Twinsprings Research Institute

Resealing the Stained Concrete Floor

Posted on February 5, 2016 by ellen

As a preparation for installing walls, and to just make the spaces more pleasant, I decided to clean and reseal the concrete floor. This project is also on the winter to do list.
I hauled in the SoyCrete stain and Acri-Soy sealer from the garage where it sat for a couple of years. I found the yellow golden stain to still be yellow, but no amount of stirring made the brown stain lose its gray cast. On the floor it is a dull muddy grey-brown. The sealer however seemed to be just fine. I stirred it well and I’m using it with a large grout cleaning sponge.

I’m using Clorox Cleanup to clean the floor.

Clorox Clean Up

I really like this cleaner and it seem to tackle the toughest dirt. I’m cleaning with a scrub brush with3M pads for tough spots, a utility drywall joint knife to scrape off lumpy dirt and a 3M Scotch-Brite sponge using both the scrub and sponge sides.

I tried a little yellow stain on the entry and didn’t think it improved the effect. The extra yellow stain is in the foreground of this photo. Just the corner on the left is sealed. I decided staining again would just be a lot of trouble for little gain.

Stained and Partially Sealed Front Entry

I’m using the Zep four step Floor Maintenance products from Home Depot. The finish is Zep Wet Look, the same stuff I have used for years on the RV fiberglass to make it shine. It requires four thin coats of finish. On concrete this goes over sealer, on the RV just over very clean fiberglass. The coats only take about 15 minutes to dry and they recommend 30 minutes between coats.

Zep Wet Look Floor Finish

The finish will help protect the sealer.

Sealed Front Entry with Floor Finish in Upper Corner

I also bought the Zep cleaner which is neutral and won’t destroy the finish. Ammonia will take off this finish. The cleaner is a concentrate while the finish is used full strength.

Zep Neutral Floor Cleaner

The kitchen floor’s sealer did not prevent some grease stains near the sink and stove, but re-sealed, they are not terribly obvious. Cleaning and sealing makes the floor look better, if not up to its original pristine finish.

Sealed Kitchen Floor

And here is the final product with four coats of finish. I tried buffing with a hand buffer but the finish did not get shinier, so that is another extra step I can skip. I just sealed and finished around the cabinets. I will finish under the cabinets when I can get to them.

Finished Kitchen Floor

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Compare Energy Star 2008 to Energy Star 2016

Posted on February 2, 2016 by ellen

So I know you are wondering, how efficient is an eight year old Energy Star appliance– especially compared to today’s standards? I wondered myself.

Energy Star minimums have decreased over time. I happened to have downloaded the clothes washer excel spreadsheet in 2008 when I was considering a new washing machine. Since the GE washer we just purchased is on that list I know that at that time the washer was a very respectable 76% better than the minimum standard.

I just downloaded the 2016 list and found that the standard has not only changed, the method of measurement has also changed and the percent better category is a thing of the past. The top row is the washer model I just bought. The second row is a front loading model that qualifies for the new Energy Star standard for “most efficient”. In the 2008 list Kwh/year for just GE washers ranged from 120 to 350. On the 2016 list the range is from only 86 to 152. The washers have more capacity and use less water and electricity per year in 2016 vs. 2008. About 8 fewer KWh/yr for these two models and a bit more than 1200 gallons per year less water but for more than a cubic foot larger capacity.

Compare Energy Star Washer Ratings

The MEF standard in the 2008 was based on the 2004 criteria, in 2009 and 2011 the factor became more efficient. But the GE model from 2008 was better than the 2011 minimum so would have still qualified as Energy Star.

Energy Star Clothes Washer Standard V5 and V6.

In 2015 version 7 of the standard was introduced. This new criteria utilizes the IMEF factor instead of MEF. The standard document defines the two different criteria.

B.   Modified Energy Factor (MEF)3: The quotient of the cubic foot (or liter) capacity of the clothes container divided by the total clothes washer energy consumption per cycle, with such energy consumption expressed as the sum of the machine electrical energy consumption, the hot water energy consumption, and the energy required for removal of the remaining moisture in the wash load.
C.   Integrated Modified Energy Factor (IMEF)4: The quotient of the cubic foot (or liter) capacity of the clothes container divided by the total clothes washer energy consumption per cycle, with such energy consumption expressed as the sum of the machine electrical energy consumption, the hot water energy consumption, the energy required for removal of the remaining moisture in the wash load, and the combined low-power mode energy consumption.
D.   Water Factor (WF)3: The quotient of the total weighted per-cycle water consumption for cold wash divided by the cubic foot (or liter) capacity of the clothes washer.
E.   Integrated Water Factor (IWF)4: The quotient of the total weighted per-cycle water consumption for all wash cycles in gallons divided by the cubic foot (or liter) capacity of the clothes washer.

The closest washer in performance that I can find on the 2016 list is a 3.4 cu. ft. Haier Top Loader, Model HLTW500AXW that has an IMEF score of 2.07 with a Federal Standard of 1.29. This washer also uses 4 gallons of water for a rating of 4012 gallons per year. It only uses an estimated 108 KWh/year though! So the Energy Star GE washer I just bought may or may not still meet the current Energy Star guidelines. I don’t have enough data on the components of the MEF vs. IMEF to find out.

But it is an interesting question. If you purchased an Energy Star appliance before the standard changed, would it still be considered Energy Star for the purposes of meeting the LEED guidelines?

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Energy Star Washer and Gas Dryer

Posted on February 2, 2016 by ellen

I noticed that our older washing machine was leaking every time we did a load. The leak seemed to increase in volume and I had wanted to replace this older washer with a more energy efficient one for our LEED remodel. Of course a new model would be quite expensive so I looked for a used set with a gas dryer on Craigslist.
I lost an offer in early January when the owner did not get back to me before it snowed several inches. I didn’t want to try to move a laundry pair in the snow. And the pair was over 10 years old. Then we were going out of town for a week and while we were gone someone else purchased the set.
About two weeks later I noticed this ad. I emailed the contact immediately but I happened to be in the hospital with my mom that day because she was having a procedure. I almost missed out on this pair too, but the person who was going to borrow a truck to get them did not show up, so we were able to use the tilting trailer to load these–the washer is heavy, over 250 lbs. They were manufactured in late 2008 and purchased new in January 2009. The owner had all the paperwork including the bill of sale. So this set is a bit newer and the price was very low. It was the last day they were available because new ones were coming the next day and if they were not gone, the owner was going to have the delivery folks haul them away. The location was about 30 minutes away which was not too far.

GE Washer and Gas Dryer Ad

They were in a mud room attached to the garage off their kitchen so there were only 2 steps down into the garage. We quickly disassembled the pair with a screwdriver to remove the brackets and a pliers to loosen the water and gas connections, luckily there were shutoffs for both, and carted them out with our appliance hand truck. Loading them on the tilt trailer was not too difficult, we perched them both on the end of the trailer and then stood on it to tilt it up and latch it. Then we pushed them forward over the axle of the trailer, put a tarp over them and tied them down with bungee cords, straps and rope. Didn’t want them going anywhere. We got them home just fine and before the snow started falling.

