Electrical Programmable Timer

I shared about this product before, but I love it so much, I want to share about it again. It’s a programmable switch. I use it to control my exterior porch lights. It turns the lights on and it turns them off. Our lives are busy, and it is one less thing to remember to do. It’s also good for deterring criminals. The lights come on and off while you are away from home.

I used this timer at the old house after a solar add-on to the bulb I tried was a flop. The solar add-on was the easiest and cheapest option, but it was not reliable. If there was a rainstorm with dark clouds, the darker skies triggered the light to come on. Then it would only stay on for the designated hours (it did not have the dusk-to-dawn feature) and would then be off by night time (when I needed it).

I then found this programmable timer and it made life easy. You program in your longitude/latitude coordinates (the manual helps you find them) and you’re done. You can set up different schedules, but I have not gotten that technical. It knows when daylight savings time starts and ends, so no need to adjust the time. I have it set to come on 20 minutes after sunset (it’s still light when the sun sets) and then it goes off sometime during the night. I then have it come back on at 4AM and stay on til sunrise. I could keep it on all night, but I like to give the illusion that we are nocturnal and don’t sleep. We have the timers at each door that leads to the exterior. 

This product can do so much more than I have it set to do, but for what little I have it do, it is wonderful. It allows me to be able to forget the responsibility of turning on and off lights, yet still get to make use of the lights. You can also use it indoors as well. There is a button at the bottom that allows you to manually turn it on or off.

This timer takes the place of your toggle light switch. Turn your power off, take the toggle switch out and put in the timer. So easy!

Never forget to turn on/off your lights again! 

Enjoy!

Lighting Installed

I was very anxious to get electricity into the house. Before doing so, the electricians had to come back, install the plugs and switches and install the light fixtures. No wires could be bare.

Since the painting on the walls was not complete, we could not hang the wall-mounted light fixtures. I actually really wanted to incorporate lights on the walls because it is not done often enough. So besides bathroom vanity lights, there are a couple in other places.

To get the inspection to pass, the electricians put up basic bulbs and fixtures so they could test the connections.

I had bought those to use in the attic, so when Mom saw them, she told the electricians it was wrong. I thought I had explained what they’d be doing in order to pass inspection, but she forgot.

Now, I bought these fixtures over a year ago! I documentedit last year on the blog. Over 70% of them did NOT come with bulbs! I headed to Costco and bought a ton of LED bulbs. I needed regular and candelabra.

It saved, but it was still a lot! We needed the bulbs so that the electricians could test the connections. The bulbs I got for the garage fluorescent did not work! 9 out of 10 were bad. They had been dropped and the pins on the end were damaged. They were returned and we got a new set. Fortunately, they all worked.

For the plugs in the cabinets, they were covered with a faceplate. Cabinets in the kitchen have not yet been installed, so there are wires for the microwave and outlets on the island that needed to be covered up.

Now onto the fixtures themselves. I am SOOOO happy with them all. I watched for them all to go on sale. Some are Pottery Barn, but they were on sale and were my only splurge items. There were lots of lights I found I liked at expensive stores, but I could find their “cousin” for much cheaper.

For instance, I wanted a semi-flush mount for the closets. Something to dress up my closet and my mom’s. I found this one at Restoration Hardware.

I bought the cousin at Lowes. And not only was it $134 cheaper, I bought it when they offered it 50% off! So I got them for $22.

Same goes with the flushmount I used in the kitchen. I was really struggling with what to put there. I wanted to highlight the “foyer” areas with certain lights and keep the attention there. Kind of like “EXIT” signs you see in commercial buildings. Not tacky like that, but serves as a note to say, “Here is a door!”

I found a cool light also at Lowes by the Allen Roth Collection.

It was expensive for me, but then I saw its cousin at Restoration Hardware for $359. I then felt a smidge better for what I got it for.

The fans I got off of Build.com. They are Hunter brand with a single globe light piece. I am normally not one to like this type. In the last house, we had the individual bulbs. But Mom really pushed to have single globe, so I caved. And I am glad I did. I really like them!

The front foyer light is my favorite!! It is from Pottery Barn.

It also hangs over the kitchen island, but can’t be installed until the island is here so they are centered correctly.

Back when I bought them, the floorplan accommodated a single light at Mom’s porch foyer, so I bought a fourth lantern pendant to hang there. But when our final plans came, there was no spot for it. So, I ended up highlighting Mom’s corner of the house with the pendant in front of her bedroom door.

Not a place you would typically see a hanging pendant, but I really like it. Mom’s corner is turning out to be my favorite place in the house, and it’s not even done yet!

