Home Automation…The networking rack

Sam and I went to the “L” Shaped House this morning and installed the 19” (relay) rack on the plywood panel along the back wall in the mechanical room. This rack will eventually house our networking gear (UPS, modem, router, patch panel, switch, & home server) as well some of the components of the built-in audio system. The rack features a 19” mounting system that can be swung open to either the right or left for easy access to the back side of the components.

See the plan for the computer network gear here…

The photo below shows the relay rack with a 24 port patch panel installed at the very top, the Trip-Lite un-interruptible power supply (UPS) at the bottom, and a 24 port Netgear switch in the box.

Plumbing…Day 19

Jeremy from Steinkraus finished plumbing the filtered drinking water system in the basement at the “L” Shaped House. We decided to install a Hellenbrand AlwaysFresh filter and a distribution manifold on the wall above the water softener. The Hellenbrand filter features a high capacity (1.5 gallon/minute) replaceable (1/4-turn)  filter that we’ll replace annually. The first photo shows the water filter and softener on the wall next to the water heater.

The next photo shows a close up of the water filter and distribution manifold. Filtered water flows out of the system through the four valves to the kitchen sink, the kitchen refrigerator, the basement sink, and finally a spare (basement fridge?). Jeremy has done his usual very nice job of making this installation not only work well but look good too.

Thanks Jeremy!

Heating & A/C…Day 10

Mark from American Air and his crew were back yesterday plumbing natural gas lines and finishing up the installation of the furnace and central air conditioner. The first photo below shows the furnace assembly with the air conditioning lines plumbed to the evaporator coil and the condensation lines run to the floor drain. They were pulling a vacuum on the system as I visited around noon and planned to have cool air in the house by the time they left yesterday afternoon!

Mark spent most of his morning working on a natural gas distribution system attached to the side of the furnace assembly. The manifold he built distributes natural gas to 7 different devices in the house including the furnace, the cooktop, two fireplaces, the dryer(s), and the forced air heater in the garage. The goal is to have an easily accessible gas distribution manifold that includes clearly labeled lines and valves. The length of some of the gas lines and the number of (possible) appliances requires dividing the house into three separately regulated “zones” (two inside…one for the garage).

Ceramic Tile…Day 59

Matt Sletten finished up a couple more tasks in the basement of the “L” Shaped House yesterday morning. The first photo shows the ceramic tile border around the basement fireplace. The second photo shows the front corner of the basement shower just as Matt finished grouting the walls.

Electrical…Day 19

Luke from Wire-Rite is back today working on the first floor wiring after pretty much “buttoning-up” the second floor yesterday afternoon. The first photo shows the back corner of the kitchen after Luke finished installing the back ordered under cabinet lights. Now that all the lighting fixtures and appliances are in place the kitchen area is getting closer (and closer) to being complete!

The next photo shows the first floor laundry room with the under cabinet lighting in place. This ro0m also feels more complete with the lights and appliances (almost) in place.

  

The last photo shows the front wall in Sam’s room after Luke installed the fluorescent light fixtures above the closet doors. The whole second floor feels very much like a home with the lighting in place!

Ceramic Tile…Day 58

Matt Sletten started working on the ceramic tile for the basement fireplace at the “L” Shaped House this morning. The first photo shows the accent tiles installed on three sides of the gas fireplace with Matt’s temporary support holding everything in place while the thin-set sets up.

The next photo shows the back side of one of the tiles “buttered” with thin-set on the side that goes on the sheetrock…and silicone adhesive on the side that sticks to the metal fireplace trim. The third photo shows Matt as he carefully adjusts the position of the tiles while setting them on the wall.

  

The last photo shows the “other end” of the mudroom after Matt finished up the tile setting last night. Here we can see how Matt ran the tile just above the laminate countertop creating a short tile backsplash at the wall. The mudroom looks great with the all the tile in place and the plumbing fixtures installed.

Electrical…Day 18

Luke is back today installing closet lights and under-cabinet fixtures at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the two closets in the basement guest bedroom with the florescent fixtures installed above the doors. The 4 foot fixtures cast plenty of light and really make the closet organizer stand out!

The next photo shows the hall closets across from the kids bathroom with the interior lighting installed. Once again the bright lights make the interiors really stand out. The third photo shows the 4’ fixture installed in the attic space in Helen’s room. 

The last photo shows the basement kitchen area with all of the lighting installed and the refrigerator plugged in. The three cans in the ceiling are on a dimmer switch while the under-cabinet fixtures feature high and low settings on each light. With the Samsung refrigerator door open the whole kitchen lights up nicely.

Ceramic Tile…Day 57

Matt Sletten is busy wrapping up the last bits of the ceramic tile installation at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the mudroom wall tile with the bull-nose border installed all the way around the top. All that is left to do in the mudroom is install the dog door and grout the tile.

The next photo shows the basement fireplace as Matt prepares to install the 3” square accent tile border around the opening. Deb and Kim picked this tile a while back after our original choice was discontinued. We plan to have Matt get the tile in place before we finalize the outside edge detail.

Painting…Day 65

Oscar and Philip from Carmichael Decorating were back Saturday working on the front porch at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the bead board ceiling after they finished spraying the first coat of white paint.

The next photo shows the french doors leading to the living room from the front edge of the porch. Here we can see the freshly painted white trim all around the doorway. The whole porch looks very nice with a fresh coat of paint on all of the primed surfaces.

