Builds

On the bench

Built and running in our house. Write-ups coming, the top three first.

Printables

Designs you can download and print. Free to use and change.

3D render of the SwitchBot Blind Tilt bracket for vertical blinds: a wall plate, an arm, and a C-shaped clip

SwitchBot Blind Tilt bracket for vertical blinds

The SwitchBot Blind Tilt is made for horizontal Venetian blinds. This bracket snaps around its body and screws or sticks to the window frame, so it turns the wand on vertical blinds instead. Printed, fitted and working on ours.

  • Snap fit around the 29.3 mm body (a 29.0 mm ring, so it grips), with a lead-in on the lips so it clicks on
  • Holds the body 23.5 mm off the frame face, which is what my blinds needed. Measure yours: change GAP in the script and re-run it
  • 50 × 30 mm plate with two countersunk holes for 4 mm screws, or use double-sided tape
  • Prints standing on its end, no supports. PETG copes with a sunny window better than PLA

STLSource (build123d Python)

For the SwitchBot Blind Tilt. It pairs with Home Assistant over Bluetooth, no hub needed.

Little wins

Small things that make the house nicer to live in. Each one is a line here; some will grow into guides.

Automations

  • Bin night reminder: spoken at 6, 6:30 and 7pm with a phone push. The speaker volume goes up for it, then back.
  • Shopping list pops up on the phone when you arrive at the supermarket.
  • Garage left open for 5 minutes → a text message.
  • Walk in after dark and the lights come on room by room. The assistant mentions if the garage is still open.
  • Leave the bedroom at night and the living-room lights come on low.
  • Hallway night light on movement, dimmer late at night.
  • Kids’ room lights on with presence after dark, never after bedtime, and they wait for the blind and daylight in the morning.
  • Daytime sweep: turns off only the lights an automation turned on. Anything a person switched on stays on.
  • TV turns off after 10 minutes with nobody in the lounge.
  • TV and radio mute while the voice assistant is listening.
  • Someone at the driveway → the lounge TV shows the camera for 30 seconds, then goes back to the show.
  • One wireless button: tap to toggle, double-tap for full, hold for movie dim.
  • Blinds open at different times on weekdays and weekends.
  • Screens go to sleep when the room’s empty.
  • The electric candle only ever goes on by hand, and always goes off at 8pm.
  • Custom voice commands like "which bin tonight?" and "play The Rock".
  • A spoken morning brief.

Gadgets

  • Zigbee range extender for the shed, from an ESP32-C5 and custom firmware.
  • A spare Thread stick re-flashed to run all the Zigbee sensors.
  • Blinds with no hub: a radar sensor relays the Bluetooth commands.
  • Low-battery alerts and a maintenance page with "mark as done" tiles for vacuum parts.
  • A network health page: twice-daily speed tests and the weakest Wi-Fi devices.
  • An all-plastic printed clamp that holds battery cells while the glue sets.

Lessons that cost an evening

  • Smart bulbs wouldn’t pair: Home Assistant needed a wired connection to get IPv6.
  • Lights coming on at 4am: a template compared times as text, and "04:00" sorts before "20:30".
  • A radar sensor kept dropping off Wi-Fi: it was flipping between two access points.
  • Home internet upload capped: a faulty port on the router. Moving the cable fixed it.