Category: Projects

July 1, 2020 – Don’t forget to sign your work

July 1, 2020 /

Back when I started this project in March, I was thinking of tagging the sheathing (or somewhere inconspicuous). I was thinking of using something like ‘Quarantine March 2020’. But time got away from me. Now that I am heading toward the finish line, I am using up some paint that I nicknamed ‘Pandemic Pink’.

Pandemic Pink started life as many colors that got mixed together. I have been using it to back paint siding and other things that aren’t seen. This was paint that no longer has a home. It was the wrong shade of yellow, former exterior paint, a former door paint that when mixed together turned into a Pepto-Bismol color.

I do this from time to time, I will mix old paint together to get enough to do some sort of project, as long as it no longer has a use. As long as you don’t particularly care about the final color, it can be quite helpful and cost saving. I learned this trick from my grandfather.

I was painting Pandemic Pink today and I am probably on the second to last panel of remaining paint. I thought that I wanted leave a note about the work that was done so that someone may find it in the future. So, I wrote it in Sharpie on the back of a T1-11 panel that I am going to install tomorrow. I thought that it might be cool to leave a story for someone to find in the future as well as solve the pink mystery.

There is no telling that it will ever be found, especially if this house gets torn down with some kind of machine. I liken it to when service personnel signed bombs before loading them on an aircraft, likely never seen. But you never know.

I encourage you to sign your work or leave a time capsule or some other fun or interesting clues to your work. I would enjoy finding something like that.

June 30, 2020 – Writer’s block today

June 30, 2020 /

Today is the last day of the month. Traditionally, this would be a transitionary month, the bridge between school and summer or the weather in spring and summer. Not this year… it has been nicer than usual since early March.

I don’t think anyone would doubt that July is definitely summer in the northern hemisphere. What has this got to do with anything? Nothing really. It is just something I am thinking about since we will be in July next week and I am still waxing about the lost experiences from graduation and the like. I am also just sort of rambling because I am not feeling passionate about any one thing in particular this morning.

I have lots of things that I want to talk about, but mostly I am anxious to get back out there and get to work. I can smell the end is near and I want to get there with my project. So, then I don’t want to take the time to develop a proper article.

A quick aside… I always thought that I would have quite a bit humor in my more creative work – such as this. That has not proven to be the case, which is a little strange. Maybe it is because context and inflection is difficult to discern through writing only? Or maybe I am just not as good as I thought I was or just too lazy?

I don’t know why I have not added more humor, it is part of my character. I like to add little ‘easter eggs’ to see if people are paying attention or not. But yet I have not done anything like that to date. I guess that I will settle for a photo grid of my project and call it a day. I have got some video editing to do when I get a chance. So, stay tuned for that.

June 24, 2020 – Think like a raindrop

June 25, 2020 /

It has been a long day. I usually post in the morning, but today I started work early because it is hot on the roof. So, I spent all day on the roof, making a lot of progress, but I had to stop because I am waiting for vent pipe to be run through the roof so that I can flash around them and finish this thing off. Rain is in the forecast for Sunday and Monday.

After looking inside the bathroom, my wife was concerned that it was too dark. Add a skylight to the list. And then when I was talking to the contractor, he was surprised that I didn’t vent the roof. Now, quick aside for a moment. I listen weekly to the Fine Homebuilding podcast and according to them, the science on vented roofs says that venting really does not actually extend the life of a roof, and therefore unnecessary.

Moisture management is really the key concern, not roof life. Even though the addition is open to the currently vented roof, I am a little concerned that moisture from the bathroom cannot adequately equilibrate efficiently, so I am going to add a roof vent as well.

Think like a raindrop was a phrase that my grandfather used. The older I get the more I understand. At seventeen, I didn’t really understand how water behaved. Now knowing some science I can understand water travels by gravity. It also adheres to surfaces with surface tension. You want to keep water away from the building and make paths for efficient flow.

