I may not have written about it since October, but I have been gradually getting the painting done upstairs. In fact, I am very close to being finished.
Friday and Saturday, I finished the smaller bedroom and the hallway ceiling , and got the first coat of paint on the hall walls. Sunday morning, I was prepared to paint the second and final coat on the hallway walls, but decided not to based on the temperature in the house. The paint has to be applied in temperatures above 50 degrees. On the main floor of the house, the temperature was a tropical 58. No doubt the temperature upstairs was at least a few degrees colder…. too close to take a chance. Nothing like a sudden cold snap to remind us that our heating system has problems!
Vicious Circle
Remember that we have hot water heat…. Before the new rads can be installed upstairs, the painting has to be done. But without the rads, it is too cold (at least at the present time) to finish the painting. It’s all so frustrating.
Big ticket item
If it was just a question of having the painting finished, I would have busted my butt to have it all done last fall. The real reason for the delay is the price tag. We got an estimate a couple of years ago for the work, along with getting the boiler zoned for a more efficient system, and the cost was in the range of five digits. That was BEFORE the cost of copper doubled.
So, exactly what is the problem?
Simply put, we don’t have enough radiators and most of the pipes are undersized. We have half inch pipe where we should have 3/4 inch. We have 3/4 inch pipe where we should have 1 inch. Going upstairs, the pipes should be 1 inch, but they’re only half inch. And we need more radiators (or at least larger ones) to distribute the heat. Getting the boiler zoned is more of a luxury thing, but it makes sense to do it at the same time the rest of the plumbing is overhauled.
Finances finances finances
Everything comes back to money. A couple of years ago, we were swimming in debt. The roof and the air conditioning really put us behind the eight ball. We refinanced our mortgage and consolidated that debt, but then we hired a contractor to insulate and drywall upstairs, which put us right back into debt. We are trying to climb out of debt again before we take the plunge with the heating system. And I still dream of the day when we might be able to save up and pay cash for a major renovation, but when things have to be done right away, that simply is not an option.
Ironic, ain’t it?
The same time that a major report is released on global warming and its consequences, we get hit with a deep freeze. At this point, I’d rather have a hundred degree smog day. You see, our air conditioning works!