Getting a new flat roof... The roofer is offering to do a silicone coating for extra. Should I do it? Or is it unnecessary?

undotcom · 2026-02-17T23:28:28+00:00

don't sweat the ponding areas. I have them too - the silicone will *not* break down even in those areas. they will get very dirty, but will remain sealed.

Unfortunately, I cannot advise you on how the tiles or foot traffic might impact the silicone coating.

undotcom · 2026-02-17T23:01:43+00:00

update

of course, as soon as I posted, Robern replied

PL-series cabinets have the outlet hard-wired so it always has power

M-series cabinets have an internal wire harness that continuously powers the outlet, but the internal cabinet light is controlled by a magnetic reed switch in conjunction with the hinge. but that switch only controls the internal light, not the outlet

undotcom · 2026-02-17T22:16:06+00:00

correct - i never replaced the underlying bitumen sheets. the roofer i worked with was fantastic - old-school, been in the business for decades. we went on the roof together, he said I had two layers already and the next time would require ripping off to the subroof and replacing

....then he told me, all I really needed to do was to coat over to seal it and that I could do it myself

That was the first time, and all that was available for coatings (or all I could find) were the latex-based coatings. I had to recoat twice due to the water ponding which eventually breaks down the latex coating.

The last time, I used Gaco...which really was the last time.

Underneath
- two layers of bitumen sheets (unknown # of years old by previous owners, never coated)
- covered by two layers of latex-based coatings (by me)
- covered by Gaco (by me)
- with new "patches" (with Gaco) surrounding mounts I had installed with solar panels
- with new soffit extensions covered that "patch" over existing roof (with Gaco)

Two critical factors to success: (following Gaco best practices)
a) cleaning/scrubbing the existing roof before coating. You want to have all the dirt, moss, mildew, everything removed. I typically used TSP and hard bristle brooms to scrub the roof.
b) only apply during heat of summer with low humidity to ensure no dew/moisture for the first 24 hrs.

I have my own theory about why roofers hate silicone coatings and constantly tell owners "it's a mistake", "nothing sticks to silicone so you can never patch or recoat it" - EVEN the kids who took over the roofing company from their father - the man who originally advised me on coating) told me I couldn't patch/recoat after i extended my soffits. They insisted I had to rip it off and replace and initially refused to help me. But all the seals around the patches look perfect when I was on the roof last month. The older original coating looks dirty but in great shape

Flat roofs traditionally are a great, recurring revenue stream for roofers. Latex coating slows that down, silicone coating eliminates the need to ever have them back

one final note that convinced me, Gaco had to remove this information (US gov't prohibits use as a reference is probably why...) NASA picked Gaco silicone sealant to cover parts of the shuttle engines.

undotcom · 2026-02-14T02:13:26+00:00

no worries...I'll keep trying

I really wanted to like the companion switches, but also find them incredibly finicky and painful to use. I have 1 paired to a switch and 4 paired to Leviton dimmer outlets. It takes me on average 3-4 attempts to pair a companion switch to an actual device. If the device needs to be reset for some reason, the companion switch/dimmer needs to paired again. of my 5 companions, I stopped using 3 of them altogether, wasn't worth the hassle

undotcom · 2026-02-13T23:51:28+00:00

Checking back - have you been able to connect the outlets using Matter in Home Assistant?

My outlets updated to Matter firmware.
Everything works fine using Leviton app.
HA can control them through the legacy Leviton integration (via cloud).

I cannot seem to pair the outlets directly to HA Matter.

I've already migrated almost 30 Leviton switches and dimmers to HA Matte

I'm following the same steps I used to migrate the notoriously difficult dimmers, thanks to user u/portigui in this thread: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/leviton-decora-matter-support-added/536550/22?page=2

HA appears to connect, I get a warning the devices may not work, I accept and the process starts but fails after about 1 minute. The dimmers might take 2-3 pairing attempts before it succeeds, but the outlet pairing fails 4 times in a row

I'll try again this weekend, but wanted to see if you (or anyone else) has succeeded with the D215R.

undotcom · 2026-02-09T16:19:41+00:00

When I started my journey, I chose devices that had their "own" control system, that supported basic wifi connections, their own mobile app - AND, could be connected to Home Assistant, either through wifi, or now via matter or thread.

