Twinsprings Research Institute

Purchasing Agent

Posted on April 28, 2019 by ellen

I volunteered to purchase remodeling items for my son’s new house. He will have a contractor remodel the master bathroom and install a laundry closet upstairs. We are also making minor repairs/remodels to other rooms in the house and he is investing in new hardwood flooring for the office, living and dining rooms. So much of my time has been spent working on his house. And I’m having a great time!

I have been buying plumbing and electrical and furniture on eBay and Craigslist and Amazon and the Habitat for Humanity Restore for years now. I often buy Amazon Warehouse deals and if they don’t meet the quality I require I can return them. Craigslist is great for some good deals if you can find items that fit the remodel and are in good shape. eBay can be tricky, some great deals and some mistakes can be made and not all items can be returned. Many vendors are very easy to work with if there are problems though. I have not run into a major scam yet so I am fortunate. I did have one on Amazon but they took care of it for me. Also PayPal will recompense money lost on an online purchase so it is pretty easy to buy online.

The list of items needed for the bathroom remodel was long! Plus I am updating two other bathrooms and the kitchen. Just for fun I thought I would list some of the purchases and the supplier.

Ebay

Delta Trinsic Shower Trim, Widespread faucets, Tub Only Trim
Kohler Purist double towel rod
Steam shower unit and controls
Delta tub only valve
Cement stain
Light fixtures basement hall and bath
Smart switches and remotes
Kohler faucet valves

Amazon

12″ Rainhead Shower
Grab bars for shower
Delta dual rough in valve
Kohler Vox sinks
Kohler hand shower hose and vacuum breaker
Grohe hand shower holder
Niagara Stealth toilet
Kohler soaking tub and overflow
Kohler Purist towel bars and matching Gatco Gala robe hooks
Cement micro-topping sealers
Light cans with LED bulbs to replace halogens
Smart switches, rocker switches, and USB outlets
Waterproof lights for shower
New oil rubbed bronze knobs for kitchen cabinets
Schlage wifi lockset for front door
Schlage deadbolts
Ceiling fan light kit
Door stops
Electric outlets and switches and plates

Craigslist with some items from Next Door or Facebook Marketplace

Kitchen table (Herman Miller) and 4 chairs (Parsons)
Dining table (Ikea) and six dining chairs (unknown)
Sideboard (maybe Ikea)
Trundle bed and twin mattress
Twin mattress set and extra box spring
Wicker baskets for girl
Ceiling fans (2)
Couch and coffee table
Washer and Dryer
Gas slide in range
Closet organization system
Closet Techline dressers and mirror
Two child bedroom sets
Baby crib and mattress
Basement bath sink and faucet
Mud room and front entry benches
Two Eames style chairs and ottomans
Family bath Kohler sinks
Family bath granite, basement bath granite and kitchen quartz
Paint and stains
Drawers for window seat
Maple butcher block table top for kitchen island
Bar stools

Habitat for Humanity Restore

Family bath backsplash tile
Dishwasher
White wicker mirror for girl
Drawer slides
Basement bath towel bars
Schlage oil rubbed bronze handle sets for whole house
Schlage oil rubbed bronze keyed handles
Large black mirror
Kohler bath faucets–without valves
Insinkerator hot water faucet replacement
Electric switches, outlets, and plates

Of course I still purchase several materials at the local Home Depot. I sometimes use Ace and Lowes, but not as often. I found tile at Lowes that I could not find elsewhere and Ace has unique hardware when needed as well as some good deals on paint. But if can find discounts on items using these outlets, I’m very happy to do that. I say my house is the one that Craigslist built and we are content with our finds. Even though it was not just Craigslist but eBay, Restore and Amazon that contributed.

Kohler Purist hand towel bar and robe hook — Kohler Purist hand towel bar, robe hook

Posted in Diversions, Planning, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

DIY Micro-Topping

Posted on April 23, 2019 by ellen

My son and his family bought a new house close to us that needed some remodeling. He is concentrating on upgrading the master bath and adding a second floor laundry. I’ve been spending most of my time helping out with small fixes.

The kitchen cabinets are inexpensive thermo plastic covered and the countertops were linoleum. He read about a technique that used feather coating cement to update old cabinet counters to make them look like cement counters.

I decided to start the project. I removed the smallest counter to try the technique. All that is required is a box of Henry patching cement from Home Depot and a plastic trowel. Along with an orbital sander and various grits of sandpaper.

First the laminate is roughed up with 60 grit paper. Then a small batch of cement is mixed 2 parts cement to one part water and allowed to slake for a few minutes then remixed. Then the cement is spread on the counter. A bit thicker cement is needed for the edges so waiting a bit for the batch to harden a bit works then the cement is smoothed down with a plastic drywall trowel. I also tried a metal trowel and a silicone scraper I used for the epoxy finish on my kitchen counters.

The first coat is sanded a bit with a medium heavy grit. I used 100.

The process of troweling on the coats seemed to add groovesin the cement. I tried various sanding tools. By hand and with the diamond pads and polisher. That came out with scratches too. But fewer ridges.

After at least five coats of cement and sanding to 1500 grit including a wet sand I decided to try sealing.

After three coats of sealer I put it back on the counter to judge my work.

I didn’t like it. Too many remaining ridges and color variation.

It looked a bit better from further away.

