Since fuel prices went way up in 2005, we’ve been burning 3-4 cords of firewood every winter to augment our fuel-oil boiler heat. Along with energy related upgrades and a better wood stove, it’s really lowered our heating costs and carbon footprint. Before 2005 we’d been more lax in our wood burning, using it mostly on really cold days. But we’ve been cutting our own firewood for well over 20 years.
Category Archives: Home List
A Simple Ladder Safety Device
When we replaced our deck with composite boards on the surface, we could no longer use that surface for our extension ladder, which we need to do to wash the outside of the upstairs windows.
Continue readingAll Decked Out
For years I’ve been patching our deck by swapping out surface boards as they rotted. The original builders hadn’t used treated boards, and the previous owners hadn’t painted it, either. So it had slowly deteriorated. I put in treated 2x6s, so it was increasingly sturdy. But I stepped right through it on an old but sound-looking board in the fall, and then the lower structure started to give way as some of the joist ends rotted. All winter I kept thinking about what it would be like if a moose walked onto it and broke a leg. So we made plans to get it replaced in spring.
Continue readingIdiot’s Catch
How many PhDs does it take to change a light bulb?
Two, at our house.
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Oh, What a Life We’ve LED
I hope everyone else is reveling in the cost savings that LED bulbs have meant. The light emitting diode (LED) is such a cool invention. Once the bulbs were being manufactured in huge numbers and their prices dropped, it made definite economic sense to replace our other bulbs with them. We swapped out our incandescents for compact fluorescents (CFLs) several years ago, but as those die we’re putting in LEDs. That time has also finally arrived with fluorescent tubes, too. The per-bulb cost for an LED retrofit lamp is now on par with a standard four-foot fluorescent tube, and the LEDs come with a five-year warranty. What’s not to love?
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