The Porcher Semplice Basin will be a stunning addition to any bathroom. However, be careful if you are relying on the dimensions stated on the Porcher website. Listed as the Semplice Rectangle Basin by Porcher, the overall dimensions provided are 15-1/4″ x 15-1/4″ x 6″. So, how can a 15-1/4″ x 15-1/4″ basin be a rectangle? It cannot.

The spec sheet repeats this error by listing the above dimensions. However, the drawing shows a 21-3/4″ x 15-1/4″ x 6″ basin, which conforms more to the traditional dimensions of a rectangle. So, if you are looking for a square basin, don’t be fooled by the square dimensions and end up buying the rectangular one (like I did).

I’ve been experiencing problems with my phone line and DSL connection for quite a few months now. However, the problem was always intermittent. I would experience static on my phone line and DSL loss of signal errors at random, non-reproducible intervals. I just couldn’t figure out what was going on. So, I finally called AT&T and asked them to check it out.

They sent a service technician and, as I expected, the line was clean while he was here. However, 2-3 hours later, the phone line started acting up again and the 2Wire HomePortal was bathed in red lights again. Oh well, that repair didn’t work.

A few days later, AT&T calls back to ask how they did. I told them that the technician could not fix the problem because the line was clean when he showed up. And, I didn’t give it much thought after that. But, lo and behold, a few days later, someone from AT&T calls me back and asks if they can send another technician out to troubleshoot my connection. Well, this second guy fixed the problem.Almost a week has passed and the DSL connection has been rock solid. No static on the phone line either.

So, the technician tells me that I shouldn’t have the data line routed to all my phone jacks. Said that was fine for older houses with a limited number of jacks. However, for newer houses with 8-10 jacks, wiring the data to all phone jacks will weaken the data signal and cause interference. I don’t know if his explanation was technically right or not, but his fix of converting one phone jack to become a dedicated data line sure worked.

A gardener and automatic sprinklers make lawn maintenance a snap. I don’t have to remember to water the lawn. When the lawn needs a hair cut, someone comes by every week or every other week to give it a trim and clean-up all the cut grass and dead leaves hanging about. In fact, maintaining a lawn looks a little too easy until I had to write a check to the gardener and another one to the water company. Then, I realized that low maintenance doesn’t mean low cost.

So, in a bid to tighten the belt a little, I tried cutting the grass myself. Trying to make the “environmental” choice, I started off with a manual push reel mower. Lured by the promise of low maintenance and “free” exercise, I jumped at this opportunity. I now realize the error of my ways. I did not find a manual mower to be difficult or slow to operate. I probably could cut grass with a manual mower as fast as I could with a powered mower. However, where the manual mower failed was when it was time to clean-up the mess. It takes quite some time and effort to rake up all the clipped grass. In fact, the clean-up takes longer than cutting the grass itself. I could never get the rear attachment to work properly and catch the clipped grass. So, I will be continuing my lawn experiment, but will be looking at an electric mower.

You don’t have to act like one. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) really threw me for a loop yesterday. I don’t know whether it comes from low expectations after years of conditioning by other companies (say the Internet and telephone line provider), but their excellent service just shocked me. When I called PG&E, I didn’t get banished to voice mail hell where I had to migrate through a confusing menu of options. I didn’t even get placed on hold for a long period of time without knowing how far down the queue I was. What PG&E did was tell me how long my expected wait was and then offered to call me back when a customer service representative was free to take my call.

Yes, that’s the part where my jaw drops. I jumped at that opportunity. I kept the phone by my side and about 5 minutes later, I got a call back. Maybe another 45 seconds on hold and they connected me to a live person.

This was the second time I had to call PG&E during the past year and both times I had excellent service. Maybe this isn’t an accident and someone in that organization is really focused on keeping their customers happy even though they are a monopoly and I cannot obtain gas or electric service from an alternate provider.

So, why aren’t all companies like this?

Frank Marciano, a Hoboken real estate lawyer, says, “If you only get one thing from this website, let it be to go buy a ruler and check the square footage of your new unit.”

I disagree. Skip the unwieldy yellow metallic ruler. Buy a laser distance meter instead. That’s a mouthful isn’t it? Couldn’t marketing have come up with a catchier term? Well, that’s what the Leica DISTO calls itself. If you’re using a ruler to measure your condo, townhouse, co-op or house, buy a Leica DISTO. I know they’re expensive. I bought the Leica DISTO A3 on the Internet sight unseen. Would it be intuitive to use? Heck yeah. Would it be worth it? Heck yeah. Sure, it has some different modes that you can switch between, but the main buttons I use are “on/measure” and “off.” And, I can take four measurements at a time before I jot down the numbers into my notebook. No more measure, write, measure, write, etc. I can measure a large room in seconds. Try that with a traditional ruler. I know what’s that like. You hold one end and ask a friend to pull out the ruler in a straight line at the other end.

Oh, speaking of one of the modes. The Leica DISTO A3 has a square foot mode. Check this out:

1. Press the “on/measure” button.
2. Press the “area/volume” button.
3. Press the “on/measure” button. The Leica DISTO A3 takes the first measurement.
4. Press the “on/measure” button. The Leica DISTO A3 takes the second measurement and calculates the square foot based on the two measurements.

Press four buttons and you know the area of a room.

I had been using a Grohe Europlus II kitchen faucet for a number of years and the rubber spray control button had worn out. Actually, it probably had worn out at least a year ago, but I never got around to finding a replacement part. So, recently I stopped by the Grohe website to look up parts. The website included a contact form for writing in about warranty or replacement parts. So, I gave it a shot and received the replacement hand held spray a few days later under warranty. I was shocked. Utteryly shocked!! I didn’t have to call in and wait on hold for an hour. I didn’t have to mail the broken part back. It was too simple and convenient. I liked Grohe before, and I really like them that much better now. This is in stark contrast to the treatment I get from newspapers and ISPs. Kudos to Grohe for outstanding customer service.

In a previous post, I griped about a fluorescent bulb that expired before its time. Well, I finally got around to changing it and what did I discover? The bulb had a meltdown. Yes, that is a burn mark around where the bulb meets the base. And, the heat did melt and eform the plastic base. I’ve never seen anything like this from an incandescent light before. Have you?

If you are building a new house or extensively remodeling an existing house, your number one question for your contract will be “when can I move in?” To get a sense of the timeline, you should see whether your city offers online inspection histories.

For example, the City of Palo Alto has an online Permit Manager, that lets you check and research permits, and review the inspection results. If a contractor you are considering has handled a few projects within Palo Alto, then you can look up those projects by address and see how long the construction took from when the permit was obtained to the final inspection. Of course, not all delays are caused by the contractor, but at least you can get a sense on how quickly different contractors wrap up their projects.

Before you buy any appliance, hardware or fixture, measure several times and never assume that your house is “standard,” especially for “special order” items that are “non-returnable” or not returnable without some penalty. When my pre-drilled front door was installed, I had assumed that the distance between the holes were “standard.” If there isn’t a standard, there certainly should be one. Make sense, doesn’t it. But, when the lock arrived, I had the misfortune of discovering that the holes for the Baldwin Stonegate Lock are 5 1/2 inches apart, but the holes on my door were drilled 5 inches apart. That was the most painful half inch I have ever encountered.