(To just see transport-related blog posts, you can use this link — which is also on the top navigation menu) For years I’ve resisted air-conditioning at home. Partly it was the cost, partly it was that I really wanted to pursue passive cooling as much as I could — measures that used little or no ... [More]
Tag: home
I mentioned the other day that it’s coming up on ten years since I bought my house in Bentleigh (hence the flurry of maintenance). In that time, the prices here have gone through the figurative roof. (Source: RealEstateView) I didn’t think to save the data at the time, but this document tracks median house prices ... [More]
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The central heating stopped working
As you can see, I just love getting up in the roof and having to try and get the heater working. Not that it happens often, but yesterday the heater stopped going. Following the relighting instructions, the pilot will light, but after waiting the specified minute to switch it to full On mode, goes out ... [More]
Pondering adding to the solar hot water on my roof with PV panels for electricity generation. My last electricity bill says I used up 659 kWh in 92 days, costing $187.61 (only including the cost for power and the 100% GreenPower surcharge; excluding the $76.41 service charge which I’d incur no matter how much power ... [More]
Two mysterious noises have become apparent in the last few months. Both are virtually imperceptable in the daytime, but at night, in my quiet street, I can hear them from my bedroom. First there was the humming. It started sometime last year. It doesn’t seem to be in the house anywhere – I tried turning ... [More]
They finally installed a new electricity meter at my house. This was after receiving three sets of letters saying “we’re about to install it”. It wasn’t one of those much-criticised allegedly-defective Smart Meters though — oh no, it was an Advanced Meter. So much better. Will be interested to see what effect it has on ... [More]
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Plumbing mishap
I thought I’d be clever and change all the washers in the bath, and show the kids how it’s done at the same time. The shower ones were okay, but when we tried to take off the bath hot, it broke away. Result: nothing to grip onto. I assume the whole bit will have to ... [More]
I was at home one day in March when a bus kept driving past every few minutes. They hadn’t opened Melbourne’s most frequent bus route in my street — they were filming an advert for Radiant soap. Now the advert has been launched. (via Mumbrella) I might try it at some stage, but Omomatic has ... [More]
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Renovating the roof
Got an attic ladder put in a while back. The bloke did a lot of chopping and cutting, and an electrician moved one of the lights to make way for it. The result is very pleasing, and it makes a real difference to getting up into the roof space. Stage 2 was getting some of ... [More]
Trip home last night in the pouring rain was interesting. Train was very slow going between Hawksburn and Malvern, as much of the rail line in the cutting was underwater. As the train departed Ormond, we saw the subway was flooded. On arriving at Bentleigh we waited about 20 minutes for the rain to subside. ... [More]
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The visitor
An unusual sight: this visitor on the back door this morning. Not sure where he thought he was going, but hope he got there okay.
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Shopping around for insurance
As I noted in March, a bunch of my annual expenses fall together. This is a consequence of having bought both my house and my car in the month of August. Apart from the insurance on both of them, the car rego also happens to fall in August. I had been pondering why my home ... [More]