bdcochran wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 5:13 pm
Same thing with replacing a toilet. Have lived in the house for over 40 years. Knew that the bolts were broken. Unsure about the flanges. Hired a neighbor who was a plumber - off the books. I bought the toilet and hauled it home. The professional had a real challenge.
Just did one for my daughter.... ( SIL not well tooled ).
All rusty bolts. so out came the hammer...SIL wondered what I was going to do with that.
One good wack per bolt ( water prev drained ) and all good, had him take it out so he'd get messy.
Took about 2 hr and the new one was in place and working... only got a 6 pack and a peck on cheek.
Not exactly fixing, but I've been putting up ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, fixing some plumbing (at the old house) a bit here and there as I'm able. It's good to know some basic stuff. Trying to teach my son when he's available.
A man cannot call himself peaceful if he is not capable of violence. If he's not capable of violence he isn't peaceful, he is harmless. There is a distinct difference.
Fate whispers to the warrior "You cannot weather this storm". The warrior replies, "I am the storm".
Just did a bit on daughters home.... ran into the alum wire with copper.
BE CAREFUL !
Some idiot prev used just plain wire nuts to join lighting with copper to alum wire. Found the wire nuts loose ( due to diff expansion rates ) and some signs of arcing.
Old method here ( yr state may have diff codes ) with special paste/wire nuts with a pigtail of copper.
New method which is easy is AlumiConn connector.... pricey but not as much as a fire.
see pic; they have anti corrosion paste inside and get torqued down
In the scheme of things, your survival is a function of tools, skills and physical/mental health. While I continue to downsize in my tools, I try to keep up the skills. To the extent I work on skills, I save some money and can apply it elsewhere.
This week, I fixed the dishwasher again. 5 year old dishwasher and if I had to call for service for every problem with it, I would have spent the original purchase again.
The gardener broke a faucet. Didn't tell me of course. I will fix it today.
David wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 10:21 am
Not exactly fixing, but I've been putting up ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, fixing some plumbing (at the old house) a bit here and there as I'm able. It's good to know some basic stuff. Trying to teach my son when he's available.
Good example was last night. My son's fiance had a headlamp go out on her car. I had previously taught him how to replace a lamp and it paid off. He bought the new lamp and replaced it himself. Not an easy task on these never vehicles but he got it done.
A man cannot call himself peaceful if he is not capable of violence. If he's not capable of violence he isn't peaceful, he is harmless. There is a distinct difference.
Fate whispers to the warrior "You cannot weather this storm". The warrior replies, "I am the storm".
Today, a cabinet drawer runner in the bathroom is broken. Will start to look for parts tomorrow. I joke that the customers in the big box and small hardware stores mid morning during the week are old men trying to repair 70 year broken home parts.
Since December, I fixed a shutter magnet, a toilet, items under the hood in the car. The literature said not to do the washer hose replacement yourself. It also said do a replacement after 5 years. It had been 13 years and I paid a small fee to have it done. Don't avoid that expense.
When I was in LV in early March, a toilet that was not being maintained at my brother's house failed. Cost a few thousand in damages. Now my brother finds he has a leak in the ceiling pipe. I had such a leak and it cost me $1000 a few years ago. At the present time, I am struggling with the "easy 15 minute install" of a water leak monitoring system that will be attached to the water meter. The darn battery unit costs $19. I found a hack that can be done. Tomorrow, I will finish the installation, put the hack on a usb key. I already ordered the hack parts. Will modify the leak detector after the factory battery pack fails in a year or so.
My water and power company initiated a promotion. You pay $25, tax and shipping and you get a $250 unit. It did not take the 15 minute estimate to install. It took multiple efforts. It was a device you attached to your water meter and it would tell you if you had a leak. It is powered by lithium batteries in a proprietary battery pack. Of course you were not told that by the power company. I watched someone's hack video and bought the components to build the hack which the original battery pack is exhausted.
Old favorite radio commentator Paul Harvey:
"Now for the rest of the story".
Know your limitations. It makes life a lot easier.
I have a 1950s house. The oven is a double wall oven that goes into a cut out. Not only is it rare to find a double wall gas oven, no one makes it in the size I have. I had it commercially rebuilt and serviced. It is like my 20 year old car. It runs, but the open question is who survives whom.
My father had a dishwasher in his nice kitchen. He worked on it and never got it back into the slot. After he died, my brother had a plumber put the dishwasher back in the slot. That unit sat partially hanging out in the kitchen for over 10 years.
Up date:
1. I have had the water leak device for a few months. Twice, it has warned me that the gardener left the water running for more than 10 minutes.
2. I forgot to mention that my father fell off his roof cleaning leaves from the gutter and was hospitalized for a while. I am now at that stage. So, I have a guy who is supposed to come in and clean the light fixtures and replace the 10 year light bulbs (keeping the still good ones as replacement bulbs).