But I took it off and sanded off the sealer to add yet another coat of cement and more sanding so that I could try cement stain. I ordered charcoal gray. It mixes with water and I applied it in two coats.

One coat seems to even out the coloring. Now the second coat is drying.

In the meantime we found three big slabs of Corian Zodiaq which is their quartz product and decided to abandon the micro-topping project entirely.

It’s exactly what I would have picked for the kitchen. So now I just have to cut and fit it!

Posted in Kitchen, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Sideline at son’s house | Comments Off

Globe Trotting

Posted on April 21, 2019 by ellen

Unfortunately, progress has slowed since we passed the final building inspection in December. Somewhat because of travel. We spent Christmas in Wursalen Germany with our daughter and family. Then we returned for our grandkids birthdays in February.

In between we visited our son in Arizona and had our middle son visit with his family.

While leaving Dave in Germany I returned early to join my sister and family on a cruise to Cuba! This was my first cruise and my sister and brother and cousin and nephew decided to do one together. So I was able to join them. We were eight all together and because my nephew is employed by the cruise line we were given VIP treatment.

We received champagne and fruit plates and chocolate covered strawberries!

After a night of travel we stopped in Key West for lunch as getting off the ship at a military base took a lot of time. Then we sailed on to Cuba! Which we toured in one of the famous 50’s cars.

We stopped at Ernest Hemingway’s home and writing retreat. Then toured the city and had lunch at one of the new private eateries complete with roaming chickens in the yard.

Finally visited a bit more with my brother at his winter resort in Florida and drove over to enjoy the fabulous Florida beaches. Warm enough to swim in March!

So mid March returned to get back to work but not on my house! Working at my son’s house to remodel before he moves here this summer!

Posted in Diversions, Grandkids, Travel | Comments Off

Snug as a Bug

Posted on March 26, 2019 by ellen

Facebook reminded me that it has been seven years since we had our energy audit. Seven years since I retired. A bit over seven years since we purchased the house. The good news is that the property values have escalated, justifying the money we have put into the house. Of course the bad news is that we are not finished.

After the recent severe weather “Cyclone Bomb” on March 13, we have not regretted the expense for insulation, windows and sealing. Winds gusted up to 32 mph and were strong all day, plastering snow against the North side of all buildings and against even the South facing windows. But even without sun our house stayed quite comfortable with the daytime heat set at 65 degrees. And we are also insulated from the noise of the wind gusts. When we went out to the garage it was very noisy while inside the airlock entry we could see the extreme winds but the sound was muffled.

I decided to start a fire in the boiler fireplace for atmosphere as well as to help with the heating. The snow however had blocked the chimney due to the high winds! When I lit the fire the house began to fill with smoke. It was pouring out of the sealed fireplace. For a moment I was not sure what to do. Should we douse the fire with water? What a mess that would make! I closed the dampers which just made more smoke. We opened several doors and turned on the ERV system to clear the smoke. Then I went outside to check the chimney (in the snow and wind!) And since our roof slopes to the ground behind the house I was able to climb up to the non-smoking chimney and knock the snow loose. We heard it plop into the stove and the smoke began billowing out of the now open chimney. Whew.

So we had a fire in the stove after all. And with the bathroom exhaust fans and open doors and ERV running the house soon cleared of smoke and the fire alarms did not go off.

It was cold enough that the thermostats continued calling for heat but the boiler did not have to fire while the hot water was circulating from the fireplace. That was how it was designed and to see it working is quite a thrill. Sometimes when we have a fire it is not cold enough for a thermostat to require heat since our house stays so warm, so I have opened a zone valve manually and plugged in the circulating pump directly instead of letting the call for heat turn it on so that the warmed water circulates-usually to the rear radiators since that is the coolest area of the house.

This link is to the post with the last version of the boiler piping but I realized that it was drawn before I decided to remove the storage tank. We do not have enough fires to justify heating water in a tank instead of directly to the floor. Originally I removed it for the drywall install but I never put it back. This is the updated drawing of the current fireplace and boiler piping. It’s the 21st version!

Dibble Boiler Piping-21 without storage tank

Cold water flows from the pex in the floor and/or the radiators in the rear of the house, depending on which zone valves are open, through the heat exchanger to the gas boiler. When the fireplace boiler is not pumping there is no heat exchange. But when the fireplace boiler is warm enough and the secondary pump turns on, the warm water is exchanged with the cold water from the return, sending pre-warmed water to the boiler. If that water is warm enough the boiler does not fire. To prevent overheating in the fireplace boiler, a taco mixing valve adds cooler return water to the heated water when necessary. If there is not enough cool water, the fireplace boiler’s special low pressure release will remove excess hot water pressure to a stainless steel milk can that I found on craigslist and is just about the right size for the job. There is also a large expansion tank on the system to alleviate buildup of hot water pressure.

The best part about winter is our ability to avoid exposure to the high winds and bitter cold nights. The ERV provides very fresh air in winter although I don’t always remember to turn it on. Once I get the wiring figured out I will be able to manage the ERV more effectively. We also use less gas for heat and hot water than even our more efficient neighbors according to Xcel.

Gas Usage Compared to Neighbors For a Year — Gas Usage Compared with
Neighbors For a Year

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Energy Efficiency, Fireplace Boiler, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Where Are We On LEED?

