September 16

I arrived in the afternoon and picked Char up from the bus in Winsted.  Dropped Char off at the rather ghetto train station Sunday night in Waterbury.  Picked her up again the evening of 9/21 in Hudson.  Stopped at the Red Dot in Hudson for a Manhattan and came back.  Took her back to Hudson again early Monday, the 26th, for the train to NY.  I left that afternoon.

This trip:  Tested heater in main bedroom upstairs for a couple of hours with the doors closed and a CO2/Gas detector.  Although it smells slightly of gas, there were no alarms.  Swept basement, cleaned brown de-humidifier in basement, had Gary the contractor out about roof leaks and porch sagging, cleaned up piles of grass from the last mowing, split wood, put new socket/switch in little, silver table lamp Char found in the long attic (and which we wanted to use downstairs), replaced low batteries in thermostat in front room.

Our friends, Mike and Gina, and their two children, Ruby (10) and Joe (7) joined us from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.  It was Char's birthday weekend so we had a bonfire in the pit and I placed electric tea lights around the property at night.

Humidifier in Basement - I cleaned the coils/heat sink and skimmed through the manual, which states that it shouldn't be used when it's below 65 degrees F. because the coils can ice up, so I purchased a thermometer and hung it next to the humidifier.

Chimney Sweep - On 9/23 we had Matt from Clean Sweep Chimney Sweep in Lee (413-243-1691) out to the house to check the chimney.  Below are some pictures of the smoke chamber taken before and after his sweep (which was just at the bottom of the chimney):

Chimney Before #1

Chimney AFTER #1

Chimney Before #2

Chimney AFTER #2

He also looked at the chimney input from the wood-burning stove in the attic.  He said it looked like it had it's own flue and was clean.  He said that, judging from the bottom, it was not necessary to go to the roof to check the top, which disappointed me slightly.  He said that everything was safe and in decent shape, but noted a slight offset in the flue tiles. 

I normally keep the flue closed to keep critters and weather out.  Be sure to check it before having a fire.

Lake Sandisfield and Basement Seepage
There was a lot of rain on Friday, 9/23/11 and, as before, a lot of water gathered just outside the NE corner of the house where there is a deep indentation.  The water there is probably a foot at it's deepest.

 

Lake Sandisfield

We checked the basement and the effect there, which we assume is related to the puddle, is best described as seeping instead of leeking.  It appears to actually come through the concrete both right at the interior corner where the puddle is and, also, at the low wall where the basement divides.

NE corner seepage

NE corner seepage close up

Seepage at low wall dividing basement

There was no flooding, per se - I'm not even sure there was enough water to make it across the basement floor to the drain.  The seepage that was observed to come from an unidentified place from behind the cabinets during Hurricane Irene was not observed again this occasion (of course, there was much less rain this time).

I felt that were getting low on propane so I did a little research on getting more.  It is common for propane providers, not the homeowner, to own the tank and, if so, it is not legal for another propane provider to fill it.  The larger of the two tanks behind the shed said it was from the Home Gas Corp in Housatonic, the town just north of Great Barrington.

The Home Gas Corp is no longer extant as it was purchased by Amerigas, a national chain.  I called Amerigas in GB and they said that their records showed that none of their equipment remains here, although they claimed that if the tank says Home Gas Corp then it belongs to them.

I ended up calling a mom and pop place in Sandisfield called the Southern Berkshire Fuel & Supply (413-258-4500 - 112 North Main Street, Sandisfield).   They purchase their propane from Amerigas and are authorized to fill tanks belonging to same.  They came out and I purchased 50 gallons at, I think, $3.50/gallon, and they will send a bill to me in NY.  The delivery guy, Rich, looked at all the exterior components and, although he's not a licensed inspector, made some observations.

Left: 1000 gallon tank, Right: 500 gallon tank

 There are two tanks: a 1000 gallon, which has been on and in use, and a 500 gallon, which has been off and not in use.  They appear to be connected to each other and the smaller appears to be connected to the generator.  The smaller is perhaps 70% full (which I didn't know when I called to order propane) and Rich thought it was an older tank and could benefit from an inspection.

Gauges on large tank

These are the gauges on the larger tank.  The larger gauge expresses PSI and the smaller gauge shows the content based on a percentage of the tank's capacity, not the actual number of gallons.  You can only fill a tank to 80% of it's capacity to allow for expansion.

Regulator Outside Kitchen

This is the regulator attached to the outside of the house behind the kitchen.  Regulators step down the line pressure from about 10 PSI to less than 1 PSI, which is what is required for the interior lines.  The hole in the regulator that sort of faces the camera is the vent.  According to rich, this regulator is improperly installed in that the vent should face down to prevent water from getting in there.

Regulator outside house near dish cabinet

 This regulator is outside the house near where the dish cabinet is.  It is an older one than the one in the first image.  The vent is visible here, too, but lacks a little screen to keep unwanted things, like wasps, out.  It is also not facing down, etc.

Regulator outside house near screened in porch

This is the regulator on the outside of the house near the screened-in porch.  It is also an older model and, like the one above, has been painted over, which is not recommended.  It has the screen but it's partly been painted over.  I'll recheck to make sure it's okay.

Valve in screened in porch outside front bedroom

This valve is one of two in the screened in porch just outside the front bedroom.  It serves the wall heater there.  The valve leaks slightly when set to the on position.   Once we understood that it was the source of the gas smell we kept detecting there we turned it off.  Rich suggested that all the old, painted over valves be replaced because the lubricant within breaks down and they begin to leak, as this one has.  I inferred that the old regulators should also be replaced and mounted correctly.

Rich's brother is a licensed inspector and can be hired for a service call if desired.