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Home improvement projects can run the gamut, from multi-year custom home builds and yard projects to by the minute concrete pours. This week we are revisiting a concrete pour and taking a look at nearly 10 years worth of growth in a previous front yard project, specifically very slow growing succulents. Construction Timelines The above… Continue reading House Hacking: Time-Sometimes Fast, Sometimes Slow

House Hacking Project: Clean your Range Vent As the title says: what is that smell??? After using some olive oil to cook with earlier in the week, an odor slowly built up and was noticeable in a short time. At first I wiped down the stove top, and cleaned the granite around it. Relief! A… Continue reading House Hacking Tips and Tricks 21: "What is that Smell?"

House Hacking Project: Clean your Range Vent As the title says: what is that smell??? After using some olive oil to cook with earlier in the week, an odor slowly built up and was noticeable in a short time. At first I wiped down the stove top, and cleaned the granite around it. Relief! A… Continue reading House Hacking Tips and Tricks 21: "What is that Smell?"

House Hacking Project: Wall Mount Flat Screen and Floating Shelf Sometimes a project idea pops up at a moments notice, and this one did the same for us. As the New Year is coming into full swing, our home gym is being used again. While jogging on the treadmill, the thought came about: it would… Continue reading House Hacking Tips and Tricks 20: Wall Mount Flat Screen TV

House Hacking Project: Home Automation An HAI touchscreen panel, and an array of smart switches. Home automation has existed in many forms over the last few decades, allowing one to control lighting, security, access, surveillance, entertainment and climate control. From simple devices such as The Clapper (…issued US Patent #5493618 on July 9, 1985 and… Continue reading House Hacking Tips and Tricks 19: Home Automation

House Hacking Project: Down Time Improvement projects go smoothly and on schedule most of the time, but what happens when a snag is encountered? Having your toilet in the bathtub, or all of your kitchen appliances in the family room waiting for flooring or any other issue is a drag. So what does one do?… Continue reading House Hacking: What They Don't Tell You About Down Time

House Hacking Project: Backyard Furniture Re-purposed materials This week we take a quick look at some well put together ideas for backyard or outdoor furniture and seating. From pallets to indoor furniture left outdoors for a rustic look, your imagination is the limit. Here is a neat example of pallets sanded and painted in a… Continue reading House Hacking Tips and Tricks 18: Backyard Furniture

House Hacking Project: No Hot Water Have a single handle shower faucet? Chances are that without frequent use, the hot side sticks closed. Little to no hot water is available at the appliance. This is horrible in a guest bath, especially when they have to use another shower for hot water! Luckily a cartridge replacement… Continue reading House Hacking Tips and Tricks 17: Stuck Shower Cartridge- No Hot Water

House Hacking Project: Leaky Faucet A leaky faucet is a blight unto itself. While individually a minor inconvenience, in aggregate they can waste over 1,000,000,000,000 (trillion) gallons of potable water nationwide. We are looking to play our part in good conservation efforts. Let’s fix this thing already! To start, you will need to determine your… Continue reading House Hacking Tips and Tricks 16: Leaky Faucet Fix

House Hacking Project: CO Detector Retrofit One of our smoke detectors from post 12. The Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010 (Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 13260 et seq.) requires that all dwellings in CA are to have carbon monoxide detectors as of 7/1/2011. The only time most home owners hear about this… Continue reading House Hacking Tips and Tricks 15: CO Detector Retrofit