On 11/7/2016 10:01 AM, songbird wrote:
George Shirley wrote:
...
Down here in upper Hell, that's the heat part, we tend to really use a
lot of insulation. Our house is brick exterior with Hardy Plank for
trim. The next layer in is a 3/4 inch insulation board, then the
exterior walls are stuffed with insulation, then there is half inch
sheet rock on the interior. We seldom here cars going by on the street
in front, don't hear many of the aircraft that go by as we have two
airports nearby. Then there's the attic, 12-inch ceiling joists and the
attic has insulation that stands above the joists. The inside of the
roof has reflective plastic on that helps in keeping the outside heat
from penetrating into the attic. Unfortunately we all, by HOA rules,
have black roofs. Always before we had roofs that were white, to reflect
the heat.

that is crazy. black roof in a hot climate...
Actually it's a sort of brownish and then it turns black with time. I
approached the HOA folk and asked about white roofs, really wanted a
white steel roof. Oh No, Horrors, all houses much look alike. Pfsst!
What's the old hippie song, Little Houses, ticky tacky house, all in a
row. These people are terrified that their property value might go down
and they couldn't get a fortune for their house. We intend to live in
this one until we go to the graveyard, our kids can fight over the value
then. You actually have to put in a form to do anything to the exterior
of your house, they outlaw certain colors of paint for the exterior too.
Our old house was red brick with lipstick red painted wood. We won home
of the year four times with that one.

even in a hot climate having more insulation is
good to keep the AC from having to work too hard.
up here we have six inch walls and two inch foam
board, but the gaps were never properly sealed up
and duck tape is not meant to be exposed to any
weathering at all and soon crumbles. so until i
got it sealed up better it was leaking more heat
and cool air than it should. when the wind blew
you could feel it.


We don't really need insulation much against cold, it was 84F yesterday
and may be more today. We haven't had a real winter with cold in over
two years. We get temps running from mid-fifties to high eighties during
the day here in La La Land. The biggest noise around is traffic going
by. From about 0600 to 0930 there is a continuous stream of cars and
trucks going by, then we can get out and go somewhere if necessary. This
includes weekends too, traffic does slow down a bit on Sunday's but not
a lot. You get used to the traffic sounds so you sleep well after
indoctrination. Our home is two blocks from the main road but we still
hear the noise. Then there's six trains a day, tracks are five miles
away but the trains blow their whistles continuously as they go by due
to the crossings. Some of these trains are five or six miles long too.
I'm so old I can remember when this area was cattle and vegetable farms
and you seldom saw a car or heard a train. Most of the trains are
outgoing from the Port of Houston and are pulling automobile carriers,
two levels high. I think the port in Houston must deliver cars for most
of the south from what I've seen going by.

i used to live along I275 near Plymouth, MI
there was a sound wall which reflected the worst
of the noise, but it still sounded like the surf
in the background. as the road itself degraded
and potholes developed the large trucks going by
would shake the house and there were cracks in
the foundation. wasn't built well, luckily not
my place. as you say you got used to the sound
but i would never call it good.

i've always liked trains and grew up near a
rail line which included some spurs for the large
clay pits nearby. we'd go climb in the railcars
and get hunks of clay to play with and walked
those tracks for many miles in all directions.


Still, at least the neighbors are quiet, most of them are off to work
before 0800 and the kids are off to school or to the nanny. Peace and
quiet to work in the garden, get the mowing done.*It appears that most
of our neighbors have mowing crews in every other week. Our lawns are
very small and we mow with an electric mower and it takes less than an
hour to mow and weed eat and that includes frequent rests due to our
ages. Wife likes to mow so I'm trying to talk her into getting paid by
the neighbors instead of using wet back labor from off the street. She
would rather play with the gardens. G

Ma does the mowing here, i told her when i
moved in that i would do anything else but that
and since i've only had to mow once when she
hurt her foot and couldn't do it for a few
weeks. when the time comes i'll get rid of the
mower gladly and the rest of the grass will
get turned into something more useful. if i
stay on.

looks like a beautiful day out there so it is
time to get a going...


songbird

It was hot again here and we picked a few sweet peppers, some eggplant
and some green the boss lady likes but I don't. Looks like she's chewing
her cud with the stuff in her mouth. G

George