AC Install

At 8:30 am three guys (from Company 2) showed up to install our new AC, the 2-stage 17 Seer 2-stage Carrier Infinity. A little before 6 pm the job was done. I'd estimate up to 20 man hours were used to get it installed. And there's still more to do! But that's for a later post.

Air handler ducts and parts

Mummified air handler

3 tons of cooling

The old one

The new one is a few inches taller and wider

The new air conditioner was dropped into place within an hour. After about another hour of hooking stuff up outside the guys disappeared into our crawl space for most of the day. During their lunch break I took a few pictures of our old air handler, which is located in the crawl space behind the headboard of our bed.

Old air handler

Ripping out the old air handler and some of the ducts

The AC guy wanted to keep the old copper pipes, which worried me that he was trying to cut some corners, but he said that since we had some fairly extensive insulation done in the attic, it would be disruptive to remove and install the new copper if the old ones were still intact. He promised they would pressure-test the old pipes and re-use them only if they were still OK. They were and were flushed out with some cleaning solution and nitrogen gas.

Cleaning out and checking the old copper refrigerant pipes

Old ducts

Testing testing

Air handler gone. The drip tray was removed later

Like an artist signing his canvas, the company owner signed the drip tray.

Our fancy, new AC thermostat is wi-fi enabled and can run lots of diagnostics to let us know how the system is functioning (it's also smaller, therefore we are stuck with some annoying screw holes to fill).

One problem? Being able to see how the system is functioning. It's an issue of too much knowledge. It turns out that new systems are designed to be run with less static pressure, so that the air comes out gradually and cools the house without the noisy gusts of cold air from the vent that were apparently the norm (and preference?) in the 90s. Our system was running at almost 1 inch static pressure and it should be running at 0.5. Which means our ducts aren't optimal for the new system. Which means a lot more work...The good news is that our AC company agrees this isn't optimal. Some complaints on the web are that a company will install a new AC unit, learn that it's running at 0.9 or higher, and just say "oh it's fine." Our company agrees we need to try to improve airflow, at least.

We can still run the AC as is it now, but it's not really working as it should. Back to the drawing board - duct work in progress. More to come.

REFRIGERATE!

OK, we have a temporary solution to our AC problem. D checked in with a bunch of neighbors and was able to find two people willing to loan us window units. They're loud and annoying - and don't cool things very well. But they came in handy earlier this week with temperatures above 90. Truly hating our Cape Cod house right now, with a top floor that heats up to attic temperatures.

The fancy one we ended up finding for the baby's room is much better than the standard window unit in our room. It cooled down the whole upstairs significantly:

Even though it seriously looks like it wants to take over the planet:

In the meantime, we've got our quotes for a new central AC unit. It is...well let's just say significantly more expensive than we though is putting it mildly. We have two different quotes and probably should get a third, but the two are priced very similarly, so we suspect this is just the price we have to live with. Both quotes have pros and cons. We thought it was interesting that in both cases, the AC people only suggested one option - the bottom option. We actually had to go back to ask how much it would cost to get a better model. I would have expected a few options included in the original proposal.

Here is, more or less, what we had to decide. (Blogger doesn't use tables, so this is a screenshot from Excel.)

A few things to note - Company 1 says the Lennox unit is 16 seer but the product info on the Lennox webpage says it is 14 Seer. We thought this might have something to do with a new air handler, listed at 2 Seer, adding to the efficiency. Company 2 has not finalized paperwork to take part in our utility company's rebate, so unfortunately we lose out on some rebates there, though Carrier has some rebates that Lennox doesn't (in the annoying form of a visa gift card). Also the actual total for the 3rd option will cost a bit more because we would pay extra to have a wi-fi enabled thermostat.

In the end, immediate availability is impacting our decision quite a bit and we're opting for the 3rd option (the 2-stage AC from Company 2). The first company hasn't even gotten back to us on our request for prices of a higher-end model. We've used the first company before and like them, but they just have too much business right now to try hard to "sell" this to us. And we want something sooner.

What would you have done? Would you have gotten more quotes? Will we regret this incredibly costly decision? It doesn't help that we're likely entering a heat wave early next week.

Dead as a Doornail

I behind in blogging this month, but it's not for lack of effort. Lots of planned posts, many photos (mostly of the yard), but I just haven't found the time.

All those planned posts are going to take a backseat so I can tell you that our AC is dead. Very dead. Really and truly dead.

We'd held out on cranking it up this year for a while to save energy but decided eventually that we should put it on for a particularly hot day or two - both for our comfort and to test it out. And it's good we did. There was air. Plenty of it. But it wasn't cold. We let it run for a while, partly because the cycling air was doing a tolerable job of cooling the house anyway. But there was no denying that the air conditioner wasn't, well, conditioning.