I remember roofing a garage or some other outbuilding and he kept saying over and over that you need to ‘think like a raindrop’. He must have seen the puzzled look on my face, because he then said ‘if you want to keep the water out, you need to think like a raindrop’, he laughed and moved on. He was always saying some sort of colloquialism or bit of wisdom that was wrapped up in a cryptic message of sorts. It’s funny, but those are the things that stick the most to my memory.

I am cutting this a little short since I lost internet connection last night when I wrote most of this (and lost a bunch of additional work too). It seems like a fitting tribute to my grandfather that I can do all these things. I almost cant wait for the rain this weekend to prove the I can now think like a raindrop.

June 17, 2020 – A progress report

June 17, 2020 /

Last night, I started a test to see if I could get non-hosted videos on this blog. Unfortunately, I have to upgrade packages to do so and I know that this is not the final home of this blog, so I am not going to invest in that at the moment.

In lieu of doing something new, I will summarize where I am at on this current project. I am in the punchlist phase. That means that I am essentially done with my work in the apartment minus a few things here and there. I still need to

  • Hang a ceiling fan
  • Install some window film to obscure direct view – waiting for delivery
  • Build a face frame for the microwave cabinet
  • Oversee cabinet painting and final ceiling touch-up – waiting for paint
  • sub floor patching
  • Install the baseboard molding – waiting for floor
  • Move in and install the appliances – waiting for floor

As you can see, the bathroom is a long way from being done. I would estimate two weeks of solid work. I will be doing the roofing when the framing is done. And I am waiting for the framing to be done so I can finish the siding and painting.

June 12, 2020 – Still going… barely

June 12, 2020 /

On Wednesday, my wrist was exceptionally painful. It was to the point that I had to grit my teeth to use my right hand. After making my post, I spent the rest of the morning pacing around and trying to figure out how I was going to get anything done. I went parts shopping for a lot of the afternoon and settled to the reality that I was going to have to do my best with my left hand.

I am OK with my left hand. I can shave, brush my teeth, use a fork and kind-of write. Toe nailing a 16p sinker is not as easy. I know that it is a practice thing. It is the very reason I have spent some time shooting left handed, because you never know if you will always have use of your primary hand. The thing that I noticed is that my left hand is nowhere near as strong as my right, as well as being awkward.

After immobilization, ice, ibuprofen and CBD cream it seemed a little better yesterday. Last night I didn’t wake up from the pain. I don’t want to push my luck though. So, the carpet is in the bedrooms, the broken window has been replaced so those rooms are done.

We bough new appliances to replace the downdraft range so the vent is also a microwave. That required re-routing electrical, cutting a vent slot and sheetrock work. I also have to build a new cabinet for the above the microwave. I am hoping that will be complete before the weekend is over.

I must say that throughout this process, my fear of disturbing sheetrock has gone away. I am to the point now where I would rather spend time repairing the sheetrock than trying to guess or work with it in place. This building seems to have structure ‘at random’. This patch seen here is a 24 inch stud bay that also had blocking for the cabinets (which weren’t used).

This Friday playlist sort of describes how I feel about this week. It has been pretty dark, some hurt, anger and craziness. Have a good weekend, with hopefully better days to come.

May 26, 2020 – When to cope and when to miter

May 26, 2020 /

Most people, don’t install trim properly. I can say that even though I know how to do it, sometimes I have chosen to do it incorrectly, because it can be faster. I already had the saw setup, I didnt want to go fetch the coping saw and making nice fitting joints are difficult, especially when the profile is complicated.

Miter – Incorrect installation

A miter is a joint where two pieces, each cut with 45 degree bevel on the end of a molding profile are put together. When two pieces meet, they should be very close to 90 degrees. Miters should be used when making outside joints, like around the corners, not inside corners like around a room.

