Lyndhurst Garden House

Lyndhurst Garden House
Lyndhurst Garden House

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Ventilation

I've kept the workshop doors and windows open for the past few days, and with the ceiling fan running, to get the maximum outgassing.

On Thursday May 31, however, thunderstorms were said to be approaching, so I went out to close the doors and windows.  To make up for the closures, I tried turning the Friedrich air conditioner fan on (fan only mode).  I tried all 3 speeds and decided I liked the middle fan speed the best.

From the outside, I could feel air blowing out.  That gave me some confidence the A/C was actually performing ventilation.

But I have been unable to verify that the Friedrich X Star (XQ06) air conditioner acutally does any ventilation.  There is no obvious ventilation control or switch.  I noticed that air was blowing out from the unit outside.  But then I discovered that the outside compressor fan was also running, not just the inside fan.  So the air apparently blowing out the back might simply be cooling the compressor coils, with air coming in from the side.

Before leaving home, I checked the workshop, and the smell level had increased to about the same level as if Friedrich fan was not running.  So I decided to turn the Friedrich off, keeping the ceiling fan running.

I had an elaborate idea that the Friedrich inside fan might deliberately leak a little air into the back of the A/C chassis, which would then get blown outside.  This would create a slight vacuum in the room, which would draw in air from the usual gaps.  Thus, ventilation would be performed without having actual ventilation mechanism.  All that would be needed would be a clever design for the interior fan shroud.

Well I have now read and re-read the Owners Manual and even the Service Manual which I found online.  There is no mention of any ventilation function, and of course if there were significant ventilation it would reduce the A/C efficiency considerably.

It turns out that the inside and outside fans are powered by the same motor, so it is not surprising they were both running in fan mode.  That doesn't mean the outside fan is performing any useful function in that mode.  This is intended to make the system more efficient during actual A/C operation, even if, as it looks, it makes fan mode operation less efficient.

I sent a message to Friedrich asking if there is any ventilation with my model.

Interestingly, Friedrich no longer makes the X Star series.  It has been replaced by the new Chill series.  The Chill series puts the inside outlet on the side rather than on top, and apparently has some kind of oscillating function to distribute the cool air better.  Also, it does have a ventilation control, documented in the owners manual.  It is a simple lever at the bottom of the unit, but it has to be folded out in order to be used.  In  the default position it is off.

*****

I stopped at Lowes and checked the French Doors like mine.  Indeed, they have a exterior weatherstripping piece that is held in place with a slit, just like the slit I observed in mine.  The salesman said the door should have come with that, but also he pointed me toward comparable weatherstripping; I bought 3 new pieces.

I also bought a pair of 1/2 inch #8 stainless steel screws to hold the cover for the air conditioner on.  I was thinking about putting the cover back on (the instructions say the filter in the cover is important and should be cleaned every two weeks) but couldn't find the screws.  Fortunately the owner's manual said exactly what kind of screws are required.




Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Baseboards and door cleaned

I asked the question at my party on Sunday: what safe non-toxic detergent should I use to clean walls and woodwork?  The answer: Dawn dishwashing liquid.  It's better, purer than Ivory.  Dawn  uses a very safe and effective detergent.

So on Monday I went down to the store to buy a bottle of Dawn, also two different kinds of Pledge (for use on the shelves, after they have been cleaned with Dawn).  Pledge products also get high marks for safety.

In the new bucket I bought last week, I mixed three tablespoons of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of dawn with a bucket of water.  I think this is about an optimal safe cleaning solution.  I wipe and gently scrub the solution with a small cloth, then wipe it off with a large towel.  It might have been better to use a clear water rinse stage but I didn't.

I used one bucket of solution to clean the baseboards that had not previously been cleaned on the south and west sides.  Then I also cleaned the rest of the baseboards except for the middle half of the north wall (where I had stacked stuff out to get it out of the way of the baseboard on the north side).

Another bucket of solution was used to clean the french doors, inside and out and on their edges, and the trim around the doors.  I used the solution on the glass but not on the aluminum door threshold.

Wherever cleaning was done, the smell vanished.  In the evening, with the doors open, the room seems to have no smell at all.  But you can still detect something, especially near the shelves.  On Sunday, two friends determined that most of the smell was coming from the shelves.  I tend to believe the worst of the smell, per quantity of paint, had been coming from the baseboards, and next the doors, but the shelves also are covered with the same oil based paint (which I didn't ask for) that either has or attracts the chemical smell, and there is a lot of shelf area, so they do need to be cleaned.