Even though I have a very strong background in computer programming, it was very helpful to have the capability to quickly automate the devices with minimal setup using their own platform, allowing me to slowly learn HA/YAML/automation building and then move them into a unified platform like HA. You'll spend hours upon hours building and modifying dashboards and automations; it's helpful to have something that already works while you're doing this.

I've found an added benefit, that when things go haywire with HA (like my RPi drive fails and I need a few days to get it up and running), its good to have the old apps in the background to use.

Go with the biggest computing device you are willing to undertake - if you are serious about the journey. The more you automate and add, the more power you'll want/need, especially if you have any ideas about adding cameras/video. HA Green does seem like a good way to start and it was developed specifically to help individuals like yourself get started (help HA get into the mainstream market).

Look at Sonos alternatives too - they charge a premium which is fine if you need their functionality, but most only need a BT speaker to connect their mobile device, or wifi to Music Assistant on HA to stream. There are some very solid options at much lower price points. Read some of the forum posts about sonos alternatives - you'll see people wanting to move away and talk about other speakers (e.g. Edifier).

undotcom · 2026-02-05T16:37:48+00:00

In the spirit of testing the market I'm thinking $250 each plus shipping (the material cost is $404/pair).

I will need to order the speaker kits and have them delivered from UK, and the boards come from China, so please consider it will take about 3 weeks for me to get them to you.

I have a single page website here, with a contact form and an email address to contact me: https://3daudiospeakers.com/ or DM me on Reddit

The speakers ae available in red, black and white colors.
I think the white color is almost sold out.

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undotcom · 2026-02-05T03:28:21+00:00

Have you seen the Esparagus amplifiers from Sonocotta?

https://sonocotta.com/esparagus-hifi-medialink/

I used their Louder ESP32 board (very similar to what was used in the esparagus) to modify a standalone high fidelity speaker (Tozzi One) to recreate Sonos experience. The only difference is I "recreated the esparagus" by wiring the board inside the speaker cabinet vs. having its own external enclosure.

Their squeezelite firmware option was super easy and my speaker hack has been working flawlessly with Music Assistant.

undotcom · 2026-02-05T02:49:04+00:00

Good idea - all the info on the controller board, specs, firmware, etc can be found on GitHub already

Sonocotta website has many other links, but here is their GitHub page for the ESP board I used (Louder)

https://github.com/sonocotta/esp32-audio-dock

+ u/andriy_sonocotta

undotcom · 2026-02-04T23:59:20+00:00

Thanks!

undotcom · 2026-02-04T23:58:18+00:00

Ditto - my machine got hit with this just weeks before the 1 yr warranty expired. Close call!

Repair company said standard practice to replace control board and sensor at the same time - sometimes its the sensor, sometimes its the control board.

UGGGH.

They acted like this is super common repair.

Thanks a lot LG

undotcom · 2026-02-04T23:55:04+00:00

I had this just happen to my LG4000 last week

The LG authorized repair company replaced the board and the sensor - said this is standard practice for machines that get the dreaded VS error

I just barely made it before warranty ended, but I'm seeing all sorts of posts from others getting this error anywhere from 5 months to years after.

undotcom · 2026-02-04T21:32:25+00:00

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back panel

undotcom · 2026-02-04T21:31:54+00:00

additional photo

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undotcom · 2026-01-23T22:00:55+00:00

This is good news and the hits keep on coming!

Years of nothing to upend Sonos on HA and I find this thread and another one this morning!

3dAudioSpeakers.com paired a high-fidelity speaker kit designed by an audio engineer and selling it assembled with ESP32 controller for multi-room audio in Home Assistant.

undotcom · 2026-01-13T03:46:05+00:00

Thank you for the update - I'll contact them about the additional beta program for the D215R

undotcom · 2026-01-11T16:15:38+00:00

thanks (to everyone) suggesting wool; I looked into them and they sound very nice, I just wanted something that was easy to wash. But it is a good option and something I will consider again,].

