While I was traveling last week, my wife ran into issues with our 15-month-old hot water heater; the pilot light would not stay lit. She managed to re-light it and got hot water for a single use but it went out again. Upon my return, we once again faced cold water. We turned to the Internet to try and diagnose the issue and found that if a pilot would light, but not stay lit, it could be 3 potential issues:

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We layed out the boards on two 2×4s held up by cinder blocks so we could stain them. After about 30-45 minutes, we flipped over the boards and stained the opposite site. Another 45 minutes and although still damp, I proceeded to install the first batch and get the fence started. The original fence was out of plumb so it will take a little finesse for a couple custom pieces to tie it all together. See below.

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In my last post (below) I upgraded the electrical service to the house to support a hot tub and any other needs in the future. Prior to the delivery of the hot tub, I decided to install a 6-foot cedar privacy fence using the existing chain link fence posts. Given my neighbor has a dog, we thought it would be best to leave the chain link side towards his yard to protect our fence.

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To support the new hot tub, and any other upgrades to home appliances and amenities, we decided to upgrade the electrical service to the house from 100 amp to 200 amp. This requires collaboration with the carpenter (me), city (building permits/inspectors), electrician and power company. You first get your permits, then schedule w/ the utilities (24 hours notice) to shut the power off to the house, then have the electricians install the new service so inspectors will pass it and “green tag” the job, otherwise the power company will not hook the power back up. See below:

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I recently ran across an issue where emails were being rejected from one server as it did not resolve reverse DNS. It was sending email alerts for certain events and we had no way to tell if mails were failing as spam filters were dumping them into a black hole somewhere. The solution was to modify our system to publish alert emails to a database table instead, then have a separate application check for unsent mail in the database and send it using SMTP authentication from our standard mail server. This is likely a common need for various systems so I thought I’d share the design/source to help others.

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I always forget because it’s infrequent that I actually have to maintain servers but from time to time I have to match our in-house dev box with production environments. This is primarily for my recollection but hopefully it helps others too:

Checking if package exists:

rpm -q package-name

Downloading RPMs from remote site:

wget http://www.site.com/path/to/file-with-long.name.i386.rpm

Installing new package:

rpm -ivh file-with-long.name.i386.rpm

Removing package:

rpm -e file-with-long

Updating existing package:

rpm -UvH file-with-long.name.i386.rpm

After seeing recent Pepsi Max commercials, my colleagues and I opened up that age-old discussion on why people yawn, and why is it contagious. I saw this news special and thought I’d share. Supposedly yawning cools our brain and can be prevented w/ a cold compress or by breathing through our nose which is a natural brain coolant.

Why People Yawn

Next time your friend is yawning, consider it a compliment that you really have their brain working and they need to cool it off.

I never knew this but the other day while in line at Dairy Queen a kid on a bicycle rode up, asked for any mistakes and they gave him a free sundae. The employees told me they only offer them to kids. So, if you want to keep the kids happy and save a buck, try that trick next Dairy Queen visit.

We leveraged our cinder blocks and bought 12 paver blocks to build some steps for our patio.  Our goal was something that won’t wear and we have options to change it up in the future if we need a lower rise.  We doubled up cinder blocks along the front/side of the deck and then bough 12×12 pavers at Home Depot ($1.89 apiece).  For about $30, we had wraparound steps in only an hour.  We may buy some sealant and adhere the pavers to the cinder blocks.

Steps have a 10-inch rise and 12-inch run.  This design gives options to build 8-inch rise steps if needed in the future.

The past couple years, when I find time, I’ve been landscaping and improving the house. I started in front (look through My Projects for pics) and this year worked my way to the back yard. See below for before and after (current). There’s a lot more work to do but we’re making progress.

BEFORE: This was the back yard in the same condition when I bought the house. It has a 30-year old juniper bush, small hollow-core wood door and concrete porch.

