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CovidHGTV Thread: Projects and repairs
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andi*pandi
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Apr 27, 2020, 02:24 PM
 
Have you embarked on an ambitious home repair or project to while the time? Or, are you wasting all your time binging TV and playing video games? (guilty)

I haven't done as many of the "I'll get to that someday" projects of my own, some mending, a little tidying, but my yard is looking pretty good. Soon I will need to invest in a new lawn mower since our battery stopped charging. Or, replace the battery ourselves? Hmm.

We're not super handy, so we are hiring local contractors who can work distantly. Today we had the chimney cleaner in (him: you know you should do this annually, right?) and later this week we'll have some guys come fix the gutters and spray the roof for moss. Previously plans this spring included quotes for a bathroom redo (complete gutting) but not sure how we can do that and be distant.

I might even get around to getting that new battery for the Verizon box. :BEEP:

Anybody else?
     
Thorzdad
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Apr 27, 2020, 03:41 PM
 
Other than my wife working at home and commandeering the dining table as her office, things are pretty much normal (save for not seeing friends, family, etc. of course) The only "handy" thing we've attempted so far is planting a solitary grape tomato plant in a pot outdoors. We shall see if the poor thing survives. We are notorious black-thumbs.

I really, really need to re-set and level the large tiles that make up our patio. But...I dunno. I'm just not really motivated to do much of anything. Plus, that's one of those jobs that the voices in my head tell me they are positive I will eff-up somehow, so just don't try.
     
Laminar
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Apr 27, 2020, 04:06 PM
 
We did some garage cleanup this weekend. Emptied about 6 shelves worth of crap, filled up the garbage and recycling bins, organized all of the flammables in my metal cabinet, and called it a day.

Before (there are TWO cars in this picture, not counting the Power Wheels!)


Grabbed some scrap wood lying around the garage and built a little bin to hold balls, sidewalk chalk, and other outdoor toys that typically roll around under cars.



We ordered a new washer and dryer to replace the set I bought used on Craigslist 9 years ago, we'd been saving and planning for this for several months now and a sale hit in March so I jumped on it. Those are supposed to show up tomorrow.

Other than that we're doing what we can that doesn't cost money, as we're trying to be conservative right now and do what we can that doesn't cost anything - clearing out the file cabinet and organizing documents. Sorting baby stuff to toss/donate once we're able to do that sort of thing again.

Other than that I'm doing my standard pre-season race prep stuff that would have had to be done by now but I was able to procrastinate more than usual.
     
Doc HM
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Apr 27, 2020, 04:13 PM
 
Got out the spanners while the sun was shining.

Removed stupid far too high suspension form the car and replaced it with my old Group B tarmac stuff plus finally got round to fitting the wider yellow wheels and fancy new tyres.

Worth it.

IMG_5068 by Andrew Stephens, on Flickr

IMG_5067 by Andrew Stephens, on Flickr
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Laminar
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Apr 27, 2020, 04:33 PM
 
Yesssssss
     
Waragainstsleep
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Apr 27, 2020, 05:17 PM
 
I really want to throw out a whole load of garbage but the recycling centres (tips) are closed.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
andi*pandi  (op)
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Apr 27, 2020, 06:13 PM
 
They are taking our recycling, but who knows what they are doing with it. That was also true before Covid19.

Car looks spiffy Doc!
     
ghporter
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Apr 27, 2020, 08:01 PM
 
I wound up “fixing” the kitchen faucet and one bathroom faucet. By completely replacing the “Sam Jackson-ing” things.

The kitchen faucet was dripping where the pull-out hose connected to the main faucet. The problem was that I couldn’t take it apart to figure out if it just needed an O-ring or something. And in trying to remove the whole faucet to get a better angle at figuring it out, I wound up destroying it. So we got a new pull-out style faucet. And yes, it could have been fixed with an O-ring, but the manufacturer’s instructions didn’t even hint that the “quick connect” connector could be disconnected... Which, if I’d known about it, would have saved me a WHOLE FREAKING DAY, and a couple hundred dollars.

