Apartment Details

Please read the first 3 items at least!

 

Smoking:

Per the rental agreement, there is no smoking (or vaping) allowed in the apartment, balcony or on our property.  Violators of this rule will be asked to leave immediately, and if there is a security deposit, it will be forfeited along with your rental payment. So if you are a smoker, this is an excellent time to quit.

Parking:  

You may park under the apartment in the carport. The overhead light comes on for a few minutes when you are near it. If you park on 35th Street (or have guests that need to do so), please use the Residential Parking hang tag that is in the top drawer under the oven/microwave.  Do not park blocking the sidewalk or with the car aimed the “wrong way”  when parallel parked. We have seen tickets doled out for both of these infractions.

Entry (READ THIS!):

The keyless entry is keyed to the last four digits of your cell phone. Locking is NOT automatic.

TO UNLOCK: Pull the door knob firmly closed (toward the street). LET GO OF THE KNOB. Enter the code, then open the door. Turn the door knob all the way to open. Some people have had difficulty just because they didn’t turn the handle all the way.

TO LOCK: Pull the door knob firmly closed. LET GO OF THE KNOB. Press the LOCK button. NOTE: Entering the entry code is NOT required to lock the door.

HINT: Pushing/pulling the door knob too soon while it is in operation prevents it from working. Waiting after the sound stops does nothing. Turn the handle fully. If it does not open, repeat the unlock proceedure above.

Hint two: if you enter the incorrect code, press the LOCK button to clear the memory. re-enter the correct code to open the door. This is also helpful at night if you can’t see the numbers, press the lock button and the pad will illuminate, then enter the code to open the door.

There is also a KEY TO THE DEADBOLT in the top drawer under the microwave. The entry light will come on automatically when you are near it. If you have any problem getting in, ring the doorbell or call Rice at 512-560-7711. Most guests don’t use the key, but feel free to use it if you are more comfortable with that method.

Lights, Plugs and chargers:

All interior and exterior lights on the building are LED.  Most are labeled.  One or two may flicker if the dimmer (on wall switch, NOT the Philips Hue dimmers) is turned down too low, so just turn it up a bit (slide by the switch) and it will stop flickering.

Philips Hue Remotes:

3 are mounted by the end of the bookcase near the TV and the couch. One controls ALL HUE LIGHTS in the apartment, one for the CEILING, and one for the TV ZONE (back of the TV). With these you can control the color of the lights, and brightness levels in addition to on/off.

FLOOR LAMP remote is mounted on the bookcase beside it.  On/off, color, and brightness level.

HEADBOARD light (by the bed). Pro tip: This remote will also turn off ALL of the Philips Hue lights in the apartment if you PRESS AND HOLD the off button. A quick single press will ONLY turn off the HEADBOARD.

BALCONY remote is mounted to the right side of the refrigerator next to the door. On/off and brightness level

PENDANT “smart button” on the left side of the microwave to control this light. Press quickly for on/off, press and hold to dim the light. No color controls. It WILL NOT WORK if you turned off the switch on the backsplash that is marked “LEAVE ON.”

The wall plug just below the microwave has built-in USB-A ports, no adapter needed; there are several by the bed too. More advanced USB charging ports are by the couch on the floor (white), two 12w USB-A, and one 30w USB-C port , and can be turned off with the center button.

The black floor lamp (Aukey) that extends over the couch, has a multi-function on/off button. One press turns on the light, rotate the knob to change the brightness level, press the knob quickly to jump through the three color temperature settings, and lastly to turn it off use a LONG press on the knob.

The white reading light extending over the lounge chair has touch controls for on/off, and will dim or brighten with longer presses.

Bathroom and vanity:

Pantene™ shampoo (white color) and Neutrogena™ body wash are in a dispenser in the shower.  There is a silver touch-free hand soap dispenser by the vanity with Meyer’s Hand Soap (same as the pump bottle by the kitchen sink). There is additional bar soap in the drawer under the vanity sink in the basket; also a hair dryer, extra hand towels and washcloths. Ladies, please use the makeup remover tissues in the resealable container or the dark “Makeup” washcloths. Also in the center secton some are white adjacent to the embroidered “Makeup” cloths but they are aso for makeup).  Pure white washcloths are best for all other purposes. Other amenities can also be found in these drawers including beach towels.  Please do not take the white bath towels out of the apartment.  Fresh towels will be provided every 3-4 days. Bed linens are changed weekly.

Wardrobe:

You will find hangers, and extra blankets. In the corner closet is an ironing board, iron and a small clothes steamer are just above them on the next shelf.  Also in the corner cabinet is the yellow pole for raising and lowering the balcony shades (has a hook on the end) by rotating the eyelet on the end of each shade. Please use some of the red/black shock cords to attach to the end of the shades and hook onto the steel railing. This will prevent them from wildly flapping in the wind. Another pole is blue, this one is to reach across the stairs and raise or lower the window blinds. Additionally two umbrellas and a “beach mat” will be found to take to Barton Springs or wherever.

