This post brought to you by Norton Small Business by Symantec. All opinions are 100% mine. Lifestyle design is all about living the life you want. For many of us, that means creating a muse and owning a business. I started my first business in 1987 and my husband started his first in 1996. Some [...]
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A big milestone in the building of our custom home has been reached! Yesterday we passed the 4-way inspection. This process brings a city inspector out to the house to inspect the rough framing, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical. Our first inspection was last Friday. Most things were up to code, but we had a handful [...]
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The water in Lindon, Utah, has about 15 grains per gallon, making it considered “very hard water.” Hard water is the bane of my existence. It leaves spots, ruins pipes, shortens the lives of appliances, and makes bathrooms and kitchens look terrible — on the faucets, in the sinks, on glass, on everything it touches. [...]
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Today our culinary water line was connected. Big trench in the front yard, new cover, hole in the cold storage side wall. Unfortunately the water meter cover is pretty much dead center in the front yard. Hopefully with the placement of the walk and plantings it won’t be too obtrusive. Lindon has a grey water [...]
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The rebate system for energy-efficient improvements is a baffling array of governmental nonsense. No surprise there. If you do exactly what the EPA tells you to do, when they tell you to do it, while living where they want you to live — and presumably with the politicians and lobbyists they like bargaining on your [...]
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Five guys with hardhats from Tempest arrived on the scene this morning to install the gas line. The line goes into the basement wall in the hall near the laundry room. We paid to have the gas line installed some weeks ago.
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Disclaimer: there is no such thing. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let me share my satellite/cable experience of the past few years. The major contenders in my area are DIRECT TV and Dish Network (both satellite providers), Utopia (fiber optic broadband), Qwest (DSL), and Comcast (cable). The choices can be overwhelming [...]
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The man from Questar dropped by and consulted with us about line and meter location. We’ll be placing it in between the laundry room wall and the hall wall in the basement. The listed appliances with accompanying BTUs: 1 boiler: 178,000 1 barbecue: 20,000 1 dryer: 22,000 2 fireplaces: 70,000 3 furnaces: 300,000 1 range: [...]
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When we were getting bids on the house, the electrical bid seemed unusually high. We were told the plan had too many can lights and we needed to remove “some.” Truth: we had too many cans and needed to remove some. We have this thing about living in homes that resemble caves and we crave [...]
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Don’t get technical with me. I’m no tradesman. But I can tell you that the plumber came and ran a whole slew of black pipes all over the ground. They are poking up everywhere. All kinds, for toilets, sinks, showers, floor drains, utilities, appliances. I can’t remember the last time I got this excited about [...]
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The city of Lindon requires—among a billion other things—a model energy code compliance report to prove, I suppose, that your model energy code is complaint with whatever Lindon officials have deemed necessary to comply with in regards to the energy code. So, obviously, I have no idea what the heck this is or why we [...]
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After choosing the perfect kitchen faucet, we were on the lookout for a faucet model that would work in other rooms. We will have a second kitchen in the entertaining area and a third kitchenette in the office. There will also be a utility sink in the laundry room. Our goal was to find a [...]
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Today I went to City Hall to find out how we go about submitting the plans for approval. When my ancestors came to American, they looked for some empty land, cut down some trees, and had at it. Today the process to build a home is incredibly complex. I understand safety concerns and conformity issues, [...]
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We are selective green builders, being as environmentally conscious as reason allows. While it won’t be in the original build, eventually we’d like to fully implement a solar power system. With the back of our home facing south, we’ve got a great spot for panels without mucking up the curb appeal. If you’re planning to [...]
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We’ve long been wanting to build an eco-friendly home. It’s all the rage. It’s cool. It’s hip. But that has nothing to do with it. If I really wanted to be hip, I’d get rid of the peg-legged acid-washed high-waisted jeans in my closet. And stop using the word “hip.” I’m not building a green [...]
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