I was nervous about these pendants. Online, they looked great. I knew they were large, but didn’t know how they would compare to the space. Then I was disappointed when they arrived. The chain they came with was a diamond pattern. I didn’t care for that. Luckily, The pendants are hung high enough, that there is less diamonds so your eye is not drawn to them. I would not have designed a diamond chain for that light.

I bought one of Young House Love’s globe lights from Shades of Light. It goes in the playroom.

It’s currently hung high and until all work is done.

The other flushmounts that I have, I really like! And I was so tickled to see them used in many of Joanna Gaines Fixer Upper episodes.

I put two of them in Mom’s porch foyer and in other foyers. They are my “EXIT” signs.

My all-time favorite light piece I was excited about was the dining room chandelier. Jojo also used this in her fixer upper house. I love Jojo’s style, so when I saw her use the flushmounts, chandelier and barstools I had purchased, I knew I was on the right track to creating something I really like.

The chandelier is from Lowes. It’s not in stores but on their website. I also purchased it when it went on sale, and then stored it under the boys’ train table. It was a perfect fit.

The exterior lights are simple. The porches have flushmounts.

The glass actually mimics that of the window in the laundry room.

I studied other homes in the area to see if I wanted sconces to flank the exterior doors, or not. The more I looked, I really liked how porches looked when the light came from the ceiling.

The back courtyard does have wall mounted sconces. I really like them.

And the matching big-brother version is on the garage door side of the house.

I didn’t put lights on the outside of the garage doors because I plan to put bushes there. I again, was copying another house as inspiration. They only had two lights and it provided plenty of illumination.

We got power turned on to the house on Monday, August 10th. This is temporary power. We had to have electrical, plumbing and HVAC inspections to get power turned on. Then we went to the City Utility Company to pay a deposit and request power. Took them three days to come out.

First thing I did was test all the lights. Some are not coming on.

Our electricians will have to come back out to fix missed connections and hang the wall-mounted lights.

I then went back over at night to see how the house looked with lights.

I love it! This is dangerous because I can now work at night with the light. Mr. JCrew is never going to see me (because I will always be at the house working!)

Everything really does look good. Our builder warned us that we will see a lot of imperfections, especially in drywall, once the lights are turned on. I haven't looked closely, but I haven't noticed.

The lighting really was my favorite update. I’ve always said lighting can add so much character. The house is starting to feel like a home.

Month 3 Metrics

We have actually had two "draws" in the last month to add to our performing metrics. Draws are invoices from the general contractor to pay bills. Ours is set up a little differently since we are acting as our own GC (kinda). Usually a GC has an account with companies and they have 30 days to pay the bills. We just pay the bills once the invoice is delivered.

The first draw of month three was to cover the remaining lumber we used to complete framing and the windows and doors. The remaining lumber came in the same week as our last draw, but the company gave us 30-days to pay. The windows we paid upon delivery, and the doors as well.

The next draw was for the rough-ins. We paid both the plumber and the electrician 60% of their total quote for passing their inspections. The plumber's quote came in slightly higher because we had him add two things; (He ran the dryer vents and we added a radon venting system.) I was okay with that.

With the plumber, we had to order the tubs and some trim kits for the drains in the tubs/showers. We also went ahead and had our plumber install the water heater we bought. I misread that the plumber needed faucets. I was confused, because I knew they wouldn't be installed until the counters were in, but I bought them anyway. That was a purchase that happened sooner than it needed to, but I tracked it. 

The electrician came in under his budget. I knew he might have quoted high. Our general contractor added a buffer line for electrical in his budget. It was his experience that homeowners overrun in electrical the most. Our electrician quoted us by outlets, switches, lights, etc. I really liked seeing it broken down by line-item. Most companies just gave me a flat quote, and told me how many cable outlets that included.

I keep my earned value sheet but I also "balance my check-book." Up until April 1st, we were able to use the money we put down to pay our bills. I had to balance the books to know when we were about to run out and when I needed to ask the bank for money from our loan. This has been a huge help! We were able to make it through those rain delays and not pay interest on money borrowed. Now, when I receive an invoice from a contractor, I ask the bank for a deposit (from our construction loan). They verify the total with what the bank's inspector thinks of the value we have so far. The inspector comes out twice a week.

Overall, we are in good shape. The rough-ins completed on schedule, so it appears we have gotten ourselves back on track. Budget wise, we are still good. We're still over budget a little from the last month, but there are some areas that can get us back down. It's now all cosmetic and our choices really affect the price.

Electrical Rough-In

The electrician we chose and the plumber we chose have worked together in the past. This is a good thing. The plumber, electrician and HVAC all have jobs to do once framing is complete. The plumber should go first, because of the rigid pipes placement. The HVAC and Electrician can work at the same time, but we had our HVAC guy come to show us where the returns were going to be so the electrician would avoid running wires the HVAC guy would need moved.

