New Thermostat

The iComfort 10F81 thermostat died. The screen lit up, but it was just a gray rectangle. So, I bought an Amazon Smart Thermostat on Saturday night and they delivered it Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. I tried to install it, but I couldn't get the furnace to turn on.

So, I called Energy Works NW and they were able to send Izzy out Monday afternoon, July 29, 2024.

The iComfort was a "communicating" thermostat and was wired like that. Izzy rewired it as a simple "legacy" thermostat because the Amazon model isn't fancy.

The Lennox furnace is a two-stage furnace. The idea is that if it's trying to get to 75 degrees and it sees that it hasn't gotten there in, say, 8 minutes, it kicks on the second stage to get hotter faster. That was the iComfort thermostat's responsibility, apparently, so it could do it all fancy. Izzy configured the furnace to do its own bump up to the second stage. No big deal.

While he was here, I asked Izzy to do an annual service on the furnace--that's $250--and he charged me for 1/2 hour for the thermostat, so with tax it came to nearly $400. He would have sold me a $40 filter, too, but he didn't have one. I bought two 16254, MERV 8 filters for $50 at Home Depot. I'm not sure how often I should change the filter, but the old one (which might date to 2017) was pretty dirty. (By the way, a 16254 filter is 16" x 25" x 4"--mystery decoded.)

Thinking About the Carport

When last we discussed the carport, we were thinking of a 4x wood frame with Suntuf polycarbonate panels. That pencils out to about $2500 worth of materials.

The concept, which turned out to be controversial when I discussed it with Peggy, calls for six posts and a standalone structure unconnected to the house in any way. Because there is only about 19" between the top of the garage door and the underside of the eave, I had planned to lift the carport roof above the garage roof, draining into the garage gutter. But that gets tall and obtrusive.

I revisited the Suntuf specifications. They say that 1-1/2 in 12 is the "minimum recommended slope," but that "When installed at a lower pitch, additional sealing should be applied to ensure weather resistance." Using 12' panels, I don't have seams along the slope.

It seems that I can tuck polycarb under the existing eave, sloping slightly less than 1-1/2 in 12. The idea is to keep it simple.

Basic SunTuf on wood frame

There are all-metal patio cover/carports available that would be double the cost or more, but that might be worth it. I've talked to Versatube, Behr.

Glass "sunroom"

These examples tend to connect to the house on one side. A standalone carport creates a moment arm at each post, but this can be handled.

Itiel's Carports (itcarports.com)

Yardistry 11x13 gazebo

"Why don't you just ask for what you want?"

What Happened Next

 After the painting, I lost track of time.

Mauricio came by Saturday, April 20 and I paid him 50% for the gutters. The painters had finished the eaves, so he planned to install them the following week.

New gutters are white, seamless and slope perfectly, despite sagging fascias.

Mauricio (Mata Roofing) brought a truck with a seamless gutter machine.

Mauricio (foreground) had a new helper. Still took 10+ hours.

Tuesday, April 23, the painters finished and cleaned up after themselves while Mauricio and a new helper installed all the gutters and downspouts in one long day. I wrote a check to Una and a check to Mauricio (Mata Roofing) that day.

On Monday, May 6, Ernie came by and looked at the chimney and the post light. On May 10, I paid B&D Construction (Ernie) $1100 for his work re-pointing, waterproofing, and closing up the chimney. We agreed that he would set a paver over the flue that could be removed later if I want to use the chimney.

Ernie Gonzales
(206) 445 2897
bdhandymanllc@gmail.com 

Ernie pressure-washes the chimney.

The post light planter was falling apart. I hadn't noticed.

Ernie fixed it all up, re-pointed it and even painted the flaking green post.

Chimney after Ernie: no more air in or out. He attached the spark arrestor (for appearances) so that it won't blow off, but both flues are closed off.

The Maids came and deep cleaned the house Friday, because Jon arrived for a visit on Saturday, May 18. Frieda went to the hospital on May 25 and Jon flew home on Friday, May 31. I drove to Portland on June 1 and we had a big wind storm on June 3.

I began noticing that you couldn't even see the Douglas Fir by the driveway anymore.

The wind storm left stuff on the roof that I had to blow off with the leaf blower.

Funny artifact of the new metal valleys and the gutter covers. Luckily, it can be cleared by hand from the ground.