Washer and Dryer loaded on tilt trailer

All I had to do then was to remove the old set and clean the floor before the new set could be put in.

Old Washer and Dryer Set

I have been cleaning up portions of the stained concrete floor in preparation for putting up walls. So I had the cleaner, sealer, and polish available to treat the floor after I tried to get the water stains out. I was not completely successful in removing all the stains but with new sealer and polish it doesn’t look too bad. The sealer had to dry overnight so it was the next day, on Sunday, that I was able to install the new washer and dryer. I started by thoroughly cleaning each of them with Clorox cleanup.

ew GE Stacked Washer and Dryer

Installing consisted of figuring out exactly where I wanted them. I wanted to have enough room to use the gas pipe for drip drying on hangers so that meant closer to where the utility room wall will be, but I didn’t want them to be too close so that they would have to be moved when the wall is built.

After setting the washer in place, it had to be leveled front to back and side to side and the legs adjusted and tightened. The next step was installing the hoses, and I used plumbers tape on the connections. Then moving the drain enough so that it would clear the gas pipe attachment for the dryer. I cleaned out the drain hose and attached it and set it into the stand pipe.

The dryer had to be lifted up on the washing machine. That was awkward but we got it up there. Then I had to reattach the brackets so that it could be screwed to the washing machine. I also used some 3M double sided tape to reattach the four rubber feet that cushion the dryer on the washing machine.

Reattaching the exhaust pipe flue was a bit of a hassle because I had to rearrange the pipe for the higher attachment and cut the flexible pipe so there was not too much so it would not get kinked or dip down. Luckily I had some good flue tape to attach the pipes together and the clamp ring for the dryer side. I also cleaned out the pipe, although it was not too dirty because I had cleaned it out when I reconnected the dryer last time.

We bought a new flexible gas pipe for the dryer because the old one had been kinked, but we re-used the water hoses the owner had been using. It took almost all day to finish the floor polishing and put in the new set. But by evening I was washing some clothes in it. Unfortunately during the first couple of loads the washer shimmied way too much during the spin cycle, I tried using the medium spin and it still shimmied. I was afraid we had broken a drum support while moving it. I noticed the timer would reset itself after a particularly shaky spin and start the whole spin process again! I interceded by changing the spin cycle to rinse and spin and it finally finished the load.

Today I found the service mode information, performed the tests, and read the service codes: http://www.appliance-repair-it.com/GE-front-load-washer.html. There was only one error code and that was for a blocked drain. Since the drain is freely flowing now, I assumed that was an old error code. If not it will show up again soon. Just in case I opened and cleaned the pump filter at the bottom of the machine. But there was only a little wet lint in the filter.

GE Washer Cleaning pump filter

Everything else tested out as operational, and even the spin cycles did not shake the machine. I can only assume that the clothes I loaded were off balance. I tried a load of sheets today and the spin cycle was fine. So hopefully I will learn to use the machine so that it doesn’t get the jitters.

Finally, I moved a cabinet from the garage to the utility room to hold the detergent and other items we generally kept on the dryer. It has a nice shelf inside for extra bottles of detergent, vinegar and even some wine and liquor we had on the floor. Also has three drawers which I used for placemats for now. It holds some stuff we had laying around the utility room. Looks much more organized now!

Cabinet beside Washer/Dryer

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Tweaking the Pump Wiring Again

Posted on January 31, 2016 by ellen

As part of the pump install I changed the wiring again. In the past I had trouble with the primary and secondary pumps working independently. I thought that was one of the things that wore out the Taco 011 pump the first time. I thought it was running when the primary pump was not and when the valves were closed.
The Taco Zone Controller sends a signal to the boiler when the zone valve opens. The zone valves open when the thermostat calls for heat. I think the valve opens and then sends the end switch signal back to the controller which then turns on the boiler.
The boiler has a control for the primary pump. It tells the pump to come on as soon as the boiler sends it a signal. It also remains on for a minute or two after the boiler goes off. The zone controller sends a signal to the secondary pump to come on when it sends the boiler signal. So the secondary pump comes on a bit before the boiler because the boiler has to go through a pre-heat setting. I thought that was keeping the two pumps from running synchronously. Although I forgot about it, reading the former post reminded me that the secondary pump coming on first was causing a low pressure error in the boiler.
But when I wired the new pump, it seemed that it would be easier to wire the primary pump back at the boiler. The electrical box on the Grundfos is not as large as the one on the Taco and I was having difficulty fitting in all the wires. So I eliminated the one to the boiler pump and wired it back at the boiler itself. Now the entire system seems to work just fine. This smaller pump is not causing low pressure in the primary loop.
Here is the Taco illustration of their recommended wiring for a system and domestic hot water pump. I am only using the system pump and not the priority zone 6 to store hot water.

Taco Optional System Circulator

The diagram is a little different from the actual board. Here is a demonstration of the system pump wiring also with a domestic hot water pump.

Zone Control Pump Wiring

I have the jumper installed even though I’m not using Zone 6. But the secondary pump is wired to the first two posts, the pump end switch on the board. I’m not sure why this seems to be working when it didn’t before so I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

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Heat is Back On

Posted on January 31, 2016 by ellen

I left the heat off until the days stopped being sunny. During that time the house temperature didn’t go below 64 degrees. Even when it got down to 20 degrees outside at night. We woke up to a steady 64 degrees every day even when the outside temp was warmer than 20. I supposed that means the house loses heat at a constant rate no matter what the outside temperature is? As long as it is below the inside temperature anyway. During the sunny days the inside easily heated up to 70 or 72 within an hour or so of the sun shining into the house. And it did not get warmer than that.

But this weekend the sun stopped shining and we got some snow. So I turned on the heat with the new pump installed. I had confirmed that it worked with most of the valves–at least two of the valves are not turning on the boiler so there seems to be a problem with their wiring. But enough zones are working so that I have three turned on and the nighttime temperature in the house is staying at the daytime temperature of about 70. I have the thermostats set for 65.

The pump is not reading 6 GPM though. With only one zone open it reads between 1 and 2 GPM and with all zones open between 3 and 4 GPM. With those numbers and my calculations we should not be feeling warm when the temperature outside gets cold. Obviously the programs that I used to figure the Manual J stuff were a bit on the generous side for BTU requirements. But we can’t complain! We seem to have good system in place, despite the issues with the valves. I rebuilt them this summer and maybe some of the old wires should have been replaced too.

After I installed the pump, I tried all the pump settings with various numbers of valves open. I could get it to pump a little faster on a high setting both at the fixed high speed and at the high variable speed but it uses a lot more watts to do it, while the Auto uses the least watts for the same speeds, it just doesn’t pump at the highest possible GPM. Not sure how it determines the flow rate, but it must be the head from the piping is high enough to result in the lower variable speeds.

