Rich goes green.
It's one thing to rant about political or environmental affairs but how many in the hereabouts actually drive one of Honda's hybrids? I thought so. Well rich pure&simple is doing his part. The issue today was one of cooling my house. The ensuing Hawaiian summer puts quite a strain on Ms. rich pure&simple so we're the proud new owners of a solar attic fan.
In Hawaii, they don't build houses with insulation. It mildews immediately. Thus, installing air conditioning is a pricey option to the tune of about $150 dollars a month. Many of my friends know me as a kind of "open air" sorta guy. I can be seen sailing down the freeway on any given day with my windows open. I've calculated the using my truck's air-conditioner costs me about a mile per gallon. Ever the parsimonious but not overly one, I prefer Hawaii's mild climate (mostly) for my personal refreshment.
The solar fan was my wife's idea. I was immediately in agreement. The fan, which is solar powered sucks the hot air out of the attic (when the sun is shining) thus making our ceiling cooler and concomitantly us cooler.
The salesman showed up and priced the fan itself at two hundred dollars. With installation, the price jumped to seven hundred dollars. I said, "Just give us the fan."
The poor salesman looked at me incredulously. Apparently this was the first time he'd ever had this request and responded, "We don't find many people that are comfortable with cutting a hole in their roof."
I said, "Well, you just met one."
After pounding a sixteen penny nail from the inside out of our attic through the roof I was able to locate the joists. After that, the 'ole skillsaw made quick work of the roof sheathing. After that it was a matter of placing the fan, installing bottom and side flashings and the top counter flashing. The roofing situation is the same as a chimney which BTW are also rather rare here.
Rich pure&simple was, at one time, a professional roofer. (It's a long story) The satisfaction I got out of doing this little project was immense - including watching the concerned looks on several neighbor's faces stopping by to observe me actually cutting a hole in my roof. I was a bit more conscientious on my two story roof than I used to be in my younger days but it turned out well in the end. We're cooler and now we're "green" people as well. Uncle Sam will actually rebate me for my efforts (until Bush kills that incentive of course).
I'm quite proud of myself. What do you think?
9:46:49 AM 
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