Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

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Lily left the valley
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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by Lily left the valley »

Since Halloween, we keep saying "Wow, is it X already?" Last night when we voted, I realized I couldn't remember when I'd been here last. :lol:

We've been busy, mostly trying (and failing) to get some yard projects wrapped up. I haven't lived on a property with a lot of trees in a long while, and holy moly, the leaves! I did manage to get the rain barrel emptied before the night time temps dipped to 24° F this past night, and I'm pretty happy that I only dumped a few gallons on the yard after the water level dipped below the spigot. I bottled some of it, the rest I dispersed around the yard to try to avoid run off.

I have been, as of this month, trying to shift my focus away from the yard and more towards the winterizing efforts and planning. The temps are suddenly plummeting now for both day and night. We still need to clean the gutters at least once more because of the copious amounts of oak leaves still falling.

I have a few pieces of glass to set still in empty storm frames that thankfully were on the premises. I hope to get to those before Thanksgiving.

Budget has been really tight. We already knew the gift from my inlaws towards the insulation would not cover it all, but then Sean's car failed inspection on more than we even thought he would, and then the plumbing foray ate into the spring bulbs I wanted to get as well.

We also had an issue where his last check was short a full day's work. They're correcting that, and he'll get it today, but it threw off our payment schedule even further. December is a three check month, so we know we'll finish out the year ok, but wooo...unplanned expenses!

It's made me try to step up some efforts to at least do some work on the side, but that's a bit of starting from scratch in some regards, and I only have a few small bites so far. Still, right now I'm glad for anything, and I just hope they come through.

It's kind of dispiriting when we knew going in that at least this year would be tight, but when something like failing an inspection or even a stove coil cracking (and ceasing to work) happens, it just reminds us how crazy we really were going into this. :crazy:

My hope right now is that he does get the FT position he should be getting before spring. That will be a big relief on many levels.

We're doing our level best this month to get Beebe as ready as she can be for the coming winter, and each bit helps in noticeable ways which does counteract a bit to dampened spirits. I still have some air sealing to do with some new old stock insulation kits I found for doors/windows.

I really was hoping we'd get the insulation ordered this month. But now, I'll be happy if we can manage to get it done in December.

One really stupendous bit of news, speaking of heating and winter, is that despite what I thought, we came in just under the cap for heating assistance this winter. For that, we are so grateful. :dance: It also gives us, we found out, some sort of discount on our electric. That made us laugh, because our highest bill for that so far has been less than $40. Still, if we do finally manage to get a dryer, that will change to closer to $50.

Speaking of bills...that leak? Thank goodness we were using the hot water cut off. We went up 200 cu. ft. of water use for this quarter's water bill. Still doable, but amazing how just that one leak did that. Of course, now the kitchen sink started dripping. I hope to get that fixed this week, and am keeping my :handgestures-fingerscrossed: that's it's just the washer, and not another old fixture rotting. Still, dripping is MUCH BETTER than what was going on in the basement that last week. :hand:

I've missed having the time to be here, actually. Missed out on who knows how many conversations and things to learn. I figure as we wrap up the yard for the year, I'll be able to get back to my old routine of at least reading the latest once a day or so.
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--Currently pondering ways to encourage thoughtful restovation and discourage mindless renovation.

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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by Lily left the valley »

Update on the insulation dilemna, and an introduction to the horror that is frozen laundry fingers. :shock:

I'd been thinking, maybe we're going about this all wrong with the budget because we've been so fixated on the card given to us to help with whatever. It was never said "only use this for insulation", just "Hey, here's some help we can offer because your bank really tossed your budget in the toilet with that day before closing change to your locked rate nonsense."

So Sean and I discussed a number of factors, and... :techie-eureka: The most important bits out of our conversation went about like this:

Good, but the total cost we might not have until January: I somehow forgot they package in "bales", not batts. Each of them has however many (depending on R/size) batts per bale unit. Since I hadn't checked the dimensions of what turned out to be the bale rather than individually packaged batts, that was a relief in my worry the R23 pallet might not be enough coverage for the first layer. If we can later this winter, we'll do the second layer with the R30 criss-cross over the joists. Otherwise, one layer is still better than NONE other than our infamous attic quilt this year.

