What a difference a day makes Ray Conrad 9/22 '18

So, this is after. What a difference a day makes. Next up, heat pump.

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9/22 '18 9 Comments
Nice fence!

Also, heat pumps rool. We have a ground source heat pump that heats and cools our whole house, just an open loop of water in and out of a well through a heat exchanger.
Anne Mollo
Yeah, if I were planning on staying and the budget would allow it I would love to upgrade to a ground loop. Mine is an air exchange, which means when it's really cold out it switches to electric heat. But the next owners are free to upgrade!
Ray Conrad
Lots of people around here have installed air-to-air exchangers and love them! In my climate zone you can *kind* of go either way, but in the coldest part of the year the air-to-air systems usually require backup. The advantage is that air-to-air systems come prebuilt and are easier to install; ground source ones are built on site so you’d better have a good engineer who knows what they’re doing. And of course installation costs are different, so you have to weigh not only what you can afford but also how expensive what you’re replacing cost to heat/cool your home. So if you live in a part of the country where heating costs are relatively cheap, an expensive ground source system wouldn’t make as much sense.
Anne Mollo
Why yes I COULD nerd out endlessly about heat pumps, why do you ask??!
Anne Mollo
The real upgrade is a ground loop heat pump with humidity control. That system is worth it's weight in, well, not gold, but maybe aluminum? It's for those chilly, humid days you get in the midlantic and northeast. AC circuit runs to dehumidify and the electric heat circuit runs to keep the house at a survivable temperature.
Ray Conrad
Nice work. When I worked for a fence company (who will remain nameless, but is not likely the one you used) the boss was bat shit crazy. BUT - he _really_ got us to do good work. If we didn't, he would tear it out and have us go back and fix it later. So while I elected to not continue working with them, I learned a lot about what good fence installation looks like. :)
Matt Lichtenwalner
I had a wood stockade fence and it is a stark difference on how much more privacy a solid panel gives you.

Sorry about the crazy boss. I know how memorable they can be!
Ray Conrad
Yeah. True, he was nuts (I still remember the day I decided to leave - he was screaming that he would piss in all of our tool boxes) but like I said - I learned a lot, so I _did_ get something out of the deal.
Matt Lichtenwalner
Ooooh-- that's a purty fence.
Jill "xtingu" Knapp