649 6th

master of my domain

A couple of nights ago the lights in the hallway and dining room stopped working. I went down to the basement and flipped the circuit breaker and they came back on. The next day they were off again and flipping the breaker did not appear to bring them back. The breaker it was on was from the original house, and not one of the new sub-panels we installed. It seemed likely that it could be defective

Today, rather than sit at home like a damsel in distress waiting for electrician Michael to get home, I took matters into my own hands. I've always walked a wide circle around the elctrical. Michael had a notion for it, so I let him own that body of knowledge. I like to think of it as the same division of labor we have over baking and cooking.

The circuit was a 15amp. I powered down the house and flipped the main, removed the 15, and replaced it with a brand new 20 I had just gone out and purchased. Got it all screwed into place, flipped it back on...and nothing.

Hmmmm... So in the spirit of "the house the internet built" (that will be the book deal I'm sure), I went on-line and asked mr google "testing circuit breakers". It produced the dummies page and I was off to the races. I tested the new 20 as instructed, and appearnetly it was deffective. So, I rooted around the "left-over electrical parts" drawer and found a 30.

Then I turned everything off again and went through the process once more. Flipped it on, and, Voila!, lights. Took a few hours, but after returning the newly purchased circuit breaker, it cost me nothing. Now I am basking in that warm cozy glow of figuring out something new.

 

 

bathroom light fixtures

We finally installed the bathroom vanity light fixtures. It was a bit of a trick. The holes cut into the porcelain tiles fit the attaching ring perfectly. However, you couldn't screw the fixtures on-- they needed to thread through the attaching ring that was now backed by a formidable tile surface. With a bit of ingenuity and some washers we were able to figure it out.

The only missing piece is the mirror. I have a feeling that one might take a long time to find.

the end of the beginning

bath light

day 12: two man gang

I've said it before I'll say it again, it's amazing how much work you can get done when you have more manpower. Today was Michael's first day of vacation, and we checked a bunch of stuff off the list. I really like the days when the white board get's full of detail. It's normally accompanied with a flurry of activity.

The white board has a colorful depiction of a possible garden lay-out. I was reading way back in the blog today and realized that sketches like these turn up from time to time. One day even the outdoor space (now workshop) will be finished.

Today went like this:

1) Ordered screens for all of the windows. We didn't have cats when we they were installed, now we do. Nuff said.

2) Cut the tile for the bathroom floor. This was the first time I used the "tile king" blade. Wow, what a difference, cuts like butter. I highly recommend spending the few extra dollars to step up from a composite stone blade.

3) Built the plywood box cubby at the base of the tub. It'll be lined in same cedar as the walls. Wondering how well this particular application will hold up in a dampish area.

4) Mixed up a batch of thinset, taped the Hardiebacker seams and installed the remaining floor tile. We ran just short on thinset and will have to finish last two pieces in the morning.

5) Demo'd the front entry. This is final vestige of the previous occupant's work. A victorious moment.

6) Installed an electrical outlet in the last wall to be finished in the kitchen area. Tomorrow we pop on a couple of pieces of drywall and checking things off the list continues.

After it was all said and done we cracked open a fine bottle of wine with a good stinky cheese. Not bad for a day's work.

day 7: bathroom lighting fixtures

This morning I got up bright and early to head into the big city. Ordering the remaining lighting fixtures was the goal. I convinced my friend Greg (who's on summer break from NYU teaching, nice for both of us I know) to tag along. After placing the order and shopping about we ended up at Jerry's in SOHO for an early lunch. Ah brings back memories-- in my new job I will be back downtown. It's funny to see how the neighborhood has changed and not all for the worse. But more on that in second.

The lighting showroom of choices has become Lighting by Gregory. I'm not sure why other than my friend Domenic recommended them, that and they always have what we want. The sales people know their stuff too. Ask for Vanda she'll have you out of there in a jiffy.

The lighting order (get it, Greg standing in front of place called...) went a little something like this:

1) 6' two tube, flourescent fixture and ballast. Nothing fancy here. It will go behind the drop cedar ceiling in the bathroom for fill. It's NOT a 70's drop ceiling I promise; it will look good. They gave us two regular tubes with the purchase. I'm going to see how they do and consider switching over to full spectral.

