LowE 179

One of the chief reasons I chose Marvin windows was that they had a glazing option that worked well with passive solar design. If you know what to ask for, you can get a Cardinal Glass product called LowE 179 for the south facing windows. It's got a solar heat gain coefficient of .70 and a U-factor of .28. The high solar heat gain coefficient is what sets it apart from typical coated LowE glass. Typical LowE glass would block about 60 to 70 percent of available solar gain, a property that's awfully helpful in Florida but not in Maine. So imagine my surprise when I noticed something a little odd about the light passing through the three panels of the sliding glass door. Not long after installation a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that light passing through the two fixed panels of glass was different from the light passing through the middle operating panel. As it shows on the dark concrete floor, the light from the middle panel is clear but the light from the two panels on either side is slightly yellowish. I also noticed that the floor is cooler to the touch where it's been heated by the yellowish light in comparison to the floor behind the middle panel. I couldn't think of a reason why the panels should be different. The information etched into the glass in the upper corners of the panels didn't mean anything to me, and the stickers on the windows which normally provide glazing information were blank. To try to get to the bottom of this, I first called Cardinal Glass, the folks who manufacture LowE 179. The guy at the coated glass plant in Minnesota shared my conclusion; if it looks different and feels different, it's not the same. He said it was probably standard LowE glass in the two fixed panels, but without any other information he couldn't be sure. Armed with this information I called Marvin. Presented with the facts, the woman at Marvin directed me to Cassie at AW
Hastings, the same Cassie who was involved with arranging the repair a few weeks ago. (As I understand it, AW Hastings actually makes and distributes Marvin windows.) She said she'd look into it and get back to me, but I imagine that the same guy who helped fix and install the door will be paying me another visit. No hurry this time; I don't see those panels coming out until June. The visible difference in the panels can be seen in the picture of the slider below; it's subtle, but it's there.

Michelle and I finished the IKEA marathon in just over seven hours. We left with all the parts to assemble the kitchen cabinets, a bed frame, a sofa and a few lights. The drywall guys finished hanging yesterday and will be back tomorrow to start taping. Winter is closing in.

Live, From New York, It's Saturday Morning!

Just before 7 there's a steady hum of traffic seeping in the open window of Tim and Anna's apartment in the city that doesn't sleep. It's nice to get away from the constant work, but I can't really leave it completely behind. Perhaps putting a few days between me and the house will loosen its grip. Michelle and I think that a real vacation is in order once the critical work of kitchen and bathroom is done. Then I'll be able to relax. The ultimate goal is to fashion a way of living that doesn't produce the need to go on vacation.... Seems like the rest of the apartment is waking up.

Sheetrock

Writing from North Smithfield, RI, on our way to NYC for the weekend. Joe and his sheetrock hanging helper showed up yesterday morning just after 7am, and the truck with all the sheetrock for the house arrived shortly after. After an hour or so of lugging sheets into the house, they got right to work, and by the time we left at 3pm, they'd hung the stairwell, the ceiling for the second floor and they were working on the ceiling downstairs. Michelle and I were working to get the place ready up to the last minute. It's been a long haul to get to this turning point; and, because of the rush and pressure, it hasn't been an enjoyable process. The last month in particular. By the time we return late on Tuesday, the whole house will be hung and ready for tape. We'll return with our kitchen cabinets in a rental truck.

More photos

Almost There

With two days before the drywall shows up, we're looking good. The first floor is ready to go, and the second needs a clean up and a once over to make sure that all the framing is in place for sheet rock. And it's not a moment too soon; the mercury dipped below 40 for the first time this morning. This morning was an early indicator that the design of the house is working just fine. Though many of the upstairs windows were open and the attic and second floor cold storage is still open to the rest of the house, the house was considerably warmer than outside. If the excess heat from the solar hot water system makes even a small contribution as it is added to the slab over the course of a sunny day, we may not need to fire up the wood stove until December.

Recent photos

I've been remiss in adding photos. Here are a bunch.

The new slider, showing the gap

Plasticing up for Danny

The new door

First day of kindergarten and looking so small.

Michael and the Marvin guy install the big slider

Fixed

The Marvin rep showed up this morning and fixed the door fairly easily. If someone had been able to tell me what to do, it would have saved everyone a lot of time and trouble. The panels are not siliconed into place as I had thought. The three screws I had removed a couple of weeks ago were really all that was holding the panel to the frame. All it needed was for someone to brace against the bottom of the frame while another gave the bottom of the panel a shove. After the fix it took us all of 15 minutes to install it in the opening, and I spent another hour putting in the operating panel and finishing the installation.

The drywall guy showed up at the very end of the slider installation. We walked through the house again and went over a contract for the job. He's having materials delivered next Thursday and will start hanging sheets while I'm still there to fix any last minute problems. If all goes as planned we'll be off for a trip south after Chloe gets out of school. A week from today. A much needed break.