Archive for the ‘Home and Garden’ Category

Blind

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

So, my sister wants new blinds hung in her bedroom. Going by the Big Orange Box instructions, I measure top and bottom width (to check parallelism), diagonals (to check squareness), and height in the middle.

The openings are neither parallel nor square, although they’re not out by much; I’ve seen much worse.

I set about trying to find the widest blind that will fit in each opening. I can’t find an on-line calculator, and when I try to figure out an algorithm myself (while trying to chip the rust off my Python skills), it turns out to be surprisingly difficult. Any given case is straightforward, using Pythagoras, but there seems to be no general solution. And that’s assuming that the top and bottom are parallel and level.

I mention this at the dinner table.

“Why not just measure the old blinds?”

Good question, Mom. Good question.

I’m still piddling about with writing a calculator, just as an exercise. And I’d like to find an online calculator.

Note: the math might be a bit easier if you measure width of the opening top and bottom, length of both sides, true plumb height at both sides, and both diagonals. But I think you can do it with the usual top and bottom width, overall height (assume level), and the diags, and given that those are the measurements most window blinds sites ask for, that would be best.

Inputs and results to the nearest eighth of an inch, please. If you round, round down — a blind that is too large by the height of the drywall texturing, a sixteenth of an inch or less, will not work. Piss off with your sissy millimeters.

A command line calculator is fine by me, but it must work under Windows as well as Unix.

Wolf In The Garden

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Awhile back I posted a snap of this little guy:
Snail_2809_w500Well, “little”. Actually he’s about 4 inches long.

I sent the pictures to Max Anton, aka the Mollusk Man, who has a great website about mollusks in the Houston area. He identifies this ferocious beast as a Euglandina rosea, the Rosy Wolfsnail:

This is indeed a Euglandina rosea, though it appears to be slightly elongated, thus resembling an E. singleyana. It is a native species and poses no threat to vegetation. Because it eats harmful pest snails, it should be treated carefully and not be harmed. If you wish, you can place one in a jar and watch it feed on pest snails. It’s a pretty creepy thing to see.
As you have already noticed, RWS’s are audacious creatures, quick to ignore handling procedures and external stimuli. Few other species possess so bold a nature, allowing this snail to be a most excellent species to display for educational purposes.

I turned him loose next to the garden fountain and have not seen him since, but I presume he’s still there, guarding the flora against his fellow mollusks.

Thanks, Max, for the confirmation.

Couch Cushion Architecture

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

A Critical Analysis:

A brilliant synergy between the weighted foundation and the light tensile structure, this project impressed us with its attenuation of structure and bright interior spaces. The courtyard and formal entry are also well thought-out and provide a clear means of way-finding. Grade A+

Couch-Cushion-Fort-061

More here.

Hard Row

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Sometimes, you work hard enough that even though the result is boring, you want people to see how hard you worked.

I’m trying to dress up the space in front of my front porch. Probably futile, because a) It’s in deep shade and b) It floods if the gutters overflow.

So what I have, essentially, are two strips of dirt right at the edge of the slab, under the eaves. All the nutrients have been leeched out, and the remaining clay has packed itself down to just short of sedimentary rock.

First thing to do, then was to dig out a nice deep trench. (Eight inch concrete block for scale; the light-colored band at the top of the slab shows the level of the dirt before I started digging.)
About ten inches deep.

[More images below the fold.]
(more…)

Bad Flow

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Via Fail Blog:
fail-owned-faucet-fail

Quote of the Day: Duct Tape

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

From Sherman, M. and Walker, I., “Can Duct Tape Take the Heat?”, lbl-41434, Energy Performance of Buildings Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory:

Popular culture abounds with uses for duct tape in duct tape calendars, 101 uses for duct tape, duct tape books, etc. Unfortunately, it appears that duct tape should not actually be used to seal ducts.

[original here]

[Reprinted as an article in Home Energy Magazine Online, July/August 1998.]

[Report LBNL 53547, on revised testing methods, with excellent pictures, showing that UL-181B-FX, regarding flexible ducts, is not a good predictor of duct tape performance when it comes to sealing ducts.]

*sigh*

I’m working on a number of sealing and caulking problems around my house. It’s all crap, it all depends critically on exacting, nit-picky, fanatically clean installation techniques that cannot be achieved in the field (i.e. in a filthy dusty hot sweaty attic), the instructions never seem to apply to my situation, and it’s all required by code, which basically says, “do it” without really saying how.

By the way, I laughed when I saw the picture in the above report of the duct sealed with clear packing tape.

It was one of their top performers.

So, what am I supposed to do with this $15 roll of UL 181B compliant foil tape?


The one sealing solution I’ve found that actually seems to work is roof shingling, and there’s a simple reason why: its performance does not depend on adhesives and sealants, but on the physical integrity of the shingles, and on the straightforward installation principle that the higher row overlaps the lower row. There is some tar involved, but that’s an adjunct.