Posted on February 8, 2019 by ellen

It has been a long time since I registered our Twinsprings project for LEED. Seven years ago I contacted EnergyLogic about contracting with them to be the energy rater and certification liaison for LEED. We drew up a contract on February 27th, 2012. Now that we have finally passed our building permit inspection it is time to focus on what is left to do to pass our LEED inspection.

Twinsprings Research LEED Project Registered

Unfortunately there are several areas that still need work. I can think of some big ones off the top of my head. And some on this list came from studying the LEED Project Checklist.

All bathrooms must have paperless construction board around the bathtub/shower area. We need to remodel one bathroom to complete.
The trombe wall needs to be reassembled.
All windows need to be sealed to pass the air intrusion test but both of our skylights leak air.
The mini-split air conditioner install needs to be completed and certified.
The hot water pipes in the utility room need to be insulated.
The LEED home user manual needs to be updated and conform to samples.
All accountability forms need to be printed and signed, mostly by me.
A diagram of the areas that were not altered by construction access has to be drawn.
The durability checklist needs to be inspected following a quality checklist guide for each durability technique.
The old part of the house needs an inspection by a level II certified infrared thermograph technician.

Our old bathroom will need a complete remodel including a new energy star exhaust fan. It will take at least a summer season to complete the trombe wall glass installation. I have a rebuild kit for the skylight vents that are leaking air. I may have to seal these vents to improve the leakage. The mini-split has been a splitting headache. It has a leak in the piping so it does not hold air pressure. I have not decided how to fix it. A repairman refused to work on the system because it was too old and not on a concrete pad.

I have plenty of insulation to take care of the hot water pipes I just have not made that task a priority. Winter is a good time to work on the manual. It is close to finished as the house is now close to being finished. The energy rater from Energy Logic reminded me of the need to designate protected areas at the site as well as completing the accountability forms, most of which I have been in charge of overseeing. I am less certain about how the durability checklist is completed and I have yet to find a Level II thermographer to analyze the insulation in the old part of the house.

The tasks still seem a bit overwhelming and that is after having followed the process now for seven years. This has been a huge project. I sure hope we reach the goal of certification in 2019.

Posted in LEED Project, Planning | Comments Off

Going with Lutron Wifi Switches

Posted on February 7, 2019 by ellen

This is for my son’s new house but I’ve been enjoying installing them. I purchased the first Lutron Caseta switch and bridge to control the ERV with wifi. But I was not able to get the signal to match what the ERV required. So when my son bought his house nearby I moved the switch there to add a bit of lighting during the night that could be controlled remotely.

I also have quite a few outlet controls for the Wemo system. But to control that you need to initially set it up on the same wifi router. So he was not able to log in and see the schedule etc. With Lutron, all you need is access to the account. When he visits he will set up his own account and we can transfer the switches to his. There is only one bridge allowed per account.

Initially I replaced switches as they were already wired. But I was having some difficulty making the power do what I had intended after the installs. So I had to separate all the wires and test them to figure out the circuits.

The kitchen lights were getting power from the dining room box and this box relayed the power to the lights as a three way switch. I ended up putting the control in the dining room box and installing a Pico remote in the kitchen box. I found it easiest to put the switch first in the circuit and the remotes at the 3 way locations.

The kitchen outlets are also controlled from the kitchen box and with the kitchen lights on the dining room circuit, the only other power draw is the ceiling fixture which now has LED bulbs in it. Ideally the kitchen outlets would be on their own circuit, but I guess that was not required in 1998 when the house was built.

I’m currently trying to figure out why the pot light over the kitchen sink is not getting power. So that is why the other pot lights are hanging. So far I have not found out why but the wire is dead to this one light. I’m considering just running a new wire from a working fixture.

The dining room box is interesting. The circuit that turns it on is a dual breaker and either breaker turns it on, but both have to be off to have the circuit completely off. I believe that is a safety hazard and miswired at the box but I am not going to fix it right now. I am not that confident about wiring at the box although I have done it this is not my house. Another odd wiring issue is that this box had three switches, but one did not seem to control anything. When I took it apart, I only found enough wiring for two switches. One is definitely the kitchen lights and that is now the lutron wifi switch, one is the dining room light and the third set of wires sends power to the master bathroom fan and lights. No other wires for a switch. I would have thought it could have had a three way for the switched living room outlet but there are no wires left to do that. Also there were three wires for the dining room light which only has one switch to control it.

I added a remote to the box where the third switch should go. I’m going to put a Lutron Caseta in the living room to control the lamp outlet and this remote will be the 3 way control for that. Logically the dining room switch should be in the middle but I didn’t think of that before I closed it up. Maybe I’ll change that.

The lights that are now wifi controllable are the front foyer and stairwell chandelier, both on the same dimmer; and the kitchen lights also on a dimmer; and the outdoor lamppost on a non-dimmable switch. There is also an outlet dimmer control in the front office.

I still want to put a wifi controllable dimmer switch in the living room. Unfortunately one of the dimmers I ordered was DOA. I had been getting Amazon Warehouse switches to save money and most of them are fine, but I realized one never turned on the LED green when I hooked it up. So I returned it and ordered another one.

My son and I can both view and control the devices from the Lutron app.

Posted in Electrical | Comments Off

Who Needs a Video Doorbell?

Posted on January 10, 2019 by ellen

Our house is basically all front doors. Besides all the living room french doors there are two entry doors. One door is to the airlock entry which we use most, the other is the old covered entry. We extended the master bedroom to encompass this door. So now we only use it to go out to the hot tub.

