Trim under Granite Countertop in the Kitchen

 Back when the granite countertops were installed in the kitchen in 2011, we removed the previous Formica counter tops and with them the trim at the intersection of the countertops and the counters.  We never bothered to replace that trim

 After all it's just trim -- has no functional use.  But you can see that the top of the counters under where the trim had been is not stained, and there are some gaps between the granite and the counters.  

But we needed a trim carpenter to do the oak trim around the 3rd return air grille, and as long as he was here, we tasked him with doing the trim in the kitchen too.  $700.

We were able to find the same sort of concave trim at Lowe's, in red oak, in 8 foot pieces. We got eight 8 foot pieces for $130.39.

We added this along the top of the counters where they met the granite countertops.

 And also removed the old trim and replaced it with this new trim in the three vertical places where the counters mean the painted sheetrock.

 We then stained the new trim with Varathane Penetrating Wood Stain in Colonial Maple and put a coat of polyurethane finish over that.

Special attention needed to be paid to the opening over the dishwasher, since there is no cabinet to attach it to there.

 

But that is why it is sometimes best to hire  a professional.

 

Adding a Third Return Air Vent

 Every time we get someone out here to look at our electrical usage or our A/C system, they all remark that we don't have enough return air for our system.  We have, now, two return air vents, each 12x36. 

 When the house was built, it only had the one 12x36 vent in the hallway.  I added the second one, in the pass-thru room,  when we got a new A/C system at some point.  I had to move the electrical outlet to the side, to make room for it.

But the last two times someone looked at it, they both said it needed more return air.  Looking under the unit at the space that is there, there is only one more place to add another return air vent -- in the 3rd wall under the unit, in the pass-thru room.

 This wall is shorter than the other two and we can only fit a 12x24 or 12x30 vent into it.  After checking, the 12x24 size is much more common, so it will be easier and cheaper to get a filter to put in it, if we want to, so we decided to go with a 12x24 vent at the bottom of the wall in the pass-thru.

We started by making a cardboard cut-out the size that we wanted and pinned it in place, to get a sense of what it would look like.

 Then we cut a hole to match that into the wall.

 There are two walls to cut thru, the outside one in the pass-thru room, and the inside one that goes under the A/C system.  There was the possibility that there might be an electrical cable in the wall, but cutting carefully the wall in the pass-thru room showed there was no cable, just some insulation, a 2x4 stud and the framing for the raised floor for the A/C closet.

 Our goal is to mimic the style of the other two vents, so we remove the baseboard and the bottom part of the 2x4 stud, and cut thru the inner wall to the return air chamber.

 At this point, we need a frame of 1x3 oak around the vent to match the other vents.  We know from putting the second vent in, that I don't have the skills to do a good job of that, so I hired a trim carpenter to do that -- Josh Dickson from Meadowview Construction to do the frame and baseboard.  He also installed a 2x4 header and support on the left side of the opening I had made for the vent.

 and then to install the trim around the hole.

 and the baseboard on the left and right.

 At this point, I noticed that the vent has a 3/4 inch lip of metal all the way around, to support the air filter, so the opening is not actually 12x24, but only 10.5 x 22.5.  The wall that we go thru is a 2x4 stud plus 5/8 or 3/4 sheetrock on both sides, plus the baseboard,  or in our case the 1x3 oak trim, so it is some 6 inches deep.  The return air grille sits on the outside of the 1x3 trim and is only 1 inch deep.  That leaves about 5 inches of space before we get to the return air cavity itself.  Instead of leaving this rough, exposed edges, I decided to trim it off with a 1x6 piece of wood, all around the opening, fitting right up to the return air grille.  This was sanded and given two coats of polyurethane.

Installing the return air grille (purchased from Amazon, $49.88 before we started any work) finishes this task.

 

Replacing a Back Yard Faucet

 We have had to replace the exterior faucet in the back yard on the East side of the house before.  This time, both the faucet and the hose is leaking.  The hose leads to a rotating hose reel, and that leaks.  So it seems we need to replace all of it.

 The first problem is the faucet itself.  This is called a Hose Bibb Valve.  We found a replacement unit at Home Depot for $8.53.

 There are two "standard" sizes.  The output is well-defined -- it is the size of a standard hose nozzle.  Even when hose diameters vary, the ends are the same size.  But the other end varies.  We need a 1/2 inch male end to screw into the pipe in the wall.

 Once we had the right size, the replacement was fairly easy.  Turn off the water at the street.  Use a big wrench to rotate the old faucet until it comes off.  Wrap Teflon tape around the new faucet and screw it in.

