I’ve been pretty delinquent in posting over the last few weeks, but here are the “before” and “after” pictures of the new kitchen sink Chad got me for Christmas!

The "Before" Picture

The "After" Picture

We finally got around to installing the new sink about a month ago and it took the better part of a day, but it was well worth the work (and the wait).  I love how shiny and fresh the new sink looks in comparison to the old one, which was so marred up it never looked quite clean.

Removing the Old Sink

The installation process was pretty easy.  We started by disconnecting all of the drain and supply lines for the sink andremoving the garbage disposal from under the sink.  We then used a razor blade and putty knife to break the seal under the rim of the sink.  It took some prying, but we were eventually able to break it free from the counter and lift it out of the opening.  We then cleaned all around the opening (it was pretty nasty looking with all of the old rusty caulk still there from the old sink) and did a test fit with the new stainless steel sink.  After making a trip to Lowe’s to pick up replacement drain pieces, supply lines, a faucet, and drain trim kits, we decided it would be easiest to

Cleaning Off the Old Caulk

start by installing the drain trim kits and the faucet on the sink before installing the sink in the counter.  Once the drains and faucet were installed, we then attached the clips to the bottom of the sink, placed a bead of silicone around the opening, and dropped the sink in place.  From below the sink, we then tightened the clips to hold the sink tight against the counter top.  We had some trouble with this since the opening in our counter top wasn’t quite centered over the base cabinet, so we weren’t able to get to any of the clips on the left side of the sink to tighten them, but it turned

Installing the Drain Kits

out that the clips on the other three sides were enough to hold it in place, so that wasn’t a problem.  With the sink in place, we then reconnected the drains and supply lines and reinstalled the garbage disposal.  After checking for leaks, the installation was complete.

When we were installing the sink, we decided it was just as easy to install a new faucet as the old one, so we decided to go with something new to match the sink a little better.  We got a Moen “Quinn” style (model 87845CSL) faucet in a stainless steel finish.  I love how tall it is because it makes the sink feel so much larger and makes washing big pots and pans a lot easier, but it does lead to a lot more splashing and water on the counter top.  The only problem we’ve had with it so far was right after we installed it.  The faucet made a noise a lot like water hammer when we turned it on.  Reducing the water pressure at the shut off valve for the sink made the problem less noticable and, since then, it seems to have gone away almost completely and we’ve been able to increase the water pressure again without any problems.  We’re not sure what caused it … just glad that it doesn’t seem to be a problem any more.

A few months ago, we bought a Linksys WVC54GCA Wireless Home Monitoring Camera and put in the office looking out the window to the front yard.  Chad then set it up to work with some open source software called ZoneMinder (which is much more powerful than the software that came with the camera) to record a few seconds of video every time it detects motion.  The motion detection software that came with the camera might be ok for indoor usage, but didn’t work very well for recording outdoor images.  ZoneMinder seems to do a much more accurate job if identifying events to record.

Just a couple weeks ago, Chad added a script to capture a snapshot from the camera every 15 minutes.  The trickiest part about this was figuring out that a current still image is available from the \img\snapshot.cgi path of the camera.  The most recent one is posted in the right column of the blog.

Recording these snapshots is also pretty cool because it lets us see a timelapse of the front yard.  We haven’t been doing it long enough yet to see the seasons change, but watching the snow melt is pretty cool.  Here’s a video from last week of some snow melting during the day: Melting Snow.