Rainy Day Jobs

Not much (I want) to do outside when it's 37°F and raining.

So it's a day for inside chores, which means I needed the truck, which was 440lbs. full of stuff to go to the dump.

Off to the dump the dogs and I went. Gretchen wasn't happy about it.

After the dump it was Home Depot to get insulation for the attic (great cold rainy day job).

But Jen wasn't home, working in the attic sucks, so I decided on something else (wasted trips?).

Since we've started using the pellet stove for the year, I decided to finish the electric project I started this summer in our downstairs hallway. - see it here. In that process I temporarily took out the programmable switch that powers the fan

(the switch is programmed to turn on/off the fan in sync with when the stove goes on/off) that moves the heat from downstairs to upstairs.

The programmable switch was in the box on the right. The original owners had installed this switch box to power two lights we don't use or have chosen to switch from somewhere else.

I could have put the programmable switch back in the box on the right, then find a cover for a decora switch and blank (pain in the ass), but I had another issue. The switch box on the left was wiggling. To kill two birds with one stone, I decided to put in a more stable three gang box on the left and either put a solid cover on the right box or just patch (w drywall) over it completely.

First step was getting the wiggly left box out. Mmmm wires.

Second was cutting the hole bigger (including my hand accidentally), rerouting some wires from the right box and putting in the new three gang box.

Now the box on the right is empty.

Next step was wiring up the light switches, programmable switch (which needed new batteries), and the receptacle powered by the programmable where the fan plugs in.

So it's all wired, programmed and plugged in, but no fan.

Hmmm.

Check this. Check that. Still no fan.

Call Dad.

He says try a regular single pole switch, maybe the ($30) programmable switch is bad?

Sure enough. Switch is bad.

Luckily I had another one. Not quite as functional as the first, but programmable none-the-less.

So that's done. The lights all work as they should and there's an automatic program powering the fan at the appropriate times for the stove.

I guess if I was really cool, I'd get a thermostatic switch to power the fan when the temp in the hallway reached a certain setting.

Maybe next time.

- b