Recent content by Begreen

It's not the end of a drought yet but it looks like so far March has delivered some serious el Nino rains. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-how-el-nino-is-rapidly-filling-california-s-once-anemic-reserviors-20160315-htmlstory.html

Yes, don't you love contractors that come in with no structural regard for the house. What a bummer. I'm a little confused about the final goal todomi. Can't that main beam be replaced without completely raising the house? If the primary goal is to add significant height to the basement, this is...

Hard to say LJ, this is a tough decision. If the house has good bones, it may be worth saving, especially if it has such great memories and history. Does it have unique period trim and detailing? If a rebuild, it will take a lot of work and probably at least $100K, but it can be worth it. Our...

First thing I would check is that the coils are clean. It might be that the air handler coils dirty and are icing up and need to defrost before cooling is available again. If that's the case, have them thoroughly cleaned and all should be well.

The eBay route was interesting, However, most of them are just extensions of similar budget heating and cooling websites that offer lesser efficiency systems at a reasonable cost. I lack the vacuum pump, guages, flaring tools, and license to handle freon, so unfortunately, DIY is out unless I...

I’m starting to rebuild our forced hot air system after getting the house on a new foundation. All ductwork is now well insulated. However, before having a new plenum made up, I am pondering either replacing the propane furnace or just keeping it for backup and switching to a heat pump for...

Yes, I've used this for several years on the interior of several large windows. It works well assuming that you don't have big gaps to the outside that you are trying to cover. Caulk those gaps first. The trick is to install it with good tape. I only use 3M's double-stick product made for the...

Systems are getting back to normal now. Patio system should be in by end of the week. We rebuilt the kitchen entry. It was originally a porch, which then got windows added and eventually became interior. When we started tearing into it we found the walls were just clapboard inside and out. No...

OK, the forms are coming off. It looks like we are getting some voids and errors. But never having done this, I'm unsure how to call this. One is in a highly visible location. The other is under the crawlspace entry hatch. Is this acceptable and normal? Can it be patched without looking awful...

Foundation walls were poured today. Woohoo! Now we can start cleaning up this big mess and begin returning the house to a normal life. We'll still need to restore the patio and have a lot of landscaping to repair. But the end is in sight I hope. My son and I relocated the trunk duct for the...

I'm told that won't work. Here, one must go to the DDES office and meet with the plan engineers to get an exception. They'll sit and nod their heads at $132/hr. for as long as you want to rant. Then they'll fall back on code and tell you to do it their way. It's not worth the hassle. Instead...

The plan engineer wrote that we need 21 vents for 1563 sq. ft. That's twice the number that are required in your neighborhood. Ten is bad, 21 is downright silly. I'm trying to catch the inspector today. He's a reasonable man from the construction trade, so hopefully, he'll be a bit flexible.

Actually, I was hoping for a little creative thinking on this. The county is wrong. It's not a little extreme, it's a lot extreme and at the home owner's expense. One shoe doesn't fit all. That is simply the wrong approach. I am thinking of meeting their requirements another way. There will be...

Footings are now in and wall will be in by the end of the week. It's good to see some construction after all the destruction. We spent the day relocating the trunk supply duct for the heating. It went off to the side in order to clear the chimney. This created some 30 ft. duct runs. Not good...

If it were 10 years ago, we might have gone for a full basement, but no real need now that the kids are heading for or already in college. It will just be a crawlspace. There is a basement pit for mechanicals, about 12 x 8, that has an interior hatch already. We'll also have an insulated...