Monday, November 3, 2008

Back Story

While I'm sitting around not actually moving things, let's do some history. This house in central Kentucky was designed by Gary Watrous of Watrous Associates for me and my 95 year old father.
I requested a house on one floor (but with a basement) with accessibility features which seemed prudent, and which will be very welcome since my father broke his hip only a few weeks after the start of construction and now uses a walker. I have wanted to explore solar heat since the ice storm during my childhood when our house was without electricity for three days, and we cooked over the fireplace, but during the sunny days with highs of 20ยบ F we
could let the fire die down to coals because the sun warmed the south facing rooms enough to take our sweaters off.
After growing up where the electricity went off several times a year, however, I don't want to rely on any single form of heat; I 
want backups of the backups. So there is radiant heat in the floors,
under the concrete (it's so pretty I wished there were such a thing as clear concrete)
 which soaks up the heat from the coils as well as from the sun when there is sun. 


But for when we have a power outage (I don't say if) I put in two wood stoves.




One in the living room, and one in the kitchen with a heating plate in the top!



So, off to the help pages now to find out why I can't copy and paste anything and why my images don't appear where the cursor is, and things like that. 

6 comments:

  1. You have a blog now, hooray!!!

    Wish I weren't taking an internet break for a few weeks, but will have fun catching up with everyone when I get back.

    As to pictures, I gave up trying to do anything but plop them in the center of the page. The wraparound stuff never worked very well for me.

    So glad you're blogging now, and can't wait to find out more about the amazing solar house.

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  2. Mary Anne - we have in-floor heating in our shop, and I wish there was such a thing as clear concrete, too, because we think there is a leak somewhere, and short of tearing up the whole floor to find it, we just keep adding to the boiler.
    Also wish we had a wood stove in the bedroom because the way our house is designed, the heat from the woodstove in the living room travels as far as the thermostat, but not all the way to the bedroom.
    Guess that's what you get for designing your own house and not having the professionals do it.

    As far as posting pictures - I just start with the last one I want to post, because the newest ones always seem to end up at the top of the post.

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  3. Mary Anne,

    I can't believe we are both blogging now! Remember when we were the answer to one of Crabby's questions! ha-ha!

    To get the pictures to line up right, you need to get enough (old school terminology here) "carriage returns" to make a space, then you can actually drag your pictures around to fit into the spaces that you made.

    Be ready, because now I can pretty much guarantee you will have extra spaces that you will need to go back and delete. It is confusing and frustrating for sure, but just know you aren't the only one that has had that problem and you WILL get it to work out right! (eventually)

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  4. Mary Anne, I think it is wonderful that you have joined the blogosphere! I always enjoy your comments over at Crabby's and The Bag Lady's. I love the idea that you are going solar and can't wait to read more about the house.

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  5. Welcome to the blogosphere. It looks like yours is going to be a great read.

    Photos always end up at the top of the post. You can simply cut and paste them where they belong.

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  6. I've spent years dragging the pictures to where I want them in Nisus Writer, so I'm hardened to frustration with this. I will get it to do what I want eventually.
    (Holly, do not fear to use old-school terminology--I learned to type on a manual typewriter. ; ) )
    Bag Lady, your wish (plus, I suspect, lots of cash) can get you a stove that will fit anywhere.
    http://nomadness.com/blog/2008/10/little-cod-wood-stove.html
    Scroll way down past the installation pictures to see the stove itself--it's so tiny. I want one! Maybe the bathroom needs a woodstove all its own.
    As for the leaking pipes, I have hopes that the new plastic freeze-proof pipes will mean I never have to find a leak.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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