Lyndhurst Garden House

Lyndhurst Garden House
Lyndhurst Garden House

Friday, August 23, 2013

Doors Arrived; Remodeling Scheduled

While the freight service R&L refused to give me any other delivery window than 1-5pm (standard for residential customers) they actually delivered the door at 11:30 AM, perfect for my schedule!  The doors arrived in a seriously large crate that must weigh half a ton.  I had been concerned about finding a way for them to put the doors in the house, and the evening before I enlisted the help of my next door neighbor to move the previously ordered door into the garage, making room in the hallway.  But when the new gargantuan crate arrived, it was clear this could not be moved into the house anyway.

I called Contractor Tom thinking he could move the doors into the house.  But instead we talked about the remodeling, and he gave me a package deal for the doors and the King's Room remodel, so I'm going for that.  He would have started next week on both (!) but I insisted I needed another week to clear out the King's Room because I have a party this weekend.  So he will start the room remodeling on the week of Labor Day.  But he will install the doors next week.

Now I need to get even more stuff.  Tonight I ordered two Baldwin colonial knobsets with the Privacy function.  I think that is actually more appropriate to bedrooms than the passage knobset I ordered last week.

I might order a new twin bed for the Queen's Room.  I'm thinking about these two choices:


Sunday, August 18, 2013

Digital TV Link Working




Electricians worked full days from 6:30 AM to mid afternoon on August 8 and August 16 to finish my new home network, which includes 2-3 Cat-6a STP links for digital video or audio services between kitchen and other major rooms, and single Cat-6a STP from computer room to every other room.  To do this work, it was necessary to install large external conduits with large upper and lower boxes on SW and NE corners of the house because of insufficient space in attic near the vaulted ceilings for the living room and master bedroom. connections  These conduits are UV resistant flexible (but strong and well supported) plastic so as to not overheat cables inside.  (Metal, as used for nearby dedicated AC power lines, would not be a good idea for this.)  In all, the new data and entertainment network connects 6 rooms, with separate AV and Internet hub rooms, with digital and RG-6 multipurpose analog connections.  The theoretical bandwidth between rooms is in the tens of gigabytes.  I like to think of this as leading edge, state of the art, etc., and of course, designed by me.



I spent $800 or more just on the cables from the best internet sources (I could not even find Cat-6a STP in local stores), including Blue Jeans Cable from which I ordered two 60 foot Belden RG-6 Precision Video cables (for connection to master bedroom).  I had a rough idea in mind as to the installation cost, based on an earlier very simple room connection estimate, and I wouldn't have been too far off if it had not been for those large external conduits (the need for which became apparent on the morning of August 8, and I wasn't going to say no--those room connections were crucial to the success of the whole project).  As it was, on Friday afternoon I avoided looking perturbed when presented with the jaw dropping installation bill.  I believe the charges were fair considering the work done, and the work needed doing, so best not make the contractors think twice about doing the best possible next time (though this is about the ultimate project I currently conceive).  I've also had two days to fight back buyers remorse over spending so much money on this.  Guy at work suggested I just have satellite company wire up two rooms or whatever, at little or no charge to me.  But that doesn't fit my grand vision.

Other than those two large external conduit systems, the charge was economically based per-run of cable (no counting how many actual cables in each run).  Had I known the charges would be based on the number of runs, I might have designed things a bit differently.  I had been trying to minimize the number of panels, not the number of runs.  But then if I had used more panels, they might have added an extra charge for panels.  As it was done, the inside appearance is very neat and simple looking, you simply have no idea that these cute little panels in each room represent state of the art networking.  You have no idea from the inside how much infrastructure is hidden from the inside.

One minor disappointment was that the RG-6 from Kitchen to King's Room (Master Bedroom) was too long for the 60 foot 4.5GHz Belden Precision Video cable.  Presented with this dilemma on Saturday morning, I found a spare 3Ghz rated RG6 from an earlier satellite installation (when I did have box in the master bedroom, which was a terrible idea because it ran to update itself periodically causing noises in the middle of the night...) and uxed that as an extension with a brand new Radio Shack Gold F barrel adapter.  (Actually, depending on the plating, gold might not be the best here, but this brand new barrel adapter shouuld be good for a long time.)  The electrician connected the extension tightly and taped it with his top quality 3M electrical tape.  Given the upper and lower boxes near the master bedroom connection, I could probably replace this extension simply by opening the two boxes.

