Author Archives: ellen
Last Four Windows are Trimmed
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
New Patio Furniture
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
Plant Loss and Re-plant
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
Original Carpet Recycled
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
A-B Polyurethane Spray Insulation
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
Dryer Vent Debacle
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
Trombe Wall Panel Failure
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
Yuck, It Smells Terrible
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
Trombe Wall Glass Install
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
Drywall Touchups
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
Vinyl Grill Cover
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
RV Flat Tire Saga
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
Tesla Called Again
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
Bestway Cellulose Insulation
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
RV Laundry Closet
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
I Build a Chuppah
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
Fireplace Boiler Working as Designed
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
Resetting the Reset Boiler Set Points
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
Point of Use Water Softener
We have used our SPT dishwasher now for about seven and a half years. I purchased it from a grad student at CSU to fit in the corner of our rustic kitchen. After a few years the inlet valve broke … Continue reading
RV Suspension Upgrade
Just before Christmas we took the RV to the truck shop for our long awaited rear brake job and suspension upgrades. While in the shop there were also delays because when doing the brakes the differential needed service. Then we … Continue reading