Miter – proper installation
Coping cut – the proper inside joint

A coping cut follows the profile of the molding and has a back bevel so the piece is pressed against the adjacent molding. It requires the same initial 45 degree cut as a miter, but then you use a coping saw to follow the molding profile as you cut all of the material away.

The reason to not use a miter is that walls are rarely square. If one corner is 92 degrees (wider than square) then the corresponding miter should be 46 degree cuts on each piece. In my case, my saw only goes to 45 degrees, so then you are trying to cut backward or shimming the piece to try and get more than the saw is capable of cutting (with some guess work too).

On my project, I already had mitered molding which I did not totally remove. So when putting the molding back up, I started with a mitered corner so I did not have to tear the room apart. It also appears that my molding profile is no longer readily available. I am using molding from other parts of the house so that I can make matches with existing trim. The bathroom will be new and we may redo all or some of the trim in the living space.

This room is nearly finished. I am down to the detail work. I am really happy with the results.

May 20, 2020 – Don’t anyone fool you that construction demolition is fun (or easy)

May 20, 2020 /

I feel like the role of demolition in a project, particularly on TV is portrayed as some kind of romantic process. There is a wild, passionate throw of ideas like “we can knock this down and open that up and replace these fixtures and those sets of cabinets”. Everyone will get out their pent up aggression and an hour later will be moving on to making everything nice and new.

In the real world, that just isnt true. Demo is long, tough, tedious and dirty business. The conditions are less than ideal sometimes downright gross. Rot, mold, mildew, excrement and even dead animals are part of the discovery.

In my case, I am always mindful of ‘over’ demo. If I want to use one sheet of drywall or plywood, I am calculating precisely how far to go so as not to need one and 1/8 of a sheet. I am thoughtful that molding profile may not be easy to match again, so unless I want to redo the entire room, I need to be careful removing it. Gentle demo can take days longer.

I try to be consciences about reuse and value as well. Cabinet and fixture removals are examples of that. Habitat for humanity will take items in serviceable and good condition, but not damaged. I try to reuse wood and minimize landfill fodder as well. We burn appropriate and clean wood in our fire pit for family entertainment. That minimizes waste and maximize use, but nails and things need to be removed first.

I don’t mind swinging a sledgehammer ten times. But eight hours of prying, cutting at odd angles, hammering and wrestling sharp heavy objects quickly removes the romance. It is probably my lack of experience, but rarely does any of this go as planned or easy.

Yesterday’s progress on the bathroom. Boy is our work cut out for us.

May 19, 2020 – What the @#%! is a dipole?

May 19, 2020 /

This recent excursion into Audio/Visual equipment and electronics has gotten me looking around to the science of antennas. Boy let me tell you that from what is out there, this hobby is either a cult or dominated socially challenged individuals. It is very hard to get concise, novice level advice that isn’t filled with technical jargon.

The words cheap or DIY antenna conjure up some pretty ‘hacky’ results. Some of the first results found in such a search do bring up results, but they are very mixed up in technical details that don’t matter and use some techniques and materials that are lab worthy, but not something that will stand the test of time. I want to qualify before I get too deep that I am not an expert in the science nor do I have much (if any) experience in building antennas.

First, how do radio signals work? Each radio station has a frequency that they broadcast their signal. For example, 101.5 MHz is one particular radio station address. So what is a MHz?

  • M – Mega or 1,000,000
  • Hz – Hertz, unit of length of the radio signal in one second

That means that for 101.5, there are 101,500,000 waves in one second. All signals have an assigned band of frequencies that they can operate in. So, the smaller the number (of hertz), the the taller the wave is (because you are measuring the length in one second). Here are some examples from shortest to longest.

  • AM 535-1605 KHz (remember that kilo is 1,000)
  • FM 88-108 MHz
  • VHF 174-216 MHz
  • UHF 470-806 MHz

This is why antennas need to be specific size (length) to the signal that they are trying to capture. They are optimized for a frequency or band of frequencies, like a TV antenna. Also when looking at an outdoor TV antenna, notice that each conductor is a different length. This is to try and capture all of the frequencies that are available in the range.