The bath faucet was a pull on/push off fixture that was hard to pull on. It dragged in that motion, so I figured I could just replace the cartridge. Nope. The cartridge would NOT come out. So now we have a lever style bath faucet. It was a lot less expensive, but I still wish neither had required my attention right then...

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Laminar
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Apr 29, 2020, 09:40 AM
 
Washer and Dryer installed and working. Wifi and Alexa enabled, because who doesn't need to remotely voice-activate a washing machine?



In reality, an alert to my phone when the laundry is done or when the laundry has been sitting in the washer unopened for too long is handy and will prevent clothes sitting moist overnight (or longer). Washer has a detergent tank so it can auto dispense. Shove clothes in, shut lid, start washer. No more measuring and cups and spilling.

I'm trying to see if I can set up a routine for Alexa to announce when the clothes are done so it's not up to me on my phone.
     
andi*pandi  (op)
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Apr 29, 2020, 09:54 AM
 
that's pretty magical. Can it tell if things are damp and need more time?!?
     
ghporter
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Apr 30, 2020, 11:03 AM
 
Not DIY, but our (planned for early April) bathroom remodels are afoot. Going from a "phone booth" sized stall shower and "garden tub" - neither were as useful as they had seemed when we had the house built - to a huge walk-in shower in the master bath.

Almost finished... A glass wall/door will be installed as soon as the structure is finished.

And from a tub/shower combo to a full-sized walk in shower in the guest bath.

The guest bath is indeed kinda tiny, but the tub made it even tinier. The full-on walk in shower will open it up quite a bit.

The guys doing this work are doing it right. They are tearing out the old stuff to the studs, and building in the appropriate backing materials before installing the shower bases and solid-surface enclosures. They have done a great job with the plumbing too - and discovered some less-than-super work done by the builder's rough and finish plumbers... But they've fixed that along the way, so it's all up to code, and then some.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
andi*pandi  (op)
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Apr 30, 2020, 12:14 PM
 
Looks great! I can't wait to have our bathroom and kitchen done. I know for a fact the original builder skimped on the bathroom backing materials. :/

The gutter guys came yesterday, and the quote for the mossy roof is ~$500. Eep. but cheaper than new after the moss eats it...
     
ghporter
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Apr 30, 2020, 03:43 PM
 
Yeah. Moss is pretty...but aggressive.

I cleaned out my gutters a couple of weeks ago. We only have them at the front of the house - where the oak trees drop their leaves. I wound up doing a combination of garden trowel and hand "excavation" of the gunk. And since I was up on a ladder and didn't want to have that gunk spread all over me and the surrounding area, I excavated into a 5 gallon bucket. Almost 4 times. For only about 30 feet total of gutter. Yes, they were full.

So I'm doing research on gutter "guards" of various types. I want to encourage catching the runoff and directing it where I want, but block leaves. That still gives me tons of options, from essentially hardware cloth (like galvanized wire fencing with 1/4" square openings) through fancy-schmancy "filtering" covers that cost more than replacing the gutters would. I want easy and effective, and preferably DIY installation, but this menu has way too many options!

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
reader50
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Apr 30, 2020, 06:08 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post

Almost finished... A glass wall/door will be installed as soon as the structure is finished.
More than once, I've seen people remove glass doors for a simple shower curtain. It makes the bathroom more open (more contiguous space). You don't have square yards of glass to clean (on both sides) and you can just swap a curtain that gets dirty. Or if you get tired of the color / pattern.
     
ghporter
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Apr 30, 2020, 07:08 PM
 
We’re quite happy with glass in this case. It will be TONS more open than the previous setup.

As built, the bathroom had a 32x32” shower stall at the left, with a partial wall separating it from the garden tub. That tub took up so much space that it chopped up the room substantially. This will be a lot better for us.

