Just Ideas

7 Weeks Remodling Project

2010-08-30T00:12:00.000-07:00

Bought a new property but it requires a lot of works to meet my living standard and style. Hired a contractor and finished everything in 7 weeks to turn this property into a positive cash flow. Total cost was less than 13k including labor and materials. Original estimate was 10k, but it was over a little bit. Still in the acceptable range though. Besides, the house looks awesome now. It is worth every penny to me.

Remodeling items list:

Kitchen: Demolished everything, cut open dry walls and put new ones, rip off the old vinyl and put new cement boards so the tile laid on the top of it won't crack in the long run. Finally, installed the new cabinets and appliances.
Master bathroom: Demolished everything, found a hidden unused space so we extended the shower space, replaced the fan on the ceiling for moisture removal, use cement and tile to make a new customized show pane, upgraded the shower system and plumbing, put new tiles for both floor and shower, and install the new vanity.
Hallway bathroom: Similar to the master bathroom but larger scale. In addition, the tub-only bathroom was upgraded to tub+shower. In order to provide, we also cut open the wall so that a smaller dual-pane window can be installed for the shower. Tile was laid from the tub to the ceiling as well as on the floor and base board.
Floor: Old carpet was completely removed, cleaned the floor thoroughly, and I install laminate floor in the whole house(2 living rooms and 3 bedrooms) except kitchen and two bathrooms(use tiles). Also put transition between tiles and wood floor.
Paint: Inside out. First removed the old popcorn ceiling. Then applied one coat of primer. Painted two tones colors through out the interior of the whole house(including bathrooms). Outside is also two tone.
Landscape: Gardener trimmed the whole front and backyard.
Garage: Installed a new garage door opener.
Misc: Installed some light fixtures, a ceiling fan, several blinds, as well as base shoe on the base board to cover the gap between the laminate floor and the wall.

Lesson learned:

I can install laminate floor faster than before(I probably installed about 900~1,000 sq feets this time).
Understand the key to install new cabinets properly.
Have some basic knowledge about the installation of tile floor.
Learned a lot of new home improvement tools and materials.
Earned some cool and useful tools(Jaw Horse and MultiMaster) from DIY the floor myself.

Here are some photos of the whole remodeling process:
(Click on the photo to enlarge it and see the detail)

Outside:

Kitchen:

Floor:

Hallway Bathroom:

Master bathroom:

Electronic Device Project - iPhone Charger DIY

2010-04-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

I have several different kinds of USB cigarette chargers, but they don't work with iPhone 3G. I really want to be able to charge the iPhone while I am on the road, so I can listen to Pandora or use GPS with Google map without worrying about the battery drain. Because of that, I googled for a solution and found this excellent wiki written by John Baxendale. Thus, I decided to start this little weekend project.

Based on his finding, the problem was because the USB data pins(pin 2 & 3) for iPhone 3G need to sense some current but most USB cigarette chargers ignore them. His solution is simply putting two 100k Ohm resistors between ping 1 & pin2 as well as pin 3 & pin 4. Since it sounds so simple and I have some spare resistors, so why not give it a shot?

Modal 1 (No FM transmitter): This is a common cheap cigarette charger.

* It works!

Modal 2 (With FM transmitter): I usually use this one so I can listen to music using the car's stereo speakers wirelessly.

* Playing Pandora. This is much better than FM(no ads). Just like a personal free XM via 3G.

* Playing iPod app

* The battery is charging properly

Art Project - Water color paint

2009-08-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

I told my wife that I would like to design a paint for our home decoration in the beginning of the 2009, but she would not believe me. She thought that I would not have the time and skill, so to prove myself, I made this water color paint as my first new year resolution in 2009.

This was just a practice, and I am planing to make a bigger one so I can hang it on the wall. Probably will frame the paint as well. It probably will be my next project.

Step 1: Sketch the outline

Step 2: Add first layer of color

Step 3: After the first layer is dried, add the second layer

Step 4: Add background cloud

Step 5: Completed!

Home Improvement Project - Base Shoe

2009-07-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

After I finished the laminate floor project, there is still a gap between the floor and the base board. Ideally, the base board should be removed before working on the floor, however, it is time consuming to remove all base board, install floor, put back the base board, and then re-paint the base board. To save time, we can use base shoe without removing any base board.

Base shoe is like a crown molding in my opinion. There will be a lot of 30 or 45 degree cut to make corners look a lot of nicer. Thus, Miter Saw will be a nice fit for this project. I was using this less power tool borrowed from my colleague Po(thanks). This is an awesome tool because it does do the job very nicely.

