2024: What are you doing today?

[jaybee]

Tony, that looks like a pretty presentable place with a very acceptable shop building once you get it to move in condition.

[WZ JUNK]

Tony, good decision.  Just don't try to do all the work in one day.  My youngest brother bought a motorhome a couple of years ago and then they sold their house.  They have been traveling a lot but they are wearing down now.  They are looking for something like you found.  I never wanted to move or change location.  We have been here 45 years and the house was paid off 30 years ago. There are 11 houses on my street and 5 of those families have been here longer than us. 

[kb426]

O&S had what should have been a simple set of tasks. The 1st was to change oil in a v6 charger. Whoever did the last change overtightened the drain plug. I have a new oil pan on the way. They are held on with silicone. I had a very strong effort to get the silicone broke loose on one corner. It's draining out as time goes. 2nd was to replace the front struts. The easiest way to do this is to remove the upper a arm from the spindle. I watched a video and saw a guy smack it with a hammer with lots of force. I have an aversion to using hammers. After trying everything else, I wacked it with a sledge. I managed to get them loose and finish the replacement. There are some fasteners that torque to 125 lbs. The wheels are 138 lbs. I have sore spots. LOL. The oil pan should arrive in the morning and if things go well, an hour should complete the oil change. I've been removing loose paint on the house getting ready to paint. I'm using the blow nozzle and the air compressor. It's working quite well. 

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I am the southwest version of O&S  it seems on this house work.  I took about 80% of the kitchen out 2 weeks ago. The area had not been cleaned in many years. Took the cabinet doors off. Set them on edge on the ceramic tile floor.  Later as you pickup the doors to take them outside...  The doors are stuck to the floor from oil and grease from cooking.  LOL 

Behind the cabinets and sheet rock? Poor workmanship everywhere. Wires spliced together and taped up. Abandoned 120 volt lines. Electrical boxes taped and sheet rock mud over with wires still inside.  Grounds not hooked up. Water lines moved poorly.  Fridge water line was routed inside a wall. Up and over to the kitchen ceiling , then back to the first wall. 2 spices in the 1/4 inch water line.  One was leaking for a while

We are doing small tasks one day, major task the next. Etc...  Today was a new gas water heater install.  Did Tony buy enough bits to finish the job?  Nope.  I need a length of vent tube , since the old piece is 2 inches short for new water heater. So the water heater is installed. Full of water. Gas connected, Not turned on because of vent stack.  W-heater is in small mechanical room in middle of house.

2 days ago: it was a new dryer vent install.. THen utility sink, faucet and shut off valves install.  Washer water  valve assembly install.  Just to get the laundry area going from slap A worn out everything.

Wife has been cleaning..  Hall way light sconces?? Take the glass off, there is minimum of 1/4 inch of dust and dirt on everything.  Ceiling fans had not been cleaned in 10 yrs I guess?

One bathroom had carpet in it near shower.  Wife hates carpet in a bathroom. Carpet was rough condition,  She ripped out the carpet, tack strips and all. Shower - tub was heavy encrusted with calcium.. Wife used CLR on that.  Soaked paper towels to lay on the calcium and she removed a large amount..

 

[kb426]

Tony, I used Castrol superclean straight from the bottle to remove grease and smoke. There might be something better but I didn't find it. I would remove everything I could and put it in a drive and spray it and hose it off. I know the house won't be done until it is but I think you have a good project. Everything you do will make it better.

[sirstude]

I gave my wife superclean for the stove vent, she loves how well it works.

[58 Yeoman]

One step forward, two steps back.  I decided to put green LED's in the dash lights on the Corvair.  Could reach all, but couldn't get one back in.  Vair experts said to pull the dash panel, it's easier.  Well, I did.  Figured while it was out, I'd paint the panel, and install a vacuum gauge that's been sitting on the shelf, into the center empty pod where the clock should be.  I'm not paying over $300 for a clock.  Panel turned out well, with a couple small runs, but they're at the bottom, and this isn't a restored car anyway. Decided to paint the rest of the dash also, since the main panel was out.

Getting the glove box door off was fun, as the arm that holds it level doesn't come off the door, and you have to really finangle the door to remove it from the dash. Well, that cardboard box is beat after so many years, so ordered a new one for $43, and those two little rubber bumpers that the door closes against. A pair for $8.  Good grief.  Total with shipping is $70.

Today, ran 1/4" copper tubing to the engine along the left door sill, and behind the rear seat. Had to drill one hole, and made sure I didn't hit anything.  I bought two feet of vacuum line at O'Reilly's today at $5 per foot with military discount.  Geez, it's only rubber, guys.

Got the lines connected and went to start the car to see how the vacuum gauge worked...no go.  Lights worked.  Went  back and made sure battery was tight. It was. Tried again, still no go.  Go back to engine and smoke is released from a main wire. Dammit. Crawl under car. Nope, I didn't hit anything.  Must be under the dash. Double dammit.  Maybe tomorrow.  I just can't seem to get ahead on this car.

Bill, I watched a video last week about Ford engines where the guy said their oil pans are "one use" only, and the oil pump pickup is plastic, which is connected to the oil pump at the front of the engine driven by a rubber belt.

Tony, after my brother died last year, we had to clean up his house to sell.  He was a very heavy smoker, and everything was covered in a heavy layer of tar or nicotine.  We had to scrap electronic components because they were jammed up and wouldn't run.  We thought the globes on the wall lamps were amber until we washed them; they were white.  He had a wooden roll top secretary desk that my wife sprayed with Murphy's Oil soap to clean it.  Didn't work.  She had to scrape the thick stuff off.  We scrapped that too.  I don't know how people can live like that.