Eventually I’ll think of a way to disguise the door to the bedroom so it is not confused with the house entry. I currently have the garden gate in front of it. But that has not done the trick. We decided a doorbell at the airlock entry door would help strangers and delivery persons to know it is the working front door. But when I installed my son’s monitoring camera system I decided it would be fun to have a camera. I didn’t want to spend top dollar so I bought a cheap knock off of the real thing for $50 at Christmastime.

I noticed this model is no longer available on Amazon. It offers free lifetime video storage for 7 days with automatic recording over the old video. I hope that lasts past its life on Amazon. (Several very similar video doorbells are still available.)

The doorbell was relatively easy to set up. Right out of the box I plugged it in to charge the batteries and it started a voice prompt that it was ready to pair. Of course I was not ready. I downloaded the Xbell app to connect to the doorbell and the steps were easy to follow and pairing worked the first time. The most difficult part was pairing the indoor bell which is a plug in device that starts to blink as soon as it is plugged in. It was not clear to me that the doorbell had to be pressed to pair the blinking receiver to it. Finally after several tries we had the device paired and working with the outside doorbell.

The settings allowed me to turn on the cloud recording and motion detection but even though it was on the lowest setting, and I turned off sound notifications for the bell, I was getting a doorbell ring on my phone every time the wind blew or shadows changed on the front of the house. So I had to turn motion detection off.

I may be losing video of motion detection just to keep from false notifications. I can look at the camera’s view at any time and take a still shot or video that goes to my photos. The night vision on the camera is quite good.

And the day vision is adjustable for various light conditions. I have it set on dynamic. I’ll experiment with the settings for lighting the scene.

Although I am not monitoring energy use, this is a type of monitoring. Especially for noticing that there are folks viewing our front door sign that says we are a LEED project under construction.

Posted in Monitoring | Comments Off

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 9, 2019 by ellen

We spent Christmas and New Year’s with our family in Würselen, Germany. They have a very comfortable apartment there with a huge guest room that was inviting and big enough for ping pong ball soccer played by the grandson and grandpa.

Ping pong ball soccer

Our granddaughter made our beds for us which consists of a bottom sheet for each side of the bed and a pillow cover. Each side also has its own soft fuzzy blanket folded width wise and a duvet covered comforter to match the sheet also folded width wise. When going to bed the fuzzy cover and comforter are unfolded and laid out length wise. She is seven and told us that is the German way! There are also no box springs on these European beds, they are like Ikea beds with ladder like wooden springs. She also told us the bed came with the lattices assembled incorrectly and they had to fix it but now it was done and more comfortable. So cool that she is learning different cultural customs.
As at home family Christmas celebrations we enjoyed strewing paper and boxes all over the floor.

Christmas paper and boxes

We were treated to a traditional German Christmas feast of sauerbraten and red cabbage. In fact we had several great meals during our stay; from ham to lamb to little french hens.

Three french hens

Most mornings my son-in-law walks to the bakery for fresh rolls and bread. The white rolls are ubiquitous and quite good but the chocolate croissants are exquisite.

We enjoyed being with the family and did a little touring as well. Visited the Aachen cathedral which was originally commissioned by Charlemagne who suffered from arthritis and spent his time in Aachen in the healing warm waters.

Amazing mosaics at the cathedral

We also visited the thermal baths and enjoyed the German version of warm soaks. The family traveled to Ghent in Belgium to see some friends and visit a Viking exhibit in a museum but I wasn’t feeling well so I stayed home. But I went with to visit the small town of Monschauer, famous for its Christmas markets that were already closed but many of the shops carry Christmas market types of items there. It is an old stone town with every building, road, walkway and fence made of stone. We walked through town and up to the castle and then to the glass blowing market where we enjoyed watching the kids help make blown glass plant watering globes. Before leaving town we stopped at a mustard market. Monschauer is famous for mustard.

View of Monschauer from the castle wall	Slate stone siding on many buildings
Handmade and Glass Blowing Market Map	Glassblower

One of the most exciting nights was New Year’s Eve from our own apartment balcony and the streets below. People from the neighborhood gathered on the street sharing warm mulled wine and shooting off fireworks or burning sparklers. I watched the festivities from the balcony and the fireworks came from all over town instead of a concentrated show like we have for the 4th of July. Although I went to bed the fireworks continued for at least an hour and a half and then it got quiet again.

Fireworks celebrations
Germans have a quiet rule on Sundays, no loud noises are allowed. No mowing the grass or using power tools where others can hear them. Even practicing an instrument is not condoned.

We also spent time learning to use the sewing machine my granddaughter got for Christmas. She had several projects in mind and she got a great design ideas book with patterns to make some clothes. We started with her running the foot pedal while I held the material and she chose the decorative stitches we used.

Sleepover cosmetic bag

Infinity scarf and circle skirt

Then she held the material and I ran the foot pedal and finally she did both while I helped keep the material aligned. We used a strip of painters tape on the machine to help her line up the material at the foot. This was an idea from her sewing book. I also worked with her mom to help her remember her sewing skills from childhood. I hope they have time to sew together. It takes a lot of time and vacation is good for working on such projects.

We spent a couple of days with the kids at the local indoor pool. My granddaughter is swimming with the Würselen swim team. But the pools were open mostly for playing during school vacation. There were two large water slides and a wave pool that was turned on for about five minutes at the top of every hour. Also a lazy river around the pool and a large pirate ship playground with warmer water for littles. There was one bubble pool but the water was not warm like a hot tub. It was called the Aquana and it is a pretty cool activity located so close to their apartment.