We called our heating and AC people. Yes, we've been in the house long enough that we now have "people." Our roof person, our heating people, our electrician, etc. They promised to send someone out within a few days. That was Monday.

And today they came to take a look. The diagnosis: dead. Not just "maybe we can repair it" dead. Dead dead. There's no pressure in the system AND some animals managed to nibble some wires and move in (see nest picture below). There's no more coolant and apparently, it's 20 years old and the coolant isn't even available anymore. I don't think we need a second opinion on this one. I think we're lucky we've kept it working as long as we have.

So our AC people are going to give us an estimate this weekend for a new one. I guess it involves some work in the air handler area of our attic too, because they mentioned something about needing a small unit up there because of how cramped and tight it is. They are Lennox dealers, so I guess that's what they'll suggest. Anyone have anything good or bad to say about this brand?

Another problem? Approximately a 3 week wait. This is pretty much prime time for AC people.

We are considering getting a second estimate, but I'm not sure it's worth it. We trust this company and, frankly, we're not sure if we want to wait even longer before being able to make it cool in here. Living on the top floor of a Cape Cod is bad even in moderate conditions, so we're in for a few potentially bad weeks. Maybe time to rent/buy a cheap window AC unit?

Gardening successes and not

After spending two afternoons this weekend cleaning up our front gardens, I thought I'd show you how they're coming along. The cool wet spring is making everything very happy right now, and our plants and lawn look very happy.

The garden bed under the window is looking full:

In fact, I have to thin the irises and black-eyed Susans this fall (I planned to do it this spring and only just read that all splitting and thinning is supposed to happen in the fall - have to remember to do this come October):

Strawberries also seem to have taken over our garden. They started out in the red planter and escaped last summer. We transplanted some to the beige planter but the ones on the ground made a come-back this year as well (we were pretty sure they were dead). Our next invasive plant perhaps? I'd be glad if we actually got to eat the strawberries, but the squirrels and birds always get to them first.

The other side is doing well too, but isn't nearly as full. When I do split the irises, I plan to put a lot of them over here. I also want to split the hostas from the right garden and move them here. The ones on the right are short and variegated and come up earlier in the year. The ones on this side are solid green and higher and come up later. They're nice but I think I want to move them somewhere else so that both gardens match. Again, something to remember for the fall.

Our biggest work today was on the two front gardens. I weeded them yesterday and there were just so many weeds at the edge of the sidewalk that I decided I need to buy more hearty plants to crowd them out.

Can you see the difference between the two pictures? More creeping phlox, this time in "Emerald Blue":

Our pink phlox never took off as well as the Georgia Blue, and it's been 3 years so we tried the purple variety. Mostly because we see it more often, so thought that maybe it is heartier. Here is a picture of a neighbor's phlox, only 3 years after she planted it:

So yeah, obviously a lot of room for improvement.

We also added a strange, tiny ground-cover-style mint variety, "Corsican" behind the thyme (can you see the two clumps back there? We couldn't resist buying it and thought it might fill in behind the thyme (which, incidentally, I have to really trim down in the fall because, yet again, I learned spring is not the time to do that - it's really dead and twiggy right now below the healthy parts):

We also added some phlox closer to the light post, and some "Homestead Purple" verbena. We tried verbena before and I'm pretty sure it got eaten by squirrels or deer, but I love the color so we're trying again. 

I also threw a couple phlox plants on this side as well:

I know in all these cases, the before and after pictures aren't particularly dramatic, but it still took about an hour of planting. Now we need to remulch - at least these front sections - so that it too will help keep the weeds at bay.

Yard updates

We've been too busy enjoying the nice weather to do much around the house lately, but we have done some lawn and garden maintenance. I had a nice picture of 6 or 7 big containers filled with lawn waste and leaves, but I seem to have misplaced it. You can use your imagination.

This year we had some help over-seeding the backyard and picking up leaves and sticks:

The big change this year was removing most of the lilacs from the front garden. After 3 years, most of them never really took off.  So we got rid of them like we said we would. We kept the one closest to the front door and the new ones

In their place, we put two Knock-Out roses. If they grow happily, they'll become 3-4 feet high dense shrubs that bloom repeatedly late-spring through early fall. It probably won't happen, but I continue to be optimistic.

The vast, cleared area from last fall is looking good, though the grass is a little spotty where we didn't manage to clear away the wet leaves. We tried over-seeding but not much is happening yet. It's still a huge improvement - so much space now!

After spending a whole nap (I measure my time in toddler naps now) weeding a few weeks ago, I'm sorry to see that the dandelions and other weeds have proliferated, so I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend as well. I tried using weed inhibitors, but they don't seem to have done much. Well at least a lot of the plants have come back after a particularly harsh winter, so that's exciting.

