Author Archives: ellen

Last Push before LEED Rating

Posted on May 23, 2022 by ellen

We returned from our camping trip late Tuesday and I had about two days to finish several projects for the LEED final rating appointment on Friday. It was not easy to prioritize. I found an article that mentioned the 10 … Continue reading →

Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, LEED Project, Maintenance and Repair, Ventilation | Leave a comment

Birthday Camping

Posted on May 22, 2022 by ellen

We had a nice vacation taking the grandkids camping at Boyd Lake for my birthday! I had a few things to do on the RV to get ready. Much of the clean up of the mud room was undone when … Continue reading →

Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Distractions, RV Camping | Leave a comment

Last Four Windows are Trimmed

Posted on May 22, 2022 by ellen

It was an exciting day, all the windows and doors in our house have trim! The handymen returned to finish the windows. Each window is slightly askew so measuring and cutting each board had to be precise. The handymen started … Continue reading →

Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Construction, Trim | Leave a comment

New Patio Furniture

Posted on May 10, 2022 by ellen

Last fall we realized that the free wicker furniture I picked up several years ago was getting too fragile to use. This type of furniture was not even meant for outdoor use but we got it from people who used … Continue reading →

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Plant Loss and Re-plant

Posted on May 8, 2022 by ellen

Two of the xeriscape plants we planted for the front walk border survived for two years. Just two. That is a sad loss. Probably not enough watering to keep them going in their second year when they were supposed to … Continue reading →

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Original Carpet Recycled

Posted on May 6, 2022 by ellen

Early in the Deconstruction I searched for a way to recycle all the materials we were replacing in the house. Only the family room was carpeted. I was able to find a carpet recycler in Denver to get the large … Continue reading →

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A-B Polyurethane Spray Insulation

Posted on May 3, 2022 by ellen

It seemed that the best way to insulate the rear wall of the utility room would be spray on insulation. Most of the wall is below grade so I knew it was insulated on the exterior but the top 11” … Continue reading →

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Dryer Vent Debacle

Posted on May 1, 2022 by ellen

My next project was to close the leaky area in the utility room. I started by cleaning off dust and taping the Siga membrane to the back header. I had expected to get the drywall fixed on the ceiling but … Continue reading →

Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Appliances, Maintenance and Repair, Ventilation | Comments Off on Dryer Vent Debacle

Trombe Wall Panel Failure

Posted on April 29, 2022 by ellen

We were out of town for about two weeks visiting our daughter and family in Germany. While we were gone there were several days of high winds. Since I left the Trombe glass panels stuck on with just the butyl … Continue reading →

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Yuck, It Smells Terrible

Posted on April 25, 2022 by ellen

We first noticed that sewer gas was seeping into the house when my friend did a blower door test in December. The smell was from the master bathroom and it would come and go. I never could tell which fixture … Continue reading →

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Trombe Wall Glass Install

Posted on April 10, 2022 by ellen

The trombe wall in the front of our house was a classic non-vented passive solar installation. We removed the glass in 2015 because it was in the way when the new windows were installed. This was the second time I … Continue reading →

Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Construction, Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Solar, Trombe Wall | Comments Off on Trombe Wall Glass Install

Drywall Touchups

Posted on April 6, 2022 by ellen

We called our favorite drywall guy, Hector, to return and touch up the drywall. He has been very successful the last five years and we were glad he came back to do more work at our house. We had the … Continue reading →

Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Construction, Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off on Drywall Touchups

Vinyl Grill Cover

Posted on April 2, 2022 by ellen

Dave got a new grill for his birthday last year. It came with a grill cover but that cover kept blowing off and eventually ripped. Our area of Colorado can be very windy. This year there were some record high … Continue reading →

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RV Flat Tire Saga

Posted on March 16, 2022 by ellen

We experienced a flat tire on our first day of RV travel to our son’s wedding. We have had Good Sam Roadside since we first owned an RV in 2009. Once before I called them for an overheating issue in … Continue reading →

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Tesla Called Again

Posted on March 10, 2022 by ellen

My Tesla team watches and maintains the solar roof without me having to do it too. Winter has been hard on production. Mine was so low it concerned them enough to make an appoinment to send a team to check … Continue reading →

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Bestway Cellulose Insulation

Posted on March 9, 2022 by ellen

The back area of the house was not on the original gut remodel list. But several upgrades have been made. The crawl space was conditioned early in our thermal envelope work. Completed Crawlspace! The attic above was layered with all … Continue reading →

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RV Laundry Closet

Posted on March 8, 2022 by ellen

We had a long trip planned to Arizona for our son’s wedding. In order to bring all the decorations we were hoping to use and the materials for the chuppah, and to be able to be there for an extended … Continue reading →

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I Build a Chuppah

Posted on February 28, 2022 by ellen

Of course any project no matter how unfamiliar can be tackled with online directions. I used this plan. But of course I made some modifications. My son was a bit repelled by the idea of buckets plus they are expensive. … Continue reading →

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Fireplace Boiler Working as Designed

Posted on February 2, 2022 by ellen

Although we seldom have a fire in the wood boiler we seldom have very cold snowy weather. At least not as much as I expected. But occasionally it gets down to zero and negative temperatures. Then it feels right to … Continue reading →

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Resetting the Reset Boiler Set Points

Posted on February 2, 2022 by ellen

Back when we had visitors I reconsidered the boiler set points and thought I was setting the boiler to perform more closely to typical conditions. As it got colder this winter it appeared that the settings were keeping the boiler … Continue reading →

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