osunick » eichler http://osunick.com A blog about tech, gadgets, Eichlers, and budding entrepreneurship (in no particular order) Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:28:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Christmas 2008: wood paneling! http://osunick.com/2008/12/28/christmas-2008-wood-paneling/ http://osunick.com/2008/12/28/christmas-2008-wood-paneling/#comments Mon, 29 Dec 2008 04:10:08 +0000 osunick http://osunick.com/?p=121

Picking the right panels

Staycation remodeling projects have become a tradition in our household, and we finally removed the nasty sheetrock from our hallway over the Christmas break.  Demolition on the 24th, hanging panels on 25th, and the obligatory trip to the dump on the 26th.  Click on the photo to see how it went!

]]> http://osunick.com/2008/12/28/christmas-2008-wood-paneling/feed/ 0 bathroom fan for playas http://osunick.com/2008/12/17/the-best-bathroom-fan-in-the-world/ http://osunick.com/2008/12/17/the-best-bathroom-fan-in-the-world/#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:40:50 +0000 osunick http://osunick.com/?p=72 Mahogany paneling and showers don’t mix.  Unfortunately, that’s how most Eichler bathrooms are made, complete with inadequate ventilation.  One solution is to leave the skylight and window open, but as the winter rains come and temps drop into the 40′s, this results in lots of uncomfortable mornings and a general meat locker atmosphere that seeps into the entire house.  Clearly, we needed a bathroom exhaust fan.  But not just ANY bathroom fan.

Since Eichlers don’t have attics, the ceiling is also the roof.  So any ceiling mounted exhaust fan involves a penetration through both the 1.25″ tongue and groove planking as well as the roofing material.  Since we have a membrane roof, the expense and risk of punching a hole through our roof simply wasn’t a good idea.

Witness the Panasonic Whisperwall FV-08WQ1!  Built lovingly in Japan by an army of robots, the Panasonic is the Cadillac of bathroom exhaust fans.  Designed specifically for in-wall installation, the fan spins on ultra smooth bearings and is designed to be extremely quiet.  It also comes with an external vent complete with a backdraft damper to keep cold air out.  It ain’t cheap at $150 but it’s a very high quality piece and definitely looks like a nice piece of Japanese bathroom technology.

The problem with a wall mounted fan on an Eichler is that there is a beam between the window and the roof.  Since this beam is quite structural, cutting an 8″ hole in it seemed like a poor idea.  So we installed the fan in the side wall above the shower head and opposite the closet.  We removed some paneling, replaced the switch box with a double switch box, and rewired the electrical to accomodate a second switch.  We then used a pair of 8″ to 7″ duct adapters with some 7″ semi rigid ducting to run the output of the fan into the closet from the side and out through the back wall.  This involved some careful measuring and cutting, as well as some exploratory drilling to identify where the duct can penetrate the wall without running into a beam.  We used basic hand tools and a jigsaw, though if you have a router you can probably make the round cuts more easily.

After a couple hours of measuring, cutting, and wiring, we were ready to go!

The fan in situ (click for a set)

The Whisperwall is aptly named- the fan is all but inaudible more than 6 feet away and its placement above the shower ensures that any steam is rapidly whisked out of the bathroom and the house. We’re all much warmer and happier as a result.

]]> http://osunick.com/2008/12/17/the-best-bathroom-fan-in-the-world/feed/ 1 FLOR tile installed http://osunick.com/2008/12/14/flor-tile-installed/ http://osunick.com/2008/12/14/flor-tile-installed/#comments Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:41:29 +0000 osunick http://osunick.com/?p=58 Assembling an area rug of FLOR tiles

After a year of dusty and cold tile floors, we decided to bring in some much needed warmth to our living/dining area with some area rugs constructed from FLOR tiles. We chose FLOR because we were impressed with our neighbor’s wall-to-wall installation and they were explicitly compatible with the radiant heat in our Eichler.

Happily, FLOR makes it easy in today’s internet age by providing an easy way to order samples online. We ordered 12 samples for $12 and settled on Leaf. The tiles arrived less than a week later and they stick to one another with these stickers that chemically bond to the bottom of the tiles, providing a secure and semi-permanent attachment between tiles. One installation tip- be sure to align the arrows on the bottom of the tiles to ensure a seamless appearance.

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