Ambient light sensor

Now lighting controls are totally trick.

The cover plate had to be replaced anyway (click on image to see previous). So with leftover cedar, I fabricated a fully code-complaint double-layer junction box cover at this perfect location for a standard ambient light sensor purchased from Home Depot.

At full daylight in the afternoon the timer switch powers on, but this ambient sensor holds it off. Lights come on after sunset when it's dark enough, but then the dimmer switch keeps it all at low light -- for both energy savings, bulb longevity, and because it gets pretty bright with all four lights on. Then, at a "random auto" time which I've chosen to be 11pm (plus or minus 15 minutes), it shuts off for the night.

When visitors arrive, I just ramp up the dimmer to full brightness. Otherwise, it cycles on and off automatically everyday, just like the post lamp.

Vinyl soffit

Vinyl soffit is finally complete. Now it looks so straight and clean that I wish I had installed flush can lights instead of these standard porch lights. The color I found was also near perfect to match, making the white porch lights stand out like cheap add-ons. Oh well.

An extra large flange was necessary at the dome camera because I had to install a wood spacer that needed plenty of clearance for expansion and contraction of the vinyl. Access to wiring for camera adjustment is had by removing the last board, which is not screwed on. In fact, the sequence of board attachment is from house to street just for the last floating piece.

Soffit removed

Well it's back to covering the soffit again. The thin T&G material was simply wrong and has been removed. There was too much expansion and contraction which made it warp and bow a ridiculous amount. What a lesson.

Now, after some research, I've found a true soffit material -- Alside vinyl soffit. It's a complete system with thermal expansion totally factored in. I got their Charter Oak line, which is especially rigid and straight, designed to span 24 inches. The vent slots are invisible. Pieces snap together and hang on slotted holes. How perfect! They come 12 feet long. End conditions are supported by J channels.

They recommend installing perpendicular to the wall to reduce the need to rip-cut the length of the final piece if there's any skew in the installation. Sounds like a good idea. It also eliminates end seams in long soffits. As such I've installed 1x3 nailers across the rafters.

Surveillance monitor/TV

The perfect spot for a surveillance monitor is on the wall at the peninsula between kitchen and family rooms. There's an existing outlet, but I decided to add another dedicated one. Both became new GFCI. I also discovered an abandoned telephone outlet in the wall. The resulting data outlet became full-featured with two phone lines, cable TV, surveillance video and a pair of leads for future ceiling speakers which currently act as power feed for the surveillance camera.