Bar Build 040: Install of Keyboard, Speaker Selector and Tile
Posted: January 8, 2011 Filed under: Bar Build | Tags: Grout, Pellet Stove, Tile 3 Comments »Ok, so the keyboard drawer and the speaker selector came in the mail on Friday! I threw my coat off and immediately got to work. Luckily, this time I remembered to take Before pics…yet forgot how to spell remembered.
First, the keyboard. Here is the before pic:
Make shift Keyboard
As you can see, the make-shift keyboard I slapped up there looks like, well…a makeshift keyboard someone slapped up there. It was put there for the jukebox because when I first transferred everything over, I was using the keyboard alot. Now that the keyboard has been downgraded to occasional use, here is what the new keyboard drawer looks open:
And here is what it looks like closed:
A little nicer, neater look. The keyboard will hardly get used…but will be nice to just be able to pull the drawer out and type in a search for that funny You Tube video we all want to check out while drinking. Or search for porn, ya know whatever.
So, the keyboard is in place, now onto the speaker selector.
What a difference this thingy makes. If anyone reading this knows why the speaker selctor makes everything sound so much cleaner, please let me know. Right now I am convinced it is little speaker gnomes with magical powers.
A speaker- Gnome home?
In the pic above, the speaker selector is above the xbox. The company that makes that custom X-box shelf, also makes one for the speaker selector. So, now I am just waiting for it to come in the mail. It will be a nice clean uniform look. But for now, it looks like a hole in the wall. Oh well.
Here is what it looks like from inside the media closet:
One ring to rule them all...
The wires all the way on the left are the wires from the amplifier. Just one Left and one Right. The unit takes that power and distrubutes evenly to six pairs. You can see my speakers coming from the wall (Gold bannana clips) to the unit.
The speaker selector came with pre-printed labels, and I was happy “BAR”, “DECK” and “GARAGE” were among them.
BAR, GARAGE, DECK
I was looking over the pre printed labels sheet and saw this littly diddy:
Easy listening music down in the Dungeon
Yup, in case you want your Dungeon to have smooth sounds of the 70s. I love this company. Any company that thought about including Dungeon as a label is a company I want to work for.
What else..?
OH!
The tile!
Before Pic..while I was laying the tile out:
One step right.....MARCH! (or left from stove's point of view)
Why am I putting tile down? Well, see the pellet stove a burnin’ in the picture above? That pellet stove is moving 4 feet to the right onto the black granite tiles. I am making room for the booth and wrap around bench that is going to be built and the stove is in the way.
and a few hours later:
Granite tile down.
Tomorrow, I will be grouting the tile using black grout.
A few steps closer to being done!
Bar Build 039: Wood Floor,Speaker Selector, Tile, Keyboard
Posted: January 5, 2011 Filed under: Bar Build | Tags: Pellet Stove, speaker selector, wood floor 2 Comments »What did we buy?
- Wood Floor
We went with Vintner’s Reserve Wood Floor It is tough enough for a bar, has the “old time worn” look, and has a pad on the bottom making it perfect for installing on a concrete floor.
- Speaker Selector
We decided on the Niles Speaker Selector. Currently, my reciever is driving 4 pairs of speakers. The mains are kinda big and the smaller ceiling and outdoor speakers have trouble keeping up and sometimes vibrate. This way, this reciever is tricked into thinking it is driving only one pair. Plus, I can control the volume of each pair seperately to make everything sound much smoother and much more betterer.
- Keyboard in a Drawer
The keyboard in a drawer is for the Juke Box. I chose a keyboard that can be “rack mounted” from the front. That way, I can build it into the wall and have a nice clean look. Right now, I have a crappy old saw dust covered keyboard on a makeshift shelf. I put it there because when first getting the jukebox going I was adding song titles, tags, and needed the keyboard all the time. Now, I hardly use the keyboard so tucked in a drawer it goes for the few times I will be using it.