I've continued leaving the doors and window open and the fan running, and I plan to keep it that way through Thursday.  Highs in the upper 90's are expected...just right for outgassing.  

Next weekend I hope to clean and wax the shelves.




There is a slit in the backside of the front trim on the french doors.  It looks like this is not an accident, it may be intended to help hold in place some kind of weatherstripping.  It is clear that there needs to be some kind of weatherstripping at that point to keep air from simply blowing in around the doors.  It is not clear whether the weatherstripping would need that slit or not.  If the slit is not needed, I will use caulk to fill it up.  But it is not a good idea to use caulk until I determine how the weatherstripping is supposed to fit in place.

Another little household job I did on Memorial Day was to clean the grass around the drain splashblock for my household A/C.  When the grass builds up, it can divert the water closer to the house, which is not good for my house foundation.


During the workshop construction, contractors working on the slab cracked my little 18 inch spash block.  I should replace it with a longer splash block.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The door lock story

I rushed past telling the tale of installing the door locks a month ago so I could get on to the "successful completion" post just before my vacation.  Now I'd like to fill in that part of the story.

I believe I have ended up with a combination of entry door knobset and pushbutton deadbolt lock that is better than anything I know about.  Surprisingly, however, I wasn't planning to go this way, and the door lock installation over the weekend of April 21 under deadline for calling insurance agent before vacation was a continuous crisis until late Sunday night when the project finally got completed on the 3rd or 4th different plan.

The story actually begins a few years ago, after having had to force the front door on my house open because I locked myself out by accident, I had a number of conversations with locksmiths.  I was angry that almost all knobsets made today allow you to turn the inside knob without unlocking the door--making it quite easy to lock yourself out.  Kwikset is the only one which is different, those must be unlocked before you can exit, thus making it nearly impossible for you to lock yourself out.  At that time, not wanting to lock myself out again, I got a Kwikset knob on my house front door.  I think that Schlage and some others might make nicer hardware now that Kwikset no longer makes a truly high end Titan lock, but only Kwikset locking knobs operate the way I would like locking knobs to operate.

Locksmiths who sell high end door hardware like Medeco locks weren't particularly impressed by my argument.  They said they no longer recommended that customers even have a locking knobset.  (That's one way to solve the problem of the faulty design of locking knobsets, don't use one.)  Instead, they recommended that customers use a non-locking passthrough knobset, and then a locking push button deadbolt to go with it.  The locking knobset offers essentially no security because they're quite easy to push open anyway.  So this setup forces homeowners to use the deadbolt, but it makes the deadbolt easy to use, and since it doesn't require a key, it becomes impossible to lock yourself out.

It turns out, that is exactly what I have now done.  I have a super nice solid brass passageway knobset (a $45 high end special sold by Gatehouse, Lowes brand, but no longer available, I got one on closeout) which has no lock.  This is the heaviest knobset I've ever felt.  That is combined with a high security Class 2 push button deadbolt made by Schlage, in matching brass finish.  The Schlage is also quite nicely made, except for certain details you become aware of during installation.

Unlocking the door is like this: (1) punch in the code, the Schlage light lights up, (2) turn the deadbolt knob to open deadbolt, (3) turn passage knob to open door.  Locking is even easier.  (1) Close door, (2) push Schlage button, (3) turn knob.  No more fumbling with keys!  This is such a smart system, I now agree with those snooty locksmiths.

But I wanted something even better, or so I thought.  I figured I would combine push button lock with push button knobset.  That way I could also lock the door with the knob (or both knob and bolt!) but no matter how I locked the door, I could get in with a combination.  In principle, I could also have separate combinations to allow friends to operate the knobset and not the deadbolt.

So I bought both a Schlage pushbutton deadbolt and a Schlage pushbutton knobset. Nobody at Home Depot or Lowes could tell me if the two could be used together on the same door.  I decided I would try, and if it didn't work, I would return one of the two. Unfortunately for me, that was way back in December.  Even cynical me had no idea how long this project would take.

On Saturday April 21 I first installed the pushbutton knobset.  I had gotten Nickel on the assumption that brushed nickel is not a coating--it is bare rustproof metal.  I've found that the biggest appearance problem with locks is when the coating peels off.  Unfortunately, it appears that even Schlage is using a plastic coating to get the brushed nickel color now.  So there is no advantage in having nickel as opposed to brass, and I like the golden colored brass color better.  Anyway, I had already bought the knobset months before, so I would go ahead with it.  Not having read the instructions, I had to reinstall the lock a couple of times to get it to work.  I also made the mistake of not writing down the master code, so I took apart the lock again to read it.  Then I decided I actually needed the manual anyway, to figure out what to do with the code, and I finally found it.

