Category Archives: Maintenance and Repair

Maintenance, installs, or repairs made during the project.

Boiler Issues

Posted on February 6, 2023 by ellen

We woke up after a below zero night to the carbon monoxide alarms in the morning. Even though it was below zero I turned off the boiler function and opened the back door to let in fresh air. The alarms … Continue reading →

Posted in -Recent Posts, Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Fireplace Boiler, Maintenance and Repair, Trombe Wall | Leave a comment

Giving Up on Dishwasher Repair

Posted on January 21, 2023 by ellen

I ordered a new pump and it was not the right fit but it had the same type of magnetic motor. The motor on the original pump slipped right off but the new one was enclosed in plastic. So I … Continue reading →

Posted in -Recent Posts, Appliances, Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off on Giving Up on Dishwasher Repair

What Was Wrong with the Boiler Pump?

Posted on January 5, 2023 by ellen

We came home from vacation to no heat. The boiler was firing but the Grundflos secondary pump was not running to distribute it through the radiant pipes. The first thing I did was turn off the heat function of the … Continue reading →

Posted in -Recent Posts, Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Electrical, Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off on What Was Wrong with the Boiler Pump?

New Year Challenges

Posted on January 5, 2023 by ellen

We took a trip to our grandson’s birthday celebration at Wolf Lodge in Colorado Springs. The place was fully booked. I found out they have 300 rooms! We were in one of 42 suites with kid cabin a darling section … Continue reading →

Posted in -Recent Posts, Appliances, Grandkids, Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off on New Year Challenges

Boiler Carbon Monoxide Alarm!

Posted on December 31, 2022 by ellen

We were jarred awake by our carbon monoxide alarms when the temperature was eighteen below zero. We immediately opened a living room and back hall door and let fresh air flow. We tried leaving the boiler on but when the … Continue reading →

Posted in -Recent Posts, Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off on Boiler Carbon Monoxide Alarm!

Oh No! Broken Glass in Trombe Wall

Posted on November 15, 2022 by ellen

Some of the plastic lattice trim around the Trombe wall glazing has been curling away from the house from the intense heat from the sun. I don’t think I used enough nails to tie it to the boards behind it. … Continue reading →

Posted in -Recent Posts, Maintenance and Repair, Solar, Trombe Wall | Comments Off on Oh No! Broken Glass in Trombe Wall

Next Steps

Posted on October 11, 2022 by ellen

This summer was the culmination of ten years of work on the house. We had to push to finish the major LEED features of the remodel because we had an end of June deadline for evaluation under LEED 2009 version … Continue reading →

Posted in -Recent Posts, Construction, Finishes, Maintenance and Repair, Patio, Planning, Solar, Spa | Comments Off on Next Steps

Inverter Repair

Posted on September 10, 2022 by ellen

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 -Recent Posts, Maintenance and Repair, RV Camping | Comments Off on Inverter Repair

Difficult Offset Toilet Drain Repair

Posted on July 25, 2022 by ellen

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 Maintenance and Repair, Plumbing, Primary Bedroom | Comments Off on Difficult Offset Toilet Drain Repair

Mending Chair Seats

Posted on July 17, 2022 by ellen

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 Furniture, Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off on Mending Chair Seats

RV AC

Posted on July 1, 2022 by ellen

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 Maintenance and Repair, RV Camping | Comments Off on RV AC

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 →

Posted in Electrical, Maintenance and Repair, Solar, Spa | Comments Off on Spa Trouble

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 →

Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Planning | Comments Off on Plan for the Summer

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 Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, LEED Project, Maintenance and Repair, Ventilation | Comments Off on Last Push before LEED Rating

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 →

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off on A-B Polyurethane Spray Insulation

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 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 →

Posted in Finishes, Maintenance and Repair, Trombe Wall | Comments Off on Trombe Wall Panel Failure

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 →

Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Plumbing | Comments Off on Yuck, It Smells Terrible

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 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 Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off on Drywall Touchups