What home improvement work did you do today?

Orbital or sheet sander for the faces, detail sander or good ol elbow grease for any intricate sanding. Mind posting pics of what you'll be working on? I have the Milwaukee M18 orbital and it works, but I dislike how unbalanced it is. The battery makes it heavy on that side and you tend to dig into your pieces a bit more in that area. It's also a battery hog and any non-HO battery wont last as long but beefier batteries make it so bulky and heavy.

 

Must be something going around, my water heater crapped out last week (right after I was reading about Shifty's lol)

Hoping anyone replacing theirs can learn from my DIY experience below (not a quick read)

I found my 17-yr old 50-gal gas water heater leaking last Wed evening. Being a guy that likes to make things harder than they need to be (for the sake of cool or modern upgrades), first thought was going tankless. Spent HOURS researching Rinnai, Navien, Rheem, AO Smith, etc. Watched install videos, read the Rinnai 212-page install manual, and gathered all the accessories, here's what I proposed to the wife:

-Rinnai Sensei Super High Efficiency Plus 9.0 GPM 160,000 BTU Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater with Recirculating Pump (model no. RXP160iN)
-On sale at HD and Amazon for $1,369.62
-Includes recirculation pump and thermal bypass valve if you don't have a dedicated return line.
-Rinnai Scalecutter 3/4 Water Softener- being in AZ, this seemed like a wise addition to the incoming water supply line (model no. 103000038)
-$253.71
-Rinnai Threaded Plumbing Installation Valve Kit (model no. MIVK-T-LW)
-$89.57
-Rinnai 3/5 Condensing Roof Discharge Termination Kit (Concentric venting) (model no. 184162PP)
-$61.59

All in for ~$1800, not including new PEX runs from the wall, fittings, new gas line, running a new 120 outlet, any roof repairs after installing the concentric venting kit above, mounting board for wall, any other unexpected/ancillary parts. Not to mention my time! A bit more complicated install for sure, but I was pretty confident I could figure it out.

PROS: Seemed like a great solution for nearly instant, unlimited hot water to our ~1,900 sq ft house. Appeal to me was to gain some space back in the garage, never run out of hot water, more efficient, I like new tech, and install would be good learning experience. I also liked the idea of the recirculation pump and the de-scaler.

However the wife didn't agree...

CONS: ~$2K price tag, we aren't going to be in this house more than 3-5 years, we've never run out of hot water, my gas bill has never exceeded $35/month, and even with the federal tax credit for tankless (30% of total install+ materials), still going to take a long time to make that back. More involved install, more parts needed. Also it seems critical to do the annual flushing, or you will have problems. We may keep this house as a rental when we move, just one more thing to do...

Ended up scrapping the whole tankless plan. Thanks to reddit, I picked up a 50-gal gas Bradford White from Ferguson Friday morning:

-Bradford White FVIR Defender Safety System® 50 gal. Tall 40 MBH Low NOx Atmospheric Vent Natural Gas Water Heater (model no. RG250T6N-394)
-$653

Lady working at Ferguson said it's the #1 water heater they sell to plumbers/contractors. No big box SKU worries, not paying extra for extended warranty (comes with 6-yr warranty).

All in for ~$800 after tax and a few supplies.

I finished the install and had hot water back on Friday night. Was not as plug and play as I thought it'd be (getting the old gas line off took everything I had), but overall not that difficult. Brushed off the soldering skills, and needed a buddy to lift it onto the pedestal. Hopefully good for another 20 yrs!

 

Looks like new/newer construction. Should be easy to work with this stuff then. I'd still recommend a corded sheet sander to do the bulk of the sanding. Plenty of outlets available inside for the boxes and she can sand the doors in the garage where you also have outlets. The baby M12 detail sander might do good for the outside detail of the cabinets but it looks like she/you would have to do some minor sanding by hand on the inside round over/cove. The cabinet molding will be a tougher one to sand for sure...might just be easier to find a primed version of it.

Props to her for wanting to mod perfectly fine cabinetry

 

I don't even want to think about it.