Murphy Bed & Convertible sofa:

It is a queen-sized bed, I usually leave it down when people check in for simplicity. it stores vertically but be sure to snap the restraining strap into place if you fold it up into its enclosure.  Please remove the four foam blocks forming the headboard before trying to put the bed into the vertical position.  Above the bed are two down feather pillows. The pillows on the bed are synthetic. There is a white duvet & synthetic blanket in the top of th wardrobe. There is a sound machine just to the left of the bed. It has many selections, adjust as needed for white noise or leave it off. 

The convertible sofa has ample bedding in the storage hidden by the wall. Just raise up the left side by the wall, 2 duvets, 1 flat sheet, 2 pillows, and a soft synthetic blanket.

See this page for some visual instructions on the convertible sofa.

Kitchen:

The microwave is new July 2024.  Please see the directions in the drawer below it for full instructions.  Pots, pans, cooking & eating utensils are all located under the two-burner cooktop.  The cooking surface gets very hot, so be cautious.  There is a dish-drying rack under the sink, and a gray absorbent pad (to go under it) for drying dishes adjacent to it on the door.  There are also bins for trash and recycling under the sink.  Trash and recycle pick up is on Friday mornings (recycling is 2x a month).  We will collect your trash if you are out and request that we do it on Thursday; otherwise please put your trash in the tan City of Austin container adjacent to the carport.  Recycle goes into the larger blue container (paper, glass, cans, plastic, cardboard, but NOT plastic bags or styrofoam).  You’ll find extra trash bags under the sink for bathroom and kitchen containers.  In the lower cabinet just to the left of the refrigerator are extra paper towels & a blender. A sliced bread toaster is in the far bottom left drawer, close to the dining table.  There is a toaster oven in one of the bottom kitchen drawers.  Make sure it’s cool before you put it back! On the counter is the coffee maker and a small supply of fresh ground coffee. Coffee filters are in the drawer under the coffee maker. There is a gold screen metal filter sitting in the coffee maker. You may put the coffee grinds directly in this OR use one of the paper filters. Don’t use BOTH! Don’t throw away the metal filter!! A tea selection is in the back of the drawer under the coffee maker with the filters & dish towels, plus some hot chocolate packages. Rummage around, and if you can’t find what you need, call us! If you run out of any of these supplies, call us (or text).

The fire extinguisher is just to the right of the refrigerator by the balcony doors.

Please do not turn off the refrigerator!

Balcony:

Depending on the weather, we’ll need to access to the apartment every week at a minimum to tend to the plants. If you are staying more than a week, we can water these plants when we change the bed linens and towels. The balcony lights can be controlled by the Hue Dimmer switch on the side of the refrigerator facing the balcony doors (it’s magnetic and removable too). DO NOT TURN OFF the wall switch for the balcony lights that is just to the right of the doors (it’s taped down to prevent it’s use).

In the corner wardrobe, there is a yellow pole for raising and lowering the balcony shades, it has a hook on the end. Rotate the eyelet on the end of each shade to your preference. Please use some of the red/black shock cords to attach to the end of the shades and hook onto the steel railing. This will prevent them from wildly flapping in the wind. If it’s windy, please raise the pleated interior shades on the French doors so they are not damaged by the wind movement. If you open the doors fully flat against the exterior walls, the door stop can latch to the door by a hook and the wind cannot blow it open or shut. It does require your finger to gently latch it to the hook on the door.

Sonos Speakers:

I principally use these just for the Sony TV. The Sonos Beam sound bar is integrated with the two back speakers for a surround effect.

Apple HomePod mini stereo pair:

These speakers provide the best musical experience for the whole room. Just say “Siri, play Taylor Swift” (or whatever you like) and “Siri, stop” when you are done.

Fans:

The interior ceiling fan is controlled by the wall switch at the head of the stairs. When you first turn it on, it is on whatever speed it was left on the last time it was used. In the top drawer under the oven/microwave, there is a remote control in a Ziplock bag (leave it in the bag). The remote works fine inside the bag. I have it in the bag as the surface of the remote became sticky with time and some deterioration. Until I can find a replacement, this was an easy solution. The fan has 3 speeds.

There is a small fan in the wardrobe that can be plugged in on the balcony if you would like to sit outside and have some artificial breeze.

Air Conditioning:

Mitsubishi mini-split heat pump. It is an 18,000 BTU unit.  Simple directions are the primary buttons on the remote:  ON/OFF, TOO WARM, TOO COLD... just press the button while aiming the infrared remote at the unit on the wall (aiming is important!).  More complicated directions are under the sliding panel on the remote. The MODE button is used to change from HEAT to COOL, and will show a small “SUN” symbol or a “SNOWFLAKE” respectively. If you don’t AIM the remote at the mini-split, they remote may indicate a change but the air conditioning unit will not be aware of it.

