No need to fully memorize everything here, but skim through it to get a general familiarity with the house, and refer back to it for specific situations.

Index

Front Door Lock

To Unlock: Optionally, hit the “Schlage” button at the top to light up the keypad. Enter your four-digit code. You should now be able to turn the dial counterclockwise.

To Lock: If it’s already unlocked, you don’t even have to enter a code. Just hit the “Schlage” button and rotate the dial clockwise.

Air Conditioner / Heater

The remote control is for the heat pump, which can do both air conditioning and heat. The main buttons are on/off, temperature, and mode. The useful modes are:

  • ❄️ : Air Conditioner, if it’s hot.
  • 💧 : Dehumidifier, if it’s feeling stuffy.
  • ☀️ : Heater, if it’s cold.

In-Floor Radiant Heating

The in-floor heating circulates hot water under the concrete floors. It can take a log time (6–8 hours) to reach temperature and retains the heat for a long time.

The thermostat to control the floor is in the laundry room. To turn it “off,” just turn it down to 58°F. You probably don’t want it above 65°F. Note that using the dryer can affect the temperature that the thermostat sees. Always use the exhaust fan when running the dryer.

Kitchen

We prepare vegetarian meals at home. Absolutely no meat on the wood cutting board. We’d prefer no meat on the pots and pans. (Using the microwave for this should be fine.)

If you fry anything on the stove, be sure to turn on the overhead fan. It can make a lot of smoke and set off the smoke alarm.

Windows

All of the windows have screens, but please only open them under supervision. Our (indoor) cats have pulled out the screens in the past. We’ve also caught the neighborhood cats tearing at the screens from the outside. (They really want to come inside!)

If you go to sleep or leave the house, please close the windows.

Shower

To help prevent mold, please turn on the ceiling fan when using the shower.

To help keep the glass clean, please use the squeegee after taking a shower. It’s also useful for wiping down the mirror.

The bamboo mat can be rolled up and propped up in the shower, to help the floor air-dry.

Utility Room

Try to keep the sliding door to the utility room (off the side of the bathroom) closed as best as possible. (Though Cornelius started to learn how to pull the door open.) The cats will chew through the bag of dry cat food.

Washer / Dryer

When finished with the clothes washer, please leave the door open to let the rubber door seal dry.

When operating the dryer, please turn on the overhead fan. It can get hot and stuffy in there.

The dryer isn’t the strongest in the universe. I’ve found it best to run it twice: first, with a “Dryness Level +3,” which uses moister sensors to get it mostly dry; second, using timed-dry for the minimum amount of 20 minutes.

   

Trash, Recycling, Compost

The trash (grey), recycling (blue), and compost (green) bins are through the gate at the top of the driveway. A trash bag liner dispenser is in the back of the trashcan, with refills under the sink.

Glass goes into the yellow bin. We put recyclable cans in there, too, to make them easier for the local houseless folks to find and recycle.

Patio

Feel free to use the patio area and the window bench. It’s a great little spot that’s protected in the summer heat and winter rain.

If using the patio umbrella, be sure to close it when you’re done. It catches the wind and can topple and damage the house or garden.

The “fire table” fire pit uses a propane tank that’s underneath, behind an access door. You’ll need to turn that on first. Remember to turn it off when you’re done. Please don’t leave it running unattended.

Be extremely careful if using the fire table in combination with the umbrella, and especially don’t leave them unattended.

Unfortunately, the kayaks aren’t here for guest use. If you’d like to go kayaking on the Willamette, we’d suggest rentals from The Portland Kayak Company. They’re on the west side of the river, in the John’s Landing neighborhood.

Fireplace

Before using the wood-burning stove, clear off anything that might be sitting on top, such as candles. The top surface gets very hot.

The lever under the fireplace door controls both the air intake and the flue. When starting a fire, slide it all the way to the left (all the way open). Once a fire’s established, you can turn this toward the middle or right, to help slow down the burn time. Be careful and use a metal tool for this, as it can get hot.

The biggest challenge with the wood stove is that the tall stovepipe is double-walled. It’s insulated. This traps cold air inside at the start, which can block the path of smoke up. And this can fill the room with smoke. If it’s cold out, there are several tricks to help warm that air and stop the smoke from pouring back into the house:

  • First, open the fireplace door for about 30 minutes before starting a fire to help equalize the temperature.
  • Second, when setting up the wood, put a sheet or two of newspaper over the top. Light this first, to create a large flame close to the top of the cavity. Then light the kindling.
  • As mentioned above, move the air lever all the way to the left.

If smoke does come in: turn the air purifiers to max, open the windows beside the front door, and turn on the window fans.

Additional wood can often be found at the New Seasons at Hawthorne and Caesar Chavez.

Smoke Alarm

The smoke alarms are fairly high up. If they go off, you can use the telescoping duster in the utility room to hit the silence button. Try to be careful with frying foods and using the wood-burning stove.

I get paged when the smoke alarm triggers.

Neighborhood Animals

We have a family of scrubjays that live nearby and love peanuts-in-the-shell. Feel free to throw some peanuts out into the courtyard or onto the roof for them. The local crows are a little picky, only wanting the shelled peanuts. They’re also shy and tend to only eat peanuts thrown into the street or front sidewalk.

If you’re going out, feel free to grab some peanuts to feed to the birds.

There are several bird feeders on the property. Feel free to refill them if they’re low.

You will probably run into the neighborhood cats. Ernie (yellow collar) and Ella (red collar) are two black kittens. Peter is a stripey tabby. Anna is long-haired and wears a harness instead of a collar. Both Peter and Ernie love to hang out in the courtyard and birdwatch. Anna shows up occasionally, but is nervous around people. Ella tends to stick to the front yard.

Emergencies

If you are staying at Ravencourt Cottage, you should already have our contact information. It is also in the printed guidebook. For serious medical/fire/police emergencies, dial 911.

In the event of a medical emergency, a first aid kit is in the bathroom drawer. A more serious medical problem should be handled by a trip to an emergency room or a call to 911.

A fire extinguisher is in the utility room.

The electricity cutoff panel is around the side of the house, past the kayaks.

The stove has a gas shutoff behind the false drawer under it. The whole-house gas shutoff is out in the garden, behind the two Moai heads. The wrench to shut off the gas main is next to the fire extinguisher in the utility room.

The water shutoff is around the far side of the water heater in the utility room.

Instruction Manuals