November 15, 2010

A quick update while I wait for some paint to dry

Our grass really is growing!! Thanks to the rain and a few days in the 80's.  Hooray!

In order to cover the broom closet in the hallway, without having a door custom made, we made a curtain.  Chris designed the look and I did the sewing.

This was our failed attempt to wallpaper the upstairs. Notice how the supposedly heavy duty backer paper gets all bubbly? This happens every time it rains. The bubbles were getting worse and worse.


We abandoned the idea of wallpaper altogether. After spending a couple hundred dollars and 3 days putting up the nasty stuff, we spent another $50 and many hours taking it all down. 
And painted it instead. This pine wood drinks up the paint...but 6 gallons of paint and 4 coats later, the walls were white. More pictures to follow.

November 5, 2010

Furnace....dead.

Someone came to turn on the pilot light to the furnace, but couldn't because the furnace was too hazardous.  So we had someone come service the furnaces.  He couldn't service them because they were beyond repair. Here is what we have learned:
  • it is old. so old that the man had never seen one that old that still worked
  • it is about 50 % energy efficient, compared to the 95% efficiency of a new furnace
  • the duct work was constructed with asbestos tape
  • the heat exchange was dirty with some sort of flammable dust, which would cause small explosions when the furnace was turned on...a problem capable of burning down a house
  • it emits carbon monoxide when on.
  • we will not turn on our furnace again
  • our house is cold
  • some ward members are sharing space heaters with us
  • It's time to replace our furnace