Note: Since completion of the house I have also decided to allow guest bloggers to post articles related to remodeling. This continues the education process.
TIMELINE
Architect Selection - December 2002 through January 2003
Getting a Permit - January 2003 through November 2004
Construction - November 2004 through September 2006
Post Construction - October 2006 through ???
Another Magazine Called!
Flushing the Tankless Water Heater and Streamlining the Hot Water System
I have a Takagi Mobius TM-1 tankless water heater that receives cold water and outputs hot water on demand. The initial problem I had with water being on demand was I would have to let the shower run for 3 minutes just to get hot water. To remedy this, I had a 10 gallon electric heater hooked up to the hot outlet of the tankless water heater to maintain a reservoir of hot water that I would recirculate through the house every 30 minutes through the use of a recirculating pump.
The problem I have with this setup is my electrical bills have been really high and I'm sure the electric heater is not helping matters so I'm trying to find ways to lower that expense. I'm not sure how much I'll save but I think it may be as high as $50 per month.
The following pictures show the tankless heater and recirculating pump right after the electric heater was removed. The plan is to bypass the electric heater and go straight from the tankless water heater to the recirculating pump.
Since the system is open, I decided to flush the tankless water heater. You are supposed to do this every year but it has been two years since I installed it and haven't done it yet. We are using two bottles of white vinegar.
A small pump is connected to the cold water line entering the tankless water heater and a return line from the hot side is fed back into the bucket.
Here you can see the whole setup in action.
Biometric Fingerprint Garage Door Opener
What I like about it is that you can program a contractor's fingerprint into it for the one or two days he needs access without giving a numeric code. When he's done working, remove the fingerprint from the system and he's locked out!
We Really Need Window Shades
In the meantime, I wanted to share with all of you that I just purchased some eyeshades which are extremely comfortable, soft, and they block out 100% of light.
Click here for more information.
The Central Vacuum Won't Turn Off
Koi Pond Gets One Last Update Before Landscaping Contest
In preparation, Cor van Diepen of Paradise Landscaping, came over with his assistant Cesar (see April 16 blog post) for one last touch up before the judges come over this weekend. They spent time on details like making sure no rubber trim was showing and that every rock was in its place. There were a few bubbles showing at the waterfall that he called 'foam' and said we would lose some points if that was there when they came by. I'm going to see if I can find something to get rid of it tonight.
Cor thinks we have a really good shot at first place! I'll let you know next week. Maybe I'll get to stick a sign in my front yard. :)
A Magazine Called
Koi Pond Cleaning
While Cesar scrubbed the rocks, Cor cleaned out the biotic filters. The picture below shows the lava rocks that sit in a bag at the top of the waterfall. There is bacteria living in those rocks so they get a superficial cleaning.
You are probably wondering what happened to the four fish. Well, after about 30 minutes of no water, the pond was refilled and the fish swam out of their holes. Amazing!
Landscaping is Blooming Well This Spring
Concord grapes are starting to appear.
The artichoke plant is growing FAST!
One of my plans was to have wisteria grow up the columns around the house and frame out the different entry ways. I may be a few years off from that but they are growing quite nicely and the purple flowers are strikingly beautiful. I'm going to have to get a small trellis built between the columns as the wisteria will be tall enough to grab on soon.
Neighborhood Church Annual Yule Parlor Parade Homes Tour
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