Friday, August 27, 2010

Friday! Now Ten Degrees Cooler!

What a difference a week makes. Last Friday was around 103° and the forecast for today is 93°. It was so hot last Friday that after MOW I didn't even eat lunch where I wanted to eat lunch. The place I wanted to eat lunch is in a sort of strip mall area and I would have had to park far out in a flat open parking lot. The place I actually chose for lunch was an individual restaurant where I could park near the door, and walk over a little bridge that crossed a cute little pond with fountains in it. It was an easy choice.
~
And then I got home and these poor three fellows were working in my back yard:

That one guy was wearing a long sleeve shirt. And those dust masks? I ran those out to them. They were sawing through the fiberglass spa and pulling their shirts up and holding them over their faces. I felt so bad for them. I ran in the garage and grabbed those masks. Then I came back inside and made large cups of ice water for them.
I was so happy when I saw them pulling out the bottom. And now we have a big open sand pit.:
You might think Barney would be using that for nefarious purposes, but he thinks it is still a water hazard. I know this because I tried to put him down in there and he reacted like it was water and scratched the bejeebus out of me.
~
Our original plan was just to put 16 new long boards across that spot, but we decided to have all of that part of the deck removed and resod the yard with grass there. That will make the deck smaller and therefore cooler in the summer. When I designed that deck I didn't know the rule of heat. That deck was too big and our backyard was about 6° hotter than my neighbor's backyard. As Dad used to say, "Live and learn."
~
But that project is for next month and for now I'm just happy that it's 10° cooler.

10 comments:

VioletSky said...

Oh yes, grass is much cooler. lovely on the bare feet, too.

It was cool last night here, though it was single digits not far from here and that is cold. cool is good, cold is not (as Jazz will tell you!)

Anonymous said...

As in all things in life, balance is the secret. Deck good. Grass good. Balance best!

Anonymous said...

A big deck makes things hotter? I need to build a HUGE deck!


*Note to self, always re-read your comments. I had dick there instead of deck....

Anonymous said...

Ha hahaha ..Jazz...Ah me...

Geewits - You didn't like your hot-tub anymore??

geewits said...

VioletSky,
~~I would so love cold if it didn't involve dryness and static.

LGS,
~~Exactly!

Jazz,
~~Hee hee. You so funny.

Xup,
~~Let me count the ways. It was old. It was ugly. The tiles were always falling off. We had no idea how much electricity we were paying for to run the pump until we stopped doing it. The expense of the chemicals. Neither of us had been in it in about three years. So we were paying buttloads of money for an ugly thing we didn't use but had to look at every day. It was an easy decision.

Jocelyn said...

Your "heat" posts speak to me in a big way...I love the details of your thinking, like why you chose which restaurant to eat at. Also, I didn't know about decks and heat. Makes you welcome a resodding project, eh?

Jocelyn said...

Your "heat" posts speak to me in a big way...I love the details of your thinking, like why you chose which restaurant to eat at. Also, I didn't know about decks and heat. Makes you welcome a resodding project, eh?

geewits said...

Jocelyn,
~~I guess you are getting to experience real heat now, huh? We've done sodding before so it's not a big deal. I just hope the deck comes out easily.

Lori Stewart Weidert said...

I had no idea that a deck would effect the temperature...it's one of those things one just never thinks about, even though it makes perfect sense. We're gearing up to build 2 decks, sort of...one of the back of the house, and one that will be more of a balcony, but still a deck, from the 2nd level, sliding glass doors. Hmmm. Think, think, think.

Be sure to post photos of the AFTER after, when the grass is all grassy, and you are cool as a cucumber.

geewits said...

GnightGirl,
~~Maybe there is a formula you can find on the internet. They actually said it on HGTV, but I forgot.