Yet more (mis)adventures in home improvement
The Other Kim
We don't have air conditioning in this house. Hard to believe that
there are houses in So Cal that don't, but we don't. We do have a
room-size evaporative cooler in the main room of the house that does a
pretty good job of keeping the main living areas cool enough in the
summer, but it doesn't do a real good job at cooling off the bedrooms
even when we run the ceiling fans 24/7 like we do in summer. Usually,
though, it's adequate to make the big rooms bearable even on the high
heat days; here in my office room (formerly our living room, but as we
don't entertain and never have I've taken over this room and am making
it my office/altar/knitting room) I have a tower fan that keeps the air
circulating in my desk corner, and this is fine. Or was fine until last
year's major heat wave, the one where Woodland Hills set a record for
most consecutive days over 100F - 21 - and the record for highest
official recorded temperature in LA county at 119F; I know I saw temps
in the 120s when I was living in the Valley, but these were on bank
thermometers and not official weather stations, like the one at Pierce
College in Woodland Hills. This same heat wave had me seeing temps of
105F and 109F at 5 PM on consecutive days. At this point it was decided
that we get a/c installed before this next summer.
Brief semi-digression. About 16 years ago we did have an estimate for
a/c done. This was a company that worked with Trane and seemed very
much up front. The appointment for the estimate was set up, and we were
assured that they would only take about a half hour or 45 minutes of our
time. After 2 hours we still didn't have an actual dollar estimate, and
I was falling asleep. At that point the guy finally wrote down $14000,
but gave us a "discount" because he "liked us" and cut $1000 off the
price. We thanked them and walked them out the door. This number was
*way* higher than we knew it should have been. This was confirmed when
I talked to a gal I worked with, whose husband worked for an a/c and
heating contractor, and she said that it should be no more than $4000.
At that time we figured that since no one was home during the heat of
the day we could live without a/c. I lost this job the next year,
shortly after Caitlin was born, but since most of my time was spent in
the main living areas during the day I could live with it. Then the
heat wave hit last year, and that was the last straw for both me and the
kids.
Now back to our latest installment.
Okay, now that we've got ourselves penciled in to have the exterior of
the house painted the first week in June, we need to arrange to have a/c
installed so we can have the evaporative cooler removed and the hole in
the wall patched before painting. Calls are made to some places that
friends used and were happy with, along with a couple places found on a
website. The first estimate, though, was from Home Depot. Now, there
was no way in heck I was gonna go with Home Depot - the work is
subcontracted, and on many occasions the job done wasn't what was
promised, and they tend to have a lot of "hidden costs" (and we had a
bad experience a few years ago when we wanted to replace the kitchen
counters, but the guy at Home Depot didn't warn me that I would be
without a working kitchen for 3 weeks, and I didn't learn this until the
subcontractors came out to tear up the old counters and remove the old
sink, so I sent them away and cancelled the order with Home Depot). I
realize that when I redo the kitchen I'll be without a working kitchen
for a few weeks, but I'll be prepared for that this time and won't be
surprised by it) but it was decided that they would give us a starting
point in terms of cost. Well...sort of. The guy who did the estimate
only asked me about the square footage of the house, where the breaker
box was, and to see the outside of the house to decide where to put the
unit. He didn't even go up into the crawl space to check the ducting,
which is in place because we have forced-air heating throughout the
house but is very old and likely original equipment when the house was
built in 1969 (except for the duct that runs into the family room that
was added sometime after that but before we moved in). Then his
estimate only included the costs for the a/c unit, giving options for
higher efficiency models, and how much additional replacing the heater
would cost. Nothing about the cost of replacing the ducting or
anything. Even so, the price quoted was about what a friend had paid
for a complete installation including replacing the ducting. This
estimate was tossed aside.
Next up was the place that friend had do their work. This guy was
really nice, wasn't a professional salesman - had only recently started
in sales but was an installer before so he knew what needed to be done -
and told us up front everything that likely would need to be done. He
did a thorough check inside and outside the house. That's when we
learned that our existing ducting contained asbestos, which came as
little surprise since most of it is original equipment. He explained
that this would need to be removed before installation because a
hazardous waste team needed to do it. Okay, no problem. He was very
good about explaining the differences between the different a/c units
and gave us estimates for different size units. He also explained that
they would replace the intake grill and all the grates in the room to
allow for the higher air flow necessary for a/c; the ones we have are
for heating only, which takes lower air flow. This number estimated was
a bit higher than we expected but included *everything*. Right now this
company is the front-runner, but we still had a couple more to talk to.