Here are the control settings. Number 3 is the variable setting within a section of the performance curve. Auto is variable within the entire performance curve.

Grundfos Alpha Control Display

This is the pump in action with one valve calling for heat. It is on Auto Control and shows the watt and flow measurements. This is a great feature.

Grundfos Alpha 15-55 at 14 Watts

You might notice that the pump is installed with the existing flanges. I worried about whether it would fit. Grundfos does not offer stainless flanges for their pumps. Since I was not sure I could use the existing Taco flanges, I ordered an expensive set of Grundfos brass flanges from Amazon. But the Taco stainless flanges worked great. So the return of the brass flanges will cost me $8. However, I thought the insurance that I could put in the pump before it got very cold and cloudy was worth it.

At 14 watts of power the pump flow is 2 GPM. That seems slow but it also seems to be heating the house at that flow rate.

Grundfos Alpha 15-55 at 2 GPM

If the 6 GPM calculated flow rate was a too high estimate, perhaps the Taco 011 pump was too large for the system? I will just have to see how the Grundfos performs and lasts.

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Over-sized Pump vs. Undersized

Posted on January 25, 2016 by ellen

How did I end up with a Taco 011 pump for the secondary system anyway? The project spreadsheet has the original calculations.

Pressure Loss	Zone	Length	Delta T 20 degrees	Loss @ 20
Rear Bedrooms	1	50	0.03	1.50
Family Kitchen	2	355	0.03	10.65
Entry/ Dining	3	330	0.03	9.44
Living	4	290	0.03	8.29
Master 1	5	245	0.03	7.01
Master 2	5	250	0.03	7.15
			Highest	10.65


Secondary Loop	Zone 1 3/4″ pipe	Zone 2-5 1/2″ pipe

Loop corners	90 degrees	180 degrees	Total Pressure Loss at delta 20
Rear Bedrooms	14		28
Family Kitchen	11	9	29
Entry/ Dining	11	13	37
Living	2	14	30
Master 1	22	6	34
Master 2	30	4	38
	1 1/4″ pipee	Highestp	38
Tee Side Port	5.5		43.5
Reducer Coupling to 1″	0.6		44.1
Reducer Coupling to 3/4″	0.5		44.6
	1″ pipe
Air eliminator valve (gate valve?)	0.3		44.9
Tee Straight	0.45		45.35
Ball Valve	4.3		49.65
Tee Side Port (Tee off primary loop)	4.5		54.15
	3/4″ pipe
90 degree elbow	2		56.15
Zone Valve	10		66.15
Plus longest 1/2″ length			10.15
	Equivalent Feet of Pipe	Divided by .04	132.45	5.298
	Total HEAD	Loop plus piping		15.948


Room	Zone	BTU Capable	Sq. Ft.
Rear Beds	1	15729.00	565.00
Family/ Kitchen	2	7281.00	342.00
Entry/ Dining	3	9419.00	315.00
Living	4	15942.00	420.00
Master	5	9952.00	376.00
Total		58323.00	2018.00

Given a requirement of about 60,000 btu/hr, if 10,000 BTU/hr= Pump Speed of 1 Gallon per Minute, then the base pumping requirement is 6 GPM.
Given an effective 16 ft. of head, then the pump needs to be capable of 6 GPM at 16 ft of head pressure.

Taco and Grundfos Pump Curves

According to the Taco pump curves, the 008 would not be powerful enough, the 014 would do the job and the next higher pump is the 011. So since it is more common and more easily available, the 011 seemed like it was a reasonable choice.

The downside is that I have burned out two of them! I am assuming that the pump is too big for just one zone at a time. The rear bedroom radiators are only capable of about 15,000 btu/hr which may be a bit undersized for the lower temperature water in the radiant system. So it runs more often that the rest of the system.

ECM pumps (electronically controlled motor) are considered much more energy efficient, however the largest residential pump I could find is the Grundfos Alpha 15-55 which is roughly equivalent to the Taco 008. Notice on the graphs above that the fixed speed Grundfos 15-55 is just a little more capable than the 008 although it can only pump 6 GPM at about 14 ft. of head. The Alpha graph shows a lower capability of 6 GPM at 12 ft. head.

Grundfos Alpha 15-55

Grundfos Alpha Pump Curve

Most of the time the pump should be operating at below the maximum requirement. The Alpha has the additional feature of showing the watts being used and the flow rate. Since it is designed to provide a constant pressure that adjusts automatically as the demand adjusts, it should not burn out from not enough flow. So I ordered one from Supply House and took advantage of a three day 15% off coupon that came just when I needed it. With that the pump was only $275 so hopefully it fits the taco flanges and I can install it when it arrives.

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Ach Phooey! Taco Pump Siezed

Posted on January 24, 2016 by ellen

Since we returned from a trip to see our newest grandson about a week ago, I’d been noticing that the floor was not warm but the radiators in the back were. I thought since I had turned the heat down that it was just not coming on in the slab area of the house. But when I woke up at night all the thermostats were calling for heat and the floor was not warm. I tried opening all of the zone valves manually in case they were not getting electricity or were broken and still the floor did not get warm. Then I knew there was a problem.The main secondary pump was apparently not working.

The Culprit Pump

I could smell that the wiring was burning so I shut all the thermostats off and called Supply House. At first they wanted me to hire someone to look at it which was quite frustrating. I just said no, who else could I call–Taco directly? Then the guy finally decided to talk to me about the issue. He said the burning smell is probably because it is running dry. But I could not see that it could be dry since the pressure in the boiler is correct and the water feed is open to make up any water that might escape, which it doesn’t because we don’t hear the water tank filling at random times. I just keep it open as a fail safe.

The tech recommended I take it apart and let them know the status of the impeller. He thought it might be disintegrating–maybe from hard water. I took out the cartridge and the impeller was seized up solid and both the cartridge and the top plate had brown burn marks on them. So I called back but they were closed by the time I had it apart and had to wait until the next day. The new guy said no problem, these pumps do this, we will send another one under warranty. Said to look for the paperwork in my email.

The paperwork requires that I send back the part and they will look at it for 3 to 5 days and then send a replacement. Yikes! In that time it could get to zero degrees and we only have the solar heat and the wood stove. By the way solar alone kept us quite cozy last night at 25 degrees outside.

I do have a second cartridge that I put in the old pump at some point until that pump stopped working in a day or two. I took out the cartridge and examined the impeller and it turned hard but I was able to loosen it up and get it turning freely. So I put that in the pump. Then I must have been tired because I dropped one of the flange nuts and darned if I could not find it anywhere. These are the kind of frustrations you can only hope to avoid.

Unfortunately that cartridge was also fried. I took the pump out again and rigged it up to pump from one bucket to the next and it did not pump at all. At this point I am convinced that the Taco 011 pump is the wrong fit for this system. According to my calculations and the pump diagrams this pump is the right size but I have now burned out two of them, one used and one brand new. So time to buy something else.

