The Coffee House

snowbear · Jun 8, 2022

smoke665 said:
The blooms can be pretty, but the &^%$% needle tips will eat you up if you get against them. We had some at the old house, I swear they could stick you if you got within 6' of them. Finally got rid of all of them.

They are spikey. I’ll move them back from the driveway later, to save wear and tear on the ankles.

terri · Jun 9, 2022

snowbear said:
The new storm doors are being delivered to the house tomorrow. The delivery window is from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. I don’t feel like getting up and leaving the apartment by 5:30 AM so we’re going to do the first overnight in the house tonight. A remodeling company is coming by to look at the kitchen on Saturday, though we won’t be ready for that for a while. The heat uses radiators But the hot water heater runs on fuel oil. We’ll swap that for electric as soon as possible. we can’t take $800 fuel deliveries very long.

A water heater that runs on fuel oil - wow! I don't blame you for wanting to swap that out. Not sure I've ever even heard of that. :icon_scratch:

This sounds like a fun house, despite the costs of upgrades and remodeling. Those projects can really be fun!

When was the house built, Charlie?

Warhorse · Jun 9, 2022

snowbear said:
The new storm doors are being delivered to the house tomorrow. The delivery window is from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. I don’t feel like getting up and leaving the apartment by 5:30 AM so we’re going to do the first overnight in the house tonight. A remodeling company is coming by to look at the kitchen on Saturday, though we won’t be ready for that for a while. The heat uses radiators But the hot water heater runs on fuel oil. We’ll swap that for electric as soon as possible. we can’t take $800 fuel deliveries very long.

Are you saying you have a hot water boiler for heat in the house, and a separate hot heater for tap water?

vintagesnaps · Jun 9, 2022

I'll be zooming later too, and color pencil sketching, an art thing (obviously!).

Stay 6 feet away, Smoke you're so funny. I've never seen plants like that around here in the boring midwest. Just as well maybe.

Sorry people's pets had storms to contend with. Some storms here too. Cooler today and weather settled down, still cloudy though.

snowbear · Jun 9, 2022

terri said:
A water heater that runs on fuel oil - wow! I don't blame you for wanting to swap that out. Not sure I've ever even heard of that.

This sounds like a fun house, despite the costs of upgrades and remodeling. Those projects can really be fun!

When was the house built, Charlie?

Built in 1955; we moved there in 1977 (I was 7 months out of high school).

I'll get some shots of the front once we get a few more things cleaned up. We do have some ~~$#!thouse~~ ~~outhouse~~ Tiger lillies in the front flower beds. As I recall they just popped up a number of years ago and weren't intentionally planted (at least by us).

One small azelia in the front, two in the back that I'll move later. Also need to trim back and probably move a crepe myrtle (or is it a rose of sharon - IDK) away from the flagpole. I also need a decent set of flags; mice have gotten into the ones in the closet.

Warhorse said:
Are you saying you have a hot water boiler for heat in the house, and a separate hot heater for tap water?

No. A single oil furnace and a single hot water heater that supplies the radiators and the hot tap water.

Dean_Gretsch · Jun 9, 2022

snowbear said:
The heat uses radiators But the hot water heater runs on fuel oil. We’ll swap that for electric as soon as possible. we can’t take $800 fuel deliveries very long.

Is it a boiler or a water heater? Do you use it for radiant heat too?

snowbear · Jun 9, 2022

I call it a hot water heater. The house heat is from radiators, though not the large cast iron type I grew up with in the DC apartment. These are baseboard, with a pipe or two (one return, I guess) and fins along the length. I'll get some shots this weekend.

Dean_Gretsch · Jun 9, 2022

Yep, sounds like the exact same heating/hot water system I have. Think I am going to install some valves and an electric water heater so I can isolate the boiler during warm season. It's expensive at the moment! Just paid $600 for a delivery of 125 US gallons.

limr · Jun 9, 2022

I have that setup as well. The furnace heats the water that goes through baseboard radiators and also the water that comes through all the kitchen and bathroom faucets. There is no hot water reservoir or separate heater. It's fairly common in Europe - I had that setup in a couple of places where I lived.

It's really not as expensive as you'd think (current fuel prices notwithstanding) Granted, I live alone in a small house so my heating and hot water needs are minimal. I like it cold so the heat is never very high in the winter, and the only time the furnace kicks in during the summer is when I am washing dishes or taking a shower. But it's still more efficient than it seems at first glance.

Dean_Gretsch · Jun 10, 2022

limr said:
I like it cold so the heat is never very high in the winter, and the only time the furnace kicks in during the summer is when I am washing dishes or taking a shower.

Same here. We just had to replace our boiler about 3 years ago ( that was around $5500 ), and like most things, the new ones are really more economical. The old one looked like a 1960’s model.

snowbear · Jun 10, 2022

Ultimatelty we want central HVAC - but we need a hot water heater, anyway, so that can be a first step.

limr · Jun 10, 2022

Dean_Gretsch said:
Same here. We just had to replace our boiler about 3 years ago ( that was around $5500 ), and like most things, the new ones are really more economical. The old one looked like a 1960’s model.

I think mine was replaced by the previous owners in...I want to say 2012, so it's relatively new. Hopefully I won't have to think about replacing it for a while! (Knock on wood, just in case

)

terri · Jun 10, 2022

I had to replace one in the last house, right before we put it up for sale to make sure it passed inspection. :lol:

The installer laughed at me for saying "hot water heater."

But it seems many people say that, so screw that guy. :1247:

snowbear · Jun 10, 2022

To me, a boiler creates steam, mainly for power, but some heating in larger buildings. A hot water heater isn't producing steam, the temperature of the water ic probably closer to 135* F, not 212*.