It Ain't Sexy ...

... but it is a biggie in our eco-renovation journey.

Actually it is kind of sexy. For us anyway. A new roof. Exciting stuff ... really.

On Renovation Nation Steve Thomas was (rightfully) incredulous about the condition of the roof. While the structure was quite sound and nowhere near ready to crumble and cave into our living room, the shingles were in horrible shape. Pitiful. Ugly.

But that's all about to change. It's changing as I write. I can hear the roofers overhead. Sounds like wild animals on the roof. 

And who knew roof shingles could be ENERGYSTAR® rated? This new stuff (GAF Timberline®) is supposed to help us save on energy costs. Just in case you're interested, we selected the color Barkwood:

Oh, and there was the frantic call this morning to Mike the solar guy. He has to rush over to take down the small array so the roof can be completed.  

We're trying to get the shingles recycled, but the local company that specializes in roof materials recycling hasn't returned our calls. 

This really is very exciting! In a few days, barring any major mishaps, we'll not only have the new roof, but the full PV array up and running. High utility bills be gone!

Let There be Light

I know its corny but I find myself going in and out of the downstairs bathroom. we installed a sensor that automatically turns the lights on and then turns them off 15 seconds after leaving the room. If you have kids, then these are essential to saving energy. They cost 15 dollars and are installed in about 30 minutes (if you are good at electronics a lot faster). Anyway, we figure there are lots of rooms and closets where the automatic lights can help. we'll need every bit of help as we'll need to cut our family's energy use by 25% in order to have zero electric bills after our solar panels are installed in about two weeks!

Lighten Up!

All right. I've had a nice long weekend to chill out and cool down (all without air conditioning).

After listening to friends and family reactions and watching the show again, we were able to have fun and relax. It was a great experience, we may have earned some eco-cred, and Steve really is a cool guy.

Calm But Dissapointed

Maybe I'm taking this too seriously. Maybe I should let it go. And I will. After this post.

The following is our response to Steve Thomas's Journal on Planet Green:

While we understand the need to generate interest, tension, and ratings, we also feel it is important to get some of the facts straight: The cost of the panels was less than $5000, and some of that cost included the infrastructure (wiring, etc.) for the full system which will be installed over the summer—the originally scheduled installation time.

Our roof is absolutely not about to collapse. On the contrary, it is quite sound. Who would live in a home with a roof in danger of collapsing? It does, however, need new shingles—again scheduled for replacement this summer.

 

Nica was hardly embarrassed and does not consider this commitment and investment in her family’s future to be “eco bling.” It is a matter of not only being green, but also being practical and reducing the home’s energy costs.

Part of the reason the Flemings agreed to do a solar installation was to show how easy it was to take the panels off the roof. In Rob’s work he comes across many people who suffer from “eco-paralysis” because they are overwhelmed with trying to things the “right” way in the “right” order.

 

As for the financial investment for the small array we received an excellent price for the full system to be installed later.

As we move forward towards a greener future we need all need to learn to work together, avoiding divisiveness and criticism and begin to realize that there are many diverse paths to achieving sustainability – often requiring an open mind and a supportive environment.

We're just trying to do good stuff, Steve.

It's All In The Spin!

OK. So our segment was on TV last night. 

We were a bit hesitant about letting folks know when the show was going to air, mostly because we had no idea how we would be portrayed on the show. For the most part it was pretty good. BUT ...

Steve tried really hard to make Rob look like some wild ec0-dude who is willing to go for anything whether it works or not. Is he passionate about sustainability? Absolutely. But "horny for green" is not how I would describe him. Steve did.  Rob is really one of the most cautious people I know. Sometimes that drives me crazy when I want to get things done around here.

When I checked Planet Green's web site today there was a story on our projects. The story is about how we were so anxious to get solar panels on our house that we were willing to live with an almost collapsing roof. Come on! I got more and more P-Oed as I read. I was in the middle of posting a comment but—I suppose because I was banging at the keyboard and muttering curses— Rob thought I should calm down first. My fingers couldn't keep up with my protest!  I can write here, though.

Why would we—or anybody for that matter—place basic maintenance, not to mention SAFETY, below "eco-bling" as Mr. Thomas called the panels. And just for the record, we did not want to do the installation before the roof or before the state's rebate program was finalized, but rearranged the installation of the small array because of intense pressure from the show's production company .  The upside is that we got a real discount on the full installation scheduled for the summer. I guess we were naive looked forward to being on the show. I'm calm now. 

And We're Back

Well that was a long break!

Reality TV is exhausting. We've spent the last few months recuperating. Seriously. And I'll never watch another reality show the same way—now that I've been "in the business."

Actually it was a lot of fun. Got my hair cut, wore make-up, and combed through my wardrobe to find the outfit that would look the most flattering (not fat) for me.  While Rob and I were totally into it, the kids were bored out of their minds. 

Besides having a camera crew in the house for a few days, there were also several construction crews going at the same time.

The Pellet Stove
Rob and I travelled a bit of a distance to pick up the pellet stove, but it was totally worth it. Installation took longer than we thought it would. 

Steve Thomas and our good friend Mark did the installation. Mark in fact may have more screen time that either of us. He was THE MAN. Of course it wasn't as straight forward as we thought it would be.  A portion of a load bearing beam had to be removed (the big square hole in the wall behind the stove was supposed to be a teeny weeny circle cut). 

I was half expecting the front of the house to come down as Steve cut through the beam. Happy on the outside, panicked on the inside—the camera was rolling after all. And then it took us a while to figure out how it worked. But after it got cranked up that baby was kicking out some serious heat!

Let the Fun Begin

The Pellet Stove

Comes Home

Tomorrow's the first day of shooting Renovation Nation. We've been a little—make that—a lot of crazy around here. I finally see why home renovation is one of the biggest sources of stress on a marriage. Good thing we like each other!

So, just since last week our segment was canceled, reinstated, projects changed, friends and neighbors recruited, permits acquired, solar panel companies changed, pellet stove purchased, bamboo harvested, bamboo cut to size and bamboo fence section built.

The pellet stove. I found a very nice one (brand new with factory warranty) online for half the normal cost. It's designed in Brazil and we loved it because of it's efficiency, design, and cost.

We were working with the manufacturer of two other leading brands, but in order to get us the teensiest discount they wanted the network (Discovery) to fly and put up one of their installers to basically do an entire promo on the show. So not worth it. 

The Bosca stove works nicely with our aesthetic—we didn't want one that looked like it belonged in a nineteenth century cabin. Not that there's anything wrong with the nineteenth century (actually, I can think of a few things off the top of my head) but that just isn't our style.

We've been really nuts getting ready for the show and the ever changing schedules. That's television. We finally have everything lined up, including the beginnings of a 4kw solar array from Solaris Energy.