Today I cleaned up the basement and T and I ventured to the local plumbing supply store and purchased a dual tub utility sink. Below is the basic arrangement we are planning for the washer/dryer and new sink.
We got a call from Mike this afternoon. "Bobcat" Tom is expected to be on-site tomorrow to start the excavation for the foundations, the footings for which are still scheduled for next week. Mike also said that Frank (HVAC) and Rob (electrical) will be here in the morning as well. We have not met Frank yet, but we are anxious to do so. We had planned to replace the existing 40-gallon hot water heater (shown in the picture above) with two 50-gallon units. With the size of the house and the size of T's bathtub on the second floor (~300 gallons, full), the current 40-gallon unit is just not large enough. Two 50-gallon units will take up a lot of floor space. Frank has suggested, as an alternative, using a natural gas fired "on demand" unit. These units have no reservoir and just heat water when you need it. Very energy efficient (~94%). We have some major concerns about whether or not this unit will be able to handle the demands put upon it. Frank is envisioning this same unit will supply the required heat to the water-glycol mixture to be circulated through the sunroom radiant floor heating system. Tonight, T took a bath. We measured the fill time and the water temperature. We believe she used 150 gallons of water that was 100F in the space of 7 minutes. If my calculations are correct, during that 7 minutes, she consumed energy at the rate of 321,000 BTU/hr (cold water being at 70F). The unit Frank has spec'd out has a maximum energy input of 150,000 BTU/hr. While this is not the largest unit available (the largest shown from the same manufacturer is 200,000 BTU/hr), we have some serious concerns. Anyway, it will be an interesting discussion.
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