House Project: Back Door (future project)



View from sun porch into house after refrigerator removal (current double doors)



Double mahogany doors procured to replace 1983 metal & glass doors



Once again, "I did not get out alive" from Re-Build.  They had these wonderful solid mahogany exterior double doors that came into the warehouse yesterday afternoon (donated from a home owner in McLean).

I immediately placed them on-hold (you snooze you lose when it comes to this style of shopping).  Pulled out my note pad, measuring tape and camera and got all of the vitals that I needed to take home with me to make a proper determination if the doors were the proper size for the door frame or not.

As you can see the exterior sides of the doors are carved and weathered.  Translation, sanding, oiling and some protective finish will be required.  Also, the homeowner decided to keep all of the hardware for their replacement door.  Therefore, I will need to find hardware suitable for this particular set of doors at a later date.

The interior side of the eight (8) panel doors is actually in decent shape and has a traditional look.  Though, most doors only have two (2) to six (6) panels.  Eight (8) panels is rather unique in design, as is the carving; which is why I was attracted to them.

There will be the trade-off of less light in the kitchen and den area.  Though the option is to just open the blinds a bit more during the daytime to let in more day light.

The benefit, I hope, is that these solid wood doors without glass should be more energy efficient than the original 1983 builder's metal and single pane glass double doors.

As far as design and color scheme, the mahogany is a wonderful addition to the Indonesian hardwood sun porch set that I already have in place.

This particular refinishing and replacement of the rear doors project is something that will have to take place after the man cave/library project is completed. 

Why?

As of this AM, my dining room, den and living room are littered with the library cabinets and shelving that Re-Build staff delivered this morning.  It is going to be a monumental task just to get all of the books out of the basement and upstairs in order to remove the carpet, clean, put down new tile and paint the walls, etc. 

Stay tuned for a later posting when this project gets underway.

Home Power Use – AM Showers

Not everyone thinks the same way; which is a good thing in many circumstances.  One thing that I think differently about is heating and cooling of “space”.  There are those times during the day that it does not make sense to heat or cool your entire house.

My examples are when you get up in the AM and take a shower prior to getting on with your day and leaving the house.

You are maybe in the bathroom a maximum of 10 minutes and yet you probably have adjusted the heat for the entire house in order to warm it up enough to take your shower without cringing and shivering.

What I did was bought a portable heater at Target some 5 years ago and I turn that on facing the shower when I wake up in the AM and then partially close the door until I go back in and am ready to shower, etc.  (Cat box placement prohibits me from completely closing the door.)

Depending on how warm the bathroom becomes you can either leave the heater on while you shower and continue to get ready or power it off once the room is sufficiently heated.

My suggestion and tip is to physically unplug the unit once you turn it off.  That way there is no chance that it will accidently be left on.

In the warmer months, set-up a small fan to turn on in the area you dry off and get dressed in.  Once you are finished, unplug for safety purposes.

Home Electricity Use

Does anyone else question as to what is normal for a home your size within your geographic area for normal electricity usage per month?

Other than being able to see on my statement the fluctuation of kilowatt hours (kWh) used per month, I have no idea as to whether my utilization is normal, low or dramatically high.

The heating venting and air conditioning system is powered by electricity and the heat, hot water and stove are generated by gas.

The table below shows my utility kWh utilization billing quantities from April – October of this year.  I believe it translates to usage from March – September.

Month	KWh
April	101
May	245
June	628
July	1212
August	1342
September	1223
October	739

What an economist and green geek I am.  I would actually like to know how this usage compares to others and what I can do to ratchet down the utilization if it is beyond the norm of my neighbors.

Wonder if they would put me on the do not answer the door list or acknowledge, if we see her working in the yard list?

How does this utilization compare to yours?

FYI:  I signed up for Dominion Power Smart Cooling Rewards Program and their device was recently attached to my air compressor.  The program is annual in terms of signing up having the device activated and being eligible for the $40 annual reward/rebate for participation.  But, the actual control by the power company of air compressors is only between the months of June and August and enables them to remotely cycle off a customer’s air compressor for up to 4 hours during weekdays.

While the compressor is being remotely controlled to off, your house fan will not be impacted and may continue to operate.

I will not be able to share how this program works out for me until sometime late in June of next year.  In the mean time, if you have any tips and tricks let me know.

I have a digital thermostat that I need to get installed that will allow me to pre-set HVAC temperature settings according to day of the week and time of the day.  I have used them before and it certainly helps adjusting the heating and cooling throughout the day and you can keep cooling and heating to a minimum during those periods when you are asleep or away from your home.