The Heating System - Time to Replace The Furnace!

A while back the furnace decided to stop functioning, thankfully timing it's failure in early April, so we didn't have to run out and buy a replacement. Two of those nice oil filled radiators, a spiffy quartz heater, and a reclaimed 1500 watt convection heater did the trick to keep the house warm enough til summer arrived. Now winter is coming up, and I am making the final decision on what to install! It turns out even though the Feds canned the Eco-Energy rebate program without warning (vote conservative if you like being screwed - thanks Steve!), the Provincial government has kept their grants in place, so I have an 'Eco-Energy Audit' scheduled for this week, and next week the new furnace should go in.

Interestingly, the existing furnace is (was) a Carrier Weathermaker SX high efficiency condensing gas furnace (92% AFUE) with a whopping 122,000 BTU output. I know enough about furnaces (which is just enough) to realize that 122 k BTU is huge, and considering that even on the coldest days the beast could pull the house up from its setback of 60 deg F to 69 deg F within an hour, and then maintain that running 20 minutes every hour, it seems there was no lack of capacity!

The owner of one of the companies I contacted laughed, and said 120 thou was fine for some of the larger older homes in Stratford, like the 5 and 6 bed mansions that run 5000 square feet or more, but the Field House is 2900 sf, plus 400 sf of sunroom and mudroom, which we tend to restrict the heat to in the winter. He suggested 90,000 BTU as he has installed that size in a number of similar size and age homes with great results. The previous owners of the house left the mudroom and sunroom doors open all year, and if they heated the place to the low 'seventies, the furnace may have got the occasional solid workout!

It looks like a choice between Ida Red Apples and Ida Red Apples, as I mull over the inconsequential differences between a Ruud high efficiency (95%) two stage burner condensing gas furnace with variable speed DC blower fan motor, and a Lennox high efficiency (95%) two stage burner condensing gas furnace with variable speed DC blower fan motor, either of which will set me back around $4000, less roughly $450 in net rebates after the audit is paid for.

Compact Fluorescents Lightbulbs - The Devil's Handiwork

So you think you are doing the environment a favour by replacing all your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFL's)? Well you aren't really, and there are a few reasons why. CFL's are significantly more costly to produce in terms of raw materials used, including glass, metal, and plastics: If you don't believe me, put one on a scale, then weigh a standard incandescent bulbs. I have found that they don't acheive anywhere near the life expectancy advertised, and seem to last typically only two to three times longer than incandescent, yet cost roughly ten times as much. Then there is the question of radiation emmissions, and harmful levels of mercury contained in them. I can't believe David Suziki ever promoted the damn things, because they are basically dangerous, toxic, resource hogs when initially manufactured, and on top of all that, really don't save all that much energy.

Now for the CFL killer. I just found at Home Hardware a standard medium base (the normal screw in type) LED lightbulb, for a whopping $9.49. But the kicker is it's consumption of raw materials is not much more than that of an incandescent (probably better as there is no glass), it's rated life approximately 15,000 hours (approx 15 years), and it's power consumption of an absolutely miniscule 1.5 watts. for equivalent to 40 watt output! That's roughly one-sixth the energy of  a CFL, and less that 5% of the energy used by an incandescant! And no mercury. So there!

Insurance Rates Gone Crazy

Earlier this summer I opened our automobile insurance renewal notice, and was a bit surprised that our rate for two vehicles had climbed from $2400 to $3600 annually. More interesting was that my portion for the Freestar van had almost doubled from $1100 to $2100, and Katherine's portion for the Echo had increased from $1300 to $1500 (all figures rounded somwhat). Seems there were no changes in our rating (claims, experience, tickets, etc) so no real justification for the increase, I was simply told that those are the numbers coming back from Aviva (our insurance provider). I was informed that my three minor convictions (speeding) were probably a factor in my new rate, but how does that explain my previous rate of $1050, as these tickets are now over 2 years old, and were on my rating the previous year!

In any event, shopping around was interesting, as I found annual premiums between $1900 and $3300 from four companies, and selected Meloche Monnex/TD, at an annual cost of $2200 ($1050 for me and the van, and $1150 for K and the Echo) for the same coverage as we had with Aviva! Now I just have to wait for the $900 refund payment from Aviva, as they have been busy processing payments on a cancelled policy!

From Flabby to Fifty Minute 10K Athlete in Fifteen Runs or Less!

It's that time of year again for the 7th Annual Festival City 10k Run in support of the Stratford General Hospital Foundation! To all of those who supported us last year thank you very much, and we hope you will be generous enough to do so again this year!

As for the title of this post, I am not entirely flabby, though I haven't run at all this year, except for two initial training runs about 2km and 3km respectively. The goal this year is to break 50 minutes while pushing Alexander in the stroller, thank goodness for super low friction bearing grease for the running stroller wheels! And yes, I only have fifteen runs in which to get my training done, as the run is scheduled for the 3rd of October this year.

