All car projects on hold for summer 2014

I'll spend some time reading all the suggested before I buy/install/modify stuff on these walls, the input is very much appreciated. :)

Now, lowering the ducts is not possible, the ceilings are low already..... And in modern homes all the ductwork is in the attic with no problems whatsoever..... Wonder why? Better duct insulation ??

My example: my current house I bought new in 2005, high ceilings, all ductwork in the attic.... AC runs on a timer, 78 degrees from 6pm to 6am, rest of the day pretty much 82 degrees.... When I'm not home I don't need the AC to run.....Even in the hot July month my bill was about $100...... That's incl doing laundry, water heater, AC , fridge, stove etc.....

I don't see why ducts in the attic are a problem, my bill is about half of what most guys around here tell me they pay......
 
MYBAD79 said:
And in modern homes all the ductwork is in the attic with no problems whatsoever..... Wonder why? Better duct insulation ??

I don't see why ducts in the attic are a problem, my bill is about half of what most guys around here tell me they pay......
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Ducts are put in attics because it is cheap to do and the penalty isn't unbearable given today's electricity prices. But, there is a penalty in energy cost. Duct insulation is usually R6 or less so it can be easily proven that putting air ducts inside the building's insulation envelope reduces energy consumption while putting them in hot attics increases the energy consumption. The problem is that doing it right definitely increases the cost of homes. The cost would eventually be paid back but at today's electricity prices, the payback is a fairly long time. Most existing homes aren't designed to have the space to put the air ducts inside the living space. New home designs require a good architect to install the ducts inside the home without incurring too much additional cost. One good way for new construction is to build 9' ceilings and then drop down to 8' ceilings in hallways where the 1' difference allows an area for the ducts. If electricity was 10X the current price, all of us in warm climates would be scrambling to find ways to get the ducts out of the 130 degree attic. The easiest way way to solve the problem for existing homes is to use spray foam insulation on the underside of the roof which creates a "conditioned" space in the attic for the duct work. This method is costly enough that the payback is still pretty long. There are other advantageous to spray foam including blocking air infiltration into the home, being a better insulator than fiberglass, and making the roof stronger by effectively gluing the roof decking and the rafters together.

FYI, the building scientists say that burying existing ducts in extra insulation could be problematic in humid climates because it allows condensation to form when the dew point and other conditions are just right.

The cheapest thing anyone can do who has duct work in a hot attic is to make sure there is plenty of soffit and ridge ventilation to allow the attic to be as ventilated and therefore as cool as possible.

DC
 
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I agree, cost for electricity is way too low here in the US, there is very little incentive for people to install energy efficient windows or duct insulation.... Even that spray insulation HomeDepot had on sale a while ago.... $0.99 a sqf..... Sounded like a good deal but at 2000 sqf it would have taken like what? 15 years to start seeing any savings ?????
Here you just cannot spend 2000$ to save 20$ on your monthly bill..... It takes ten years almost to break even.... In Europe you save money a lot sooner and you added resale value to your house..... I left over 14 years ago, maybe Marck has some better info about how insane the current electricity cost are.....
 
Here's another good resource to have handy when doing home renovation projects:

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Renovation-4th-Edition-Completely-Revised/dp/1600854923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408572695&sr=8-1&keywords=Renovation+by+Michael+Litchfield[/ame]

It has a very good chapter on energy conservation but is, in general, a great reference book for how to do things when renovating.

DC
 
Long ago I had a buddy who thought the CHROME on his car as cool in summer sunlight.....and I knew that WHITE is the only color that does not absorb sun heat/radiation....

so he put his hand on the car bumper in the drive, and about blistered his hand...that was in MARYLAND....before all the global warming.....

:eek::smash:
 
Making progress: replaced the garage window with 6x6 glass blocks, 4"thick. These are pretty cool, they let plenty of light in but you can't see thru....

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Stripped the vinyl off the entire house, I see Hardyplank in my future.....

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That abortion in front of the porch is going to be moved to the pool, makes a nice tiki bar.... :smash:
 
Sorry man, but hardi plank just makes a house look like a cheap frame house, I would stucco the walls white and get over with it.....cheaper to do too boot....

working on a hardi plank frame house built from 2x4's now, and it's not much, so why detract from a house built good?? :smash::thumbs:
 
mrvette said:
Sorry man, but hardi plank just makes a house look like a cheap frame house, I would stucco the walls white and get over with it.....cheaper to do too boot....

working on a hardi plank frame house built from 2x4's now, and it's not much, so why detract from a house built good?? :smash::thumbs:
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Stucco is much cheaper but i just don't think it would look right on this house ???????????

I think (at least I do at this time) the hardy plank would add value.....


:thankyou::smash:
 
I'm with Gene. I liked my stucco walls in Fl. Paint the stucco walls with elastomeric paint and forget about them.
 
I've seen foam trim detail glued on a block house then stucco over it all and the foam stuff painted like trim. looks waaaay better than just stucco over flat no detail walls. stucco is supposed to help keep the house cooler too.
 
Three of is man, listen up.....we never painted the stucco over our back wall inside the glass roof addition, but no need to, and the rest of my house is stucco over block, with fake brick lines cut in.....looks good from the street, and being white, reflects heat.....surely I told you about vinyl single hung double insulated LO E glass windows....cut the front temps by 20f some years ago....:thumbs:
 
Concrete stucco will be much less subject to rot & insect problems as well. You can build up nice trim details with styrofoam and then stucco them in. For that matter, just do the whole thing in EIFS (Exterior Insulating Foam System) and increase your insulation factor by 5 points or more. As long as you don't use the side of the house for baseball batting practice it will be a good finish, although occasionally a woodpecker likes to dig a hole in it-- but the same holds true for almost any siding material except metal or bare block.
 
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My current house is stucco and in ten years I had only a few cracks due to foundation or ground settling.... Easy to fix.....

I was leaning towards hardyplank lap siding but I agree stucco cost less, is less work to "install" ....

I'll have to read up on that foam stucco stuff :thumbs:
 
I need to do that to my two garage windows, though I'm installing the little pop-out vent windows in them as well. Ventilation is good, and I'm getting tired of my garage windows being boarded up.
 
You can add 2" wide, .080" thick steel strips between the blocks and bolt them into the blocks (left/right) using Tapcons .... Makes it a little more difficult for somebody to break in....
Short of a sledgehammer you're not breaking this anyways, makes lots of noise.....
 
BangkokDean said:
So all this work on cars and this new house do you still maintain a paying job?
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Have not worked on any car project since June.... Need to paint my Mustang's front bumper, need to change oil..... Can barely find time for this.... And yes, still working a full time job so the bills get paid.... Lol....
 
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