Tuesday - May 17, 2016

a letter to JayD

Finishing off my day here with a nice cup of PG Tips. Thanks for turning me on to that. I take mine with a half spoon of sugar and a small splash of half & half, and leave the bag in until the mug is empty. Abhorrence, I know!! Tea done wrongly!! It packs a good strong flavor, but I drink it fast enough so that it doesn’t get bitter.

We’re having too much fun here. Looks like I might have to take my neighbors to the condo association board for adjudication. See, we have this radon remediation system in the unit, right? What it is, is a few great lengths of perforated 4” PVC pipe run under the foundation, and those pipes extend up through the walls to the attic, where an inline fan applies suction, and then sends everything out an exhaust pipe. Radon is a gas. Radioactive. So the suction pulls it right out of the soil and vents it out the roof before it can leach through the concrete floor and poison us inside. I think the whole thing is totally over-rated, but who am I? I don’t even worry about asbestos, or lead paint from 1967. Anyway, the exhaust pipe runs about 15 feet along inside the roof truss over the living room ceiling, then turns up and pierces the roof, leaving a standing pipe about a foot high there. And it howls. No kidding; hello, 15 foot pipe 4” across with lots of air flowing through it? It’s a bloody pipe organ. Duh. And the exit end of the pipe is at the same level as the back balcony on the upstairs-one-unit-over neighbor. So she’s complaining. I would too. Thing sounds like a B-17 flying overhead. Ok, I exaggerate. A B-16, maybe a B-15. But it makes plenty of noise, a standing note exactly the same pitch as a steamship horn, but only a bit more than conversationally loud. Still .... blllleeeeeeerrrrr ... 24 hours a day. I’d go mad.

After hours of online research, I found a solution; a glass pack muffler that attaches to the pipe end. Works real good I hear, reducing the noise 75%. Problem is, I’m not allowed to go on the roof to install it. And the maintenance guys aren’t allowed to mess with any part of any radon remediation system. And talking to neighbor lady tonight, her boss, a lawyer (subtle, ain’t she?) says us owners aren’t responsible for anything on the outside of these condos (which is true) so the association should pay for the muffler and hire a radon guy to come install it. At no cost to us. And I think he’s right. I never would have thought that way; I’m more of a “my place, my problem, my solution at my cost” kind of guy. So even though I’ve been working towards a solution behind the scenes with my boss the condo park manager (don’t forget I am now an official employee with my “road security” job in the mornings ... which also offers me the chance to earn extra money by painting the speed bumps when it isn’t raining [if, ever, some day please??]), having the association pay for the muffler and the work will require an Ok from the Condo Board of Trustees. So it is sort of like adjudication I guess. And it becomes Official. Agree that the problem exists and needs solving, accept my solution, and agree to pay for an authorized professional to do the intricate task*. I wonder how many months that will take to go through? Or if it stands a chance at approval?

* So intricate: go up on the roof. take a hacksaw and cut the 4” diameter PVC pipe off about 4” above the shingles. Dab the stub with that smelly purple PVC primer stuff. Dab the inside of of the pipe connector end of the muffler with primer too. Dab the bottom of the inside of the muffler’s connector with a quick wipe of PVC cement. Press muffler down on to exhaust pipe stub. Wait 15 seconds for glue to set. Done. Total time: 5 minutes, including climbing 12 feet up the ladder. Attaching a screened top elbow or a rain hat to the top end of the muffler adds another minute to the job, but it keeps the rain and the bugs out.

Ok, hope that was entertaining. Get weller, faster.

Drew

Posted by Drew458     on 05/17/2016 at 10:34 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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