-4513.aspx" target="_blank">Kichler Caparros 2</a> fixture <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BuildDotCom/posts/10153988519566934" target="_blank">Evelin won</a> from Build.com; the other ceiling fixtures are <a href="http://www.nuvolighting.com/60-608.html" target="_blank">NUVO Polaris 60-608</a> flush-mounts. For ventilation, we used an <a href="http://www.airkinglimited.com/page/energy-star-deluxe-quiet-exhaust-fan-2.html" target="_blank">Air King 150 cfm</a> exhaust fan. The suspended ceiling with mineral fiber acoustic tiles was replaced with a <a href="http://acpideas.com/ceiling-max.php" target="_blank">CeilingMAX</a> system that uses <a href="http://fasadeideas.com/ceiling/ceiling-designs/quattro/" target="_blank">Fasäde Quattro</a> PVC tiles with a trippy pattern embedded in them.<br />
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[ADDENDUM: A while later, we finally got around to adding some hardware from the Moen 90 Degree line to the bathroom, specifically a <a href="https://www.moen.com/products/90_Degree/90_Degree_Brushed_nickel_pivoting_paper_holder/YB8808BN" target="_blank">toilet paper holder</a> and two <a href="https://www.moen.com/products/90_Degree/90_Degree_Brushed_nickel_single_robe_hook/YB8803BN" target="_blank">robe hooks</a>, which we're using to hang towels from.]<br />
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While the downstairs bathroom tile work was being done, we went had the same guy add a tile backsplash behind the stove and under the window behind the sink. As part of the kitchen renovation project we considered doing this, but decided against it. After living with it for a while, we changed our minds. The tile used was the one the interior designer had recommended, <a href="http://glazziotiles.com/default.aspx?page=item+detail&itemcode=CB94" target="_blank">Glazzio Tidal Wave Blend</a>.<br />
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After all that was completed, the hose that goes from the wall to the toilet tank developed a leak, which took a while to discover. At first we thought it was flooding due to crazy rains, and then possibly a leak connected to the shower. Once the culprit was discovered, it was an easy fix, but the vinyl tile in the hallway/under-stairs area just outside the bathroom was all damaged, along with more wet drywall ... so I took all that out, replacing the flooring with <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Allure-6-in-x-36-in-Oak-Luxury-Vinyl-Plank-Flooring-24-sq-ft-case-11053/100592904" target="_blank">TrafficMASTER Allure</a> vinyl planks (instead of the shag carpeting Q wanted) and replacing the drywall with greenboard. It took longer than it should have, but not as bad as the bathroom.<br />
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<h2>
Keeping Cool</h2>
And today, we're getting replacing our AC for the third time in the past 17 years. The unit that came with the house when we bought it in 2000 died in 2001, days after the home warranty provided as part of the purchase expired. The replacement for that lasted until the 2012 derecho hit and a tree limb fell and speared the compressor. At that time we replaced the full HVAC system, upgrading to a high efficiency furnace. We have had an issue with the AC working as well as it should and has increasingly been losing coolant (and the guy who did the work disappeared on us, so ...). This year, when we had the system tuned up at the beginning of the summer and coolant added, it worked until the massive July heatwave at which point it was clear that the system couldn't keep up. Instead of topping off the coolant three or four times a year, we decided to go ahead and replace the AC system.<br />
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We opted for an <a href="https://www.americanstandardair.com/products/heating-and-cooling/air-conditioners/silver-14-air-conditioner.html" target="_blank">American Standard Silver 14</a> SEER unit. We couldn't really take advantage of a higher SEER unit without upgrading the full furnace system too, so after some discussion we decided going from 13 to 14 SEER was good enough. The previous unit was only 2 tons and mathwise the house needs somewhere around 2.6 tons of cooling, so we opted to go with the 3 ton one. We're also having the compressor relocated to the east side of the house; this gets it out from under the deck, which will be good for airflow for the unit as well as hopefully mean less noise when we're on the deck.<br />
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(A few hours later ...) The work is done and it difference is amazing. Barely audible from the deck and quite effective at cooling the house. The guys who did the work did a very nice job, too, taking care to consolidate the piping and wiring in ways that gained us some space in the basement. As part of the job, they also replaced the old whole-house humidifier (<a href="https://lifechange.blogspot.com/2005/01/humidity-in-all-its-drippy-glory.html" target="_blank">which I'd installed in 2005</a>) with a new <a href="https://www.aprilaire.com/whole-house-products/whole-house-products/humidifier/model-700" target="_blank">Aprilaire Model 700</a> unit. In doing the work, we realized a small change to the ducting would allow for better air filtration, so they'll be back in a week or three to make that happen.T. Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08456765743893065023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5951190662658723503.post-32406543134232657482014-06-22T21:03:00.000-04:002017-11-04T10:45:54.605-04:00Day 62: The Big RevealDay: 63 (I'm writing this after the day in question)<br />
Schedule: T−3<br />
Prognosis for Survival: Have Entered a New Stage<br />
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So yesterday, Day 62, was the big reveal. The contractor and his team hosted a reveal party for us, inviting a good chunk of the neighborhood, along with other folk, to see the finished product. The recycling bin is full of bottles and Lucy had many scraps off the floor, plus we got to see just how many people the deck could support (a lot of them). It was a nice time, and we're glad to be moving into the living-in-it phase of things.<br />
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There are still a few punch-list items left to go, but hopefully they will be done by Wednesday (which is when the replacement stove is supposed to arrive). All in all, it looks quite good, but I'm not sure where things are. I did cook my first meal in here on Friday (pasta and peas for the girls) and my second one tonight (tacos) ... hopefully, next weekend will be a bit calmer and I can have a go at making a nicer meal.<br />
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On to the pictures (which Evelin wishes were of a cleaner/neater space):<br />
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Looking into the kitchen from by the living room.
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Looking from the kitchen into the dining room.
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Looking across the deck.
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Looking into the kitchen window from the deck.
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