We would like to raise at least $300, so I will be asking you for your support via phone and/or email this week. Please consider supporting the hospital that brought you the likes of Alexander Vlossak Chiles, and Andrew 'Rudi' Vlossak Chiles, as without our fine hospital in Stratford, we would have had to go to Kitchener to have our kids delivered! Ouch!

The Mudroom Bathroom

A few years ago I decided to gut and refinish the mudroom bathroom, the decision precipitated by the water pipes freezing and bursting behind the shower stall. This small bathroom was poorly finished, poorly heated, and only adequately insulated, and without an effective reconstruction was only going to have further problems.

The mudroom is a rebuilt addition to a small back entrance probably originally built in the 'twenties, then destroyed by fire and rebult in the 'eighties. Just a standard framed and vinyl sided structure on stone foundation. It has an entryway with a closet, as well as a small 3 piece bathroom.

The deficiencies included a shower that was build 'proud' of the finished wall, so that the water supply was located on the 'warm side' of the wall (little good that did); a flexible heating conduit that led to the mudroom entryway via the unheated/uninsulated portion of the attic (not smart when the attic can drop to -25 celsius!), no heating outlet in the bathroom itself; and among other things, a poorly located toilet that stood 5 inches from the wall.

I began by removing the shower and ripping down the drywall from the ceiling and two of the walls (the wall against the house, and the wall that the toilet and shower backed onto) to find out what I was up against. The soloution was fairly simply: Add a second framed and insulated wall to bring the wall flush to the shower; add additional high R-value froam insulation behind the shower to protect the pipes from freezing; divert the heating conduit down the inside wall of the mudroom, with two vents, one in the bathroom, the other in the mudroom. On top of all that, I decided also to drop the ceiling 2 inches and add styrospan insulation, add a pot light over the shower, add a new vanity light and ceiling drop light, build in some storage, and then trim out both the shower and the built in shelves in period style trim.

This wall backs against the brick wall of the house, the heating conduit now comes down the wall, with a vent in both the bathroom (pictured) and the entryway. Space for the built in shelves is accommodated by the chimney of the main house which is located directly behind the vanity light!

A view from the mudroom entryway. The shower and toilet were in good shape, so were re-used.

A close up of the trim around the shower. By adding the second wall on top of the first, the shower stall now fits flush to the new wall - giving a much neater, professional appearance!

Fruit Fly Trap

Perhaps it is only century homes that enjoy hosting fruit flies when peaches are brought home, but I tell you, the little buggers piss me right off! So Katherine says "why not make a fruit fly trap like your dad?". Now that does it: knowing my dad, his device is simple, can be made within a few minutes with items guaranteed found in the average home, and highly effective... It only happens that whatever the device is has taken him countless prototypes to acheive perfection in simplicity and design. So here it is: One 'Mason' jar with screw ring, but no top, and a coffee filter cut to size, with a couple of one millimetre diameter holes in it. Fill said container with 'bait', place filter on top, and screw down ring only to secure! Works like a charm!

Mmmmmm Good Eats!

Some recent produce picked from the 48 square foot Field House Organic Vegetable Garden!

'Yellow Peach' Tomatoes - As the name implies, yellow, and fuzzy like a peach!

'Chocolate Cherry' Tomatoes - Well they look adorable, taste great, yet don't taste anything at all like chocolate!

Our Furry Flying Friends

Personally, I think our dozen or so attic guests are rather adorable, and quite useful at keeping the local bug population down in the garden. Not particularly playful however, and they snarl viciously if cornered the odd time they get lost and must be captured. A typical "Little Brown Bat" residing in our attic, the white part and two black lines are old knob and tube wiring.

Typical Containment Device for 'Peanut Sized Brain' Poodles

Before and after photographs of a standard containment device for poodles and other seemingly brainless canines, of which ours is a classic example. Without the gate, our wonderful but incredibly dumb dog would chase down pretty much everything that happens by on the sidewalk, most probably resulting in substantial tort-action induced consequences from fiscally motivated practitioners of law!

The old gate was poorly constructed, lacking the critcal diagonal brace, with just a set of two inch 'L brackets' and the pathetic lattice trying to keep it in square for the last decade, with obviously deficient results! The new one is properly constructed, with the required diagonal brace, and will probably stay square for at least a few years after my death.

BEFORE: Not so good gate

AFTER: Really good gate

I Love My Trees But...

...it is absolutely impossible to get a half decent photograph of the house, which is a darn shame in my opinion. These are from two summers ago (for the benefit of a long ago friend from BC who found me on Facebook, and might visit the blog) and illustrate the drawbacks of having six mammoth Norway Spruce in front of the house, in addition to others all around.

