We arranged for a Mass Save Energy Audit. They ended up recommending more air sealing and top of house insulation. They paid for it all (circa $2.6k) and we are now at R49 with minimal if any air leaks at ceilings. They: Enclosed the Whole House Fan Sealed all other air leak spots like around… Continue reading Energy Usage Audit
We are aiming for a ground source geothermal heating and cooling system. These ground source systems represent advanced approaches so are not very prevalent yet. Some folks however, pioneers, have installed such systems in their homes. The fact that 5 feet underground the earth remains at a more or less constant 50 – 55 degrees… Continue reading The Goal: Ground Sourced Geothermal Climate Control
Tricia felt that the time hand come to replace our overgrown front bushes ...and replace them with simple Boxwoods like these: So we set to the removal. Cutting down the existing bushes' branches was fairly easy But then we faced VERY entrenched root systems that seemed to resist every attempt to remove them. We struggled… Continue reading The Power of Tripod Winches
Here's a method describing how to replace a Cannondale trailer hitch. We had used one for many years and they usually hold up extremely well. However the hitch itself disintegrates and collapses. It's made out of lexan which kind of just crumbles and dies over time. Cannondale doesn't supply the part anymore. I checked on… Continue reading Replace a Cannondale Trailer Hitch
We called Bogan Tree for an estimate on one dying Spruce in the middle of the yard. We ended up with strong advice that the priority removals were the large lightning damaged Norway Maple and the sprawling White Pine -- "double leader on an overburdened trunk." The spruces were both less urgent to remove and… Continue reading Trees Too Risky To Keep
On August 21, 2013 we donated our White Camry Wagon to Channel 2, WGBH. It had run for 272,721 miles in 21 years. At the donation site: {Click Images to Enlarge} Repainted in September of 2012: And the lengths we now need to go through to try and replicate its immense cargo capacity with a… Continue reading Durability: 1992 Toyota Camry Wagon, the “Beluga”
Massachusetts famous "Title V" decreed that no septic systems be faulty AND that they release treated water only well above the water table. This allows the ground to "leach out" the impurities before the water reaches the underground water table. In essence the law forced septic systems to go wide and shallow, whereas before they… Continue reading So Where Does That Flush Go?
Here's What I Found 