Then on Saturday I identified and labeled the three Cat's from the kitchen to the master bedroom.  Other than one convention, the jacks in each panel are somewhat unordered, as ordering would have taken extra work on the part of the electricians.  So, instead, each position in the Kitchen panels will be labeled to reflect which position it appears in another room panel.  The electricians did make sure the LAN connection from the computer room always appears in the upper left hand corner.in every other room panel.

To do the identification efficiently (and in fact it was done quite quickly) I went to Altex and purchased an ethernet cable tester, an Extech which seemed about as good as any below $100 for $35.  I plugged the Extech transmitter into a jack in the bedroom known to connect to the kitchen (M 2 would be the code, left side second row down).  I then plugged the receiver (as with the transmitter, first into a Cat-6 STP patch cable I also purchased at Altex, they didn't carry any Cat-6a), then into one after another of the jacks in the Kitchen panel, until the lights on the receiver lit up.  And they did light up completely when they did light up, for the seventh jack tested.  I then unpacked the Dymo label maker I purchased from Target, and made a clear plastic label for "M 2" which I put on the panel next to the identified jack.  I then identified and labeled the 2 other Cat connections from the master bedroom.

Then, selecting connection M 1, I unpacked the most expensive HDMI to Cat6 converter I had purchased, and the only one that allows only one Cat6, since I had only purchased one set of Cat6 STP patch cables from Altex.  I plugged in transmitter and receiver, both taking the place of the OWlink fiber optic units I had used previously, and, voila, hurray, I have a digital video link between kitchen and master bedroom again.  It had been down since my last Owlink died several months ago.

I watched some Link TV, KLRN, and FSTV on Dish, in both rooms (I really like having it on in both kitchen and master bedroom) then also watched the first disk of Playboy After Dark, which is actually the 1959 Playboy's Penthouse, featuring Lenny Bruce talking to Hugh Hefner and others.

Time travel has been restored.  And that's just one out of 12 connections available from the kitchen.

I hve been noticing occassional screen noise during HDMI renegotiation.  This has so far only occurred once during program material, but is routinely associated with changing sources or turning off displays. I probably need to use the special Geffen device I have...even that might not fix this, I'm thinking about getting a Geffen 4x4 matrix switch, that would be just the ticket, for any source in any room, including two dish network sources, Oppo, and analog devices like VCR and Hard Drive recorder (which only has analog output...and has never been available otherwise).  I like the physical design of this generic 4x4 switcher better, though.

Also on Saturday, I fixed the phone jack in the Queen's room.  I moved the jack from it's previous disheveled state under the window to the right corner of the room last Sunday when a friend was over painting the trim in the Queen's room pink.  But I had left the wires disconnected, as it was very hard work to squeeze into the corner and connect them.  I had started on that during the following week, but decided I should buy an actual telephone jack punching tool.  I bought the tool on Saturday while at Altex, the first major reason for going there.  But I found that the tool did little good, perhaps I also needed to buy the specialized blade for it, but I was finding I could punch the wires at great effort with a screw driver on one side and finger on the other.  So I punched all 4 phone wire connections, then carved the cover slightly so it would fit over the tight lead in wire, then attached the cover and tested the jack by borrowing the phone from the King's room.  I dialed out twice with no issues.

And also on Saturday, I mowed the unmowed parts of the back yard, excluding the corner by the power transformer I had actually mowed last week.  I started late, around 7:30 PM and finished by 8:45.  I hadn't intended to do "everything" at first, just the part around the far side of Lyndhurst, but bit by bit I did almost everything that needed mowing.

I got out the towels for my friend to come by and sunbathe on Sunday but she didn't have time.  She had been over sunbathing twice in the past week--a major coup for me!  She loves it because of the privacy.  And I'm proud of my Enchanted Castle.


Friday, August 16, 2013

Kohler Tubs

I'm reconsidering doing the Queen's Bath sooner, perhaps even before the King's Room (let alone the King's Bath...).  One issue is that I cannot change Queen's to a shower-only bath, until I fix the King's bath.  But actually, I was not thinking of making the Queen's a shower only bath anyway.

Instead, I was thinking of replacing the existing tub (which is a full 60" long, btw, not 56" as I previously thought) with a Kohler Highbridge, which has 13 inch water depth (as compared to 9 inches or less for typical tub showers).  The price for the increased water depth is a two inch increase in stepover height, which I believe is OK.  (I was going to go for 9 inch increase in stepover height with the Tea-for-Two in Kings, though that is very uncertain.)

