lostNtranslation

So after having the chimney torn down by my friends over at Keystone Basement Systems I needed to fill the left over hole in my foundation.

One of the reasons the chimney had to come down

After consulting several close friends it was determined that the best course of action was to fill with

Right before they took the chimney down

cement.   I’ve never dealt with cement/concrete before, but after doing some quick online research I found nothing to indicate it was past my abilities.  So off to busy beaver I went.  I found that I needed approximately 4 cubic feet of cement to fill the hole.  So I purchased 8 bags of premium quickcrete and a tub for mixing.

Mixing cement by hand is pretty tough work, but I managed to get through with a basic small black tub.  I mixed one batch at a time a slowly filled the hole.  I had to go slowly because on the inside of the house the only thing holding the cement back was a piece of flashing stuck to the wall with duct tape(super secure).  After about three bags I started really working the mix into the holes of the house to make sure those we’re filled properly.   All the time I’m running back and forth from the back of the house into the basement to check and make sure everything is holding tight.

Here you can see the massive hole left by the chimney

Luckily everything held without trouble.  I ended up using 6 of the 8 bags I purchased.  The other two will come in

Here's the finished job from outside

handy soon enough.  Part of the reason for this project is to complete a garden on the back of the house where the chimney once stood..  So one additional thing I did was to put two posts into the cement as small footers for a lattice structure we want to use to cover the vent pipe that now replaces the chimney.

1 Comment »

Over the course of this winter our garage door opener finally kicked the bucket.   After the snowfall there was no point in fixing it until somtime in march when the snow finally melted.

The bulkhead in my garage

So I went shopping for a new garage door opener at my local Lowes.  Luckily they had several in stock, however after consulting the folks there, I was told I would need to special order a new opener, because I have size restrictions.

There is a bulk head in my garage.  So the opener in its traditional install is too long to fit in my garage See pic to the left.   This means that the opener has to be retro-fitted(as all things seem to need in my house), or Special ordered to the correct length.

After investigating the custom order option, I opted for the hack method.  Although this method tends to be a little riskier, The custom option just wasn’t an option (way to expensive).

The risk is basically the fact that I’m hacking apart a perfectly good garage door opener, and I’m not even sure if it will work.

So at Lowes I purchased a Chamberlain 3/4-HP Power Drive Chain Drive Garage Access System.  It wasn’t the cheapest model, but then again I’m not typically the one to buy the cheap kind.

After pulling the instructions out and reading them thoroughly, I found that in the first few steps I build the armature/track that runs from the electric motor on the garage door opener to the front of the garage.  Because the pieces lock together, my biggest concern was recreating the locking system for the shortened components.

The way the track is built there are carriages that slide up and down the outside of the track, so it’s not as simple as using a bolt through the track(as that would impede the carriages).  Instead I used an approach very similar to the way that the initial locking mechanisms work, I used a metal punch to divot the metal into the adjoining locking space on the cut down bar.  Worked Like a charm.

shortened-bracket

I shortened the piece that was closest to the electric motor, not sure if there was a better piece to choose, but It seemed to work well.  The only other issue to deal with once the track was shortened was the chain itself.   In order to shorten the chain, I found the appropriate link to shorten too, and pushed the pin out using a center punch and a small vice.  Because I had a master link to connect the chain, shortening it was easy.

If you are afraid of installing your garage door opener because your situation seems special, definitely Call a Professional.  Or if your dumb like me and have the hankering to make it work no matter what the above method worked for me.

No Comments »

So I’ve been lagging on posts for a minute now, so I felt compelled to update.

Past Projects/Hacks:

Garage Door:

So I had to install a new garage door opener.   As usual my house requires retro-fitting.  After getting a quote or two I was appalled at the cost, so it was time to hack.  Check for follow ups soon on the adventure.

Cement Pad:

After having our furnace replaced we no longer needed the chimney behind our house.  I had a group rip it out prior to waterproofing the basement late last year.  However since they took down the chimney I hadn’t had a chance to fill in the hole that was left in the side of the house from the old furnace.  So this weekend.  I mixed up 6 bags of quickcrete and went to town.  Still another day before it’s dry.  I’ll post pics soon.

Passive Receiver Project:

I recently bought a new receiver for my home theater.  However I’m a bit short on decent speakers.   I had plenty of tweeter-midrange speakers lying around, but I needed to fill the sub-woofer gap.  As a long time bass advocate I was eager to tackle this unique approach to speaker design.  In the end I’m pleased with the results, but I have more ideas planned.  Check back for more.

Present Projects:

Landscaping:

It’s that time of year.  Time to get the garden going.  To boot all of the snow in the Burgh this year mangled multiple bushes in the yard.  So it’s time to garden.  I’ve got several projects scheduled.   Including several stone walls plus the gardens to fill.  There’s the front garden plus rear landscaping to tackle.

Dining Room:

This is goign to be a fun project.  We have to take a wall out to make more room in our dining room.   After doing the kitchen this job looks pretty easy.  However I have to match the kitchen floor.  It has beautiful Santos Mahogany floor from Bella Wood.  I got the floor from lumber liquidators, and it was a great deal.  So I went back to  lumber liquidators a few weeks ago hoping to find a similar deal to my last project.  I was in luck.  They had what I wanted in stock.  So I plopped down my cash and waited.  I picked up the flooring a week later, however it was the wrong size.  And to boot they told me they think the local warehouse might have some bad stock.   I’m not sure how long I’ll have to wait to get my flooring.  I just hope they will honor the price and find me the floor I paid for.

Future:

Arduino:

For those waiting for the follow up on the 120v arduino control post.  It’s on the way.  I hit a snag when I realized I was pushing to much power through my arduino.  Luckily I didn’t end up in smoke.   But I do have to add some transistors to my circuit.   tip102′s are on the way.  When they come in I’ll follow up with the final project.

Thanks for stopping in!

No Comments »