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Yearly Archives: 2021
Trim Work Phase Two
The next trim project took four days. Scott and Robert worked on the “man” doors to the outside first. It was a bit of a scramble to get all the boards planed as they were needed. I planed the boards … Continue reading
Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Trim
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Disappointing Blower Door Test
Since working with the Metro Green Homes Tour I have met several people who have been active in sustainable and energy efficient housing for years. One of these new friends offered to come over with her equipment and do a … Continue reading
Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope
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Hired Help
I just could not seem to make progress on the house so we decided to hire some help. I found a recommended handyman service on a neighbors group and called. This was the third time I had tried to hire … Continue reading
Posted in Construction, Design Style, Finishes, Reduce Reuse Recycle
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We Get Green Building Visitors and Boiler Set Points
Believe it or not someone read this entire blog. I am amazed because it obviously takes a certain kind of interest to slog through over 630 posts with 9 years of projects. I received a letter from this gentleman and … Continue reading
Posted in Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Energy Efficiency, Green Building Interests, House Systems
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Tesla Roof Performance
The Tesla roof was up and running for part of the day on August 28th. It has been operating for almost three months. The app does not have a date to date feature so I downloaded performance for each full … Continue reading
Posted in -Recent Posts, Energy Efficiency, Solar
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Niagara Stealth Toilet Maintenance
One of the Niagara toilets would not fill but just kept running so Dave took it apart. Dave figured out the problem. He said most internet sites dealing with the tank not filling blame the flow valve. This (fixable) problem … Continue reading
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Plumbing
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RV Inverter Wiring
This is a nice drawing of the RV power systems and what they run. It leaves out solar which has its own controller/charger that delivers solar power to the batteries. But it shows the function and position of an inverter. … Continue reading
Posted in Electrical, RV Camping
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RV Inverter
An inverter converts DC battery power to AC power. The RV uses 120 volt power to charge a computer, run small appliances like the microwave or the refrigerator instead of using gas. If the batteries have enough power an inverter … Continue reading
Posted in Electrical, RV Camping
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RV Solar Wiring
Once the rack was finished and the panels installed I had to figure out the wiring from the roof to the equipment inside. One benefit of the Solarland panels is that they use thicker wire. They come with the MC4 … Continue reading
Posted in RV Camping, Solar
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RV Solar Install
I had always wanted to install solar panels on our old RV but instead we used a portable 50 watt panel to boost the batteries when camping. I had the panel strapped behind the storage box we had at the … Continue reading
Posted in RV Camping, Solar
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What is Wrong with the ERV?
No air was coming through the vents. I noticed it getting stuffy when we kept the house closed up because of smoke from the huge wildfires in the west. I thought the filters just had to be replaced and the … Continue reading
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Ventilation
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Radon Fan #2
Since the new roof was going on it was time to put the hole in for the second radon fan. All this time the fan was in the garage but I was reluctant to try to cut a hole in … Continue reading
Posted in Radon Mitigation, Roofing
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Tesla Starts Early
The solar roof was originally scheduled to start on Sept 7th but the manager called and asked if they could start earlier and I said, “Sure!”. The first day another company tore off the old roof. I asked if they … Continue reading
Recycled Rubber Patio
We were preparing for guests. That always helps make a dent in the to do list. The front patio was concrete that was jacked out when the house slab was removed. It had also heaved and settled so that it … Continue reading
Posted in Landscape, Reduce Reuse Recycle
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Tesla Called
Tesla finally called to schedule the solar roof installation. I was very excited. We have been working with Tesla since April of last year and I have been on the waiting list since June 1, 2017, the day President Trump … Continue reading
Foundation Insulation Repair
We finally completed the third section of the foundation insulation on the south “Trombe wall”side of the house. Another project completed due to guests arriving. This was the third section and it was a bit more complicated due to the … Continue reading
Posted in Construction, Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Trombe Wall
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New Electrical System for the RV
I’ve always had trouble with sealed lead acid coach batteries dying after a season or two. The new RV came with two wet lead acid 67 AH marine batteries that were pretty much shot. So I did some research and … Continue reading
Posted in Electrical, RV Camping
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To Build a Detached Garage
We have decided to clean up our property and empty our attached two car garage by building a large RV garage to the side of the house. We thought we had a contractor willing to build it but he changed … Continue reading
Posted in Construction, New Detached Garage
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New RV Cross Country
We took the new RV to Indiana in early April to meet the buyers and enjoy our friends and a final work session on the house. The early April weather is very changeable and there was a late snow across … Continue reading
Posted in RV Camping, Spencer House
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All Fun and No Work
I’m not sure how to transition the blog from working on the house to working on other projects. I guess not working on the house either means no posts or off topic posts. One step in the LEED certification process … Continue reading
Posted in RV Camping
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