Remodel Kitchen

So, the first 4-pin triple tube fluorescent bulb goes out. I’ve changed a lot of screw-in incandescent and CFL bulbs, but never a 4-pin bulb before. While high ceilings and recessed lights can result in an uncluttered look, this combination also requires the beckoning of a ladder instead of a standard folding chair to swap light bulbs.

With aforementioned ladder in hand, I climb up to inspect the light fixture. A quick glance shows that the baffle must be removed first. With no obvious ways to remove the baffle, I pull and pray. Fortunately, I guessed right. As it turns out, the baffle is held in place by two metal clips that provide tension against the recessed lighting fixture to hold it in place. Whew! I quickly remove the bulb and search for a replacement.

The defective bulb was a USHIO UFL-CF26TE/835 4-pin triple tube fluorescent bulb. I stopped by Lowe’s and buy a lot of Sylvania 4-pin double tube fluorescent bulbs. The next day, I returned all the Sylvania bulbs because the bulb would not snap in place. 4 pin is 4 pin right? Theoretically, all that should matter is the base and whether I’m using a double tube or a triple tube fluorescent bulb should not matter. Regardless, something was amiss. I’ve never experienced such a problem with a screw-in bulb before, incandescent or otherwise. So, I stopped by a lighting store and picked up a General Electric Biax T/E Eco 26W 4 pin compact fluorescent lamp. Thankfully, that one fit.

Light Bulbs Etc. has a chart with the different halogen, incandescent, and CFL light bulb base types. I just learned that there is more than one type of 4-pin base for CFLs. Who would have guessed? A later trip to OSH showed a surprising selection of pin type FEIT CFLs to choose from. Next time, I’m going there. They had more 4 pin CFLs in stock than the much larger Lowe’s. That surprised me.

In California, the 2005 Building Energy Efficiency Standards require the installation of high-efficacy lighting. And, to prevent you from swapping high cost fluorescents with low cost incandescents, screw-in CFLs do not count. So, 2 1/2 years into this energy saving experiment, our first triple tube 4-pin fluorescent failed. So much for that 10,000 hours average rated lifetime. I guess the plug-in CFLs fail just as well as the screw-in CFLs.

Anyways, our triple tube 4-pin fluorescent was installed in a bathroom. If the bulb stayed lit for 2-3 hours a day for 2 1/2 years, that comes to 1,825-2,737 hours. In reality, our usage is probably far less than that. How weak. 25% of its average rated lifetime. Now I have to hunt for an expensive replacement bulb.

Last week, I was browsing at Home Depot and looking for a new lockset. I had to change a bunch of locks and came across the new Kwikset Smart Key system. Here’s the promise. With the new Smart Key lockset installed, you can easily re-key a lock within seconds. Well, the Smart Key lived up to its promise. During the installation process, I discovered that I was short one lock. I just purchased another Smart Key lock at Home Depot, installed it, and re-keyed it in under a minute. Not difficult at all. And, if I ever needed to change the locks, I would only have to purchase a new key for $9.97 and spend 5-10 minutes rekeying all the locks. Not bad.

But, that’s not all. During the lock installation process, I’ve always encountered a frustrating hitch. The deadbolts are simple to install. The knobs? Not so easy. I’ve always wasted frustrating minutes trying to thread the screws into the hole. Again, Kwikset offers a revolutionary approach. Instead of threading the screws blind, you install the knob pre-threaded. A twist of the baseplate locks the opposing knob into place, and all you have to do is tighten the screws. Of course, if I read the instructions telling me not to remove the screws, I would have saved about 10-15 minutes of aggravation. However, I love the quick installation and rekeying process.

The hardwood floor brush to the Hoover WindTunnel Canister Cleaner broke recently. So, how exactly does a brush with no moving parts break? Well, Hoover floor brushes have a plastic tab that locks it in place. And, if the tab breaks off, the brush does not stay in place. I’m not sure how that tab exactly got decapitated. I only found out when I discovered that someone had taped the brush to the hose. Ugh.

Now, finding replacement parts is not straightforward. I couldn’t find replacement parts at Target, Costco or any other places that I regularly frequent. I ended up finding a replacement brush at a local vacuum cleaner repair shop. Not a Hoover brush, but one that fits with a metal tab instead of a plastic one.

You can find replacement parts at the Hoover website, but you have to visit the Replacement Parts page. When I was looking on the main website, it kept taking me to blank pages.

