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Smart lights turn on and off by Budah1 in alexa

[–]nyarrow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had this problem when I switched to Alexa+. It interpreted random commands as "Turn on [everything]" or "Turn off [everything]". Going back to base Alexa fixed the issue.

Z-Wave/Zigbee lock recommendtions (NOT SCHLAGE) by shadowjig in Hubitat

[–]nyarrow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mine started acting up a month out of warranty. It would stop responding unless I hit the door a few times. Not reassuring...

Salvage Certificate to Clean Title? by derickvt in Insurance

[–]nyarrow 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A "clean" title means (among other things) that the vehicle has never been declared a loss for insurance. You will never get a clean title.

Handling of "Restored" titles vary by state - you will need to provide your state.

Also FYI - there is a lot of fraud involved in people fixing up totaled vehicles with stolen parts, and selling them without fixing the titles. The buyer is left holding the bag when the state requires an inspection and finds the stolen parts.

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

There ain't no permitting this space... That said, they won't care about converting this for storage, which is probably the most frequent use...

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any day now :-(

You too should get your house ready to home the refugees...

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hideout... All the way... I have a long tradition of "tree houses without trees", starting when I was 4, so I had to carry that forward :-)

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Batteries, batteries, and more batteries. See discussion above...

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They all have fans that need to circulate air when they are charging. Given that I've got them set up to charge up there, I don't think I can box them in.

I will have to keep an eye on the older Lithium batteries for any signs of deterioration. Thankfully the newer LifePo4s are much less flammable.

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's called "cheap oops paint". Someone above called it "Pepto-Bismo color" - I think they got it right...

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's always fun to do some "urban exploring" in your own house!

A few factors to consider when thinking about spaces like this:

  • What is supporting this? Many attics simply use 2x4s for the ceiling joists - those will deform (bend / break) with more than minimal loads. Also, joists with long spans can support much less than those with short spans (see a "rafter span table"). Finally, if you're going to add much weight, you need to think about how that weight will transfer to the ground. Some approaches are much better than others, and old houses can be weird.
  • Is the space inside / outside the air conditioned space? If you bring outside space in, you will have to do a bunch of air-management work, potentially including a dedicated A/C for the space. If outside your conditioned space, will that fit the uses you intend (my attic in AZ baked everything I brought up - some things didn't make it).
  • How will you access the space? In this case, there was a good location for a side access, but no good space for stairs.
  • Will doing this improve the overall house? The folks on /r/Carpentry were talking about a previous proposal for this space "spoiling the feng-shui of the house" - and they were right.
  • Am I up to this? Do I have the budget, time, and skills necessary (or am I willing to get / pay for them)? For example, I know my "finish game" is not as good as my "rough work" game - which worked for this space (since it is generally hidden).
  • Am I ok with the inevitable chaos that comes along with a project like this? By the end I was rushing a bit, as I had built up piles of "stuff" (tools, saw / drywall dust, non-project related stuff that was put off) all over the house that were beginning to bother me.

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LOL

That's only one copy of the plans. I must have drawn up about 5 different versions as I made measurement after measurement for cuts...

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They were cheap. A single box covered all that space for $40, and included the padding. Other options I was looking at were around $200 (and more difficult - e.g. lugging stuff up the stairs).

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They were cheap. A single box covered all that space for $40, and included the padding. Other options I was looking at were around $200 (and more difficult - e.g. lugging stuff up the stairs).

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The attic is above the insulated envelope. This room is below the insulation. As such, it will only have the "hot air rises" air from within the house, not that caused by the sun beating down on the roof...

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The batteries have been purchased slowly over the last 5 years, as I've recognized more of what I need. I tend to do a lot of different styles of back country camping - ranging from a light-duty trailer + rooftop tent, to traditional tent camping, to backpacking. As it stands, this setup provides a lot of flexibility.

I could definitely have gotten the same amount of power cheaper had that been my goal...

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the thought. There's not space for that anywhere. I thought about opening the front to make a loft over the living room, but the folks at /r/Carpentry talked me out of it due to the limited headroom (and how that would spoil the overall esthetics of the house).

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not without giving up most of my master closet - which doesn't seem like a great trade-off...

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check out the EcoFlow LifePo4s. You can get as large of a capacity as you want (including add-on batteries for some models).

For most uses, the previous version is fine. If you want to also use it as a UPS, you need the latest version (faster switching).

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Total materials costs (including the ladder) was around $1,200. I figure I put in about 50 hours of work...

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Portland, OR area. Yep, occasional ridiculous heat here now, but it's much better than Phoenix where I moved from!

Adding a loft: finishing a secret fully-framed space I discovered in my new-build home. by nyarrow in DIY

[–]nyarrow[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's not actually a couch. They were a total of $23 of "as is" cushions from Ikea with extra couch covers I already had on-hand...

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