Home Projects (upkeep/repair/mods/cool sh*t/advice/question)

[em2nought]

Don't forget to take the sprinkler heads off,and clean the filter baskets underneath.

Good to know, thanks! I would not have done that.

Hmm, I feel the need to elaborate. Do this one at a time as some heads have different size filter baskets, and take note of the direction that the head is facing so you can get it pointed in the same direction when you put it back on. Also be careful not to cross-thread as the threads are pretty fine when putting them back on.

[Carpet_pissr]

Don't forget to take the sprinkler heads off,and clean the filter baskets underneath.

Good to know, thanks! I would not have done that.

Hmm, I feel the need to elaborate. Do this one at a time as some heads have different size filter baskets, and take note of the direction that the head is facing so you can get it pointed in the same direction when you put it back on. Also be careful not to cross-thread as the threads are pretty fine when putting them back on.

I think I am just going to have to start from scratch, as most if not all the heads seem to be damaged, or at the least not facing the way they were originally intended. I'm scared to ask how much it would cost for someone to come out and just do a once over, adjusting and repairing as necessary. Probably something I could easily do myself, but lack the time given all the other projects going on. I'm guessing that would be an entire Saturday project if I did it myself.

[Scuzz]

Don't forget to take the sprinkler heads off,and clean the filter baskets underneath.

Good to know, thanks! I would not have done that.

Hmm, I feel the need to elaborate. Do this one at a time as some heads have different size filter baskets, and take note of the direction that the head is facing so you can get it pointed in the same direction when you put it back on. Also be careful not to cross-thread as the threads are pretty fine when putting them back on.

I think I am just going to have to start from scratch, as most if not all the heads seem to be damaged, or at the least not facing the way they were originally intended. I'm scared to ask how much it would cost for someone to come out and just do a once over, adjusting and repairing as necessary. Probably something I could easily do myself, but lack the time given all the other projects going on. I'm guessing that would be an entire Saturday project if I did it myself.

My wife keeps telling me that she is okay with me just hiring somebody to re-do the sprinkler system but (1) that seems terribly lazy of me and (2) I think it would be more expensive than she thinks.

[Carpet_pissr]

LOL, see I am the opposite...I would take advantage of that kind of rare financial expenditure approval, PRONTO.

Problem is, we have a liquidity crunch right now due to so many freaking other similar type expenses, either contractor involved, or me doing them (materials, etc).

I guess that is one project that can wait, though. I wonder if rates go up when the temps climb?

[Carpet_pissr]

Update:

Numbers 2. and 3. on the previous page (swimming pool upkeep/maintenance/repair, and outdoor lighting maintenance and repair) are about to be the end of me.

I think I get something fixed, or I DO get something fixed in one of those systems, and something else fails a week later (or more frustrating, the same thing I just "fixed").

Today I ordered an actual book, the supposed "Bible" of pool maintenance, not the Kindle version, but a real, "made from pulp" book, so I can tackle some of the pump issues I have been having. I had been just calling one of the local pool companies with this or that, but that adds up quick, and it never seems to be less than a $180 service call. Pools are HARD. Just now getting to the point to where I can clean my filter, check and clean the pumps, and basically know what to do to make sure the water looks good. It's taken me three months just to get to that point.

As for the landscape lights, I had most of the them working simply by putting new bulbs in, even though there are a lot of cut cable ends all over the place, lots of cables above ground that shouldn't be, etc. That's another $550 job for some service company, or again, I can figure it out myself, do a half assed job, and spend 2 months worth of weekends troubleshooting and repairing what is about the least essential thing going in my house right now. Yes, they look nice when they are on, and I imagine the extra light adds some element of security, but again, landscape lighting? HARD.

[Vorret]

As for the landscape lights, I had most of the them working simply by putting new bulbs in, even though there are a lot of cut cable ends all over the place, lots of cables above ground that shouldn't be, etc. That's another $550 job for some service company, or again, I can figure it out myself, do a half assed job, and spend 2 months worth of weekends troubleshooting and repairing what is about the least essential thing going in my house right now. Yes, they look nice when they are on, and I imagine the extra light adds some element of security, but again, landscape lighting? HARD.

