33
Understand how much power you are using
4000 KWH per month... 720 hours per month... that's 5600 watts on average all the time.
This is the equivalent of a dryer running continuously... 24 x 7...
If this was heating water, that is enough energy to heat nearly 1 gallon per minute continuously - nearly a low-flow showerhead. A pretty big leak in the hot water ...
answered Jan 21 at 9:30
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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29
Below is my original answer - which is still valid when looking for hidden or stolen energy usage.
However, given that your house is all electric, it is quite possible that your usage is normal. Taking some very basic Google'd round numbers, a 900 square foot house might have a 30,000 BTU furnace. That translates to almost 9 kW! If it runs only 4 hours per ...
answered Jan 21 at 4:26
manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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28
Almost all of the Home Depots that I do business with have short term rental trucks available right in their parking lots for very reasonable rates. Call in and reserve one for a particular time. Drive to the Home Depot in your car and park it in the lot. Go inside and checkout the truck. Then drive it up and load all of your materials and head home with it ...
23
You didn't mention how you're using the ratchet straps, but from your concern about slipping, I think it's possible that you could be using them to better advantage. So I apologize if this is what you're already planning to do, but just on the off chance it isn't...
For the MDF, you want the straps going over the edge of the MDF and running straight down to ...
16
You could just chill out. Putting up bars or plastic on that door is truly ghetto.
Doors like this are not inherently unsafe at all. Your door is appropriate for your neighborhood. Your door would be unsafe or inappropriate for a bad neighborhood or an apartment building. Having this glass probably does not effect your chances of burglary by ....
16
I used to live in an 800sq foot apartment in Seattle which has extremely mild winters. It was heated with electric baseboards. We're billed bi-monthly and I was appalled to find out our bill was just under $1,300 for 2 months. What gives?!?!?
Turned out, we had thin single pane windows that were marginally better than just a hole in the wall. The heater was ...
13
Yes, a switch that shuts off power to the garage door opener would make it unresponsive to commands from a remote (or anything else, such as a hardwired button). In some models, it may be possible to wire a separate switch to disable only the remote receiver while maintaining the functionality of wired buttons.
You may also look into setting a new code for ...
11
You could consider attaching a thick acrylic or other plastic panel that covers the interior of the glass and is firmly screwed to the door. The edges can then be covered with molding.
Such plastics are shatter resistant. While they can be broken, they will not yield to the tools of most casual home intruders (unless they carry sledge hammers or blow ...
10
The common practice for future expansion is to install the box and put a blank cover on it.
That eliminates the requirement of chopping into the drywall to find the wire. It also eliminates the need to create as-built documents and store them for future reference so you can find the wires later.
My recommendation is to install device boxes with ENT (...
9
If you don't use conduit outside, make sure you leave drip loops - where the wire runs down lower than the hole and is screwed in there, then back up to the hole. You should see this on cable tv and telephone cables as well. It prevents water from running along the surface of the cables right into the hole.
Make sure you use outdoor rated cables.
Make ...
8
You may want to consider keyless entry systems. The cards can be programed to allow or deny access. Once a conventional key is issued it will work until the lock is changed. A keyless system can disable individual cards in the event of loss or theft. The initial cost may seem high but if you are rekeying locks and making 48 copies a couple times a year it ...
8
I think you're overthinking this. I carry all kinds of lumber on my roof rack all the time.
The 2x4s are no problem at all. Just strap them down tight, one at the front bar and one at the back bar.
Sheets goods are harder. Your drawing is completely not to scale and I think you will be surprised how big 4x8 is when you get it up there. However as long as ...
7
Many camera's like this popular Lorex model:
come with a small 2" surface mounting "Plate" that you can use if you don't have electrical box mounting. They also screw into a 1/2" weatherproof threaded knockout, so that they can be used with 4" weatherproof flood light accessory plates:
6
Most code states that all railing balusters must be spaced no more than 4" apart to prevent a child from inserting their head.
So, that is one measurement you could use...if you don't want anyone's head to get through: 4".
Of course, also make sure you can't get an arm through that could reach the window lock.
Edit by OP:
According to http://upload....
