Arrived late 10/27.  All in order although the below was unexpected!

10-28-11

 

10/28/11

10/28/11

10/28/11

Solveig, Olive and friends enjoyed the house last weekend and left us the snow-topped jack-o-lanterns!

Saturday 10/29 Update: I noticed the weather report predicted up to a foot today in a weather system that will dump the heaviest snow in the Berkshires, although it's also snowing (with lightning) in NYC.  We've decided to ride it out and at 2pm it's already snowing heavily - I cut more wood, we're charging our phones and I got hold of the road supervisor for Sandisfield and arranged plowing of West Street.  His name is Steve (413-717-7627) and he's really nice.  He says they usually do plow the road but if they think no one is at the house it's a lower priority than the other roads.  He uses the area near the barn to turn the plow around.

Sunday 10/30 Update:  It must have snowed at least two feet last night.  Power went off last night (Saturday) and came back on today around noon.  Still no plow so we're here till he comes.  Photos:

Photos from 10-17-11

Beaver House - 10/11

Zach's back!

Arrived in the afternoon 10-15-11 and everything in order.

This trip: installed smoke alarm near top of stairs, gathered firewood, purchased box saw for tree limb cutting, had Jim Bianco over to seal chimneys, replaced trim on bottom of porch post, put down storm windows, replaced valve assembly in upstairs toilet, tested heater in small upstairs bedroom, prepped for Sebastian, Solveig and kids visit.

Roof Repair
Technically, this shouldn't be called roof repair because after an inspection last week with Gary Danko, the roof itself looks good and the theory is that the "leaks" are the result of water wicking through the bricks themselves.  Jim thinks the bricks used on the chimneys are more for interior work where weather resistance isn't as critical.

Jim sealed the exterior of the chimneys with a product called Professional Water Sealant PWS-5 and secured some flashing around the front chimney with silicone.  This cost $400 including materials.

Jim Bianco, 10-16-11

10-16-11

Jim Bianco Masonry - 405 Fairview Street - Lee, MA  01238 - 413-243-0092

Couch
Solveig and Sebastian have asked that the couch in the front room be moved to a different room when a more comfortable replacement, preferably with a back, can be found.  It is 75Wx36Dx18H (from the floor).  It is 25" to the bottom of the trim below the window sill and about 28.5" to the bottom of the sill itself.  A slightly longer couch could be accommodated in that space if necessary.  We are looking at online stores, Craigslist, and in antique stores. 

Barn Roof
Occasionally this past season we have seen bits of roof tile on the ground in front of the barn door, that had clearly come loose and slid down.  There is some deterioration and loss of tiles on the roof.

 

We arrived in the evening of 10-8-11 - all in order.   Left in the evening of 10-10-11.

This trip: killed wasps, had Gary Danko and Jim Bianco over to inspect chimneys/roof leaks, split wood.  We went canoeing on Lake Garfield and then on both Lower and Upper Goose Pond, which was beautiful.

There were no mice in any of the four traps I put out the weekend before nor were there droppings.

House in moonlight - 10-8-11

Roof Leaks
Gary Danko and his mason, Jim Bianco visited Sunday morning, 10-9-11, and they looked at the chimneys from the basement to roof.  They observed that, in theory, there may be too many appliances venting into the back chimney (water heater, long room floor furnace, long room wood stove), and that both the floor furnaces are not properly venting into the chimneys, resulting in a potentially dangerous situation (see furnace update in an earlier post).

It is their opinion that the roof, flashing and brick work on the chimneys are in good to very good shape, and that there are no obvious leaks in any.  They think it's likely that during heavier and/or extended periods of rain water is actually leeching through the chimney bricks and mortar and that the next step is to apply a sealant to the outside of the chimneys, as well as secure a piece of flashing on the front chimney.  The estimated cost is $400 including the cost of the sealant.