2) 2 24" Bathroom vanity lights. They will have chrome bases to match some of the other finishes. I say "some" as we have a big surprise coming in a week or so...

3) 2 small halogen spots and bases with chrome shades.Three separate parts; six pieces in all, probably 15 for the entire package, not bad. Many months back we got the cable lighting system for the dining room (I was eager to jump the task line once again). While the bathroom lights might seem like a lot it's far less than the gagillon little pieces that need be orchestrated to make the other room work.

3) 3 bookshelf lights for the second floor. They will mount near the ceiling on the soffits and point downward onto the books.

4) An industrial looking half difused have reflected flourescent fixture for the kitchen. They're still checkng availability on it so I don't have a photo just yet. Nothing really that out of the ordinary.

It was great to head into Manhattan and be able to take advantage of a neighborhood like bowery/chinatown. I've talked about it before; the ever incroaching luxury mushroom phenomena and the disappearance of the small shop owner. For some reason "lighting fixture row" way down on Bowery is practically unchanged. Of course with the pricing for fixtures and the volume they turn over, not that surprising. When I first moved to new York in 1990 I lived in a loft on Bowery I would give the address but (after checking the mail slot) it appears that the bitter old hippies that I shared it with are still firmly ensconced. At least some things are slow to change down there.

One thing I will say. Not all of the change is bad. Maybe it was because of yet another crisp cool summer day, but there are new places and architecture that sort of caught my eye. I'll be glad to back in the hood

dryer repair

We keep saying "this weekend" we jump back into the renovation fray, but the S-days just keep ticking past. Which isn't to house has been neglected. Our dryer died a couple weeks ago. Circuit had been tripped and wouldn't reset, which we intuited meant it needed to be replaced. Yeah, we're that sharp. But replacing circuits (a multi-part saga in itself) didn't do a thing for the dryer. Fortunately the you-fix-it guide has plenty to say about diagnosing and repairing dryers.

Step 1: make sure there's electricity at the outlet. (Told you we were sharp.)
Step 2: remove cover plate where cord enters.

Charred inside of the cover plate and melted terminal block were pretty obvious problem. Remedying that situation was a bit more of challenge. After a couple false starts, I finally found an online supplier of GE dryer parts and ordered the replacement terminal block. Then I got to thinking I should replace the dryer cord too. No sign of damage on the prongs or at the box, but the terminal end was a bit charred. I got a bit turned around testing and retesting current, and I finally decided replacing the cord couldn't hurt. Couldn't find one at the depot, which didn't seem particularly odd; beginning to anticipate what they don't carry. Thought the cord would require another Internet order, but then I chanced into what I think is a new local hardware store (that's oddly right across the street from the established local hardware store) and they had one.

Depot did come through on the large female connectors I needed to complete the new wiring, and deluxe wire cutters came through with a crimper that I'd barely even noticed before. Et voila!

If you're reading this and you have an electric dryer, do yourself a favor and check the screws at the terminal block. My reading on the Internet says this is one the most common dryer problems. When a screw gets loose enough the electricity will arc. Got the impression it's a gradual process where you may smell burning while dryer is running. I don't remember any smell; for all I know it happened all at once. Also can't swear in hindsight whether the terminal connection that melted down was loose. I didn't read about commonality of this problem until after I removed the old terminal. And there was the slag to chip away. And the caution of poking at something that under slightly different circumstances could kill.

Sort of spooky, but also reassuring that various safeties did what they're meant to do.

fall

Fall comes and we find ourselves firmly planted in year two of our renovation. Not a lot of words as of late mainly because house work has become so routine it's sometimes beyond comment.

Work is happening. Maybe not at the rate we had planned, but it is happening. The big plan had us finishing the kitchen by Thanks Giving-- that's not going to happen. One step at a time.

After our late summer flurry of reconstructing the back wall of the house and roofing the kitchen the task at hand was putting it back together. As you can see from the photo we used standard fiberglass insulation. Now you may wonder how this jives with our "green" building approach. Well, it doesn't. Here's the problem (and it's so lame I can't believe it's my alibi) getting green materials in the small increments we need for this house is nearly impossible. We found it out with the Hardi Plank exterior and were right back there when it came time for insulation.

