Comments on: It’s Always Worse Than You Think

By: Richard N. Landers

Richard N. Landers — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:19:54 +0000

We actually have a fairly long list of things we’re trying to get a contractor to do… the pool of money for renovations before the school year starts has a set size though, so it’s really just a matter of priorities at this point. We just have to get the painting and flooring installed before our stuff gets delivered by the movers (maximum wait of 3 weeks).

I actually did manage to get the pipe off – although I feel like this was a weird setup. There was a steel push-up drain attached to a copper j-bend attached to the cast iron drainage tube. The copper j-bend is what had a hole in it, and it self-destructed when I yanked on it with a pipe wrench. The drain was old too. I did manage to put the whole thing back together with new (although cheap) parts. Haven’t tested it yet though. Waiting for the silicone caulk to set. This is really only a temporary measure until we can do a full bathroom remodel anyway…

We actually have an electrician coming out tomorrow to give us an estimate on redoing the whole thing professionally – we’ll see how that goes. Hopefully the economy has prices down.

By the way, did you know that walls with decorative plaster use double the paint as plain drywall? I didn’t.

And I have realized that I need tenure. One goal at a time, man.

By: Nate Dogg

Nate Dogg — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:27:57 +0000

1. Focus on replacing the outlets in the areas where they matter. This is more workable if you have metal conduit for all of your outlets. If they are not and you have newer construction. Check to see if they used romex. If they did, you can ground your outlets yourself. GET A SIMPLE WIRE TESTER TO SEE IF THE WIRES ARE HOT. Then attache the third wire. If neither apply you have a lot more work to do….
2. Buy a sheet of drywall that you can transport and cut it to fit. Get material that is water resistant. If the holes are cut out they may have done this to get access to the pipes. Be worried.
3. WD 40 will often loosen the rust and allow you to take the old head off. Thread a new one on. Use a bit of pipe tape to get a good seal. If this pipe breaks you have more serious problems.
4. Some sinks are held together with a friction cuff arangements so that a much thinner light weight pipe sits inside of the drain pipe and then threads up into the sink. It is cut to fit into the drain pipe and then a cuff is tightened down carefully to hold it in place. The ususal pipe that is used is cheap and deteriorates quickly. Get the scale off with vineagar loosen it carefully with a proper wrench (not pliers) and get yourself a new pipe. If the pipe is shot, the sink connections are probably crap as well. First verify that the the sink connection is still strong enought to accept a new pipe. If it is not, you will need to replace the sink.
5. Some fans need ocassional maintainance with oil on the bearings. Alternatively you could have one gummed up with dust or a bad bearing. Before you do anything to the fan, shut off the power at the fuse box.
6. Check that the vents are open and not blocked inside by cardboard or foil. Check your air vents to make sure you don’t have a vent flap that can be turned to close of parts of the main branches. Then consider having your furnace cleaned.

Final suggestion. Realize you need tenure and pay someone to do this.

By: Shawna

Shawna — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:46:17 +0000

I’m sending sympathy your way. We had some fun adventures this week, t00, including the car breaking down on the way to the honeymoon, spending the honeymoon in 100 degree weather (which I’m sure you and Amy both enjoyed in Virginia these past few days too), and then arriving home to a busted water main and fried cable box. The milestones of life aren’t the photo-op cake-walk they seem to be….