2 year review

User experience

#

The occupant of the room says “it’s still really really good.” She wouldn’t have changed anything other than what we already updated: a wider terrace and a gutter. See below.

Thermal comfort:

“When it’s a hot day it’s cool inside and when it’s a cold day it’s warm inside.”

The room is used basically every day.

Maintenance

#

The only real maintenance has been cleaning the air conditioner filter and changing the HRV filters once per year.

The Weathertex cladding was in a “natural” finish, which is expected to fade over time. Well, it did fade, but unevenly according to sun exposure which looks a bit odd. A quick pressure wash however and it returned to its original appearance.

Terrace

#

"A balcony or porch needs to be at least 6 feet (2 metres) deep or it won't be used."

Originally I had only a narrow deck at the entry. The reason was that it was kept within the legal building lines. But of course for a lightweight terrace like this, nobody cares.

My neighbour was throwing out some old bricks from their back garden, so I offered to take them. Just needed a pressure wash. I was able to lay them level with the existing deck. Then I built a low wall that serves as seating.

Gutter & Awning

#

Originally there were no gutters. Instead, rain ran off the front of the awning. That was never great because of splashing back. So we added a gutter.

The awning was clear acrylic, to catch treetop views. As it turned out, it got dirty quickly, spoiling the view. So we painted it. Another benefit from painting it is summer shade.

That’s it for now.