new motion sensor switch, a little rewiring

The motion sensor dimmers for the toilet lights don’t do what I want them to do.  One of them won’t shut off completely, and I cannot find the instruction sheet or model number to look up the instructions of how to program it to shut off.  The other failed completely. 

So I bought a 2-pack of a brand I’ve never heard of – Ecoeler – from Amazon and installed them.  (The one on the right.) 

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mudroom door, wall, paint, fridge

After doing some garden work, working on electrical upstairs, doing some cleanup downstairs, we began work on getting the kitchen east wall ready for a new 36″ door.  The current door is 32″ which does not meet building code standards.  Too bad, as it was only put in about 4 years ago. 

If anyone wants a door, it is now for sale.  Make me an offer. 

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digging up chains

While digging the final bit for the walkway along the fence, I found this. 

Now there’s a find. 

Next, landscape fabric, gravel, sand, paving stones. 

 

the kitchen gaps

After working at 520 this morning, we came back and started more walls here. 

So long ago when we needed to get the place finished to rent out, we knew that the new drywall left a gap between the ceiling and walls.  I knew that, eventually, I would have to tear down the ceiling and make it a) safer, b) nicer to look at, c) lighter for the structure to hold (a 14′ unsupported span), and d) easier to put in real fire rated walls between the two suites.  So today was the day to fill in the gaps as the new ceiling is now up. 

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cleanup and trees

I cleaned out the van and back yard (garden) today, and Dave trimmed a lot of the trees at the alley.  Some of them were crowding the power lines. 

roots in the (walk)way

I rented a jack hammer (chipping hammer) to clean off three of the posts exhumed from the old locations of the fence. 

 

It was a less-than-an-hour rental ($40 from Wards).  Now I have three posts that I don’t know what to do with.  They’ll be used up somewhere … eventually. 

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the gap

I have no idea how Dave is going to make this transition.  He’s a drywall miracle worker, but its quite a gap.  There is an elevation difference of half an inch. 

The hallway has 5/8″ for fireproofing, and the kitchen, as there is no suite above, has 1/2″.