Don't get ripped off at MODERN VAC & SEW

If you happen to be near the Roxborough/Andorra Section of Philadelphia, PA, avoid the MODERN VAC & SEW in the Andorra Shopping Center...  Here was my experience:

I took my vacuum machine in for repair.  They charged a $29.95 fee up front to look at the machine.  A few days later, they called with a laundry list of items that needed repair, totally $106.00.  The machine new was only $20 more than that, so I went to their store, picked up the machine and took it to the Oreck store in Ardmore, PA.  They looked at the machine, flipped it upside down, replaced the belt, charged me $7.10 which included 2 additional replacement belts in case I wanted to do the repair on my own in the future, and sent me on my way.  Keep in mind that I am using a Hoover Windtunnel vacuum cleaner, so hat's off to Oreck and avoid getting ripped off at MODERN VAC & SEW.

RECOMMENDED:

My Oreck Store

myoreckstore.com/‎

16 Greenfield Ave, Ardmore, PA 19003 (610) 658-0728

Is there one room in the house that is not getting warm? It may not be the HVAC and in fact may be solved by better insulation...

In my quest to better insulate a room in the house that never seems to get warm, I have finally made progress.  The room is now approximate 4-6 degrees warmer, however, still remains about 2-3 degrees cooler than the rest of the house.  Caveat:  the room faces east, so it does receive direct sunlight in the AM.  Prior to our upgrades, the room was always frigid.  Here is what we did:

1. We purchased a laser temperature gun for about $19 (http://www.amazon.com/Nubee%C2%AE-Temperature-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B00CVHIJDK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1392060740&sr=8-8&keywords=laser+temperature+gun) FYI: this is a fantastic gift for all of you DIY'ers out there.
2. We measured the exact temperature of all of the walls, ceiling and floor to establish a baseline.
3. We met with an HVAC specialist who helped us rearrange the furniture in the room so that the heat coming off of the ventilation would be better disbursed throughout the room (and not blocked by any furniture).  During that time, he put his hand over the vents and could clearly feel warm air coming through.  He also put a tissue over the return while the HVAC was running and the suction was apparent in that the tissue sucked up immediately against the return.  He told us our biggest problem was insulation.
4. We noticed that the wall with the window was clearly the coldest and that tons of heat was escaping right there.  We went to IKEA, purchased curtain liners along with clip on decorative curtains and installed them across the entire wall.  It was almost immediately noticeable that we gained about 1-2 degrees of warmth.  Just by blocking these windows and the wall, we were able to trap heat in the room.
5. We hired a GC to come to the home to insulate.  The strategy was two fold:  a) make sure all of the existing insulation was well buttoned up and created an “envelope” that is required to trap the heat and b) use a blow pump to shoot insulation into the hard to reach areas.  

After doing a little investigation, we were SHOCKED to find out that the insulation that was underneath the bedroom was resting on the garage ceiling (per code), but there was a 3-4 inch GAP between the insulation and the sub-floor above it. This means that there was no real insulation on the floor.  Cold air was circulating under the room.  The room was essentially an ice box.  We rented a blow pump from Lowes/Home Depot and shot about 8 units of insulation in between that small gap below the floor.

Before and after pictures of the insulation above the vaulted ceiling: notice the GAP at the peak.  Heat was escaping through this area which lacked thorough insulation:

With the combination of the heavy curtain wall, and the insulation, the room is now much warmer and noticeable more comfortable.

How long does it take to change a lightbulb?

My wife's 2006 Hyundai Sonata headlamp bulb died, so instead of taking it to the mechanic, I figured I would save some money and replace it myself... Three hours and $46 later, the joke was on me! Here is what happened:

1. Went to pep boys, asked the parts guy for the correct bulb part number... Went home ans started to remove the boots that hold in the headlight box housing. Two screws were easy and accessible, but the 3rd was tucked away about 8 inches deep. My 1/4" rachet set for home hobbies was not compatible. The 3/8 was too ss all and the 7/16 was too large.
2. I went back to pep boys and talked to a new parts personal. She must have been no more tha 21, but knew more about car parts than the previous parts guy and showed me where to find a 10mm. This time, I brought my rachet with me, so I went to the parking lot, popped the hood, and quickly learned that the rachet and socket were both too small and made the first comedy of errors, and dropped the rachet down into a crevasse.
3. Third trip into pep boys, found me helpful parts girl and she suggested I use a retractable magnet to extract my ratchet. I also bought an extended length 10mm socket, whet back out to the parking lot to fish out my ratchet, and in the process, inadvertently knocks the ratchet down even further into the abyss. I dropped to the concrete and was able to pull the rachet out of the bottom just by a small opening near the drivers side wheel base. Using the extended socket, I realized that my 1/4" ratchet handle was simply too small.
4. Back to pep boys, my parts girl recommended a 3/8 ratchet upgrade since they are more durable and more commonly used, is I returned my two 1/4" sockets, and picked up and extended handle ratchet, along with and extended 10mm socket and a rice crispy treat. Upon returning to the parking lot, I quickly realized that this was the right fit, so decided to drive home and compete the project in the garage. Once I was home, I handily removed the entire light housing. From that point, I was able to remove the bulb. Once the bulb was out, I compared it to the build I had purchased, and guess what... It was the wrong bulb! At this point, I was fuming....
5. Quick trip back to pep boys, and it turns out that the car is a 2006, not 2005, so that was clearly my fault... I purchased the correct bulbs, along with a giant 3 musketeers and went back home. Removing the bulb was easy, but reseating the new bulb was a huge pain. There was an awkward paperclip like part that needed to be secured to the base of the bulb so that it would stay in position... It was so annoying that I started laughing at myself because the paper clip kept detaching. My wife and I had to leave, and I was going to have to put down the project for now, but just beforehand, I learned that the extended ratchet was simply too long for the passenger side... So later that evening, we stopped at an auto zone about 5 minutes before 9 pm, and of course, the did not have the right part.
6. Next morning, went back to pep boys for a 6th time... Purchase another 10mm socket, went home, replaced both bulbs, easily spent and hour fiddling with the paper clips, and finally completed the job.

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