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Another Flaw in Boiler Piping Redesigned

Posted on January 20, 2016 by ellen

The placement of the Taco iSeries mixing valve is designed to temper the water going into the stove, however, that valve also limits the flow of water returning from the storage loop. I realized this in the middle of the night after completing the changes to the stove plumbing yesterday.

Taco ISeries Mixing Valve Hookup

I reread the instructions for the iSeries three way valve and they show it installed in an isolated thermal loop that is feeding the heat/storage side of the system.

Taco iSeries 3 Way Primary/Secondary

Looking at this diagram and one of the stove installation diagrams that uses a similar piping design, I redrew the plumbing with a similar thermal loop. The drawing duplicates the iSeries instructions and moves the mixing valve to the secondary storage side of the system.

Dibble Fireplace Boiler Piping-18

Although this plumbing looks like the Taco install diagram above, it is NOT the storage side in this system that needs to be tempered, the water going to storage should be as hot as possible. Instead, the water going to the stove should be tempered with a mixture of warm and cooler water returning to the stove. The water in the return primary loop is mixed with water from the supply. So the mixing valve should stay where it is.

The solution that will provide cooler return water to the mixing valve and bypass the valve when returning from the secondary loop is to install another tee in the boiler primary loop. This design is similar to the mixing valve thermal balancing loop on the secondary piping in the Taco diagram but on the boiler side. It also closely spaces the return tee next to the supply tee in the secondary loop.

Dibble Fireplace Boiler Piping-19

Now the fix is in place. I had to run around a bit finding a 3/4 inch brass tee, which apparently Lowes is dropping from its inventory, and to exchange the wrong Sharkbite tee that I picked by accident–it was probably in the wrong box and I didn’t notice. I hate having to spend construction time running around to various stores to get what I need. I added a shut off on the new loop too so supplies cost about $60. When I turned the water back on and it refilled the system, I only had one leak at a Sharkbite that was easily tightened. I also notice the air vent was closed! So once I opened that the air was able to fully escape from the pipes and the pump ran quieter too.

Redesigned Piping Primary Secondary

I’m anxious to have another fire so I can see if the aquastat turns on the secondary pump and the heated water gets to the storage area.

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Fireplace Boiler System Re-design

Posted on January 19, 2016 by ellen

During our first fire in the fireplace boiler the hot water was not getting out of the stove. I took some thermal photos to try to capture where the heat was going. The photo appears to show that the hot water was in the primary loop but it never got hot enough to open the zone valve to allow the heated water to move to the storage tank. Even when I opened it manually, the warmer water did not flow through the pipes to the storage system. UPDATE: I later realized the return loop was “blocked” by the mixing valve allowing only some return water back to the stove.

Thermal Image of Pipe

The internal temperature of the water in the stove was very hot, almost 200 degrees, and the pump was working hard and getting hot itself.

Thermal Image of Pump

The system was not working according to plan, so it was back to the drawing board to change the plumbing layout of the stove. I first thought that the connections should be closer to the primary secondary type of system–maybe I should have planned it this way to begin with! In the original plan, I was following diagrams that came with the stove, so it appears I had a bit of misdirection to overcome. The original plumbing diagram had the takeoff for the storage loop at the top of the stove and that is how I plumbed it.

Dibble Fireplace Boiler Piping-15 Revised

The plumbing looked a bit crooked in this layout where a ball valve allowed shut off of water through the primary loop. I had tried closing this during the burn hoping to force water into the pipe that goes to the storage tank but it was not flowing through the stove properly.

Fireplace Boiler Piping

The new layout has the “tee” lower on the primary loop. The connection to storage was moved from the top of the boiler to within a few inches of the supply return in a secondary arrangement. I added another Taco 006 pump in place of the zone valve to pump water into the secondary loop and that is now controlled by the Honeywell 6006 aquastat which is set to turn the pump on at 120 degrees and off 30 degrees lower.

Dibble Fireplace Boiler Piping-16

The existing plumbing was disconnected with the orange release clips for Sharkbite fittings. Imagine if I had to disconnect soldered pipes to correct the system! Thank goodness for Sharkbite!

Removing the Zone Valve

I am a frequent customer of Supply House but also check on ebay and Amazon to be sure I am getting the best price for the items I order. This new Taco 006 was $129 from ebay. The box is from my Sharkbite fitting order.

New Taco 006 Pump

The secondary loop “tee” is at a 90 degree angle, with the return coming from below. I tried to make this tee as small as possible while still having room to disconnect the pipes if necessary. It is definitely less than the maximum twelve inches for the separation of the primary and secondary loops but it is not in the “closely spaced tee” arrangement.

New secondary loop “tee”

I also removed the check valve at the stove high point because the tapping led me to believe that the hot water was having trouble getting out of the stove into the pipes against the resistance of the check valve. It does not seem in retrospect that a check valve was even required at this point.

Removed Check Valve

The new plumbing was completed and I opened the supply valve to refill the tank, the stove, and the piping. After I stopped hearing an active trickling sound, I turned on the pump to see if there were leaks. I could not believe that I took the whole thing apart and put it back together and did not have one leak. Must have been my day.

Completed New Plumbing

The plumbing actually looks neater with the changes, which must mean it is closer to correct! I can’t wait to try a fire and see if the new system works as designed and the second pump gets warm water to the storage tank in the utility room.

Stove Top View

Posted in Deconstruction, Fireplace Boiler, Maintenance and Repair, Planning, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Fixing a Printer

Posted on January 4, 2016 by ellen

I purchase a lot of supplies online, and occasionally an error is made in ordering or shipping and I have to return an item. It has always been a hassle to get the return slips printed. Either at our daughter’s house or at the library, we always had to go out to get the labels.

My son-in-law decided to purchase a new printer when he started having problems with his Samsung CLP 315 Color Laser Printer. He thought it only needed new cartridges but I tried the printer and realized it was having other problems too. Back then I looked at solutions online and decided I’d try them but the project fell by the wayside.

I ordered the toner powder and chips to just replace the toner in the existing cartridges, but then I put the whole thing on a shelf for two years because I just didn’t have the mental energy to figure out the problems. Finally, now that it is winter and the holidays and a bit of space in our schedules, I decided to haul out the printer and tackle the repairs. I also have a few returns to send to Amazon.

The toner kit I bought was from tm-toner on Amazon. There are several other vendors who carry the kit on ebay too. Be sure to get one that includes the chips that tell the printer the toner is full. I paid $36.75 for the kit in 2014 and it is not more expensive today.

TM-Toner Kit

I found several resources with instructions about how to refill the cartridges, including the tip that using a vacuum would keep the job from being too messy. It also helps to clean out the extra toner still in the cartridges so that the new toner is the exact amount the cartridge requires. It was a youtube video in Chinese that had great step by step visuals of the toner replacement–I turned off the sound as it was entirely unnecessary.

Replacing the chips is merely a matter of peeling off the paper cover for the sticky tape and pressing it over the old chip. Luckily the ones in this kit had a directional arrow to get it in the right position.

