Posts Tagged minor

Read twice, order once

Months ago I ordered a cover/grille assembly for the light/fan/heater unit in my bathroom – the original had been lost prior to me moving in. I also got the unit’s install guide emailed from the manufacturer. I scanned the wiring diagrams only long enough to confirm that I’d be able to wire everything on my own, but failed to note a key point – the switch for this type of unit is more specialized than the standard 3 switch combo I then went and bought at Home Depot. So, now, as I’m finally ready to finish wiring things up, I realize I can’t. I just put the order in to the manufacturer for the specific switch assembly I need, but meanwhile I’m feeling a little dumb, and a little irritated that I can’t get this done as planned. Planned being a relative term of course since I’m only getting to it now.

I did at least complete the wiring from the service panel to the unit. Originally I was going to swipe an existing run that goes to an unused heater in the bathroom:

…but it was clamped into the heater unit before the room was finished off, and thus would be a bit of a pain to undo:
Instead, I reasoned that, since I wouldn’t be using that heater unit, I could branch the line for the overhead unit from the same run and not have to worry about overloading the circuit:

exhibit A: the box

exhibit B: the box open, showing the line coming from
the service panel and the line going to the old heater.

exhibit don’t-be-an-idiot: even if you know you flipped the breaker,
check that the line isn’t hot before sticking your hand in there.

new branch tied in to all three wires

…and coming up to meet the wires running from the overhead unit.

I took too many pictures of semi pointless things here, so you’ll have to take my word that I attached these two wires to each other and am now just breathlessly awaiting the delivery of the switch assembly. Maybe you’ll get some more pictures of that. If you’re good.

Update:
Pics of the wrong and the right switch (specialty switch needed for the job is on the right in both pics):


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Quick hits

Got started on the list of things to do that will let me do things on my big list. You’ll see. It’ll all come together soon…

Said list today included:
– cutting two 10′ 2x4s for use in the shed. Of course, these 2x4s were in the attic and I decided not to drag the circ saw an an extension cord up there…
– cut and installed ‘covers’ on two of the three attic ‘windows’ to cut down on the draft up there; it’ll be a little while before I can build the custom windows for those holes, so this is better than nothing
– took ye olde hammer outside to deal with this:

Then spent a few hours helping Marion get more things shipped so he can leave town (again).

More tomorrow. You’ll see…

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Dangit…

I missed posting on both Wednesday AND Thursday and now I’ve forgotten half the things I did, I’m sure. I do know I finally cleared a couple of things in the upstairs shower room and hung two mirrors I’d taken down from elsewhere – I would post pictures, but the room is kind of small and you wouldn’t get a real good sense of it. Suffice to say a) there are no longer mirrors cluttering the shower room and b) the mirrors now on the walls give it a more open and inviting feel, which it was definitely lacking before.

Minor stuff here and there. Took measurements on the window holes in the attic to prep for making some custom windows. Marked off cuts on 2x4s to use for shelving in the shed. More Kroil and more blowtorch on the stand pipe (still nothing…). Ummm… other things too, I bet.

Today was a bit of a lost day – later start, sidetracked by other projects, and then a lot of wandering Elyria looking for a plumbing supply place in the hopes of getting a couple of small radiator parts. I did manage to get a couple of floor mats for inside the doorways (note to local merchants – selling out of floor mats in December in Ohio is a good thing, and should prompt you to order MORE floor mats because it’s not like everyone in town was smart enough to buy them before now) but they need to be uncreased before I can see if they work with my doors.

Righto. A weekend awaits.

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More small stuff

Raked about half the backyard.

More clearing in back room and living room.

Took a wire brush to the stand pipe cleanout, then gave it another dose of Kroil. Will alternate this with a blowtorch for the next couple of days and see if it gets us anywhere.

Mapped a few electrical circuits in the basement, including finally isolating the dining room light so I can install the switch and unit – and have a dining room again!

Also sorted through most of the papers that had piled up on the coffee table, which isn’t really house-related per se, but at least I now have a coffee table again. And now Sarah’s calling saying they’re at the Feve, so I think that’s it for today…

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Project Week, the sequel

No work this week, so the plan is (was) to repeat Fall Break where I worked from early to late on the house doing numerous projectsd small and large. Monday got off to a slower start than I’d like, plus this week I do have one responsibility – Street Law at the high school every afternoon helping the students prepare for a moot court in front of the city council on Thursday. But I did manage to get some bits done in the afternoon and evening – more cleaning in the back room, installed the banister in the back staircase, and tackled cleaning the stove. Both Comet and baking soda and vinegar cut through some stuff, but it’s been six months of college students and me using that thing, so it’ll take more elbow grease to cut the grease.

Still working on the stand pipe cover – more blowtorching planned for tomorrow.

I was hoping that cleaning the stove top might reveal why the oven isn’t lighting. When I turn the oven knob, the igniters all spark, but there is no sound of gas flowing as there is when you turn on any of the burners. This unit has a main feed line that runs along the front of the stovetop under the cover, with six ports for the burners and a separaate distribution – two lines (one pilot, one main I assume) for the oven. No visible clogging or grease on that distribution, but I haven’t taken a wrench to the two lines to peer inside yet. No idea what to do if there’s not an obvious clog though.

