Cleaning

[plonq]

I didn't accomplish as much today as I'd hoped, but I got a few things out of the way.

Done:

Hung the clock in the hall. (more on that below)
Fixed the kitchen faucet
Watched Casshern (2 1/2 hours of my life that I'll never get back). Not recommended.

Partly Done:

Kitchen is much cleaner than it was, but I still have work to do there.
Computer desk is almost presentable again. Still a bit of de-junking and cleaning to do around there.

To do:

Going to tackle the bathroom this week.
Living room needs work.

Additional notes on the clock:

There was an old barometer hanging in the hall where we decided to put the clock. Actually "hanging" isn't quite the right word - it was screwed solidly to the wall. We couldn't figure out why the previous home owners had felt the need to secure it so snugly until we pulled it away from the wall and found wires running from the back it into the top of the light switch.

The wires split and disappeared behind a thick layer of silicon sealant about midway up the back of the unit. Odd. Then I noticed that there was a corresponding hole in the front of the barometer, to which I had previously paid no attention, and suddenly I had a hunch about its purpose. I asked atara to hold the barometer for a moment while I went to the kitchen and fetched a flash light.

Sure enough, when I shone the light into the hole, the hall light went out.

We tore away the silicone and eventually found a light sensor at the back of the mystery hole in the barometer. I'd noticed that the hall light flickered occasionally, but I'd always assumed that it was because there was a fault in the dimmer switch. A light sensor hidden in a wall barometer would never have occurred to me.

I wonder what other secrets this house harbours?

Comments

[deffox]

A light sensor in a barometer? That is an interesting find.

[gedrean.livejournal.com]

Why, in a hall, do they have a light sensor? Was it designed to cut the light if the outside light was bright enough? was it facing a window? WTF?

[plonq.livejournal.com]

I think the installation light sensor was a plan that looked better on paper than it did in execution. The section of wall on which the barometer was hung faces the master bedroom, and we discovered that with the blinds in the bedroom open, there is just enough daylight to make the hall light dim slightly, but not enough to douse it.

[plonq.livejournal.com]

It has been an ongoing game over the years to try and explain some of the oddities in this old house. There are lights that we can't find switches for, and switches that apparently control nothing.

There's a button in the hall that rings a buzzer deep in the recesses of the basement. There are doors with windows in their bases, and a bucket embedded in a concrete floor with a heavy metal plate over it.

There are a couple of big meat hooks attached to the inside wall of the garage, strong enough to hang a moose.

... and more. The list just goes on. I've lived in this place for about 12 years and I'm still discovering new secrets.

[plonq.livejournal.com]

Interesting, but not surprising. The old guy who lived here before I bought the place fancied himself as a "do it yourself" kind of guy. Based on my experience with the kitchen sink I'm pretty sure he hooked that up himself too.

[gedrean.livejournal.com]

You must make a website detailing all the finds of your eccentric house and estimtes/guesses of what they're supposed to do!

[pierrekrahn.livejournal.com]

I freakin' love your house!