Hurricane Helene vs. our Schumacher Home

Hurricane Helene vs. our Schumacher Home

Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina on September 27, 2024. The damage has been unbelievable. We knew we were in a flood zone when we built the house, but only by a few inches. We are in a 100-year floodplain. That means there is a 

Hurricane Helene: How Did We Do?

Hurricane Helene: How Did We Do?

Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina on September 27, 2024. There is a LOT of damage which you are seeing on the news. Friends and family have a lot of damage, are still without power and water and may be for a while. It was 

Amazon Pillow Covers for the Back Porch

Amazon Pillow Covers for the Back Porch

I had outdoor pillow from Pier 1 for years, but they had faded a lot. So I ordered some new pillow covers on Amazon. They weren’t Prime, no free shipping. I ordered them all at the same time on June 21 and they said they 

(Finally) Putting Handles in the Kitchen

(Finally) Putting Handles in the Kitchen

We’ve been clawing open the cabinets since we moved in. I didn’t really like any of the cabinet knobs Schumacher offered, so we got a credit instead. I found some on Amazon that I like, but when we got in the house I was pretty 

The Finished Laundry Room

The Finished Laundry Room

I finally got all of the cabinet doors and drawer fronts stained. I had enough room to stain just two of the doors at a time without working in the garage. The garage is cold.

New Cabinets for the Laundry Room

New Cabinets for the Laundry Room

After a lot of calculation, we figured out how to get the most practical storage and workspace into the laundry room while staying within our budget. Nearly everything we needed was discounted on Black Friday, so we ordered the things that weren’t in stock and 

Connecting Z-Wave Home Automation Thermostat to our Jotul Sebago Free Standing Gas Fireplace

Connecting Z-Wave Home Automation Thermostat to our Jotul Sebago Free Standing Gas Fireplace

Cliff added the gas fireplace to the app on my phone. When we lived at the log cabin, Cliff put cameras, locks and our thermostat on Nexia’s home automation system. The Nexia app runs the Trane heat pump at the cabin, but the fireplaces there 

Adding a Heat Shield to the Antique Mantel

Adding a Heat Shield to the Antique Mantel

We added a mantel shield to our antique mantel so that we won’t burn the house down. It had been suggested that if you have a blower, it won’t get hot enough to catch fire. That is so not true. We tried the fire for 

Adding the Blower to the Jotul Gas Fireplace

Adding the Blower to the Jotul Gas Fireplace

I thought we had ordered the fireplace with a blower, but I had not. So, I called Etowah Fireplace and had them ship it directly to us. Cliff was pretty confident he could add it himself. If not, we can always call for help. No 

Installing the Jotul Sebago Free Standing Gas Fireplace

Installing the Jotul Sebago Free Standing Gas Fireplace

This post is step-by-step how we put in a Jotul Free Standing Direct Vent Fireplace with horizontal through-the-wall termination. That means the pipe goes out the back of the stove through the wall. On the other side of the wall it has a snorkel termination.