Day 3: I Only Blog When I’m Loopy

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Day 3 is winding down and I’m barely mustering the energy for this post, but only through great sacrifice comes great…something, maybe it’s pizza. Let’s just say pizza, that will help me get through this.

Currently Listening to: Underworld – Dexters Chalk, pretty bangin’ new track from one of my favs!

The beginning of the day seems so far away I’m not sure if there was one, I think it actually started the day before and someone forgot to send me the memo. “I Only Blog When I’m Loopy” is going to be my new saying. Be sure to pick up your t-shirt on the way out. Ok, enough of the first paragraph blog fluff, let’s get to the point…what did we get done today?

3 Home Depot trips today, almost 4 but they closed before I could get there. We bought 4 windows to replace the two in each living room with new Low-E Dual Pane windows that actually open and won’t contribute to possibly charred Airbnb guests if there was ever a fire and they couldn’t get out. We were able to change out 3 of the 4 and that was a major accomplishment when you’re dealing with a house from the early 1930’s. Things were just done way differntly back then. The size of the windows we removed were an unusual 53″x50″ and there is not a window to be found with those dimensions these days. We opted for 48″x48″ so that we wouldn’t have to make the holes in the walls larger, instead we only had to create additional framing to fit the new windows in and get the placement just right to allow for flush stucco on the exterior and drywall on the interior. Very tricky when standard sizes and thicknesses have changed over the years.

Quote of the Day: (overheard chatter from the guys installing the new heating and cooling system) “Hey dude watch it! You’re dropping asbestos all over me!” It was hopefully them joking around when the guy in the ceiling was cutting a hole for the new vents and dropping dust all over his co-worker.

So we were very excited to get 3 of the 4 windows installed. During all of this installing we had the HVAC guys show up to install a unit on each side of the duplex, install duct work in the attic, and cut holes for vents. Previously, this house had evaporative coolers years ago and at some point the cheap landlord put window AC units and a wall gas heater in the house, definitely not suitable for Phoenix weather! A giant crane was brought in to lift the units to the roof, but because of the large amount of over head power lines around the house and narrow driveways, the crane could not reach our roof. The crane operator was about to leave and get a spider crane, which is apparently much more expensive and can be wheeled onto the front yard before use, but he said he’s never not been able to complete a job so he figured a way to get a massive crane up onto the sidewalk by doing a little off-roading and up onto our yard. Success!! He did ask that I not photograph because the legality was in a grey area. I made sure I got a photo when he wasn’t looking but I didn’t get his company name or logo in any pics. With the HVAC units on the roof the guys install the ducts and did most of the work in a marathon 13 hour session with 4 guys for a job that would normally take at least 2 days. They will be back tomorrow to install the Nest thermostats and some more vent covers

That’s the basic scoop on my day. My hand is sore and purple but better and I’m in need of a shower and a decent night’s sleep so…