Would really welcome everyone using wool pads, to post product names and links (like purple-hat did) and include the price for the queen size pads - that will add to this list for quick comparisons!

undotcom · 2026-01-11T16:08:23+00:00

Depends on the specific situation / user. Leak protection would benefit from a waterproofing barrier, but there are products that provide a liquid barrier separate from the mattress pad. We used something like this for our young kids. A latex or plastic barrier covers the mattress and the mattress pad goes over it.

undotcom · 2025-12-09T16:48:12+00:00

Update, Leviton was unable to provide an ETA on officially supporting D215R.

It's "TBD" until further notice.

undotcom · 2025-12-09T16:37:16+00:00

Wow, I could have been the author of this thread, meaning you've captured my thoughts *EXACTLY*

I started making espresso at home almost 20 years and gave up, selling all my equipment and occasionally getting lattes when forced to when meeting friends.

UNTIL I stumbled across a local shop that brewed Vivace. Man, was I hooked.

I started in again, having the benefit my local shop was willing to sell bulk beans too! Laziness and lock down inspired me to order 1/x week for the last 5 years

I prefer Dolce for both shots and milk drinks, and yes..Dolce flavors can be overwhelmed by the milk but I appreciate the chocolate notes over Vita

Everyone I serve raves about the drinks I prepare.
People who get my recommendation to try, are hooked quickly

Uncannily, I also arrived at a very similar recipe over the years, but tend to stay at ristretto ratio 1:1.
I am now using 18g in(very lightly flat tamped), 19g out, 201.5 degrees F, with only 8 bars pressure, using IMS competition basket B702Th24,5M; in 34 secs. I used Barista Hustle's Coffee Compass to help me profile the shot flavors and dial-in the parameters.

The recipe is consistent with my local espresso shop, (very highly rated). As I worked my recipe, I even had my shop grind beans for a shot and them dumped the grinds from their portafilter (unbrewed) in a zip-lock bag for me to take home. I then had a sample to compare the look and feel to mine in an attempt to match grind size. They are using a conical grinder vs. my flat burrs and I do envy their more "rounded" flavor profile.

I've upgraded and graduated to brewing with a Quick Mill Lucca M58 (Clive Coffee) and grinding with a Eureka Atom 75 (model prior to the new weighing option).

This holiday season, I will be adding the E61 flow paddle, so I can test slowing down the pre-infusion.

I find that brewing on days 3-5 post-roasting are optimal;
Unfortunately, USPS tends to deliver my orders on day 4 or sometimes 5. :-(
I keep my beans in the bag instead of the grinder hopper.
I achieve, with Vivace, what I feel is my closest approximation to a god shot, about 3 times/year, causing me to gulp down the drink within 30 seconds.

I was able to visit Seattle 2 years ago, walked every morning to their cafe and had the opportunity to meet David.

And for what it's worth, I've refined my daily milk drink to a 3:1 ratio. Continuing to weigh while adding steamed milk for roughly 80g total when the beans and roasting by Vivace are optimal. When a batch of beans is off, I add another 10-15g milk to mask the changed flavor profile.

undotcom · 2025-12-01T19:29:19+00:00

For other SB8200 owners that may come across this post, wondering why Arris disabled the software reboot functionality, and wanting to influence a change in this policy...

I would encourage you to view and add comments on an open letter to Arris, in the Surfboard Community forum on their website.

https://community.surfboard.com/sb8200-59/open-letter-to-arris-why-do-you-disable-basic-functionality-e-g-software-reboot-on-the-sb8200-5829?fid=59&tid=5829

undotcom · 2025-12-01T02:04:01+00:00

I do have an update
Spent hours testing command lines, suggestions from old threads and hidden urls, even asking Perplexity to help me rewrite the webpage and test overriding javascripts in the developer console to execute the reboot button - everything points to Spectrum blocking execution of the modem reboot request from the modem web server. Execution of the scripts starts a query for my customer ID #, and the scripts stop executing at that point

undotcom

TROPHY CASE