House Projects
You can see how big the tank was on the old toilet
This winter found us busy with training the dog, working and house projects. Matt learned how to install a toilet and we ended up replacing 2 toilets in our house for free (not counting labor), which is pretty exciting. Our upstairs toilet was ancient, it must have been a 5 gallon or more flush capacity and the city has a rebate deal where you can get up to $100 off an efficient toilet. Our toilet cost right around $100, from Home Depot. Glacier Bay, 1.28 gallon flush, flapperless. It’s neat that the whole tank doesn’t fill up, just a little reservoir that when you press the handle the reservoir dumps and it flushes like normal.
Flapperless flush
It’s been a few months now and I don’t notice anything bad about the new toilet. It doesn’t leak. It doesn’t take a day and a half to fill up. It’s set a little lower to the ground than the average toilet but I’m not a tall girl, it’s fine. We also replaced the toilet in the basement because it’s better to assume that our tenant will be wasteful. The city also gave us a whole bunch of cfl’s and some flood lights for the recessed lights in the house. Those things are expensive! Most of them went in the basement but the weird thing about them is that they get really bright but are dim to start until they warm up. I had to go back and put it a traditional light at the bottom of the stairs because I found I was squinting as I went down to do laundry. I don’t need a tenant having trouble navigating our blue shag rug carpeting we’ve got down there.
Successful Disconnection
My productive house time has been with learning how to disconnect downspouts. The city also has a rebate for this! I get $53 for each downspout I disconnect (to code) and we get a discount on our water bill. Currently there are 3 spouts connected to the sewer. The first two were pretty straightforward disconnections. There’s a plan to build a rain garden for one of the front ones but I have other pressing projects before I get all landscapey. The third downspout is in a weird place in the back of our house and the city man told me my only option was to install a rain barrel. I found a guy on craigslist who’s making them as a kit and they are much more attractive than most white or blue rain barrels out there. His pricing seemed fair and he was really helpful when we picked it up at his house. His whole front yard is landscaped with native vegetation and it looks so beautiful. Maybe he can come help me figure out how to turn our grassy yard into something pretty to look at and less maintenance. I have yet to install the rain barrel. I’ll update with a picture when it happens. Once the barrel is installed I need to run a hose well away from the house (and basement) so the overflow can go straight into the garden.
Awaiting the barrel
My next projects are: curtains for the windows, hanging a door to the basement (it’s just an archway right now) and framing some photos for our walls. It’s weird to have so much space to decorate and no roommates to depend on for decorations and furniture! We ended up with a great couch for our living room (and a great deal) and it’s nice to see the house come together. I know with some photos on the wall it will make a big difference.