Or just sticking to the standard stepover height, a popular choice is the Kohler Bellwether.  It is also about 30% less expensive, but actually weighs about 15% more.  It has 9 inch maximum water depth.  The Kohler Villager, least expensive cast iron tub from Kohler,  has 8 1/2 inch maximum water depth.

But I don't see much difference between the Bellwether and the tub I have now.  OK, the tub I have now has a tiny nick which I patched once but the patch came loose when I was using a suction cup mat.  I think it can be repatched fine and would be good for at least another 20 years.

So one option is to just keep the existing tub, but replace the tile.  I'd use a larger size tile for fewer grout lines and to make the bathroom seem bigger.

The toilet drain is 16+ inches from the existing tub, but the toilet was installed at a slight angle so there is only 15 inch gap at the front.  Since that could be corrected, a 32 inch wide tub (like the Highbridge) would be OK by code (at least if the toilet angle were corrected) without moving the toilet drain.

Here is Kohler instructions for cleaning bathtubs.  They recommend mainly non-abrasive and non-harsh cleaners, also R.O.G. 3.

Here is a discussion about using the Highbridge bath as a bath/shower.  It is the model recommended by Kohler for frequent bathers who also need a shower.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Shower arm diverter will fix bathtub "leak"

I was very concerned last weekend when I put all the evidence together, including complaints from my friend that the bathtub was leaking going back 4 years.  I saw the water near the towel bar even if I did not put a wet washcloth there or even step out of the bathtub.  I noticed a squishy sound under one of the vinyl planks near the entry way.

I figured the drain was leaking somehow, underneath the tub.

But further investigation has shown this not to be true.  I can eliminate the "leak" simply by rotating the hand shower wand (which I never use, so I had been pointing it toward the side of the shower) to the center of the shower, so all the water that comes out of it (even when turned off, a lot of water comes out of it) lands in the tub basin rather on the back wall of the tub/shower enclosure.  I figured out that water on the edge flows all around the edges and then to the front on one side right where the towel bar is.  I guess that it flows like that because the tub has a slight tilt.  An alternate theory is that some tiles on the back are not well sealed and water gets directly into the wall cavity.  But that wouldn't explain why the water comes out the way it does.

So it seems the correct fix for this is to replace the lousy shower arm diverter.  It lets a lot of water flow through the hand shower wand, even when directed the other way.  In fact, it's almost impossibly hard to change the diverter anymore.  But I remember that it always "leaked" in the sense that even when the hand shower wand was ostensibly turned "off" it still gets about 20% of the water.  I've noticed that in other shower arm diverters I've used in the past also.  I figured it was a CYA design so that the unused side doesn't seize up.

Well most of those diverters I've bought in the past, in fact all of them, have come from builder center stores, and they are no-name brand.  So I figured I'd dry getting a high quality name brand shower arm diverter, maybe that won't leak water to the unused side.   I've ended up purchasing the Delta Faucet U4929-PK.  This is solid brass with a polished chrome finish.  Many of the diverters I've purchased in the past seemed to be made out of plastic.  The Delta gets high marks for ease of use...the handle turns easily and is even ADA compliant.

Since I like high end things, I might have bought the Kohler diverter, but it seems to use the push-pull type control that in cheaper brands has always been faulty.  I didn't want to take a chance on that design any more, even from Kohler.


Sunday, August 11, 2013

Gigabit Router

The wiring for my 6 room high definition video and audio and data network is partly complete.

The data network consists of a Cat 6a STP wire to each room from the Lab (aka Computer Room).

There are 5 destination rooms.  Plus the Lab itself typically has two or more computers hooked up.  Therefore, it would be nice to have an 8 port router.

Here's a nice looking 4 port router without wifi.  This is a departmental grade device that has about 5 times more capacity than a typical consumer unit.



What I could do is put slow wifi router directly on the internet router.  After all, throughput from the internet is limited.  One of the ports on the router connects to a fast managed switch, which connects to all the high speed connections within my network.  Thereby, bandwidth within the LAN is maximized. And that's where music, video, and other signals need to travel most unimpeeded.