So a dipole is a type of antenna that has a specific length of conductor that is optimized for one frequency. The most familiar dipole is the ‘rabbit ears’ type antenna. I wont go into all of the science on this version, however the principle is that you extend or adjust the length of the antenna and orientation to maximize reception of a particular frequency.

The length of a dipole is determined by matching the size of the radio wave to the frequency that you are trying to capture. Looking at the picture above, it would be an antenna that is one of the horizontal members sized for a specific frequency. There are calculators online that you can use to determine how long your antenna needs to be in order to capture the frequency you are looking for.

There is also a concept of directional or unidirectional. Directional means that your orientation of the antenna matters in the reception ability. Dipoles are directional, but it seems like the features where it matters, like Ham radio are not really affected for FM reception. We will find out.

The good news about all of this is that this is a novice look at all of this, so if you decide to build a dipole for FM, and your antenna is between 4’3″-5’3″ feet, you should be able to get most of the available stations. I will be posting about what I think makes a good antenna in the near future as I finish building it.

May 18, 2020 – It’s Alive!

May 18, 2020 /

I don’t have a ton of time lately. My schedule has been cruise the different job websites, apply for relevant jobs, write a blog post and then work on getting my rental house together. Even on the weekends, I have been doing this. I may get an hour or two some days and I have been spending it looking at my audio equipment.

The receiver is now working, which means the receiver and tape deck are now working. I also replaced the connection from the computer to the OEM speakers and run the sound through the receiver. I hooked up the surround sound and did a Dolby test, wow it has been years since that experience. I also have been playing my podcasts through the receiver as I putter around in the basement. That has lead me into investigations into building antennas and other things that I will talk about in a later post.

First, I thought that there was a component blown out in the receiver and that proved to not be true. Taking the cover off and looking around, I found a piece of dried grass that was laying across the speaker conductors (I couldn’t really get a good picture of it because it was too deep into the box). I used some compressed air to flush it out and viola, it works.

The same cannot be said with the CD player. That is currently in parts. I think I may have damaged it by not knowing what I was doing. A couple of things that I have learned so far… There is a downloadable service manual which has been helpful in not breaking things further. The CD player has diagnostics on-board which has told me that the table position sensor has failed (I think I damaged it when I tried to force the table back in). It is not easy to find parts outside of drive belt.

Looking around, there are some ‘local’ authorized service people. I may pursue that because it seems that this unit is still worth $200 according to Amazon. At the very least, I am going to look at the board and the sensor a little more carefully to see if a solder job is a quick remedy.

This journey has kind of fascinated me. There are people who are really into this sort of thing. I have to admit, seeing old units from the seventies next to an old magazine add is pretty cool. Learning the history and mystique that is attached to some of the old units is pretty interesting.

Lastly, unexpectedly and kind of serendipitously my wife received a record player for Mothers Day. It isn’t a real high end one, but I thought it would be fun anyway. I do still (think) that I have some records at my parents house, like “Thriller”. Unfortunately, the are travelling for a couple weeks, so I will have to wait until they get back to get them.

Last year, vinyl outsold CDs for the first time ever. It is definitely a growing trend. There is something in my head that seems wrong to play today’s music in vinyl. I am thinking of purchasing something like “The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra: All Over the World”. That seems like an appropriate maiden voyage.

May 15, 2020 – Progress is faster than the documentation

May 15, 2020 /

A quick update for today (I know that I need to do more than take pictures). So much has changed in the last couple of days. The siding on the south and east side is done, the island is demo’d, the new heater is in and the drywall is installed.

With rain in the forecast this weekend, I will probably spend more time on the drywall finishing. We also got a new refrigerator today. It doesn’t fit into the space it is supposed to go. I will have to shorten the water supply which will require a bit of modification of the plumbing.

More pictures and info to come… have a good weekend.