Next up is a small company we found on a state website for a/c
contractors. The guy is the owner of the company, a former engineer who
was caught in a layoff some 20 years ago and was trained in a/c and
heating and started his own company. Again, really nice and thorough.
Explained that whatever number he comes up with as an estimate will be
the number we pay even if he calculates that we would be better off with
a larger and more expensive unit once we commit to having him do the
work. He even says that the ducting may not need to be replaced even
though it contains asbestos - once it's in place it's really not a
problem; it's the dust that gets kicked up in the installation (and
removal) that is problematic - unless it's damaged in some way. He
takes a look at the ductwork and does find some cracks in it, so it does
need to be replaced. Not a problem 'cause this was expected. His
estimate, after rebates (all estimates were after rebates from
manufacturer and state; we also qualify for a city rebate), was $1000
less than the previous guy. We tell him that we'd be making a decision
within the week, and he asks us to call him even if we decide to go with
someone else so he can take us off his follow-up list if that's the
case.
On to the next one. Another company found on that same website.
Another former engineer who was hit in a layoff back in the early 70s.
Didn't explain things as well as the previous two guys, but by then we
had already had a lot of our questions answered and knew what to expect.
The problem, though, was that he didn't even look at the ducting and
didn't include that in his estimate. Now, we had learned before that
the ducting does contain asbestos and would need a haz mat removal,
which could not be done the same day as installation, so the fact that
he didn't check the ducting raised a red flag. His estimate came in at
about half of the higher of the previous two, but this was only for the
installation of the actual unit and didn't include any costs for
replacing ducting or anything else. It was also a lower-efficiency unit
than the previous two, coming it at the bare minimum allowed by state
law, which was changed last year to require a minimum efficiency level.
So then we needed to do an "apples to apples" comparison of the three
estimates. Checked the Lennox and Trane sites to get details on the
units involved. Checked the cost of power and estimated use of a/c;
decided it would only get daily use for a few months out of the year,
and then it wouldn't be on 24/7. Ultimately decided to go with the
second company, the one that asked us to call him no matter what. He
came out Tuesday evening to do the official contract and get the
installation set up. Right now the installation is scheduled for April
30 through May 2, and I'm still waiting to hear back about scheduling
the removal of the ducting; I'll need to be home for that and need to
coordinate around my driving schedule.
The bad news is that this will put us further in debt. The good news is
that we'll have a/c this summer - woohoo!!!
Now I need to dig up the color chart and figure out how I want my house
painted. I have some ideas but need a bit of input on this. Anyone
willing to help if I get a picture of the house out in email? The thing
I'm debating is doing the trim in one color and the garage door and
front door in another contrasting color. I've seen this on other houses
and like it, but I'm not sure how it would go on our style of house.
The Other Kim
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
ej...@verizon.net
Whoo! A/C = I'm envious!!!!!!
Yup, I'd participate in a debate over house color and promise 'cross
my heart and hope to die' that I'd not suggest purple with pink polka
dots or orange and puce plaid. Promise! <G>
Liz
The Other Kim
> Whoo! A/C = I'm envious!!!!!!
After last year's heat wave the kids and I decided it was time. When
the temperature in the hallway was over 90 we knew it was bad. It's
likely that I won't use it as much when I'm the only one home, but when
the kids are on break it likely will get used most of the day.
> Yup, I'd participate in a debate over house color and promise 'cross
> my heart and hope to die' that I'd not suggest purple with pink polka
> dots or orange and puce plaid. Promise! <G>
I already told the kids that as much as I'd love to do black with blood
red trim, or pink and orange with green trim, I wouldn't embarrass them
that way, although it would be fun to see how quickly the neighbors who
reported us to the city about the fence (and probably the lawn; we never
figured out who did that) but I suspect it's the same ones) would
complain about the colors <g>
Right now I'm leaning toward a lighter shade of the beige we currently
have for the base and some shade of blue for the trim. Not sure about
contrasting the garage door and front door, although I could contrast
the front door and just have them do the garage door the same color as
the main part of the house, like it is now. New windows aren't in the
plans right now, maybe in a few years, so the frames aren't an issue. I
also don't want to put on a new roof so the existing brown roof has to
work with the colors.
Decisions, decisions...<g>
The Other Kim
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
kenre...@gmail.com
What does your house look like ?
I suppose if the scheme looks good on other places it should be fine
with yours, as long as you havent got really different base colours to
start with, or didnt suit the neighbourhood style etc ?
