The Saga of: The Rinnai Hot Water Heater Replacement

When we returned from our trip to Oregon on May 20th, we discovered one of the two Rinnai water heaters wasn't working properly and called our local energy company (WOC) to come and take a look. They, or their Towanda office, had installed the originals when we built the house so they were the ones to look it over, diagnose the problem and perform repairs as needed.

Guy shows up the next morning and says they (the Mansfield office) and he personally don't do Rinnai heaters but some other brand, but he'll look it over. Came to me and said the automatic diagnostic program says the ignition fan was not functioning and needs to be replaced. Okay. So they ordered the parts and came back a few days later.

Turns out it wasn't the fan that needed replacing but the entire unit as there was a leak/crack in the heat exchanger which caused water to get into the fan and, thus, caused it to malfunction. No charge for the replacement parts I didn't need. We'll just send them back. Okay, order me a replacement.

Next day I get a call: they don't make that model any more but the new model has the same footprint according to the Rinnai people and it should be easy-peasy to pop in. Oh, and the unit we are replacing? That's been out of warranty for almost a year. Sorry.  Good and bad news, right? Fine get a new unit out here and get it installed.

A week later, they bring the new unit out. Take the old unit off the wall and hang the new one. All the incoming pipes (gas and water) and the outgoing water pipe simply plug into the new unit just fine. The exhaust, however, is a whole 'nother ball of wax.

The exhaust has an exterior diameter that's fine, but the interior pipe (the one carrying the hot gases) is a different diameter. They need to get a new exhaust pipe.

They come back today with the "right" exhaust pipe. It's got the proper diameters and everything. But the coupling from heating unit to pipe is wrong. Whereas the old pipe was male-female the new one is female-make and it needs a different gasket--which Rinnai did not send. Aarrgghh!

We're now on to week four of this dog and pony show. And I can't blame the guys from WOC. They've been told only partial truths by the Rinnai supplier. And the Rinnai supplier has not thought far enough into the project to realize what is needed. It's like some idiot robot only answering the specific question being asked with no thought as to what comes next. How could they not understand that replacing the old unit would require a complete new exhaust?

It's a good thing we had TWO heaters on the wall when this started and that we were able to by-pass one so we still get hot water.

Boots, Birds, Plans, and Memories

Holy mackerel! THEY got it correct. AccuHunch said it was going to clear up this afternoon and that the temperature would reach 71-72 degrees as the sun would appear late in the afternoon. And they were correct! (They also said we might have some T-storms before all that happened and they got that one wrong. I'll be generous and let that one slide, though.)

******

I mentioned last week that I was going out to purchase a new pair of boots. That mission was accomplished on Friday when we visited a boot shop over in the town of Troy to the east of here. They are Danner boots but not the ones I initially wanted. I would have had to order those. These were the Quarry GTX model with an alloy (read aluminum) toe instead of steel. They are several ounces lighter but are supposed to meat the same safety requirements. I hope I never find out. I've dropped logs on my toes before and even with the steel toes, that hurts! Nice thing about the Danner boots is that, should they be damaged in any way, they can renew/repair them.

My new Danner Boots

If it ever stops raining long enough, I may actually be able to wear them while I go out to cut firewood and move rocks around for a new garden bed--or two.

******

The bird populations have changed a little. The redpolls have finally gotten the message and flown somewhere. I started hanging the feeders again on Sunday and they never materialized.

The juncos are the most abundant bird out there right now. You would think that birds known commonly as "Snow Birds" would spend more time further north, but we have some around all summer. Right now there are 25 to 20 of them visiting the feeders on a regular basis. They are not big on the use of perch feeders. Instead, they feed on the ground or the trays.

There have been an increasing number of Purple Finches showing up and a few Goldfinches are making an appearance as well.

Joining the juncos on the ground and trays, are a half dozen or so White-throated Sparrows. Today one of them posed for a portrait on the deck rail.

White-throated Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

******

I spotted a pair of groundhogs in the woods just west of the lawn area. They take flight quickly when I step out on the porch. I may have to keep the air rifle loaded if I want any string beans or cucumbers this summer.

******

Tomorrow will be a busy day. Terry and I have appointments to have our eyes checked in the morning. I've already determined I will need to get new glasses even if the prescription is the same. I didn't need new ones last year but there have been a few more scratches added over time and the frames have started to wear. In fact, one of the wires on the nose piece broke last week so I had to have them solder it for me. I picked out new frames at that time and had them set them aside for me.

