Let me tell you...this was much harder than I thought it would be. I figured lights...ok...choose some and buy the right housing and plop them in. Nope. Apparently my "designer"(you know very well and my creative half) had opinions on how they needed to look of course. We had to compromise in the main areas to meet her likings and luckily my man cave decisions were based on my own likings.
In short, we are still getting some nice energy efficient LED lighting in the Kitchen (accent lighting only), the Bathroom (over the shower only) and the Hallway (new additions). They were specifically chosen because of their size and the amount of light they would put out. Looks was a big thing, so it wasnt as easy as just choosing a brand and getting it. The lights in these areas are very specific to their locations and with good reason. When they arrive, you will see them...basically super small recessed lights that are LED. A very Non-Standard size and not typically what you would see in most homes.
For the mancave, I stuck with an almost normal style recessed lighting. Yes, they are a standard size, but they are still bit fancy (not nearly as nice as whats going upstairs). Basically they are a traditional recessed lighting that are LED, but you dont physically see a light bulb. It kind of just looks like a glass plate and a circle slightly recessed in the ceiling. Great thing about all the LED lights we bought....they are supposed to dim really well - we'll see. This seems to be the challenge with low end LED lighting...no one has quite perfected it yet, though there are many out there to choose from. We chose one that was recommended by my brother inlaw...naturally, I have to trust what he says.
Another thing that made this slighty difficult is that it was new jargon to me. I thought these LED lights are like regular bulbs...screw it in...apparently the bulb socket is known as an Edison Socket. Bet you didnt know that?!?!? Well...as we move to new times, there is a new standard that will be more and more available and seen in the future and that is GU24 Bulbs/Sockets. Basically there are different socket types...GU24 seems to be catching on and is actually recognized as a standard for California when you want to be compliant with Title 24. What is that you ask?...Im still a bit unclear, but its some Energy Efficiency Standards CCR mumbo jumbo. Here, read about it - TITLE 24 CALIFORNIA .
Anyhow, we are moving in that direction and almost all our lights will follow. Yes, all the lights we got (to-date) will be GU24 and/or some other compliant standard that will follow Title 24 rules. We might not be fully like that because some of our fixtures, but where we can, we will and thats that.
Here are some better pics from yesterday (clearer at least).
 |
| This mini section behind the tub will be a cabinet for towels, etc. |
 |
| Better pic of bathroom framing. |
So todays work was simple...it was a bit of cleanup and helping out my electricians because Im picky with electrical and my mancave, so I wanted to prep some stuff in there for them...to save time and to know I placed everything where I "think" I want it for outlets.
The house had some old insulation under the house - naturally to keep it warm above. Well, it was a fail in all aspects. Some of the insulation was hanging down, so it wasnt stapled or suspended properly. Second, they had faced it the wrong way. Third, it was only partially done - like whoever had a room in the far right corner did it only for that section. Geez...cheap or lazy...who knows. It looked so bad I wanted it out - at the same time, it was a section of the crawl space I have never ventured to and know there were a TON of spider webs I wanted to clear out over there. MY BIGGEST FEAR!!!
Well...I manned up and did it. I must say it looks waaay cleaner that it ever used to and the webs have been cleared away. Oh, I also sprayed a berrier for spiders so they do not venture there anymore. Lets see if it helps any in down the road (did some research and found some anti-spider and other critter stuff to use as a deterrent).
Anyhow, since I have a garbage trailer outside, I figured this would be a good day to get this loaded up and thrown away. I went to work and did the electrical stuff after.
 |
| Last row in the back is how it looked. See its not seated properly... |
 |
| CLEANER...and definitely no more spider webs. Yeah, Im sure a few - but before all this...it looked like spider city. The pier to the left needs to be replace ASAP - Ill get that done shortly.
Once all the work is complete in the crawl space area, we will move forward with an insulation method of some sort. For now, too much going on down here and its probably not a good idea until all the wires and pipes are 100% complete.
While down there, I know its not good to have wood laying around your soil around your house as it can be food for termites. I decided to rake whatever wood or organics I saw down there and threw it away. Surprisingly there was a lot of wood that had been left here for years...felt good just cleaning it out a bit. Dont expect me to level and flatten to make the dirt look pretty....we actually have a project to handle that in the future. It will make this area more pleasant to look at should someone open the door on accident to the crawl space.
My Favorite - Fiberglass insulation. Mask, Long Sleeves, Goggles, Gloves = YES
So the blue boxes are some of the electrical outlets I want placed. I have a CAD drawing of my garage and have planned it out already. Should have plenty of outlets with out the need for 10 million extension cords, power strips and such. This will be a clean setup one day (maybe not soon), but one day. Clearly while the dry wall is out, this was the time to think out electrical. Rather than risking wrong placement or not enough, I decided to place it and have it ready for the electricians to wire up. When the upstairs walls are sealed up, the garage will get done in the same time frame.
|
First Electrical Box I ever hammered to a stud!!! Memories! LOL
That concludes my work for this weekend. I will be back tomorrow, but its mainly to clean a bit. Clean only to get dirty...but still, I need to know I left it clean. OCD.
If I decide to do anything interesting, I will document it and if I find anything NEW, maybe that will get posted to. Till the next week...
No comments:
Post a Comment