Tip of The Week

December 08, 2007

This week’s tip comes from our “Up Periscope” file.

We actually got this recommendation from one of our callers a few months ago.  Our caller was frustrated by the guesswork involved in locating recessed lighting fixtures in his kitchen ceiling.  He complained that he would get one hole in the ceiling then cut the next hole only to find out that there was some unforeseen obstacle in the ceiling cavity that prevented the placement of the fixture where he wanted it.  One solution might be to cut a hole the size of your head in the ceiling and have a look but his solution was better.  It was simple but ingenious.

Once our caller got his first hole in the ceiling he got his digital camera and put it up in the ceiling cavity and took pictures in four directions.  Because I have a tendency to be somewhat anal I suggest marking the ceiling N, S, E, W to correspond to the four directions and then take the pictures in the same sequence each time.  He could look at the display on his camera and know whether or not there was an obstruction in the spot that he wanted to place the next fixture.  Problem solved.

If you like gadgets and solutions that are a little more high-tech you can purchase a product that is relatively new on the market.  It is called a See Snake TM and Ridgid, the people who make all those great power tools, makes it.  The See Snake TM is a small, approximately 3” by 5”, video screen mounted on a handle.  Attached to it is a long flexible probe with a small video camera and light mounted in the tip.  You put the tip in any hole or tight space and you get a real time image of what is in the inaccessible space.

Imagine the uses; from locating obstructions in the ceiling to finding lost jewelry under the fridge or even in the sink drain trap.  You can check out the See Snake TM and other great tools at www.Ridgid.com

Thanks for visiting Ask John and Dave.com and we’ll see you on the air,

John and Dave

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