Posts Tagged ‘maintenance’

Basement renovation progress

I finally got around to leveling the kitchen floor.  I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to do it, other than wanting to make sure I did it right.  The floor is sloped down a bit into the bathroom area, and the place where the kitchen sink cabinet would go is about an inch and three-eighths below the surrounding area on one side.  So what I began doing yesterday was leveling the floor an inch on that side, and allowing it to gently fill the slope to a flat, level surface. 

I’m using leveling cement to do the job.  I’ve placed painted pieces of wood all around the edges of the area I’m going to fill, to make it easier to remove the pieces once I’m done.  The wood pieces are from three-eighths to a half an inch thick, to allow plenty of expansion room between the leveling cement area and the wall studs.  I’ve already primed the area using the recommended latex floor primer, and the next step was to mix up the cement and pour it out.

While waiting for the primer to dry, I also did some water system maintenance yesterday by changing out the carbon filter.  I do that about every three months, and it was about time.  I would have done it the other day with changing out the sediment filter, except that we had run out of carbon filters and therefore I had to go to the store to get some.  So that’s another project done. Read more…

Installation, Maintenance, Repair, and Design of HiViz Circuits

In earlier blog entries, I described how I will be learning to install, maintain, repair, and design solar power systems. It just occurred to me that I’m doing exactly that with our little HiViz circuits. Since HiViz is my longest-held job (since 2004 and counting), there must be something about working with the circuits that I enjoy. I’m thinking perhaps it is the installation, maintenance, repair, and design work.

Installing Components

Every HiViz circuit is assembled on a breadboard from individual components that are kept in parts cabinets. I have to take the parts out, snip off the legs to the required length, and install them in their proper location on the breadboard in order to make a complete circuit. Joining the parts are wires that I also have to measure out to the correct length, and then I install those on the breadboard. The circuit requires inputs and outputs which come in the form of components connected to cables; I assemble those and install those on the breadboard also. Read more…