Huge indoor water slide

We were very happy to be with the family. We miss them terribly and hope their time there is over quickly. But we see the advantages too, for the family and for us as travelers.

Posted in Diversions, Grandkids | Comments Off

Refrigerator Recycled

Posted on January 8, 2019 by ellen

Our used Energy Star refrigerator was making a lot of noise. It was also starting to use more electricity and forming ice at the top of the freezer. The temperature was not staying constant either. All of these issues led to the concern that the compressor was going out.

Our energy company Xcel Energy offers a refrigerator recycling program for consumers to upgrade to more energy efficient models. But they do not offer the rebate if the refrigerator is not running. That meant replacing our refrigerator before it broke to qualify for the free pickup and $50 rebate.

The refrigerator fit our kitchen exactly so it was difficult to replace with a bottom freezer model. Our requirements were an Energy Star counter depth bottom freezer that was not larger than 33 inches. This combination was almost impossible to find! Samsung makes some refrigerators in this size but they are not rated Energy Star.

I downloaded the Energy Star excel spreadsheet for refrigerators to find possible models. The result was that there was only one real choice that was not a built in or foreign and outrageously expensive.

Energy Star Refrigerators 2018

I ordered this model from Lowes as it was on sale for Black Friday and also purchased a 10% off coupon from an eBay vendor to help with the cost. The new refrigerator is only a little larger in capacity and uses much more electricity than the older one rated at 378 kwh/year. But my energy use monitor usually registered a higher usage than advertised at about 450 kWh/year. Still less than the new one at 547 kWh/year for only 1.1 cubic foot increase in size.

GE GWE19 Refrigerator Energy Guide

Because I needed to have the gap behind the refrigerator as small as possible I have not added the energy use monitor plug to this new appliance. I also had to cut the edges off the cabinet between it and the stove and move the stove cabinet down about an inch and a half to fit this in place of the old one. But this new refrigerator is much easier to use than the older deep and low unit. The freezer baskets are more accessible although I wish the ice maker tray was less wide.

GE_Bottom Freezer

The refrigerator and freezer have bright LED lighting and the refrigerator above offers lots of shelving options so that it seems to hold quite a bit more than the old one.

GE Refrigerator 2018

And our old refrigerator was moved to the front hall where it stayed plugged in until the vendor for Xcel came to pick it up. We received a check for $50 in the mail shortly after the pickup. I’m glad we were able to replace it before it broke. That refrigerator only lasted about 9 years and we had it for four of those. I hope the new one lasts longer.

Posted in Appliances, Kitchen, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

A New House in Arvada

Posted on December 31, 2018 by ellen

My son and his wife have decided to move their family closer to us! I have been seriously searching real estate for them since this spring. Home prices went up about 8-10% in our area this year. But there was a bit of a lull as winter came on. This beauty had most of the items on their wish list.

House on 79th Pl.

It’s a bit further away from us than my daughter’s house-about 3 miles. But there is a pleasant trail for most of the one hour or so hike.

Trail between houses

We are excited to help our kids do some remodeling in the house. Even before the sale went through I had a project!
The entry/stairwell light is classic but a bit dated. So I looked for a more lantern like alternative.

Dated “terrarium” chandelier

I picked up a free one through Craigslist.

Brass lantern chandelier

And I took it apart to spray paint it flat black.

New chandelier in pieces

I used cardboard boxes as spray paint tents. And I used a metal primer on all the pieces before the final black. It took several coats to get the pieces all painted. I bought LED chandelier bulbs to get started on their energy efficient updates too.

Finished lantern chandelier

I’m looking forward to hanging it although I have not decided whether to put the glass pieces back in. It looks more modern without them.
I had to look up the order of the hanging pieces as I forgot to take a “before” photo.

Hanging a chandelier

Just a couple weeks later it has been hung!

Posted in Diversions, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

Red Letter Day

Posted on December 21, 2018 by ellen

We passed the final remodel inspection this week! I had scheduled the final again a couple of weeks ago but when the inspector arrived he said he could only do structural. So I called in and scheduled the correct type of inspection for December 19, 2018.

True to the great friendliness and cooperation we have gotten from the Arvada Building Department, the inspector who came out was very nice and looked at the items that were on our last failed list. We scheduled a final last February when we knew we weren’t done, but had to have an inspection to keep the building permit active. On the list were the master bath shower floor, the family room bathroom shower, one toilet that needed caulk, and the fact that the breaker for the GFCI’s was off but I could not find it as it was mislabeled by the worst electricians ever. He checked those items and then said we passed. Woo Hoo.

He said he remembered coming out for rough plumbing a long time ago. Yep it has been years. But the building department stuck with us. In fact, Dave has written a letter thanking them for their attention to detail and friendly cooperation with our unusual project.

After concentrated work on the family room bathroom shower we finally had the indoor work that needed inspection completed and we got the final approval. Wonderful!

Final Building Inspection Approval

The note is just at the bottom of the original permit. But it is also entered into the online residential address database.

Buidling Permit Approval

This is a major milestone. So grateful we got this far. Now to try to finish the remainder of projects for LEED certification. And all the trim and doors which don’t have to be inspected.

Posted in Inspections | Comments Off

A Week in Hawaii!