Hosta La Vista - Year Five

Five years after initially preparing and beginning planting, I am finally satisfied with the overall effect and appearance of the rear garden, aptly named 'Hosta La Vista'. There are still minor adjustments to be made, but right now there are close to 90 Hosta's in this bed, virtually all mature and 'massed up' properly, as well as plenty of daylillies as a backdrop against the fence. I have now completely forgotten what was against this fence when we moved in.

Heat, Now That Winter Is Upon Us!

An interesting thing about older homes (at least in my opinion) is the fact that over the years, as home heating systems changed and evolved, there is the likelihood that a fair number of different systems were used in providing heat to the house, both in the type of heat source and fuel burned, and in the method of heat delivery to the various parts of the house.

The Field House was constructed with 3 chimneys, so obviously wood stoves or fireplaces were used in the early days. There was also a large (2' by 2') square hole in the dining room floor, which has been filled in again, making me thing that a furnace or stove was used also in the basement, to provide a bit of central type heat to the main floor. In addition there was obviously at one point a hot water heating system with radiators, as there were a number of clues: a few cut off water pipes still show in the basement, there are tell-tale circular repairs in the wooden floors on the main level (a pair of 3" circles in each room), and the most obvious was the 800lb cast iron boiler installed in the 1940's which I tore apart and removed through the coal chute (oh yeah, and the two 150 gallon oil tanks in a corner of the basement!). Finally, the house was converted to a natural gas furnace with a forced air delivery system sometime in the 'eighties, which is the present system in use today.

The one slightly annoying thing about the forced air system is the fact that every room in the house has heat delivered to it by way of either a floor grate (main floor), or a grate in the baseboard (upper floor) except one, Alexander's bedroom. The challange of delivering heat to the second floor is that the heating conduit must be routed from the basement, then up a main floor wall such that on reaching the second floor it can easily be directed out a grate located in the base of the wall in the room to be heated. All fine and dandy when the first floor and second floor walls sit directly on top of one another, as a straight run of conduit can be run from the basement, through the floor, right up the first floor wall, through the second floor, and then out of a wall vent. Not so simple though, when the second floor wall does not sit directly on top of the first floor wall, or worse, there is no space in the wall to run a conduit because the wall contains a sliding pocket door. Such is the case with Alexander's bedroom, whose one wall is offset, and both walls beneath it contain pocket doors... the other two walls of his room are an exterior wall, or without room as it backs onto a staircase.

Festival City 10k Run

Today Katherine and I participated in the Festival City 10k Run to support the Stratford General Hospital Foundation. We ran it first last year, raising about $150 or so, with our run times of 52:39 for me while pushing Alexander (age 12 months) in the running stroller, and 1:02:25 for Katherine. For this year, we wanted to raise $300, while getting our times under 50 minutes and 1 hour respectively.

So the results are in: Today with Alexander in the stroller I completed the 10k in 50:58, and Katherine completed her run in 59:18! We also raised $250 this year for the Hospital. Although we didn't meet all of the goals we set, we were quite happy with our improvements. I wasn't totally disappointed with my own results, but I will not use Alexander's doubling in weight (from 15lb to 30lb this year) as an excuse! Hell, I even pumped the stroller's tires up to 70 psi to help keep my pace up! Next year I plan to beat 50 minutes (48 is my goal, and maybe actually training for the run might help!), Katherine plans to break the hour by a more significant margin, and hopefully we can raise closer to $500!

The Tavistock Fall Fair

And of course the giant squash plant growing out of my compost bin leads me to the 2009 Tavistock Fall Fair. Every year Katherine and I exhibit a number of items in the various categories at the Fall Fair, this year being no exception. Two of the squash from the plant in the post below garnered third place in their category. Katherine also took first place in the 'Scrapbook' category, as well as three second place prizes for her rabbithair fern ('interesting houseplant'), Fire King mug ('Fire King antique') and small pepper plant (mistakenly entered by me in the 'bean plant, whole' category). In addition to having a whole bunch of exhibits, including but not limited to handmade knitting, fruits and vegetables, home brewed beer and wine, toys by kids and adults, and a whole whack of other things, there is a midway for kids, a parade, and a livestock exhibition. If you have never been to a Fall Fair, you should find one close to you, and go! Here are some pictures of the Parade, some which I may enter in the Photography competition for the 2010 Fall Fair.

Something Giant This Way Grows

I can't quite say I woke up this morning, decided to mow the lawn, only to find a mammoth squash plant had grown up overnight out of one of my compost bins... No, the plant actually took a whole month to grow to these mammoth proportions! The black compost bin is about 3' tall and 2' diameter for reference, and note also that the entire squash plant is not all in the photograph! There are actually two different field squash plants here, one producing a cream and creamy green large fruit, the other an orange and green smaller striped fruit. This is quite fantastic, as I am hoping if I have enough squash for halloween, I would like to make a rather creepy display including severed 'squash heads' on stakes lining the walk up to the front door of the house!