Some of the light switches and receptacles replaced.

Another thing we noticed is that 8 of the 11 heating thermostats were not very accurate, fluctuating by 5 - 8 degrees from one to another. The existing thermostats were the analog type where one slides the lever along a miniscule ruler gauge which is almost impossible to set the temperature with any degree of accuracy. So, we also replaced all 10 analog thermostats with 240-volt digital thermostats, and 1 mini-volt thermostat for the garage propane heater, all which can now be set to a specific number degree, (like 68 degrees, for example) and the temperature will stay at 68 degrees (precisely) HEAT (or whatever it was set at) all day and night long, or can be programmed to the owner's specific days, times and temperatures. It may get hotter, but only if the day's temperature is warmer than 68 degrees, or excess sunlight is coming in and warming the room more; but it will never get colder than what it was set for. The reason is that there is no formal cooling system, other what is referred to as Wyoming A/C, which involves opening the windows, as the Average (F) Temps in Star Valley Ranch during the year are as follows, so clearly the important thing system here is heating, not cooling. Opening the first or second floor windows allows the cool breezes in, which will rise and escape through the second/third story windows, aiding the cooling process.
Below are the Monthly Climate Average temperatures for Star Valley Ranch (for 2022, as of January 2023:
- Jan: 28H and 8L
- Feb: 29H and 10L
- Mar: 36H and 17L
- April: 43H and 23L
- May: 56H and 30L
- June: 69H and 40L
- July: 80H and 48L
- Aug: 78H and 47L
- Sep: 69H and 41L
- Oct: 51H and 29L
- Nov: 37H and 15L
- Dec: 26H and 7L
- (per Weatherwx.com for Star Valley Ranch, WY)
Below are some of the different thermostats that were installed to replace the old analog thermostats...
Above and below, some of the new digital thermostats
Below are some of the cadet heaters, which other than the issue with the thermostats were working correctly and heated the house well.
Above: A Cadet heater, 240V. Below: The Cove heaters that radiate heat through the room they are in by a fan forcing the air that passes over heating elements. Each room or area of a large room can be controlled separately, and if not needed to be used in a room, it can be set to a lower degree or just turned off, altogether. This is the advantage of such separate heating, over central heating. Central heats everywhere all the time, whereas this heating can be segregated to whichever room or area needs it only.
In the Living Room (1st an 2nd Floor) there are two (2) Cove heaters, as well as several Cadet heaters... kitchen, 1/2 bath, and open areas, throughout the 2nd floor due to its size, open floor plan and high ceilings. The 3rd floor has no heaters because all the heating from 2nd floor rises to 3rd floor, and often we even have to open a window in the master bath or leave one of the 3rd floor patio doors partially open to allow the excess heat to escape. In the summer a tower fan in one of the third floor doorways keeps the master bedroom cool at night... otherwise known as Wyoming air-conditioning.
Above, the Cove heaters, which offer radiant heating. It heats and keeps a place heated more efficiently, but the Cadet (because it is fan-forced) will heat an area faster. So the combination of the two heating systems is the best option. Below the Cadet heaters...
Above and below, the two Cove heaters in 2nd
floor living area, over the sliding glass door.
Above: The kitchen heater is under the sink cabinet with
the thermostat across the room, next to the refrigerator.
The same with the Laundry room, heater is in ceiling with thermostat on wall.
At the first floor entrance thermostat and heater are on wall next to the electrical breaker box.
In the 1st floor family room a previous Cadet room heater, was replaced with a larger Cove Heater as the room is larger and often has to heat the office/bedroom #3. This is more than enough to heat the Family Room and 1 bedroom next to it.
So the old Cadet is still there, but it does not work as the electric cable that used to feed it was re-routed to supply power to the cove heater.
The other bedroom on 1st floor has a it's own thermostat and Cadet heater. As the Cadet from the living area is just opposite this one, we suppose that one could use the power that feeds this heater to feed the other (old) Cadet on the other side of the wall.
The thermostat in the 1st floor bath is on the wall by light switch, but the heater is on the ceiling, which is really nice to stand under it while drying yourself.
Next, we replaced the two storm doors on the 3rd floor master bedroom, leading to the balcony, as these would not close properly, leaving gaps for cold and water infiltration and their surface was old, scratched and stained. After receiving the new (Larson) doors to match in color & style, it was evident that the reason that the previous doors would not fit well to the frames was that the door frames were off level, so the frames themselves had to be straightened and fitted to the doors. Now they close fantastically. In dead winter, one can open the inner doors and feel no cold or breeze infiltration through the full glassed storm doors. BTW, this is a great place to sit and have the morning coffee, while looking over the neighborhood and the mountains/canyon.

