Yearly Archives: 2017
Poster Presentation at the National Solar Energy Conference in Denver
It was a busy week. From the NREL talk to the Solar Decathlon, I spent a good deal of time sharing our LEED project. I was one of 33 poster presenters at the solar conference. It was great to see … Continue reading
Passive Solar Open House
The Green Homes Solar Tour was a great success at my house anyway. We had many visitors though I did not count, nor did I take photos. One of our volunteer docents took this photo though! It was fun to … Continue reading
Preparing for an NREL Lunch Talk
Our house is going to be on the 2017 Denver Solar Home Tour on October 7th! I’m very excited about it because we have attended Solar Home tours in both Arizona and here. Having a home that can be included … Continue reading
Problem with Hoppe Three Point Lock on ThermaTru Door
One of the sets of french doors was stuck closed. It appeared that the three point lock was stuck at the top of the door keeping it from opening. I thought I was going to have to take the door … Continue reading
Guests! An Ebay Scam and ERV Maintenance
We have had the pleasure of several recent guests who have stayed in the new master bedroom and bath. The new curtains have made the space more private and it has proved to be great to have another bathroom with … Continue reading
Family Room Bathroom Vanity Sink
It is a granite sink on a heavy and thick granite slab. I originally had the sink sitting on the logs of the vanity stand but with the addition of the slab I needed to figure out how to hold … Continue reading
Another Leak Fixed
The Victorian style sink I’m using in the master bathroom was in the shed when my daugher and her husband bought their new house. There were a pair of them. I told her I wanted them and they said sure. … Continue reading
Leak Central
It seems like no matter what I’m installing in the master bath, I’m having an issue with leaks. I had to install an offset toilet drain because the original drain position did not account for the extra insulation we decided … Continue reading
Master Bath Decorative Trim Tile
I noticed these decorative tiles on Craigslist in early 2016 and they were reasonably priced leftovers. They were not far away and I bought them. I love these thick relief tiles with the western animal scenes and I had just … Continue reading
Haiku Energy Star Ceiling Fan
I have already replaced the craigslist ceiling fan that I installed for my brother’s visit. There is a LEED requirement to install Energy Star ceiling fans and I was hoping to find a deal on a Haiku L series for … Continue reading
Master Bath Medicine Cabinet
I wanted a space left open in the drywall to reuse one of the original medicine cabinets in the master bathroom. The wall had to be built out due to the plumbing run below and it seemed like a perfect … Continue reading
Granite Slab Cut
It was a perfect late summer day. My brother and his wife were visiting from the Chicago area and he always enjoys completing a house project. I have had a heavy piece of granite by the side of the front … Continue reading
Tilting the Tub
The phrase “tilting at windmills” comes to mind after multiple attempts to fix the leaking tub drain. The solution seemed elusive for a long time. We had to tilt up the tub on its side to get to the drain. … Continue reading
More Tile
Unfortunately the tub drain still leaks but I decided to tile the second half of the bathroom instead of taking it apart again first. The wall near the sink plumbing was not square. Squaring the tile with the brick wall … Continue reading
Finding a Ceiling Fan
I saved a relatively new ceiling fan from the Arizona house. Before we sold it the real estate agent recommended that I replace the old antique brass fans with something more modern, i.e. oil rubbed bronze. But I could not … Continue reading
It’s Curtains
I have several bolts of cotton/polyester and vinyl material that I purchased at auction from Repurposed Materials. I had in mind that I would sew window quilts because the house originally had them as extra window insulation. I also wanted to have … Continue reading
Tub Leaks!
The master bath tub had a couple of leaky places. The plumbing under the tiled step was oozing water and the drain was leaking worse. The faucet hookup was leaking at the brass elbow couplings. These were too close together … Continue reading
Tub Shelf
We are using an old barn beam as a shelf over the soaking tub. It needed to be installed while I could still stand behind the tub. I bought the beam from another very nice Craigslist seller. Amazingly the beam … Continue reading
Master Bath Tile Started
Before tackling the tile in the master bath I put the thin Schluter membrane over the foam edges of the floor. This is installed with unmodified mortar. The east side strip is narrow because we used 1.5″ polyiso over the … Continue reading
Family Room Furniture
I decided that we really need the space in the garage that the family room furniture was taking. We moved the cabinets into the room so they will have to be removed when I can get to installing the perimeter … Continue reading