Yesterday I talked about waffling about whether I should invest in a garden space and things like fruit trees and bushes if I am planning on moving. The same is true with all home projects. The wisdom in the space is to be careful about changes that are made so that you don’t overspend compared to value of the house.
This project that I have been picking away at is not one of them. I cannot say how much improvement there is in my basement by tucking ducts up into the floor joists. It hardly costs any money and it make the space so much more open and accessible. I used to have to duck under two ducts each time I entered and left my office. That has all changed.
Not only is it easier to get to my office, having the duct tucked up in the ceiling allows more light over the whole space. There are two windows in the basement, more natural light is coming in as well as the electrical fixtures. Because the ducts were hanging down, they were constantly in the way of moving decorations and other storage items around. All of that is going away with each duct I move.
I won’t be able to do all of them because they don’t all run parallel with the floor joists. But, doing the major pathways has paid major dividends on the usability of the space. It looks better too, not just an after thought or the laziest installation possible.
To date, I have spent about $100 on materials. I have never worked with duct work before since this is typically a one and done type job. That being said, I am kind of liking it. I ended up buying a crimping tool so I can make my own custom lengths or rigid pipe. The truth is that the original installers taped the flex duct to the rigid fixtures and over time, that tape has failed. I have already had to fiddle with trying to re-attach ductwork that is in my way over the years.
This is one of those projects that fits into the do it regardless of how it effects value. In my opinion, there is no way that it could hurt and it is so little initial outlay of time and money, I should have done this years ago (it should have been done this way originally). So, I will pick away at it a couple hours at a time until I have done what I can do.
End Your Programming Routine: If it was simple, I would be done already. I have to delicately pick my way through different things like re-enforcing structure or wires in the way that have to be reconfigured etc. But, I am doing this purposefully and carefully and each one of those things adds a little dimension to the puzzle without having heat all day. It is a new kind of challenge.
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