House Corner
The Southeast corner of the house appears to separating from the porch and we had Gary Danko look at it.  The wood that supports the house on the foundation is called the sill and in this corner it is clearly rotting away.  This has resulted in a large gap under the corner of the house, porch separation and has probably affected other areas of porch support judging from the way it sags and buckles.

Without getting in and exploring, which requires porch removal, there is no way to know the extent of the damage.

It was Gary's opinion that this needs to be looked at in the spring at the latest.  If it's bugs (like carpenter ants) they are asleep now or will be soon.  He said it is a serious situation, could result in at least a partial porch re-build, would require a building permit (that he says is not hard to get) and won't be cheap.

SE House Corner 10-10-11

SE House Corner - Close up - 10-10-11

Heaters

Heaters
I'm testing the heaters over several weekends and will update this post as I do so.

First, a note about the alarms.  There has always been a CO alarm plugged into the outlet near the phone.  In addition, I have purchased two more alarms that detect both CO and gas.  These are the type that plug into an outlet (and have backup power from installed batteries) and I usually keep one downstairs and one in the bedroom we sleep in.  I used this type of alarm when testing heaters.

I have also purchased conventional smoke/fire alarms and have installed them around the house.  I hesitated about this because I worried that they were not consistent with the aesthetic.  In the end, however, I decided that the safety of the house (and us) was more important than how they looked (alhough I never notice them).  They can easily be removed.

FYI, the smoke detector in the long room near the kitchen will occasionally sound when cooking.  It can be a nuisance but it's nice to know that they're sensitive.  Push the button in the center to silence and then gently twist it out of it's mount and tuck away until you're done cooking.

Upstairs Main Bedroom
This heater an Empire model DV-215-5.  It takes a while to get the pilot lit but, once lit, the heater functions.  I tested it for about an hour with a combination CO/gas detector in the room and it triggered no alarms.  UPDATE 10-29-11: we turned this heater on again to use in the cold weather but after a bit there was a strong smell of gas so we couldn't use it.  I sprayed the joints in the line but saw no leaks so the source of the smell is unknown.

Upstairs Office
This heater is also an Empire DV-215-5 and it is not working.  According to Empire the pilot orifice is broken and they no longer make replacement parts for this model.  They say it's a very old heater and that the replacement, which should fit where the current one is, is model DV-215-7.  Below is a picture I took of the gas line pulled out of the pilot orifice.

Part of the pilot orifice is still stuck up in there.

Heater in downstairs FRONT bedroom
This heater is made by Williams and is a model #1403611.  The pilot lights easily and it was tested on 10-3-11 for an hour with a combination CO/gas detector in the room.  There were no alarms.

What's important to know about using this heater is that you must first turn on the gas valve outside in the screened-in porch.  However, when that valve is on, it leaks gas.  This valve should be replaced.

Gas valve in screened-in porch outside front downstairs bedroom.  It leaks when in the ON position.

 Heater in upstairs small bedroom
This is a Williams heater also.  I lit it with a lighter as it didn't light immediately with the red button.  I ran it for a little under a half hour with the door closed and a combination CO/gas detector and there were no alarms.

Heater in downstairs BACK bedroom
At the time of this writing (10-3-11) this room was full of storage items so this heater was not tested.  The valve outside, which is different from the valve that serves the heater in the FRONT bedroom, remains OFF.

Note: these tests don't prove that the heaters are safe, only that they didn't set off alarms in the short tests I conducted.  I recommend using a CO/gas detector in every room where you use a heater, but I'm a paranoid.

It's all good

Char says I only post negative things about the house so here are some pictures from today.  It was supposed to rain a lot this weekend but we've gotten lucky in that there's been almost none. 

While the leaves have started to turn and fall, these purple, daisy-like flowers are in bloom.  There's even a rose!

10-2-11

October Rose

10-2-11

10-2-11

I arrived here in the evening of 9/30 and after a short while went to get Char at the New Boston Inn where she was waiting with Bill and Lygeia, who had driven her up.  Lots of rain and fog.