The Electrician kept in contact with our plumber and he and his crew came out the day we got the plumbing inspection. The first day was spent writing on the studs and walls.

They used my blueprint I provided with my mark-ups and marked outlet and switch locations. I figured out their lingo!

This area was where I had the most changes to final blueprints. I had expressed to the architect certain light fixtures I wanted, but not all were captured. One example was, I wanted sconces on the master bathroom vanity on the sides of mirrors, not over the sinks. She placed two, when I really needed four. Things like that.

I walked through after they ran their markings and double-checked. Everything looked good. The fireplace was delivered that day and it was an awesome surprise!

They even ran the vent and placed the chimney!

Because of the ICF, we have to have a direct-vent fireplace. There is actually glass on the front of the fireplace to prevent fumes from entering the house. The fireplace will produce radiant heat.

The next day, they started nailing outlet boxes in place. And they ran a couple of wires.

They verified the placement of my outlet boxes. I have always loved outlets placed in the baseboard, but I kept thinking of the added work that is on our trim contractor. The drywall guy doesn't charge extra to cut around boxes. The trim guy does! The drywall guy would still have to do it in the baseboards, but the trim carpenter would have extra work cutting baseboard pieces exactly right. I went with the normal height-placement in the walls.

They were still waiting on the HVAC guys to tell them where the returns would be.

The following day, they started nailing switch boxes and light boxes.

I told them where I would like the service panels, and they installed them. Yes, we have two!

We place our panels on the far side of the garage. That is where our meters will be. It's easier and less expensive to have your panels be back-to-back with the meter on the outside.

The HVAC guys let us know where the returns would be and the electricians started running wires.

They did the majority of this on Saturday. They also tackled the ICF walls. The wires started off by coming in through the top of the foam and dangling.

They then used a chainsaw to cut a groove in the foam.

Then the outlet box was placed.

We had to wait for inspection to pass first, but the Electricians have plans to cover the grooves with Styrofoam.

I had to dig a mirror out of storage that we are using in Mom's bathroom. She will have sconces on either side and because the wall is styrofoam, the placement had to be perfect. We held the mirror up, marked the location and then ran the wires and installed the boxes.

The other wall-mounted lights just have lines "laced" in the walls. This allows placement to vary and be determined once cabinets are in. This method could only be used on stud framing.

And the coolest part the electricians did was for our TV in the family room. There will be bookcases on either side of the fireplace. I plan to put the DVD player / Cable box on a shelf of the bookcase. But I don't want visible wires running to the TV. The electricians came up with a tube that runs in the walls. I can fish my wiring through the tube! This allows for changes in technology and such. I can run an HDMI cable back there now and be set!

We also did this in Mom's room. Her TV will be mounted up high, but won't have the cable box up there with it.

To create outlets on the exterior, the guys ran the wire down the foam on the inside, and then drilled a hole to the exterior.

Then a box was tied to the end of the wire. These boxes will not be mounted until the mason comes to lay brick and sets them in there.

And you can see how important the pre-slab rough-in is. We have floor outlets in the living room and they ran a wire through the wall and into the slab to reach the outlets.

Same thing with the island in the kitchen. A wall had a tube place that would run underneath the concrete to reach the island. They fished the wire though easily.

Our electricians also installed our bath ventilation fans. The HVAC guys will then run the tubing from the fan.

I also had our electricians run all the cable and internet outlets to a central location. This is called structured wiring. We received bids from companies that specialize in this. Their prices are ridiculous! We then thought of doing it ourselves like we did in the last house, but I just asked our electrician if he could run all the cables to one place. He agreed! Now we just have to get the equipment and a box and we're set!

We called for an inspection, and it took a couple days for their availability, but they came out on Thursday and we passed! Just before inspection, the guys ran the lines for the doorbells. Mom will have one on her porch and we will have one on ours. And the best part... they are tied together! The electrician said we could connect up to three doorbell chimes. One chime will be on her side, one chime will be on our side. There will be a different sound depending on the doorbell rung and we will be able to hear both! Pretty sweet!

Now we wait for the HVAC guys to finish and get their inspection. It's kinda hard for them to finish when we still don't have shingles on our roof. Long story I will explain soon, but I'm hoping we will in a week's time!

I really enjoyed working with my electricians. They were a GREAT group of very smart guys. I didn't feel ripped off and they listened to me. They didn't push, but explained how and why things were done. I'm really happy with them. The next time I'll see them is after drywall and painting, when they'll come install the light fixtures and switch plates.