The first proper pictures of the LG Art Cool system… the paint color in the bedroom (Behr’s "Squirrel") tends to let it blend with the surroundings.

Thanks to the Container Store’s sale on Elfa shelving, we were able to outfit the closets in the house with some new hardware. We used this system in our last home and loved it — probably tripling the amount of storage capacity. In the Master Bedroom closet, we opted for drawers, shelves and hangbars… so much storage that we’ll likely not need a dresser (which we don’t have as the rooms in our last home were fairly small). Installation was finally able to take place after the drywall, paint and trim…

This past weekend, Dion and Kirsten (Casie’s cousin and boyfriend) stopped by with Dion’s brother Dominic. They’ve just moved here from New Jersey where Dion was working as a drywall contractor. While good house guests to have, we actually hired them to help with a bit of the drywall while Casie and I tackled the window/siding project before the rains started this week.

We started in the bedroom with the installation of a product called QuietRock — a sound-proofing drywall. The bedroom tends to get a bit noisy with both a rooster and a convalescent home within 100 feet, so the investment will likely prove worth it. The 5/8s ($60/sheet) drywall seemed like gypsum glued to hardi-backer while the 1/2in ($30/sheet) was like two 1/2in sheets with a rubberized membrane in the middle. Both were much heavier than regular drywall and the 5/8 was super-tough to cut… but in the end, it seems worth it. The hum from the roof mounted HVAC compressor is cut to a nearly inaudible din. Some noise still comes through the single-pane sliding door, but that’s to be expected. Sound bouncing around the room is also cut quite a bit and should be even quieter once we have furniture in the room and clothes in the closet.

So, the drywall project is starting (with a little help), which is good on both counts.

Any chance to quote Ralph Wiggum can’t bee ignored, but this weekend, we discovered the house had some unusual past tenants… wasps or bees — I can’t tell.

After months of rigging services on the roof (wiring/HVAC), we were finally prepped for the final foam-roofing spray and fortunately an opening in Abril Roofing’s schedule allowed them to come out and finish the job… granted, not before a Saturday shower found gallons of water coming into the house, but that’s certainly not their fault. In fact, Rick Abril even called to let me know beforehand that it might rain (something that I likely would have overlooked)… thanks for that, Rick.

Anyway, they were so quick that I couldn’t even get any in-process shots, so below are the final views.

They even cut in a new skylight to add some much-needed light in out hallway ($750) and replaced the covers of our old skylights ($200ish). A simple, but nice-to-have improvement.

One thing I noticed immediately on coming home that evening… the house is much more silent. Like the morning after a snowstorm. Nice.

It took a few days longer than expected to get the crew here, but at 8AM Monday morning, two crews showed up from the HVAC shop to begin the install of the LG Art Cool system… seemingly a new creature at the zoo.

Most HVAC folks seem to have knowledge — even deep experience — installing mini-split systems, but the LG system is new to all. Hopefully, after this install, the units will become popular. To be honest, I can't imagine going through all of the trouble to install a mini-split and still have an appliance that looks like the front half of a typical window unit sitting in my living space.

Anyway, below are the first round of pix… since final images necessitate painting and drywall mud (a luxury when the bathroom walls are still sticky from wallpaper removal), these final images might be a long time in coming.

Total cost on the install (36000 BTUs of heating and cooling) should run about $15K installed, tested and complete. The total calculation for the house was 48000 BTUs, so this should put a big dent in our needs.

These images show the "during" install phase. The lines for the multipurpose room unit had to be run outside the wall in the garage due to some overhead, interfering power lines — this will eventually be boxed in in some fashion. The compressor is mounted on the roof and the new (pending) roofing foam will cover most of the deck.

One of the nice things about having a simply designed home is that often — but not always — replacements parts are easy and inexpensive finds.

In this case, all of our slider windows (kitchen, bedrooms, garage and baths) will be replaced with new Milgard aluminum windows for about $1500 (total) ordered through Home Depot (where we were finally able to use that 10% off coupon).

Unfortunately, our original windows are broken and damaged, but the low-e, insulated windows should be a nice change.

The pictures say it all…

One of the projects to tackle before the new roof installation is the running of data/coax/phone to all of the rooms.

Friday before last, Abril roofing came by to clear the roof of gravel in prep for the new foam room. After it was cleared, the wiring was next.

It was a bit weird drilling 5/8in holes into my ceiling (and 2in holes for the main runs), but it all went well and now we have each room wired for CAT5e, phone (CAT3) and coax (cable). The wireless network (AirPort) is also contained in the box.

The parts came from Parts Express (Wired Home brand) and the cable itself came from — of all places — Home Depot, who had the best price. We also ran one run of in-wall speaker wire for rear speakers in the main TV room (adjacent to the kitchen).

Update: Since the initial install, we've moved the Airport router out of the cabinet and positioned it high on the wall above with a wall mount. The signal is indeed much better.

Thanks to Joel and Brad for the help (and Chris for the network advice).