The Home Improvement Thread

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

Also, score the edge at the wall with a utility knife or you might pull the paint off.

I wonder if it is possible to pull just the railing off. It might be cleaner, but who knows if the couch would still clear.



How much does the couch disassemble?

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I wonder if it is possible to pull just the railing off. It might be cleaner, but who knows if the couch would still clear.

There's no visible holes for the railing to support?
Probably pocket holes that were filled...

[Shazam]

Have you tried cutting the couch apart?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by jwslam

There's no visible holes for the railing to support?

Probably pocket holes that were filled...

On the very first one it looks like there is a plug covering a hole.

Still, the railing probably won’t come off nicely as one piece, so there will probably be some touch up work.

I guess it depends on the type of couch, but if should be possible to get it down the stairs if the railing was present when the couch initially went up.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

So nest vs honeywell thermostat. Is there really a need to pay more for nest?

I love the look of nest-e and the price is better. Is this a coke vs pepsi thing? I have dual zone, and AC on 2nd floor if that helps.

I have a Nest. If I could do it over, I think I'd choose the Ecobee instead as I like the look better. I'd say that the main difference between the two of these and the Honeywell is slightly more refined look/app as well as the ability to use sensors which IMO are pretty useful.

The sensors essentially are just little things you put in different locations from the thermostat that report temperature. They're useful in maintaining a stable temperature in a zone away from the thermostat (such as your bedroom).

IMO, do not buy the Nest lite and Ecobee lite as they are stripped down versions of the other thermostats with barely any features (think Smart car to Mercedes). I think when I was looking at my friend's Nest lite, it didn't have stuff like humidifier control and manually turning on the fan and stuff like that.

If you want to go that low price wise, I suggest looking into the Honeywell T5 instead ($140-$180 now, but at one point was less than $100) which is still a full fledged smart thermostat, but not as pricey. The main downfall of the T5 I think is just the fact it doesn't have the ability to use sensors like the Nest and Ecobee.

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I have a Nest. If I could do it over, I think I'd choose the Ecobee instead as I like the look better. I'd say that the main difference between the two of these and the Honeywell is slightly more refined look/app as well as the ability to use sensors which IMO are pretty useful.

The sensors essentially are just little things you put in different locations from the thermostat that report temperature. They're useful in maintaining a stable temperature in a zone away from the thermostat (such as your bedroom).

IMO, do not buy the Nest lite and Ecobee lite as they are stripped down versions of the other thermostats with barely any features (think Smart car to Mercedes). I think when I was looking at my friend's Nest lite, it didn't have stuff like humidifier control and manually turning on the fan and stuff like that.

If you want to go that low price wise, I suggest looking into the Honeywell T5 instead ($140-$180 now, but at one point was less than $100) which is still a full fledged smart thermostat, but not as pricey. The main downfall of the T5 I think is just the fact it doesn't have the ability to use sensors like the Nest and Ecobee.

Ecobee has a thing for frost control that I like. But nest is also a Google product now, which I really like too. Funny how thermostats are such an involved purchase now lol.

Side note. Maybe I'm not using my imagination enough, but why would people want smart plugs? It's not like a smart plug can tell your dishwasher what to do unless it's already a Wi-Fi dishwasher if that even exists.

I guess we could have things like floor lamps and such go off and on remotely but I just don't see a big reason why you'd want wifi-enabled plugs.

[rohara66]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

Ecobee has a thing for frost control that I like. But nest is also a Google product now, which I really like too. Funny how thermostats are such an involved purchase now lol.

Side note. Maybe I'm not using my imagination enough, but why would people want smart plugs? It's not like a smart plug can tell your dishwasher what to do unless it's already a Wi-Fi dishwasher if that even exists.

I guess we could have things like floor lamps and such go off and on remotely but I just don't see a big reason why you'd want wifi-enabled plugs.

They’re not that useful. We have the plug in ones you can move around.

Floor/table lamps and Christmas tree is about it.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

Ecobee has a thing for frost control that I like. But nest is also a Google product now, which I really like too. Funny how thermostats are such an involved purchase now lol.

Side note. Maybe I'm not using my imagination enough, but why would people want smart plugs? It's not like a smart plug can tell your dishwasher what to do unless it's already a Wi-Fi dishwasher if that even exists.

