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Houston, We’ve Got Air Conditioning

I don’t think I could last all summer, especially on a super humid day, but for the few warm days we’ve had thus far I’ve enjoyed sleeping under my fan.  One of the things I was looking forward to was the cross breeze I’d have due to the number of windows Iin my master suite.  I’ve gotten some of my best sleeps when I was in a place with an open window and cool air blowing in.  Spring allergies kept me limited on the frequencies thus far, but watch out fall.

I didn’t want 80+ temps to catch me off-guard, so with the concrete pad in place, I scheduled the air conditioner unit install.  The crew from Baker, Bauer & Fish completed their HVAC install on Wednesday.  I only have two pictures because I was doing yard work in the front while they worked in the back and basement, but James put in a half-day (left) and Rasheed a full-day with overtime to make sure I had air that day.  I can’t say enough about how pleased I’ve been with Tom Bauer and his staff.  I highly recommend them to anyone needing service on an existing unit or a new unit.  I will definitely use them again on my garage apartment project.

 

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Short and Sweet….I Have Heat

Duke Energy came out Thursday and ran a pressure test on my gas lines.  I passed and the gas was turned on.  Just in time as it looks like we are skipping fall and headed straight to winter.  Cincinnati experienced a 30 degree drop in temps with our lows in the 30s and highs only in the 50s all week.  I have the thermostat sat at 62 and the house is comfortable, so I hope this means I’ll see low utility bills in the years to come.

I grew up in an all electric house, so needless to say I’m a bit nervous having gas running.  Fear of leaks and explosions.  I have connected the the smoke and carbon dioxide detectors in the basement and master.  I have one more combo and two smoke detectors yet to connect, but those will happen as the paint is completed in those areas.

In regards to water I have plans to salvage the cement sink in my basement to finally have a functioning sink and access to hot water.  I’ve been told by many to take sledgehammer to it, but my inner MacGyver has better ideas.  Stay tuned.

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One Duke Energy Call From Heat

The two-man crew from Baker, Bauer, and Fish, my HVAC company, have been busy this week installing the remaining air ducts and Armstrong Air furnace unit in my basement.  It meant I needed to get back to patching floors on the first floor, so they could install the remaining air vents.  There are several areas in the kitchen that need patching, but the three pieces next to the rear wall were first priority due to the kitchen vent location.

 

Thanks to my neighbor Bill, the flooring I had left over from upstairs was ripped down to the right width to be used downstairs.  Both floors are pine, but the upstairs floors had wider planks than down.  I am really enjoying this newfound skill set. Patching floors is fun and for a rookie I do a pretty good job.  Too bad most of that patch will be covered by the kitchen cabinets.

It’s really amazing watching how they ran these lines.  I really hope this old house is the first of many I’ll work on (I want to be the Nicole Curtis of Camp Washington), but I wonder how central air/heat would be possible if I had not taken my house down to the studs.  I’ve taken on a lot myself, but I am certainly grateful to have Baker, Bauer, and Fish handling this project for me.  Tom Bauer has been fabulous to work with.

The thermostat has been hung in the living room and I’ve been told that I can actually run the fan now.  With the windows open the unit will pull air and circulate it throughout the house.  That will be needed as until I can get my backyard graded to slope 20180723_152003away from my house I am not going to have the unit for air conditioning installed.  It will be placed near the fence and although it may be hard to see from this photo, when it rains I get a large puddle that sits to the left of the steps.

I’ve been holding off having that work done in hopes that it can be done in conjunction with the building of the garage or at least with the pouring of the slab for it.  I unfortunately had a negative encounter with the architect that did my house plans, Sean Keith.  I paid him to do the plans for the garage and due to some personal challenges he’s experiencing he never produced them, nor returned the fee I paid.  Thankfully Couper Gardiner with M.Arch stepped in and completed the plans.