What home improvement work did you do today?

Needed to re-work the chicken fence after having a big fir tree taken out. Getting the corner post re-set for diagonal bracing while I was at it.

 

Dude hell ya. I did the same and it’s been nice to go home right after work and get a good workout in.

 

Nice run and coop!

 

Not super exciting but replaced a disposal today. What was wild is we kept having a leak in this house we just got and I couldn’t figure out where the leak was, all the pipes were fine. Then I ran the disposal and water shot all over and I discovered there were small holes in the old disposal side, about where the grinding disc is. Apparently food corrodes the sides and eats through over time!

 

Hours more power washing and opened the pool.

 

It's the major downfall to disposals. We usually need to replace ours every 8-10 years. But usually don't figure that out until it's already leaked and bloated the under-counter boards.

 

A utensil in there can do some damage too


EDIT: I dropped a secondary defense over it (strainer cover) so it only gets fully opened when you need it.

 

That's Deadly! What a nice place to hang out. Stone/hardscape is the only way to go. I did it with the cheap 16x16 on my 16'x20' out back, best decision I made. pic 2014

NG fire pit and grill, the Bose, and some beers haha

 

https://youtu.be/7UD1VCJvoDQ?si=sJwUwgHzuw9439Ac

 

Your chickens don't seem to appreciate your work. Or, maybe they're just inspecting it from both sides

 

You guys need to get a leak sensor! Not expensive.

 

Have one after the first failure. Failed to alert us soon enough, both times, under both sinks in question.

EDIT: If you have one that's better than the 'frog' thing I got off Woot many moons ago, I'm all ears.

 

Need a large flat pan that can cover the under sink space and place the moisture sensor in it.

 

This is what I use and bought from Amazon. The wire has a sensor on the end of it and I have the sensor laying next to the drain under the washer. As soon as water touches it that damn thing is LOUD. I tested with a glass of water poured on the floor and it is pretty quick.

 

Got the patio power washed and re-sealed.

Paid a guy to do that, but my part (moving all the furniture and crap off the patio) was harder than his part. My wife has WAY too many succulents and potted plants.

Looks nice again though.











Ready for summer nights soon.

 

I have a huge rubber catch mat under there. The 1st time the main sink disposal ate shit, I installed it. The next time we had a massive leak under that sink that really FUBAR'd the base, it's because the hose on the wand was dripping, and started saturating the area behind where the pipes come up from the floor, which is outside the footprint of the rubber catchbasin mat. The mat has saved us once, for sure. But in none of those three incidents did we get an alert. On the sink under our island, it's a similar story, where we can only cover so much because, unfortunately, it's a mid-floor level, so pipes are coming up from the floor of the cabinets.

This would be an easy solve for me if we had a solid, flat floor, and all drains/incoming were coming out of the wall. It's just not the case. I can take pics if that doesn't make sense.

 

Does anyone have experience with removing hard water build up from a water fountain? This thing is beautiful when it is running but the build up is getting bad and taking away from the beauty. I have no clue what kind of stone it is made out of but all 3 pieces are the same stone (base, center stem and the upper ball) and look like the same kind. Any help would be appreciated, I have some time now so looking forward to getting this thing all cleaned up

Base



Upper Ball



Close up of the upper ball



Close up of base

 

Really, the only thing that's going to remove buildup like that is probably an acid. Thing about acids is, if you don't know what the base stone is, you may be taking stone along with the acid.

Maybe don't do something as strong as muriatic or phosphoric acid. I'd probably buy a bottle of CLR, squirt it into a jar, and spot-apply it to some of the taller crust to see if it does anything to the underlying stone. If not, go to town.

No reason you can't try the same with one of the other two stronger acids, but ... tread lightly, test first. And while you're at it, do something to balance out the water that's in that thing.

 

This is Arizona and I am moving, it will be just fine once I clean it. That is the underlying issue, what kind of stone is it? Well I have time to mess with it I guess and see which of the acids will work. Thanks for the info!

 

Our house insurance gave us a 5 % discount if we added sensors for water, with a home system from Hedge. My cost was a couple hundred dollars but I had sensors everywhere. We ended up getting a lot of sensors and it was also phone notifications. I really liked the system but the were no longer supported by our insurance. A long story….. Well, they switched to a Ring system, and they provided a whole home security system, a $600 system, that cost me like $6. Not many leak sensors, 2, one under the kitchen sink and by the fridge. Also motion sensors, camera, and a couple of door sensors, plus a “listener” that goes next to the fire/carbon monoxide. They have several levels of monitoring services, so I get a phone message. If a fire or carbon monoxide it will dispatch fire/police. I have a rubber pan under the sink to catch any drips. We actually had a small leak under the sink as the sink plumbing was not tight(new house construction). We also got one year free service with the system. I’m thinking of cancelling my Xfinity security and just using the ring but I really like the Xfinity notifications when the cameras detect motion people on the drive way and porch. If we get a delivery I’m on it asap.

 

I'm already running ring doorbell, flood cams, ring alarm w/ring retrofit to adapt our door/window bugs into it, so this may work nicely to round that out. We're all Nest on t-stats and smoke/CO, and Ring on perimeter cams, Unifi on interior LV and cams. House is pretty wired, sadsome water drips screwed me, just about everything else is monitored or on backup.

 

Have I mentioned I hate painting?? Hopefully we get a break from the rain so I can focus on my truck and camper tomorrow, we will see.

 

Looks like a no brainer to add the sensor. The Ring system looks like a well designed product.

 

I'd like yous guys opinion on this.
My shed needs new siding.


12X10 I'm pretty sure, you can see the panels rotting on the bottom. This was a garage for years, not sure when the previous owners chopped it in half but I see photos from the 80s of it taking up the entire foundation with the open end on the other side. The sides still have clapboard siding under this paneling. Not replacing that.



you see what I mean here, the far wall you can see framing has been added and only the back of that paneling. The panel is rotted at the bottom as you can see sunlight coming in.

so I'm going to remove the rotting siding and replace it with this, I think.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Plytanium-...tual-0-578-in-x-47-875-in-x-95-875-in/3010818


Any thoughts or suggestions? I know this isn't rocket science but just like another set of eyes on it.

 

Buy something like this to save you hours of time.

$220 MEKOH Pressure Washer Surface Cleaner 20'', 4500PSI Power Washer Surface Cleaner Attachment with Wheels, Pressure Washer Accessory for Driveway Sidewalk Curb Deck Patio Cleaning, 3/8'' Quick-Connect

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WMLNPR5?ie=UTF8 Just got one and the driveway took an hour instead of all day. Less mess and came out better. I didn't think it would be that great, but it was a game changer. Tried a cheap one from HD, but it wasn't worth it.

 

Go with Hardie-board, not plywood. Board and batten style is the rage. The Hardie is a fiber cement board, not wood. Won't rot.

 

I’ve got a much simpler version that DeWalt makes but she doesn’t care for it. I’ve used it and it’s fine, I don’t get it but if it’s a backache she wants, then a backache is what she’s going to get! Thanks though.

 

Goggles and a good coarse nylon brush with muriatic acid mixed wth H2O.
Simple fix.

 

Yup, Hardie board for your shed. I had to rebuild three dormers that were rotting wood and used Hardie plank on those. Still look new after 15 years.