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Quick update

I had to take half the door latch off the shed and move it over a quarter of an inch (took thirty seconds, just three screws). I think that it was a little tight to start with, and then the weather and the structure settling slightly was all it took so that the two parts would no longer smoothly fit together.

I was in the shed today, despite the rain, continuing to clear stuff from my back room. I’ve started building more things into the shed – just some crossbars to hang tools right now; soon enough a shelf or three to take advantage of all the space – so it won’t become cluttered like the rooms it is decluttering.

Finally, checked the sump pump today and found that the hose had shifted and blocked the float just enough that the pit wasn’t draining (it was actually overflowing onto the floor). Moved things around a little and it’s draining fine now, but I think this and the frozen hose the other day are signs I should finally go get some PVC pipe and properly build out the pump line.

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Will someone please invent a smoke alarm…

…that doesn’t take five minutes to figure out it has a fresh battery in it? Or beep after you’ve disconnected the power AND removed the battery (that was an almost amusing ‘whaaaaa?’ moment)?

I just put fresh batteries into the smoke detectors upstairs (after determining that I’d have to run new wire all throughout the attic if I want them connected to each other, and deciding that the things are so damn loud that, should anything ever catch on fire, one going off will be plenty so why bother right now?). With the power off (from that attic checking) I put one in. After a moment, it beeped. No idea why. I pulled it out to deal with something else. After ten seconds, the damn thing beeped again with no power source; capacitor must have held some charge. Anyway, I go around and put new batteries in all of them. I flip on the breaker. There is some beeping here and there. I open a battery compartment to check to make sure it’s in. It is. There is still beeping. I press all the ‘press here to silence’ buttons. Still beeping. I go downstairs to see if the manufacturer has a user manual online (they don’t – I don’t understand why companies don’t archive PDF manuals of discontinued products…) While sitting on the couch. I notice less and less beeping. Then there is silence.

I swear, as soon as I go back upstairs they’ll start again. They’re just waiting for me…

No, seriously, why do smoke detectors take several minutes to figure out whether you’ve corrected the problem or not? The same thing happened in an apartment I used to live in. I realize these things are pretty simple machines, but still…

This has been the first, I believe, and only, I hope, post that is much more ‘blog’ and less ‘house’.

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Doors and windows

In addition to trying to sort all my tools and supplies in the living room (that’s where they’ve been since I don’t have real space in the back room until the shed is built) today was spent painting windows, caulking a few of the storms, and finally finishing fixing (alliterative adventures abound) the porch door. Every window on the first floor is painted; almost all are ready for winter – I need to caulk the new ones in the kitchen and we should be good.

The door had two minor problems. First, it had settled (and I hadn’t hung it super squarely to begin with) so the top far corner was rubbing against the frame. There’s a simple fix using a trick I learned while hanging some drywall back in high school – wonderbars are just levers, and they let one person do two jobs. Prop the far side with the bar lengthwise:

It’s actually best if you flip the bar over (so you are using the lever closer to the door), but this way might be necessary depending on how much clearance you have under the panel you’re trying to level – fortunately my very nice old porch door is very worn on the bottom, so I was able to use it the ‘right’ way. In other words I messed up when I was staging this shot after the fact. Resuming the how to: Take the screws out of the top and middle hinge on the frame side. Press down on the wonderbar to bring the door square against the frame on the hinge side. Resink the screws starting at the top – you may have to go in at a slight angle to catch clean wood as opposed to the old hole. Chances are you’ll be fine going straight – old doors tend to have a little more space between them and the frame, so if it’s to the point of rubbing then squaring the door will probably move the hinge screw holes over quite a bit.

Problem two was mostly aesthetic. The strike plate was set for the aluminum screen door I took down. You can see where another strike plate used to be set further back, but this one didn’t quite fit there. The result was that the door latched but wasn’t flush with the frame – it butted out 3/8″ on the far side.

I couldn’t locate a smaller strike plate during a couple of shopping trips, so I went for the next best thing – carving. A few minutes with the jig and then a pocketknife got me a flush enough space to screw in the plate. I think I’m going to invest in a chisel set for all the wood I’ve got in this place though.

Properly hung door, seven painted windows, and a living room I can walk through. It’s been a good Saturday, even if I didn’t get out to the electrical supply place.

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And also today…

Put up a small shelf in the laundry room, and picked up the permit for the shed. Hey look, I’m legal:

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Tuesday

Bullets, because it’s been a long day:

– applied for permit to have the shed put in out back; looks like that will be fine
– hung a couple of pictures (long overdue)
– dragged all the old shed up to the driveway and sorted the scrap pile into aluminum and steel
– cleared some undergrowth from around where I plan on having the shed installed
– pulled down some broken branches that were stuck in other branches after that storm a few weeks back
– cleared some brush from the area around where the shed should go
– tried installing a missing storm window in the dining room. Having trouble finding one that’s the right size – moreover, the sash cords are broken on that window and at one point the lower sash slammed down and I lost a piece of 100 year old glass. C’est la vie. Tomorrow I’ll take that whole storm down and try and get something to fit.
– moved a lot of furniture and tools around in the living room because I had one half of Ian Wilson’s band crashing overnight.
– older note but worth mentioning: cleaned several of the downstair’s radiators’ steam valves with vinegar and now have minimal whistling.

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