I want some of those ... I tried the solar one but I have too many trees so they shut down around 8ish on a nice day which sucks.
Sadly there's no way I'm doing electrical work, I'm too clumsy for that

[malchior]

I took some days off to tackle some of my projects in the new house. These are my notes from what I'm working off of.

Projects:

1) Replace outside landscape power receptacle and front light pole. These were both effectively destroyed by a tree that fell during Sandy. I was able to salvage the wiring to a point *past* my front walkway so I will not have to pull pavers and re-lay them. I have almost all the pieces I need to rebuild this except for PVC conduit, new light fixture and new pole. *I decided to re-scope this. I read through the pertinent codes and it looks like I should re-run the entire cable to the front light fixture to stay in code. I decided to just put a solar lantern out on a new pole and completed that already.

Code: Select all

Status: Ready to install outlet. Total Cost: ~$200 Estimated project time: 8 hours.

2) Repair electrical outlet by pool. There is a GFCI outlet attached to retaining wall adjacent to pool. Known bad during the house/pool inspection; GFCI in a surface mount box with no weather protection. Power is present coming into and out of box (light fixture on SW corner of pool likely downstream from outlet). I suspect that moron likely removed wiring from GFCI and just tied lines coming and in and out of box to provide the power to the fixture.

Code: Select all

Status: Completed. Confirmed wire nuts used to bypass outlet. Replaced outlet and installed weatherproof enclosure. Total cost: ~$20. Estimated time: 30 minutes. Actual time: 30 minutes.

3) Repair lighting on pool deck. 1 of 3 fixtures operational on pool deck. 4th position was discovered that is live when pool light switch activated but is just wire protruding from conduit. Probably need electrician to come out and trace/install new wiring to 2 positions.

Code: Select all

Status: On hold pending pool disposition. Approximate cost of $1000 likely.

4) Find pool leak and assess cost to repair. Water level is holding currently but was observed falling fast during the fall. Removing winterizing plugs one by one to try to isolate possible plumbing issue. In contact with Jeff.

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Status: Ongoing. All plugs have been removed. 3 lbs. of shock added 4/9/13. Water above mark from 4/9/2013 due to heavy rainfall. Jeff believes the leak may show back up once we start up the pump. Source of leak probably found to be bad O-ring in chlorinator!!!!!!! Need to replace O-ring and pump basket gasket. --Estimated cost: $60 in parts --Estimated Time: 7 days to clean

5) Startup/Repair sprinkler system. Possibly damaged during Sandy. Sprinkler expert coming 4/10/13 to start up system and inspect system.

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Status: Complete. Visited by sprinkler company. Estimated cost: $60 if no damage to equipment. 2 sprinkler heads cracked by falling trees plus 1 additional replaced due to bad coverage. Actual cost: $195.

6) Repair all existing grass areas/Create new grass area where tree fell in front yard. Significant damage from Sandy where trees/branches fell. Need to re-seed significant portions of backyard. Top soil required where tree fell.

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Status: Ongoing. Removed old ground cover that surrounded fallen tree and all ground up wood. Started removing root system. New grass pending completion of ground preparation and electrical work from project 1.

7) Install motion lighting on left side of garage (garbage can storage and pool gate). Will likely extend existing garage door electrical circuit to service the fixture. Estimate 10 - 15 feet of wire.

Code: Select all

Status: Need materials. Estimate cost: $150. Estimate time: 4 hours.

Edit: Updated status 5/4/2013

[PLW]

There should be a law against wallpapering a bathroom.

I have a friend who bought a house in rural Wisconsin that had shag carpeting in the master bathroom. On the walls.

Soundproofing?

[malchior]

Anyone got any tips to removing large roots from a fallen tree? The stump was ground and a lot of the area around it but I am doing ground prep for grass planting and found some big roots (approximately 7 or 8 inches around) pretty far out from where the stump was. I'd like to match the height of an adjacent grass which means they have to go. I'm guessing axe but hoping there is an easier way.