On a tangentially related note, I now have need to figure out how to better store our bikes. I have had them just standing up, leaned against the garage wall (inside, of course). But that is clumsy, both for parking in the garage and getting at the bikes.

I want to hang them vertically from supports driven into studs. I think it’s better to hang them from the fork tube in front than from any other part, but I’ve never really tried hanging bikes that way. Advise would be helpful.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Waragainstsleep
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Apr 30, 2020, 07:23 PM
 
I really want to build a brick pizza oven in my living room for the summer but I can't do that until I can take a whole lot of garbage to the tip.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
ghporter
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May 2, 2020, 11:15 AM
 
We've decided to table the "hanging bikes" issue until we can plan it out properly.

Given that our garage is just large enough for the two cars, with a modest amount of side room for garden tools, and such, and that the lawn mower lives on that "step" thing at the front (where a washer and dryer might go, except they're inside...), we need to really make any change we do MORE organized. As it is, it looked like just diving in was going to give us "just another thing to work around."

But we did get half of the garage cleaned out and reorganized. That's the side that my car usually goes in, but it's where the bath guys stashed the materials for their work. My car has been parked on the driveway for a week, and I don't have a warm, fuzzy feeling about that, even with our "nice" neighborhood.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Thorzdad
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May 2, 2020, 11:43 AM
 
At my last house, I hung my bikes from the ceiling of the garage, using some of these screwed into the rafters, one for each wheel.
     
subego
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May 2, 2020, 12:17 PM
 
One project I’ve had knocking around for years is two or three of those in the garage to hang my 12-step.

Was also going to do it for my gramma cart, which is no longer with us.
     
andi*pandi  (op)
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May 2, 2020, 04:26 PM
 
I bought some of those hooks to hang a ladder. 10 years ago. The ladder still sits on the side of the back yard.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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May 2, 2020, 09:56 PM
 
I got a bike tension pole. It kind of works like a heavy duty shower caddy and easily holds two bikes (3 if your ceiling is high). The bonus is that you can really place it anywhere you want, as long as it’s along a joist—so you can move it around a little and determine the best location before you worry about putting in permanent security anchors. I only have a single garage so we park in the driveway, but I’ve ended up with the bikes right in the middle of the garage—enough space to easily access the bikes, with a workbench along one side and storage racks on the other.

It’s a pretty handy option. We don’t use the bikes years round so they’re a bit in the way in the winter, but the garage has a standard ceiling height so there isn’t a great storage option like a hanging hoist.
( Last edited by ShortcutToMoncton; May 3, 2020 at 07:14 AM. )
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Laminar
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May 2, 2020, 10:30 PM
 
Just wrote a check for a new furnace and A/C. 18 years old and original to the house. AC is been degrading in effectiveness over the past few years, finally called about it. It's an R-22 unit which has been phased on and would cost $2k to recover, leak test, and recharge. Guess we're going with a new one. Ugh.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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May 3, 2020, 07:14 AM
 
I hear ya. Just spent $600 last winter on parts for a 17yo gas furnace that could still go at any time...but immediate replacement was probably $4500 all told. The AC unit is similarly old and has not been maintained, and the gas water tank is well overdue and losing effectiveness. The beauty of buying an older home in our case. The proverbial rainy day is right around the corner!
Mankind's only chance is to harness the power of stupid.
     
Laminar
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May 13, 2020, 05:51 PM
 
Our projector started shutting off on its own. I just replaced the bulb near the beginning of quarantine so I didn't think it would be that. I pulled the bult and looked inside and saw something behind the diffuser.



I started ripping the thing apart until I could get to the part in question. It required completely removing the motherboard, which was slightly terrifying.



The thing that was blocking the light was a metal arm on a rotating motor, apparently part of an adjustable iris. The end of the metal arm is connected to plastic and the plastic had melted and wilted, dropping the arm in the way of the light. Apparently the new bulb is too bright, and pumping too much heat into the iris? I bent it back in place and put everything back together and crossed my fingers.