In addition to the saw, I also need a nail gun to save time. Using hammer is not only time consuming but also error prone. I highly recommend to use a nail gun instead. There two kinds of nail gun. Air-compressed nail gun is much powerful, but you will need to purchase a separated air compressor. Electric nail gun is less powerful, but for this kind of project it is sufficient. The key ingredient of the project - Base shoe.

We will also need paint and brush for the final finish.

Everything is ready, now let's begin.

Step 1: Measure the width and cut the base shoe roughly.

Step 2: Cut 45 degree angle for the corner. Some corners require 30 degree angle which will take more efforts.

Step 3: Drive the nail to the base shoe and wall. This will close the gap shown in the picture.

Step 4: Brush the paint to give it the final touch.

Step 5: Completed!

Reference:
1. http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_4990_install-base-shoe-molding.html

Home Cleaning Project - Bug Terminator

2009-07-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

We found some tiny black bugs on the wall near the roof area. We are not sure what they are but they certainly won't be a good thing. Thus, with the scientific spirit in my blood, I would like to figure it out before it cause catastrophic disaster.

To figure it what the bug is, I will need a microscope. I prefer an USB digital microscope that can connect to my computer and capture snapshots easily. I am using a Mac, so I need one that is compatible with MacOSX too. Buy.com has Carson for $49 which is on sale, but I went to a local Frys to pick up Celestron Handheld Digital Microscope(up to 150x) just for the convenience. unfortunately, Celestron does not have good support for Mac because it require me to find some image/video capture application on my own instead provide a default one in the box. After some researches on the Internet, I ordered a more powerful USB microscope(Veho VMS-004 - up to 400X) from J&R.com.

Celestron (up to 150x)

Veho (up to 400x)

Step 1: Catch a bug.

Step 2: Take a picture. Say Cheeze!

> Front view: 40x

> Top view: 150x Close up

> Bottom view: 150x

Step 3: Google it to find matched photo. We found a similar match on Pest Control Canada via google image service(thank you, google :-)). We thought that the bug we found was "Carpet Beetles". I was not 100% sure about this, so I sent an email to get the confirmation from Pest Control Canada web site below. However, after we've done the research for a few weeks, we were certain that it was actually a "bird mite".

> Bug list web site: PEST CONTROL CANADA - Pest Information & Control Solutions

Step 4: While waiting for the confirmation, I Googled the solution of how to terminate "Carpet Beetles". Here is a very good source.

> Reference: How to Get Rid of Carpet Beetles

Step 5: Based on the reference, I decided to buy "Boric acid" and "Mothball" to kill and keep bugs away. Plus a steam cleaner to deep clean the carpet and put possible affected clothes and sheets to the washer and dryer for a good treatment.

Step 6: Get cleaning equipment ready and vacuum the carpet first.

Step 7: Steam affected areas.

Step 8: Wipe out bug's bodies.

Step 9: Spray "BugOut" to affected areas as the first defense wall.

Step 10: Spread Borax to affected areas too to build the 2nd defense system.

Step 11: Stream clean the carpet to kill any bugs already invaded.

Step 12: Put Mothballs in the closet as a prevention measure.

Game Console Modification Project - DIY Wii Software Hack

2009-06-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

Wii is a popular game console because of its unique user interaction experience. It has a built-in DVD but users can not play the real DVD movie using the console. Besides, it was not possible to play a backup game either.

People started to come up with different hardware solution to make this little box more powerful such as Modchip. Lately, some smart people come up with the pure software solution require no hardware modification. I follow the same instruction and it did work for me. I can now play DVD movie and backup games without any issue.

Preparation:
You will need to have a Homebrew Channel(HBC) ready before you start the following steps. There are several ways to install HBC to your Wii(ex. Twilight Hack, Bannerbomb) and I used Bannerbomb.

Instruction:
http://wiibrew.org/wiki/BaNNeRBoMB

Download:
http://bannerbomb.qoid.us/

Step 1: Clean the system (you can skip this step if it is your first time hacking the system)
http://www.91wii.com/attachment.php?aid=6782&k=b73fccff0a899f7329eba5a1da302882&t=1246091998

Step 2: Download "Fix4.0-NeXtRL.rar" and unpack it. You will see "apps" and "wad" under the SD folder.
http://www.91wii.com/attachment.php?aid=6773&k=110693a5f427f5b4238fa6bbc896ae7d&t=1246091998

Step 3: Do a full backup of your SD card before you wipe out everything on the SD card. After it is done, copy just the "apps" folder to your SD card under the root directory.

Step 4: Turn on the Wii. Launch the Homebrew Channel and select CMDVDX34, and then pick "Downgrade IOS35", wait for it to end and come back to the menu, then exit.