I knew the printer had been overheating and the print on one side of the paper was faded. The cure for these symptoms was to do a thorough cleaning of the interior of the printer. I found a description of the problem and solution again on youtube. This video was silent but had a step by step description of cleaning the inside of the printer. I followed the directions and had mostly success with the process. I used our wet/dry vacuum and it really helped keep the powdery toner from spreading.

Samsung dumping and vacuuming toner

I did have a problem with reassembly of a paper roller. I didn’t get it set correctly and when I played around with it, I didn’t notice that the small end bracket had fallen off.

I lost the small end bracket during reassembly

I thought I had ruined the printer or would have to search for an expensive assembly to get the one small part, but I checked inside the vacuum cleaner and there it was!

Close up of end bracket that fell off

Needless to say, I was more careful when reassembling it a second time. I had hoped that would solve all the issues, but when I tested the printer with a few different types of paper, thinking perhaps some of our paper had gained moisture or something to make it jam halfway through the printer, I found that I had a common problem with these printers, a sensor was worn out and it was making the paper jam in the same place each time.

Again there was a very good tutorial about how to replace this sensor on youtube. I ordered the part from Part Store, a Best Buy branded site. Digikey was also supposed to carry it but they were out of stock and no longer stocking this part. I ordered two because shipping is more than the part, so it seemed to make sense if they are being discontinued.

Samsung 0604-001393 PHOTO-INTERRUPTER;TR $3.03 2 $6.06 + $3.95 shipping + $.62 tax = $10.63. I had to wait a few days for the parts to arrive.

Samsung paper sensor

Samsung sensor removal

The video shows that popping the new sensor back into place is the most difficult step. It was true, I ended up dislodging the rollers below the sensor in order to lift up the casing enough to get the new sensor into it and the wiring to slip down into its narrow channel. Putting it back into place took lots of jiggling and finesse. But it finally slipped back into its correct alignment and I put it back together.

I like the message at the end of the video.

Always DIY

This is another silent video which I find I like the best since sometimes there is more talking than showing on youtube videos. I usually hate video results as I can scan for information much more quickly on a printed page, especially with illustrations, but I have to admit for this job, the videos were a better source of help in fixing the printer.

And the outcome? I was able to print a beautiful color rendition of the cover of the manual as well as a couple of return slips for Amazon packages. Very satisfying.

Posted in Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off

Craigslist Vanity and Doors

Posted on January 3, 2016 by ellen

I sometimes wonder how the things I like will come together in one coherent style. I have called the kitchen post industrial rustic. I think the new master bathroom vanity fits that description. I know I like a tall vanity and they are hard to find. I also like the unusual. So I keep a lookout on Craigslist for items that are inexpensive and will fit into our spaces.

I really thought it would be great to use the old Hoosier cabinet from my grandmother for our bathroom vanity. But when I got it into the space it was too wide as well as the question of how to fit a sink into it without ruining it.

I have occasionally seen log style or even Old Hickory style vanities, but they are usually 60 inches wide or more and quite costly. I knew I had at least 36″ to work with but didn’t want a typical cabinet vanity. When I saw this ad on Craigslist I made an offer. I picked it up right in downtown Denver off the 16th St. Plaza and California St. so from a hip address too.

Custom Sink and Vanity Craigslist Ad

The metal stand is very sturdy and could make a great tool stand if it doesn’t work out as a vanity. It is a full 36″ tall with a built in 4″ backsplash on the sides where there will be walls.

Post Industrial Rustic–Red Metal Sink Stand

The faucet is a Kohler kitchen faucet that I can use elsewhere, right now I’m thinking it could be the faucet for the bar sink, and the sink is a cool cast glass rimmed sink decorated with orange fish and gray horseshoe crabs. I was going to use a Victorian style sink in this bathroom so this sink will probably go elsewhere too.

Glass sink

I also bought a pair of closet doors from craigslist to emphasize the rustic theme.

Craigslist Bifold Doors–I paid the full asking price–doors are expensive

I am planning to use one set for the closet and one for the bathroom. On a home improvement show, I saw a sliding door installed with casters on the bottom so that it would not need a floor track so that is what I am planning to do too. This is about where the closet door would be located.

Bifold closet door

The bathroom door would be at right angles to the closet to allow for a longer wall in the room. The bifold leaves enough room to open the door into the bathroom and still have a 36″ opening.

Bathroom bifold door

So far the master bath has a 42 x 32″ shower, a 37″ x 25″ metal vanity, and a 67″ x 32″ freestanding tub. I have redrawn the bathroom walls several times to make room for all these amenities in the master bath without making it feel too cramped. When I was planning for walls I drew this latest floor plan with the master bathroom and closet doors at a 90 degree angle to one another.

Dibble Floorplan Update 12-11-15

Posted in Design Style, Plumbing, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

Fireplace Boiler in Action

Posted on January 3, 2016 by ellen

On Christmas Eve it was cold outside and we finally made a fire in the fireplace boiler.

First Fire in Fireplace Boiler

The fireplace outside air draft worked perfectly, and the glass door makes a spectacular fire show. The fireplace water got very hot but there was no internal pressure. It turned out that I had the water supply turned off–so it may have been cavitating with not enough water flow.

Temp and Pressure first fire

After I turned the water supply on I could hear the storage system filling with water and assumed the stove system was also filling. So for New Year’s we fired up the stove again. But the water in the pipes did not seem to get warm while the stove water got very hot.

Unfortunately the logic for sending the warmed water to storage in the utility room is flawed. The first problem was that the zone valve would not open. I realized that it was not getting power and finally that the Grundfos clip on aquastat would not work–since I double checked the stats and it turns on (closes the switch) at 95 not off, and off at 120 degrees while I would still want the the hot water to circulate to the storage system.

For the second fire, I replaced the Grundfos with the storage tank’s Honeywell 6006 aquastat. But the pipe never seemed to get hot enough to turn the storage zone valve on. I had it set at 120 degrees with a 30 degree differential so that the valve would come on at 120 degrees and higher and would turn off again at 90 degrees. Then I just tried leaving the storage zone valve open manually but the water still did not get warm in the pipes.

Second fire in the fireplace boiler with Honeywell aquastat

The pressure did build in the stove the second time. In fact as it reached 20 psi and the temperature in the stove approached 200, the check valve above the hot water pipe began to tap. Leading me to believe that the water was not pumping through the stove correctly. It was worrisome that the pressure regulator might go off, but it did not. Did the flapper type check valve slow the hot water cycle down?

Pressure and Temp build as fire burns–Check valve at rear of stove

My conclusion is that the single 006 pump at the boiler is not strong enough to get the water through the stove and also to storage. So the warmed water is not moving through the stove to the piping system. My solution will be to replace the zone valve with a second 006 pump that will be controlled by the aquastat. When the water in the primary loop is warm enough, the secondary pump will come on and pump the water through the storage loop.

If I look at this system as a primary/secondary loop system, then the current piping would be incorrect, as there are not close tees to the secondary loop. So it may be that the piping will have to change too. And if the check valve continues to tap, it may need to come out. Trial and error will eventually work out the issues with the system.