[stessier]

I'm guessing axe but hoping there is an easier way.

Fire? Laser?

Lime - but it would take a long while.

[rshetts2]

I'm guessing axe but hoping there is an easier way.

Fire? Laser?

Lime - but it would take a long while.

a friend of mine just dealt with this and he used fire. He also used the axe occasionally, to loosen things up and make it burn faster.

[LordMortis]

If you are looking for something natural then excess standing water plus things that attract things that cause decay, ie, good composting which means packing green and food waste around the roots.

If they annoyed me, I'd have just ground them down when I ground the stump, which is what I did when the city came and cut my Ash down and left the stump there for years on end until I get annoyed waiting for them to remove it.

[Carpet_pissr]

Anyone got any tips to removing large roots from a fallen tree? The stump was ground and a lot of the area around it but I am doing ground prep for grass planting and found some big roots (approximately 7 or 8 inches around) pretty far out from where the stump was. I'd like to match the height of an adjacent grass which means they have to go. I'm guessing axe but hoping there is an easier way.

My preferred tool of destruction for old tree roots is the mattock, rather than the axe. Hell, it's my preferred tool for almost any yard related task when it comes to digging or cutting:



And don't mess around with the small ones...for beefy tasks like root destruction, you want the biggest, heaviest one you can find. I actually have a mini version of my "big monster" as my kids call it, but I rarely use it, even for small tasks, just because I am so used to the weight and feel of the bigger one.

Are the roots above the ground?

[malchior]

Are the roots above the ground?

Funny enough I was just deciding on a new mattock so I think this will be the way to go. The roots were about 2 inches down in the soil. I need to cut out enough to lower the entire area about 4 inches to match the lawn adjacent. The tree was in this area and was generally mounded up a little bit. I've turned over the soil in most of the area already but the roots are really killing me now.

Basically since it was stump ground I read that removing all the wood chips and left over wood is important because the decomposition process will steal N from the soil and cause issues starting up grass there. So I raked up and transported the majority of the chips and about an inch of the existing soil. There was mulch there previously and they had a tarp down. So I effectively just cleared the tarp and pulled it up. So once I remove the roots, my plan is to till what was under the tarp and fill in with top soil any area that is iffy. Especially around where the root ball was which is going to be settling for awhile. The roots are basically in a 1/6 of the area nearest to the Belgian blocks that make up the edge of the driveway. So I could just edge around them and fill it with rocks but that is sort of lazy so I'd like to remove them.

a friend of mine just dealt with this and he used fire. He also used the axe occasionally, to loosen things up and make it burn faster.

This would have been my preferred route but it is about 2 feet from the sidewalk and figure fire there would be unwelcome by neighbors and the authorities alike.

[Carpet_pissr]

Basically since it was stump ground I read that removing all the wood chips and left over wood is important because the decomposition process will steal N from the soil and cause issues starting up grass there. So I raked up and transported the majority of the chips and about an inch of the existing soil.

Oooo, glad you mentioned that. I had two huge pine trees cut in my front yard, stumps were ground, and the chips have been sitting there mounded up for about 2 months now. I will also be sodding after I clean up the tree remains, and I assume that I will have big roots to deal with as well once I get all the chips up.

Note on that image of the mattock I posted, the light end is a little different than the one I have, and I would recommend finding a mattock with a head like this instead:



...since that smaller/thinner end is specifically for cutting roots (the first pic I posted looks more like the end of an awl instead of a thick, short blade), though probably not going to work on 7" thick roots.

It does work GREAT on underground bamboo roots though.

[Freezer-TPF-]

So during some heavy rain this morning I heard a drip, drip, drip and discovered water dripping through the ceiling exhaust fan in one of the upstairs bathrooms. Since it occurred during rain (and slowed to a stop as the rain subsided), I would think that would almost have to be caused by a leak around where the exhaust pipe goes out through the roof, does that sound right? I hope that's all it is.

