I broke the steam generator before we had even used it once.

I haven’t told D, because I was so ashamed.

It happened like this:

In an effort to have a welcoming guest suite in time for Christmas (and, let’s face it – I wanted to have a steam shower myself in this inhospitable season), I ordered and picked up a steam generator in November. With plenty of coaxing, I managed to get our recalcitrant plumber to install the little unit under the stairs. Then, our electrician came by to bring power up to it. The plumber stayed around over the next day, preparing to finally hook up our toilets to the rainwater cistern, after many false starts and re-doing over the last year-and-a-half. And, that’s the last we saw of our plumber, in spite of many (successively angrier) phone calls and emails. Here’s what the yard looks like (and why the plumber has created a safety hazard on our walkway for the past two months):

The full-height glass shower door was installed a few days before guests arrived. I thought that, even though the shower itself wasn’t hooked up, we could at least sweat it out in the steam room and pour water over ourselves. So, I checked that the breakers on the electrical panel were on, then turned on the timer. One minute… Two minutes… No evidence of steam. And then I heard a clunk and smelled a smell. (You know that smelling a smell is a scientific way of identifying problems, don’t you?)

I immediately turned off the unit, and a shot of adrenalin blew into my head. I just knew that I had done something wrong. Then, I read the instructions. (I know, I know, you don’t need to say it.) The instructions said that warranty is void if the unit is turned on before the water supply tap is opened. Sure enough, the water supply wasn’t turned on.

I waited a few minutes for any heating element to cool down, THEN I turned on the water supply. Turned on the timer/switch again, and, happily, listened to the steam vent hiss. But, no steam, then “clunk!” It turned itself off.

Lucky I was alone at the time, because I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to know what I’d done.

I shoved the problem to the back of my mind, where it has niggled at me for more than a month. Today, I called the supplier, Leisure Baths in Burnaby, and confessed what I had done. I needed to know what to do to fix the problem, and assumed I would have to remove the unit and bring it to town to have the element replaced at my expense.

Jonathan, the technician, was as good as those gods who walk me through internet problems: patient, calm, appearing to be able to see exactly what I was seeing, and not talking down to me.

First, we took a look at the electrical. At one point he asked if I had a volt-meter. I said we had one somewhere, and I would find it. When I finally found it and opened its case, a feeling of “I can’t do this” washed over me.

It was a complicated-looking gadget that I have always let D handle. After all, he wired our first home all by himself (and it passed inspection). I am nervous about anything electrical. But, Jonathan told me exactly how to use it, and when I tested the contacts, no circuit appeared to be functioning, thus validating my assumption that I had blown an element. But, he said that there is an over-ride switch that turns off the power if no water is getting in, so unless some wire is fried (which it isn’t), electrical should be fine! Then, I noticed that I hadn’t pushed the black plug all the way in on the multimeter. When I did that, it proved that the unit was still getting power! (Happy Dance.)

But, when I turned on the water again, and then the timer/switch, no steam. Jonathan just kept on calmly trouble-shooting with me. “See that blue water connector with the brass hose bib? Unscrew the bib. BUT, first turn off the water supply! What kind of washer is in there?” “Well,” said I, “It doesn’t look like a washer at all, but a flat disk with a tiny hole in the middle.”

“I think that’s our problem,” said Jonathan. “There were two different washers included. The plumber was supposed to use the ring-shaped one that is just like a regular hose washer. Take that one out and replace it with a regular washer.”

The round black washer with the tiny hole in it is the wrong one. A regular hose washer is now inside the hose fitting.

I did that (only 1 small soaking when I had it on crooked.) Turned on the water and THEN the switch/timer.

And, glory be, the steam head hissed, AND real-live steam came out!!! Look:

So, I learned some valuable lessons:

1. Read instructions thoroughly.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

3. Don’t be afraid to try new tools, especially after getting a tutorial and/or reading instructions. Read about the last time I learned to use a tool that I was afraid of, here.

4. Professional tradespeople make mistakes, too.

5. The Relax-A-Mist steam generator is well-designed, to withstand the abuse of incompetent users and tradespeople.

Now, if you’re still reading, you may be asking yourself “What does all this have to do with building green?”

Truth is, not so much. But, consider this: I am just an ordinary person who is building a green home. I’m not formally trained in anything except Home Economics and design. I am organized and persistent and can do some pretty good research.

The purpose of this blog is to help anyone who is interested in building green gain insight into the mechanics, technicalities, philosophy, costs, and processes involved. I want to make it easier for people to build the way we all should be building (OK, preachy, I know.) I wish I had such a blog to read before we started this project 2.5 years ago. I have approached this massive task as an ignorant person who can be stubborn and get things done, sometimes by myself. In these pages you can read about all my relevant research and far too many mistakes. I hope it will encourage anyone to be courageous and try new things.

And, by the way, I looked up the current Hydro rates and calculated how much it costs to run the steam shower for 30 minutes. $0.29! (and that’s at the higher BC Hydro “step.”) So, not such an energy hog as you might expect.

Over the years, as an artist and as the executive director of an arts council, I have been an observer of and a participant in many a discussion about art as a livelihood. One of my favourite quotes from an artist is, “Parking meters make more per hour than artists.” It’s true. When I was working from a Granville Island studio, so many people who came in raved about my art quilts and stitched landscapes. I thought that if I had a nickel for every compliment, I could make the rent. (Maybe artists should put out a tip jar, so that people could add a token monetary value to their generous thoughts about our work!)

