Monthly Archives: February 2016
Cleaning the Spa Water
The spa water was getting dirty. There was sand on the bottom that did not seem to be getting to the filter. So I bought a small Intex vacuum kit to suck up the dirt through the filter system. Unfortunately … Continue reading
Toilet Drain Adjustment
No wonder I feel bogged down. Installing the offset toilet drain took me several hours across two days. Not predicting well how much standing drain pipe I needed, I cut a little bit of pipe at a time using a … Continue reading
Bogged Down in the Bathroom
Sometimes I just feel totally bogged down. While Dave has been busy spreading composted manure he got from a local horse farm and potting/topsoil from a marijuana growing operation–they deliver it for free–on the gardens and flower beds, I have … Continue reading
Ultra High Efficiency Toilet
Our next inspection will be the plumbing rough in so I’m working on the master bathroom. I had purchased all the faucets and fixtures except for the toilet. When I was at the Sustainability Fair in Fort Collins, I heard … Continue reading
Friends Visit and Suggestions
We had a wonderful time visiting with some old friends from Indiana for the weekend. I talked their ears off about the house projects. It was so nice to have someone knowledgeable to get their reactions and suggestions. Steve has … Continue reading
Concrete Bricks as Thermal Mass
While painting the kitchen block wall I started wondering what kind of block is our inner south wall made of anyway? At one point I heard this type of block called “slag block” and in Arizona where there are many … Continue reading
One Thing Leads to Another
When I woke up this morning I had no idea I was going to be painting a wall. But I cleared the dining room floor for scrubbing and sealing and decided I better wash the block wall before I put … Continue reading
Winter List for 2016
I updated the to-do list a couple of weeks ago. But lists are getting tiresome–too many items repeat from season to season. Here is what I hoped to get accomplished this winter. Finish membrane on ceiling Install battens on ceiling … Continue reading
Resealing the Stained Concrete Floor
As a preparation for installing walls, and to just make the spaces more pleasant, I decided to clean and reseal the concrete floor. This project is also on the winter to do list. I hauled in the SoyCrete stain and … Continue reading
Compare Energy Star 2008 to Energy Star 2016
So I know you are wondering, how efficient is an eight year old Energy Star appliance– especially compared to today’s standards? I wondered myself. Energy Star minimums have decreased over time. I happened to have downloaded the clothes washer excel … Continue reading
Energy Star Washer and Gas Dryer
I noticed that our older washing machine was leaking every time we did a load. The leak seemed to increase in volume and I had wanted to replace this older washer with a more energy efficient one for our LEED … Continue reading