Some boring stuff about HVAC and septic systems

Well, we found the elusive septic system. Turns out it is situated under some pavers outside the back stairwell. I have learned quite a lot more about septic systems than I ever intended. Apparently there were only outhouses and no toilet or kitchen until 1965.

Hubby and I fluctuate on how to heat and cool and dehumidify this building. I want to be able to go off grid and find a natural solution to ventilation with cross breezes and fans. My husband is more practical and thinks we’ll want traditional air conditioning, because this area has high humidity. The church is only 3200 square feet in total, but with that high, vaulted ceiling upstairs, I think air conditioning will cost an arm and a leg. We could install solar panels to help offset our electricity costs, but we may not live long enough to see the returns. We could install in-floor heating. We could build fans into the new windows. We could just wear swimming suits all summer and hire a child to stand at the door waving palm fronds. 

The portable dehumidifier stands on the kitchen counter, draining into the sink. So far it has lowered the humidity level from 81 to 56%. It seems a shame to send all that water into the sump pump. I suggested rigging it up to a drip system to water hydroponic tomatoes. Why not? 

We had the oil furnace inspected and cleaned (all is well), and then we had a consultant come give us his opinion. He suggested switching to propane (cleaner, cheaper, spill-proof) or even using a heat pump, which could cool as well as heat. He went away to figure out costs, and we wait anxiously to see the results.

While we were poking around the utility room, we discovered some rotting wood…and water…and possibly black mold. Um. A quick call to a general contractor, who arrived with great confidence and some gold bling to pronounce it all fixable. He blames a leaking eavestrough. He will fix that when he has time…maybe the end of September. He jokes about the amount of water in his own basement. He's nice, but not confidence-inspiring, really, and he's younger than my son. Meanwhile, every time it rains (and it rains a lot here), the water slides quietly from the utility room, across the laundry room, and into the closet where the hot water heater lurks. Unwilling to wait for a month, my husband is meeting with someone else tomorrow who can also do the membrane-on-the-outside-of-the-foundation instead of just injecting the crack from the inside. He also does mold remediation, which one has to be licensed to do, so I think we'll end up going with him.

It occurs to me I once wrote a murder mystery called Stained Glass. It took place in a renovated church. I will have to dig that manuscript out and see if it’s worth reworking and sending to my publisher. I now have some real-life experience in that...the renos, that is, not the murder. Although if the dominoes keep lining up, my husband might think murder not entirely unfeasible...