March 2009

Not a lot going on this month because I was back in Seattle pretty much the entire time. Most months are like that, but I think I was only in Texas for a few days in March.

But I did manage to get a few things done. Because this house is in Texas and the back of the house faces due south it can get a little warm in the main bedroom. The living room faces south and also has windows to the west, but they're sheltered by trees and the pergola and it doesn't get hot in there. The main bedroom though - last summer it would routinely get above 86 in there, which is a good 8 degrees or more than the thermostat is set to. It could be more, but my thermometer runs out of numbers around 86 or 88 and if it was hotter in there I don't want to know about it. So since it's March and it's already hot out I decided to do something about it.

Because replacing the windows would've been insanely difficult and expensive I decided to go with tinting instead. Beforehand the blinds were hitting 100-110 degrees when closed, so they were basically acting like giant radiators dumping heat into the room. Elle and I went to Lowes and got some tinting that blocks 70% of the energy from coming into the room and went about installing it. It's really a weekend project if you go slow and take lots of breaks. Pretty easy to do, but you absolutely have to have a helper. The tint will stick together and drive you crazy without someone holding it still. That will ruin the piece you are trying to install and you'll have to start over. But seriously, it's a very easy project to do yourself.

The results? The room is now the same temperature as the rest of the house! It dropped a good 5 or 6 degrees and is much more comfortable to be in. The blinds are now only slightly warmer than room temperature. When I had them off I could really tell what 10 years worth of sun has done to them. They're Everwood by Hunter Douglass so they aren't supposed to change color due to UV exposure, but you can tell they've been exposed to a harsh environment. The green (ick!) pleats were faded nearly white on the sunny side.

We also got replacement parts in for the blinds. At only 10 years old they were starting to look pretty sad. A part that holds the cloth sashes up is made entirely of plastic with two thin arms supporting the whole thing. Of course the arms break off and the blinds look run-down pretty fast. There's a solution to replacing them though - Fix My Blinds. They sell replacement parts for all makes and models, and they're stronger than what the originals and should last longer. We plan on ordering again later to get rid of the 1990s hunter green sashes on the blinds in the main bedroom, and fix a defect on the blinds in the laundry room.