Thermal Protector Removal

Last week one of our recessed can lights starting turning on and off. My friend, Branden, who is also an electrician, told me the light’s thermal protector was probably sensing too much heat and turning the light off, then turning it back on when it cooled. After removing the bulb, Melissa noticed a faint clicking sound, as if a piano string were being flicked. The sound only occurred when the empty can light was turned on. Since I couldn’t get to the light housing from above, I took it out from below and searched for the problem. There was no insulation near the housing and, in fact, I could feel a draft. I talked to Branden, and we concluded that the thermal protector had gone bad. I rewired the light to bypass the thermal protector and I removed it, thinking maybe I could get a replacement at Lowe’s. The bright people at Lowe’s had never heard of thermal protectors so I turned to Google. Apparently, the thermal protector I removed (pictured above) is old school. The new ones are much smaller. As with most little home repairs, I was happy to learn something new.

Shower Solutions

During our bathroom renovation, we discovered rotten wood around the tub on the shower head side. We replaced it and ever since, I've been anal about water escaping the shower. Melissa and I take an average of two showers a day each, and mine are quite vigorous, so I knew waterproofing was a serious concern. Especially since we decided to keep the old cast iron tub and use a traditional shower curtain and liner instead of a sliding glass shower door.

I managed to find two excellent solutions that allow me to enjoy my showers and not worry about wiping the bathroom walls and floor down afterwards. The first is the “Sho’Bath C’eal” from the UK’s Subtle Concepts Ltd (pictured in my shower above). It creates a watertight seal by allowing you to trap your shower curtain liner against your shower wall. You can read about how it works and buy one here http://www.subtleconcepts.co.uk/.


The second, which is quickly becoming the standard in hotels, is the curved shower curtain rod. The curved shower curtain rod gives you considerably more room in the shower, prevents the curtain liner blow-in effect, provides smooth shower curtain ring mobility, and brings the shower curtain closer to the inside of the shower on both ends (which helps keep the water in the shower).

Screen & Storm Door

Our custom screen & storm door finally arrived and we spent the good part of a day installing it. In the end, we were both pleased with the color matching the almond trim on the outside of our house. The top pane of glass slides down into the bottom pane, pulling down a screen that unrolls from the top of the door. We had to pay Larson an extra $200 to have the door made to fit our brick molding, which is taller and narrower than Larson (or any other door company) makes its doors these days.