If It Walks Like A Duck Or Freeze Frame

Sunday:

    We made a run to town to (where else?)  Home Depot to pick up a few more space heaters so the fire sprinkler pipes wouldn't freeze. It looks like winter. It feels like winter. It acts like winter. It MUST be winter! Not according to the wonderful world of mass marketing. They had all their heaters off the floor, and were pushing dahlia bulbs like crazy.
    After a frantic phone call to Lowe's, we were able to buy three space heaters. And as added insurance, we borrowed the Big Boy heater, a propane torpedo heater, from a neighbor.
    That evening Ed made out another list for the upcoming week. He finds it really helps him keep organized.





Monday:

   We think we'll be ready for insulation next week, that is, if Ed can get this darned list whittled down. He boxed in the vent for the fireplaces, so that when they blow in the attic insulation, it won't touch the pipe. No Touching! That's the rule! 

He also had to drape all of the fire sprinkler pipe that was in an attic space with black plastic. This does two things: It keeps the insulation from directly resting on the pipes, which apparently are very sensitive to other chemicals, and it helps trap heat rising from the house,keeping the water pipes warmer in the winter. As our weather progressed this week, each night was colder than the last. Ed got up at 2 a.m., dragged on several layers of clothes, navigated icy stairs, and checked the inside of the house.


Tuesday :

     Ed started building soffits to box in all the ducts, waste lines and wire in the basement. He made the ones in the theater room at an angle to make an easier transition for the sound. Surprisingly, it made the huge room look even bigger!
   We kept a very close eye on the ever-changing weather report. When they said the nighttime low would be around 18*, Ed threw in the hat and drained the sprinkler lines. There was still water in the sprinkler heads, but hopefully the pressureless lines and the multitude of space heaters would prevent a disaster.

Wednesday:

    We woke up to record low temperatures and a little snow. The sprinkler pipes seem to have made it through the night without freezing. Ed went back to work on the soffits. He was getting a little punchy because every night he gets up out of a dead sleep, gets dressed and goes out to check the house.  By the end of the workday, he was confident that he would be ready by Friday, and called for his inspection.

  Sunset Wednesday night was stunning. The winter sun came in low and lit up the naked alder trees. The snow on the ground and the wisps of valley fog on the hills was a beautiful contrast to the blue sky. Just as the last light faded, a herd of elk stepped out of the tree line and began to feed.

Thursday:

   When we got up Thursday morning, our valley had been transformed. We've seen snow every year that we've lived here, but I am in awe of the beauty every time.
   Ed continued working on the soffits and the last bits and pieces that needed to be done before the county building inspector arrived Friday.


Friday:

   Chuck-The-Building-Inspector arrived, as expected, and signed off the Before-Sheet Rock portion. This was a major stepping stone for us. Ed was confident he could finish the few details needed for the state electrical inspection, so I went on-line and called for that inspection at the beginning of next week. It's still really cold.

Saturday:

   Our kitchen stove will be that old Magic Chef 1000, converted to propane, so it needs to be vented. Saturday, Ed put in the vent, only to realize the piece of flexible Type B (double wall) pipe we got for the attic portion was too long. We'll need to order a 3' piece.
   The space heaters are still on full blast.




Sunday:

     After church, Ed and I went into town again...more hardware, more lumber.
   Finally it began to rain and the temperature came up. Ed turned off the space heaters.


Today:

     This is indeed a Red Letter Day! Doug-The-Electrical-Inspector signed off the electrical work. That means we can proceed with insulation and sheet rock. Unless you have done a project like this you can't understand the enormity of those little green stickers.

   I wanted to do something silly like dance around the entire interior of the house, but Ed has a stronger sense of priorities and went back to work. We expect the insulation team here on Wednesday, and he wants to build a closet wall around all this electrical stuff.