Ok, bring it, you stupid sun

[susandennis]

I'm ready. This is the third year for this air conditioner and set up was fairly easy. It lives behind a curtain in a little alcove next to the fireplace. It is huge but it is also on wheels so old lady doable.



I turned the hose vent upside down this year to keep the floor clear for both Biggie and Eufy. Also that hose gets warm so maybe help keep it from getting too warm.

Above it is... stryofoam. When I first stuck it there, Biggie tried to get at it. It's a little high for him to get a good grip. My plan was to cover at least the bottom 10-12 inches but maybe I won't need to. He's left it alone.

I really wish I could noodle out some way/box/doorway/hole so that when the door is closed, he can still get out to the terrace. It would not have to be big and I could set the whole vent mechanism on top of it but I can't figure out how to fashion it. I'll keep thinking.



There was pure joy, however, when I fired up the app on my phone and clicked it to cool life. Ahhhhhh. If I do not use it for a month or more, I'll be very happy. It's just lovely to know it's there and it's ready.

Here's my setup/takedown dates with today in the mix.

Comments

[mairi-dubh.livejournal.com]

Oh, I can see it in my mind, but don't think I can explain it. Basically, a pet door set in the "half" of a barrier thing like your styrofoam door-blocker (which couldn't be styrofoam, if Biggie shreds that stuff)--in the "half" your A/C device doesn't block.
Sort of depends, too, on what your HOA permits.

I know that's a rough description. Assuming you Biggie is slender, maybe a " blocker" twice as wide as the A/C intake? And then goes to the top of the door, with Biggie's ingress/egress just farther from the door frame by the A/C intake? A Charley bar to keep the door itself secure, and none of this in place of course while you're not at home....?

[susandennis]

Oh I was thinking about something not nearly so elaborate and far more doable. Like a 4 2x2's to make a frame for Biggie to go through with the intake sitting on top and the stryofoam sitting on top of that like it is now.

no need to secure. i'm on the 4th floor - if a bad guy crawls up this high, he's welcome to what he can get.

[mairi-dubh.livejournal.com]

That's what I meant: can see it in my mind, but I can't really describe it. Or, I am really, truly, simply and purely unimaginably stupid, and I'm not ruling that out.
Shall I try to draw it (in my own journal?)
Or ought I just keep quiet?

[susandennis]

happy to see a drawing... i'm just looking for something simple i can buy or fabricate with zero tools.

[mairi-dubh.livejournal.com]

Ooo...not zero tools, no. Need scissors or a box cutter and maybe a sewing machine. I do dreadful technical drawings, so this may take a day or two. What about having someone else do the cutting?

[susandennis]

I cannot image anything I could sew that would support the weight of the ac and styrafoam for that matter.

really don't worry about it. i'll figure out something.

if/when we are allowed to have people in, then i'll hire someone if I still need it

[mairi-dubh.livejournal.com]

"Like a 4 2x2's to make a frame for Biggie to go through with the intake sitting on top and the stryofoam sitting on top of that like it is now."

But that's brilliant! Better, simpler than I was thinking, but the principle'd be the same or at least quite similar. Yours would work beautifully.

I mentioned "sewing machine" because in this old house we're in, we have a window A/C unit in one bedroom window. To keep a cat happy, I crack the door just wide enough for the cat to get through; to keep most of the cool air in the room, I sewed a sturdy drapery which is on a spring-mounted tension rod which in turn sits in the door aperture. The curtain has a "cat opening" in it, a lot like that traditional one associated with dog houses (at least in cartoons.)
I was thinking "sideways," and your idea's much better: up, with the A/C intake on top of the kitty ingress/egress.
You know, I bet if you went to Home Depot or maybe to Lowe's, you could get someone to do this for you one-two-three. You are allowed two cuts for free, and I've been allowed more because those guys at the saw just don't want to mess around writing up tickets for...fifty-cents?

If you should end up nailing the bits together yourself, rotate the corners for greater structural integrity. (Bet you already know that.)

"no need to secure. i'm on the 4th floor - if a bad guy crawls up this high, he's welcome to what he can get."
As long as he doesn't get you, Biggie or Eufy.
You and I are old enough to recall the May 4, 1970 Kent State shootings. So, you're old enough to recall Richard Speck.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

As an alternative, you could just put a cat door in the glass panel. A little unorthodox, but would do the job year-round.

[susandennis]

Holy crap no a stick, you did it again. Solved the problem!!!

The only reason I still have this is because it's too big to fit into the car for Goodwill. It's disgustingly dirty but that can be fixed.... I totally forgot I still had it!



I can just slide it right in between the door and the current ac vent arrangement.

Perfect. Thank you.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

And again you had the exact thing I was suggesting! Between us, we must add up to the most organised person on the planet:).

[susandennis]

Imagine what we could do if we were one person and lived on the same continent!

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

It's almost terrifying to contemplate!

[howeird]

I was going to suggest getting one.

[alice-mccoy.livejournal.com]

I love that you recorded the dates each year.

It's not just meeeeeee that does stuff like that. Lol