Drill Baby Drill

In honor of Sarah Palin making noises about running for President, I thought it appropriate to talk about a kind of drilling that I think everyone can agree upon: geothermal wells!  You can reference an earlier posting about in-depth geothermal concepts but the bottom line is that the closed pipe system uses the moderate temperature of the earth as a starting point for home heating and cooling.  Because the temperature of the earth is so much more moderate than the air temperature, the energy savings can be very compelling!  Not only that but there are aren't any noisy or unsightly compressors that need to be next to your home anymore...  First thing is first though and that means you need to dig deep...with this baby...

She's huge..Access is important and it can get a little dicey on Monument Avenue but we prevailed.  It's important to miss things like the new gas lines and there are a lot of old things in the ground too.  Due diligence is vital...

It can get a little messy digging (5) 400' wells...

And you want people like John and his son in the trenches with you.  You also want to be certain the trenches don't have the potential to cave in...If the soil is unstable or the depth is five feet or more, additional shoring is required for safety.  More due diligence...

And then we cover the wells back up knowing we are on our way to a sustainable power bill down the road, we sop things up with straw bales and start work on taking the roof off and cutting the back of the house out on three floors...

Risky Business

When in demolition mode, it is best to prepare well and mitigate risk as much as possible .  There are any number of things that might happen and a good contractor is prepared for the worst.  As a general contractor,  experience, expertise, ample insurance and financial stability are all paramount.  High caliber subcontractors that are well insured professionals are also very important.  Verify that the people working for you can do what they say they will do and that they are financially sound. Ask your contractor for a certificate of insurance.  It looks like this:


If you don't hire companies with adequate insurance, you assume their liability and more.  Unless you look better than a pant-less Tom Cruise in Wayfarers, it's ill advised. 

Even then, it is a risky business...

Here we are at the inherited windowless split-face block addition. It looks a lot like a fortress but you will see that this fortress has met its match...

Some "cutting" with a torch is necessary to further break down the steel truss into manageable sizes for recycling.

The original back of the house is starting to be visible...

Reduced to rubble...Now the building begins in earnest...