Ames ftw! Also, not irrelevant.

You certainly want a camera pointed so you can see every entrance to your house. I have 2 cameras inside my garage to cover the whole thing because that is the most likely entry spot and a lot of break ins are only the garage and no entry to the house. If you have enough cameras I would cover each entry and one that shows every side of your house to cover windows, but that may be a lot depending on the layout. For me, the key is being close enough to the doors so that I could make out the face of anyone going in. No point in having a camera if you can't identify someone.

I probably wouldn't do this because it's a pricey solution to an extremely minor problem, but I was wondering if there actually was a solution to this:

My family room has no overhead lighting. The main light is plugged into an outlet that isn't controlled by anything, so I bought a wireless remote control.

There is one outlet that is controlled by two switches (it's a standard dual outlet) - one in the family room and one in the kitchen (at the entryway to the family room). I have a lamp plugged into that that serves as a secondary light source. There is also a surge protector used mainly to power chargers placed conveniently next to a couch.

The minor problem I have is that if I want to turn off the secondary lamp, it also turns off the chargers. It's not a big deal, if I want the chargers on, I can just manually turn off the lamp. But I was wondering if there was some sort of smart plug/switch solution to allow me to turn the lamp on and off with a wall switch but leave the chargers on. Perhaps something where the power is always on to the entire outlet, but the switch can turn, say, the top outlet on or off.

The key here would be to be able to do it all with a wall switch and not have to use a smartphone every time. I'm sure if it is possible, it won't be cheap, at least in relation to how insignificant of a problem this is.

Like this?

Wemo Smart Plug

edit: oops. Maybe not exactly what you want.

Where is the switch in relation to the outlet? If it is directly above it then this could be very easy. It could be very easy anyway if the outlet has a constant hot wire in the box. You can break the tab that connects the two plugs of the outlet and wire one with the switched wire and one with the constant hot wire so that half is always on and half is switched. You would want an electrician to do this if you don't know anything about electrical wiring. Depending on what wires are going into the outlet and switch boxes, it's sometimes possible to rewire it without adding more wires. What is directly above your family room? attic? 2nd floor bedrooms?

I think you can also buy an outlet that has a switch built into it and maybe you can rewire it so that only half is switched. I'm not 100% sure.

EDIT: Now that I see you have 2 switches controlling the same outlet, it would be pretty easy to wire it so that only half the outlet is switched. At one switch you just disconnect the wires from the switch and connect them completely bypassing the switch which makes it a constant hot. At the outlet you would have to separate the wires and break the tab connecting one side to the switched hot and the other plug to the constant hot. Google will give you easy to follow diagrams if you're willing to DIY.

I bought these last year for a large room lit by four lamps, so that I could turn on all the lamps with the push of one button. They also have multiple buttons/settings for when I only want one lamp on. I bought them in April last year and have had no issues whatsoever other than that my nieces and nephews love to turn all the lamps on and off repeatedly when they visit, lol. They only plug into one side of a duplex outlet and then whatever you want switched plugs into the device, leaving the other side of the outlet on all the time for your chargers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for the tips. The switch that's in the family room is not right above the outlet. Same side of the room, but technically on separate walls, as there is an entryway splitting that side of the room.

I'm fairly comfortable with basic wiring. I've installed ceiling fans, light fixtures, outlets, switches, etc. Nothing advanced, but I can follow instructions, watch videos, and what-not. I'll give it a look.

As I said, it's an extremely minor problem that doesn't even crop up all that often.I don't often NEED to use the charger by that lamp if the lamp is off and I can always just turn the lamp off manually. Just one of those fixes that would give a slight bump to quality of life.

Found a couple things that, at first glance, look like they would do what I want (I'd have to read up on them more). Problem is, like I thought, the solution just isn't worth the price, as you need a hub and stuff.

Insteon
GE Z-Wave

Perhaps one day when I do a whole smart home setup, I'll invest in something like this. Don't need to spend three-figures just to solve a dumb non-problem.

I get it. If you pull the outlet out and see how many wires are coming into the box you'll be able to tell if you can easily switch it around or not. Do those two switches control just that one outlet or do they control a bunch of different outlets in the room?

I should mention that if you went with my option then only one switch would actually control the switched half of the outlet (I think). I'm not an electrician, but did wire my entire basement myself not all that long ago with plenty of 3-way switches and everything else. Maybe someone more knowledgeable would know if there is a way to keep both switches controlling it.