Once we finish up at the optometrist, we have to pack the kittehs up and schlep off to the vets. All three are due for rabies and other shots/boosters as well as general check-ups. They hate traveling and, even though its just a five or six mile ride, I can be sure that at least two of them will be ill. But once they are on the examination table? Nothing but purrs. They love the attention.

In the afternoon, I hope to be able to get out into the garden and turn some soil--maybe even get the onions in the ground. AccuHunch promises there will be no rain...until Friday.

******

It was five years ago today that we laid the first log in the building of the Aerie. It was a sunny, warm day and would be so for the next five or six work days. As a result, the walls went up quickly.

Tag Meme

I got tagged! Cassie of In Amazing Graceland hit me with these crazy rules:

The rules are: open a document or file folder, click on the fifth folder and then the fifth photo. Post the photo and describe it, then tag 5 more bloggers to keep it going.

Jeez, there's no way that I can play by these rules! They require ... organization!.

Fifth this and fifth that and fifth picture....HA! There's only one fifth I'm interested in... single malt, 18-years old (at least) Glenlivet.

Maybe in some alternate universe I'm that organized. I must be, I fooled the folks at school for over 32 years into thinking I knew exactly what I was doing and could put my fingers on any little detail they wanted be it classroom lesson plans, yearbook, recognition certificates (which I created and printed) or whatever. At the end, they thought I was a god!!! Bwaaahhhaaa!

Ahem. excuse me. Got carried away there a little. But that was nearly 5 years ago and it's all in my past. Now my files are based upon the Pile Principle.(Terry says they always were at home...but I've seen her office and she should not comment.) It's not too neat but I know where most things are. Until the piles fall over or get "straightened up" by some interfering kitteh!

Anywho....If you want a collection of links to the construction of the Aerie I've put them here, in the blog dedicated to the construction and finishing of the Aerie.

There are no pictures at that blog, but the links take you to the week-by-week posts that I put up during the purchasing/excavating/construction phases.



I like this picture of the Welcome Bear I made standing to greet visitors at out front door. (A Beaver would have been more appropriate as we used Beaver Mountain Log Homes as our supplier. But there's no real water nearby and there are bears in the neighborhood.)



A great view of the porch, deck and walk-in basement.



Viewed from the driveway from north northwest. The main entrance.

I shall not pass this meme along to the requisite 5 bloggers. But should any one care to participate...feel free.


Ack! I just realized I haven't updated the construction links since November of '07! That means I've got to add links to the finished basement and the raised beds that I constructed outdoors. I guess I know what I'll be doing while rooting for the PA teams in the NFL playoffs this afternoon. (Hey...Jets and Giants are done! I might as well root for my "adopted" home state.)

One Year Ago this week…

December 7-13: Work continued on the construction of our log home—exterior work as well as interior. We were incredibly lucky in having very fair weather throughout the fall and early winter construction process. While we had a few days that were quite cold, most were of the Indian Summer variety that allowed Don and the rest of the crew work outside as well as in.

Terry was still up in the Bolt Hole but we were getting closer to the big move into the Aerie. Right now there’s more than a foot of snow on the ground about the Bolt Hole. If it had been there last year things would have been much more difficult.

A lot has changed in one year!

Log Home Update: Part 62:Hey, we've got gutters!

While I was up north pursuing white-tails, the gutter guys were finishing their installation of the gutters and down spouts at the Aerie. I’ve got lots of pictures to share so let’s start with the entrance area:

It will finally be possible to enter the front door without taking a cold, cold shower as the gutters will take the water and channel it to the ground.


This section over the garage shows how well the color blends in with the roof. I may have to do something about the flow from the downspout if it starts to erode the driveway, however.


Keeping runoff from the fill behind the retaining wall was a priority. The gutter guys solved this with a couple of simple bends and long runs of downspout.


Our main concern on the west side of the house was to get the water from the dormer to the ground without it dripping on the main roof extending out from the side of the house. As a result we only had gutter installed along the top of the dormer. To get the water down to the ground, the gutter guys did a little magic with the downspout as then “bent” it around the lower roof as seen here:




Where the two roofs meet (main house and garage ell) water could really come gushing down the valleys. The gutter guys installed these shields to ensure the water goes into the gutters and not beyond. I hope they can stand up to the snow.




They did a real nice job of tucking the downspouts in behind the log ends and making them look like trim work.

