Since you have a deadline on the solar panels, you need to sit Maggie down and explain to her that the solar panels need to be done ASAP.
MFM,
26% tax credit is a good reason. Not only the solar panels but also the battery back-up gets 26% if installed as a "system."
So here is where my experience at Brookhaven National Labs comes in. I kinda worked as a Sue-doe project manager for building out 10 RF systems for the Relitivistic Heavy Ion Collider. I was only a technician, but I basically managed teams of men, plumbers, electricians, wire pullers, electronics technicians... To give you an idea of the scale here Building 1004 was one of five buildings around a collider that measured 2.7 miles in circumferance.
The RHIC Collider could only be operated in the winter, otherwise it would drain the grid. You can see the "ring" from outer space with the naked eye.
It was pretty crazy. The RHIC Project was a ten year project and for 8 years they did prototyping and research, and they only left 2 years to build out the whole project. That was when I was hired.
This was really stressful because my boss would tell me that I would have to call back xxx and yyy in the few minutes that I went to the bathroom.
So on my evaluation my boss said, "Cal is like a one man army or having an army of technicians..."
It was a very creative job and I was the problem solver. A lot of the training I got at Grumman was military like and goal oriented. I was a rouge operator at a Fortune 500 company and at the National Lab no different. Basically a thug.
So upon retirement next year I think I can get the kitchen, the garage roof torn down and rebuilt, and the solar system with battery backup installed.
Believe it or not that the installation of the Solar system only takes a day.
Once the sheathing on the roof is done I think I can shingle the roof by myself in a weekend, weather permitting. The insulating can be done later. Of course I need a contractor and a crew to install the gable roof that uses a load beam so I won't have trusses.
Devil Christian tells me that as far as the city and taxes go the garage is still a garage, and heating a garage is not prohibited, and that attic space is not considered living space and is basically storage space.
Don't tell the city that it is my studio and workspace.
The kitchen I know has a heart pine floor underneath two layers of linolium and a top of ceramic tile. I figure I want to stockpile soon the 120 or so square feet of salvaged heart pine to have on hand to replace the floor.
The cabinets are Home Depo "specials" that are solid maple. We would like to recycle them by painting them, and I can do a lacquer finish like on a guitar.
Our kitchen is awkward because there are 5 doorways and a radiator right under the set of side windows. The solution is a center island with a sink so that we can create a triangle between the sink, fridge and stove. Also our present kitchen lacks counter space.
So in the kitchen I'll be hiring a plumber, an electrician, and a pro floor installer. The stove is a 4 burner natural gas convection oven that eventually will get replaced with mucho expensive Italian 5 burner convection oven. Of course these ovens are both the same size and the oven can be replaced at a later time, as the fridge.
The big time consumer is after spraying the cabinets because the lacquer needs a couple of weeks to harden/cure before leveling and polishing. I figure I need the garage as my staging area for painting.
The ceiling in the kitchen I intend on using 4x4 plywood as panels to be modular. The seams will be covered with flat molding. Know that the next project will be the "Tub" room for the slipper shaped soaking tub. I'll need access to that ceiling for the plumbing, so I'm thinking ahead and making the ceiling not only modular, but also future proofed for future renovations (soaking tub).
The natural gas hot water heater that already exists will provide the scalding hot water for the dishwasher and soaking tub, otherwise the instant on hot water provided by the oil burner is hot enough. This allows me to keep the instant on hot water at a moderate temperature, and also have scalding hot water that I can cycle on or off as needed.
Lots of planning, good organizational skills and attention to details required.
In the end a two bedroom house not for a family by perhaps ideal for a professional couple without kids. Ideal/statigic location due to proximity to NYC, Bear Mountain, Blue Mountain Preserve, Metro North, and of course the historic City of Peekskill.
So in the end I'll have a happy Maggie and a 400 foot studio. The HVAC (Mitsubishi heat-pump) can be done later as well as the insulation.
What a great way to celebrate retirement as an accomplishment.
I forgot the 3/4 bath off the kitchen, but that will be reduced to a 1/2 bath. This too can be done at a later time.
Kidding around I asked Maggie, "What are we going to do once we are done with the house?" LOL.
I know that I'll likely be in my garage, working out, printing, listening to music, or playing guitar or bass.
Cal