Three years ago, I had purchased a new garage door and opener through Costco. A local contractor handled the installation. Other than the light bulb repeatedly getting loose, the door and opener worked flawlessly. I really like the new steel sectional garage door for two reasons:

1. I didn’t have to worry if I parked too close to the garage door anymore. That’s a real problem with tilt up garage doors.
2. When I was inside the garage, I no longer had to worry about the garage door whacking someone when it opened. Again, a problem with tilt up garage doors.

Anyways, the honeymoon ended last night when one of the torsion springs broke. Ugh. At first, I wasn’t sure what was happening. The garage door would only open about 3 inches and then stop. It also could not completely close by itself. I ended pulling the release so that the garage door could slam shut. After some inspection, I discovered that one of the springs was broken. Now, I’ve fixed many an extension spring on tilt up garage doors before, but torsion springs were something new. I spotted this page on replacing torsion springs and it looked entirely unappealing. Anyways, I called one contractor who quoted me $239 to replace the one spring. Not sure if that was the after hours price or their regular price, but since I was in no hurry I waited until day break to call again. This time, I called Halcyon Overhead Doors in San Jose. $159 to replace one spring and $199 to replace both. Of course, I replaced both with high cycle torsion springs that should last 12-15 years. We’ll see how these perform, but a garage spring failing after three years? C’mon.

When selecting a light for your bedroom, living room or bathroom, you should not only consider the style and color of the fixture, but also the availability of replacement light bulbs. If Costco, Target, Wal-Mart or wherever you regularly shop does not carry a line of replacement bulbs for the fixture, consider finding a different light.

I made a critical mistake in selecting a bathroom light fixture that requires a 40 watt Type T4 E11 Base Mini Candelabra. I have not been able to locate a replacement halogen bulb at Costco, Target or Wal-Mart. I also have not been able to find one at specialty hardware stores, such as OSH and Lowe’s. I’m sure I can find one at a lighting store, but that requires me to make a special trip and I don’t have time for that right now.

Solid core doors offer a fantastic option for new or remodeled homes. If you add solid core interior doors to your house, you just might sleep a little better at night from its improved sound dampening / insulation properties. However, if you have to make adjustments to your door height at a later point in time, such as if the house settles or you decide to switch from hardwood to carpeting, that solid core door is heavy.

I’ve had problems with my LG Front Load Washer since it first arrived. Six months ago, I finally purchased the GVI Anti-Vibration Pads, which really reduced the noise and vibration issue. However, the washing machine would still inch around sometimes during the spin cycle. And, depending on the nature of the load, the washing machine may shift more than an inch or two.

About two weeks ago, I discovered the Steam Wash option when re-reading the owner’s manual. I’ve always thought that SteamWasher referred to the Steam Fresh cycle, which I had used before. However, if you press the steam button during certain cycles, the machine will steam clean your clothes. So, how does this reduce the vibrations? The owner’s manual notes that the Steam Wash option features low water consumption. Less water means that the wet laundry will be lighter in weight, which should theoretically mean a decreased likelihood of an unbalanced load. I have not had to push back the washing machine since I switched to the Steam Wash cycle.

TV Outlets. I failed to future proof the house. Had I known a few years ago that I will now be watching TV programs on my computer instead of the television in the living room, I would have installed a TV coaxial cable outlet in the office, where the computer spends most of its time.

Bath Screen. Every time I take a bath, the bath screen reminds me that I should have installed a sliding glass shower door instead. If I set the shower head to champagne spray, water exits the small seam between the bath screen and the wall. If I set the shower head to normal spray, the floor outside the foot of the tub gets wet.

Extra Sink. Rarely use that extra sink and faucet on the kitchen island.

Cellular Blinds. Cellular blinds work great throughout the house, except for the bedrooms. If your bedroom windows are facing any source of outside light, unless you have selected a suitable fabric that blocks light, your blinds may light up quite brightly at night. Additionally, the Top Down Bottom Up option was totally unnecessary and more trouble than it was worth. Now each blind has two cords for you to keep away from young children.

Indoor Laundry Room. Mildly convenient. However, you cannot run the washer or dryer at certain hours. Additionally, if the laundry room does not have a concrete floor (such as when it sits above the crawl space), certain front loading washers may exhibit stability issues.

This thought had been percolating in the back of my mind for the past week or so, and Consumer Reports beat me to the punch. For a front loading washer, if you do not leave the door ajar, you risk mildew or mold build-up. However, if you do leave the door ajar, then this practice poses a child-safety risk.