Kitchen Exhaust Fan

I made an attempt to install a new kitchen exhaust fan. The old one still works but no longer has a way to vent outside since we put on the new siding. I bought a new exhaust hood that said I could use the fan as an in-line fan (meaning I could take it out of the hood). I wanted to do this so that I didn't have to tear out the cabinets about the stove.

Here is the new blower fan in the new hood.

Here is the location of the old fan. It's pretty disgusting.

Here's the old fan. It still works, but I don't really want to use it. It's pretty foul.

Turns out that the range hood that I bought can't have the fan taken out (at least not easily). So I bought a cheap in-line fan and install some new ducting. The results are not that great. The draw is very weak. The weak draw could be due to the fan, but I suspect that it's because of the flexible ducting that I used. There is just too much texture to allow for an efficient flow. There are also two ninety degree turns.

Oh, well. I'll fix it when I move the stove to the new location.

I did make an interesting find. When I scraped away the insulation from the spot where I cut a hole in the ceiling I found an old box of chocolates. I got really excited, but it turned out to be empty. I suspect that the old timers used this box to store cash (but who knows).

New Outlet in Kitchen

We've had a single outlet (with a switch for an under cabinet light). The light failed a long time ago and I've never been able to fix it. I finally got tired enough of only having one outlet so I installed a new grounded duplex. It was super easy. I used a 20 amp outlet since I will eventually be rewiring the kitchen with 20 amp outlets everywhere. It's so nice having two outlets!

20 Amp Switch

I installed a 20 amp switch on the exterior outlet that I installed on the north side of the house. The switch came with no ground screw. I figured it was a manufacturing defect so I ordered another one. The replacement was the same. I called the hardware store and they said that most states don't require ground screws on 20 amp light switches (Washington is such a state). Good to know!

Entryway Electrical

I completed installing all the electrical that is related to the entryway. This includes the doorbell (which is low voltage), the switches for all the lights, and the switched exterior outlet. I also finished framing around the service panel. I did all of the electrical in order to have a cover inspection done. The inspector spent thirty seconds looking at the area and five minutes chatting with me about various topics. I had been sweating the inspection and made sure everything was perfect because the previous inspector had been kind of freaked out, rude, and generally not helpful. The new inspector mentioned that the other inspector was new and kind of uptight. I had requested that the first inspector not come back when requesting my inspection. Needless to say, I passed the inspection.

Here's the doorbell before I wired it.

Here's the doorbell after I wired it. The light stays on all the time.

Here's the 16v transformer in the attic space for the doorbell. It attaches to a junction box.

Here are all the wires coming out of the service panel. I made them all look pretty so the inspector would be pleased.

Here all the wires for the light switches and doorbell.

I also cleaned up the wires in the attic space and labeled the junction boxes. 

I have to go under the house to wire the exterior outlet for the north side of the house. I was more difficult that I expected in some ways and easier in others. There is so little room down there!

Here's the 20 amp switched exterior GFCI outlet. I chose the side of the porch because it was easiest place to do the install. The location is also more protected from moisture and is also less visible.

Ice

It's been really cold here lately. In fact, the rain chains have iced up. The ice is really pretty, but I'll need to keep an eye on it. I wonder how much weight the rain chains can handle before the chains or the gutters fail. Probably quite a bit.

Windows in 4th Bedroom Compete

I finished the last window in the 4th bedroom back on December 18th. The last thing to do in that room is to paint the door and door jam. It's nice to be essentially done with a room.

3rd Bedroom Closet

I installed the shelving and hanger bar in the closet in the third bedroom. The vertical supports were very easy to place since there is plywood sheathing behind the drywall (that means I didn't have to locate studs).

I still need to install the baseboard trim and the interior doorway trim in the closet. I don't think I'll install a closet door anytime soon. We seem to like our closets to be open all the time.

French Doors

I installed some interior French doors between the den and the multi-purpose room. I spent a lot of  time making sure that the doors were plumb even though the wall was not.

The glass had a protective layer of plastic on it and had a lot of primer overspray on it. I cut off the plastic before installing the doors.

The doors are within a 32nd of an inch plumb from top to bottom. I'm getting pretty good at installing doors. It takes a long time to get it just right.

Baseboard Trim

I am done painting the base board trim in the guest bedroom. 

Closet

I installed a basic shelving closet system in the guest bedroom. It seems like it will work out pretty well.

Heat Pump

This is what the heat pump looks like when it's 32 degrees. It is still pumping and heating the house, but the coils and housing are frosty

This photo is from 12/06/16.