Utility Dive is a site about energy. this just published.
Rooftop solar is now cheaper than the grid in 42 American cities
Worth the time.
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I was reading Clean Technica and ran across this gem. Tracking Pending US Energy Legislation In One Place which sent me to the Advanced Energy Legislation Tracker a searchable database of pending legislation around different types of energy bills. hattip Clean Technica Sorry for the lack of posting, but personal issues have sidelined me for some time. Recently a catastrophic computer failure complicated this as well. But that part is over…. Using WordPress as my blogging tool of choice is requiring me to make some back end changes which require some gymnastics that may affect my posting over the next few months. Besides remodeling I do computer repair, maintenance, and a spot of web design which adds more time there and less here. But I hope to get back on the post soon.. Recently I refreshed a house. Owner died, heirs want to sell. In the current market balancing cash in vs cash out is a delicate act. You want to add value but you can’t afford to overbuild for the market. Once you own a house you can of course go crazy. Here is the kitchen in this house which is just like every other house in the neighborhood, which at one time was a ‘development’.
In the foreground is the breakfast area with wood posts forming a visual separation between the family room and the galley style kitchen. This is untouched from the day the developer turned over the keys. Back in the day where wallpaper was thought to be a good idea in kitchens. The wallpaper has to go, the popcorn ceiling in the breakfast nook has to go, the cabinets need serious cleaning. The formica counters are showing extreme age. The first order of business is to eliminate the posts, remove the wallpaper, skimcoat the walls,(required as the builders do not final finish these walls figuring that the wallpaper will cover imperfections) clean and refinish the cabinets, order and install new tops and clean and refinish the floor. The floor was left as it is a one piece sheet vinyl in good condition.
Just these few tasks begin to open up the space. After removing the wallpaper, which was not real hard as I had my daughter do it, and using a spray bottle filled with water she made it go away in short order. We cleaned and refinished the cabinets first, bagged them and then primed and painted. The counters were the last major items installed before doing the floor. Here is the final result.
Here is the kitchen start from the reverse angle.
Here is the finish.
Here is a longer view from the family room.
A recent job had me checking the plumbing on a house being freshened up. After replacing the mixing valve in one bathroom I came to find out that the previous owner had never used the shower, which filled the valve body with crap requiring replacement. This of course after the walls had been painted and carpet laid. Since the shower was tiled. entry from the front was a non starter. After measuring the walls, I got lucky and discovered that the common wall was in a closet. In order for the plumber to get in, I needed to cut him a hole. Because the walls were textured, I needed to minimize the damage, so I cut the access with a utility knife. This takes longer than with a keyhole saw or a router, but the walls have been painted and new carpet installed. I bagged and taped off the floor and cut the hole. Here is the hole. The studs were already in place. Yeah the plumber got his work done in that little hole. He is that good. Next up is re-installing the drywall. Because of the backing screwing it back in was a breeze. Looking at the bottom of this photo you can see where I taped off the trim and taped it to the poly on the floor.
I used my old friend mesh tape for covering the seams. Here I have taped the horizontal and vertical wall seams. If you look closely you can see the tape line where somebody else had opened this wall before to work on the drain.
Here is the final tape. Notice the corner tape extends beyond the flat. This helps with finishing.
Next is the mud. Here your coats need to be thin enough to just cover without creating large bulges that are more work.
Because this is a ‘knock down’ texture After the mud is dry and you have sanded it lightly, texture in a can is applied. Follow the directions on the can as far as testing it on cardboard and following the directions in terms of drying time before ‘knocking it down’.
After this dries, before you repaint, lightly sand the area to match the original finish. You want to round the edges to hide your repair especially if your wall has been painted many times. I took the time to cover and texture the previous repair since I was in the neighborhood. All done! the photo sucks but nobody who has looked at it can find it. And that is name of the game.
Until my latest project I was a fanboy of BEHR Premium Plus Interior Paint. Really. I have used it on every project I have done in the past few years. Probably close to 200 gallons of the stuff. The biggest reason to use it was its thickness which translated into 1 coat coverage. Since I roll and brush as opposed to spraying, the body and coverage saves me labor and produced a superior finish. Not anymore. The latest batch I used was thinner and did not provide the coverage I am used to, and made much more work. Like two coats on cutting and rolling. After covering the off white walls with PVA Primer before painting. I used to run a cut line and roll a room and be done. I was using the Ultra White in semi gloss and Flat. Both were thin in 1 gal and 5 gallon sizes. BEHR paint was a thick paint that once you got used to it, allowed you to lay on a single coat. Using a 1/2” nap roller allowed me to roll a lot of paint without dripping or running. I had to down size to a 3/8” roller and still had drips. And needed two coats. Major pain in the ass when you budget your time on one coat and done.
I will be using Valspar from Lowes for a while. I recently used it on an exterior project both enamel and masonry paint, with great results.
My current project is a freshen up for a house. My number one daughter has been working along side of me. Popcorn ceilings were sold as an enhancement for many years by tract developers, advertising ease of maintenance by virtue of being white, so as not to require painting, and it acoustic properties in reducing sound. Both of these claims are of dubious value, when the reality is that it was cheaper for builders to spray ceilings rather than finish them. A typical taping job requires a tape coat, a cover coat, and one or more finish coats to produce a smooth finish. By eliminating the ceiling finish coats builders saved time and labor by spraying ceilings. Some builders would not even apply a cover coat, but would spray the texture on extra heavy. Cheaper for them, a pain in the ass now. Having removed the popcorn on the current project, we were luck in that the builder did use a cover coat before spraying the ceilings. Skip troweling is a technique that used regular taping mud applied to create a cover and a texture. This is what it looks like in process. Here is Rich using a wide knife to apply the compound. Remember that you will need to use a primer/sealer before final painting. One of the most sworn at design details in housing is the popcorn ceiling. They collect dirt, dust, spiderwebs, and all sorts of crap. You can’t wash them. You can’t dust them. You can paint them if you want to spend an enormous amount of money on paint, and don’t mind a stiff neck. You can remove them. Here is a quick look at the procedure. First up is moistening the ceiling. This does two important things for you. It softens the popcorn making it easier to remove and the moisture reduces the dust, which is especially important if you are living in the house. Next is scraping the ceiling. Here is the floor after the popcorn is down. Last week we had a termite inspection done. Here is the termite diagram. I met with Donovan, the technician from Bills Pest and Termite who showed up on time. He and I walked the property discussing the problem. Professional, Courteous, and Knowledgeable. He then began the prep for treatment. On the interior a series of holes are drilled through the slab into the ground beneath. This is a shot of the garage. Having completed the inside, he moved outside and cleared a channel around the entire structure and performed an ‘outside wrap’ which is a complete perimeter application. Finally he attached the treatment sticker, which doubles as the warranty to the water heater. If you need termite treatment in Phoenix, Bills Pest and Termite is the company to call. Highly Recommended! For the time and money crowd, the inspection was free and took 90 minutes. The treatment was just under $700.00 and took 2 1/2 hours from opening his truck door to his driving off. Your situation will be different. This is this job only. |
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