OMG I don't want to do this ever again: We still have not found a free dryer. Haven't bought one due to issues already mentioned. The temperature also dropped like a stone here this week. When I hung laundry out to dry two days ago, it was barely 30° F. I stupidly didn't wear gloves, so I wound up doing a load of dishes after hanging laundry to get my fingers to not feel like I might have mild frostbite because two hand wrapping a tea mug didn't help much. (Darn you, low blood pressure!)

The Laundromat Alternative: I went to the local to price dryer time, and it wouldn't really help us limp along compared to the increase in the electric bill (Like almost three times more than). Still better than putting holes in the trim to hang a clothesline above the stairs. (Don't ask--not my idea.)

Not so Good, but Maybe Not so Bad Either: It turns out Lowe's sells Roxsul at a better price per unit, with a much smaller order (3 rather than a pallet of 12) required to get the even better bulk discount. In fact, the minimum required is much more doable than the difference we had otherwise using the HD card. They also carry it in our store, so no waiting like with HD where they'd have to special order it.

What's logical: The one upstairs bedroom has no radiator--not even connections for such, so the door is typically closed now with a towel at the bottom until I can get some actual draft dodgers made. The eave closets are cold/hot because of roof above with no insulation already which the batts won't change (but I have diagrams for what to do at a point much further off in time to fix that), but at least the closet doors help a bit keeping the two 'zones' separate for the short term. So doing the attic in spurts could work by starting over our bedroom so we can sleep with less than 20 lbs. of covers, and get us through this tight spot without harder compromises.

I guess we should be glad for... Home Depot having an early Black Friday sale on appliances. There's also a lot of other bits and bobs we really could use to finish some minor fixes that would help eat the balance of the card while also helping me get said things finished. I could have a brand new covered by at least the manufacturer's 1 year warranty dryer within a week or so. At a savings of over $130. Bonus--less frozen finger clothesline games.

It starts to fit together because: With Lowe's, we could pick up the first bundle of whatever amount we can afford maybe as early as next paycheck, but more likely the one after. This way we also don't have to pay extra for shipping of the pallet (from HD), nor have the awkwardness of doing multiple trips to pick up to save $55 while I babysit whatever didn't fit in the PT until he drives all the way back to Gardner then to Leominster. (Gas for such was much cheaper than their curbside delivery fee.)

OMG this might actually work: Not having to come up with the extra funds needed for the HD pallet version soon frees them up for him to get his car fixed, and I get an indoor dryer with delightfully warm laundry.

So there it is. I tried ordering the dryer already, but for some reason HD keeps freezing up at the login. So I'm going to wait until later today to call customer service about that.

We're not thrilled about doing the attic insulation in segments, but at the same time, it makes a lot of sense given that odd bedroom on the far side from us, and most of the pipes are on our bedroom side save the sink's.

We already have the dryer vent (came with house) set up, and it won't take long to give it a good lint check with a rope and and old towel. I had checked the tube before, and couldn't find any cracks or issues. The anti "creature" flap and hood seem to be fine as well. The dryer we picked doesn't come with a cord, but again, the HD card will come in handy and I can very well put on a cord safely.

Mental gymnastics for math and reason nerds. We do them. :lol:
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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by Texas_Ranger »

Do you have enough space to dry laundry inside? As long as it's not dripping that works great in a room that has a radiator! In Europe just about everyone has a folding drying rack that holds at least half a washer load, my mom used to have two at times and another fixed fold-out one above the tub. Even though you obviously use some heating energy that's still a whole lot cheaper than an electric dryer both in purchase price and energy usage. Not easy in tiny places though.

Some people actually build their own racks with a wooden frame and lengths of clothes line and hang it from a ceiling with a pulley system, my late uncle even added a winch to his. That's terrific if you've got tall ceilings!