All better.

Also went and picked up some mulch. In the past I've called up a friend with a truck to help me get a full pallet (80 bags). Not wanting to bother a friend, I took the SUV and managed to get 25 bags in the back.



It was riding a bit low in back, as that was about 750lbs of mulch.



That was enough to cover the front of the house and most of the sides. I may grab another load to finish off the back.
     
andi*pandi  (op)
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May 13, 2020, 06:20 PM
 
That's impressive. I hear tell there are people who will deliver you "a yard" of mulch. Dumptruck style in your driveway. Our yard is small enough that 8 or so bags usually do it.
     
Thorzdad
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May 13, 2020, 10:05 PM
 
When we had a big enough yard, we did the dumptruck delivery of mulch. Really good stuff, too.
     
Laminar
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May 15, 2020, 08:10 AM
 
That would probably be cheaper than buying it by the bag. I’d have to invest in a wheelbarrow to get it where it needs to go, so the bags are nice in that case.

The city actually offers free wood chips, just back your truck up to where they chip trees and branches and fill up. Probably not going to try that in the wife’s car.
     
Thorzdad
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May 15, 2020, 01:41 PM
 
You don't have a wheelbarrow? Even if you don't do a bulk delivery, a wheelbarrow is the perfect thing to haul the bags around the yard.
     
Laminar
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May 18, 2020, 07:51 AM
 
I stack them on top of my self-propelled push mower and drive it around the yard.

I have to store my snow blower in the basement over the summer because there's literally no more room for anything in my garage.
     
Laminar
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May 18, 2020, 11:38 AM
 
I was ordered to use up half my PTO by the halfway point of the year, so I took all of last week off. In between taking care of kids while the wife was still working, I put in some time on my Cougar. For reference, this is what my friend pulled out of a barn 5-6 years ago:



And this is what I dragged to my house from his in 2016:



The thing was drunk driven around from 1969-1976 and smashed into anything and everything. I got it titled and running and decided to just put everything back together as-is visually, while upgrading just the mechanicals. Last week I got the front end installed for the first time ever. It's super rough, but that's kind of the goal.







I actually drove it up and down the block once, and it went better than I expected. This thing may actually get on the road this year, albeit without the built engine I was expecting to do.
     
Doc HM
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May 19, 2020, 06:28 AM
 
So, more time on hands, another bit of car done...

IMG_5332 by Andrew Stephens, on Flickr

IMG_5335 by Andrew Stephens, on Flickr
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Laminar
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May 19, 2020, 07:39 AM
 
Those wheels are awesome, I bet that thing's a hoot.
     
Doc HM
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May 19, 2020, 10:30 AM
 
Yeah. It's not too bad. It weight nothing so it goes well on limited power and has no inertia so it's chuckable. The tarmac rally suspension helps as well.
Getting there.
I love the hard as look for the Cougar. The front looks proper mean! I bet it sounds evil too.
This space for Hire! Reasonable rates. Reach an audience of literally dozens!
     
Laminar
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May 19, 2020, 12:46 PM
 
It sounds a lot meaner than it goes - '69 was pre-emissions and the general malaise that followed, but it's not the high performance V8 - more bark than bite. I swapped from 2.70 to 3.73 gears in the rear which should wake it up a bit, but long term the plan is to build a big ol' mean V8 for it backed by a six speed stick. I have all of the parts on hand (including two sets of Hayabusa throttle bodies to do an 8-stack fuel injection setup), I just need to get the block machined before I can actually get building. Rods, pistons, and pins are all balanced and blueprinted.





Rebuilt the trans (from a Shelby Mustang) in January.



Engine build was supposed to happen this summer but with everything that's going down, it seems kind of foolhardy to blow $1000 on a dumb car for a laugh. Hopefully next year.
     
   
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