[malchior]

So during some heavy rain this morning I heard a drip, drip, drip and discovered water dripping through the ceiling exhaust fan in one of the upstairs bathrooms. Since it occurred during rain (and slowed to a stop as the rain subsided), I would think that would almost have to be caused by a leak around where the exhaust pipe goes out through the roof, does that sounds right? I hope that's all it is.

You are going to have to go look. The flashing around the vent is a common culprit though so it isn't a bad bet. Is it straight down into the exhaust fan or does it turn? It could still run along a turn but you could just have a leak somewhere and the fan is where it pooled.

[Freezer-TPF-]

Yeah, I should peek in the attic (hope there are no monsters up there) and look for obvious clues in case it may be collecting from somewhere else (good idea, thanks), though it's not something I would actually try to fix myself. Looks like no rain for the next several days, so that should be time to find a reputable place to come fix the problem.

[Carpet_pissr]

I would think that would almost have to be caused by a leak around where the exhaust pipe goes out through the roof, does that sound right?

I would bet a large sum of money that's the origin. Should be an easy fix - might even be as trivial as the caulking around the vent deteriorated or pulled away.

I mean, it COULD be a shingle that has come loose somewhere, or a nail under a shingle elsewhere, but if it was dripping through the ceiling exhaust in your bathroom, yeah...exhaust vent leak.

[Default]

I'm guessing axe but hoping there is an easier way.

Fire? Laser?

Lime - but it would take a long while.

a friend of mine just dealt with this and he used fire. He also used the axe occasionally, to loosen things up and make it burn faster.

Use a long blade.

[Freezer-TPF-]

So during some heavy rain this morning I heard a drip, drip, drip and discovered water dripping through the ceiling exhaust fan in one of the upstairs bathrooms. Since it occurred during rain (and slowed to a stop as the rain subsided), I would think that would almost have to be caused by a leak around where the exhaust pipe goes out through the roof, does that sounds right? I hope that's all it is.

You are going to have to go look. The flashing around the vent is a common culprit though so it isn't a bad bet. Is it straight down into the exhaust fan or does it turn? It could still run along a turn but you could just have a leak somewhere and the fan is where it pooled.

Okay, so the roofer came by yesterday to assess the situation in the attic and on the roof. The good news is that I do not need a new roof, just some repairs and maybe some modifications. We found out that the bathroom fan exhausts just run up to the ridge vent instead of fully venting through the roof, which is not ideal but apparently not uncommon as a construction shortcut. The ridge vent is also a bit banged up in some places where it is nailed to the roof, such that a driven rain can probably back up in there a bit and if it then drips down the bathroom fan exhausts that are running up there, there's the leak. There are also maybe 10-12 shingles that have nail pops or need to be repaired/resecured, and the collar around the plumbing exhaust is fried and cracked and needs to be replaced. The good news is that the overall roof is in pretty good shape for its age (19 years) and should last 3-5 years before replacement is needed.

So what the guy wanted to do was install two new exhaust vents in the roof for the bathroom fans and then make those connections in the attic so they would be 100% properly vented to the outside instead of just going up to the ridge vent. Also, since we have an attic fan that runs on a thermostat (set at 110 degrees, which he said was correct for our climate), he said that having that fan and the ridge vent was not ideal since when the fan runs, it is likely to just pull outside air from the ridge vent on the top of the roof (instead of the attic or soffit vents) and then back out, creating a short path and not helping much to cool a hot attic (luckily, my PC knowledge helped me make sense of the airflow issue).

Anyway, so he also wanted to just remove the ridge vent, leaving only the attic fan. That initially made sense, but the more I think about it the more I think removing the ridge vent is a bad idea since that is a prime component of the attic ventilation design (outside air comes up through the soffit vents and exits through the ridge vent at the top) and the attic fan will only run if it gets hot enough. If we remove the ridge vent and just close up the top, then we have no ventilation at the top of the roof unless the fan is running, which will only be on warm days.