6
Trenches are hard/expensive.
Conduit is inexpensive. Having dug the hard and/or expensive trench, investing a tiny bit into having conduit in the trench so you never have to dig that trench again is just sense.
Direct burial is silly. It's especially silly the second time, when conduit the first time would mean no need to dig again. It's a short-term ...
6
The MDF might be a problem. When driving at any appreciable speed the sheet will catch air and try to sail up and away. This is compounded by the air that is pushed up and over your hood and windshield, right up into the MDF.
I had two sheets of particle board that broke off where the straps were holding them down. It wasn't a clean break :)
I would ...
6
It's called a "Thumb Turn Cover", "Door Latch Guard", or "Cylinder Guard" and installs under your thumb turn mount plate, so it should be a DIY job.
It took me a very long time to pick out my security door for this reason, it's very hard to find one that blocks potential reach-around disarms for less than $600. The most secure ones I saw all ensured that ...
6
Power cord method
Have an electrician install a power receptacle within cord's reach of the camera
Route cord from camera to receptacke
Plug cord into camera
Plug power block into receptacle
Extension power cord method
Get a 12VDC extension cable with the right ends on it.
Run the extension cable with the ethernet cable, follow rules for Class II low ...
answered Nov 15 '18 at 20:24
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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6
It sounds like you are near salt water, probably get a lot of sun. This is a bad place to cut corners on outdoor rated, corrosion resistant materials. I doubt that those white wires are rated for outdoors / UV resistant. I am sure that those natural colored (not black) cable ties are not UV resistant. I couldn't rule out they just forgot or just didn't ...
5
Passive infrared sensors (PIR), use Infrared (IR) light to detect motion. Unfortunately for you, infrared light does not travel through glass so well.
5
Yes, locks can be picked, or bump keys can be used. There's no difference in using these tools to unlock vs re-lock a lock.
5
A locksmith can order (if necessary) and set up padlocks or locking hasps that respond to your house key, unless the house lock is using a particularly uncommon key blank. They may be a bit larger than the ones designed to be sold in bulk, and they will probably be a bit more expensive, but the price shouldn't be unreasonable.
5
As I understand there is an USB option on the camera. The easiest solution I can think of is connecting it on a raspberry pi which you can connect to you wireless network and retrieve the data daily.
You can check out this totorial https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-webcam-server/ where they are doing the stuff you want to achieve.
5
Sell it (or leave it as a decoy/deterrent somewhere else you need that) and get a deer camera.
Deer cameras are designed for sticking out in the woods to surveil potential deer activity along trails. Hunters use them to plan their hunts. They are motion activated and, you know how many consumer products use those bitsy AA batteries and have a short ...
answered Dec 20 '16 at 19:17
Harper - Reinstate Monica
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5
These are security screws and are designed to not be removed.
Common methods are:
Drill the screw head out
Cut a new slot
Use extractor tools (these are of questionable utility)
Grasp the sides of the head (hard, it was designed to resist this kind of removal)
Get behind the screw and cut it off. This is a good option if you're going to tear out the wood ...
5
The wire from the transformer goes into the wall and right back into your alarm panel with the rest of the wires to energize it. Unscrew the wires from the transformer and just tuck them into the wall by the outlet in case you ever want to use the panel again. Tuck the transformer into the alarm box and shut it. There doesn't appear to be any backup ...
4
if you really only need to be able to operate this from inside the garage door, a simple sliding lock may fit the bill.
(source: prodoorparts.com)
they install on the door and the bar slides into a hole on the garage door track.
4
I never implemented something like this but I did implement something similar with other uses. I also asked a question here for automating parts of the home based on user that entered.
It can be implemented using OpenHab with the NetworkHealth binding : https://github.com/openhab/openhab/wiki/Network-Health-Binding.
There is no need to issue different ...
4
Conduit is the only way to go. Do it once and do it right. In 5 years you will be happy you did.
PVC Conduit, you will need two runs, one AC and one data. You will never regret buying bigger pipe. They can lie next to each other.
Rent a 'Ditch Witch' trencher for a day longer than you think you need, one that will dig 24", but an 18" trench will be fine.
...
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