It was bound to happen...

I ran into Dave Exline of Three Little Pigs Construction today at Mayan Hardwood. Dave was kind and polite enough to acknowledge me and even made a comment about this blog. Thanks for reading my blog Dave. It is an honor and a pleasure to know that Dave Exline cares enough about the projects he works on to keep up with them.

In fact, I really do miss the great times we had. From the missed schedules, the infamous window install, the unauthorized change to the roof engineering and the wrong gauge wire for the electrical. And let us not forget the T-111 Dave Exline decided to use, and the funniest of all times was when Dave was trying to convince me I did not need to have heat in the master bedroom and bathroom. He was considerate enough to put it in the laundry room. All in all, having to correct all of those was the highlight of 2005 for me.

Once again, good luck with your legal issues and I hope to run into you again soon.

NOT!

Did I say it was hot?

I would really like to thank my neighbor Peter for calling and letting me know there was a fire going on and for sending me the pictures below. I also want to thank the California Department of Forestry for responding in force and limiting the amount of structural damage. As you can tell from these photos, those guys did one hell of a job. Thanks again. It is not that often that you get to see your tax dollars at work this well.

Click on the photos for a close up view



Unfortunately, it got a lot hotter on Sunday, July 24th thanks to a small fire.

This is the view out the back door:


Lucky the water tank did not burn but it is scorched.





The fire burned right up to the 5th wheel and only 15 feet from the house.




It looks like the electrical pole behind the house had some issues and started a grass fire.

...and it is still hot

I admit I am fascinated by this weather. Global climate change or not, this heat is unprecedented. A picture is worth a thousand words.


To say this is out of control is an understatement. I love the heat and have no problem functioning in temps up to 105 degrees, but this type of heat makes me want to lay on the stained concrete floor and not move. Stay cool and stay sane

Summer In the Wine Country

Can I say it has been hot. DAMN HOT! This is from Friday, July 21st.



To cool myself off, I dug these pictures out of the vineyards in different seasons. This is the view from the courtyard.


The daily temp has been above 100 degrees for about 10 straight days. The house (with no airconditioning) stays in the upper 70s' most of the time. Late in the day it can creep up to 80-82 degrees. If I had blinds or curtains the temp would stay in the 70s' all day. Cooling the house is as simple as opening up the windows at night. The house cools to 72-74 degrees by 8am. That said, even with the house performing this way, air conditioning is still needed. If only to cool off the house when it has not been opened up for a few days. Thanks again to Dave Exline for ignoring the energy calculations that were done for the house. After re-reading them, it was clear that air conditioning was needed, even going so far as to spec out the exact unit needed.

I have been thinking of posting the energy calculations, engineering plans, roof, foundation, and electrical plans online. I also have some documentation on a particular construction defect lawsuit. If there is serious enough interest, please let me know.

Have a great weekend.