My garage opener is busted

I have two Chamberlain Whisper Drive garage door openers. They were installed one week after I moved in. They seem to work fine until recently. One day we came home to find the door opened. That was scary. Everything in the garage seems to be in order at least. We also found that my garage opener opens both doors, and the wife's ? not working at all. That's weird. After we closed it, the wonky side also opened by its own.

So today I called Chamberlain and asked for help, after discovering that the unit refuses to reset after I hold the "learn button" down as instructed by the manual's troubleshooting guide. After a few tests the customer rep says that the logic board is fried and they will send me a new one in 7-10 business days. So nice. I will see what happens after I replace the logic board. Meanwhile I guess we'll just unplug the unit when the wife is home.

Update: Simon has found that Chamberlain makes a surge protector for its Liftmaster line of garage openers. I'll see whether I can find them at Home Depot.

Glass mosaic tile install practise session

All the mosaic are installed!
Originally uploaded by Vincent Ma.

We finally decided on using glass tile mosaic to tile our kitchen back splash. I've never tiled before, let alone these specialized glass tiles. So I decided to do a simulated install on a spare piece of dry wall.

I took left over dry wall pieces from the washroom vanity light project and attached it onto the garage wall. I then proceeded to install three sample sheets of glass mosaic on it.

I think it turned out reasonably well. The tiles are resonably lined up and nothing fell out. :-) Now I wait for 24 hours before i can practise grouting.

As usual, I was my own photo-journalist and the pictures are up on Flickr.

Update: I've done the grouting practise and the photos are now part of the same set on Flickr. Use link above to see the complete set of pictures for the entire practise!

Hanging curtain

Bracket with rod.
Originally uploaded by Vincent Ma.

We are SICK of RediShade. We also need to access the backyard through the patio doors now that we have a lawn. So we went and bought the necessary curtain things and went at it. The challenge in this project was provided by our boneheaded builder who decided to put in a bulkhead so close to the trim of the patio door.

As usual, I was my own photo-journalist and the pictures are up on Flickr.

Update on my shelves in the garage

Epilogue...
Originally uploaded by Vincent Ma.

Finally able to take a picture of the "new" 3 layer shelving I installed in the garage after I last blogged about this project. Three levels of storage space for more crap! I don't need a proper toolbox.. my bottom shelf is now the tool storage.. Easy access to my growing tool collection!

Dehumidifier update

Hose adapter
Originally uploaded by Vincent Ma.

My basement has become quite humid after April. I've been using the dehumidifier constantly, but empting the tank every other night is becoming tiresome. So finally I bought the short garden hose and attached it to the dehumidifier.

Thanks again to my friends that bought me the dehumidifier!

Photos on Flickr.

Computer in the hallway

Computer in the hallway
Originally uploaded by Vincent Ma.

Why are there two computers that aren't plugged in and stacked on top of each other in front of the staircase? Yes, these are old computers that I don't use and I am REALLY using them as paperweights. Kinda. After the contractor glued the edge of the laminate floor to the subfloor near the nosing he asked me to put something heavy on top. So I did.

The Glue? PL400. Look it up yourself!

Photos on Flickr