Electrical…Day 17 (wrap up)

Luke (Wire-Rite) and Paul worked late Friday evening  finishing up some of the electrical work at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the Faber vent hood above the cooktop after Paul moved it down 3” and Luke re-connected the power. Once the special order 12” fixtures arrive Luke will finish up the under-cabinet lighting and the kitchen will be almost complete!

The next photo shows the air-conditioning condenser on the upper patio after Luke finished installing the electrical enclosure and wiring. It looks like cool air inside is just around the corner!

The last photo shows the front side of the Luxaire furnace and central air-conditioner in the basement mechanical room after Luke finished connecting it to the electrical system.

Plumbing…Day 18

Jeremy spent the day Friday hooking up plumbing fixtures all over the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the sink in the basement kitchen with both a Delta single handle pull–out faucet and a filtered water faucet in the back corner.

The next photo shows the cabinet under the kitchen sink with all of the connections including the disposal and dishwasher in place.

The third and fourth photos show some of the work being completed in the basement. First; the water softener connections on the back wall of the mechanical room. Second; the laundry tub installed in the storage room.

The last photo shows the service sink faucet (and Matt Sletten’s tile work) installed in the outside wall of the mudroom. This industrial strength faucet will provide a source of hot & cold running water for dog baths, muddy boot cleaning, and countless other messy jobs.

The Garage Post

Sam and Harris spent the morning working at PICo drilling mounting holes in the garage post. The post will stand between the third and fourth stalls and support the jib crane we plan to install in the garage at the “L” Shaped House. The photo below shows Sam as he switches to the 9/16” drill bit in the portable magnetic drill press. First we carefully aligned the mounting brackets for the jib crane on the post and used a transfer punch to mark the position of the holes. Finally we precisely locate the drill press above the starter holes and drill through the mounting plates. We delivered the finished post to the house around noon today for Paul to install in the garage.

See the engineering data here…

The video shows Harris running the Bux Drill as he completes one of the 9/16” holes in the post.

The last photo shows the finished beam on the floor in the garage. Paul Winters will now stand the post up under the 8” beam in the ceiling and anchor it to the floor.

Electrical…Day 17

Luke from Wire-Rite was back today working with Paul Winters to install the pendants in the kitchen ceiling above the island and sink. The first photo shows the five new pendants from the bay window in the dining room. Our goal was to align the two fixtures over the sink “in-between” the three over the island when viewed from the dining room. The Kichler Mini Pendants are from the same Hedrick family of lighting fixtures Dianne at Cartier Lighting recommended for the dining room chandelier and wall sconces.

The second photo shows the kitchen pendants from the laundry room doorway with the lowered vent hood on the oven wall in the background. The kitchen looks absolutely wonderful with the pendants dimmed and the under cabinet lights turned on. I think the hood looks better 3” lower…especially with the cast iron cooktop grates installed.

Painting…Day 64

Philip from Carmichael Decorating has been working to finish up painting the outside trim and porch ceilings for the last couple of days. The first photo shows the trim outside the dining room bay window after he finished applying the second coat of paint.

The second photo shows the ceiling above the breezeway entry porch after Philip rolled two coats of white paint on the bead board and trim.  All three porches on the “L” Shaped House have recessed can lights on dimmers in the bead board ceilings.

 

Appliances…The basement refrigerator

I pushed the Samsung refrigerator back up to the wall and took a few photos showing how it fits into the basement kitchen. While the Samsung refrigerator is only 3” taller, 3” wider, and 2” shallower than the GE; it seems to “fit” in the space much better. The grey sides and stainless front blend into the decorating nicely as well.

A shot of the new Samsung with the refrigerator door and freezer drawer open.

Home Automation…The “KickSweep”

The SLH Home Systems folks installed the Beam central vacuum KickSweep in the kick panel under the pantry cabinet in the kitchen. The KickSweep is turned on and off using your foot and placed so that items swept into the corner are sucked into the central vacuum system. The first photo shows the “business end” of the KickSweep under the cabinet.

The next photo shows the both the KickSweep and the access panel cut into the back of the cabinet that allows access to the back side of the panel. The last photo shows the central vacuum piping as it exits the wall in the basement mechanical room. Anything captured by the central vacuum system will exit this pipe into the main vacuum head unit.

Heating & A/C…Day 9

John DoBrava and his crew from American Air Supply are back today installing the furnace and central air-conditioning in the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the furnace in place while Mark works to cover the seams in the ducting as he connects the cooling coil to the main plenum. The second photo shows the furnace with the cold air return plumbed to the base and most of the duct work complete.

The last photo shows the central air condenser sitting on the paver patio along the back wall of the house. Once the electricians get power to this unit we will have cool dry air inside!

Glass…Day 1

Seth from (blank) was out this morning to install shower doors in the master and first floor bathrooms. He also measured for the shower door in the basement bathroom and a giant dance/karate mirror on the end wall of the bonus room. The first two photos show the newly installed shower door in the master bathroom. Seth encouraged us to use a semi-frameless door system with 1/4” clear glass. I think the results are really very nice!

The next photo shows the door on the first floor bathroom shower. The clear glass in the shower doors will allow anyone using the bathrooms at the “L” Shaped House to admire Matt Sletten’s  beautiful tile work.