In Hot Water

Our water bill has been rather high for the past two months (by rather high, I mean $100+) which means a leak. We spent a month looking for a leak, and we figured it must be our "you-gotta-jiggle-the-handle" toilets, so we replaced the innards of those, but the leak was not gone.

Then we found a mysterious pool of hot water in our backyard by the house. A hot spring in our yard? nope. Looking up, we could see the source--the water heater emergency drain pipe, not dripping, but poring. We went up into our attic to inspect our water heater (yep, we store literally a ton of scalding water, right over our heads, reason #1,356 why its time to move). The old heater seemed to be oozing water from several orifices--hot water. So, we're paying for water AND electricity to make our little hot spring.

The above picture is of the NEW water heater. Here are some fun facts about the installation:

Price of new water heater: $298

Price quoted from Lowes to install: $450 (difficult installation)

Price for materials for us to install: $190 (most was for tools we keep--bonus!)

Number of trips to Lowes for project: 5, so far

Number of marketable skills learned in process: 3

Number of people it takes to lift a 50 gallon water heater into an attic: 4

Number of people we had to lift a 50 gallon water heater into the attic: 2

Number of days without a shower: 2.5

Number of loads of dirty laundry waiting for us: 13

Number of date nights spent fixing the house or car: 9

Call us if you need help sweat-fitting copper pipes, installing dielectric unions, or extending a 240V electrical circuit with 10/2 wire. We know how to do all that now.

Holes in Nana's House

Nana and Pops (Grandma and Grandpa Hood) had a fire in their house that started in the chimney. We took the kids to see the aftermath, hoping to make it an object lesson about the dangers of fire. Mikala was utterly enthralled with the wreckage. She jumped up and down with glee. Amy, however, was devastated.

Last Saturday Night, Amy was asked to offer the family prayer. She told Heavenly Father that "Nana's house had a fire, and Nana's house has holes in it." She asked that Nana's house could be fixed.

If you are wondering, the cause of the fire (as determined by the Fire Marshall) was faulty construction that did not allow for proper clearances between the chimney and the frame of the house. Nana and Pops are completely covered by their insurance, but will be living in an apartment for a couple of months. Pops will be doing the general contracting and much of the labor associated with the repair work.

And the result of our object lesson for the kids? As far as we can tell, Amy will never so much as roast a marshmallow over a campfire as long as she lives, and Mikala will probably burn our house to the ground as soon as she learns to strike a match.

How to Build a Backyard Part 2: The Wall

Yes, it's time to check in on our major backyard renovation. We have completed the demolition work and are now building the wall for the lower level. The walls are being built out of treated wood timbers, rebar and a gravel foundation. The wall is supported by perpendicular "deadmen" that tie the wall into the earth behind it.

For anyone thinking that the Hood's must be expert wall builders, check back with this wall in a couple of years and see if it's still standing. The only thing we're going on is some how-to websites and common sense. We'll see how it works out.

How to Build a Backyard Part 1: Excavation

This is the first in a new blog series about our major backyard rebuild. We decided that whether we sell the house now, or live in it for while longer, we need to make the backyard usable. Our backyard has been a useless slope since we moved in. The plan is to terrace it with retaining walls and make three level areas, with a patio on the lower level. Our plan is also to do it for a $1,000 instead of $10,000.

The Plan:
The first step to this process is moving several tons of dirt. This is very brutal work. It's a good thing we waited until the hottest part of the year to do it (heavy sarcasm).

The Excavation:

We will keep you posted on the progress.