- Tile
We ordered tile last night from the tile store. That was a stupid sentence, and I apologize for that. What else would you order from the tile store? Pressing on…For what you ask? Well, I shall tell you. I am moving my Pellet stove over to the right 4 feet and do not want to use the pre- made tile pad it is currently sitting on. I want the platform tile for the stove and the wood floor to be flush. Even steven. On an even keel. On equal footing. On equal ground. You get it, I will shut up now.
What else? There is something…OH!
Have an appointment for Contractor#2 for Operation French Door install. Contractor #1 wanted to charge me 2500. A few people in the know told me that is a good price considering he has to cut into the foundation of the house, re-do the trim, some electrical work, blah blah blah. I just want to get a second price. I have warm and fuzzy feelings about contractor #2 as he will be the one doing the work himself, and he installed our French Door upstairs. Contractor #1 was going to have “his guy” do it. Me no like that.
Ok guys, thanks for reading. Sorry no pics, but as stuff comes in from Amazon, I will take pics and especially remember to take “Before” pics. I am hoping the tile will be coming in tomorrow so I can tackle that this weekend. 
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Harmon P68 Pellet Stove Broken (again)
Posted: February 10, 2010 Filed under: Product Review | Tags: ash vacuum, harmon p68, Harmon pellet stove cleaning, Men at Work Chimney Sweeps, Pellet Stove 5 Comments »What a difference a year makes.
A couple of days ago, I noticed the flames inside the pellet stove were not normal. Usually they are concentrated blue flames, this time they were long yellow lazy flames. Not good. Sometimes, all you need to do is clean the darn the thing and the flames will return to normal.
So I tried cleaning it:
Special ash vacuum sucking up all the dust.
Very dirty stove
Extrememly dirty burn pot
It did not work and I decided that a call to Men at Work was needed. Last time I called this company it was a nightmare. They did not return phone calls, missed an appointment, failed to bring parts etc etc. Read all about it here.
This time was a different experience. Monday morning I called the office at 7:30 and left a message. Danielle returned my call at 10am! I was told that they had a cancellation for tomorrow and they could be here at 11 am. I was floored. Not only was my call returned, but they could actually fix the stove tomorrow. I told Danielle that I am working at that time, but could be home by 3. She said she would have to call me back. This is the best part-she re arranged the schedule around so they would be here at 3! What a difference a year makes. Danielle did not have to re arrange the day’s schedule, she could have easily just gave me the next 3 o’clock availabilty.
When I got home at 2:45, Ward was in the driveway waiting for me. Is this the same company from last year? Couldn’t be! Last year they came early than left when I was not home. But what is this? Ward knew he was early and stuck around! Holy shit on a shingle, what a difference a year makes. Yeah, I know I said that already but it is true.
Ward came in the house and operated on the stove and got it working again. He replaced an exhaust probe and opened a stuck valve. The stuck valve was the key, it creates a vacuum inside the sealed stove effecting the amount of oxygen needed to burn the pellets correctly blah blah blah. I won’t bore you with the techicalities Ward taught me. I swear he can fix the stove blindfolded.
So now here is the stove working much more betterer:
Normal flames
If anyone reading this owns a pellet stove, (and lives in the Hudson Valley) I highly highly recommend Men at Work Chimney Sweeps.
What a difference a year makes.
Wood Pellet Day 2009
Posted: July 8, 2009 Filed under: General, Winter | Tags: Pellet Day, Pellet Stove, wood pellets 5 Comments »Wood Pellet Day 2009 was pretty uneventful. Which is a nice change compared to last year. I called True Value in Pine Bush, and was informed the pellets were in. I then called Budget truck rental in Middletown and snagged myself a 16 foot truck. Sweet. Total bill for 3 tons of pellets, truck rental and gas was 990!
Big Mean Orange Machine "getting to know" the Budget truck.
When I arrived with the first ton of pellets, I had a good scare because as you can see, they were leaning to the left. Like a junkie.
Pellets after a hit of methadone.
This year instead of using the hand truck to move 5 bags at a time, I smarted up and used the tractor bucket to transport the bags from the truck to the garage. I rule.
9 bags at a time baby
Take that foreign oil!
Now, we are all set for the winter. We now have about 6 tons of pellets to heat the house for the winter.
