Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.42: Dead Faucets Aren't Much Fun

DeathDlr73 for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday May 10, 2014 · 6:08 AM PDT

2014/05/10 · 06:08

Welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging, where we talk about fixing houses, the things in them that are supposed to work for us, and fixing them up. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience.
Or sometimes, we just gab.

Greetings and salutations from the world of diapers and sleep deprivation! I apologize in advance if I can't respond to much this morning; getting a 3-month old on some type of daily schedule is not the easiest thing. Since I knew that both project and computer time would be nil once she was born, I went crazy before the event to get as much of the house in order (aka, on autopilot) as possible.

Yeah, like that was going to work.

While doing the daily onslaught of dishes, I noticed there was a puddle of water under the dish strainer. No big deal, thought I; it was probably bumped out of place by the non-sleeping adults, and was just draining on the counter instead of the sink. Next day, same thing, same reasoning. Day 3, same thing....and I knew the water puddle was the result of more than bumping a dish strainer. After pulling the strainer off the counter, I ran the faucet to find a river flowing from it's base from both the hot and cold. So off to Moen's website we go...

DeathDlr73 for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday January 11, 2014 · 6:00 AM PST

2014/01/11 · 06:00

Greetings and salutations once again! The time has again come to share the stories of thumbs flattened by hammers, ceilings crashed through, and whatever mishaps or successes have recently occurred. If you have questions about a project, our intrepid team of pros and DIY'ers will do our best to answer or at least point in the right direction, with coffee on the house (you just have to come on over to get a cup).

For years, LED bulbs have intrigued me. Reading time and again how efficient they are, I've long wanted to try them; the growing pains of a new technology (and cost) have been holding me back. Then I got a letter of increase from the local utility company. Cue the rage, and a shopping spree at Amazon. Although the prices have dropped significantly to half or less of what they were a year ago, LED bulbs are still far more expensive than incandescent or CFL's. But, I bit the bullet, and replaced all the commonly used bulbs with LED. The question is: is the initial cost worth it?

This diary is about initial impressions and functionality. Part 2 will be a few months down the road; I'm partially through a billing cycle for the utility, and not all the bulbs are in yet. So stay tuned past the Orange Warp and further, and we'll all find out together.

DeathDlr73 for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday December 28, 2013 · 6:00 AM PST

2013/12/28 · 06:00

Good morning again to one and all! Our regularly scheduled program of Codetalker has unfortunately been pre-empted for the day because of unexpected travel on his part. In lieu of a non-redneck diary, I present for your consideration the attempt to keep heat inside a 100 year old house; just one of many tiny steps that hopefully add up to an oil tank lasting a bit longer.

As always, feel free to ask any questions. Our woefully underpaid staff of professionals and DIYers will do our best to help with any situation we can, or at least attempt to point in the right direction.

Wait...DK diarists don't get paid? Drat. Then again, you'll probably see why after the swirlie....

DeathDlr73 for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday December 21, 2013 · 6:58 AM PST

2013/12/21 · 06:58

Good morning to all, and to all a good morning! Sorry for the late shop opening, but was in the tenant's bathroom with a plunger until around 10:30 last night. That said, we're here for all, and for all to hear...so let the games begin....

Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.19: Apt Bathroom

DeathDlr73 for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday December 14, 2013 · 6:00 AM PST

2013/12/14 · 06:00

A hearty good morning to all! With luck we've all recovered from the diabetic coma resulting from too much Halloween candy (be honest, you didn't REALLY get the warehouse-sized bag in case of extra kids), the extreme carb-load of Thanksgiving, and are getting ready for the next holiday. And the next one. And the one after that. I sometimes wonder if orphans don't get off easier this time of year.

As we close the house up for winter, I started to think back to where my summer went (or where it got lost, anyway). Oh yeah, renovating a 1000 square foot apartment. One room at a time wasn't the approach I used, but it's a good plan for a diary. Past the swirlie to...the bathroom!

DeathDlr73

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Saturday November 23, 2013 · 1:14 PM PST

2013/11/23 · 13:14

Don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but just got done with the broadcast.

Any thoughts?

Doctor Who streaming

DeathDlr73

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Saturday November 23, 2013 · 10:53 AM PST

2013/11/23 · 10:53

For anyone without BBC America who would like to see the live broadcast, BBC is going to (supposedly) stream the live event from both their website, and from

http://www.youtube.com/...

Happy Doctor Day!

Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.15: Bathroom Faucet FAIL

DeathDlr73 for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday November 16, 2013 · 6:00 AM PST

2013/11/16 · 06:00

Good morning to all, and welcome again to Saturday Morning Home Repair - LIVE! A weekly gathering of professionals, DIY'ers, hopeless attempters....and the occasional redneck or two. Any questions asked can often be answered, or at least we can try to point someone in the right direction. At the very worst, always make sure to have the duct tape handy.

The subject of leaking faucets has arisen here in the past few weeks, and as luck would have it, my bathroom faucet also started to leak. I could have just as easily (and far more cheaply) just replaced the internal washers, but decided to replace the unit for a few reasons: it was the last faucet original to the house, so it didn't match anything else; and it's a complete pain to clean. So, off to the big-box store, where a decent looking clearance faucet for $35 came home with me.

So far, so good....

DeathDlr73

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Saturday October 26, 2013 · 6:31 AM PDT

2013/10/26 · 06:31

Good morning to all....late as it may be. Got delayed this morning after a long night, and saw no SMHRB diary! Egads, the horror! Halloween is truly upon us, with the witch's coven hexing the repairs.

So carve the pumpkin (flameless LED lights work great, BTW), pour the coffee, and try to avoid eating all the candy you supposedly bought for neighborhood kids. Old houses really ARE haunted, but usually by previous owners and not ghosts.

Saturday Morning Home Repair V8.10: Who Wants to be a Landlord? Pt2

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Saturday October 12, 2013 · 6:00 AM PDT

2013/10/12 · 06:00

My house is a 2-family built sometime around 1915, originally with an outhouse (long since replace by a detached garage), and the only source of heating being the kitchen stove. A century's worth of updates later, I live on the first floor and rent the second, with the tenants unfortunately having to park on the street in front of the house. Since I bought it 5 years ago, all the wiring and most of the plumbing has been updated to modern standards....but don't ask about wall insulation.

Which is what makes renting the apartment somewhat interesting. Everyone wants all the modern conveniences, but at the end of the day the house is 100 years old. The response when I listed it was a bit overwhelming, but that has as much to do with location and heat included as anything else. Deciding rent price, what amenities (if any) to include, and what type of tenant to rent to was the real challenge. Part 1 was about the house itself, but the real fun comes when dealing with tenants.

So let's play "Who Wants to be a Landlord?" in 3....2....1....Snausages!

DeathDlr73 for Saturday Morning Home Repair

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Saturday September 14, 2013 · 6:00 AM PDT

2013/09/14 · 06:00

I was originally going to continue the pros and cons of being a landlord this week, with a concentration on dealing with tenants (the previous installment dealt with the apartment itself). Last week I started piecing things together in my head, with every intention of writing it up mid-week. Honestly, I was. Unfortunately, I got completely leveled by a stomach bug on Monday. Even now (late Friday), I'm still not fully recovered - but at least the 3 year old and pregnant wife have avoided the brunt of it. So, I'm going to do something I'm relatively good at - CHEAT!!!

Poll

15 votes Show Results

Is it so wrong to cheat during the last warm days of the year?

15 votes Vote Now!

Is it so wrong to cheat during the last warm days of the year?

No, the raking calls!

7 votes

Kind of, but a decent list

1 vote

Yes, but it's not a habit...right?

5 votes

You're fired for plagarism!

2 votes

Morgan Freeman explains "Twerking"

DeathDlr73

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Wednesday August 28, 2013 · 11:26 AM PDT

2013/08/28 · 11:26

Just a quick, light-hearted diary of something I thought so funny I almost fell off my chair. Call it a distraction from the MLK speech remembrances. The video is all of 46 seconds from HLN's Morning Express with Robin Meade.

Um, Morgan, if you have to ask, you probably weren't; and although I don't golf, sign me up for a round with this guy. Watch to the end to see what I mean....

Morgan Freeman explains "Twerking"

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Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.42: Dead Faucets Aren't Much Fun

Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.24: The LED Experiment Pt 1

Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.21: Weathering the Warped

Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.20: Shop open!

Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.19: Apt Bathroom

SPOILERS Doctor Who Open Thread

Doctor Who streaming

Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.15: Bathroom Faucet FAIL

Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.12: Shop Open?

Saturday Morning Home Repair V8.10: Who Wants to be a Landlord? Pt2

Saturday Morning Home Repair v8.6:

Morgan Freeman explains "Twerking"