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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by Lily left the valley »

Texas_Ranger wrote:Do you have enough space to dry laundry inside? As long as it's not dripping that works great in a room that has a radiator! In Europe just about everyone has a folding drying rack that holds at least half a washer load, my mom used to have two at times and another fixed fold-out one above the tub. Even though you obviously use some heating energy that's still a whole lot cheaper than an electric dryer both in purchase price and energy usage. Not easy in tiny places though.

Some people actually build their own racks with a wooden frame and lengths of clothes line and hang it from a ceiling with a pulley system, my late uncle even added a winch to his. That's terrific if you've got tall ceilings!
The short answer is: You and I are of like minds on that solution, Tex. We do also currently utilize both traditional and jerry-rig indoor hanging.

In all honesty, I had actually brought up the idea of not getting a dryer, and having the electric outlet for it broken down so we could free up 2 spots in the breaker box. I've looked into pulley systems, a collapsible round laundry rack (like the umbrella style), and even built-in wall fold down racks. My Floor Manager has other notions, though. (More on that below.)

Longer form answer: We have been using a typical sized coated wire folding rack I've had since before we met (a bit shy of chest high for me, 22" wide); as well as a mini two string clothesline next to the boiler (that was there when we bought); and I also precariously placed a hanging bar I removed from the office closet to a bedroom corner supported only by the closet and window trim where we hang clothes on hangers that are too big for/don't fit with everything else at once on the drying rack if it started raining or stuff was still damp as it got colder. I didn't secure the pole because I don't want to put unnecessary holes in the trim, even if they are forever out of average line of sight. My personal silly, but it was only meant to be temporary, and he was warned. Sean only had to unseat it once before learning to be careful that the top of the hanger was clear before taking clothes down. :lolno:

Regarding drips...although our used 10Amp washer is fairly good with the spin cycle, it sometimes doesn't spin/drain (?) perfectly and there's a bit of water in the base of the drum that means whatever laundry is on the bottom has at least a soaked section when taken out. I'm still not sure why. It doesn't seem to be a balance issue, because it doesn't always happen consistently. I also don't overload the washer ever, so same.

I use vinegar instead of fabric softener in the rinse cycle which doesn't get hung clothes as soft as commercial stuff, especially if there's little to no wind out that day. Yet since I use a tinfoil ball when I use a dryer, that magically science-fluffs the laundry which I know Sean prefers to line dried at any wind level. (It also kills static cling, another bonus.)

He does like that we have and use the outdoor line and the indoor foldable for smaller stuff, but in the course of our discussions about whether to keep putting off getting a dryer or not, Sean was frank and firm in that he wanted fluffy laundry for at least part of the year. Knowing what we know about how little a dryer adds to our electric bill, he said although it will require more funds long term for the colder months on top of the upfront purchase, it's just this winter that will be the tightest (we hope, I add dryly at this point) because of his impending promotion to FT. So that extra on the bill won't kill us because Xmas rush has already started, so he'll be back to the more comforting paychecks starting December which will last right through his FT transition. At worst, maybe only 1 or 2 checks won't be quite as big as Xmas tapers off if her retirement end date gets bumped to March depending on when he can go for training (which they will totally not let him do during Xmas rush--I don't even think there is any offered).

He was also concerned about the additional moisture, minor as it would be, that all of the household laundry would generate. The concern is because we have steam heat, and one room in particular (our bedroom) gets positively tropic even when the door is not closed. (It's on my ToDo list of things to research and fix.) Two others have one type of leak or another (one air vent that I think has rusted out so the pre made hole is too big, the other will likely require replacing the valve because it's spewing steam all over the wood floor (now toweled for protection) no matter how little I open it up and it rattles like mad (See same ToDo list.)), so there are reasonable concerns about moisture.

