Tag: New Old House

  • The Navien NCB-240/110 Propane Combi Boiler — One Year In

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    Our Triangle Tube Prestige SOLO 110 finally gave up the ghost. Actually, “finally” is generous — it went out on its own schedule, which was, of course, the worst possible time. The short version: indirect water heater tank with an anode rod that needed replacing, ongoing iron and sediment issues, and the slow creeping realization…

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  • This New Old House, Part 16: Chim Chimney, Chim Chimney, Chim Chim Cherooh-Noo

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    Some mistakes cost money. Some cost time. The chimney cost both, repeatedly, for years. If you’ve been following along, you know that this build had its share of “we didn’t know what we didn’t know” moments. The windows. The spray foam learning curve. The drywall saga. But the chimney — the chimney was different. Those…

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  • How I ignored a broken well tank for two years

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    January 9, 2026 Looking back, I think the well tank bladder had been broken since at least summer 2024. It might have been failing for a year or two before that. What I was noticing: the water pressure would drop a little, then go back up when the pump kicked in. I thought the pressure…

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  • The heat pump job I gave the wrong company

    March-April 2025 If you read my previous post about the emergency boiler replacement, you know that Company PPH didn’t exactly shine during that crisis, while Company NCS stepped up and saved Thanksgiving. You also know that I felt guilty about the miscommunication and decided to give PPH the heat pump job to make it right.…

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  • When the boiler died the Sunday before Thanksgiving

    November 2024 Our Triangle Tube Prestige Solo 110 boiler had been breaking down occasionally, and each service call was costing a minimum of $1,200. I got so frustrated with service companies that I learned to fix minor issues myself. But every technician told me the same thing: boilers have a lifespan of about 15 years,…

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  • This New Old House Part 12: Insulation and Air Sealing – When Tight Isn’t Right (Or Is It?)

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    When we decided to build our Connor Homes kit house, we had visions of a super-efficient, modern home wrapped in the latest insulation technology. We’d read all about spray foam, tight building envelopes, and energy efficiency. We were going to do this right. We sort of did. Maybe. I’m still not entirely sure. The Plan:…

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  • This New Old House Part 11: Windows – The Decision Where More Mistakes Were Made.

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    If you spend a fortune making your house air-tight with spray foam insulation, and then punch 27-29 holes in it and fill them with cheap windows, you’ve basically defeated the entire purpose of the exercise. This is the story of how we did exactly that. The Window Budget Reality By the time we got to…

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  • This New Old House Part 10: HVAC – The Radiant Floor Mistake?

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    Winter 2009-2010. After the plumbing nightmares, it was time for HVAC. We installed radiant floor heating throughout the house — hot water running through tubes in the floors, heated by our Triangle Tube boiler. It’s actually very nice to have warm floors in the winter. Walking barefoot on toasty floors is lovely. It’s also the…

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  • This New Old House Part 9: Plumbing – PEX, Paying Twice, and Poisoned Septic Tanks

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    Winter 2009-2010 After electrical was complete, it was time for plumbing and HVAC. My friend, who had been coordinating most of the work, had apprenticed to learn plumbing and HVAC. But because of all the equations for sizing units and the complexity of the systems, he suggested we hire the professional he’d worked with. Since…

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  • This New Old House Part 8: Electrical – The One Thing We Got Mostly Right

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    Winter 2009-2010 After framing was complete, it was time for electrical. This is where having a friend with an electrical engineering degree really paid off. Actually, let me rephrase: this is where we got more things right than wrong, which for this build was a massive victory. The Friend Who Actually Knew What He Was…

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  • This New Old House Part 7: Framing a Kit House (and the Ruts We Left Behind)

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    Fall – Winter 2009 With foundation complete and the Connor Homes kit ready to ship, it was time for framing. This is where our decision to act as our own general contractor would really be tested. We had a choice: our realtor’s brother was a professional builder who could have managed the entire project. He…

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  • This New Old House Part 6: Foundation, Basement, and Future Regrets

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    Fall 2009 With septic and well in place, it was time to dig a hole and pour concrete. The foundation is literally the base of everything, so naturally this was where we’d make some decisions that would haunt us for years. Jennifer had specific requirements: minimal foundation showing above grade for aesthetics. The house should…

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  • This New Old House Part 5: Water Wars – The Filter Saga

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    2010-2026 So we had a well. It produced water. The lab said the water was safe. We were good to go, right? We were not good to go. The lab test for your certificate of occupancy checks for bacteria and major contaminants. What it doesn’t test for is whether you’ll be living with hard water…

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  • This New Old House Part 4: Septic Systems and Well Disasters

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    Beginning Summer 2009 With our land purchased and our house design finalized, it was time to deal with the unglamorous but absolutely critical underground infrastructure. When you’re building off the municipal grid, you need two things before you can even think about a foundation: somewhere for water to come from (a well) and somewhere for…

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  • I Hate Our Pella Architect Series Windows. They Look Good and that’s where It Stops.

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    I have to admit something before any of the rest of this will land. Our Pella Architect Series windows look beautiful. The proportions are right. The wood interiors took paint cleanly. The aluminum-clad exteriors have held up for sixteen winters. From across the room, from the road, in any photograph, they are the windows I…

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  • This New Old House Part 3: Land, Surveys, and Driveway Drama

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    Spring-Summer 2008 With our house design settled, we needed the actual, you know, land to put it on. The Land Hunt Finding land was actually easier than finding an existing house, probably because land doesn’t have a leaky roof that sellers are trying to hide with strategic bucket placement. We found a property that checked…

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  • This New Old House Part 1: The Impossible House Hunt

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    Late 2007 – Early 2008 My wife Jennifer and I had been living in NYC apartments for years—the kind where you develop an intimate relationship with your neighbors’ arguments and learn to sleep through sirens like they’re lullabies. We were ready for the opposite: space, quiet, land, maybe even a garage or barn. Jennifer is…

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