First section painted. Spent about half the day today preparing the floor for most of the rest of the basement room (one small section where I have the freezers that I will have to come back to and paint later). This paint needs about 10 days to setup really hard before you can drag heavy things like freezers across it. The walls are a nice light brown now. I will paint the north wall in the basement tomorrow.

Super shiney glossy Finish:

The Paint (from Kruegers True Value):

Restoring my grandfathers old workbench. I found that he signed it on the bottom of the bench. This makes me think that he did build this bench himself. It is a very dense hard wood. Nice and sturdy. It was painted and had lots of paint splatter all over it from the last 50 years. I used 2 different kinds of sanders on it to get the surface cleaned up. I make a lot of progress this afternoon. Will get a new sanding belt tomorrow and finish it off. Then will throw a coat of stain on it and it will be ready for anther 50 years. I’m pleased that I am able to rescue my grandfathers old worn workbench and give it new life!

And it is signed on the bottom:

My new trees that I am growing for Bonsai…

Well years from now they will be large enough to become Bonsai. I built the 12″ x12″ boxes out of 2″x4″s, they have a fine window screen stapled to the bottom of the box. They are filled with a fine fired clay product called Turface MVP.

It was designed as a soil amendment for use on softball fields, but it has gained a large following from Bonsai enthusiasts for use as planting medium for potted trees.  It acts as a very fast draining soil, similar to perlite in how fast it drains, however unlike perlite, it retains some water. It is a great medium for plants that like light airy soil. It is very clean and easy to work with.  The only real problem with Turface is that is is hard for the average person to get a hold of.  I still have an account with a landscaping supply company so I don’t have any trouble getting it, but many people have a hard time tracking down a location that has it in stock and will sell it to them.

The trees planted here are some of my tree that I purchased from Maplestone Ornamentals.  I’ve had these for almost a month, and the are all in excellent condition.

I plan to build a display ledge near the fence in the back yard next spring to show off the Bonsai Trees as they are growing.

Chinese Elm in Training Box for Bonsai

First 9 Bonsai Training Boxes we built

Wow -time goes by so fast.  It’s been 3-1/2 months since I made a post. It’s been a fairly busy summer.  I took a lot of photos over the summer and want to start sharing them.  Here goes, in no particular order:

Paperbark Maple

Backyard Flood - July 2010

Hosta purchased on clearence from Walmart in late june - for the front yard, but have been living in the driveway all summer.

Trees growing in pots - For planting up north

Rooting Sedum in Perlite

Willow Tree - Sept. 2 2010

House Plants Growing Outside for the Summer

Twomblys - A small slow growing Japanese Maple planted in the yard.

Large junction box:

Standard recessed lighting:

Part 1

Part 2

In this part of Wisconsin, we generally wait until after memorial day before we plant anything to avoid the danger of frost.  We normally see signs of growth in our yard underway well before this date.  Today is 3/17/2010, with a recent streak of warm weather, I started seeing many signs of spring in the yard.  Hopefully we won’t see any weather that damages this early growth, but it is certainly possible being in this part of Wisconsin.

French Pink Pussy Willow

Branch on ABM

Japanese Red Maple tree

Some kind of Ground Cover, Already Growing like crazy

Red Twig Dog Woods

Tulips are already up

Did this really grow this fast? It's March 17th today, could that possiably have survived from the fall and look like that?

Onions Growing in the Garden

No Video? Click here to view this page on the web.

"Cuttler Hammer Residental Electrical Panel, 1960 vintage, with fuse cartridges as main instead of a circuit break as is most often used today"

11/15/2009 1:51 p.m.

Disclaimer: Many common DIY projects involve some electrical work. If you learn how to be safe, follow the laws, codes and ordinances in your area, and use a healthy dose of common sense, you can start completing these projects yourself.  Please read the full safety notice and disclaimer at the bottom of this post.

Good afternoon;

Some electrical projects can require the use of junction boxes.  Any electrical switch, outlet or fixture box that meet space requirements can serve as a junction box.  A dedicated junction box, one that has no switches or fixtures is often useful in certain situations.  These situations most frequently occur in existing homes that are being rewired.  When deciding where to make your connections and deciding if a junction box will be used you should consider several factors:

• Can I make sure of a existing switch or fixture box?  If there is one available, and accessible, this should be your first choice, as you don’t want to create unnecessary junction boxes.
• Can I put the junction box in a location that will remain accessible?  All junction boxes much remain permanently accessible.  This means that you must be able to access them without taking apart any part of the home or building.  You are not permitted to cover boxes with paneling or drywall.
• Is there any other reasonable way to accomplish this project without installing an additional junction box?  Is there some other outlet, switch or fixture on an available circuit you can connect to within a reasonable distance?

Reasonable is the keyword.  It is almost always possible to install your wiring in a manner that allows you to make all your connections in switch, outlet or fixture boxes.  When you rewire a old house this isn’t always practical, there are often outlets, fixtures, and switch boxes which have very limited access for rewiring.  There are times with it is a challenge to get just one new piece of cable down or up the wall to an existing box.  My personal opinion is that a properly setup junction box in an accessible location is a better choice than tearing open walls to allow installation of wiring to an existing box.  A junction box placed in the attic or basement can also be the easiest option in some cases where you need to add an additional outlet.  I encourage you to not over use junction boxes, as additional junction boxes will make future troubleshooting more complicated.

Junction boxes are also frequently required if part of the house is on a conduit system such as EMT and part of the house is on Romex.  EMT (metal conduit) is required to carry electrical wires in area that may be subject to physical damage (such as a unfinished basement).

In this video I will explain how connections are wired from a junction box that is making a transition from wires in a EMT conduit system to Romex.

Jamie Dolan
Neenah, WI

Always make sure the power is completely off prior to starting any electrical work. If your at all unsure that what your doing is safe and correct, then please do not attempt it and contact a licensed professional for assistance.  Despise some detail information being presented here (in writing & in video and or audio format), this tutorial is for education purposes only and is not intended to be a step by step instructional guide. Proceed with any project at your own risk, projects described here may carry the risk of serious injury or death.  Codes, laws and ordinances in your local area may vary from the ones discussed here. Please verify your local codes, laws, and ordinances prior to starting any electrical project.  Please ensure you obtain the permits as required by law or city ordinance. Proceed with any project at your own risk, safety and the final outcome of any project is the result of your skill level, we assume no liability for any project that you undertake.

Many common DIY projects involve some electrical work. If you take a few basic steps to learn how to be safe, along with common sense, you can start completing these projects yourself. I strongly encourage you to make safety your number one priority. If your at all unsure that what your doing is safe, then please do not attempt it and call someone for help.

In this video I will show you how to connect the wires to your new light fixture. Always make sure the power is completely off prior to starting any electrical work. Be be safe, and remember my directions here are only a guide, proceed with any project at your own risk.