Category Archives: -Chronological Recent Posts

Tesla Roof Performance

Posted on November 14, 2021 by ellen

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 →

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December Travel

Posted on January 11, 2022 by ellen

We travelled most of December and despite Covid enjoyed our time with family. Dave and I visited my sister in California for a week and really enjoyed being together. She has my mother’s dining room set that my brother lovingly … Continue reading →

Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Diversions | 1 Comment

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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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 →

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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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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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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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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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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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An Induction Cooktop

Posted on June 4, 2022 by ellen

We wete not using the griddle side of the gas cooktop. It was difficult to heat up and the flame tended to go out because the downdraft fan came on high automatically and pulled at the flame. It just became … Continue reading →

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Plan for the Summer

Posted on June 9, 2022 by ellen

We are taking the grandkids camping this week but then the family is leaving town for the rest of the summer. That gives us some unbroken time to do some finish work on the house. I have not made a … Continue reading →

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Energy Logic HERS Rating Below Net Zero!

Posted on June 9, 2022 by ellen

Our Energy Logic rater and project lead finished the final report on our LEED project. I had to log in to USGBC to pay the certification fee. Again nothing is easy and the first several times I submitted my credit … Continue reading →

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Camping with Grandkids

Posted on June 11, 2022 by ellen

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 →

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New Spa Cover

Posted on June 14, 2022 by ellen

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 →

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Spa Trouble

Posted on June 18, 2022 by ellen

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 →

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Closet Shelves

Posted on June 18, 2022 by ellen

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 →

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Front Trombe Wall Trim

Posted on June 25, 2022 by ellen

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 →

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LEED Platinum!

Posted on June 28, 2022 by ellen

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 →

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