I've provided a deposit but the work has not been scheduled. I want to call him back today and ask him whether removing the ridge vent will seriously compromise the ventilation up there. It seems better just to repair/replace it since from what I've read the soffit/ridge vent airflow setup is what most newer houses use and seems to be effective (plus it works all the time vs. an attic fan that only runs when it is particularly warm). Also, if we can get the ridge vent repaired properly, I'm tempted just to leave the bathroom exhausts as they are (though I understand that running them fully through a regular roof exhaust vent is the proper way).

Any thoughts from more experienced folks?

[WPD]

We have 2 bedrooms and 2 baths on the same circuit and the circuit decided to trip on Friday morning when I was getting ready to take a shower in the 1 bath (light and fan on) while my wife had the other bathroom light on. I reset it, started my shower and it tripped again. Reset it again finishing. Rest of the day I had no problems, running home office stuff in the second bedroom with the lights on, taking a shower again after a run with home office stuff still running, did some stuff in the 2nd bathroom while the 2 bedroom lights were on..

Same thing Saturday morning, I get ready to take a shower, my wife starts getting ready in the other bathroom and the circuit trips again. Rest of the day, once again no problems.

Sunday night my wife leaves on the second bathroom light, I have on the 2nd bedroom light, and she takes a shower in the first bathroom. No problems!

I tried re-creating the trip condition with only the bathroom lights/fan running but haven't been able to.

I have a service appointment with an electrician scheduled for tomorrow, but if we can't recreate the problem I'm not sure what the worth will be?

The lights in the bathroom combined are around 6A on a 15A circuit..

[WPD]

We have 2 bedrooms and 2 baths on the same circuit and the circuit decided to trip on Friday morning when I was getting ready to take a shower in the 1 bath (light and fan on) while my wife had the other bathroom light on. I reset it, started my shower and it tripped again. Reset it again finishing. Rest of the day I had no problems, running home office stuff in the second bedroom with the lights on, taking a shower again after a run with home office stuff still running, did some stuff in the 2nd bathroom while the 2 bedroom lights were on..

Same thing Saturday morning, I get ready to take a shower, my wife starts getting ready in the other bathroom and the circuit trips again. Rest of the day, once again no problems.

Sunday night my wife leaves on the second bathroom light, I have on the 2nd bedroom light, and she takes a shower in the first bathroom. No problems!

I tried re-creating the trip condition with only the bathroom lights/fan running but haven't been able to.

I have a service appointment with an electrician scheduled for tomorrow, but if we can't recreate the problem I'm not sure what the worth will be?

The lights in the bathroom combined are around 6A on a 15A circuit..

Can't recreate with or without the electrician here. He *thinks* it may be because the circuit is getting overloaded, but on the other hand we turned everything on yesterday that is on the circuit and it did not cut off.

So

[Freezer-TPF-]

So during some heavy rain this morning I heard a drip, drip, drip and discovered water dripping through the ceiling exhaust fan in one of the upstairs bathrooms. Since it occurred during rain (and slowed to a stop as the rain subsided), I would think that would almost have to be caused by a leak around where the exhaust pipe goes out through the roof, does that sounds right? I hope that's all it is.

You are going to have to go look. The flashing around the vent is a common culprit though so it isn't a bad bet. Is it straight down into the exhaust fan or does it turn? It could still run along a turn but you could just have a leak somewhere and the fan is where it pooled.

Okay, so the roofer came by yesterday to assess the situation in the attic and on the roof. The good news is that I do not need a new roof, just some repairs and maybe some modifications. We found out that the bathroom fan exhausts just run up to the ridge vent instead of fully venting through the roof, which is not ideal but apparently not uncommon as a construction shortcut. The ridge vent is also a bit banged up in some places where it is nailed to the roof, such that a driven rain can probably back up in there a bit and if it then drips down the bathroom fan exhausts that are running up there, there's the leak. There are also maybe 10-12 shingles that have nail pops or need to be repaired/resecured, and the collar around the plumbing exhaust is fried and cracked and needs to be replaced. The good news is that the overall roof is in pretty good shape for its age (19 years) and should last 3-5 years before replacement is needed.