Posted in Fireplace Boiler | Comments Off

Plumbing Inspiration!

Posted on December 17, 2015 by ellen

My guilty pleasure is watching home improvement shows on TV. I usually watch one each evening. I mix it up with a different series each night so they are not too repetitive. I have Netflix and lately they have been dropping shows like flies, so sometimes I don’t get a whole series in, but some new series seem to show up.
This Genevieve’s Renovation is one show that I just started. My kids wonder how I can stand the slow pace and repetitive information in these shows, but I look for that one idea that can help me in our renovation and I guess I’m willing to slog through whole shows just to find it.

Outdoor Spigot in Guest Bath–Season 1 Episode 4

I was impressed by this idea. I have been thinking of using a wall mounted faucet for the bathroom faucet in the guest bathroom, but they are VERY expensive. Just like in this show I have always liked the animal shaped spigots that are made for outdoors. In fact I bought one for our first house and used it to fill the wood cook stove water reservoir. I had to remove it when the pipe was in the way of the new furnace installation. But I kept it and even have it here in the new house.

Genevieve learns her idea has a problem

So Genevieve buys two of these thinking one for hot and one for cold, right? But then she wants to have a big sink and separate the faucets–but if one is hot and one cold they would be too far apart to mix like in old fashioned sinks.

Forgot one was for hot and the other cold–what can she do?

Never fear, this is the clever part, there is a mixing “box” they call it, or valve that can premix the hot and cold at a desired proportion before it gets to the spigot. This valve is installed under the sink.

There is a brief glance at her tub faucet diagram which is a normal mixing faucet.

By adding mixing valves under the sink, she is able to have two inexpensive and interesting faucets that both deliver hot and cold water to each side of her sink.

A mixing “box” (valve) under the sink.

When the faucet turns on, both hot and cold come out in a pre-set proportion.

The faucets needed to have an extension from the wall to reach inside the edge of the sink so they used plain copper pipe and covered it in rope as a decorative accent. I’m thinking there are several coverings that could be used for this purpose.

Spigot’s copper extension pipe covered in rope.

Here are the final faucets installed in her guest bathroom.

Final two spigots in bathroom.

And here is the mixing valve that I ordered for my bathroom!

Moen Mixing Valve

This was not the most nor the least expensive valve available on Amazon. I chose this one because it has check valves integrated into it and they are recommended and it is a good brand name while others seemed to be non-branded imports. The mixing setting is very simple and it is checked at the faucet for temperature with a thermometer. They recommend about 110 degrees.
This is a very inexpensive solution for a wall mounted faucet. Especially since I already have a decorative snail spigot! Too bad I don’t have a wall–yet.

Posted in Planning, Plumbing | Comments Off

Planning for Walls

Posted on December 14, 2015 by ellen

This winter we are hoping to start putting up walls and with the new tub in the master bathroom, I wanted to tweak the floorplan to accommodate the larger tub and create smaller closets in the entry and family room.
I have been able to work on the floorplan with a free downloaded CAD program called DraftSight. This is one of the few free CAD programs for Mac users. It is free to students, hobbyists, and individuals. I am not very proficient with CAD software but I’m able to make rough changes in the original dwg file from the architect.
This floorplan is the original from Humanature Architecture.

Dibble Floorplan 11-14-12

I have tweaked it a few times, most recently to change the closets in the entry to allow more room for the doorways. I also tried a different layout for the bathroom and closet doors to allow more space for the bed to be against the bathroom wall. It doesn’t work as well to have the bed against the hallway wall. It is a feature bed and would be nice to see it when entering the room, and I don’t want to have to walk around it to get to the bathroom and closet. I also moved the bar to the circular table that we have at the end of the kitchen counters.

Dibble Floorplan 12-04-15

In the latest drawing, notice the laundry sink in the utility room is gone–too close to the electrical box for the well pump–and there is a bar sink in the dining area. The other major change is the master bedroom closet. Although everyone likes a larger walk in closet in the master, I am thinking of reducing the size of the master closet in the original plan in order to move the bathroom door out of the east bedroom wall. The size of the closet interior is now about 5’x 5′. With the large walk in closet for seasonal clothes across from the bedroom, I think the smaller closet and the space gained in the bedroom itself are worth the change.

Dibble Floorplan Update 12-11-15

This new design is about the size of the original closet in the bedroom with the door changed from the south side to the west side of the closet.

Original Master Bedroom Closet

The interior of the original closet was adequate for two people.

Original Master Closet Interior

The Arvada Building Department told me that the interior walls can be built anywhere and do not have to conform exactly to the architect’s drawing. For the new windows and doors I did submit the changes to the building department as well as paying extra for adding the windows and doors to the building permit as they were not part of the original scope of work. I felt good about adding them, even though I probably wouldn’t have had to. I wanted to be sure the house was credited with professionally installed windows and doors for future sale. But these wall changes will not require that I submit new plans.

Posted in Construction, Planning | Comments Off

Cleaning the Challenger’s Heat Exchanger

Posted on December 10, 2015 by ellen

When I was wiring the boiler, I checked the condensate overflow system on the boiler and noticed the plastic drain was full of black gunk. I cleaned it out and about a week later checked it again and it was dirty again. I looked up dirty condensate and the cause could be that the boiler’s heat exchanger was dirty.
Cleaning the heat exchanger is a maintenance item for the Challenger Boiler. I remember in class, the instructor had installed a Challenger in his daughter’s house as a test. A year later he performed the maintenance and found the heat exchanger clogged with something white. I was thinking calcification from water which of course I mentioned and was embarrassed when he pointed out it was the heat exchanger for hot air, not water.
To open the exchanger, the cover comes off the boiler and the wiring clips to the blower are removed. The plastic exhaust pipe is removed although the pan can be left in. The gas is turned off and the upper gas connection is opened. There is a gasket and washer in this pipe that I removed and needed to reassemble twice because I forgot to reinstall it the first time.

Disconnected Blower Wiring and Gas Pipe

There are several star headed bolts holding on the cover. At first I left the star key on the ring and used a wrench for leverage. Some of the bolts were rather tight.

Loosening the bolts

I found calcification similar to the teacher’s example when ours was opened. But nothing like the black smudgy dirt that was in the condensate.

Calcified Heat Exchanger

I scraped the white stuff and vacuumed the chamber but there was no dirt between the plates. Not all the calcification came off, and I used some emory paper on the cover side too. I could have scraped off the ignitor, shown in the upper right of the photo but I was reluctant to do much because it looked fine and I didn’t want to break anything.
Additional maintenance that I did not do would be to disassemble the blower and clean it and take off some clips on the insulated cover of the exchanger to clean underneath it. But the type of clips were likely to break when I removed them and I didn’t have replacements and the clean look of the exchanger made me decide to wait until spring for more maintenance. Another recommendation is to run fresh water through the heating pipes and vinegar water through the hot water pipes. I didn’t want to introduce a lot of new water into the system having to bleed it again, and the installation of the boiler never mentions having an in and out port for cleaning the hot water side! So I will have to figure out how to port into the supply just before the circulation pump and then on the other side of the boiler to a bucket of vinegar water in order to do that step.
I put the heat exchanger cover back on. It was nice to have help during the removal and the replacement just to be sure of the grip on the cover and to watch for the gasket that must be in the groove on the perimeter of the cover. During the replacement I took the key out of the holder and used vice grips for leverage. This worked much better because the handle was not in the way of the boiler parts.