He was a good electrician.  He wired my whole new house in 1975, and rewired my after divorce house in 1999.  His house was a different story.  We never did find what some switches were for and some outlets didn't work.

Such is life, I guess.

I'm going to look for that Castrol cleaner and give it a try.

Anyone heard how Frank is doing?

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Got the water heater fired up after the vent stack was hooked up. Hooked up the relief valve tube also.  Works as it should. THe olde w-heater was 14 yrs old. It did not heat well.  LOL

I try to spend an hour or so in the yards every other day. Today I dug up more small stumps from bushes.  I have dug up about a dozen so far.  I have a couple more bushes to "lightly trim" with the F350 truck. 

I forgot a PEX fitting at Home Depot this morning. 1 hour drive each way.  Wife told me to check the local hardware store 1.5 miles away.  I was skeptical. I have not found PEX fittings in local ACE or others in Sun City AZ.. This place today: Walts Hardware... Has 20 pounds of stuff in a 10 pound building. Its organized, clean. Staff was quick to help. THey had the fitting I needed.

Phil:  Sounds like fun on the Corvair.

[58 Yeoman]

Tony, don't feel bad about things needing fixing on the house.  I've watched videos on FB where home inspectors are checking new million dollar plus homes that are pitifully built.  Soffit vents nailed to soffits with no holes cut into the soffit for air to vent, or vents on the roofs nailed right to the shingles.  Water leaks, electrical problems, one where when he flushed a toilet, it filled the shower drain.  A lot of them are in Texas.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Tony, don't feel bad about things needing fixing on the house.  I've watched videos on FB where home inspectors are checking new million dollar plus homes that are pitifully built.  Soffit vents nailed to soffits with no holes cut into the soffit for air to vent, or vents on the roofs nailed right to the shingles.  Water leaks, electrical problems, one where when he flushed a toilet, it filled the shower drain.  A lot of them are in Texas.

Phil; I hear you on new homes quality.  Here in Arizona we have an inspector Cyril (Cy) Porter.. He has a social media site CyFyhi dot com  he puts up short videos of new homes he has inspected with millions of views. Cy seems like a straight shooter from the videos I have watched

Taylor Morrison Homes just sued Cy to shut him up.  Cy won in court. The judge found no falsehoods in Cy's videos.  Not sure how far this action will go.

This house we bought has many issues.. Many.  We had it inspected. Had the drain lines video camera inspected.

We went into this with our eyes wide open. ... I think.  LOL

[58 Yeoman]

We didn't have our house inspected, and it's had some weird things pop up.  Some things I think were done by the previous owner that I know, and he's not the smartest kid on the block.  Other things are in the design of the house, which was built in 1979.  We're having a Generac backup generator installed this year, and the electric meter is on the back wall of the house, and the conduit goes under the floor of the garage to the basement, making it harder for the installer to put the transfer switch down there.  He's decided to install it outside next to the meter box, run the conduit through the wall, over a door, back down to the floor and through the wall again to the outside to the gennie.

I checked out the Corvair today, and my copper tubing didn't hit any wiring. About 6" of 10 gauge wiring melted, then just stopped.  Don't know why.  I removed the voltage reg to see if the points maybe stuck, but they were okay.  Repaired the wire and went to start the car, and it wouldn't start (it's been a long time).  Now what?  Half tank of gas.  I pulled the air cleaners and looked, no gas in the carbs.  Dumped some in, and the engine finally started.  Whew!  For a minute there, I thought the fuel pump died.  New pumps have been junk for the last 20 years, so owners have been going electric.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

A slight fear is arriving on cordless tool batterys.  My Milwaukee batterys are 5.5 years old. One battery is really dropping off the chart. LOL I can use it, charge it, etc.  The life cycle is about half now in use on the same tools.

With so many counterfeit batterys on the market , it is a tough thing to purchase?  I looked at a discount counter at Home Depot yesterday.  A Dewalt 4ah battery was $119.00 on discount.

I own Dewalt and Milwaukee cordless power tools.  Some times you can buy a new tool ground with 4 or 5ah battery for near the same cost as a battery by its self.

[enjenjo]

I have had several batteries rebuilt by Battery Wholesale. So far I have not had any of them fail with some of them over four years old.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

About 2 weeks ago , we learn that No USPS mail was coming to our house.  We had only received 1 letter here.  Then an Amazon package on USPS was listed as Undeliverable because "Invalid address or No such person"

We visit the local USPS office.  We were told the address was listed as "Unoccupied"  and she said we will change that so your mail is delivered.. We receive that Amazon package and mail that the USPS office was holding.

About 8 days later (stil no mail) My wife's package is listed the same "Invalid address" in USPS tracking.

Next visit to USPS we are told " You don not have a mail box at the street, It is on the house.  We can not deliver to that box on the house"  LOL  My wife asks the obvious question.." Why were we not told this many days ago?  We could have installed a mail box by now.

So, we bought a large mail box.  I built a stand to proper height, proper numbers and mounted it in a location similar to many neighbors.

The carrier will inspect our mail box and then we will learn if we can have mail delivered here.  Very frustrating

 

[kb426]

Tony, I hear that story a lot. In the decades before, many times the carrier would not follow the rules about boxes but as the older employees have left, the newer ones are instructed to follow them explicitly. When I moved into my house, the mailman told me that without a box, any mail that was addressed to it would be thrown away. I put up a box even though I had a po box. In between both addresses, I usually get my mail.