So what the guy wanted to do was install two new exhaust vents in the roof for the bathroom fans and then make those connections in the attic so they would be 100% properly vented to the outside instead of just going up to the ridge vent. Also, since we have an attic fan that runs on a thermostat (set at 110 degrees, which he said was correct for our climate), he said that having that fan and the ridge vent was not ideal since when the fan runs, it is likely to just pull outside air from the ridge vent on the top of the roof (instead of the attic or soffit vents) and then back out, creating a short path and not helping much to cool a hot attic (luckily, my PC knowledge helped me make sense of the airflow issue).

Anyway, so he also wanted to just remove the ridge vent, leaving only the attic fan. That initially made sense, but the more I think about it the more I think removing the ridge vent is a bad idea since that is a prime component of the attic ventilation design (outside air comes up through the soffit vents and exits through the ridge vent at the top) and the attic fan will only run if it gets hot enough. If we remove the ridge vent and just close up the top, then we have no ventilation at the top of the roof unless the fan is running, which will only be on warm days.

I've provided a deposit but the work has not been scheduled. I want to call him back today and ask him whether removing the ridge vent will seriously compromise the ventilation up there. It seems better just to repair/replace it since from what I've read the soffit/ridge vent airflow setup is what most newer houses use and seems to be effective (plus it works all the time vs. an attic fan that only runs when it is particularly warm). Also, if we can get the ridge vent repaired properly, I'm tempted just to leave the bathroom exhausts as they are (though I understand that running them fully through a regular roof exhaust vent is the proper way).

Any thoughts from more experienced folks?

Well, the roofing crew is coming tomorrow to do the repairs, including replacing the ridge vent with a better one, fixing the collar around the plumbing vent, installing two new bathroom exhaust fan vents on the roof (which the builder should have done in the first place--I hate the idea of cutting into the roof, but I'm sure they'll do it right and that's much better than showering the attic with moist bathroom air), and fixing some various damaged shingles, nail pops, etc. After all that is complete, they will schedule someone to come inside on another day to actually connect the ducting in the attic from our bathroom fans to the new, proper roof exhaust vents. We don't have to be here for the outside work, and they are supposed to clean up so well that when we come home we will never know they were here (except for the photos they will send of the completed work, which is nice since it's tough to see our back roof very well).

Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly.

[Carpet_pissr]

I'm scared to even ask how much they are charging for all that.

The only home repair/replace project that scares me more than HVAC is the roof. Serious dough (to replace at least).

[Freezer-TPF-]

I'm scared to even ask how much they are charging for all that.

The only home repair/replace project that scares me more than HVAC is the roof. Serious dough (to replace at least).

We just have a medium-sized townhouse, so the cost for getting our roof up to par is probably not as bad as you think, and certainly cheaper than having to deal with water damage in the attic/ceilings later on. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.

Our place is coming up on 19 years old and still has the original roof and furnace, so I hear you on that. In the next few years we probably also need to redo our deck, probably replace the water heater, maybe some new sliding glass doors. I'm quite thankful now for the tax benefits of owning. It made a huge difference in our return this year.

[malchior]

I had some good news for once last night about my pool. A little backstory -- we got the pool in a very bad place at the end of the summer and when I tried to clear it I found that it was leaking at a fairly high rate. I would lose prime overnight. We had our pool expert (family friend who used to run a commercial pool outfit) over last night and we identified a few problems including the likely source of the leak. I had pulled all the winter plugs out and the water level did not drop so we suspected plumbing on the return side of the pump. And indeed we found it. If the multi-port valve on the return is anywhere but all open then the additional back pressure causes the chlorinator to leak huge amounts of water. It likely has a bad O-ring which I will get today. Prior to Sandy there was a "ghetto" enclosure and it hid the chlorinator from me so I couldn't see that it was leaking. I ran the pump overnight and lost zero water. I'm completely psyched. I had been warned that digging through the pool deck might be on the table so this is beyond good news. This frees up a ton of money I was holding in reserve for pool repairs.

