Decision Time

Plans and Permits
Model: Back of House

I’ve been dragging my feet, but we’re getting close to a decision about an architect. We’re waiting on a response to a question, and depending on the answer we’ll hopefully have it settled. The quotes were a lot more than we were expecting, but at this point it looks like we’ll be pursuing the Chicago Green Homes program. The price difference isn’t tremendous and it will likely pay for itself eventually. Also, we can’t go back and get it later, so if we’re going to do it now’s the time.

We haven’t spent a lot of time on the basement as of late. Last night I went through some more of our lumber pile, removing screws and nails so we can use it later for temporary supports, forms, and blocking. It’s really slow going and I’m questioning the value of it given the amount of time it’s taking. Even once we’ve got the boards cleaned up, nearly all of them will need to be cut down because one end is rotten, plus they’re mostly short, as in less than seven feet long.

This morning when I got up the house was about five degrees colder than the thermostat, which said the heat was “on”. I visited the boiler which was emphatically not on. The pilot was lit and everything looked normal. It occurred to me that yesterday I had flushed out the sediment, something the sharpie instructions  on the side of the boiler calls for “twice weekly” and I do more like “bi-weekly”. When you drain water (and sludge) the boiler refills from the cold water line. There’s a low water cutoff that had given us trouble before so I literally flicked the thing with my finger and the boiler kicked on. I honestly didn’t expect that to work, but I still got a bit of satisfaction and amusement from it. It was straight out of a movie.

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