water pressure

In last week's post Water Supply, I explained where your water comes from and how it is gets into your home. This week, I want to talk about what happens to it once it enters your home. Whether your water is from a public or private supply, it must be delivered at a correct quantity, specific flow rate, pressure and temperature in order for it to perform the duties you require of it - washing, bathing, heating etc. The pressure of the water is of particular importance as this is what allows for your water to be carried throughout your home. As Building Construction Illustrated (my current favorite home resource book) states "The service pressure of a water supply system must be great enough to absorb pressure losses due to vertical travel and friction as the water flows through pipes and fittings, and still satisfy the pressure requirement of each plumbing fixture". This appropriate service pressure is generally 40 psi (pound per square inch) in public systems which is the approximate upper limit for most private systems. 

Flowing at the right pressure, the first stop for your water is the  water heater. This is essential as it ensures that adequate water pressure be available to your whole hot water supply system. Its is also where your supply splits - cold and hot. Cold water supply lines run to every toilet, sink, tub, shower and water using appliance in the home while hot water supply lines only run to sinks, tubs, showers and hot water using appliances in the home. These respective pipes are termed risers or rather the set of risers (hot and cold).  

Each destination of your water supply (toilet, sink etc.) should be equipped with a shut off valve. This allows for maintenance to be performed without having to shut off water to the entire home - it should also go without saying that you should access to set valves i.e. don't close them behind a wall.  

As your set of risers branch to reach each fixture in your home, the diameter of the supply line changes to accomodate the specified pressure needs. Standard home fixtures typically require an operating pressure range of 5 psi to 30 psi and thus the pipe is adjusted accordingly. 

​information by Building Construction Illustrated and What's a Homeowner to do?

A note on repairs - if you are having water pressure issues in just one of your fixtures but not others than you know it is a problem with a specific supply line and the problem is probably easily fixable. If you are having an issue in one section of your home then the problem most likely lies within that specific branch of supply - a bigger issue that will require a professional. And finally if you are having water pressure issues throughout your home it is most likely a problem with your supply pipe from the municipal main. In this case, it could be a greater problem to say your neighborhood or your home in particular. Either way, you will need to call the water department. 

Look for next week's post where I will talk about different types of hot water heaters.

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! 

Realty Round Up: Southwest Minneapolis, Minnesota

Over the past year, we have had the opportunity to visit Minneapolis twice. We were lucky enough to have local friends be our guides and really feel in love with the city. Before visiting, I sort of knew I would really like Minneapolis. Growing up in Michigan, I am a big lake girl so the idea that you could have lakes and an urban area is pretty amazing. Also maybe because of its Scandinavian roots, Minneapolis is probably one of the most design minded cities in America - another great ​plus. And just to add the cherry on top, there is skiing well within weekend driving distance. 

Upon visiting, my favorite area of the city was Southwest Minneapolis. With its abundance of lakes and green space as well as thriving town areas, it would definitely be my pick of location if I were to ever become a Minnesotan. ​Some local places I would frequent again are:
- Patisserie 46 - I think I would fly to Minn. just for the chocolate croissants.
- Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum - An amazing building not to be missed
- Heidi's Minneapolis - We had a really delicious dinner here.
- Lake Harriet Band Shell - It would be great to go to concerts here. 

House #1: $0 - $250,000

​information and images by Zillow

I really like the cottage feel of this house. It seems warm and inviting and I could see the fireplace getting lots of use during the long Minneapolis winters. It also has a great location as it is just one block to a local park and roughly nine blocks to Lake Harriet. ​

House #2: $250,000 - $500,000

​information and images by Zillow

I like the open floor plan of this house. It also seems to have lots of natural light which as you might know by now is huge for me. 

House #3: $500,000 - $750,000

​information and images by Zillow

This house has great curb appeal. It also sits on a double lot so it has plenty of outdoor space. Its biggest selling point for me though is that it is just 4 blocks from Lake Harriet. ​

House #4: $750,000 - $1,000,000

​information and images by Zillow

This house is definitely in need of some updating but it has good bones so I think it could turn into something pretty spectacular. Also at just 2 blocks from the lake I bet it would be a great investment. ​

​Have a great Memorial Day weekend! 

Vegetable Planter: Part 3

This past weekend Jeff and I tackled lining, filling and planting our garden. It took a good amount of research to complete this phase of the process as I wanted to try to find the most eco-friendly solutions for the lining, the soil and with plant selection. This what I learned and what we ended up using.

Lining:  To avoid rotting wood and the bacteria that goes along with it, wood planters need to be lined. Also I should take a moment to note that wood planters should NOT be made out of treated or painted lumber as the chemicals can leach into the soil and subsequently your vegetables.Several forums discussed inserting plastic bins but our planter is too deep for that solution. Other recommendations were to use landscape fabric, plastic sheeting or asphalt paper (not sure if that is the correct terminology). I was a little uncomfortable with these methods as plastic can also leach unwanted chemicals and since lining a vegetable planter is not the intended use for those materials there obviously has not been any testing done. We eventually decided to use a pond liner per suggestion made by our local garden shop. Pond liners while still being plastic are at least tested and manufactured so as to not be harmful to fish so hopefully that also means humans too. 

Jeff started by laying the pond liner inside the planter and draping it up the sides. Then he stapled it into place and trimmed off the excess lining. Finally, he cut 3 drainage slits roughly 3" long. 

Soil: For me, it was important that I use an environmentally friendly soil which unfortunately means not just going to the local hardware store and grabbing several bags of top soil. As far as my understanding goes, your generic soil is not intended for edible gardening. It also contains peat moss. Peat is partially decomposed remains of plants mainly sphagum moss. Peat moss is mined in marshes, bogs and swamps known as peatlands or peat bogs. The peat bogs release a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere contributing to the problem of global climate change. Organic Gardening has more information here if you are interested. 

My initial plan was to either use Happy Frog potting soil or Organic Mechanics or some combination of the two.​ Both came recommended by my local garden shop as well as by the online blogging community. However, we ultimately chose a local option Route 66 Organics top soil combined with Back to Nature, Inc. Cotton Burr.  This was the slightly more economical option as well as what our garden shop experts personally use. 

For our 2'W x 5'​L x 1.5+'D planter we needed roughly 15 cubic feet of soil using equal parts Cotton Burr and top soil. Luckily, Jeff moved the planter into place before filing it as  our planter now weighs an absurd amount and while it does have wheels it will not be moving anytime in the near future. He completed the preparation face by wetting down the soil and letting it sit over night. 

​Note: Having your dog steal the empty soil bag is not an official step of the process.

​images via Missouri Botanical Garden

Planting: Since I already had my plan, this step was rather easy. However, I did end up making a few last minute changes. I flipped the orientation of the cucumber trellis and the green beans as to not block any sun exposure that the trellis might create (face trellis' to the North or West). I also decided to nix the lettuces after all and plant green beans instead. I also added more strawberry plants - 5 in total. I had intended to have all my plants by organic but unfortunately in the rush of getting things done and being a first time gardener I came home with only my tomato plant being certified organic. I am going to cut myself some slack on this as I am learning as I go but for next year I plan on making sure all my plants are organic, non-GMO (genetically modified organisms). ​I also think I will devoted a whole, future post to this topic as its something I think is really important. In the meantime, check out this article from Organic Gardner. 

The last step of this phase of course was getting the plants in the soil and giving them a good watering!