In which we have decisions to make.

Spent part of yesterday de-icing one of the heat pump compressors at the building.  With all of this snow and other weather, the two compressors that are closest to the corner of the building are getting snow in the fan mechanism.  The fans either stop working or they start to make a mechanical noise because of the ice buildup in the case itself.  We are looking into covers made specifically for these units.  We came up with a quick fix yesterday that will probably work for this winter.  We just need to cover the units with a board to ensure that the snow and ice do not touch the units themselves.  

Spent another part of yesterday researching sound deadening materials that would go over our subfloor and under the finished floor.  We think we found the perfect thing that not only provides sound deadening to 46 decibels, but also has an R value of 3.2 (not much, but it might help a bit) and a fire retardant layer to further ensure, (along with everything else) that the building does not go up in  flames anytime soon!  We have ordered a roll (500 square feet of coverage for about $350.00.  It all sounds too good to be true, so we only ordered one roll of the material, which can be used under carpet, hardwood, or ceramic tile.  Greg and I had a good discussion of what we would put down where...carpet in the common areas and bedrooms to help with noise, and tile or hardwood in the mudroom and kitchen.  

I have to head up to Fairfield for an auction preview tomorrow, so we will use that time to visit Home Depot, Mardens and Lowes to see what they have to offer us.  Then, if I can find something online that works and ships for free, I might just do that.  The best thing we do is educate ourselves a lot first before deciding what finishes to use on our properties.  We think they come out rather well mostly!