Posted on December 15, 2018 by ellen

We were invited to a whole week in Hawaii with our son and his family. What a beautiful place and lovely distraction it was. We had a wonderful time with our two littlest grandchildren. They seemed to love the time together too. So much more than our photos captured.

Waikiki Beach Breakwater	Sea Life porpoises
Sea Life view of the ocean	Polynesian Cultural Center coconut tree climber
The Byodo-In Temple	Feeding the coy at the Temple
Monster School Bus to admire	At the Hanuma Bay beach
Snorkeling at Hanuma Bay	Swimming at Waimea Falls

Posted in Diversions, Grandkids | Comments Off

Gorilla Epoxy Glue Fix

Posted on December 3, 2018 by ellen

The shark bite I used to connect the shower hose to the wall was too loose even though I pulled it forward to attach the holder and added a backplate. I tried using caulk to attach the holder to its backing gasket and it fell apart almost immediately. So I used Gorilla Epoxy Glue which was something I bought a while ago on clearance.

Gorilla Epoxy Glue

The glue is uncapped and a bit of the glue is forced to the top with the plunger. The idea is to get equal portions of each liquid to mix together in the clear package front which can be used for the mixing. It comes with a small wood depressor to mix with and the mixing time is 20 seconds. Then it is applied with the wooden stick to the area needing to be glued.

First I glued the plastic backer plate to the rear of the holder, after cleaning off the caulk. Then I applied it to the Venetion Bronze backer plate to take up some of the slack in the pipe. I used wood pieces to hold the backer firmly to the plastic back of the holder.

Glueing backer to holder base.

I let this dry overnight and then applied glue to the backer plate gasket and pushed onto the wall. I held it on with a cardboard tube that happened to be about the right length.

Backer plate glued on wall

The glue seems to be sturdy enough to hold the pipe assembly firmly at the wall and the backer plate eliminates the gap that was at the wall. Seems to have worked out.

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A Place for the Internet Equipment

Posted on November 28, 2018 by ellen

About a year ago I moved the internet modem to the living room from the hall closet. We were not getting a good enough signal at the back of the house. I have several types of monitoring systems that are connected to the modem and they need to reach from the garage to the back bedroom and to the hot tub on the front patio and greenhouse behind the house.
The shelf I used was cobbled together and mounted on the post that will be covered with manufactured stone.

Modem in Living Room

I had in mind to buy a plexiglass shelving unit to enclose it. But they seemed to be very expensive and not exactly the size I needed. The backs were transparent and I would have to treat that in some way since the cabinet is mounted right to the 2×4 post framing. I wanted the cabinet to extend past the sides of the post enough to allow for the edges of the stone to be covered but not too much.

Extends about the right amount

I found an inexpensive glass door cabinet on Amazon and ordered it. I put it together and cut openings for the power outlet and cable entry at the back. Unfortunately my measurements were a bit off but the extra opening came in handy later when I was connecting the power and modem cables.

Outlet located higher than my measurements

I could only use one of the two shelves the cabinet included. Although there was not enough room for both shelves in the cabinet the bottom and one shelf provided enough space for the modem and the various hubs my systems use. I drilled a couple more holes in the back of the cabinet underneath the shelf to thread the cables to the modem.

Cables threaded through cabinet back

Unfortunately while cutting the rear openings I did not protect the front of the cabinet so I’ll have to touch it up.

Marred the front of the cabinet

It still looks much better than the temporary shelf.

Internet cabinet

Now I can put on the rest of the backer board and eventually start the stonework.

Across the room

The equipment fits in the cabinet and the signal still reaches the corners of the house. And the cabinet fits perfectly under and between the track lighting. A good solution for organizing the equipment.

Under the track lights

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Shower Extras

Posted on November 25, 2018 by ellen

Apparently I am good at making holes in the finished walls. One of the extras I put in the family room bath is a small rack for a wet washcloth. It seems that without a traditional soap dish there is no place to hang a wet wash cloth. So I bought a toilet roll holder in antique brass for this. I decided to put it in the bottom small niche. But I had to drill a hole for the screw holder. Because there are no studs near here I used a toggle bolt. This is the kind that tightens against the bolt as it is screwed in and makes a nice tight connection.

However I didn’t realize the bolt was longer than the wall here inside the niche!

Wall behind bolt has big hole

I will cut that off with my handy multitool and patch the wall. I like having a rack for a wet washcloth in the shower. I need to buy one for the master bath shower. And hopefully avoid making a hole in the wall on the other side.

Rack for wet washcloth

But the photo shows I didn’t get all the caulk cleaned off. If I missed it here I missed it elsewhere. I will have to wash the shower tile again.
Another project was covering the bright chrome light fixture with brassy looking paint. I already had some copper colored metallic spray paint from the kitchen sink project and some gold glitter paint that I picked up because it was on clearance. The gold glitter alone did not have the right shade of brass so I primed it with automotive gray primer for metal and fiberglass. Then I sprayed several coats of the copper paint first and finished with a coat of the gold glitter. The effect is that of a toned down brass.

Painted chrome light fixture

These little extras customize the shower for us and at a very reasonable cost.

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Hot and Cold Switch

Posted on November 25, 2018 by ellen

I mixed up the hot and cold piping to the shower. I had hot connected on the right side when it is supposed to be on the left. Fortunately the supply pipes are exposed in the utility room behind the washer and dryer. Here are those pipes when they were first connected.