Finally, we're being proactive and spraying our new hawthorn with fungicide weekly this year after it was infected with rust last summer. Hopefully this does the trick! We picked hawthorn of all trees because it is supposed to be foolproof, so I don't know what that says about us....

Chair shopping makes me blue

This corner looks sad and empty. And definitely not baby proof (easy access to a very breakable lamp). We've had a plan for it for quite a while now - a comfy chair, with a standing lamp behind it.

However, it turns out that's much easier said than done.

Usually I like a furniture challenge. The thrill of the hunt. But apparently that doesn't really apply to upholstered things. That's because 1) Used upholstered furniture can be risky, so that means no Craigslist or thrift stores and 2) Ikea doesn't make particularly comfy upholstered furniture, so my go-to store is not a good choice.

The quality of upholstered furniture also seems to actually be reflected in the price. Hardwood frames, durable fabrics, and sturdy springs and foam cost money. And even "cheap" chairs start at $200. So I started out with my usual non-Ikea standbys, Crate and Barrel (and CB2), West Elm, and Pottery Barn. West Elm had the best choices for our style and price range (they were in the $600-900 range instead of CB's and Pottery Barn's $1100-$1400).

We were particularly partial to Sloan

and Victor:

We went to a store to try them out. Because, you know, we are going to pay a lot and spend some quality time sitting in them. So we want to make sure they're comfortable.

One problem: not in stores. Or at least not in our nearest store (which isn't even all that near). And no one could tell us if they were in ANY stores. The customer service rep I talked to said there is no central tracking of merchandise. Spending that kind of money for something we can't try first seems...reckless.

But we kept considering it, since no other store had a design we liked (at any price tag, even). So I ordered some free swatches. We already knew that since our other seating is brown and gray, that we wanted something bolder, in the bright turquoise blue that is our living room accent color.

Here's what we got, set against a pillow we were hoping to closely match:

It doesn't come across as much as I like but trust me when I say all the colors are blah. The linen weave set of three is our favorite texture. But the rightmost of the 3 is too green and the leftmost is too gray/boring. The closest match is the middle on the bottom row, but that is a strange microfiber suede that neither of us like.

So we are faced with deciding whether to order a chair we can't test in a color we don't love - and since the colors are custom orders, there are no returns. And thus the chair hunt continues.

Funny enough, when I went to West Elm today to add the links to this post, I noticed they are advertising "new colors" - and sure enough, there are a few more blues. Swatches are on the way!

Smart lock locks smartly

When we were robbed a few months ago, we were left with two possible stories for how the burglar got in - we came home to find both a window and door unlocked. Since we are pretty convinced the window was locked from the inside, our suspicion is that this happened on one of the rare unlucky days that one of us left the house without locking the front door. It happens once every few months. We needed to take steps to make sure that couldn't happen any more, rare though it was.

And so, despite the relatively new keyless lock already installed on our front door, we decided to upgrade. Our first keyless lock had no motor - we had to manually turn the deadbolt. We selected it for that feature. Fewer moving parts meant less to break and longer battery life. Now however, we wanted something that would automatically lock if we forgot.

Schlage's touchscreen model will do that, and will sync with a home wireless hub, if we eventually decide to further turn our home into something out of the Jetsons (yay internet of things).

Not too many parts - by now we are pros at installing locks:

It also helped that the manual was very easy to understand, even providing "actual size" pictures of the parts to help distinguish between the various screws and bolts:

The outside number panel is smaller than our old one, which we had to install before the previous paint job on the door had fully set (because, you know, we needed to be able to lock the door) so it was time to pull out the paint:

I can still see the vague outlines of the old model about an inch below the new one, but I don't think it bothers me enough to get out the sand paper and really even it out. It's practically invisible in this picture:

Inside, the opposite is true. The new lock takes up much more space than the old one, because of the motor. Here's the old - a simple toggle:

 Then the new one, with the wire coming out, halfway through the installation:

 And finally, the finished look:

Not really thrilled about how it looks, but it works. We activated the option auto-lock feature, will turns the bolt after 30 seconds. As we expected we would, sometimes now we try to close the door after the deadbolt has been extended, i.e. if the door is open for more than 30 seconds. I'm sure we're going to create a nice gash in the wood trim until we get used to it. But it's worth it for the peace of mind knowing that the door is locked when we're away from home. We've also set an additional safety features by creating longer entry codes, to make it harder for someone trying to guess. As before, we have a few different codes that use all the numbers on the keypad, to prevent someone from being able to guess based on wear/finger prints over only a few digits. Anything to make our house less appealing as a target.

Some new wireless hubs are expected out later this year, better than the current models, so soon we might even be able to check our home's status on the internet.