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-Chronological Recent Posts Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope Appliances Bathrooms Central Vacuum Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler Construction Deconstruction Design Style Diversions Electrical Energy Efficiency Finishes Fireplace Boiler Floating Walls Furniture Grandkids Green Building Interests House Systems Inspections Kitchen Landscape LEED Project Living Room Maintenance and Repair Master Bedroom Moisture Intrusion/Expansive Soil Monitoring Planning Plumbing Pool Project Team Radiant Cooling Radiant Heat Radon Mitigation Reduce Reuse Recycle RV Camping Sideline at son’s house Solar Spa Tile Tools Trim Trombe Wall VentilationBy Date
Author Archives: ellen
I’m on the Radio!
I was advertising the Metro Denver Green Homes Tour. Our house is on the tour again this year. We had our house on the tour in 2017 when we were about halfway finished installing LEED requirements and attempting to earn … Continue reading
Chaffee County Green Homes Tour
The woman who heads up the Metro Denver Green Homes Tour also works with organizations in Chaffee County to organize a green homes tour near Salida and Buena Vista. She recruits members of the Denver team to spend a beautiful … Continue reading
Colorado Average Home Gas Use vs. Ours
We are getting ready for the Metro Denver Green Homes Tour on October 1st. Our home was on the tour in 2017. Since then we have finished the LEED certification as a Platinum Green and Net Zero home. So we … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Appliances, Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler
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Inverter Repair
On our last trip when we were almost home we tried to turn on the inverter and it was dead. We were dropping it off at the shop for repairs to the body from when we scraped the side on … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Maintenance and Repair, RV Camping
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Trombe Wall in September
The Trombe wall is too effective in the hot sunny days of September. The sun is lower in the sky so the overhang is not wide enough to shade the front. Even opening the windows at night and using fans … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Trombe Wall
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A Sunday in Wuppertal
Dave noticed a site in Germany on Atlas Obscura, a website devoted to unusual places and experiences. Wurppertal features a hanging suspension train that was not too far away from Wurselen by trains. Clare researched the route and we decided … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Grandkids, Travel
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New Home in Germany
We were home from Indiana for a week and then off to Wurselen, Germany to visit our daughter and family. They purchased a new home last fall but had a long wait until the sale was completed. It is not … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Friends and Family, Grandkids, Travel
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The ”Region”
I was born in Chicago but grew up in Northern Indiana near the steel mills and oil refineries. The area was known as the Calumet region (near the Little Calumet River) and shortened to the ”Region” in the rest of … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Friends and Family, RV Camping
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Indiana Hot
We had a lovely time visiting Indiana for three weeks and timed it perfectly for some very hot and humid weather. We drove the RV and stayed with friends and visited others first in Spencer. We were able to camp … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Friends and Family, RV Camping, Spencer House
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Difficult Offset Toilet Drain Repair
When we decided to insulate the knee wall on the east side of the remodel the toilet drain ended up too close to the wall. Unfortunately the type of offset fitting I bought was a ”bowl” type instead of an … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Maintenance and Repair, Master Bedroom, Plumbing
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Mending Chair Seats
Kids can be inadvertently destructive. My grandson jumped hard on the Old Hickory antique couch and one section of the underlying webbing broke. Some of the other webbing was already damaged. I emailed the Old Hickory factory to ask how … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Furniture, Maintenance and Repair
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Tesla Solar Roof Data September-June
The solar roof was installed at the end of last August so its first month of production was September, 2021. The solar performed well in September but after the equinox production dropped dramatically. Energy sent to the grid dropped to … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Monitoring, Roofing, Solar
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Net Zero Home Energy Rating (HERS)
What is a HERS score? An organization of mortgage lenders was formed in the 80’s to study the value of home energy efficiency. Their efforts became RESNET in 1995. They were hoping to add value to homes that would save … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Energy Efficiency, LEED Project
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RV AC
The last time we camped the air conditioner would not start. It moaned a bit but didn’t kick in. A complication to the air conditioner breakdown is that I bought repair insurance for the first year of ownership because I … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Maintenance and Repair, RV Camping
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LEED Platinum!
I got confirmation today from our evaluator at Energy Logic who emailed that the USGBC has agreed with their evaluation and will award our house the Platinum LEED level! This is an exciting end to our quest for LEED certification. … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Energy Efficiency, LEED Project
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Front Trombe Wall Trim
I put up the rest of the logs for the front window trim. I noticed some of the pvc lattice trim tends to bow in the heat so I just shot several more nails into it to hold it down. … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Construction, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Trim, Trombe Wall
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Closet Shelves
The family room closet has been used as a catch all with no organization or room for storage. I have an urgent need for more storage in that room so I checked off one of my summer to do list … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Family Room, Reduce Reuse Recycle
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Spa Trouble
Every couple of years there is a major expensive problem with the exercise spa. And another chance for me to make mistakes. I was happy to finally get the new spa cover and we unpacked it and installed it. Dave … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Electrical, Maintenance and Repair, Solar, Spa
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New Spa Cover
Five years ago at the 2017 ASES Conference in Boulder, I heard a presentation about a new type of spa cover. The company, Modern Spa Covers, manufactures the covers in my own town of Arvada. I was determined to buy … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Solar, Spa
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Camping with Grandkids
The kids are going to Korea for most of the summer to visit their aunt and other friends. We are hoping they become more fluent in Korean because they will be immersed. But before they leave we took them for … Continue reading
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Grandkids, RV Camping
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