I ended up hiring out to Construction Resources to replace my garage door. It's turned into a fucking debacle, a comedy of errors. Operator on one door wasn't bolted correctly. Other door was installed crooked. Came out to fix both; didn't fix the operator per se, and reinstalled the door but now it's banging the shit outta the ceiling every time it closes. And now my opener, which I just installed new ~3yrs ago, is making really loud clacking noises when the door opens, for the first half of opening. It's physically something with the gearing, inside.

I just can't win. This is exactly why I don't hire other people to do work in my house. It's a garage door man (a pair). Ugh.

 

Just picked up a Greenworks 2100psi electric pressure washer on sale for $199.
Anyone familiar with this brand?

 

I have a corded dethatcher from GW. 5yrs old, works fine. Those sealed pressure washerers are ok entry level stuff, regardless of brand. I personally have a Karcher. Sealed units are non serviceable but will give you a solid 5yrs or so of light use.

 

Good to know, thanks.
Landed on this one for an all purpose pw, decks/ cars etc..

Still in the box so I'm open to other suggestions.

 

This one looks decent

$248 Kärcher Pressure Washer K2100PS, Max 2625 PSI, 3 Spray Nozzles, Detergent Tank, For Cars, Driveways, Siding, Patios, 2.07 max. GPM

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B8KYH8MN

 

I have the "cube" version of that...same thing, just isnt on wheels.

Look at his reviews...this comes from a car detailer perspective but it would also apply to you since you want GPM and PSI.

https://www.youtube.com/@imjoshv/videos

 

I have a greenworks. Had it for around 8 years or so now. It does well considering I only use it for washing the vehicle....and thats not every time either. Only thing it started doing a couple years back is it loses pressure while not using. So sometimes it'll turn on to pressure back up every 30 seconds. Sometimes every 3 mins or so, kinda varies. So while washing the vehicle, it'll kick on for 1/2 a second to pressure back up then turn back off. While using, it still does well and doesn't lose pressure/flow

 

Also, I just went and double checked....mine's the 1600psi model

 

Right on, thanks.

 

Flushed my mom’s tankless today, inlet screen was pretty clean and the water bucket afterwards wasn’t bad at all. Not sure if that pump I used had enough power but I let it run for 40 minutes or so

 

I just did this on mine for the first time, in its 9 years on our house, a couple weeks ago. Borrowed a pump, but will go buy another. It seemed to pump well into it, but coming out was a lot slower. The vinegar turned blue and there was a bit of sediment at the bottom of the bucket.

 

Ooof, Haymaker, that stuff packs a punch.

 

Have only used vinegar for this process. What is it in the haymaker that makes it a better choice?

 

I’m not sure exactly, maybe it’s more potent. It was under 20$ at the supply house

 

I'll try this one next time I flush for that price and see if I notice any difference.

 

I turn 51 next month; consider myself a relatively healthy individual, aside from having had three back surgeries. The last couple of years have been more and more difficult with aches, pains and general soreness. I spent yesterday installing the airbags on my truck and changing the oil. I woke up today and tried to rotate the tires but couldn’t get the rear tire off…….tried a sledgehammer and dead blow to knock it loose but no luck. I will take it to a local shop tomorrow. Raked out the flower beds and mowed the lawn today (mostly to pick up the leaves raked out of the beds). Pumped the water off the pool cover. Fixed a wheelbarrow handle that snapped. Cut some sawgrass down. Carried twenty retaining wall blocks from the back yard to the front yard to eventually line the front bed.
I certainly don’t recover like I used to…..and used to be able to do this stuff in my sleep. Getting old isn’t for whimps

 

Give us an update in 15 years.

 

At this rate not sure I will make it another 15!!!!

 

Oh, you will. It will feel like 5 years of time and 25 years of ailments.

 

Where is the inlet screen on that Rinnai?

 

Right above the cold side service valve

 

No way I was going to deal with this cluster f-. Hired a great contractor. This is our RV driveway before and after.