Replacing the Entry Doors

In an effort to continue to improve the energy efficiency of our house, parts of the last two weekends have been committed to replacing our two entry doors. This job was not nearly as huge as the Cathedral Ceiling Insulation upgrade, thankfully!

I did the back door last Saturday, working alone, and it was arduous. Taking the old door out (which is explained online as simple removing the interior trim, cutting the nails, and watching the door fall outward) was a pain because the Dream has no trim on the inside. Instead, there are drywall corners that run up to the edge of the door. Also, instead of having exterior brick mold (which could be pried off to access the nails needing to be cut) our doors had one solid piece of wood that was the brick mold and frame. I ended up cutting the frame into many pieces, and prying each one off the studs, causing more stucco damage than I would have liked. After a mere six hours, the metal door was installed. Only once did I have to fully remove the door after shimming it and setting the screws on the hinge side.

When planning to tackle the front door, I knew that going it alone wasn’t going to be the best idea. With my co-owned reciprocating saw out with its co-owner, I borrowed my Rain Farming Friend’s saw, and about 3 hours of his time. *I co-own a reciprocating saw, as well as a 1984 Chevrolet 1/2 Ton. Almost all the time this is handy - especially when the time came to pay for said saw and truck. In fact, this was the first truck or saw related conflict* The second door went in more smoothly thanks to another set of hands. Now, instead of two circa 1961 wooden, constantly expanding and contracting, doors, we have two Energy Star approved, fully sealing and sealed doors.

Before we call in the Energuide for Houses folks for our follow up visit, we’ll insulate the basement (only about half is insulated right now), seal the electrical outlets on the exterior walls, and possibly upgrade the furnace. Though we need new windows, and could use some extra r-value on our exterior 2X4 walls, that’ll have to wait until we win the lottery.

For now, we have some nice(r) doors.

Be an Energy Star!

Unfortunately, the Handyman's Dream didn't come with appliances. When shopping, we tried to be as environmentally friendly as possible. We decided to purchase new ones. This wasn't a decision we put much thought into -- the new machines are so much more efficient than old ones. Then someone mentioned the idea of reusing, and we considered whether buying used machines would have made more sense.

However, would it? If I don't buy someone's somewhat efficient used appliances, most likely someone else will. Chances are that the person buying a used machine is buying it to replace a machine that is older (and less efficient.) So, by not purchasing used, we've left them for someone who cannot afford the brand new (more efficient) machines we bought. Or so the rationalization goes...
So, we read up on the Energy Star program. Currently, our government offers a tax rebate of 5% on appliances that qualify as Energy Star. So, with this information, we headed out to comparison shop. We needed a washer, dryer, fridge and stove.

Washer: All front load washers are Energy Star and use around 150 kwh per year. So, we bought a front load washer. No-brainer.

Dryer: NO dryers are Energy Star. We still bought one, as the idea of hanging laundry in -40 with a windchill doesn't work so well. Though, frozen sheets are pretty cool. We try to minimize use of the dryer.

Fridge: Very few fridges are Energy Star. I read a bit, and learned that side-by-side fridges are the least efficient. There was debate over top or bottom freezer, and the consensus was that they were similarly efficient. We chose a top-freezer because it was a bit cheaper.

Stove: While in Cambodia, we had a gas range. After 2 weeks of living with the in-laws and using their electric range, we decided to investigate the cost of going gas. We called a plumbing company, and they said it would cost between $300 and $500 to move the gas line (It ended up being $450.) We figured that the savings on electricity and the convenience of having instant heat as opposed to slow, electric heat, will cover this cost over the time we're in the house. However, for some reason, gas stoves do not qualify for the tax rebate. Huh? Gas furnaces, yes, but stoves - no? Yup. Thanks Gov't.