Say Goodbye to the Oil Tank

Seattle Tank sent two men out today, and they worked more than 14 man-hours to remove the oil tank. It was harder than they expected, because it held on to the soil (after 68 years!) and because their A-frame rig wouldn't fit under the garage soffit.

After trying a number of solutions, they ended up cutting the tank into pieces with a Sawz-all.

They found what might be leaked oil in the soil, so it has to be tested. If the test is positive, then it's a big deal process with soil remediation and state inspectors. But I'm insured for it by PLIA, so it's no big deal. If you ask me (no one did), they found drips from the filling process.

The conduit against the house does not go to the tombstone light. Instead, it goes to an outlet and light fixture that were completely buried in the star jasmine. I helped them figure out that it wasn't energized and they moved it away and put it back. But the line absolutely does not continue across the front planting.

The weather was perfect--no direct sun, no rain, about 65 degrees. Speaking of 65 degrees...My house has no heat!! The first of many "perfectly good" assemblies I'll be destroying. Gack!

The "Before" picture. There's an outlet and light hidden to the right.

Lead guy was Patrick. Didn't get this guy's name. He's standing on the top of the tank.

They cut the top off first, then had to cut it into pieces.

Coffin-like hole once the old tank was removed.

And the "After" shot. They didn't do a great job cleaning up--no broom or hose down--but they knew they may have to dig all this up again if there is evidence of oil contamination. They didn't replace the roof drain line, either.

Hydronic or Something Else

As they work to remove and decommission the heating oil tank, I am considering how to heat the place.

Currently, the forced air furnace distributes heated air to the main part of the house and there are two electric wall heaters for the breezeway and BR3. We can replace the oil-fired furnace with a 96% efficient Lennox EL296V gas furnace and make minor adjustments on the ducts and vents for $7,346.37 (Greenwood Heating bid, 9/1/15). We still have to (or should) insulate the 1296 SF floor.

If we go that route, we might leave the two electric wall heaters in place (or move them slightly) and install a Mitsubishi mini-split in the Trees Room (on the wall between the entry ceiling and the Trees Room ceiling) that could provide heat for the 5,600 CF high-ceiling area, and the cool air would cover the whole house on peak cooling days. Those are about $5,000.

Back on April 23, I got a bid from Northwest Mechnical of $32,470, and a better price from Radiantec for a hydronic system on May 15. They bid $4,202.50 for the tubing under the floor, $5,646.90 for a Noritz NRC1111 boiler and custom heat exchanger and three-zone manifold system, and $1,200 for (30) Sunboard Sunfoam panels for the BR3 concrete floor. The total bid was $11,049.40 not including shipping (from Vermont) or any installation.

But, wait. Real oak floors aren't great with under-floor hydronic. The spot heat might dry out individual boards, leading to joint separation and/or "cupping." We could install the hydronic and deal with floor problems as they occur, or we could proactively remove the oak flooring and put in 1300 SF of, say, ceramic tile. That's about $9,750 not including the demo and disposal of the old floor. $7.50/SF is tile or hydronic-compatible engineered wood.

So, the hydronic approach is: $11,050 materials, $250 shipping, $10,000 installation, $2000 floor demo, $9750 new floor. That's $33,050.

Noritz NRC1111--18" x 24" x 9"

To compare apples to apples, let's assume we get the Noritz boiler ($1600) for tankless water heating, refinish the oak floors ($3570), and insulate the floor and ducts ($5000).

Hydronic and new tile/engr wood floors with 3 zones: $33,050
Forced air with some a/c but only 1 zone: $22,520

The trouble with these numbers is that I have bids for the forced air, but the hydronic installation could cost even more.

Three zones is useful for apartment/Airbnb solutions, but it's not worth $10,530. The other advantage of the hydronic is the elimination of the ugly baseboard vents--hydronic heats without moving dusty air around, which is very appealing. But we could make some pretty vents for $500.

Refinishing the oak floor is based on a 3/2/15 bid from Lane Hardwood. New oak is $11.25, but refinishing is $4.75/SF. However, we're only talking about refinishing the two bedrooms, living room and hall--about 750 SF.

The forced air solution means a separate control for the Trees Room and just the electric heater for BR3. We might want a mini-split for BR3, or a second electric heater for BA3. The three baths might want electrically-heated floors with the $10,000 that we're "saving."