Tightening Bolts

Maintenance is supposed to be yearly. I have had the boiler in operation about two years although it was used off and on before that. It is not that difficult to do–at least the heat exchanger step is not difficult. Next time I will be more aggressive and have the right clips for the insulated cover.

In the meantime I will just have to check the condensate holder more often to be sure it is not filling with sludge and the water is fresh. My theory is that the heat exchanger was not the cause of the condensate issue. The condensate forms in the exhaust pipe and drips down into a pan that is connected to the condensate trap. It seems likely that that condensate mixes with the exhaust gases and the black is carbonization from exhaust. I will have to do more research about condensing boilers to understand the process better. Somehow the condensate is used to boost the heat to the boiler making it more efficient.

Posted in Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off

Siding Arrives

Posted on December 3, 2015 by ellen

Just before we left for Thanksgiving the siding arrived from Lowes. I had unfortunately chosen the Westminster store that was farther away for the delivery which I found out when I arrived at the closer store. It was about 20 minutes further away but the staff were very friendly.
I brought home six panels of Navajo Beige cement board siding and a container of edge paint that it turned out they had given me. I also ordered two more containers so I should have enough edge paint.
I bought a Senco auto feed screw gun for the job. I found the best price at Menards online. We do not have a local Menards store but some of their items can be delivered to the home for a reasonable shipping fee and still be less expensive than other sources.

Senco 3″ Screw Gun

I investigated stainless steel screws for the siding but I could not find screws long enough to use with the rainscreen and 1″ polyiso insulation sheathing. So I bought 2 1/2″ Duraspin deck screws. I had to buy them online because the store did not have screws this long and I did not notice they have a slight pan head instead of a countersunk head. This turns out to be an advantage when using cement board siding as they are less likely to penetrate through the panel.

Duraspin Deck Screws

Unfortunately, Navajo Beige is really an off white. I was worried about the color tan clashing with the stucco and now it really clashes. Eventually we will paint either the stucco or the siding, but for now the boards are impregnated with the color and we will not have to think about painting for some time.

Navajo Beige Hardie Stucco Panel

Navajo Beige looks like a light tan on the color sample but definitely looks white on the wall.

First Panel

The first panel was exactly 48″ so we did not have to cut the panel vertically. We removed the plastic protective sheet on the first panel and you can see the chalk lines that show the stud locations. I remembered to leave the plastic on for subsequent panels. But it is a little harder to mark and cut with the plastic on.
I also bought a special tool to cut the siding. It is a PacTool battery powered cement board shears and they really work well. The package came with two batteries and the cutters are supposed to last for three houses of siding. We’ll see. It really makes the job of cutting cement board much easier. These work the same for the panel siding as for the plank.

PacTool Shears

The cut edge is then painted with the touch up paint before it is installed. The touch up paint comes with a dabber bottle that has a small pad to press against the edge. It does not flow that easily but I used the sander to help smooth the edge to take the paint better.

I was able to finish the area around the front door before we left. Although the small corner near the water spigot was quite problematic. The corner broke off when I tried to screw too close to the edge and then I had to make multiple attempts at cutting a new corner with a curved top. Eventually I settled for a corner that was almost right and wedged a small piece in above the spigot to close the gap. Not pretty but not that noticeable either.

Front Door Siding

I’m pleased with the siding so far. It is a very clean look.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Tools | Comments Off

Thanksgiving!

Posted on December 3, 2015 by ellen

Upstate New York Sunset

We visited family in upstate New York for Thanksgiving. The weather was mild and we enjoyed our visit. The turkey was a success. My grandson’s favorite dish at the meal.

Turkey

During prep time three generations of Dibbles posed with the new baby.

Girls

Dinner for all 19 of us present required two tables.

Table Two

After dinner the traditional game was played. This year it was Yahtzee.

Game time

Visited brother Rich’s farm where they are building calf stalls inside a sturdy greenhouse built from a kit. They are always building or doing something interesting.

Greenhouse with stalls

The greenhouse has 2″ pipe and is very sturdy. Would be nice to have one of these!

Greenhouse Detail

Greenhouse Connection

We were happy to have a chance to reconnect with brother Ken and Maria too. Visited their new house in Conklin for the first time and we were very impressed with the full brick ranch that has very nice finishes and seems perfect for them. Always good to see family.

Posted in Diversions | Comments Off

Boiler Wiring Fix

Posted on November 19, 2015 by ellen

This summer I re-built the zone valves for the boiler. And I planned new logic for the wiring so that I could include the fireplace boiler and hopefully a chiller. I had the new single pump relay using the output signal for the boiler’s primary pump as well as for the boiler signal to start. With that logic that I only need the boiler and its pump running when the water was not hot enough from storage and do not need it at all if a chiller is running. Although after this fix, the storage pump is still wired to the normally open pump control, I had to move both the primary pump and the boiler connection back to the main zone control board. (UPDATE: Primary pump is now wired back at the boiler and secondary at the zone controller) But for now the boiler wiring is fixed.

Taco 501-4 Switching Relay Alt 24 V

The single relay can’t control the boiler as wired above because it has to be powered from the aquastat in order to get the signal that the water is hot enough in storage to use. I tried using the always on connections (NC) and of course then the primary pump just ran all the time and then had no connection to the zone valves.

In order to get the boiler to respond to the zone valves again, I had to change this wiring setup. I could not remember why the pump was not wired to the boiler itself. I knew I had a problem but didn’t remember why. The boiler sends a signal to run the primary pump. I tried hooking it back up to the boiler and running the primary and secondary pumps separately again. But the secondary pump would come on when the valve opens as signaled by the zone controller, but as it started to pull water through the system, it caused a low pressure state in the boiler because the boiler goes through a preheat process before it fires and starts the boiler pump. Lo pressure is an error status and the boiler will not reach its heat stage but shuts itself down. It might have worked to wire both pumps to the boiler signal, but I need the secondary pump to be independent if I want to run a chiller system.

I also managed to connect the wrong white wire and blew the Challenger’s panel fuse not once but twice! Luckily I had a pack of spares and figured out what was making the fuse blow.

Since wiring to the boiler didn’t work, I had to reconstruct the wiring that did work last winter. But even after reading my own post about the boiler wiring, it took me some time to reproduce. I didn’t realize that I had an error in the wiring that I posted. When I tried to hook up the boilers as in the photo, the pump hooked to the priority zone ran all the time. Of course it was on the always closed connection. This wiring configuration for the boilers–at the lower left section of board does not work!

