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-Chronological Recent Posts Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope Appliances Bathrooms Central Vacuum Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler Construction Deconstruction Design Style Distractions Electrical Energy Efficiency Finishes Fireplace Boiler Floating Walls 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 Sewing Sideline at son’s house Solar Spa Tile Tools Trim Trombe Wall VentilationBy Date
Category Archives: Maintenance and Repair
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
Plan for the Summer
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 -Chronological Recent Posts, Maintenance and Repair, Planning
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Last Push before LEED Rating
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
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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
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Maintenance and Repair
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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
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Appliances, Maintenance and Repair, Ventilation
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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
Posted in -Chronological Recent Posts, Finishes, Maintenance and Repair, Trombe Wall
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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
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Plumbing
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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
Posted in Construction, Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Solar, Trombe Wall
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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
Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Construction, Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle
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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
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, RV Camping
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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
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Solar
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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
Posted in Fireplace Boiler, Maintenance and Repair
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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
Posted in Appliances, Maintenance and Repair, Plumbing
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Niagara Stealth Toilet Maintenance
One of the Niagara toilets would not fill but just kept running so Dave took it apart. Dave figured out the problem. He said most internet sites dealing with the tank not filling blame the flow valve. This (fixable) problem … Continue reading
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Plumbing
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What is Wrong with the ERV?
No air was coming through the vents. I noticed it getting stuffy when we kept the house closed up because of smoke from the huge wildfires in the west. I thought the filters just had to be replaced and the … Continue reading
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Ventilation
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Foundation Insulation Repair
We finally completed the third section of the foundation insulation on the south “Trombe wall”side of the house. Another project completed due to guests arriving. This was the third section and it was a bit more complicated due to the … Continue reading
Posted in Construction, Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Trombe Wall
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Cold Weather Call for Heat but No Boiler Firing
I realized when the temperature got down to zero and hung around in the low single digits that the heating zone in the rear of the house was acting strangely. The thermostat would call for heat but the boiler would … Continue reading
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Radiant Heat
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Incomplete Sailrite Sewing Project
I started a new vinyl cover for a spa section which broke my Singer 9960 sewing machine. I sent it out for repair and it is not yet ready. But I purchased a really heavy duty expensive Sailrite zig zag … Continue reading
Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Sewing, Spa
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Hoppe Lock Jam
We first had this problem when one of the doors was new. There is a piece on the three point lock that is called a mishandling device. This is a latch that releases the top and bottom throw bolts that … Continue reading
Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Maintenance and Repair
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Door Lock Issues
When we returned from Indiana, our key did not work in the front lock. The mechanism would not turn. Fortunately one of the patio doors is keyed the same and we were able to get into the house without breaking … Continue reading
Posted in Maintenance and Repair
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