There's gotta be some sort of collective buying power that the Home Depot 2 blocks away has that it could package greener options and still make a profit. In fact I have a whole new integrated marketing plan worked out for Home Depot. If any of you out the know or are the CMO please drop me a line (if I were prone to emoticons I would insert a winky here.)

As you can see from the photos the kitchen is beginning to come back together. The soffit framing has been installed and all of the ceiling insulation (well let's say "most") is up. Electrical is the next thing. The schematic has been designed. It looks like we will run a sub panel off of the main to run the kitchen and bathroom. We did the same thing with the second and third floors. In fact the only thing left on the original electric is the dining room and basement. I expect before it's all done we will rewire that too.

After attempting to use the bathroom sink to do dishes we realized what a wrong headed notion not having a kitchen sink was. We got the old sink out of the backyard and made this nifty 2x4 stand and were back in business. To drain I rigged up a funnel with a piece of tubing (think beer bong) and we were back in business.

Finally, after having sat in the back yard all summer it was time to clean up and reinstall the radiators. We wire brushed the multiple coats of paint off of them revealing the natural metal color. The surface was finished with a clear mat sealant and they were reinstalled (carrying those things up nd down stairs makes you realize exactly how heavy they are). Just in time too the cats are very happy to have them to hug as the evening temps begin to drop.

clear signals

It seems on this blog we spend the bulk of time discussing elements of traditional construction; electrical, plumbing, carpentry, demolition, etc., etc.

In a break from that routine (and to finally have something to post about) I wanted to talk a little bit about home entertainment and the convergence of devices.

As many of you know we got rid of our TV when we moved into the the house. We thought it would keep us focused on the task at hand.

The thinking had always been when we got the house to a clean enough place we would begin to create a custom system that suited our needs. First, we weren't getting a new TV. We've pretty much become a netflix and iTunes household. We watch movies and we watch TV. It's just a different model.

To do this we wanted as few components as possible. We ended up with the new dual core Mac mini and a 24" flat panel dell monitor (cause just about any device will plug into it). I have to say quite the killer combo. So much so I think my friend Jeff now has exactly the same set-up.

Now, you might have noticed that I've only mentioned two of the five things pictured at left. The other three are the tag alongs that were needed to make it all work. First up the RCA cable modem provided by Time Warner, next a Linksys wireless router. We had been sucking connectivity off of our neighbor since we moved in. We couldn't keep stability with the apple airport we had, but for some reason Tracy's network was always rock solid.

We had never stopped paying Time Warner. I had read one of the Ethicist articles in the Times that completely legitimized bandwidth theft as long as you were paying in somewhere.

With the new system I was bound and determined to get my own network running. We got rid of the old cable router with a service call from TW. I hooked up the linksys and with the help of Jeff it was up and running perfectly....for about a day. Then it went dead. The tech guys at work claimed it was because i was not running the mac IP spoofing necessary to make it not drop my IP. Thing was, I couldn't use it with my PC either.

I was getting frustrated. We had gone out and essentially got all new hardware to be back in the same place we had been-- Paying for a service we got for free from our neighbor. When Jeff returned from Europe he came over determined to help us out once and for all. He got it all set up and running in moments. Rejoicing was had. We went out to dinner and came back a short bit later, the line was dead. Doh!

That's when we come to our friend in the last panel. The power conditioner. We had been noticing since we installed the ceiling fan on the third floor that whenever you change the speed an audible pop would come out of the speakers attached to the computer. This couldn't be a good thing. Somewhere we have a ground problem. We went down to Office Max and got two APC power supplies, one for downstairs where the router and modem are and one for upstairs for the computer and stereo. We ran the cable through the conditioner as well as the electrical for all the devices.

Results: it works. Signal remains stable to the computer and the popping no longer happens when you change speeds on the fan. With regard to the grounding problem I realize this is some what like taking a pain killer rather than addressing the cause of the pain BUT, it worked. All of the frustration and all of the seemingly in-congruent advice I got for setting up my network came down to this; a cleaner signal.

For one second I want to go back and readdress one thing I thought about when writing this post. We got the new computer and monitor just after returning from vacation in May. Originally we had got rid of the TV to stay focused on the house...just an observation that you may have noticed too, progress is coming at a much slower rate these days. Just a coincidence?

quality of life