I have been trying to sketch out a fold down option for the upper bath as a built-in because when the rack is by the rad, it takes up what little space is between the door opening, toilet and that ridiculously huge sink cabinet. You have to pick up the rack just to get in the room. The overall placement of same is why we think it used to be the only bath, because the leftover space is all the way against the back wall and the flooring stain has a weird unmatched line that's about where an inner tub edge would end. I do hope to eventually get to a built in for that room to stop blocking the path. (A not-an-emergency line on my ToDo list.)

The cellar option is not favorable for a lot of reasons. Damp in there still, and I have yet to insulate the cellar header and walk out enclosure, and I also desperately need to shore up the inner door which leaks like no tomorrow, and no easy fix there. So there's a noticeable difference in the temp as the boiler is the only heat source down there--also, dirt floor, and the line is as high as it can hang, which is still too low for sheets/blankets/quilts/full body dresses I like to wear once in a while. Again, when we have the funds to remedy a bunch of that, it may be a great alternate spot for indoor drying. Not now, though. (My ToDo list is long and is awesome to behold.)

The bedroom pole was never something long term. (See story above about lesson learned.) Until the tropics problem gets solved in that room, it's also just not a good room for it right now.

So to wrap up...Sean wanted it, and I caved. It will be here Wednesday. Stupidly, the cord and vent fitting won't be until next week, but I have to wait until tomorrow to call the appliance department to talk to a human about that--they aren't open on weekends. (You only get 48 hours after delivery to return due to it not working. HOW WILL I KNOW with no plug? :eh: )
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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by Texas_Ranger »

OK, some good arguments for a dryer in your case I'd say!

Our fold-out rack is right above the tub so you can either shower or dry laundry, that's a bit of a downside. You can take a bath though if you pulls the laundry all the way back.

This is what it looks like:
https://i.otto.de/i/otto/1530553/leifhe ... ?$formatz$

We've got it high enough above the floor we can even dry sheets and other large objects. It's also handy for wet towels.

If you ever switch to a front-loading washer that might solve quite a few of your issues. My mom quit using fabric softener when I was a baby and my dad never even noticed it :D The laundry also comes out barely damp and positively not dripping so it dries much faster than with a traditional top-loading washer.

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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by Lily left the valley »

Texas_Ranger wrote:OK, some good arguments for a dryer in your case I'd say!

Our fold-out rack is right above the tub so you can either shower or dry laundry, that's a bit of a downside. You can take a bath though if you pulls the laundry all the way back.

This is what it looks like:
https://i.otto.de/i/otto/1530553/leifhe ... ?$formatz$

We've got it high enough above the floor we can even dry sheets and other large objects. It's also handy for wet towels.

If you ever switch to a front-loading washer that might solve quite a few of your issues. My mom quit using fabric softener when I was a baby and my dad never even noticed it :D The laundry also comes out barely damp and positively not dripping so it dries much faster than with a traditional top-loading washer.
We have a window right next to the tub, so the only place that rack could go would need a step stool to reach. Not sure of the width of the one you showed, but it might fit on the right hand wall above the molded plastic sheet. I might be able to reach that better. I had thought of putting a pulley system in there, possibly later when we'll likely have to open the curved area above to install a fan. We might instead cut down the window, raise it up a bit when we redo the tub and put the fan above that instead since we'll have to open that wall up anyhoo. Either way, that's way down the list, though. (Listing photo below.)
Image

We'd have to do an electrical upgrade I think to get a front loader, even if we wanted one. The washer we bought used and I can plug into a standard 15 no problem. I think we paid $150 with the delivery, and the shop covers repairs for a set period of time, which was good because our lid sensor blew in short order after we got it. I called it in, and he came by the next day and fixed it, easy peasy.
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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by Lily left the valley »

Second round of flurries this week, but today the ground kept the white a bit. Not really a first snow, but still made me giddy. :occasion-snowman:
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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by Texas_Ranger »

Fairly sure you couldn't fit the rack I posted - it's close to 3 feet wide (rough guess).