Then I started installing the deadbolt.  But it was immediately clear that the two would not fit together because the two precut holes in the door are too close together.

Then I figured that I could turn the deadbolt 90 degrees and then it would fit.  But to turn it that far, I had to cut away some of the plastic trim around the glass on the french door.  With some desperation, I did that, and sufficiently well that I could get the lock onto the door.  But then I discovered the ultimate rub.  The metal plate inside the deadbolt would not allow the deadbolt to be turned 90 degrees.

It was at that point, almost midnight on Saturday night, that I realized my original plan was just not going to work.  I started thinking about what to do.  First alternative was to stick with the pushbutton knobset, which I had already installed, and install a normal deadbolt, like the one I already had in my weight room door.  I then tried to remove the nice brass Titan lock from the weight room door, but it could not be removed because the retaining screws are cut to be tightened only.  I will need a locksmith to chisel and remove the screws from this door.

OK, stymied again, it occurred to me I could use the super nice solid brass passageway knobset I had bought earlier (just on spec, actually) and use pushbutton lock with that.  Just like the locksmiths had recommended.  I couldn't find the brass knob anywhere.  After a half hour of frantic looking (it was now 1am) I decided it must be in the rented storage unit I have.  I would not be able to go there until 6am.

Around 11am the next morning I got down to my storage unit and dug up the sold brass knobset.  I went back home and quickly (relatively) installed it.  Then I was back to the installation of the pushbutton deadbolt.  This turned out to be surprisingly difficult.  To keep the thing from wobbling on my metal door, I had to file down little nubs on the outer plate which are apparently intended to grab on to wood doors.  Then, during the last installation phase, not reading instructions as usual, I removed a little piece that cause a spring and part to fly out.  I had been thinking that piece was the battery cover, but it wasn't.

Well now I had to get and read and read the instructions very carefully.  But it seemed that no matter what I did, the lock would not electrically function the way it was supposed to.  Either I messed something up, or it was factory defective.

It was getting to be almost 5pm by this point, and I was unsure of how late Home Depot would be open on Sunday.  Facing the firm deadline of having to have this project done by Monday before calling the insurance agent, I quickly went to Home Depot and bought a 3rd Schlage lock, another deadbolt, but this time in the brass color so it would match my brass knobset.

This installation went much better now that I had read the instructions.  I did have to file down the nubs on the output plate again, but that was the only trick.  I left the actual deadbolt from the malfunctioning nickel colored unit in the door to save time and avoid stripping the screws.  By 10:30pm, I had the new knobset fully installed, and I had carved out some of the wood in the strike area so the deadbolt could be turned fully.  Unfortunately it was not easy to get the strike plate into place, so I didn't bother with that.  But with a 1" deadbolt throw, the strike plate using small screws provided wouldn't be much better.  I reprogrammed the lock with a personal code.

Then I had to face the fact I didn't know where my car registration renewal form was, and I had to get my car registration renewed before going on vacation.  I hunted for that for hours on Sunday and Monday nights, finally going to the downtown office with only my car title on Tuesday AM, and taking the entire day Tuesday off from work so I could do all the washing and packing I needed to do before taking plane on Wednesday.



Cleaning and yard work continued

Weed growing out of corner trim
I cleaned the baseboards on either side of the french doors on the west side, and the air seals below the doors on Friday May 18.  On Sunday May 20 I continued the process of cleaning the baseboard on the north side.  I plan to clean the baseboards on south and west sides, and possibly more, on Memorial Day.  I've been thinking of using pledge on the white painted shelves instead of, or in addition to, cleaning with mild sodium bicarbonate.  All in the name of removing VOC's and the remaining smell, which is the aspect of the project which now bothers me the most.

The biggest improvement so far may have been cleaning the bottom door seals, which left my cloth and sodium bicarbonate solution light brown.  I think the smell has improved slightly, it's still noticeable when you enter the room, but goes away quickly if you keep the door open.  After awhile you can close the doors and stay in the room.  I notice no kinds of allergic reaction and I think the smell is probably harmless.  Currently plan is to get VOC air filter either from Austin Air or IQAir.  Doing that, I won't bother doing VOC testing, which costs nearly half as much as the actual air filter.