This trip:
Cleaned spider webs from porch, vacuumed the floor furnaces, prepared dried herbs from garden for Sarah, vacuumed spider webs in basement, placed mouse traps in kitchen, continued cleaning linens, towels, etc. from drawers in long bureau, purchased toilet flusher arm/knob to replace the old, broken one in the toilet downstairs, tested heater in downstairs bedroom.

LEAKS UPDATE
Again, more rain this weekend and we're becoming increasingly concerned about the leaks.  It may be our imagination but they appear to be getting worse (or we may not have seen them at their worst before).  In any case, they don't seem good.

I've left Gary Danko, the contractor we spoke to, a message today about looking into this further and getting estimates.

10-1-11

10-1-11

10-1-11

10-1-11 - Office

10-1-11 Long Room

Internet
The internet here is via satellite provided by DISH and, after some research, I compiled the stats listed below, some of which are educated guesses because the account is, by necessity, still in Rena's name and cannot be accessed by me.  This is because spots on the satellite network are limited and, if one were to cancel and try to sign up again, you'd be put in a waiting list.  It is not possible to simply change the name and address on the account.

Satellite Modem and Wireless Router

I purchased and installed a wireless router (network name: Netgear) that does not require a password to use but is accessible only in the front area of the house.  The internet is slow and becomes spotty, or goes out completely, when it rains.

The internet plan has upload and download limits that work on a rolling 30 day schedule, not on a calendar month.  I don't know which of the three available plans Rena has but will assume it's the lowest one, meaning that the upload threshold is 2.3GB and the download threshold is 7.5GB.  When 80% of this is reached they will send Rena an e-mail warning, as happened in 9/2011, probably after downloading Bridesmaids from iTunes (which took 12 hours) for Char's birthday.  (BTW, it's a chick flick).

The router is a Netgear N150 and the manual can be found here.

Dish Network 800-333-3474

Acct. Name: Rena Gill

Acct. Phone: 212-989-8422

Possible password: sandisdish

Possible wireless requirements (to hook up a wireless router)

Connect using ethernet (not PPPoE)

DNS Server: 75.104.128.61

Domain Name: Wildblue.com


Furnaces
I removed the floor registers and vacuumed out both furnaces.  There was a lot of compacted dust and spider webs.   And a spoon.

Floor furnace in long room - the register is visible left - the heatshield (not visible here) is removed for cleaning.

The long room furnace is made by Temco, a company that no longer appears to be extant.  It appears to be model GVF70-1S and outputs 40,000 BTU.

Floor furnace in front room - heat shield (not visible here) removed for cleaning.

The floor furnace in the front room is an Empire model #5088-1, Serial #H40 7169, generating 45,000 BTU.  One side of the frame of the floor register comes off but is easily re-attached - make sure to do so correctly or the register will not support weight properly.  Artifacts found during cleaning were a nickel and two melted pens.

Pilots on both furnaces have been re-lit with thermostats set to 55 until we get cold!   The thermostats are Model PSP511 made by Lux (luxproproducts.com).  I don't see that exact model on their website but the manual appears to be on another site, here.

I tested both furnaces for a bit today.  They are incredibly effective, heating the room quickly and continue to generate heat even after the flame is out (perhaps from the hot metal parts?).  I would suggest using a CO2/gas detector when using them for extended periods just to be safe.

FURNACE UPDATE

10-9-11: In the course of inspecting the chimneys/leaks with Gary Danko and his mason, it was discovered that neither of the floor furnaces properly vent and that the Carbon Monoxide they produce goes into the basement and, potentially, the house, not the chimneys.  This creates a possibly DANGEROUS situation and Gary's opinion was that they should not be used until they have been properly inspected and repaired.

MICE!
The season's first evidence of mice has appeared in the kitchen.  I'm placing traps with peanut butter.