I installed new house numbers and bought a bench from Ikea.

The numbers are centered on the wall, ignoring the window.

New roof, new gutters, fresh paint.

Jon returned for the weekend on Thursday, June 13 and left again Monday, June 17. I flew to LA on Tuesday, July 2. Cruz Landscaping came July 7 and uncovered the trunk of the Douglas Fir by the driveway. 

We can see the Douglas Fir again, thanks to Cruz.

Next up (or soon): Time to replace the polyethylene carport. With what? Stay tuned.

Color Consultant Anya Moller

I just found that I forgot to record Anya Moller's contact information in the blog. She created the exterior colors that we used, and I want to ask her for an interior palette.

Anya Moller
Architectural Color Consultant
Anya Moller Color Design
Voicemail: 206.947.3187
Email: amcolordesign@gmail.com

Posting this on September 5, 2024 (back-dating to my Yelp review of her exterior colors).

In November, I realized that I forgot to record the exterior colors!

• Upper wall: Escape Gray
• Lower wall and drip cap: Evergreen Fog
• Trim: Origami White
• Brick: Peppercorn

Painting

Working out the contract with Hate to Paint, I discovered co-owner Chris LeBeau is very flaky. He lives around the corner on 3rd Ave at about 117th. He said he'd come over in 10 minutes on two occasions and never showed. I haven't seen him since March. Co-owner Una Manushka, however, has been in touch. The issue was the extra charge to have them paint the soffits and fascia--I had planned to do it myself, but I changed my mind. Instead of an updated contract, Chris finally just said, "Uh, $2,000 more." 

Thursday, both Chris and Una said "We'll be there Friday morning at 9," so I prepped for a contract discussion--I didn't have the colors when the contract was first signed, and I now wanted to paint all the brick, not leaving out the living room.

Friday morning at 9, here's Una with Mona (a guy) and Tamir. Una doesn't want to talk contracts, he wants his crew to get started, which they do. Una and Mona came out Monday, 8 April, so Mona could pressure wash all around the house. There was some concern that he hadn't pressure washed the living room brick, but Una decided that they could wire-brush the green stuff off.

The patch at the old storage closet at the Laundry Room

Patching the brick veneer at the garage doors

I continued trimming the soffits, making repairs--such as at the metal plate the furnace installers left. Mona and Tamir returned Saturday, 13 April. Mona primed all the brick (except the post light) with white Loxon. Mona didn't want to paint the inside of the planter, but I insisted--I don't know when I'll have plants bubbling over the edge.

I think the brick looks great in white, but it will be Peppercorn. (As Una said, "Once you put the [Loxon] primer on, you can do anything." So Peppercorn is maybe not the final color.)

On Sunday, I excavated around the brick at the NE corner of the garage, replaced the old fascia board I could see from the kitchen window, and removed various nails and screws. I also tested and covered outlets in the porch ceiling (there's power switched with the porch light, but the outlet was dust) and the porcelain socket on the west side soffit (no power). The WP outlets at BR1 work (open ground), so I left them. I removed the porch light at the breezeway and was reminded that they installed it without a box. I should probably replace the fixture anyway.

Tamir on the ladder, Mona on the ground

My repair for the notch above the sheet metal patch

.

Prep work all around looks like this.

Removed the BR1 deck, then the painters prepped the wall.

When Mona and Tamir came back Monday, 15 April, Mona saw that I had not trimmed the west side soffit. "Too high?" he said and I said yes. "I'll do it," he said. I used up my supply of quarter-round--he measured, I cut. I set up the nail gun; he installed. It would have looked like crap with a wide bead of caulk, even though they're using "Big Stretch" caulk. It rained for an hour or so on Monday, but Tuesday was supposed to be dry. Tuesday, it rained between 8 and 9 and again between 1 and 2, roughly. Nevertheless, they began painting the fascia and soffits Origami White--it looks great.

Sunny weather is forecast for the rest of the week, and Una dropped by on Tuesday (during the rain) and mentioned he expects to be done by--I think he started to say this week, but he caught himself--early next week.

Roofing

We had aimed for 25 March, but rain was forecast. Tuesday, 26 March, was dry, but I had already agreed with Mauricio (aka Odilio) that we would target starting on 29 March. It rained Wednesday, when I gave Mauricio a check for 25% ($5,000 and change), and again on Thursday, when ABC Supply showed up and unloaded tons of shingles, rolls of CertainTeed Diamond Deck and other miscellany. 