Step 5: Download cios_fix.wad and copy it to the SD card under the "wad" folder in the root(create a new folder named "wad" in the root).

Download:
http://uploaded.to/?id=l7k1h5

Step 6: Delete the apps folder on the SD. Now your SD card only has the "wad" folder. Then copy the "apps2" folder in "Fix4.0-NeXtRL.rar" we extracted before and rename it to "apps" on the SD card.

Step 7: Insert the SD card to Wii and restart your Wii. Launch the Homebrew Channel again, and run WMIOS35 in the "apps" folder.

Step 8: Then install cios_fix.wad.

Step 9: Exit again, and run IOSDowngraderv1 in the "apps" folder from Homebrew Channel(HBC).

Step 10: Download and install DVDx via HBC. Create a new folder for it and put it in the "app" folder of your SD card.
http://hackmii.com/2008/08/libdi-and-the-dvdx-installer/

Step 11: Download and install cIOS36 rev 10 via HBC. Create a new folder for it and put it in the "app" folder of your SD card.
Info: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zdztqgmtnyn

Step 12: Download and install mPlyaer to play DVD movie on your Wii. Create a new folder for it and put it in the "app" folder of your SD card.
Info: http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/news.html

Step 13: Download and install Backup loader for playing your DVD-R backup games. Create a new folder for it and put it in the "app" folder of your SD card.
Download: http://dl.qj.net/Backup-Launcher-0.3-gamma-Wii-Homebrew/pg/12/fid/24846/catid/526

Step 14: Download and install USB loader so you can play your backup games from a SD card or USB hard drive instead of DVD-R.
Info: http://www.usbloader.com/

Reference:
1. http://wiibrew.org/wiki/IOS_History
2. http://wii.cngba.com/wii_pj/2009051270463.shtml
3. http://keisuke08.pixnet.net/blog/post/23646457
4. http://keisuke08.pixnet.net/blog/post/23642771
5. http://wiibrew.org/wiki/WiiBrew:FAQ
6. http://hackawii.com/
7. http://keisuke08.pixnet.net/blog/post/23666503

Home Improvement Project - DIY Laminate Floor

2009-06-24T23:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I replaced the carpet floor with laminate floor. Laminate floor is a kind of a floating floor. It means that there is no nail or glue needed for the installation and the whole floor is not stick to the ground or anything. The installation was harder than I thought originally because of the lack of experience. In fact, everything went pretty well initially except the choice of tooling. Here is a list of tools that must get ready before the project.

1. Claw bar (carpet removal)
2. Utility knife (carpet removal)
3. Laminate floor
4. Underlayment(barrier)
5. Duck tape
6. Measuring tape
7. Saw
8. Hammer
9. Spacer, pull bar, and tapping block
10. Base shoe and nails
11. Transition/Reducer

The first problem I faced was the choice of saw. There are table saw, miter saw, and hand saw. Ideally, it will be very handy to have them all. However, my dear significant other did not like anything that is too big or too powerful or noisy. I bought table saw but it was too big and too noisy so I had to return it. I also tried Sabre saw(jig saw), but the one I bought did not have a laser guide, so the hand must be very steady in order to cut a straight line which was hard.

The major problem of this project other than the tooling was the choice of floor material. Since I worked on a rental property, we don't want to use very good and expansive materials. Since the laminate floor I use was only $.79 per square feet, it was very easy to damage the locking edge when using the hammer with tapping block(the solid plastic block). If I will do it again, I will choose a laminate floor that is thicker and stronger. I wasted about at least a box(8 pieces) of laminate floor because of this issue.

Lesson learned:

1. You must have proper tools to save your time and make it professional: Ex. Hand Saw, Table Saw, Miter Saw, and Nail Gun.
2. You must buy a quality material instead cheap one where its locking edge can be easily damaged.
3. You must make sure the floor is flat: Level it before starting working on it and make sure the underlay does not causing imbalance.

Tools you will need:

Step 1: Remove transition

Step 2: Remove the old carpet

Step 3: Remove padding.

Step 4: Remove nails and clean floor

Step 5: Put underlayment

Step 6: Remove exceeding edge or tuck in the extra underlay:

Step 6: Take a break...

Step 7: Trim the edge of planks for the first row(otherwise the gap between the first row and wall will too large)

Step 8: Get the table saw ready(the first plank of the 2nd row should be a half of the previous row)

Step 8: Put planks together

Step 9: Add transition

Step 10: Mission accomplished

Reference:
1. http://www.birbek.com/articles/installing-an-engineered-hardwood-floor.html
2.