A busy month with news and updates to report. Lucas & Steve were here to commission the radiant slab heating system. Took them nearly a full day to fill 5 thousand feet of pex tubing and copper manifolds with water, eliminate any air, fire up the boiler, make a few adjustments and correct a couple minor water leaks. Still not cold outside, so shut it down until it’s really needed. We hosted a dinner with cousins Phil and Linda Frantz, who we haven’t seen in a very long time. Hope to get together again the Spring. Spent a day helping Kent with his construction project. We have been friends over 50 years and live a few miles apart. Got going on the kitchen pantry project. Needed to have the pantry at least partially completed to help Carole with cooking/kitchen chores over Thanksgiving.
Joe and I agreed on a price for his 2 post vehicle lift. I got a great deal, because it includes access whenever he needs to do car repair in the future. He and I disassembled it, loaded onto my trailer and unloaded in my shop (see picture). We will get it reassembled sometime this winter…
We have been using the heat pump to keep the house comfortable, but the shop was slowly getting cooler (55 degrees), following the same trend for outdoor weather. We were keeping Carole’s studio warm with a small space heater. Finally started up the slab heat for both buildings on Nov 19th. I eased into it, by selecting a couple zones at a time, then turning down those thermostats after partial warming, and starting other zones. I went with the idea of going back and forth for a couple reasons. Foremost, so the boiler wasn’t operating continuously at TRT (full power) until both buildings were fully up. Second reason, is the lag associated with radiant heat, if you get the concrete too warm, the room temperature will rise to an uncomfortable level. After a couple days of inching up the temperature, both buildings are at 70 degrees, and the boiler is off for the most part, firing up occasionally for one zone or another.
Had our first overnight guests when Travis, Lynn, Jackson, Elliott & Oliver arrived from Olathe KS and Alex & Lacey got here after driving from Edmond OK to spend Thanksgiving with us. We were less than 100% prepared for them, so it was a bit rough due to a lack of comfortable beds and the guest shower needing a shower door installed. Carole and I were thrilled to have everyone under one roof, and know what needs to be done before they (or other guests) plan to stay here overnight.
Found a new 4 post vehicle lift at an attractive Thanksgiving internet sale price. Drove to Indianapolis to pick it up, saving 350 bucks for freight. Will get friends over to help unload it into the shop next week. Add that to the list of things to do in the shop during the winter.
Carole and I are still giddy about living in this space we designed and created. The house suits our lifestyle perfectly, and we both have fantastic areas dedicated to our hobbies. We encourage anyone reading this blog, to stop by for a visit. We’ll leave the porch light on for you… IYKYK (lol)
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