After that, we followed to check the 2nd floor front patio door, as it too would not fit correctly or close properly. In this case, only the dead bolt could lock the door, as the normal door handle dead latch was not even aligned to the striker plate. We also noticed that the door that was there was 75" high, instead of the normal 78" height. Apparently, at some point in the past this door frame had also been fitted to this ill-sized doors. Again, we had the door frame redone to fit a standard sliding door 78" high and we used a good quality Andersen double-paned sliding door.
ABOVE: Photo of OLD door. Below: the new Anderson Door installed.
BTW, if you ever need a great finish carpenter, we heartily recommend Brent A. Shever (307) 690-7049 who lives in this area.
ABOVE: Photos of front, new Andersen Double-Paned Sliding Glass Door
Continuing to work in the Living Area, we added a Western-styled 5-blade, 4-lamped fan with dimmer and timer remote control, in the living room. Noticing that there was an absence of lighting, we also added a light over the informal high-top square table between the kitchen and the living room, while leaving the area in front of the new slider available to walk-through.
The interior area contiguous to the living room, which had at one time been an exterior covered porch on the Southern side of the house (matching the one on the Northern side) was devoid of any lighting, so we added a track light in this area across from the main stairway to light this area with subdued lighting, lighting the area between the two end cabinets in this area.
On the 2nd floor front deck the lamps that were there were old, dented and even rusty, so we replaced them with new ones. There was a light on each side of the main doorway (now the sliding glass door) and one at the southern side of the front deck which would light up the stairway at night, but one had to go to the corner of the living room to turn on this light, so we changed this light to match the two at the sliding glass door (for uniformity) but also added a solar motion sensor light which we installed at the stairway to light the stairway directly.
PHOTO PENDING
Additionally, most exterior lights at doorways were all switched on from inside with a regular globe type outside lamp. These have all been changed to motion sensor lights, which will light up automatically as someone approaches and turn off automatically after 1/3/10 minutes after movement stops being detected, lighting the areas around the home, gazebo and garage entrances, so that if you are walking a dog after dark, you will be sure to be able to see what is out there , so that you don't accidentally run into unexpected wildlife.
The Master Bedroom (3rd floor) had two 78" lead clothes rods (one on each side). We replaced these with IKEA wardrobe organizers with equal hanging rods (high and low), plus 4 drawers and shelves, equal but opposite on each side, so both sides can benefit from opening the drawers, even with the closet door open. This photo was midway through the remodeling, showing the lead rods that were on each side of the closet. The cabinets from IKEA were started. We had to wait 3 weeks to get the rest of the cabinets, as that was the way life was like in the middle of Covid. Now the whole closet is finished as the photos show.
UPDATED PHOTO OF CLOSET PENDING HERE
Lastly, as stated at the start of this website, one of the great things about this location is the abundant and amazing views available around it. Views of the mountains... of the valley... of the golf course, etc. However, unfortunately, to be able to enjoy the views one had to either go out to the street/circle, or go out to the far back yard by the golf course (or on the golf course). Why?? Because the trees had all been planted many years ago and back then (while they were still young) they may have been small enough and not too close to each other, so they allowed ample views of the beauty around the house. However, such was no longer the case. The trees, now 30 to 45 feet tall and 10-15 feet in diameter of the tree trunk, were all growing into each other and blocked the views of the mountains, valley, and golf course. Even the views from the 3rd floor, through the large picture windows were of nothing but trees (Aspen and Spruce). Even in winter the Spruce don't shed their leaves (like the Aspen) so the views are still obstructed. So, since they served no purpose, we took out 9 trees back there... and opened up the view of the golf course, valley and all the mountain ranges. Now you can even see Caribou mountain, with it usual snow capped peaks.
View of golf course from rear 2nd floor deck before big trees were removed.
Above/Below view of house from the golf course before big trees were removed.
Above: Views BEFORE rear trees blocking views were removed
Below: Views AFTER rear trees blocking views were removed and the views opened up.
What a difference removing those trees made.
The back yard with raspberry patch on the left behind the garage.
Don't get us wrong, we love trees, as part of the natural state of the environment, but they need to fulfill a purpose and not detract from the natural beauty of their environment. So, the 10-12 smaller/younger Spruce trees in the back yard, which are only about 10-12 ft. tall were mostly all left intact, as they add to the environment, and to cool the breezes, without detracting from the views. Only the ones that were growing in between them and stunting others' growths were removed. As in the photo below, these trees give shade and comfort to the wildlife. as the mule deer are often found laying under them.
That bare dry patch of grass has now been fixed with root strengthening fertilizer and sprinkler system directed at it, as shown in photo below Here you can see how bad the lawn was when we first moved in, and below, about a year ago. Even the deer now like to lay under these Spruce trees to enjoy the shade with soft grass to lay on.
Also, because many trees were so close to the buildings (some even within 5-10 feet) so that the branches were rubbing and in high winds thrashing the house, in accordance with recommendations from the Fire Dept, "any tree within 30 feet of any building" (house, gazebo and garage) was removed to avoid becoming a source of fuel to a wildfire. Now the only trees that remain within 30 feet of one of our structures belong to our neighbors, so we cannot remove them. See the fire recommendations for our area, below...

There was and remains a Raspberry garden (approx. 50' x 18') behind the garage that was not visible in the back yard, until all the snow melted. Then, its deteriorated condition was evident, as the fence was clearly in need of replacement to keep the deer out, and because the plants were in sad shape, as the previous owner did not attend them and also because neither of us has a green thumb, we opted to do away with it altogether. We removed the makeshift fencing and though we tried to let them die off by not attending to them, they had other plans and persevered on their own giving ripe fruit come August. They begin fruiting in early summer and the season lasts approximately 4-5 weeks. The plants may begin fruiting in June or July and should be picked by August. However, lo and behold they have persisted and continued to give fruit, year after year, despite the previous owners and ourselves not attending to them. So, if you are interested in cultivating them they are there for you. If not, at the very least you will have fresh raspberries to pick and give away, and if you don't like raspberries, the neighbors are always willing to come by and pick them for you as they make pies and preserves with them. Some neighbors asked if they could take some of the plants to regrow on their yards. We gladly obliged and they did so gladly. Or you can have them dug up and re-use that area for a different purpose. Their root system is not that deep and can be easily remove with a tractor.
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