DUCT, DUCT, GOOSE

November 19, 2009

Okay - no goose, but wow! do we have duct work. You may wonder at my excitement, but for someone who has always lived in old homes where the heat could be temperamental, the duct work dusty, and the heat uneven, shiny new duct work is truly something to get excited about.

Geotherm used a couple of guys to do the duct work and I have lost the name of their company but I can tell you they were a father and son and their first names are Gene (dad) and Kevin (son). We enjoyed working with them and feel they did a super job. You can see Kevin in one of the pictures.

Enjoy the pictures of our new duct work. And then keep reading and viewing for more on electrical and the geothermal unit in the basement.

DIG DAY AT HARDY HOUSE - MORE PICS

I think these are the last of the Dig Day pictures that I have. These guys worked hard and they worked all day in the wet and cold. They started at 7:00 AM and finished about 7:30 PM.

MORE DIG DAY PICTURES

Here are some additional pictures from Dig Day at Hardy House.

DIG DAY AT HARDY HOUSE

November 19, 2009

What's a Dig Day?

Finally, the corn in our cornfield was harvested and Jesse Cook and his crew from Geotherm Inc. were able to start installing the tubing in the field which was then hooked into all the equipment in our basement. Heavy equipment was brought in and the dig began. Check out all the pictures--there are quite a few. Here's the dig on our geothermal system at Hardy House...

Equipment:

• High efficiency geothermal heat pump, model Climatemaster Tranquility 27 (TT)-049.
• Ground loop heat exchanger which included about 2500 feet of pipe.
• Ground loop circulation pump kit.
• Thermostat controller.
• Fittings and electrical hookup.
• Hot water desuperheater for supplemental hot water.
• Heat recovery ventilator (HRV).

Our installation included:
All labor for the ground loop assembly, excavation for the trenches for the looping (6-8 feet deep), and all duct work, grills, etc.

Outcome
We've been very happy with Jesse Cook, Geotherm, Inc., and all the involved crews who were a nice bunch, respectful, knowledgeable and pleasant to be around.

The man who ran the heavy equipment was a real pro. He was very, very careful with our trees and anything else we asked for. In these pictures you'll see where there are some branches that he's working into the pit. That tree has been heavily damaged over the years and we expect it will be taken down in the next few years so we understood that it might get more damage during the Dig. Jesse's crew offered to take it down then but Dave opted to wait. Another tree, a sourgum, that my son gave me for Mother's Day last year is planted not far from this tree and it is hoped it will be a replacement for the damaged one. It is a young tree and we asked that they tread carefully around it. The equipment worked around this little tree and not a branch was touched. Also, the Digger agreed to push off all our topsoil from the field before digging and then he pushed it all back again after filling the trenches. This should preserve the soil for farming next year. This was important to us and the crew honored our wishes. We thank them.

Here's Jesse's contact information:

Jesse Cook, President
Geotherm Inc.
335 Kavanaugh Rd.
Honeoye Falls, NY 14472
(585) 305-2574

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UNDER OUR FEET, A SQUISHY TREAT

November 8:
We needed rugs and we needed them fairly quickly. The guys (Gene and Kevin) were coming to finish the duct work and we needed to know where to put them and we needed to make sure the rugs we did get were not going to cover the grates.

I found a store that I love and if you're in the area (or not) I suggest you check out The Oriental Rug Mart (see link to the right) in Victor, across from Eastview Mall and behind K-Mart (not associated with K-Mart).

These three pictures show you the rugs we purchased and we love them. Of course, I love textiles anyway, but let me tell you what I loved about this shop:

1. Selection - it's huge.
2. They have every variety of oriental rug you can think of and some others as well.
3. Knowledgeable. They know their stuff and they love what they do. I urge you to talk to them about what they love and ask them about each rug. You won't be disappointed.
4. Repair. They can repair oriental rugs and they have expert staff. They can even prepare your rug for hanging if that is how you want to use your rug. Trust me, the rugs are worthy of hanging on your wall.
5. Cleaning. They can clean your rugs for you.
6. They have a take-home policy. I was able to bring the rugs home that I was interested in, lay them down and try them out. I only brought back the ones I did not want.
7. Pricing - quite reasonable.

FOR YOUR VIEWING AND LISTENING PLEASURE

November 8:
Welcome to the den, or the away room as Susan Susanka states in her book, THE NOT SO BIG HOUSE (see link to the right). The other idea that Susanka believes in, and one which we wholeheartedly embrace, is that of building quality as opposed to quantity (or size).

Our den is our multi-purpose room. Yup. It's smallish but that's okay, too. It will be cozy and that was our aim. Though this room is painted in Vanilla Custard at the moment, it will change. The top part of the walls will be a dark green glaze. The bottom of the walls are going to be cherry paneling. The rough beam you see at the ceiling don't look like much but they are actually very, very wide beams that support the second floor bath which had a bit of a bounce to it. Those beams will be boxed in, in cherry, and cross beams will be added for a coffered ceiling.

Our television bit the dust about a month ago. It was over 20 years old. We are currently using a very small portable television until we have saved enough money to purchase a wide-screen television for the den. Dave ran wires for speakers that will be placed in the ceiling at either end of the couch that will be in this room. The boxes for the speakers have been built and are insulated. The holes still must be cut in the ceiling to expose them. For now, we wait.

This room will also have floor to ceiling cherry bookcases built on the front wall, hopefully with built-in seating under the windows. That has not been designed but that is the plan.

Another purpose for this room is that it will be the guest bedroom. A number of times a year Dave's mom comes for a visit and my brother also comes to stay when he is here on business or just to visit. We thought we had a lovely chair/pull-out bed/cot picked out at Stickley, but of course money is an issue at the moment but when we measured we also found that the size was not going to work very well. We have not ruled out this furniture but we might just purchase a high-quality inflatable mattress for this purpose at about a tenth of the price.

Our den, we hoped, would also house our home office which has been completely wired for the area just as you walk in the doors to the room, on the left. Because of seating limitations, we are also rethinking this, as technology has changed. We are now wireless and can work anywhere. Additionally, I will have a very functional desk in our bedroom. So having a desk area there may change. We also plan to incorporate a small desk area in the kitchen when we remodel that. Check back to the Hardy House Blog to find out what we do.

IT'S STARTING TO LOOK LIKE HOME

November 8:
We have gotten some of the painting done in this picture. The first picture is looking south in our dining room. The color of the walls is called Vanilla Custard but we think it looks more like a lemon or butter yellow now that it's on the walls. That's okay as we like it just the same. It really does change color as the exterior light plays around the house. It sometimes takes on a shade of the palest green, it seems. The white boxes in the corners just have a thin coat of primer on them. They will be hidden behind cabinetry on that end of the wall. The boxes hide duct work.

Vanilla Custard is the paint color we are using for most of the house. The exceptions are one wall in the bedroom, the den, and the bathrooms.

The lights hanging down will be centered over some buffet space that has yet to be built. That is finish work which I expect we will be working at for a long time.