Revised Zone Control Wiring UPDATE: Does not work!

Here is the diagram of the incorrect priority wiring.

Always On Priority Wiring

So you would think changing this Priority Zone wiring to the always off (NO) connection would switch it when a thermostat called for heat, but this was NOT the case. I have all the dip switches in the off position and only wanted to run the secondary pump from this connection and it failed to come on when the primary pump did. It is wired to the pump connection on the zone control board.

I’m not sure why I had that diagram as the working one, it did not work, but I was saved by the comment in my post that said the pumps were wired in series. I again wired them in series, The black wire goes first to the secondary then the power goes to the primary. The white wire for the secondary is connected to the zone controller and the white for the primary is connected to the boiler. (UPDATE: No longer wired in series.)

I rechecked the installation manual and although it does recommend the primary/secondary piping system, it shows the secondary pump on the relay (and the primary pump on the boiler) which didn’t work for my setup. However, it could be that my secondary pump is too powerful for this configuration and that is why it pulls a low pressure error from the boiler. I have a Taco 009 pump on the primary loop and a Taco 011 pump on the secondary.

Secondary System Circulator Wiring

With this wiring, even when the fireplace boiler system is in place, both pumps will run when a zone calls for heat. The storage hot water pump will come on when the aquastat reaches the design temperature–about 120 degrees. That will heat the return water from the zones through the heat exchanger. That warmed water will go through the boiler but logically the Challenger boiler would not be firing because the boiler senses when the water reaches the pre-set temperature and shuts down the burner. Warmed water would still flow to the open zones. But of course this fireplace boiler setup is still untested. With a possible addition of a chilling system, the water to the boiler can be blocked off, but then the primary pump would have to be disconnected too.

I also had problems with a couple of the new zone valves. They were calling for heat but not sending a signal to the zone controller to start the boiler. It turned out they had a couple of loose connections, one with a broken wire. I had used the old wires and wire nuts to connect them to the controller so I just had to make a couple repairs and all was well.

It was nice to have the heat on last night when the temperature outside fell into the low 20’s. But we woke up to a pretty warm house at 74 in the living area. So we didn’t really need as much heat as we were getting. I will set the thermostats a bit lower.

Posted in Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Waterway Rainscreen

Posted on November 18, 2015 by ellen

Just as I was planning the rainscreen layer for the siding, Repurposed Materials had an auction to move some of their excess inventory. Among the treasures being sold were several rolls of Waterway rainscreen. The rolls are 35′ long and 58″ wide and consist of a woven acrylic polymer and a fabric membrane on the outer side.

Waterway Rainscreen with membrane

Waterway Rainscreen

Rolls of Waterway Rainscreen

I bid on each set at one time or another during the auction week. First on three rolls, then a group of five and even the truckload of 14 rolls. But I won the five rolls. I think this amount will be almost perfect to fit the siding we have to replace.

I can use actual rainscreen membrane now instead of the furring strip method. I feel very fortunate to get this for just under $10 a roll. A roll of a similar product, Home Slicker, without the membrane sells for about $150 a roll. Their literature says the higher cost product (about $200) with the membrane is to help keep a stucco scratch coat from clogging the mesh.

I started on the first section of wall with a 3″ piece of fiberglass from the fiberglass corners I bought at an earlier Repurposed Materials auction. Then I put on a galvanized metal z flashing above that. The siding is supposed to be at least 2″ from the cement walk and 6″ from dirt. So the fiberglass strip protects the membrane and tape that are closest to the cement. On top of the z flashing is a layer of the rodent/insect proof steel wool. It was difficult to cut the roll in half and I think I will order the narrower rolls when this order is used up. I used about a 1 1/2″ strip at the top and the bottom.

Lower flashing and fiberglass edge

There was no way to slip z flashing under the stucco header, so I used the z flashing upside down with a layer of the rodent material overlapping about 1/2″ and then the rainscreen was cut to go between the two edges of rodent screening. The flashing, xcluder rodent material and rainscreen were all put up with galvanized roofing nails.

Upper flashing

The rainscreen membrane is disintegrating from being outside in the weather. I removed the worst area at the beginning of the opened roll. The membrane is not an essential part of the system anyway. It is water resistant but it seems it is just there to prevent the mesh from being clogged. The matting is easier to install than lathe and will proved the breathability that a rainscreen wall requires.

Rainscreen Installed

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

Siding Rainscreen

Posted on November 9, 2015 by ellen

Building Science experts recommend a rainscreen layer between siding and the house wrap to protect the house wrap and siding from holding moisture and allow for evaporation of moisture that penetrates the siding. This rainscreen layer incorporates a drainage plane between the siding and the housewrap. It is required for Hardie Panel siding that is put on multifamily buildings but not residential applications. Others recommend the practice if annual rainfall is greater than 20 inches.

HardiePanel-Siding-Details-Wood-Framing-with-Wood-Furring-Strips-Wall-and-Soffit-for-Vented-Rainscreen

Wood Furring Strips for Vented Rainscreen

A rainscreen recognizes that siding is not completely water proof. It predicts that some water will get through the outer layer of siding. Then it will transfer to the inner layers of the wall through saturation. The drainage plane of a rainscreen creates ventilation that allows for the evaporation of excess moisture that penetrates the siding. Although we are residential and do not get 20 inches of rain per year, the building science is that this construction is superior to siding directly on membrane. If it is not expensive to implement, it makes sense to use this method for our siding.

There are specialized products used to create the drainage plane. Corovent is often mentioned. But the product is difficult to find and expensive.

Corovent Drainage Plane

The DIY method is to use wood lathe but the top and bottom of the ventilation space must be protected from rodents and insects. Fiberglass screening has been used by some DIYers but it is subject to damage from determined rodents. Perforated J channel was mentioned but buying it would be a challenge. Some folks have it fabricated locally but I would have to run around finding a metal shop. Online suppliers have prohibitively expensive shipping charges.

I thought about using the 1/4″ hardware cloth lined with screening but it seemed like it was going to be difficult to fabricate and apply. I kept looking for another solution and although I read several articles about rainscreen, the references to vent materials all ended up a dead end–all I could find were vents without a screened lining or not in a continuous roll.

Finally I found Xcluder mesh when I was looking for rodent barriers. This stuff is made of stainless steel and poly mesh like steel wool and can be stuffed into cavities to eliminate rodent entry. It is also tightly woven so insects would not be able to pass through.

Xcluder Mesh

It comes in rolls that are 4″ wide by .5 inch thick by 5′. So I bought a case of 6 rolls. Thirty feet of it should be enough for the siding around the doors. The commercial version comes in 10′ rolls but I thought it was only available to professionals. Turns out there are a couple of online distributors that sell to the public.

It will be applied above and below the vertical lathe strips. So that air can circulate but pests will not be able to enter the cavity.

Posted in Air Intrusion/Thermal Envelope, Moisture Intrusion/Expansive Soil | Comments Off