I have began taking down the chimineys. One is very old and has come down pretty easy, no cement in the mortar. It was packed full of soot and crud that was at least 2ft deep inside. It collected water like a sponge and transfered it to the inside walls. The 2nd is much newer with cement in the mortar, much harder to get down. I think the big jack hammer from above is the way to finish it off. Here are a couple of pics of the easy, old chiminey. When I start over it will be just a shell. My friends think I'm crazy!
I got the solar frame work up today with the help of Matt. I had to attatch the stainless strapping to the lats under the shingles. I have not mounted the actual colectors because they will overheat and possibly explode because I don't have the rest of the system together yet. There will be a total of 60 vaccum tubes with 10 sq meters area. They use a heat pipe system. No water enters the vaccum tubes. There is a heat exchanger in the box at the top. I also made a stand for my floor heat tubing so it will unroll nice and straight. Here are a few pic's from today. Dorf Dude...
They are about the best there is at this time. I caught what I felt was a pretty good deal off Ebay last year. I got the collectors, pump, differential switch, expansion tank and a couple other odds and ends for 2400. I just need to get my exchange tank and the plumbing in between. Here is a pic of my 600 meter floor heat tubing and the stand I made to dispense it. Dorf Dude...
I will have between 2-4 zones. I have not gotten with any heating guy yet. Being that the ground floor will be my main living area I will need all of it up to temp all of the time. Upstairs I hope will stay warm from the convection heat from downstairs. I will have a ceiling fan over entryway to circulate the heat. It was 25C yesterday and the house stayed very cool. This was with all the windows open. I'm still drying it out as much as I can. The final design will come together in the next couple weeks. I want to pour my floor. Dorf Dude...
A few people have asked who am I? I am just a normal guy trying to make the best of the situation. My son got ahold of the camera today as we went for a motorcycle ride with friends. Here are a couple of pics of me for those who have asked. I look like a geek but it is a honest picture. Dorf Dude...
Today I started to straighten out the end wall. I sure wish I would have made it straight in the first place! The guys that know how to do Putz just flick it on with the trowel. I tried and it pretty much just fell off, I suck at it. I resorted to plopping it on by hand, with gloves on of course. This will give me a good base for the 2nd coat to stick to. I'm not going to make it perfect but just take the big dips out of it. It was HOT today, 30C. That is not normal for this time of the year. I found out that it was the hotest day in May on record in over 100 years. I had to spray water on the walls to slow down the drying. I also cleaned up my small barn to make room for the delivery of insulation tomorrow. There are lots pallets of glue and finish Putz showing up. I sure hope he has a forklift that can drive in my yard. The neighbor has one that might work. That would really suck having to hand move all of it. Here are a few pic's, hard to get a good shot, Dorf Dude...
Yesterday the firm sent me a text message that they wanted to deliver my insulation at 4 instead of 5. I sent back, NO 5, I must work. I didn't hear back. The weather forcast has been warning of storms this afternoon. Then at work today they put out a weather advisery for hail and strong rain between 1 and 5. My stress level starts to go up. I follow the radar pics all morning and things don't look too bad, just getting missed. After lunch then another warning from the Weather Squaderon for real bad storms until 7 this evening. My stress level goes up even more. These bags can not get wet. Weather is holding. Heading to the house at 4:40 I get behind a big truck from Poland and he pulls over 2 blocks away from the house. My Spider senses start to tell me that this is my truck. Yep, 3 minutes later I hear a PSSHH of the brakes. Same truck. First thing I ask the driver is "Do you have a fork lift?" NO. Cr@p! There are pallets of 55lb bags of pre-mix, around 90 bags. I shoot over to Campbell and ask him to try and get the neighbors fork lift. He's wiped out from working with insulation all day but agrees to help me. Thanks Man! We start unloading the Neopor which is really easy but they loaded it in many different places on the truck and trailer. How stupid! Then it came time for the fork lift and the pallets, they were also loaded stupid. I had many volunteers today in case of no fork lift. It went really smooth and I got everything off loaded dry and in good shape. I can't say that about the other insulation on the truck. We banged it up a little. Now it is lightening and raining, wind blowing but no hail. I made it by about an hour! I have been so lucky with the weather during this whole build. Wow! Things are really going to get moving now. Here are a couple pic's, Dorf Dude...
