What home improvement work did you do today?

I hate painting, because I see every mistake, either as it's happening or after I put everything away. Hate it, to the point I rarely find the motivation to do it expediently.

But you know what I hate worse than painting? Paying someone else to paint for me, only to spend the next days/weeks/months finding similar and/or more mistakes than I'd have made, knowing I paid someone to do work below my level of ability, when they are the professional.

While painting sucks, like everything maintenance/mechanical/technology related, it's damn near impossible to find anyone out there who cares about your shit more than you, someone who'll do the job as if your thing is just as important as if it was their thing.

Every job I work on out in the field for others, regardless how much I'm getting paid for it, I treat it like it's my own. At the end of the day, the work I put into it is my own, and is a direct representation of my ethic and character. I think we've somehow lost that in today's world.

 

I agree. I figure why pay somebody to half-ass something for me when I can whole-ass it for free?

 

Thanks! I'm well on my way to being fully recovered. About a month more and then I can start strengthening it again. I have my full range of motion back, which is great. It's just a long process and I constantly have to remind myself that I'm not really supposed to lift anything with that arm.

 

Got a text today from mama bear today; the washing machine errored out on some rinse error. So I knew I’d probably need to clean out that thing that no one ever does……
Brought in the Milwaukee pack out vac and started sucking out the bottom port bleeder tube, I got about 3 gallons out.
The filter thing was full of “stuff” but I decided to peak down the dark hole………
Gold dollar fully blocking the pump intake!!!!!
Got some mechanics picks and gently worked it sideways and pulled it out(it was actually stuck pretty solid!)

 

Oh yeah, totally understand - and it’s great to hear that you’re doing well and that you have full range of motion! Somehow I was able to get full range of motion about the four week point…but it was like a solid 3 months before they would let me lift anything heavier than a coffee cup…and another 3 to 4 before they would let me lift pretty much anything unrestricted, slowly working up to max weight. About drove me nuts!

 

Score!!!

 

Finished painting and put the furniture back. Now I have to hook the electronics back up again and life will be good.

 

Romex rots in wet environments . If you put it underground it'll be junk in about 5 years. Next time use UF cable.

 

Even with conduit and liquid tight fittings?

 

I wouldn’t pull romex through conduit - wrong application and the added jacket increases the fill ratio (plus it would be tough as hell to pull).

And that routered channel and interior work electrical box were far from sealed fittings.

 

The ground I can pull up and re do it or would it be suitable to splice at the post base with short liquid tight whip with a weather tight gasket box or better off useing water tight lug style with a shrink band?
the channel work I thought would be ok in combination with a j box and weather tight receptical cover suitable for wet locations or should I pull the post to and re do it with UF?

 

I’m not a licensed electrician myself. I’d recommend consulting with one, or researching the NEC code.

 

One of the guys I work with is licensed he made the initial recommendations and I followed them,
I do own an outdated National Electric Code book back when I was going for my low voltage/control license.
But you have some good recommendations and figured I'd follow up.

Thanks Man,it's much appreciated.

 

@Blufin also not a licensed sparky but I've used 1" / 2" schedule 40 to do Romex 12/3 and 14/3 runs underground on a number of occasions. Couple few years back, we ran 2" schedule 40 for the feed to my dad's outdoor shed in S.AL, and a 1" beside it for LV cabling. I'm 99% certain you'll find that's what current NEC reco is (40)

@bmf4069, what say you?

 

Thanks for the help man very much appreciated.

Yeah I too ran 1" sched 40 underground with 14/2 and at the post base is a 1" 90° elbow liquid tight threaded into the post and back filled with expanding foam.

It would be nice to have it done once vs doing it again in a few years I'm all set with that nonsense.

 

So yeah, if this is an underground run in PVC, it's gonna fill up with water. The heat from where it's exposed and the coolness of the underground creates condensation in the pipe that'll eventually fill it up. It'll eat up the outer jacket of the Romex. Use UF cable instead, either direct buried or in PVC. If going building to building, my preferred method is a J-box on each side with individual THHN of whatever size you need.

 

This. Romex is a bitch to pull through conduit. Even UF cable sucks to pull in conduit, but it's the new code for residential floor boxes. Also, any outdoor boxes should be bell boxes or similar wet location rated.

Do you have better close up pics of the boxes? They make underground splice kits, but I don't recommend them. You'd have to dig about a 1 sqft hole to be able to work it, and it would need to be 24" deep minimum to be code compliant. That cover is an in use cover that lets you shut it with something plugged in to be wet location compliant, but you need a bell box to mount it to.

Oh, and stay away from whatever that splice thing is. That's not UL listed for direct burial.

 

Thanks for the clarity, I'll pull the post and homerun UF the entire way box to box.The ground is still soft so I'll do it this weekend.
Thanks again it's very much appreciated

Love this site,it's very helpful in more ways than just trucks!

 

If you have any questions just tag me or shoot me a PM.

 

Will do.

 

Friend next door hollered at me about 3 hours ago. "Goddamn bomb just went off in the garage!"

Stopped over to see what's up, one of his garage door springs was totally boned. Exploded, took the safety cable with it. He's asking me for garage door guys, I'm like, "Dude. You want to spend $30 or $300?"

Sent him to big orange to get a 2pk of 110lb springs for $20. Spent 20 mins showing him how to properly string the pulleys and install safety cable. Garage opens like butter again. "Damn, it doesn't shimmy anymore!" (Guess that wasn't enough of a sign something was wrong)

Sent me on my way with a 4pk of Doom Volume. Score!

 

I’ve always been too scared to mess with those springs when one of mine broke. Also got a new garage door so I just let them do it all.

 

When the garage door is raised, all tension is off the spring. They’re super easy to work with. It’s only dangerous when (A) it’s actively under tension or (B) you don’t run a safety cable thru it. The safety cable doesn’t even need to be overly tight as long as it passes thru the spring and loop ends, then you lock it down on both sides, pulling most of the slack out. Typically the pulley attached to the end of the spring has a pass-thru for the safety cable so it doesn’t get bound up.

It’s really super easy.

And … beer.

 

So you set the spring with the door up? That seems a lot easier

 

wouldn't the door be in the way?

Or am i missing something?

 

Inquiring minds wanna know!

 

Yes. Raise the door. Put c-clamps in the channel so it can’t drop. The spring should be fully retracted at that point.

That’s when it’s safe to remove the safety cable, whose sole purpose is to control lash of the spring if it blows, prevent it from lashing out and killing something.

Once the safety cable is off, you can unlatch the pulley that leverages the spring from the side closest to the opening, and pop off the spring. Pop in a new spring, attach the pulley as it was to the new spring, check pulley/cable routing. If all is good, restring the safety cable and you’re done. It’s stupid easy, and I’m sure you can probably really hurt yourself somehow. But it would take a colossal f-up to do that, IMHO.

 

Door closed, spring under tension.

 

Door open, spring is flaccid, fully relaxed.