Yearly Archives: 2014
Washer/Dryer Temporary Install with Dryer Repair
We are now washing and drying clothes in our unfinished house. Of the appliances that came with the house; dishwasher, stove top, and built in oven, the washer and dryer are the only items that we didn’t donate to Habitat … Continue reading
Distractions=Lack of Progress
OR–What we did instead of working on the house! 1. Kids bought a new house that needed a lot of work! Besides bath renovation we also helped paint and tear out old flooring. 2. Renovated Arizona house in order to … Continue reading
Hot Water Recirculation Problem
Earlier when I had trouble with the hot water circulation pump breaking the boiler flow control, I decided to install a pressure regulator/reducer between the pump and the cold water input for the hot water side of the boiler and … Continue reading
Caulking and Insulation
As required by LEED, the outer shell must be fully sealed. All the sills, corners and rafters were recaulked–most were caulked on the original build but there were a few gaps. Much of the Roxul rock wool was installed before … Continue reading
We’ve Moved!
And that is about all the progress that has been made on the energy efficient house, i.e. none! We did the move ourselves of course and even with help from family it took three straight weeks of packing and cleaning. … Continue reading
Web of Wires
Last spring when hopes were high for progress on the house, I had a couple of electricians give bids to rewire the house. We had hoped that by last fall the house would be ready for the rough in wiring. … Continue reading
Pump Problems
Taco seems to be a well-respected name in water pumps. The 00 series is especially popular. These range from an 003 to an 013. Triangle Tube instructions recommend both the Grundfos and the Taco pumps. For a system the size … Continue reading
Chronicle of Errors
I mentioned there were several things wrong with the first installation of boiler piping. When tested, water was not getting through the system and I believed the pump was just not strong enough to circulate through all the radiant loops. … Continue reading
Potential Energy
I originally thought our remodel was a shoe-in for a LEED gut remodel project. The concrete slab on the floor of most of the home had to be taken out and replaced. This gave us the opportunity to upgrade with … Continue reading
Primary/Secondary Piping Complexities
This is the new primary/secondary piping. It follows several boiler piping rules of thumb, although the 009 pump is now a bit over-sized for the primary loop. There is a secondary 011 pump that also is capable of pumping at … Continue reading
From Simple to Complex
The original boiler piping design was going to be a single loop system. Return water would be pumped through the system to the boiler and hot would flow out to replace it. One Taco 009 pump was chosen for the … Continue reading
Double Double Toil and Trouble
This old brown pump came with the house (also an 006) but did not pump. I replaced this one with a different Taco 006 that includes a temperature sensor. The new pump worked, however, it broke the flow control switch … Continue reading
A Light in the Attic
After all I had to take a work light up into the attic so I could see to install the recycled/reused insulation from the deconstruction to increase the R-value in the small attic over the back bedroom and bath. The … Continue reading
Rock Around the Wool
After many months of installation, plus some time off for a retirement trip and family visiting, the rock wool mostly got installed. Of course these oversize pillows make a large difference in the house being able to hold its passive … Continue reading