Hot and Cold Connections

I moved the heavy set of stacked washer and dryer just enough to squeeze behind them and then work in a very small space. I had to crawl in and out a couple of times to get the right tools. The water was turned off but I had a bucket to catch the remaining water.

Bucket to catch water in pipes

I used the small step stool to get over the gas pipe and into the back corner. The connections to hot and cold are against the back wall. I removed the insulation which was on the cold side to get to the pipe connection. It was also fortunate that there was enough pex on each side to reconnect them. Of course using shark bite connectors meant all I had to do was separate the connections and switch them.

Confined space with pipes disconnected

The pipe to the left side of the valve was insulated so I only had to replace part of it on the pex where it was unprotected. Then I added insulation to the copper hot water pipe. I left the insulation off the cold pipe. This is the finished job that shows the space I entered to get it done.

Tight squeeze

The shower is not on the hot water loop but is piped directly from the hot water heater with original 3/4″ hot and cold copper pipes that once supplied the laundry. So the shower is on its own supply that does not wait very long to get hot. The pipes to the diverter are also insulated to keep the water running hot.

Insulated Diverter Pipes

Now that hot is hot and cold is cold it should be a very comfortable shower.

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Shower Fixtures

Posted on November 24, 2018 by ellen

The fixtures for the shower are Delta Champagne Bronze. I think the color is a nice complement to the dark brown tile. The style name is Lahara which is a very plain style. I couldn’t find the diverter trim in Lahara so I bought the Classic style.

Champagne bronze hand shower

I purchased the faucets in August of 2016 which was a long time ago. When I was installing the diverter trim, I couldn’t find the knob. I looked all over and was pretty sure it should be in with the other pieces, but I didn’t know exactly what it looked like. After looking for some time, I happened to see a new set for $24 so I bought it. Turned out that I found the knob in with the shower trim and I didn’t need the knob but the extra base plate came in very handy. The hose connection did not fit flush against the tile wall so I used the second base plate to help fill in the space.

In order to get the shark bite connected for the hose spigot, I had to pull the loose connection as far towards the surface as possible. I looked up the photo of how the pipes were configured.

Diverter Pipes

I was able to pull the pipe connection forward with a piece of hanger wire.

Hanger wire looped on pipe behind wall

Then I had to hold the shower hose connector and it’s plastic backing, and the backplate from the extra diverter valve and push the shark bite on while the pipe was pulled as far out as I could get it. This was to get everything mounted as close to the wall as possible. It looks ok but it is loose so I’m thinking caulk will tighten it.
The next job was to install the main shower valve trim. I ended up leaving the wall guard on the shower valve when the tile was done and when trying to screw on the face place, the holes in the valve were covered up! It seems that the shield was just a little off center.

Black valve shield covering screw hole

I used my handy multitool with a narrow blade to cut off the plastic covering the screw holes. Then I was able to attach the face plate.

Face plate and valve cartridge control

I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to connect the shower valve. There are two inner plastic gears that control the temperature setting. The first is placed to meet the gear teeth in the volume control handle. The instructions say that this should be placed to not allow the hot water to get over 120 degrees. We have a whole house temperature regulator so I just wanted the piece to be set at the hottest temperature. But it wasn’t clear at first what part of the gear was up and what part made the handle stop at the hottest temperature.

Water Temperature Gear Diagram

The instructions skipped placing the gear inside the handle, then added this direction to control temperature.

If the water temperature is above 120°F, remove the temperature control knob (1) and rotate the limit stop (2) clockwise one tooth for every 4°F – 6°F (approximate) change in temperature. If water temperature is cooler than desired, rotate the limit stop counterclockwise.

Eventually I realized the center white knob could be rotated with a pliers all the way back and forth. So all the way to the left was hottest and all the way to the right coldest. The center of the cap fit over this knob. So to get the water as hot as possible the gear underneath had to have the limit stop in a position relating to the knob that allowed the cap to rotate to full hot. I screwed in the set and tried turning on the water.
Well, then I realized I had not opened the screw stops on the valve. That meant taking it all apart and taking off the face plate and opening the stops with a screwdriver. Nothing like doing the assembly all over again.
I first tested the hand held shower and found that I had left out a rubber gasket as it sprayed me from the bottom of the handle. After changing my shirt and finding the gasket and installing it, the leak stopped. Then I tried the shower head. It worked! But when I turn off the water it drips for a bit. I supposed that is from the long shower arm. The next task was to test the hot and cold water settings. I could not get hot water to flow from the hot side! I tested the hot water in the sink and it was definitely hot, then I realized that I may have connected the pipes the wrong way! I tried the cold side and the water got hot. This is a problem I seem to have frequently. So fixing that was another exciting adventure. But at least the faucet trim was completed.

Shower control and trim installed

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Caulking Mess

Posted on November 22, 2018 by ellen

Have I ever mentioned I hate caulking? The family room shower is large and that meant lots of caulking. At the ceiling, at the floor, in the corners and inside the niches; all needed caulk. I used the same dark brown low voc caulk that I used in the master bathroom-Dynaflex 230 by DAP.
No matter how I try I cannot smooth the caulk with a wet finger as others do. Instead it gets all over the joint. I have tried various ways to clean up the mess this makes and so far pushing the caulk into the joint with a wet sponge works the best for me. It is not very smooth but it is also not all over the tile on each side.