If the power goes to the outlet first it's super easy to do. If the power goes to one of the switches first it's basically impossible without busting open walls and pulling new lines.

eta: or buying wireless automation thingies

Bought a house in May. Crawl space under the addition needs insulation. There's past evidence of water and rodent issues which we're looking to solve. Got a quote which includes encapsulation, vent covers, 2" exterior foam insulation, and a sump pump.

Is the sump pump necessary? Is $3450 in Northeast Ohio a good price for all of that?

Sump pump is a good idea if you want to keep water out. If it is a dirt floor, then the sump pump install should only cost about $600-800 depending on the size of the crawl space and how hard it is to get in there to make the hole. Add a couple hundred if busting through concrete is necessary. IDK anything about the insulation.

Thanks for the input. They're quoting me 1k but it's a small crawl space to work in. Like 3 ft of clearance

It wasn't exterior grade spray foam (but I'm not sure there's a difference, you're not going to get UV exposure in a crawlspace), but I paid $1,500 for 200 square feet at 6" thick (R38). What's the square footage of the addition?

So I got a couple of rooms basically finished. While the contractors are hard at work on the master bath, I ripped out a crap-ton of carpet (and in the hallway also vinyl tile over masonite) to reveal the hardwood, and removed some wallpaper and painted.

I still need to replace quarter-round that was removed when the carpet came in, but that won't fit in my MX-5, so it will have to wait until my wife gets up here with the SUV. Other than that, though, these rooms are done.

Dining Room Before:



Dining Room After:



Front Hall Before:



Front Hall After:

Does anyone have any thoughts on a ceiling mounted rain shower vs a conventional shower that's on a wall (aside from cost)?

Our shower will be pretty large so we'll have two head, plus one of those hand sprayers that's mounted on a pole. I think two rain showers mounted from the ceiling would look the nicest, but my main concern is water pressure. The person who specializes in fixtures that we're talking to, swears that a 2.5 gpm rain shower head delivers equivalent pressure and feel to a conventional 2.5 gpm shower head, as long as the diameter of the head is under eight inches. It seems a little hard to believe. I really value high water pressure way over aesthetics.


Also does anyone think these insane high end toilets are worth it. I'm talking about the ones with automatic open/close when you walk up, automatic flush, bidet, lighting, etc. Some even have bluetooth speakers (which has near zero value to me).

They seem like the thing that one would really only put in a master bathroom, so I've never seen one in real life. It sounds like a waste of money to me, but obviously people buy them, so someone must think they are worth it.

Very nice, Garick. lol at that before front hall picture, I'm surprised Strawberry Shortcake wasn't living there.

Just to vent: had the master bath redone at great cost by a well-respected contractor, and the shower floor isn't sloped correctly. The drain is actually on a bit of a hump, so there's pooling right where you would stand under the shower head. I'm kicking myself for not going in there right after they laid tile and checking it and demanding they do better.

Melkerson,

Check the shower floor to make sure it drains properly before you pay them.

Ended up taking the cap off and building the pillar down a few levels until we found the wire, and the electricians have extended it now. Still really not sure how it happened

Have you ever used one of those showers? I find the functionality lacking. Others may differ.

Avoiding a burst of toilet plume every time you flush is worth the extra $ for an autoflush.

Never used one. I thought about trying to find a hotel with one just to try it out, but then I decided that might not be the best test, because hotels often skimp on water pressure. I've had plenty of ****ty showers in nice hotels with conventional shower heads.

Thanks. Will do. With the amount I'm paying these guys, I will absolutely make them go back and redo it if necessary (and their claim is that they would...but they're so good it wouldn't happen in the first place).

We're actually breaking up the job to kind of test them out. They're doing one small bathroom first. If that turns out well, they get to do the kitchen and the other bathrooms six months later.

Thanks. Strawberry Shortcake line is perfect. I plan to steal it.

Thanks also for the warning. I have a new shower being built even as we speak. I'll check the drainage before I pay. It's a custom size, so they are making a cement base, rather than using a shower pan. Plenty of room for screw-ups, though the contract lead is a union carpenter and plans to do the cement himself. I know they get a lot of training on that stuff, as that's what my step-father did, so hopefully all will be good.

I'm not a huge fan of those rain shower-heads, though they are all the rage right now.

Glad you finally found the wire, Battleship. Sorry it got so cold in the meantime.