The downside of the arrangement is that wired connections are now a hop away from the actual internet.  But with a fast switch like the ten port unit above, or something better, the added delay should be minimal.  And meanwhile the LAN can fly.  Alternatively the switch can connect directly to the internet, and have one of the ports connected to a wifi access point like this one.  I think I like this latter idea better.

I can run the CR->Kit ethernet straight into the Mac.  That way I can get gigabit connectivity from switch to Mac.  Then, Sonos and all the other slower stuff can take the trip first to living room Sonos box, then to Kitchen router that connects to Sonos and other slow devices.

Here's a nice looking 8 port switch, supports DHCP (which it needs to do for cable modem connection).  I could even continue to use old Linksys for wifi...it works mostly. But note this new $287 switch (high end prosumer, the typical consumer 8 port switch would be $100) species only CAT5 and CAT5E.  That's all you need for 1000T gigabit ethernet.


Friday, August 9, 2013

Doorbell Video Intercom

I first became aware of this category last year when reading about the Optex Ivision.  A wireless doorbell video intercom.  At any time you can see who's at the door by pressing button on an indoor monitoring unit.  And you can talk to whoever is at the door.

The Optex unit looks nice, though the monitoring screen is small.  You can take and store more than 100 pictures, and it automatically takes pictures when someone rings the doorbell.  It uses 2 GHz frequencies with digital coding.  It can power itself with existing doorbell wiring (I think this part is essential!).

But Optex only permits one indoor monitoring unit.  Many other wireless video intercoms exist which permit up to 3 indoor monitoring units.  I'd like to have at least 3, one for master bedroom, kitchen, and queen's room.  A review suggested that Optex planned to introduce a 3 station version in spring of 2013.

Unfortunately, Optex has not yet introduced a 3 monitor version by mid summer.  So I decided to check out other options.

I ultimately decided on the Legrand Adorne Wireless Video Doorbell Kit.  One key reason is that it also can be powered with existing doorbell wiring.  Most other solutions require either batteries (which would have to be recharged or replaced often enough that when you really need it, the doorbell wouldn't work) or an external AC adapter.  (And how are you supposed to plug that in to power the doorbell on the outside???  You are simply expected to do something dodgy.)  Legrand shows they have really thought about this.  This include an extension wire with box that permits you to mount the doorbell/camera up higher than the previous doorbell, therefore getting a better view of the face of the person at the door, with the wiring going through the box which fits over the existing doorbell hole.  I like it when companies show they have clearly thought about how things can work best, rather than slapping stuff together simply to meet a marketing description (which may or may not be complete).  When you are judging products from online information, you know you are not going to get the whole story, but if companies have thought about the obvious problems (and others haven't) it suggests they have thought about (and fixed) other issues also.

The Legrand already has multiple monitor  capability, and when you do get multiple monitors, they can also be used strictly in-house as a room-to-room intercom.  The monitor has a screen which looks like it may be slightly larger than the one in the Optex too (though still not particularly large, not as large as cheaper products below).  It also uses digital communications (note: this is not the same as wifi, it's gaussian switched keyed modulation most likely).  All the pieces look to be very nicely made, as one would expect from a leading brand such as Legrand.  I don't know if the outdoor setup is actually waterproof (but many of the others aren't either).  With the high mounting position for the camera/doorbell, water resistance will be less challenging.

The downside is the price.  It is slightly more expensive than the Optex (for a one monitor kit) and each additional monitor is 2/3 the price of the initial kit ($199).  That means a 3 monitor system will end up costing $699.

That's about twice the price of the most expensive monitoring systems sold by Tmart, who offers more than a dozen no-brand-name choices, and they have up to 9 inch displays.  None of the Tmart units permit the camera to be powered by doorbell wiring, you must either use batteries or AC adapter.

Light-in-the-Box seems to offer similar or identical units as Tmart.








Thursday, August 1, 2013

Doors Purchased Today

Today I purchased two sound blocking IsoDoors for the two main bedrooms in my home.  These doors will be specially made with Purebond hardwood plywood instead of MDF.  Purebond plywood uses no formaldehyde based adhesives or isocyanates.  Sound Isolation Store was very helpful in working out this option for me.  However, tooting my own horn, I was the one who discovered and tested the Purebond plywood myself (the store had suggested using exterior grade plywood, which still has formaldehyde but emits less).

Delivery expected in 3 weeks.  I chose white seals and brass hardware.

