Smashy, Smashy

As promised, I got down to some good, old fashioned destruction last night after riding the trainer. Phase one of destruction was not captured on film, but it was spectacular. I cooked a steak in one of the cast iron pans since I didn't feel like going out to the grill. For kicks, I decided to make a bourbon sauce to go with it, using the simple method of cooking the steak with some peppercorns floating around and then deglazing the pan with some bourbon after taking the meat out. I let the alcohol cook off a little before making a giant fireball to burn off the rest and then I added some butter to finish it off. Nothing crazy, minus the 4' flame part.

After dinner, I set about dismantling the back room, not knowing exactly what I might find. Having poked around a little bit, I knew there was some insulation and some super cheap paneling material.


Just to give you an idea of how cheap, you can see how thin it is from this section.


If I had to guess, I'd say it contributes absolutely nothing to the R-value of the wall which is part of the reason the temperature swings back there are so violent. I was scared to actually measure stud spacing, it is not what it is supposed to be.


What I didn't know was how much and where insulation was missing. The pieces to either side of the windows . . . uh, yeah, that's where the window slides when it is opened. I had considered at one point replacing the windows, but not knowing what the framing was like, I decided against it. Sure some casement windows would be great in there, but I don't know if the walls would support the load. Sad, but true, putting up some drywall is the path of least resistance. In all honesty the entire thing should just be ripped down and something legit built in its place, but eh, the next owner can do that.

I am still trying to sort out the existing electrical. I don't understand exactly where it goes after it enters the add on, but there are a number of other outlets on the same circuit. I will add a circuit for the 110v needs in the new coffee room to go along with the 220v required for the espresso machine. That way, I can slowly start re-organizing the wiring for the rest of the house. I'd prefer not to have multiple rooms, often at random on the same breaker.

Speaking of the espresso machine, I did some cleaning this weekend, taking apart various parts and pieces that had some accumulated coffee munge. I had ordered new screens and gaskets because of the general condition as shown below.


Also in the same order was a canister of Joe Glo Backflush Detergent which is one of many coffee equipment cleaning products out there. I mixed up a batch large enough to do some soaking and set out to clean the group bell.


After some soaking in a hot bath, it all cleaned up nicely and went back together smoothly. It will be another couple days before I can fire it all up to make sure it survived the trip across the neighborhood and into my house. The full report will follow.