I know that I will have a ceiling fan above the entry way/staircase. I will use it to move warm air around in the winter. Not worried about cooling in the summer. I feel that this is a "Must Have" item. I found one from Hunter, Valhalla, that I really like but wanted some public feelings on it. Guys at work either hate it or love it. When you walk in the front door I want a WOW effect with the vaulted ceiling, massive stair case and such. I think this fan would really add to it. Don't be shy. I included a pic of where it would hang. The metal support will be gone of course. It will span just over 2 beams width, 56 inches. You will notice it for sure. Feelings and opinions? Other idea's? Fire away. I also got more putz on the wall today. Getting closer to being semi straight. Huge weather change now after the storm. It was over 30C yesterday and tomorrow morning 4C. Dorf dude...
The beam runs the whole length of the house. It can be seen from the entire 2nd floor and as you walk in from the ground floor. The stair case wiill go up and the fan will hang about 12 feet above that. As you walk in you will be able to see all the way up, a grand entryway. In the rest of the ground floor you will have a ceiling so the beam will not be seen. Thanks, Dorf dude...
I pressure washed the outside walls to get ready to install insulation. What a mess! I was blowing paint and putz clear into the street. I was soaked and dirty. I had crap everywhere on me and in me. My neighbor suggested that I clean the sidewalk. I have no broom, he brought me his. You can see the results of Roundup along the front. Monday is another German holiday. My water is supposed to get hooked up on Tues. Moving forward, Dorf dude...
Hey Shu:
That was Good luck on the insulation! You can never trust those weather guys anyway. We are supposed to get much warmer today and tomorrow here, guess what, it's blowing like stink.
Have you been able to stand under that fan to see what it is like? Doesn't look as though those blades are very efficient. Can't see an airfoil shape at all. We just got a cheapie fan to move air down - same as you - just to bring the warm air down in winter. Has a 60" span. Comes with a 4 speed controller and seems to move enough air down on the lowest speed. Crank it up to high and you would think the house is going to take off!
Cocobolo, the fan blades have a 15 degree pitch. I have not even seen it in real life, just pics. Definatly not a cheapie, Hunter, with wobble free mount. Dorf dude...
If the blades have a constant pitch, i.e. 15 degrees, then I hate to say it, but they will not be efficient. Make the comparison with an airplane propellor. That's what it should look like. There should be a twist from the hub out to the tip, getting progressively less as it gets to the tip. Did I explain that OK?
Hi Shu, do you know if your furniture is going to be dark or light? It might be easier to choose the color of the fan if you have an idea of what other colors will be in the room.
gma makes a good point. But, you know what? After a while you never even notice the fan at all, so I wouldn't get hung up on that. Besides you can always change your furniture!
Furniture! I have squat for funiture. My pool table is golden oak, Plasma is black. The couple of cheap shranks are light colored fake wood. I am far from being at the point of interior design for color and contrast. Just need a roof over my head. The fan has a twist in the blades like a propellor. I don't think Hunter would put out a junk fan. They invented the ceiling fan. Thanks for the input, Dorf dude...
Furniture! I have squat for funiture. My pool table is golden oak, Plasma is black. The couple of cheap shranks are light colored fake wood. I am far from being at the point of interior design for color and contrast. Just need a roof over my head. The fan has a twist in the blades like a propellor. I don't think Hunter would put out a junk fan. They invented the ceiling fan. Thanks for the input, Dorf dude...
That's the word I've been trying to remember from my days in Germany. Shrank. We have a large Amish community in my area and some of these German folks have antique shops loaded with ornate old imports for sale. I couldn't for the life of me remember what those were called and when I tried to get the word from the Amish sellers they didn't know what I was talking about.
So, shrank-you!
By the way, an origional carved shrank goes for $15 - $25,000 around here.
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