The Home Crowd

Get a new flat screen TV lately?  Chances are, it’s mounted on the wall, or on a table or stand.  If you had a basic entertainment center before the high def upgrade, it no doubt held your old boxy low-def television, and its wiry mess of A/V equipment.  After the upgrade however, that 42 inch plus HD monster, either wouldn’t fit, or just didn’t look right, and if you haven’t tossed your old particle board based entertainment center, and if you have potential rugrat chefs in the making around, you may want to re-purpose this sturdy piece of furniture as a play kitchen, as these good folks did.

From Giggleberry Creations:

From this…

To this…

Visit their site for more of the how-to and in-progress pics.

Also,

the repurposed entertainment center from Sutton Grace.

From start…

To finish…

More pics and how-to at their site.  Sutton Grace

However, maybe you’ve got just enough ingenuity to make that flat screen work in your present setup…

- via Thereifixedit.com

While reading through Gizmodo earlier today, I came across this article regarding the installation of wall mounted flat screens and the improper installation of wiring (Not to code) may just void your home insurance.

The problem is caused by those mounting their televisions, yet tired of the eyesore of hanging cords down the wall, that might carelessly and impatiently feed the supplied power cable, and A/V cables within the inside cavities of the wall.  Not to mention the extension cords involved, and possibly power strip/surge protectors.

Well, turns out that the National Electrical Code is not okay with that at all.

From the Gizmodo article -

The National Electric Code (NEC) states:

NEC ARTICLE 400 Flexible Cords and Cables General 400.1 Scope.
This article covers general requirements, applications, and construction specifications for flexible cords and flexible cables.
400.8 Uses Not Permitted.
Flexible cords and cables shall not be used for the following:
(1) As a substitute for the fixed wiring of a structure
(2) Where run through holes in walls, structural ceilings, suspended ceilings, dropped ceilings, or floors
(3) Where run through doorways, windows, or similar openings
(4) Where attached to building surfaces
Exception: Flexible cord and cable shall be permitted to be attached to building surfaces in accordance with the provisions of 368.8.
(5) Where concealed by walls, floors, or ceilings or located above suspended or dropped ceilings

In other words, running power cords through the walls is not a substitute for permanent wiring. You’re supposed to have a new electric socket installed directly behind the TV, where you can plug in the power cord and coil up the slack to tuck underneath. If you drilled some holes and ran cable yourself all willy nilly, in and back out to a power socket, chances are you are in violation of these codes. Should a fire result, your insurance may find reason to get out of covering your losses.

Personally I know quite a few people with wall mounted flat panel TV’s, but quite a few more who are quite content standing them atop a narrow piece of furniture.  Hopefully, for all their sakes, I hope everything is wired properly.

But for those who’ve been waiting patiently for the price of that nice flat screen HDTV to drop into the affordable range before the upcoming football season, please remember not to skimp on the mounting.

Plan it out, or find an appropriate television stand.

• Make certain you plan out your space, and the size the the television you’d like to place in it.  (No one wants an unsightly electrical outlet just above the fireplace)
• Contact a fully licensed and trustworthy electrician, and also possibly a contractor and low voltage consultant, depending on what type of overhaul you’re planning for your home and how A/V and data cables may be routed alongside the permanent electrical wiring.

Here’s a good example, from the entire process article at Digital Home Thoughts. (Really interesting read, and great custom shelves)

And here is also another guide from Crutchfield detailing the “How-to’s” of wall mounting. – Link

This is all great to the homeowners, but suppose you’re renting and don’t feel like losing your security deposit, but appreciate the picture frame-esque clean wall faced televion mount.  There are also various options of furniture that can re-create that look for your high tech, high class pad, such as Crate and Barrel’s “Loop” media center (below)

This, however, may be overkill…  – Link

Very often, in both my professional and personal life, I find myself crunching numbers.  For one, out of necessity, and second, out of curiousity.  Recently, I have found a great resource in Yahoo’s Finance section.  The mortgage calculator works just as how you’d expect, you drop in the figures, and the calculator pops out the appropriate information.

So thinking about buying that 350,000 dollar home?  Well crunch the numbers, add in taxes, home insurance, and get a clear figure in your head before making the big leap.

Yahoo Finance Mortgage Calculator

As you look over your results, you’ll notice your estimated mortgage payment, as well as a comprehensive payment schedule, and also what your home will cost you total (principal + interest).  Now, if you find that simple tool useful, there are many others on the Yahoo Finance page which help out with financial planning, College Saving, Taxes, Insurance, Loans and Retirement Planning.

But if you’re mainly interested in the real estate aspect of the calculator tools, then I also recommend moreso than the Mortgage Calculator, the  “How much home can I afford” calculator.  This calculates home affordability in a more “traditional mortgage’ sense.

Yahoo Finance’s Home Affordability Calculator

These tools, combined with real estate searches such as through various real estate sites and those in the similar vein such as Zillow, can save you some time pounding the proverbial pavement as you’re able to do your homework during the evenings and weekends.

The site however, is run by Yahoo, which therefore means I find it pretty reliable.  That is, unless microsoft succeeds in buying out yahoo.  In which case, your results and reliability may vary.

There’s a BEST way to load a dishwasher?  News to me.

Here’s my explanation of the dishwasher:

1. Open door, there’s two racks in there… a small one on top, and a big one down low
2. Fill up top rack as bending over is a huge pain in the ass.
3. Attempt to close top rack, take large washable items which prevented the top rack closing, and place them on the bottom rack.
4. Fill soap, shut hatch, and dish-wash!!!

Consumer reports, however, has a better approach from their Q&A where someone wasn’t pleased with how the kids filled the dishwasher.  Number one, I’m with the kids on this one, and number two, these people had kids so they wouldn’t have to rely on a dishwasher in the first place, right?

1. Load large items at the sides and back of the dishwasher, so that they don’t block water and detergent from reaching other dishes.

2. Place the dirtier side of dishes toward the center of the machine to provide more exposure to the spray. Don’t let dishes or utensils nest, or rest side by side, which can prevent water from reaching all surfaces.

3. Use the top rack for plastic and delicate items that are dishwasher safe.

4. Rest glassware on prongs to prevent breakage. And to prevent chipping, make sure that china, crystal, and stemware don’t touch other items. Don’t machine-wash brass, bronze, cast iron, disposable plastics, gold-colored flatware, gold-leaf china, hollow-handle knives, pewter, tin, or anything made of wood or with a wood handle.

More from this article, and dishwasher reviews at Consumer Reports