“Gutter Guys” are The Gutter Pros out of Sayre, PA.

Gutters on the log home

One of the things not included in the package that became our log home was gutters. We decided, in part because of cost and in part because of other priorities like finishing the basement, to put off on their purchase and installation. And for the bulk of this spring and summer it was a gamble that paid off.

Gutters are necessary to direct water away from the foundation and to prevent the splash of water back on to the first and second course of logs. We have also discovered tat the roof valley in the front pours water down on to the newly landscaped (well, dirt filled area) and creates erosion. It also would soak anyone coming to the front door.

So it's time for gutters. We called two seamless gutter companies in the area and got estimates. They were within $50. Then we called a couple of the references they provided. Today I called to have one of the companies put us on their schedule. They should be here someday next week to do the job.

We'll have 6" seamless gutters and downspouts in Forest Green along the L-shape that forms the front of the garage, the entry and the small side of the living room by the chimney. The same will be in the rear of the garage, laundry room and guest bedroom. Another small section will be up on the dormer and will protect the small section of roof beneath. Only the covered porch will have no gutter--which is fine since it is above the deck and a long ways from the foundation.

Log Home Update: Part 59 Stain and Mortar

Things went a little slower than I anticipated this week, but the reasons were understandable. I mixed mortar on the ground while Don hauled it up the ladder in 1/3-filled 5-gallon buckets to apply to the chimney. We managed to get the skim coat nearly completed on Monday; finished it on Tuesday; and actually got some stone in place on Tuesday afternoon.

Even with just the skim coat in place, the chimney looked 100% better.

While Don and I did the mortar work, JP was around back staining the logs. Monday he worked using a step ladder and got all the logs on the first floor.

Here you can see the difference in color between the natural wood of the logs and the warm brown of the stain. On Tuesday, JP was able to finish the gable and the soffit (roof overhang).


To avoid overlap and prevent any dark marks on the logs, you actually stain one log at a time, from end to end. These three are the bottom rows of the west side of the house. WoodGuard isn’t noted for this particular problem, but some deck stains will be doubly dark if you overlap them and the result is not pleasant to look at.

We've taken the Fourth off and the weather is not promising for tomorrow. Don and Adam (who's been working on other jobs or for the Code Inspector's office) have a family reunion in VA this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so we may not get much more done until next week.

Log Home Update: Part 58 Wash and Stain

Summer has arrived and the night time temperatures have risen sufficiently so staining of the logs may begin. Before applying any stain, however, the logs must be cleansed and pressure washed using mill glaze. As I understand it, this opens up the pores of the wood so it may accept the stain. Don came out yesterday to start that process and returned today with Adam and JP to first finish the pressure washing and then begin applying stain.

Don uses mill glaze and a pressure wash to prepare the logs to accept the stain.

Adam chose to climb the extension ladder to apply stain to the soffit and gable logs of the garage.

The WoodGuard stain we chose to finish the logs will give the house a nice warm color. JP started by brushing stain on the logs on the end wall of the garage.

Adam and JP managed to finish the rear of the garage as well as its gable end today. At the rate they’re going, it is possible they will finish the staining by Friday afternoon. Although, they may get slowed by the two taller gable ends of the house and the dormer. Weather could play a role, too, but the worst of the thunderstorms predicted for today and tomorrow arrived half an hour after they left this afternoon.

While Adam and JP continue with the staining tomorrow, Don will likely tackle the chimney. He's going to put together a concrete cap reinforced with rebar for the top and then apply mesh and mortar to which faux stone will be applied. We're using the same stone that we used on the fireplace inside.

Working On My Own: Basment Work

I’m taking my time with the basement. Kinda feeling my way through the immediate portions like wiring the outlets and erecting partition walls. I’ve got the wainscoting up along the east and west walls and have run the wire to the outlets I’ve put there. It’s nice having the insulating foam walls to work with. Every 8 inches there's a plastic “stud” in the foam to which I can attach my furring strips and, later, my sheetrock.

Three horizontal furring strips were screwed to the plastic “studs” and electrical wire was run between the middle and top strip to attach the boxes which were carved out of the foam. Where the wire will run behind sheetrock, I used metal conduit to protect the wire from stray screws or picture hanging nails in the future. I attached the wainscoting, which is made of three foot long eight inch wide pieces of tongue and groove left over from the log cabin kit where it was used for the ceiling, to the furring strips using 1 1/4 brads and my pneumatic nailer.