Last week I scheduled appointments with air conditioning service and John Jones Electric and they will be coming up soon.  The AC appointment is for maintenance, but I also asked if they could estimate the cost of an A/C return for the Queen's room.

I have drawn a very nice diagram of the new network wiring to be done by John Jones Electric.  I am concerned that it has been getting very hot and I should have done this earlier.  I also bought a new full face respirator because my old one now has a fault.  I was thinking offering it to TJ when he goes into the attic.

The house two doors down has had For Sale sign removed and now has For Rent sign but no business name listed (only phone number).  No change to the vacancy of two nearby houses yet, and the house next door is still listed for sale for $76,000.

A misunderstanding and miscommunication  (entirely my fault...but main problem was I couldn't find my phone to return a call for 2 hours) led to another case of my friend skipping my party on Sunday and not talking to me until Monday, and still angry at me until at least Wednesday.  This made me very sad and I took every opportunity to send messages to try to get her back on board.  When she doesn't call or visit, the only thing I can do is text, and it's often frustrating, and she often doesn't read my texts for a day or more (and I wonder if she reads all of them even then...when there are 7 or more on the stack).  She didn't respond to any of my 7 texts on Sunday, for example, as I was telling her about the party and hoping she would come over.  She only gave a brief call on Monday.  I was glad she called, because when she doesn't call or text I quickly get worried that I'm not going to see her again.  She has been calling every day this week so we seem to be back on the rails, maybe, though possibly set back a few miles again.

Last night she repeated something interesting, she said she would like to live alone but that would not be practical.  Well what does that mean, that she is going to live with me?  At least she didn't say otherwise, as she has done often this year.  She had taken great interest in the new Queen's Room at various times this year, then at other times talked about how the future might be at her current house.  Her latest concern was that I was spending too much money on the doors.  She didn't even like the fact that I had spent over $600 on the first door, suggesting I could have gotten something for far less, and that it was wrong that I was spending so much money.  She asked me specifically how much the new door would cost and I refused to say--saying instead that I think spending money is good, and this is a good thing to be spending money on.  It almost seems as if she wants to keep expectations low, especially expectations that she might move over.   I often think that this is all part of her obsession to be the best mother possible for her 18 yo daughter.  Contra her feelings, I very much want her to move over, I think it would be good for both of us, and could be wonderful.  I'm not assuming that anything else about our relationship will get better, but it would be very nice to see her instead of worrying for days why she isn't responding (as has happened many many times--including this Sunday).

On a rare personal visit on Saturday, she brought her daughter's new dog (the one daughter doesn't spend enought time with) over for a chat in the back yard.  I then reiterated my desire to have her move over (she had been talking more and more about things she would do at her existing home into the indefinite future).  And I said that I felt strongly that her home life and work life was stressing her out.  It always seems to me when she comes from home she sounds angry, but then by the end of our date she's sounding very nice again.

But on Wednesday she wanted to deny strongly that she was being stressed out by her job or her family.  I could only say OK.  But it seems to me, still more repression and denial that her obsessive parenthood isn't grinding her down, and she can't see what it's doing to others (herself and me) and it isn't even good for her daughter.  Seems like if she were more honest she could admit to some stress from her job and child, and then deny that it was serious.  But Wednesday she wasn't admitting any stress.  I have been very worried about her physical and mental health from the beginning of the year after she lost her previous job of 2 years.  She often (when she even calls) admits to being tired.  She seems to have much less sense of humor also.

Anyway, after already spending $45k on my home to make it two person friendly (and other nice virtues) I do often wonder if I might have been better off buying one of the homes near me.  I could then let my friend use it with or without rent.  She has liked this idea, except she only thinks I should bid $20k, or maybe $30k, for these houses.  Well I am tempted to bid, but it would hardly seem sensible to bid $30k for the home next to me.  They would be insulted I am sure.

But thinking about this, if I did get someone to take $50k, say, for the house next door, what would be the monthly cost, with payoff in 10 years?  A mortgage calculator including tax says $529.  That's definitely dooable.  I've offered my friend $2k per month stipend, so $529 would be piece of cake, unless I had to do both.

But my feeling now, unlike 4 years ago (when buying another house seemed like hot idea, except for the cost) that living together with someone you love is very much better than living in separate houses.  Even if you have to put up with a little stuff.  And of course the cost goes way beyond the purchase price and taxes.