Weeds had grown up all around the building because of rain in early May, and I trimmed those weeds again with my new weedwacker and then used mower to mow all around the back, except near the house where there are hoses and stuff.  One thin weed grew up and behind the corner trim piece, erupting out from the trim edge about 4 feet up.  I could hardly believe that a plant could do that, forcing itself into the caulk-sealed gap.  I pulled the weeds below the trim but was unable to pull the weed out of the trim, the bottom just broke off.  A small bit still remains now poking out of the top.  When it dries out, it should be easier to remove and then the tiny hole in the caulk repaired.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

VOC testing and filtering

After months of keeping my workshop open to the outdoors to maximize outgassing of VOC's out of the building, I can still smell something chemical and not entirely pleasant.

In more than two weekends of work, I also hand sealed around all the electrical boxes and panel with non-toxic acoustical caulk, including the large gaps around the base plate for the ceiling fan (which also required duct seal for the tiny holes in the baseplate itself).   Those were the only visible gaps in the interior wall structure.  It was a lot of work, but doesn't seem to have made any difference.

I re-washed the floors several times with Borax.  After the final rinse in clear water, the tile floor was dried with a towel by a friend.

I still do plan to wash the baseboards with a mild solution of baking soda, and possibly the doors and walls as well.  But I'm no longer holding out hope that will fix the problem.

One thing I sometimes think I'd like to do would be to remove the baseboards and fill all the area behind them with caulk.  I know there is a gap behind the baseboards, and I think it is air flowing into the room from there somehow, probably from underneath the baseboard, is where the current smell is actually coming from.  The space behind the baseboards acts like a sink to gather smells from the exposed tile adhesive and site-mixed polyurethane wall foams and other building materials, then that "sink" leaks the smell out into the room with a tiny stream of air flowing underneath the baseboards.

But removing the baseboards (which are so nicely done now) and filling the space behind with caulk...is at minimum a huge hassle, and probably something I'd want another professional contractor for, and wouldn't be cheap.  I might try this with ONE baseboard on ONE side of the door just to see how it goes.  I've seen online pages describe how to remove baseboards nicely...it isn't easy.

I could also caulk at the bottom edge of the baseboards.  It seems there may already be caulk at the bottom of the french doors (which would be one of the places most suspect for leaking air).

I'm very disappointed, I never imagined last year that I would have a chemical smell problem, but I must move on, not knowing if any particular remediation effort will be fruitful.  Two things I can do in any case: test for VOC's and filter them.

The best VOC test kits give you some kind of sampling device which you return to a lab for analysis.  Here's one sold for $245, the list of chemicals tested for is impressive though also still obviously incomplete.  A more typical test which is much cheaper simply measures formaldehyde as a proxy for everything else.  The cheapest test cards have strips that turn color...those obviously can't test for much or be very sensitive.  There are also numerous tests for mold, allergens, particulates, and so on, which I don't think are a problem yet.

Other VOC test kits:
The HomeAirCheck for VOCs and hidden mold: $79, supposedly tests for 400 chemicals, but the report provided only gives total level of VOC and lists chemicals found (but not how much of each).



The best looking VOC filter is the IQAir GC Series.   It comes with one of 4 optional chemical filters.  I'd have a hard time choosing which filter to get, but it looks like they are all pretty good.  Possibly the best for me would be the GC VOC filter, which gets the highest rating for VOC's generally.  Also the GC Multigas filter looks very good, and it uses both activated carbon and alumina filters to get a broader spectrum of compounds.  Price is $1199 for either the VOC or the Multigas options.  It has a 6 speed fan and is said to be inaudible in its slowest mode.  An onboard computer tells you when the filter(s) need changing.  The GC series has only two reviews.  It is the less expensive IQAir Healthpro Plus which gets the most reviews and the highest editorial recommendations.  But it only has a 5 pound charcoal filter, as it is not intended for those with the most serious MCS.  Most of the reviews are 5 star, but one suggests the GC series is better for those with specifically chemical sensitivity issues.

Other machines include the Aurpura C600 for $849, the Allerair 5000 MCS Supreme for $899, the Austin Air Healthmate Plus for $649, and the Austin Air Bedroom Machine for $765.

Reviewing these machines, it seems you generally get more for more money, though there is nothing obviously wrong with the Austin Air Healthmate Plus, which features a 15 pound carbon filter infused with zeolite and potassium iodide; that's actually a heavier chemical filter than the one used in the IQAir GC series.  Well unlike the IQAir machines, you simply have to guess when to replace the filters in the Austin Air.