AFTER: (updated) 7/24/07 - The sidewalk was just poured today so it will cure this week. We wanted larger landings both at the garage and deck/patio area so we can have various options for steps. Rather than just boring square pads, we decided to do rounded so now there is an hour glass sidewalk between the deck/patio and garage.

July 1 (post-dated for order display on page)

Saturday afternoon, after getting my work done I thought I would relax out in back of my house, then I remembered I don’t have a deck, patio or outdoor entertaining area - YET. Just after noon on Saturday Jamie and I headed to Home Depot to scope out materials for building a deck and after gathering the “intel” and pricing, we returned home to make final measurements and design.

One obstacle was the 40-year-old concrete porch and steps in back so just after 4PM I headed to the local rental center to get a jackhammer. I thought it would take under an hour but instead took about 4 - my forearms, back, hands are still sore and vibrating! See below:

Here I am chipping away at the concrete porch, chipping the outside edges all around and continuing. The last time I used a jackhammer I was 13 years old (17 years ago) when taking out the porch at my aunt’s house for her remodel - I guess I didn’t remember how much time it actually does take - my porch was solid concrete (no hay bale in the middle, uggh).

Here I am proud of chipping away the top step. Unfortunately I have to take out more so the deck joists will fit (I’m using 2×10s for added strength).

4 hours later, as the sun is setting, I finally destroyed the old porch enough to build my new deck. Then I had this great idea, why don’t I first install a 6-foot sliding glass window in the kitchen.

The first thing I have to do is remove all trim and moulding, plus tear away enough of the drywall to know what size studs and header exists. This will help me pick up the necessary lumber to frame out the opening for the new door.

Some necessary tools for the demo and framing. I had other tools like a speed square, pencil, circular saw and level outside for cutting the lumber to size and making sure everything goes in straight.

After taking measurements needed for the rough opening of the slider, I tore out enough sheetrock (a.k.a. drywall) and removed the studs that used to exist. I tried to salvage them but there were so many nails through them from all angles I had to beat them out and they split, etc.

Enlisting the services of my trusty helper Jamie, we “fished” in a new header. Normally I would spend another hour trying to break apart the old header but they built this house so solid, it’s a nighmare (I learned with the bathroom remodel). I built another header and butted the two against each other and used a LOT of 3 1/2 inch screws to secure them together and to the top plates. After I had the king stud (next to header going floor to ceiling) and the stringer (under header supporting load), I proceeded to use my reciprocal saw (sawzall) to cut out the opening.

I decided to cut from the outside as I learned when cutting out the opening for the bathroom window that the saw really grinds up the surface on the opposite wall. As such, I used chalk lines to guide my cuts since I couldn’t see the studs on the inside. Be sure to keep a couple charged batteries on hand - I went dead midway and had to wait for batteries.

After cutting out the siding and sheeting, I gave Jamie the fun task of kicking the wall out. I took a short video clip of it that I may upload later. It took her about 3 kicks and then the wall crashed down.

Now my house has a large hole in the side of it. I next had to prepare the threshold to get the floor level. Also, I had to use my circular saw to trim back the siding a couple inches from the opening so the nailing strips will fit flush against the sheeting (plywood). After that was all ready, my neighbor across the alley helped me carry the door and hold it in as we nailed it tight.

The slider is installed. Given I still have to build the deck, I will wait to trim it all out at once, finally trimming out my window outside the bathroom as well. Give me a week and our outdoor dining area will take shape.

A nice view from the inside. I need to stuff some insulation and fur out the top plate, then will install, tape, texture and paint some new drywall. Since we will be remodeling the kitchen too, I will leave the left-hand side a little rough given we’ll do demo later this summer when time permits.

I hope you enjoyed my step-by-step of how to demolish a concrete porch and install a new sliding glass window. During my next segment, you will learn how to assemble a new deck (as I learn too, ha ha).