Here’s a portion of the west wall showing the wainscoting and a little bit of the conduit.

Here’s the east wall with another piece of conduit going from the wainscoting to the ceiling...about 5 1/2 feet.

Next I’ll be moving on to erecting the partioning wall that will separate my workshop from the family room area.

We Pause for Something Very...well, Different in Log Homes.

Now this gives a whole new meaning to “Log Home!”

(From the Blog of Logs to which I was directed by Jim of Parkway Rest Stop. Go take a peek at each of them.)

Log Home Update: Part 57:Time to sit before the fire

After several weeks of above average temperatures, the wind shifted so it came out of the northwest and it started spitting snow and became pretty cold. That’s why this is such a big deal:


We lit the first fire in the living room this afternoon. The zero clearance fireplace burns so efficiently there is almost no smoke coming out the chimney. And the blower system kicks plenty of heat into the room. Plus the wide glass door lets you watch all the pretty, pretty flames!

Unfortunately, Don was unable to hook up the basement wood burner. Although the T-junction and the insulated pipe are made by the same company, they don’t fit together. One’s 6-inches is not the other’s 6-inches. After a few calls, he was able to get a company that would get us a T that would fit overnight. Hopefully, we will be able to light a fire in that stove tomorrow night.

Log Home Update: Part 56: Finishing for the winter (?)

Have I mentioned that we are building a log home? I know, posts on this topic have been scarce lately but that doesn’t mean that things haven’t been progressing. Everyone did take some time off between Christmas and New Year’s, but they’ve been here working like gangbusters since January 2.

Don, Adam and Dan did show up one day right after Christmas to weather proof the chimney. The exterior stone work will wait until spring arrives and the night time temperatures are more conducive to the mortar curing.

Adam went through the list of items (a very short list) that the building inspector wanted done. Most had to do with electrical outlets being GFI protected. Some we knew had to be done and a few we thought were okay. In any event it took him just half a day to knock those out.

Then there were the two big items on the list. The garage had to have dry wall installed and the basement stairs needed a railing. Adam and I tackled both those jobs. I helped install the sheetrock and then Adam did the spackle work and applied a coat of paint. The same got done to the exterior of the bathroom in the basement and the wall to the utility room. Only it was Don and I installing the dry wall (a.k.a. sheetrock) there while Adam was doing the spackling and painting in the garage.

Adam and I laid out and cut the materials for the hand rail going down into the basement. With the exception of one 2 x 4 we used left over materials from the exterior deck rail and the interior loft/stair rail. Troy came over on Saturday to do some work and helped mount the spindles and rail in place. Now that it is in, it makes the stairs themselves look, well, shabby.

Basement stairs.

While we were doing all that, Kyle and Dan worked on finishing the installation of the insulation (say that five times fast!) in the basement ceiling. This insulation will more or less force the heat from the radiant floor system upwards into the first floor. Secondarily, it will provide some sound barrier between the two floors.

Basement ceiling insulation.

Don, when not working to install drywall in the basement or 2 x 4 walls down there, went to work on the stone facing for the living room fireplace. He is using a cultured stone product from Owens-Corning that looks so real you have a difficult time picking out the few real stones that are interspaced. The “fake” stuff is made from lightweight concrete and is done in such a way that in the four boxes we opened for use on the fireplace there wasn’t a duplicate in the batch. The colors are varied, as are the shapes. It should be obvious that the smaller filler stones are (mostly) real, but even a few of the larger ones have been picked up around either his yard or mine and used because they have a nice color or shape and are the right thickness. The actual hearthstones will be real stone from around the yard placed in a bed of mortar.

Stone work on fireplace.

One day day's work to go.

An Owens-Corning product.

There’s still some trim to be done in the garage, the drywall over the fireplace and the basement wood stove to attach, but the work for the year is almost completed. The building inspector has given his OK and we should have a C of O in a day or two. Meanwhile Terry and I have been squatting here, with Don’s permission, since around the 21st of December. The bank inspector will be here on Tuesday and we should be switching over from a construction loan to a standard mortgage right about on schedule. There will be some work left for the spring, such as the stone on the chimney and the walk out basement front, a few retaining walls, staining the exterior of the logs, and installing gutters and down spouts. Money for those items will be put into an escrow account and will be released when the work is done in the spring.

Basement wood stove.

Log Home Update: Part 55bHome for the Holidays.

