The Historic District

Interesting! In central Europe it seems that the profile was usually milled into the rails and stiles before the door was assembled! That also means that the rails and stiles are usually the thickest part of the door and the profile is recessed.

those face frame cabinets look so nice! Ive never seen a sink and dishwasher combined like that. That's actually quite common in Europe and saves you the extra cost of having dedicated plumbing for the dishwasher. Also all the plumbing is accessible under the sink, without having to pull out the di...

We once had the water meter freeze in a really harsh winter. It's in a pit in the floor of an unheated outbuilding and several weeks of -20 C weather destroyed it. After that experience we've insulated the cover of the pit every winter and installed a small electric heater to keep it frostproof. The...

Yes, someone once called me an "electrical archeologist" and I love that term! Many older buildings here (as in most parts of the world) have a mix of wiring from before WWI to the present, often with rather questionable modifications. Not that new wiring is in any way immune to that of co...

It's a general world history degree but obviously you can only pick some aspects. Most of it was European history with one lecture on Middle Eastern history of the 20th century. There was also a tiny little bit on Japanese history in a lecture on coping with natural disasters throughout the early-mo...

Ring circuits don't really save wire under real-life conditions, or rarely. One 32 amp ring uses slightly more wire than two 16 amp radials but provides exactly the same power. The ring's theoretical strength comes in when you want to plug several loads around the 10-amp mark into one circuit. Two 1...

I'm pretty annoyed with PEX at the moment but that's due to... how shall I say... economic reasons maybe. The gist is that PEX is extremely uncommon in Europe and if you're in one of the rare places that use it you'll have a really hard time finding fittings for any alterations. All I've been able t...

I'm a bit torn on IKEA kitchens. I built one in the mid-2000s and that ended up less than ideal. In hindsight we should've skipped the adjustable feet and built our own sturdy bases - now all the lowers are crooked and warped. The fronts are solid pine, not everyone's taste but very sturdy. I'm also...

Texas, with all those projects on the go we’re do you find the time for anything. We miss your input. Are you still doing electrical inspections for a living? I've never done that! I did electrical planning for some time (large new builds like railway stations and workshops, office towers etc.) but...

Texas Ranger, good to see your post, I thought maybe we had lost you. How have you been, and what have you been up too. Nothing special... just my web surfing priorities had changed for a while. This one isn't the only board I've more or less stopped reading. Youtube is a major time thief At the mo...