July 3 (post-dated to order display on page)

Today after work we managed to size, assemble and install the ledger for the deck. The materials arrived in the afternoon and after dinner and our evening walk (letting things cool down from near 100-degree heat), Jamie and I assembled and installed the ledger.

I used treated lumber for the ledger and cut it down to size. Given the two rim joists (outer joists) will be attached to the ends of the ledger, I cut it 3 inches short of the 14-foot length (allowing 1 1/2 inch for the width of each rim joist to total 14 feet).

Jamie helped nail on the metal joist hangers which will hold the floor joists.

We finished assembly by inserting the 6-inch lag bolts in an up/down pattern (building codes) between every other joist. It is much easier to prepare flat and then attach to the wall.

We tacked the ledger to the wall, using a nail, below the new slider leaving room for flashing and decking. We then made sure it was level and tacked the other end before securing the ledger’s lag bolts. NOTE: Find a friend with an electric impact drill and save about an hour. I used a small ratchet to secure the 6-inch lag bolts through the siding, sheeting and sil plate - very tough.

We made sure to have the work inspected. Given Jamie’s career is in Radiology, she insists on CAT Scans for every remodeling project.

The ledger is complete and secured to the house. Tomorrow (4th of July) I can finish framing out the deck and set the concrete deck pads and beam to support the load. We’re finishing our concrete prep during the weekend and next week should have new concrete patio, sidewalk to garage and will decide on decking and railing.

Today (4th of July) I set the concrete deck blocks, beam and framed the deck. It was approaching 100-degrees so I also got a little red skin tone.

First I had to determine what height the deck blocks needed to be, knowing I would have a short 4×4 treated post and a 4×8 beam on top. With those, I needed to make sure that the height was correct so the joists could rest on the beam and be level (with a slight downward tilt for water runoff).

I then dug into the dirt/rock (uggh) deep enough to set the block and the post and beam would be at the proper height to hold the deck level. Given my yard has a slope to it, I had to dig out a channel between blocks to allow for the beam.

I nailed the rim joists to the end of the ledger and connected the inner rim board. Before tacking anything or setting the beam, I first needed to square up the deck by using a little geometry. Carpenters called it a 3-4-5 triangle and math nerds would use the pythagorean theorem (a2+b2=c2). After you square the deck, then tack the beam to the posts (or use metal post caps and secure it). Then tack the rim joists to the beam (I used decking screws).

You can now proceed to cut your joists to size and set them in place. I cut, then set, then fastened them just to be more like an assembly line (process freak).

Soon all the joists are set and you need to secure them with screws and/or nails. I used joist hangar nails to secure them to the ledger (in hangars) and used both screws and nails to secure them elsewhere.

Since I didn’t need/use joist hangars on the outer rim (given load rests on the beam w/ my design), I secured the joists first to the inner rim board with 2 screws and 3 nails each for extra shear strength. The last step is to attach the outer rim board as seen above.

There you have it, a fully framed 12′ x 14′ deck. I still need to figure out the design for the benches and steps so this coming weekend I will get materials to finish the job and next week shall order decking (deciding on synthetic or wood still). I hope you enjoyed my step-by-step so far and will post more when we prep for concrete patio and sidewalk Friday and Saturday.

Last night (due to 100-degree heat) I started working on the decking.  We chose cedar as we plan on some fencing and a gazebo using the same wood and the maintenance isn’t that difficult for our deck design.  I worked late in the night until nearly 1AM and then needed sleep for my workday, but managed to get the flashing down, almost half the decking installed and stained the top of the joists and outer rim boards.

Beneath the slider I installed L-shaped flashing to allow water to run over the ledger and prevent any rotting or water collection behind the trim (when I install some).

My shipment of cedar decking arrived late in the afternoon and I stacked the pieces and prepared for installation that evening.