Our city has changed enormously in the last 4 years, the rising
property market, and the upgrade of the local airport to provide daily
flights to Sydney and Melbourne has seen an enormous influx of
tourists and (on the downside) big city yuppies ! While this has
resulted in some nice modern architecture and colour schemes, it has
also resulted in some "trendy" (horrid) building designs and colours
including one that I could only describe as "someone ate much beetroot
and vomited all over the building". Other examples are grey, brown,
deep purple or just a mixture of non-matching colours that just looks
odd compared to what im used to. (and for that matter, dark colours
like these, they must get like ovens in summer in our climate) Nata
describes a lot of these apartments designs and colour schemes as
"looking like soviet army barracks". Having not seen a soviet army
barracks, I dont know if this is true or not ;)
The Other Kim
> What does your house look like ?
> I suppose if the scheme looks good on other places it should be fine
> with yours, as long as you havent got really different base colours to
> start with, or didnt suit the neighbourhood style etc ?
Fortunately, we don't live in a planned community so the only thing
limiting color selection is good taste <g> As long as it isn't really
bizarre it's okay. Right now the color is kind of an almondy beige for
the main part of the house with redwood trim. I'm gonna get a few
pictures of the house tomorrow, and I'll send them your way so you can
see what I'm dealing with here.
> Our city has changed enormously in the last 4 years, the rising
> property market, and the upgrade of the local airport to provide daily
> flights to Sydney and Melbourne has seen an enormous influx of
> tourists and (on the downside) big city yuppies ! While this has
> resulted in some nice modern architecture and colour schemes, it has
> also resulted in some "trendy" (horrid) building designs and colours
> including one that I could only describe as "someone ate much beetroot
> and vomited all over the building". Other examples are grey, brown,
> deep purple or just a mixture of non-matching colours that just looks
> odd compared to what im used to. (and for that matter, dark colours
> like these, they must get like ovens in summer in our climate) Nata
> describes a lot of these apartments designs and colour schemes as
> "looking like soviet army barracks". Having not seen a soviet army
> barracks, I dont know if this is true or not ;)
Some of the housing developments in Irvine are very "cookie cutter" in
nature; all the houses look alike and are the same shade of beige.
There are some newer townhouses not too far from us, closer to the old
downtown Anaheim, that are really nice-looking from outside, and
uniformity of color is the norm for townhouses/condo complexes here.
Here's a new complex in Irvine so you can see what I'm talking about:
http://www.johnlainghomes.com/fourquartets
We've also got a lot of "urban living" complexes going up locally, with
shops and restaurants at ground level and condos or apartments above.
As far as design goes, there's nothing too outlandish or really
spectacular.
The problem I have with a lot of the newer developments is that they're
too much alike. Some really have all the houses the same shade of
beige, especially in Stepford, er, Irvine. I used to joke about how
homeowners' associations in Irvine would cite you if you have a
dandelion on your lawn, then I had a friend who actually had that happen
to her. In contrast, there's an area here in Anaheim, in the "colony
area" - the original 1 square mile Anaheim colony bordered by the
appropriately named North, South, East, and West Streets <g> - that is
made up of old 1910s era Craftsman houses that have been restored, and I
absolutely love them. There's a certain charm to them that you just
don't see in the newer stuff. Same with Old Town Orange, where
homeowners aren't allowed to make drastic changes to the exteriors of
their houses because of the historic nature of the area. If I weren't
so averse to moving just for the heck of it I'd seriously look in Old
Town Orange.
The Other Kim
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
ej...@verizon.net
Hmmm, I think I like the idea of maybe a federal blue with the light
beige but with a deeper blue door from the same paint color family.
Then when you do the windows, you could do two shades of the blue and
get a little dimension maybe..... Or get rid of the beige (unless that
would get you stoned down there behind the orange curtain) and do the
main body of the house in a very light bluish grey - cool colors for a
hot climate!
I've seen some of those 'how to' programs where they did large sample
boards of color and held them up. Might be worth buying some small
cans of the colors and painting swatches or poster boards - you have
to live with your decision for years and we've all driven by those
houses where people obviously didn't realize how much more color there
is when it's not a 2" swatch..... <G>
Can't wait to see it.
Liz
Bill Wilkinson
Well, then. Such a house should look great from a distance of a couple
of blocks.
> Can't wait to see it.
>
> Liz
>
--Bill
--
The World Wide Web is the hugest vanity press
in the history of the human race!
http://billwilkinson.home.mindspring.com/index.html
the invisible man
verizon.net wrote:
I ever tell you about the time I waited until wifey went on vacation and
I painted the 3 pillars in front of the house scarlet?
Lasted one day after she got back. One year I painted the inside
doorframes parrot green. Some of them still are. This year its the front
door.
I'm thinking mauve.
Loren
Liz
He's not kidding - I have seen photos. The man is totally taste free!
Liz