Real Estate Update

14cents a unit?
Here, it's about 25c/kWH.
In Ontario, Canada, we have the option of paying for electricity in a couple of ways. First is pay as you go. There’s a peak rate (higher consumption so rate goes up) and off peak. Second is a fixed, blended rate. Up to 1000kwh you pay one rate and once you go over the 1000, you pay a higher rate. Iirc, last billing the second tier rate was about 20% higher. Normally I would be in the lower tier for the month, but with heating the garage I sneak up into the second tier. Did some quick math and although heating the garage can get expensive, it’s worth it to me for several months to be able to go out and mess around with the cars, bikes etc. Otherwise I’d be cooped up inside watching tv.

@Grimly, is your rate stated in local currency? Mine is in CAD$
 
Oops, I was recalling last year's price. Right now it's around 41c/unit in Euros.
That's around 59c Canadian.
I think Ireland has one of the highest unit costs in the EU.
 
It's bit complicated here (natch)
the rate is 13.5 cents per KWH BUT and this is regressive there's a fixed charge of 50 cents a day ~ $15 a month. We use little electricity, jacking up our cost per KWH :unsure:
The "reason" for splitting the bill into wires and watts was customer solar installations pumping watts back in to the grid. Alliant still needs to cover the cost of the wires no matter which way the power is flowing. And didn't want to "overpay" for the customer's excess solar generation.
with wood heat the natural gas situation is even worse, we pay more for the privilege of being connected to the gas line, than we pay for the gas we use.
The good news is that with the fixed charge cash rolling in, Alliant Energy has invested a lot in infrastructure, upgrading the electric grid and gas supply network.
 
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Price here in Alberta is .0849/KWH for electricity and 4.99/GJ for natural gas.

There are so many service and delivery bills it still comes to about $330 in a month during the winter.
 
Price here in Alberta is .0849/KWH for electricity and 4.99/GJ for natural gas.

There are so many service and delivery bills it still comes to about $330 in a month during the winter.
Yes same thing in Ontario. Base winter lower tier rate is about the same as yours. Extra charges boost the cost by about 30%.
 
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Looks like we’re getting a good deal here on electricity. Combined last month we were about $330! Cdn. So that’s about $75 usd lol.
My electricity comes from natural gas. I'm paying 9.22 cents per kWr. I should stay quiet about that, because another thing I like about Mississippi is that there are so few people here.
 
Howdy All:

Well, we made some great progress on the Pole Barn this past week or so:
  • after little response on pricing and availability for insulation from my usual building materials supplier, I checked elsewhere and found that I could get everything I needed from another supplier at the "Contractor" price which is about 5-8% lower than retail.
This saved me about $200 - which is useful. So, on Wednesday I ordered 32 bales of R22 Roxul Rockwool insulation (better than the usual fibreglas pink - because mice apparently do not eat the Roxul) and it was all delivered on Thursday afternoon. The Rockwool R22 is sized for pole barns - the batts are 6" thick x 24" high x 47" long which is perfect for the 96" spaced 6x6 post and beam construction of a barn.

This weekend, my daughter Marie and her fiance, Adam came down from Kitchener and helped us complete all of the exterior lighting and receptacle wiring and put-up the insulation and vapour-barrier in the barn. This stuff goes up fast and it made a huge difference to the interior quietness and I expect it will be a big help with energy savings too. It's too bad that we didn't have the walls insulated earlier in the heating season - but that's the way it goes. I am sure that the R60 above the ceiling did help this winter and the beauty of insulation is that it does not wear out and continues to pay for itself - even more as energy prices rise.

Adam - Master Insulator and super-good guy:
P_B-104.jpg


Mrs. MaxPete and Marie cut the vapour barrier into 12'8" long strips for installation on the 12 ft. high wall (and you can see the wiring "pigtail" emerging from the insulation):
P_B-105.jpg


P_B-106.jpg


Marie got some practice supervising her future hubby as he worked on the vapour barrier:
P_B-107.jpg


We even got a few sheets of 1/2" thick G1S spruce plywood up to begin completing the interior walls of the structure. The plywood goes up 4 ft. from the floor and for the 8' above that I plan to install a PVC paneling called TrussCore (https://trusscore.com/) which is intended for workshops and doesn't require painting. The idea of the plywood on the bottom is that if I bash into it or a spark from welding hits it, the wall won't be damaged and, if some day, it does take a bad hit, I can just screw-on a new piece of plywood.

There will be a double-duplex 110v receptacle box at each post and the 220V welding circuit is in the first bay at right - just inside the overhead door.

P_B-108.jpg


For the wiring installation, I am using a technique that I saw on YouTube in which all the conductors are run inside the walls but the boxes are surface mounted on the wall interior side. That way, you just cut a hole in the plywood with a 1.25" dia. holesaw and poke the wire through and directly into the back-side of the steel surface-mount device box. You can see the white Romex 14/2 receptacle wiring poking out in the corner and the heavier gauge orange 6/3 for the welding circuit a little further along the wall in the photo above.

A linky to the video in which the wiring method is explained. It is easy and I think it looks pretty good - plus I didn't have to mess with bending conduit.


Anyhow, we're making progress - and that's what counts.

Cheers,

Pete
 
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You call it ply wood, I call it wainscoating. The plywood along the base will save you endless grief. The project looks great. I wish I could keep mine as neat as the day I finished.
 
You call it ply wood, I call it wainscoating. The plywood along the base will save you endless grief. The project looks great. I wish I could keep mine as neat as the day I finished.

Oh yes Kevin - in terms of "neatness"....they don't call my shop the Disaster Central Workshop (DCW) for nothin'!

We also use the term wainscotting but here is usually means tongue-and-groove boards mounted vertically and going up only so far in an otherwise conventionally clad wall. Anyhow, the purpose is the same: cover the most vulnerable part of the wall with something that is tough and very easy to replace.

Pete
 
Are you getting the slat wall or siding like panels? Never heard of it before. Looks interesting. Cost effective?
 
Are you getting the slat wall or siding like panels? Never heard of it before. Looks interesting. Cost effective?
I think the stuff is the vertical tongue-and-groove siding type stuff.

It is fairly expensive, but it looks really good and requires no upkeep plus is a decent sound and thermal insulator.

We'll see - still trying get recover from $3300 worth of insulation and plywood...:yikes:
 
I think the stuff is the vertical tongue-and-groove siding type stuff.

It is fairly expensive, but it looks really good and requires no upkeep plus is a decent sound and thermal insulator.

We'll see - still trying get recover from $3300 worth of insulation and plywood...:yikes:

Yes I know insulation prices had skyrocketed. I thought lumber prices had come back down to pre Covid levels. Yes that wall covering should be nice.
 
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