We Have a Structural Engineer

I met with Chris Bernards of SideSway Engineering this morning at Walnut St. Coffee in Edmonds. He worked at C-G Engineering for I think he said 12 years. We went over the drawings and he's going to design the Trees Room to handle it's own lateral, and we'll leave the existing house alone. Trying to bring the existing house up to current standards would be a can of worms. We discussed whether the "crickets" on the roof might trigger that--they represent 2-3 PSF surcharge on the existing framing, and there's a 5% rule.

He said the city is just asking for some straps around the brick chimney, tying the roof framing to the bricks so that they don't shake. The bricks falling through the roof is still a problem, but the city doesn't require a fix for that.

He said that if we run a concrete wall up on either side of the garage door, we can use a plywood shear wall instead of a StrongWall. This is cool. Oh, and he can start working on it this weekend and we're talking ten days or two weeks, not forever.

We've got gas!

The pros dropped in Thursday afternoon and Friday morning and--BAM!--we've got a gas meter. Progress! Also, it turned out that the gas line is not under the asphalt, but rather just on our side of the road, so it was easy for them to dig down to it. They use a yellow "PEX" tubing and switch to galvanized iron just before the meter.

The gas main runs next to, not under, the blacktop

The gas main is the black pipe at the left--they installed the yellow tubing.

The bricks underneath are to keep it level as the plumber connects to the meter. They can go away when there's a second pipe holding the meter up.

Designing the Bath In Detail

Wow, there are a lot of details to consider in a bathroom. The plan calls for a curbless shower in a fully tiled room in both Bath 1 and Bath 3. I'll describe what I want including specific details.

Vanity
There are many things that need to be by the sink. I want a place to tuck them all away except for soap and a towel. I need storage for: toothbrush*, toothpaste, razor, shaving cream, skin lotion, cologne, nail clippers, tweezers, beard trimmer*.

For most of these things, a drawer makes the most sense. A silverware-style divider for toothpaste, razor, and so on.

I like the designs that hang off the wall, for easy cleaning underneath (or, alternatively, for lack of a wet and eventually rotting baseboard). But I saw a table with feet and a slatted shelf for extra towels that looked nice, as well.

The Gas Man Cometh

The only progress in weeks is that Puget Sound Energy is installing a gas meter, hopefully this week. I spoke to a guy on Thursday, August 6. He spray-painted the street in white. We talked about the location and I put on the yellow sticker. Next day, August 7, I notice more paint in the street--purple this time. Then, sometime the week of August 10, yellow paint appeared, along with No Parking signs. The signs say August 17-21, but no one has parked since they went up (I don't think they read the little words).

Update 8/20: The three-man crew arrived and they want the meter 24" from the hose bibb. They don't mind putting it under the existing window, because the top of the meter is still 36" from the operable part of the window. They got here at 2pm, dug holes near the meter location by hand until they left at 3:20 or so. They left their backhoe and said they would return tomorrow morning.

I hope the sticker comes off without damaging the paint (just kidding!)

Rahm, the 6-year-old across the street, will enjoy the trucks

Can you say: overkill?

The way it works is that they install the meter, a plumber installs gas lines in the house and connects them to the meter, then we call PSE again to test and approve, and then they turn the gas on.

Going Minimalist

What if we try to spend as little money as possible? The plans at the building department are pretty ambitious--hydronic heat, all new windows, the 13' 7" Trees Room ceiling, maybe a steel frame for windows at the south. Imagining a minimal scheme would bracket the spending and highlight the cost of the less-than-minimal plan.

The main problem with A.14 is that the entry hall is awkward, unusable space. The dinette actually works better than I thought, as does the kitchen. There is also no good place for the television in the former living room. (Over the fireplace, I guess, now that I think about it.) Trying to imagine how I would be comfortable here, I can't find a place for my music equipment, or the treadmill.

If this was built now, I could rent the former living room as a studio apartment and make, maybe $800 a month. It has no laundry, but we have an arrangement in which I unlock the connecting door--the tenant doing laundry wouldn't impact me too much. Bedroom 3 would make a nice Airbnb--no kitchen, but easy outside access. That might earn $300/month on average. That's $13,200/year income in exchange for living with strangers.