TIP: It works best in the summertime with the MODE = SNOWFLAKE ❅ and with fan in the AUTO position. If you turn the temperature down several degrees then the fan will automatically speed up. Also if it gets really hot outside and the unit is not cooling enough, manually increase the fan speed.

The full instructions are in the drawer under the oven/microwave. PLEASE TURN IT OFF if you leave the doors or windows open for an extended period of time.

HEPA Air Filter:

The Winix HEPA air filter behind the couch is set on auto, which generally has an unoffensive sound level.  If you want to turn it off, power is on the top left. The HEPA filters are replaced every six months and they are cleaned between guests. If there is a power outage you will have to manually turn the filter back on.

Netatmo Weather Station and EVE Weather

The base unit for our home weather station is behind some books near the lounge chair. I recommend that guests open some doors and/or windows for 10 minutes a day at a minimum to let in some fresh air. The apartment is VERY WELL insulated and sealed, so the air quality will decline over time if you don’t let some CO2 out of the apartment. TIP: “Hey Siri, what is the temperature in the carport?” (outside) or “Hey Siri, what is the temperature in the apartment?" This is also displayed on the EVE Weather module on top of the bookcase. You may also say “Alexa, what is the temperature outside?” and the Amazon Echo Dot will give you the temperature from the Netatmo sensor in the carport.

Information about “green” Gallery House (more than most want to know):

  • We received our Certificate of Occupancy (CO) on January 26, 2012. We had many hurdles to leap, as the 1927 house is an Austin Historic Landmark (Fruth House) and then there is the competency of City of Austin staff....It took 10 months of patience for all the approvals, then another 5 months of impatience to get the Building Permit to begin (a long story about the wastewater lines) and then another 11 months until the CO. Yes, 26 months.

  • Our first guests arrived for South by Southwest in March 2012.

  • We designed Gallery House to be energy-efficient as much as possible...and durable to minimize maintenance when we are old. :-)

  • It has 100% LED lighting: The central ceiling LED lights on full brightness draw about only 80 watts.

  • The tankless gas water heater has a capacity of approximately 6 gallons/minute and it never runs out... A Rheems tankless water heater was in use for the first 8 years, and it was replaced in 2019 with a Rinnai unit, almost identical to the heater on the main house.

  • 4 KW of solar panels on the roof: 16 x 250 watt panels, 96% efficient with a micro inverter on each panel. Only 120v. a/c power comes off the roof through one roof penetration. The panels are attached via clamps to the raised seams of the metal roof. We are added 11 more 415w panels in August 2020 to our house to bring us up to 8.57kw. This will cover 90% of the electrical needs of our main house excluding air conditioning.

  • The metal roof is air ventilated from the edge of the building to the roof ridge, with angular strips of wood elevating it from the plywood and tarpaper sub roof.

  • The roof and floor are insulated with Icynene®, the walls are insulated with BIBS® (blown in blanket system), including the garage below.

  • Windows are Marvin® Integrity with Low-E glass. The apartment is as tight as a thermos bottle. Again, I recommend guests opening the doors and/or windows for 10 minutes every day to let in some fresh air as the apartment barely “leaks.”

  • The balcony decking is Trex® flooring. It should last forever...

  • Most of the exterior is HardiePlank® siding (a cement based product). It will last forever.

  • Mitsubishi mini-split Heat Pump has a 19.2 SEER rating. It provides heating and cooling. It performs best if you leave it on constantly.

  • Pine floors came from a Schlitz beer distributor warehouse that was being demolished in the 600 block of North Main Street in Fort Worth, Texas. They are about a century old: Longleaf, Shortleaf, and Loblolly pines. Please do not wear high heeled shoes on them! Pine is a softwood, not a hardwood!

  • The bricks around the entry are from the original house, recycled from a chimney, dated 1924 (date stamps were intentionally placed to be visible, much to the consternation of the mason).

  • “Carpeting” is from FLOR. FLOR tiles are made from recycled fibers and can be recycled...and one tile can be removed and washed or replaced if damaged, instead of an entire rug.

  • The doormat at the entry is made from recycled ropes from Maine lobster traps.

Other features:

  • The bed is from the original Murphy bed company in Farmingdale, New York. We learned there are many wannabes, there is only one Murphy bed. Sadly I think they went out of business several years after ours was purchased.

  • Power outages: Rare, but they do happen from time to time. If so there will be a lot of beeping in the apartment as there are two UPS (uninterruptible power supply) units, one in each bookshelf. There is another one in the garage beneath the apartment. Most power interruptions are quite brief, but should there be a long one, the beeping will continue until the batteries die or you turn the units off. They do keep the house network going until failure.

  • Pictures are hung from the Fry Reglet Integrated Functional Reveal embedded in the sheetrock.

  • We will eventually add a water collection system to the gutters to supply water for a future garden.

Local artisans:

We love Central Austin, and hope you will too. Thank you for being our guest!  Please call or text us if you have any  additional needs. 512-560-7711 (Rice’s cell) or 512-560-1953 (Pam’s cell).

Cheers!

Rice Jackson & Pamela Bell, owners