A trick I learned was to run some stain on top of all the joists to protect them from water damage over time.  Water can collect under the decking on top of the joists and this will prevent rotting and improve wear.  Also, if you apply the decking before completely drying, it acts as a partial glue and may help prevent creaking.  Another trick is to gap the boards about 1/8 inch apart to allow for adequate air flow and a place to sweep off debris.  Using a speed square, it makes it convenient as it will rest on the boards and you just slide it along for a nice consistent gap.

I managed to secure almost 1/2 of the decking the first night but it was getting late.  I’ll secure the rest tonight and trim and stain tomorrow mid-morning (when no bugs are out) and the deck should be ready to use by Sunday.

In parallel, I hired a Bobcat operator to clear out the dirt and prepare the adjacent area for a concrete patio, extending our outdoor area another 30 feet.  We’re also installing a new path and sidewalk from the garage and it all should be done by Tuesday.

July 8-9

The deck is stained and the patio is prepared for pouring the slabs.

Prior to completing the decking installation, we layed down some 4mil plastic (and doubled it) to provide barrier and prevent things from growing under the deck.

I had to remove/re-install some boards and adjust the gap to make sure the last board reached the end of the deck.  After completing the installation, Jamie and I stained the deck.

Now the deck is stained and we continue work on the patio.

The patio area ground is prepared and fill dirt brought in and packed down.

Forms are in place and ready to pour concrete the next day.

Sometimes a website moves from one host to another but you have to wait a day before you can see it.  Well not anymore.  If you have a Mac, simply open up the Console program and type the following:

sudo lookupd -flushcache

You will need to use the sudo command as this needs to be run as root.  Simply enter your administrator password (assuming you are an administrator on your machine) and you’re done.  Close your browser program and then open the program again and try the address and it should appear, and on the new server. 

Recently a friend and advisor turned me onto a site I had not yet heard of called TheFunded.com.  It includes contacts and reviews for thousands of investment funds aimed and providing fuel for entrepreneurs who have or are seeking funding.  There’s some very insightful reviews and you have to take everything on a case-by-case basis but I’d recommend checking it out if you are seeking outside capital and have or are lining up meetings with investment firms.

I am posting a solution to an issue I’ve seen thousands trying to fix while scouring forums online.  It seems that a “random” error and lost connection was occuring with various versions of MySQL database and people using IBatis database ORM framework.  We too faced the same dilemma and spent countless hours, database upgrades, config param changes, etc. trying to get it fixed.

The error that seemed to be random we discovered happened every time a certain insert query was called.  After further testing we could repeat the error and analyzed the java and SQL syntax.  We had used the <select key> tag to nest a select query within the insert query to return the id of the inserted record.  That was the cause of this mysterious error, not a connection timeout or pooling issue.  We removed the select key tag and instead made a second call to our DAO to retrieve the latest record id after the insert and everything worked.

I hope this helps others solve the issue that literally took weeks to discover.  Embarassingly it seemed random and the error logs displayed the following which did not imply a code error but instead a configuration error and lost connection to the database:

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Check this out:  QEDWiki

If you’ve ever created a Word document on the Mac that includes section breaks, you’ve likely experienced the separate PDF file or blank page issues.  It’s likely a problem with Microsoft Word’s print manager but it cannot handle page breaks and either inserts a blank page or executes multiple print jobs.

If you are like me, you convert docs to PDF before distribution, and this is a real pain.  I had considered purchasing a full version of Acrobat, but found this tool:

http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/Freeware/CombinePDFs.shtml

The CombinePDF program allows you to select a PDF document and it will break it apart, page-by-page in a list of pages.  You can choose a page, preview it, and omit it if you like.  This solved my problem but it is also useful if you want to combine PDF files into a single document.

The instructions are minimal but what I found easiest was to download the latest .dmg to my Desktop.  I double-clicked it to mount the volume and then within the folder I dragged the CombinePDF application (with cube-type icon) into my Applications folder.  Locate the program and launch it and the rest will be self explainatory - it’s a lifesaver and makes your docs look more professional without having to explain that extra page!