 But then we have the old hose reel.  We tried to take it apart and rebuild it with a new hose from the faucet to the hose reel, but that seemed difficult.  So we just replaced the entire thing.  After discussion, it seemed that the rotary nature of the hose reel was not really easy to use, so we picked a new hose hanger instead.

This gives us a fully functional, non-leaking, new hose system.

 

Replace Light Switch For Front Door

Back in 2016, we replaced the previous timer for the front door light with a model that tracked dusk and dawn, so we could have the front light come on at dusk (sun down) and go off at 11PM when we go to bed.  Now that switch has stopped working.  From the sound, it has a mechanical solenoid that flips the switch and that now requires too much force for the electronics to turn it on at the right time.  So it's back out to find a replacement.

We found one at Home Depot -- a Defiant Daylight Adjusting Indoor Digital Timer.

Replacing the previous one with the new one was time-consuming.  The new one requires a direct connection to the power supply, so an extra white (neutral) line.  

And there are a lot of wires behind the two switches.

But eventually, we got it installed.

 Then we had to program it.  The instructions do not do a very good job of explaining how to program when to turn it on and off, but again, eventually, it works out.

 

New Gutter Guards for the rest of the gutters

 Back in June 2024, we got a new roof and gutters and in September we put in inexpensive plastic gutter guards.  But Michael gave us some high-end metal gutter guards and we put those on the garage, by the back yard, with a mental note to re-evaluate the situation over time.

We had a couple of heavy rains, plus fall leaves, and such.  The plastic gutter guards collapsed in a couple of places, under the weight of leaves (at least), while the metal gutter guards do not seem to have changed at all.  So we thought it best to replace all the plastic gutter guards with metal.

We were able to buy two boxes of the same metal gutter guards from Costco.com.  This provides 48 feet of gutter guards, 24 feet per box, for a total of $97.40, delivered to our house (5 Feb 2025).  Then the weather turned cold, so it took a month before being able to install them.

First we had to remove the plastic gutter guards.

 Then we could start installing the new metal gutter guards.  Mostly that was a simple process of sliding it under the shingles, removing the plastic cover from the two sided tape and taping it down into place.  The hardest part was in the corner.

 The only other issue was at the ends, when a 4-foot section had to be cut to fit the size of the gutters.  But it went smoothly.

 After they were taped down, I went back and uses #8 5/8 inch metal screws to screw them down in place.

 The next day, I did the section of the roof along the garage near the front door.

 

 

Finishing the interior of a Skylight

 We had to be on the roof to fix the squirrel damage to the siding, and while there we checked on the solar panels and the skylights.  I noticed one of the skylights was rather unfinished at the top, right under the glass.  That is the skylight in the central bathroom, and is the "shortest" one.  I can set a ladder up on the bathroom floor and get up to the glass from the inside for it.  The other two are taller, and I can't reach the glass.

Originally the idea was just to clean the inside of the glass, but looking at the way that the wall stopped when it got to the skylight, I figured it needed to be sealed and painted.

So I got one of those cans of foam seal and insulate and sprayed it all around the top of the wall.

The next day, after it had dried, I trimmed the excess off, and then used sheetrock mud (drywall compound) to create a smooth finish.  After that was dry, sand and apply another coat of mud.

Then sand and paint.  Two coats of the Sherwin Williams 7653 Silverpointe paint that was used in the central bathroom when it was remodeled.

Wait for the paint to dry, remove the masking tape, clean up, and it is done.

Squirrel Damage to Exterior Siding

A door-to-door salesman came by and wanted to paint my house.  He pointed out a spot where there was visible damage to the wood siding over the garage from squirrels chewing on the wood.

 We've had this problem before.  Last time, I painted and added Tabasco sauce to the paint to try to make it undesirable for them to eat, but apparently they are back.  I also found another spot on the East side of the house, near the window into the garage.

I could paint again, but that's a temporary solution, masking the real problem.  And if they kieep chewing on the siding, eventually they will get thru, into the attic.

So I decided to cover the areas where they have been chewing with sheet metal, which they can't chew thru.  I found a roll of roof flashing at Home Depot which I could use.  I also needed caulk, and paint and screws.  It all came to $64.51 for materials.

First I made templates for both spots using a cut-up cardboard box, then once I had the angles and sizes correct, I cut that shape out of the roof flashing.

 

Then I slathered caulk all around the area where the metal patch would go, and stuck the metal patch over it.

 

After letting the caulk dry, I could then spray paint the metal, the caulk and everything to get the patch to mostly blend in with the existing siding.

The little one on the side of the garage got the same treatment -- a cardboard template, cutting that from the roll of roofing flashing.   But in this case, it seemed we only needed to cover the 1x4 trim piece.

But in the end, it blends in pretty well.