Home ownership

^^^
I like it!

Definitely matches better

pair with a blood absorbing welcome mat and you're good to go
i gar-un-tee you'll lose your mind when you see it

Looks much better now

Add moat with drawbridge.

Done.

I already have those...

Then fire up the forge and get them gates finished!

I am busy with my boiling Oil cauldrons... you know, to poor on the peasants or the odd zombie or two if they come around. I can pour it thru that cut out above the entrance there.

So does that screen have a role in that function? If not, exactly what does it do? I must be the only one who can't figure it out.

How far is the door from where the gate will be?

Archers in the opening to pluck invaders from afar. Then a hidden door in the ceiling just above the front door to pour the oil through. That’s the best way to stop the battering ram if they happen to get past the archers and moat.

I like the color of the first, but the style of the second. So those should be taken out of contention.

Any HVAC people ITT? I've been wondering if my thermostat's program is less efficient than just leaving the heat up 24/7. Does it take more energy to re-warm a cooled off house?

IOW, it goes down in the morning until late afternoon, as if I was working, then drops off overnight when I'm under the covers.

Additional info: Denver normally has pretty mild winters, and days are usually bright and sunny. Between the passive solar and me being out doing errands on the nice days, it's pretty comfortable when I'm in. So, I'm not too worried about re-heating most of the time.

However, we get these cold/cloudy snaps, and I'm wondering if it would be smarter on those days not to let it get too cool, since I'll be inside and need the heat.

Depends on what type of heat you have. The programmable thermostats work well with forced air but not radiators. The former can effect heating quicker and use less energy than the latter.

If you have baseboards or under floor radiant heat it's best to set it and forget it as it takes too long to make the changes. It does take a lot less energy to maintain a temperature than it does to raise the temperature. To maintain all it has to do is replace the heat you've lost vs having to replace the heat you've lost plus increase the amount of heat.

Oh yeah, that would've been good information. Gas forced air. I should probably get that replaced though, ~28 years old.

MSchu
looks like the third introduces an interior courtyard to really open up the place
all for it

If you can do two stage high efficiency that would be good, especially with a programmable thermostat so the furnace will run on the low stage to maintain your temp but use the second stage to go back up when it's time to raise the temperature.

Of course all of that costs money.

you usually can program hours of operation... went you're not normally home, the thermo an run slightly lower and when you are home it raises up.

Right, Mschu. The thing is, (being retired), there's not a "normally around" schedule anymore. Some days, out most all day doing errands or whatever, some days, in. Just left it as my old work schedule, except I moved the morning "heat-up" back a little bit, since I can sleep a bit later.

Good info on the two stage, AquaSwing, thanks for that. If I ever get serious, I will look into that too. Have friends who installed a heat pump, they love that. A lot to research, I'm sure.

In other news, got a call late morning from the guy two doors over asking if I could give him a hand. When I got there, heard something weird. Found him in the basement. A pipe had broken, and he was having trouble getting the main valve shut off.

The broken pipe was over in the corner of the basement, behind an access door. He'd had that open with a space heater pointed at it, so that was strange.

After moving stuff to dry land, looked a little closer. 1/4" copper, he said it went out to the outdoor faucet. But, it wasn't a pipe that burst like I've seen before when something freezes--it was a joint which came apart.

Told him to come over if they needed shower/bathroom/laundry/whatever before they got the main turned back on.

After lunch, heard a knock on the door. His wife came and asked if I could help them move some stuff. On the way over, noticed the truck of the handyman guy was out front.

Handyman knew enough about plumbing to get the water shut off for just that area, so the main could come back on. He supposed that freezing water could uncouple a compression joint when it expanded, but he's not a professional plumber, so couldn't be sure. Certainly more knowledge than either me or the neighbor.

Anyway, the water had seeped into the engine/storage room, so I helped them get stuff out of there, and wife started with the shopvac/towles to try to get that dried up. Husband was on the phone to insurance, starting the process of having someone come out and notifying insurance.

Hope it won't be too bad. They've just had bad luck with the water in that area, This is the second or third time I've heard of them having leaks in the basement.

anyone here have experience with a power bank like ecoflow or similar?
twice in the past two years we've been powerless against ice and the company supplying electricity for at least forty-eight hours

First-time homeowners and previous owner was an appraiser for a construction company and made a lot of improvements.

--

One of the things he'd done was install curbing around the back of the house and along part of the sides. As you can see, it ends at the water heater door and after just one night of decent, but not heavy rainfall, this water is accumulating by the wall.

Is this something we should be concerned about, and if so, what would be the best way to address it? Seems like additional damming wouldn't do much and would introduce the opportunity for the water to run around and get into the garage (door in the foreground). Sandbag for the remainder of the rainy season?

Sorry that I'm way late on this...

I'm guessing the 2nd does this better, but agree with what you're saying. I like the style of the 1st, but with bringing more light into the death chamber I would also go with #3.

that does not look bueno ot

DEFINITELY no Bueno.
It seems that there should be a drain pipe that leads to the other side of that doorway (or out to the front yard) and having water build up along the exterior wall is bad news bears.
I would not be surprised that if there is not already structure damage from previous ownership/rain intrusion.