Here are some things to know about the condo and how things work. Some of these may be self-explanatory. Some you may want to take a peak at.
Getting in the condo:
If you don’t have keys with you, we will have told you whom to contact. There are two doors to unlock.
The downstairs entry to the condo. Small blue key
The wooden entry door on the 1st floor (American 2nd floor). Large “old-timey” key
Also, if someone is inside you can “buzz’ them and they can let you up. Just press the button next to “Simmons-Cefalu”
Whenever you leave, you can use the big old-timey key to lock the condo door. We also use that to lock it from the inside at night, and just leave it in the door. Otherwise we keep the keys in the key tray on the sofa corner. That orange key fob is for the back gate to the upper parking area. Officially we have one space allocated to us, but candidly it’s a very tight fit and often filled with other cars. Parking is also available on the street and on the other side of the train station. (more on that later)
When you are walking out downstairs, just press the first button to to the right of the front door unlock it. Like the image below.
The only other entry situation you may need is for the gate behind the condo. That’s where you’ll go to take out the trash (which is its own particular odyssey because they sort EVERYTHING. Just do your best.) Below is the back gate where you can see Cameron sauntering toward the trash cans. And also the gate from the inside looking out.
The code is 0017 and then the arrow key. UP arrow to go IN. DOWN arrow to go OUT. (I think that’s right. If that doesn’t work, just do the opposite)
Heat and Air:
The condo has both radiant heat and AC. The AC thermostat is in the hallway to the left. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of it yet, but it’s pretty self-explanatory. If you get there in the summer feel free to switch it on. Then just turn it completely off when you leave.
If you are visiting during the winter you’ll want to turn the radiant heat on. The heat thermostat is on the main wall behind the couch, next to the kitchen. It may take a little while to heat up but it does a great job. There are radiators in every room. Below is a quick video on how to adjust it.
Basics of how to heat the condo.
Washer and Dryer:
The washer and dryer are in a cabinet in the hallway, across from the small bathroom. These are great little units, but they aren’t the huge American style washer and dryer. You may want to count on smaller loads. Washer on bottom, Dryer on top.
As far as settings go, Cam says just select “AI” and it will figure things out.
The only thing you need to be aware of is that the dryer doesn’t have a drain, so you have to manually enter the squeezed out water. Cam says doing this every two or three loads is usually plenty. Below is how to do that. Basically you just slide out this container, and empty it in the sink. Then slide it back in and you’re good to go.
Electrical:
Just a few things to note. First, when you get there, many of the power strips and some plugs may be turned off. Just switch them on, then please switch them off when you leave. (all but the one for the WiFi). Most are pretty obvious, but there’s a hidden one on the other side of the guest beds.
Also there are some extra adapter plugs in a plastic bin in the top of the closet. Feel free to use them and then just pop them back when you leave. This bin also has extra polaroid film for you to add your picture to the guest book. PLEASE do it. We LOVE to see pics of our friends.
In the winter everything works pretty smoothly. But in the summer, please just be aware of your electrical usage or the breaker outside in the back of the condo may switch off (It’s an old building). Basically you can’t run the AC, AND the washer/dryer, AND a hair dryer, AND the microwave, etc. Basically you can run two or so of these, but not three. If you have the AC on, don’t try to dry your hair and dry clothes at the same time. See what I mean?
IF the power goes out, there are two places to look.
The first are the internal breakers in the hallway on the wall to the right, behind the hallway door. They look like this.
The second place is outside behind the building in a metal cabinet. Go through the gate and walk all the way to the grassy area. The power cabinet is against the far wall to the right of the trash cans. Below are images below that show you how to get there. Again the gate code is 0017 and then the arrow key. UP arrow to go IN. DOWN arrow to go OUT. (If that doesn’t work, just do the opposite)
