sillcocky

i went shopping at lowes and home depot today and picked up a pair of frost-proof sillcocks. they are woodfords, from lowes at around 23 bucks each. i did a little reading afterward and am reevaluating this purchase.

the idea of a frost-proof sillcock is that it won't get destroyed in the winter when temperatures go below freezing. with a normal sillcock, the homeowner should shut off a valve inside, ahead of the bib in the supply line, remove the hose and then open the outside valve and let it drain. then don't use the spigot again until spring.

of course, the need arises sooner or later during winter and it gets used for something and the proper drainage procedure isn't followed. the faucet sits full of water and as it freezes the water expands and cracks the sillcock.

with a frost-proof sillcock, you don't need to shut off a valve inside the house in the fall. instead, you shut off the outside valve and you simply disconnect the hose and it will drain itself. the internal valve in the sillcock is actually located far back in the body, inside the insulated wall where temperatures are higher. all the water to the outside of that valve drains out toward the exterior. voila, no broken sillcock.

of course, the need arises sooner or later during winter and it gets used for something and the hose gets left attached. the faucet sits full of water because it can't drain and as it freezes the water expands and cracks the sillcock.

so how about that, you spent $25 instead of $5 on a frost-proof sillcock and it still cracked from freezing. sure, you could avoid it with proper procedure, but in that case you could just stick with the $5 sillcock and turn off the inside valves in the fall.

well, it turns out there are actual frost-proof sill cocks on the market. some will drain themselves even if you leave the hose attached to the spigot, such as woodford model 30. some have a pressure relief valve that relieves pressure when it escalates due to freezing water, such as woodford models 16 & 19. model 19 is essentially model 16 with a backflow preventer attached. a pair of model 19s is $89. a pair of model 30s is $107+s/h

there is also a device which can be attached to any standard spigot. it's a 'self-draining backflow preventer' which automatically drains when the water is shut off even with the hose attached. a pair of these is $25, but a pair of standard frost-proof sillcocks is also necessary (simply a valve with a recessed seat is necessary, no vacuum breaks etc required.)

i tend to be a cost-conscious consumer, so let's see. $89 for the model 19's, minus $25 for the backflow attachments, leaves $64 for a pair of basic, solid frost-proof sillcocks. let's see, a pair of quartermasters for $45 from home depot, or the pair i already have from lowes i paid $46 for.

hmm.. that's a $20 difference for the pair.. maybe i'll just order a pair of these backflow attachments. then i can wash my car in january without worry! haha!

air tightness

i was putting up some flashing tape along the band joist today; the asphalt self-adhered flashing (SAF) is covering the joints along the top and bottom of the band joist to form an air barrier.

the strip along the bottom edge of the band joist is attached to the rigid foam (attached to the exterior of the block foundation wall) and goes up along the edge of the sill plate, in over the 2" of exposed sill plate, and about 2" up the band joist. this seals the joints above and below the sill plate.

the strip along the top edge of the band joist is attached to the bottom edge of the wall sheathing and goes down and inward along the exposed 2" of bottom plate, then 2" down the band joist. this seals the joint between the bottom edge of the sheathing and the bottom plate, and between the bottom plate and the band joist.

this works; it forms an air barrier. it's also a pain to apply. i cut off a manageable length of about 5'-6' and then peel back a bit of one edge of the tape. i grab the exposed stickiness and bend it in half outward, so the opposite edges dont contact each other. i then carefully peel the rest of the tape, keeping it stiff, and immediately fold the other end in half and keep it stiff. if any of the sticky parts contact each other, it is almost impossible to fix. i then stick one end in place, hold the other end over where it will go, and slide my hand across, rolling the adhesive into contact.

anyway, this is a pain. slow, time consuming. rather expensive in tape. i'm using the most affordable SAF around here, but it comes with aluminum foil covering. i don't need a vapor barrier on the outside, although the inside is open so it can still breathe. it's just a pain, there are better ways to form an effective air barrier. this is just a solution to poor planning on my part.

i think SAF wouldn't be so bad if i had a high-speed applicator like the Zipwall products have, and if i were applying it to flat surfaces - not 3-dimensional corners like i'm working along.

better air barrier details next time..

the indoor unit

a pic of the indoor air handler of the samsung unit i'm looking at currently:


it's big, like 3 1/2 feet wide.. and 8" tall