What opened this whole can of worms was reworking my inadequate and unsafe water heater exhaust duct. The new vent, using the double-walled pipe known as B-vent, was improperly installed where it went through the roof. I have pictures, which I’ll eventually get around to posting.

When I re-worked it, I discovered that it does not adhere to the shingle principle. It must be caulked or taped to seal the roof joint. Appalling. It will fail, eventually, and likely before the shingles do.

There’s a critical component called the storm collar, which exposes an upward-facing joint. I cannot find good clear instructions on sealing the damn thing. Apparently, what you do is run a thick bead of caulk (I used GE’s 50G.01 Silicone II Gutter and Flashing sealant, because it says not to use it on surfaces above 400 degrees, where everything else is limited to much less than 200) around the bottom of the pipe, then push the collar into that ring, then smear an additional bead of sealant around the joint. This joint is going to see a lot of movement, the application method seems contrary to everything I’ve read about good caulk joints, and it’s going to fail.

The original vent was unsafe, not intended for use as a combustion exhaust, but at least it kept the rain out without sealant.

The Intersection of Architecture and Music

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

OK, I’m just going to say it: I hate most of the examples of Le Corbusier work I’ve seen.

The Villa Savoye is an excellent example. There’s good reason, I believe, why this style became popular for soulless office buildings, but not for homes. Indeed, I was astonished to learn that Villa Savoye was intended as a home; I can’t imagine trying to live in it. Raising children there? I shudder at the thought.

A few days ago I stumbled on this video setting views of Savoye to a lovely little piano piece. The music was sad, even a little angry, with a compelling stumbling rhythm. It seemed like something that might have come from the Wyndham Hill studio in its heyday.

Instead, it turned out to be “In the End” from Linkin Park, a band I tend not to like. I don’t even like this song with their usual instrumentation and rap-like lyrics.

This spare piano, though, is lovely and moving.

It’s been said, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture”. This video comes very close to showing how narrow that assessment really is.

The music perfectly, and beautifully, expresses the feelings Le Corbusier’s joyless sterility arouses in me.

Quick Links

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Peanuts or Ecstasy: Which is Safer? In terms of a single dose? Ecstasy.


Top Three GOP Governors are Creationists.

The top 3 GOP governors in America are all creationists, who have no problems with teaching pseudo-science to American children.

That’s why. This is wrong, and it’s one reason why the Democrats now control both houses of Congress. If this anti-scientific insanity continues, the Democrats will be in power for the next 20 years.

Randy Barnett backs him up at the Volokh Conspiracy: “Republicans be warned: No demonstrably creationist politician will be elected President of the United States.”

Creationism is the equivalent of gun control for Republicans: a stupid superstition that keeps the well-informed from taking them seriously.

Then there’s abortion, which neither side has right, but that’s another topic for another day.


So, President Hussein’s pet “community organization”, ACORN, cuts the padlock on a foreclosed house, and declares “This is our house now”.

Um, except the person defaulting on the mortgage is an ACORN worker who refinanced an $87,000 mortgage for $270,000 — and pocketed the difference.

Michelle Malkin has the scoop, including the public documents to back up her story.

Ike: First Rain

Friday, September 12th, 2008

Three P.M. CDT: I’m out doing some last minute battening down — First Rain felt about 30 minutes ago.

Ike estimated windspeed-currently expecting 87 mph sustained

Ike estimated windspeed-currently expecting 87 mph sustained


This is the 13:00 CDT map; a new one will come out at 4:00.

The predicted path has shifted West, which is bad for everybody to the East of Houston. The current track puts the center going almost directly overhead. (I’m in the 77076 zip code, North of the 610 loop, just below and to the right of the I-45 marker.) My impression is that the eastern coast is more developed, so this is not good. I think, judging by what I’ve overheard on the Weather Channel, it’s going to continue to shift West. Dammit.

I’ll continue to post for as long as I have power and tubes.

Caught my neighbor re-digging a drainage ditch that runs between our houses. I originally dug it for Allison, in a vain attempt to drain the backyard, which was flooding. Just before it topped the slab, I discovered a badly-placed landscape timber in the backyard was blocking the drainage on the other side of the house; the yard drained completely in less than 30 minutes. I’ve since refilled the ditch, which did nothing. Unfortunately, he’d already almost finished. I hope he took care of other business first. Sorry ’bout that.

I Need To Retile My Bathroom Now

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

…And my kitchen. Hm, maybe the living room would look good in tile.

Whatever. As long as I have a good excuse to get me one a these:

ring-bladed saw with mirrored table

ring-bladed saw with mirrored table

I really like the ring-blade idea. Very clever.

Plus: “The Ring Blades”. Great name for a rock-n-roll band that plays wedding gigs, ne?