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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by Lily left the valley »

I am thrilled to say that the dryer has arrived, and although Home Depot did finally update the delivery date for the cord to come Friday, they gave us one off the truck today so we could test it while they were there, and we can just send the other one back when it shows up and HD will adjust the difference on the gift card. Really nice guys, and the delivery couldn't have been smoother. We even had a brief chat with the lead about rain barrels and rain gardens when he asked about our barrel we had upside down in the backyard while walking back and forth.

Now we just have to wait for the vent on Friday, and we are good to go for fluffy laundry this winter. :D

When Sean gets the back pay he's owed (they forgot a day), we'll go pick up our first bale of insulation at Lowes and get started on that next week. Fortunately, his next check falls on the first of the month, so we can pay the quarterly water/sewer/trash then and still be on time plus the other usual beginning of the month bills.

Snail's pace, but we are moving forward.

Texas_Ranger wrote:Fairly sure you couldn't fit the rack I posted - it's close to 3 feet wide (rough guess).
You are correct. 30" is the right side wall, I checked.
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Re: Beebe -- our 1935 Bungalow on Baker Street.

Post by SweetCottage »

Hi Beebe, I live in western MA and have steam heat. I bought this house 4 years ago (my first) and had to figure out the steam heat. I read a bunch on HeatingHelp.com and got a couple of the recommended steam books through my library. It definitely helped me visualize how the different parts of the system worked. My first winter I suffered through a very sketchy old boiler (1970s, on oil, that was rusting out) that just needed to get through that winter. Also oil prices were still very high @ $3.25-3.85/gallon. I spent about $3300 on oil that winter for my 1500 sq/ft house, which is better than the $5000-5500/yr the eldery PO spent before me. Except I hadn't really internalized paying for that over 6 months instead of across a whole year -- thankfully that boiler survived to be replaced with a new gas boiler the next summer.

Practical advice on the radiators: I too had radiators that had some minor leaks at the valve and seemed to gurgle and hiss for long amounts of time at the vents. Some people assume that if you have steam heat, you'll have much more humid air during the winter then other kinds of heat. Wrong; if so the radiators need adjustment because you should have very little steam escaping before the radiator vent closes down and locks the steam in so it can fill and transfer the heat the radiator. That also means your boiler needs filling much more often and it's very bad if it runs dry.

Some fixes: With the system off and cool, I unscrewed the vents in batches (note they are marked with different sizes! that is important to get them back on the same radiator they come off because it helps keep the system balanced and rooms even temp) and soaked them in a white vinegar solution in a crappy pot on simmer on the stove. I think this helped removed mineralization, dust, and dirt that had accumulated around the pin hole. A good, clean vent should hiss very clearly and not gurgle, and the hiss should shut off sharply as the radiator fills up. I put them back with plumbers tape around the threads. I did have to completely replace a main vent (large vent on the return line a couple of feet before it reenters the boiler) when it started spewing steamy, rusty water late on a cold Friday night. Shockingly HD had that vent in-stock nearby and it was about $10.

I also had some leaks at the valves, which had some easy solutions. First, just in case you didn't know this, the valve must either be fully open or fully closed -- there is no halfway with steam. Partially closed valves can increase banging as the cooler, condensed water fights to drain past the incoming steam in a narrower valve. You cannot regulate temperature that way -- if the room's too hot you need to replace the vent with a smaller size, too cold compared to other nearby rooms needs a large size vent). Also, the radiator must be slightly pitched toward the valve or it will bang. I've read that some folks like to put checkers under the far feet, I used some wood scraps for shims.

On the illustration below, if you have a leak at the blue arrow, loosen the nut at the red arrow (you do not need to loosen or remove the knob!) and wrap plumbers graphite packing string (super cheap) around the threads a bunch of times and retighten the nut. If you have a leak at the large nut that connects the radiator to the valve (the large threads on the left of the illustration), wrap that with graphite packing or plumbers tape and tighten carefully with a 12 or 18 inch wrench. I felt like Ms. Scarlet with a wrench in the library with my big 18" guy.

steam valve.jpg
steam valve.jpg (47.79 KiB) Viewed 662 times
1920s English cottage style home

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