I guess we could have things like floor lamps and such go off and on remotely but I just don't see a big reason why you'd want wifi-enabled plugs.

IMO, the Ecobee and Nest are on par with one another. In regards to smart thermostats, I tell others that it essentially has the same features as a typical dumb thermostat. The energy savings aren't really noticeable. The price I paid for the smart thermostat to ensure I don't have to get out of bed to adjust temperatures is worth the price of admission into IOT.

Smart plugs have limited usages, but they're still useful. I personally use it on the Christmas tree, kettle, space heaters, lamps and vacation. Some of it is really habit. You have to have the habit of using it for it to be the most useful, otherwise, it's a solution looking for a problem. Personally, I started off using smart plugs for things that often times were often left on by accident.

For instance, at work, we use a smart plug to shut off the power to the vacuum water boiler and coffeemaker at a specific time each day so we don't accidentally leave it on over night. Most of the smart switches I get are generally pre-programmed to shut things off at certain intervals or at a specific time. It's rare I set a smart plug to turn on at a specific time.

I have a smart plug connected to a Zojirushi water boiler which means I can boil water from my bed and hop out of bed to hot water, but I rarely use that feature. The plug is more to ensure the water boiler is shut off by midnight every day if I turned it on to use.


A conversation I had with a friend really was that some of this home automation stuff is much more useful on seniors than some of us adults. I suggested that if he wanted to take the "plunge" so to speak, it made sense to buy and install a bunch of it for his grandparents and teach them to use them on specific things one at a time. Smart plugs and smart lights help greatly in some instances to reduce the need for a senior to bend or reach. A smart plug is also great in helping to ensure that certain electronics are not left on unattended for a duration that is too long (ie: Space heater). They are a bit less useful for the average able bodied individual except for bragging rights.

The echo dot and Google home are kinda pointless IMO. At least I'm not in the habit of changing my personal lifestyle to use it. However, I did find that using one of these devices for a baby was useful. An echo dot is around $40 and the average white noise machine is around $20-30. I bought an Echo dot and I use it for white noise, controlling smart lights in the nursery (useful if my hands are full due to changing diaper etc.) and it's also useful for streaming music on occasion while playing in the nursery.

[stang]

Turning off the wife’s curling iron remotely or turning on the slow cooker at a certain time is nice.

[Tyler]

So I'm building a new house, and our front doorway is basically 3 giant sheets of see-through glass.

Anyone ever frost their glass with vinyl or something else or get someone to come in and do that? Kinda want to avoid people being able to see right into our living room from the street

[Shazam]

If you walk around nude, they'll stop looking in. Or maybe they'll look in more.

[Fuzz]

If you don't want people to see in the 3 windows, why are you putting widows there?

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

If you don't want people to see in the 3 windows, why are you putting widows there?

No choice. Builder specs

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Tyler

So I'm building a new house, and our front doorway is basically 3 giant sheets of see-through glass.

Anyone ever frost their glass with vinyl or something else or get someone to come in and do that? Kinda want to avoid people being able to see right into our living room from the street

https://www.spectralight.ca/

I've used them before and was happy with their work.

[4X4]

You can also do it yourself with tint or mirror reflection tint from Home Depot.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

If you don't want people to see in the 3 windows, why are you putting widows there?

Nothing darker than keeping widows at the front of your house.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Locke

Nothing darker than keeping widows at the front of your house.

It's nice to share your collection with the world.

[surferguy]

Talk to Brennan over at Beta Cuts here in the city. Good fella!

[rohara66]

Originally Posted by Tyler

So I'm building a new house, and our front doorway is basically 3 giant sheets of see-through glass.

Anyone ever frost their glass with vinyl or something else or get someone to come in and do that? Kinda want to avoid people being able to see right into our living room from the street

We added frosted film to a couple bathroom windows after the fact. We were hoping there wouldn't be sight lines into our bathroom from the neighbors house but there is. Film went up a year ago and has been fine since. We hired a commercial window film company to come in a do it. Cost $200 or something and they were done in half an hour or so.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by rohara66

We added frosted film to a couple bathroom windows after the fact. We were hoping there wouldn't be sight lines into our bathroom from the neighbors house but there is. Film went up a year ago and has been fine since. We hired a commercial window film company to come in a do it. Cost $200 or something and they were done in half an hour or so.

Do you remember what company?