Troy joined us for a couple of days to install the railings for the steps outside and to help Adam with the wrought iron railings inside.


The stair rails look great.



As do the rails around the loft.


Julie found the steps “cat friendly”.

While Chester nestled between the bed pillows.


A table and chairs at which to sit to dine. And even a carpet beneath to protect the floor.


The bear says we’re ready to entertain, but he’s a bit optimistic.

Enjoy the holidays everyone!

Log Home Update: Part 55aHome for the Holidays

Almost two weeks since I last posted? Goodness, where has the time gone!

Don, Adam, Kyle and Dan put in many long hours over the past week with the intention of getting us into the log home (officially) by Christmas.

I’ve lots of pictures. I’ll post some here and the rest in the next post.

We had a scheduled inspection from the local code inspector on Thursday and missed on a couple of things. (1) There were three outlets/circuits that needed to be GFI protected and weren’t. (All basement outlets need this protection and the island in the kitchen does too no matter how far from a source of water it is.) (2) The garage needs to have the sheetrock up to cover the insulation because the paper backing contains flammable tar. (3) The basement stairs need a railing. We were aware of the basement rail need and the garage so were not surprised by the results.

We postponed a visit from the bank (it’s nearly time to switch from a construction loan to a conventional mortgage) so as to give Don and crew a little more time to complete some of the projects that need doing.

On Monday morning, Terry left the Adirondacks with Shadow and I left PA with Chester traveling back to NJ to see the veterinarian. Both kitties had operations to ensure they could not become parents. Both returned to the PA home on Thursday and seem just fine.

Terry and I closed up the Adirondack cabin Monday afternoon/Tuesday morning and headed with full pick-up and Aveo to PA. There are still some things in the Bolt Hole’s garage that need to come south but they can wait.

Terry also made a trip to NJ on Wednesday for a stitchers’ hen party and to pick our son up at Newark. She stayed overnight and picked up the cats on Thursday.

Chimney Work:

As Don put more and more of the framing up, I thought he was going to drill for oil.


Don and Dan install some of the plywood sheathing as night falls.


The rest of the sheathing went up with the help of spotlights. And, no, we do NOT need to mount aviation warning lights on the top.

Inside fireplace:

Insulated and double walled chimney pipes head through the roof. The 2 x 4 framing will hold insulation and durarock (lower) or sheetrock (above the mantle). The faux stone will be cemented to the durarock.


Even though it’s just cardboard, you can get an idea of the finished fireplace.

Log Home Update: Part 54 Almost finished

(I discovered—after an hour on line—that the dial-up service at our new home was a toll call. Therefore I had no more desire to go on line. That is why it’s been more than a week since my last post.)

Lots has been happening at the log home. We are getting closer and closer to finishing the work that can be done. Some exterior work—such as staining the logs and applying stone to the chimney—will have to wait for warmer spring weather.

More trim work has been stained and applied around windows and doors as well as along the base of the walls. Adam did most of the installation while I’ve spent many an hour staining boards and doors in our basement work area.

Don finished the plumbing work in the master bathroom and has only to install the toilet in the basement to complete that portion of the job. He then began the task of framing out the fireplaces and working on the chimneys. When I left on Tuesday, one chimney had breached the roof and the other was through the first floor and heading upward.



The Loadall made a return appearance to assist in the erection of the chimney. It will make the exterior framing work of the chimney chase and the adjacent cricket much easier.


The zero-clearance fireplace in the living room.


Don framed out the box around the fireplace and chimney.


The zero-clearance chimney broached the roof Monday afternoon.



For Patti S., this is the front door as you will see it when you visit. (Please wait until…oh, February, though. It will take us a month or so to get moved in.)

Front entrance.


Inside the foyer.

Log Home Update: Part 53

Things are really coming together.

It's December 3rd and:

We have a working indoor bathroom so the porta-potty was removed from the building site. Considering the night time temperatures are in the mid-20s and the day time highs are only in the high 30s, that is a very good thing!


Interior doors are being hung.

The attic door. Since the attic space is unheated this door is very necessary.

Trim is being applied to doors and windows.


The second coat of primer has been applied to nearly all the walls.
o need tolook at paint drying, is there?)

Shelves have been installed in the closets.

Every closet gets at least one of these Closet Maid organiizers.

Yeah, things are moving along pretty well.

Update: A dusting of snow on the ground this morning--December 4. It reminds me of the days back in late February and early March when the hole was being dug for the foundation--in six inches of snow.