Caulking mess

For this large caulking job I used the tool I bought for the huge caulking job in the crawlspace. I had a half used tube of caulk that I couldn’t get to flow again with a hand caulk gun and the battery powered caulk gun was just the ticket. I had cut the caulk spout with a small opening and set the gun on its lowest feed setting which worked well for most of the caulking until I smoothed it out with a wet finger while wearing a surgical plastic glove. By the time I got all the joints trimmed back with a wet sponge and scrubby for the excess, I had let the caulk in the shower niche dry too much to scrub off!
Luckily I had some Goof Off which works on tar and caulk!

Goof Off cleaner

I sprayed it and let it work for about an hour and then came back and it made short work of cleaning off the excess caulk.

Shower niche after cleanup

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Setting the Granite Shower Bench

Posted on November 21, 2018 by ellen

I had a nice piece of dark brown granite already cut for the bench. Originally I wanted to use left over granite from the sink top but it was not wide enough to completely cover the bench, and the narrow pieces I had cut for the master shower were too difficult to install. So Bill had me go out and get another granite remnant to cut one wider piece for the master shower ledge and have enough left over for the bench in the family room shower.

Although I had the bench seat cut about to size already, after fitting it over the tile edge of the bench I decided to trim off another half inch using the wet saw so that the bench didn’t overhang into the bathroom. Then I had the arduous task of polishing the edges. I have a series of diamond sanding wheels and the roughest one can round the edges of granite. Then it takes about seven more grits to get a polished edge. If one grit doesn’t do its job then it is necessary to back track and try to move from the lower grits again to the higher. I don’t have enough patience for this so I left the edge a bit marked up. I’m hoping the sealer will cover it.

There was waterproofing at the bathroom edge of the bench, but the handyman had a problem with the corner of the bench so to fix that I added a piece of cement board to the end. That meant a gap between the waterproofed bench and the tile. So I filled that with caulk.

Bench with caulking over hardboard edge

Bill had bought special mortar to set the master shower ledge.

Natural Stone Mortar

There was plenty left to mix up a small bucket of it for the bench. Just in case there was something special about setting the granite, I looked up instructions on the internet. But there was not more information than just coating the bench and the granite with mortar spread with a 3/8″ trowel.

Both bench and granite coated in mortar

Then I picked up the granite and laid it on the bench. A bit of settling it into place by shaking it back and forth to get a good set. And cleaning off the excess mortar provided a nice preview of what the finished product will look like.

Bench set in place

I didn’t plan ahead and I had to wash that thick layer of mortar off the overhang which was messy and kind of a pain.

Bench overhang

I also checked the slant of the bench with the plumbing level and it was good. Setting the bench was a short job that made me feel like I was getting close to finishing the project.

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Grouting the Shower

Posted on November 21, 2018 by ellen

It took me several days to get the family room bath shower grouted. My right arm got really sore. But after a few days it was back in shape. This shower took a lot of grout. I mixed seven batches of the epoxy grout. The batches are each 1/4 of a professional pack. I described measuring and dividing the grout packages when I first started.
It is a bit difficult to estimate the correct amount of the colored powder when mixing the grout. I tried weighing out 2 lbs of the stuff but that tended to make the grout too thick, so I finally just mixed in the powder until the right consistency was achieved.

Grout Mixed

The grout goes on like putty and is pressed into the tile joints. It takes a firm hand on the trowel to get it pressed into place.

Putty-like grout

Then the wet grout is scraped across the joints with the rubber grout float. I bought a handy half sized float for this. It was easier to use than the full size float.

Grout scraped with float but still dirty

Pressing the grout into the mosaic tiles at the rear of the niches was one of the more challenging parts of the job.

Niche grouted

The grout is washed with a vinegar solution within one hour of mixing it. It typically takes me a little longer to use a batch but the first wash is still not difficult. I used a flat razor blade in a holder and a new 3M white scrubby for each batch. The white is a finer grit than the green pads. I cut each pad into eight sections. Scraping off the grout with a razor is easier than scrubbing when the grout left is thick. Then a couple of hours later a second wash is required with more vinegar. It is important to rinse the sponge often to remove the slightly sticky film that is on the tile. The professional batches come with some powdered wash solution but not enough for the whole kit. I just used it up and then used plain vinegar in water and that worked just as well.

I liked doing the difficult parts first and then returning to the field tile. I started above the shower head with the trim tile up there and next grouted the field tile in that space. Next was the trim tile surrounding the shower. And the niches were done in two sssions with the trim tile.

Decorative tile grouted first

Then I worked from top to bottom but in sections so that each batch was not all upper tiles. I saved the bench for last. Good thing because I had to cut another corner tile as the one that was installed was short about a half an inch.

Walls and bench grouted

I also had a double accident with one particular tile. Once I kneeled on it and then I stepped on its replacement.

Broken trim tile

I had to use a non-edge tile here but the edge is buried in this spot where it meets a tile that sticks up a bit too much on the floor. Ah amateur’s work.

Finally there was a marathon two batch grout job to finish the mosaic tile on the floor. I worked all day from early morning to evening. I was so tired when it was time to do the final wash on the second batch that I forgot a little spot that I filled because it was forgotten once before-the top tile under the lower short niche I was able to scrape and scrub the excess grout off the next morning.

What next? Set the bench top, caulk the edges, and install the fixtures. Whew.

Grout in mosaic tile floor

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