Charity auctions and even gallery fundraisers solicit donations of art from artists. I used to donate a piece of art when asked, for the “exposure” (Another quote, “You can die from exposure.”) After some time, it dawned on me that  the charity wouldn’t ask the electrician to donate his time when making a service call. The concrete finisher wouldn’t build the charity’s sidewalk for free. The poor artist is the last person who should be donating work.

Why am I bringing up this topic? Well, it’s because building this house ourselves (especially as I am doing the general contracting) saves, as it turns out, at least $75,000 a year. There’s no way I’ll ever earn $75,000 a year doing my art. I don’t have to pay income tax on that “salary.” We don’t have to pay the HST on all the trades we’re doing ourselves or on the general contractor’s overhead. Instead of paying the stonemason $60 an hour, I’m saving that AND learning a new skill.

This value is well worth the suspension of my art practice for a couple of years. The thing about artists is, we are compelled to make art. It is our passion. I will return to the studio when this house is done, and it will be all the sweeter for the great experience I’ve had building the house, and the knowledge that I have contributed to the household “income” in this way.

Remember the old post 3) Sourcing used building materials?

“Free to a good home – one plank. It’s a big one – 2 1/4″ thick x 16″ wide x 12′ 7″ long. This was found in the basement of our circa 1920’s home when we moved in and it looks like it is just about that old. Nice straight grain, wood species unknown. Suitable for miscellaneous wordworking projects, or perfect for a pirate, if your ship is currently plank-less and you have a prisoner that you want to get rid of but are stuck due to your current lack of a plank. It’s leaning up outside the house and has to go ASAP. A smaller version is also available – 5′ long, perfect for your pirate dinghy. Pickup only, sorry – no mooring nearby.”

Before and After Pirate Plank

Well, that not-so-lovely pirate plank we got on craigslist has turned into a swan of an elegant eating bar.

I was interested in a textured finish that looks like clay/adobe. Although the product American Clay looks amazing, it is quite challenging to apply, and the professionals have to take an extensive course before you hire them. Too expensive and easy to marr.

Home Hardware markets a line of wall finish called Flexrock. It is not called a paint, per se, but you roll it on like paint. It dries very quickly, so you can only do a 3×3 foot section at a time. Depending on the texture you want, it can look like “suede, parchment, lace, or linen.” It was necessary to order it in large pails, which took about a week to come. It’s manufactured in St. Jacob’s, Ontario, or at least distributed from there. I don’t think it has a very long history, because the support material/phone contact lack a bunch of answers to questions I had.

Although the colour isn't accurate here, the texture of the finish is visible.

First, I experimented on some spare drywall. It claims not to need undercoating, but when I applied a coat directly to un-primed drywall, it did not cover very well, and dried too fast to get the finish I was trying for. I think it has sand suspended in it. It is a water-based product, so very low VOCs.

I chose a creamy white for the base coat. Using very light finishes in our home will help to save energy, because we tend to turn on the lights later if the interior surfaces are reflecting a lot of light. I rolled it on with a 10 mm-thick roller, then with a dry roller, smoothed it out.

This is closer to the colour of the finish. You can also see our window trim here. We are planing pieces of fir flooring, reclaiming it and finishing it with water-based Varathane. If there are some nail holes evident, I think it's great - shows the character and origin of the old edge-grain fir that came out of Vancouver-area homes which were being demolished or renovated. One of the people who sold us some flooring were actually replacing this gorgeous stuff with laminate!

Because it’s so dry at this time of year, we lightly spritzed the wall with water.

A second colour, ever-so-slightly darker, is applied with the special roller covered with nailed-on suede fabric pieces.

Then, flattened out with a dry roller.

Immediately, it is “knocked down” with a plastic smoother.

It’s easy to apply, and is a very tough finish, hard to scratch, like plaster.

Also this week, Ron and I have been finishing the vaulted area in the living room before the scaffolding is removed and returned to the rental shop.

Here are before and after photos of the trim around the multi-lam beam and tongue-and-groove ceiling finish. Ron covered the beam with fir boards so it would look like the other big beams in the main living area.

"Before" trim

"After" trim

I like that this little cedar mill where we get our exterior trim is 2 km from our house.

A view of the house from the bottom of the lot

For many years I have been collecting magazine photos of rooms/features I like, along with flyers and all manner of information I’ve picked up.  This binder’s contents are in a constant state of flux, as I add new info and discard old stuff I no longer favour (such as quotes for materials that we won’t be using after all.)

Also, on my computer I have a building directory, to which I add all the references I’ve got: contact information, tidbits of information someone has passed on or I heard on the radio.

The other bible is the blue notebook, where I record notes from interviews, phone calls, meetings, trips to the lot, sizes of things, etc. etc. I lost an earlier edition of this essential notebook, and I’m still kicking myself over it.

I have spent hours this evening following threads on this excellent website: www.greenbuildingtalk.com

There are many relevant discussions and often complex technical information provided by people in the industry and non-professionals alike. A strong bias toward Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) and there are some really exciting products that are not approved in Canada yet, such as Structural Insulated Sheathing (SIS, a Dow product to be used in place of plywood sheathing on the outside of the house and creates a thermal break.)

The other general resource that’s good is the Light House Sustainable Building Centre. I took a Building Green 101 course there that was not very helpful, because it was designed for people who really haven’t started their research yet, and I was well on my way. What the Light House does have is an excellent resource library. It has moved to 6th and Pine, in Vancouver.

I will be adding other resources as they come up under other headings, but these are ones I wanted to share now.