Shingles delivered and stacked all over the roof.

But Friday, 29 March, was clear and sunny and Mauricio showed up with 3 helpers and got to work. The four worked 30 March as well, but not 31 March--that was Easter Sunday. They left the big truck parked here.

Mauricio was surprised by the extent of the rot and had to bring more lumber with him on Saturday. I was actually pleased that so much of the OSB sheathing was in good shape.

Notice the wide metal valley flashings on the ground

Monday, 1 April, Mauricio was back with one helper--I think it's his son. Only the three west side roof planes remained to de-shingle. The Diamond Deck is already up on most of the main house.

Mauricio and (I think) his son standing behind him, working over the front porch

CertainTeed Diamond Deck

Carport Roof

Update: 16 April 2024 Design

We have a 4x4 frame holding up a grid made of 2x6 @ 24" with 2x3 purlins spaced about @24". The SunTuf panels are solid blocked with plastic supports "horizontal" on the 2x3s (including the top and bottom edges) and "vertical" plastic closure strips at both shed rakes. The 2x6s have little bird's mouths to rest on a high and a low 4x4 beam, square cut at the top to align with the edge of the SunTuf, but plumb cut at the bottom. The roof structure is sized for exactly (10) 26" x 144" sheets of SunTuf--10 @ 26" = 240" with overlaps.

I considered wrapping the post bases with GenStone, but the pieces needed would cost about $2,500. One side of a pillar, 24" high is $50, so $400 for the 36-48" high pillar shown in the rendering. The pillar cap is $50 more.

Previous post (23 March 2024)

The carport roof looks like 12' sections of corrugated plastic, resting on 1x4 purlins @ 24" o.c. We'll need 10 sheets for 20'.

Suntuf installation tips: 

• Pre-drill a hole 1/16" larger than fastener diameter
• Tighten fastener until snug--if the EPDM washer becomes deformed, it's too tight.
• Never step on the panels. During installation, use a crawl board supported by 3 roof elements.

Here are my options:

ePlastics.com - 0.031" Bronze Greca 26" x 144" $62.94 (or $56.70 if you buy 10-24). Greca describes the hex corrugation, also called Suntuf, Palram, Dynaglas.

ePlast.com - 10mm Policarb, 2 walls clear 26" x 144" is $107.52. Needs an aluminum "H" connector (Poli-Lok). 

interstatePlastics.com - .032" 49.6" x 144" (4' x 12') sheet $100. Sunsky 12 Clear 0.039" x 38" x 144" is $132.37

Lowes 

Suntuf 26" x 6' corrugated Solar Grey polycarbonate $172.05/10

Tuftex Multi-Wall 6mm Panel Clear 4' x 8' corrugated clear polycarbonate $55.78. UV coated on one side. Made by Onduline.

Tuftex SeaCoaster 2.2' x 8' corrugated clear, white, tan, green PVC $19.48

Tuftex plastic closure strips, cross link polyethylene vented roof panel closure strip $6.97/6

Suntuf 26" x 6' corrugated clear polycarbonate $177.10/10

Sunsky 38" x 6' corrugated white polycarbonate $173.39/5

Ondura Premium 3.16' x 6.58' $20.98 Brown, Red, Green, Black. Like corrugated steel, but quieter.

Home Depot

Suntuf 26" x 12' corrugated polycarbonate clear, gray, green, white $35.98 - hex profile. 0.032" 6.4# 35% light transmission

Suntuf Polycarbonate panel in Solar Grey

Sunlite 2' x 8' Multiwall polycarbonate panel in clear $44.98

Suntuf 26" x 8' corrugated polycarbonate in clear, grey, white, green $24.98

Suntop 26" x 12' Corrugated foam polycarbonate in Castle Gray $31.98 0.063" thick. 7.7# per panel. 10 year manufacturer's warranty.

Palruf 26" x 12' corrugated PVC roof panel in clear $24.98

Suntuf 24" horizontal plastic roof closure strips $6.98/6

Palruf 24" horizontal plastic roof closure strips $6.98/6

Woodtite 1" hex-head wood screw with EPDM washer $5.98/50. 2" is $6.98/50