[Octavious]

Madelynn is brushing up on her back stroke.

[Freezer-TPF-]

Roof repairs are complete without incident. Yay. And a pox on builders who do not do the job right in the first place.

[Lassr]

My chore for the next few weekends is to build 2 raised garden beds.

Install railing on the back porch since we had a wild hair to just rip out the screen and framing a few weeks back. Opened back up like it was when we built the house. All the screen did was trap the pollen inside making it a bitch to clean. With it open we just blast it with a hose.

Also have to put a new liner down in the fish pond since my dog tore a hole in the other one.

I love projects.

[Carpet_pissr]

All the screen did was trap the pollen inside making it a bitch to clean. With it open we just blast it with a hose.

I just cleaned the pollen from our screened in porch after much procrastinating and dreading. Completely yellow with pollen. This porch has curtains, furniture (wicker!), but fortunately has the same flooring as the deck, which is a PVC composite material. I tried cleaning with a shop vac. Nope. Was not powerful enough suction to get the sticky pollen off.

Plan B was hose. Nope....still left a lot of residue.

Plan C: pressure washer, and Ta DA! I also took the opportunity to take the spill stains, grime and mold or whatnot from the PVC. Hope I didn't damage it, but it seems fine.

Caked on pollen is truly a bitch, but now I know its nemesis, so, yeah, I feel like kind of a bad ass now.

[Lassr]

All the screen did was trap the pollen inside making it a bitch to clean. With it open we just blast it with a hose.

I just cleaned the pollen from our screened in porch after much procrastinating and dreading. Completely yellow with pollen. This porch has curtains, furniture (wicker!), but fortunately has the same flooring as the deck, which is a PVC composite material. I tried cleaning with a shop vac. Nope. Was not powerful enough suction to get the sticky pollen off.

Plan B was hose. Nope....still left a lot of residue.

Plan C: pressure washer, and Ta DA! I also took the opportunity to take the spill stains, grime and mold or whatnot from the PVC. Hope I didn't damage it, but it seems fine.

Caked on pollen is truly a bitch, but now I know its nemesis, so, yeah, I feel like kind of a bad ass now.

We have a fireman nozzle on our hose for extra pressure and that seems to work now that the screen is down.

[silverjon]

We busted out the pressure washer today to blast whatever accumulated crud off of the shipping crate that is ostensibly my garden tool shed, so I could finally slap a few coats of deck stain on it. Tomorrow, we're pivoting that sucker so the long side runs along the fence instead of jutting out into the yard. I'm probably going to paint the interior.

On a related note, if you're working with latex or acrylic finishes and don't finish your project in a single day, you can put plastic wrap around your brush so you don't have to clean it just to pick it up and start working again the next day. A paint tray with a roller can be popped into a plastic grocery bag overnight. I'd be reluctant to do this with anything requiring solvent cleanup rather than water though.

[Default]

Old roofer's trick- put your solvent-based paintbrush into a container of water. The oil based paint won't dry out.

Looking at a project house. 65K for a 4 BR, 2000 square foot single. I am assuming that it's going to need everything from a new roof on down. Hard to beat a potential mortgage with monthly payments lower than my car.

[silverjon]

That's a cool tip. Thanks! My can of free paint for the shed interior turns out to be an alkyd, so I'll have a chance to try it out.

[malchior]

This was a good weekend for yard work. I put down about 4.5 cubic yards of mulch and finished off the front and left side of the house after an initial 2 cubic yards last week. It had been neglected by the previous owner for several years and needed a full 3" cover. I probably have some spots on the right side of the house that needs another 1.5 yards then I'm good. The backyard probably needs another 3 yards and then I'm set. A lot of work but it looks much better and should reduce weeding significantly.

I also got the pool from green to a light blue but it is very cloudy. I'm looking at a week of filtration at least I think. Not that clarity is that important right now since the water temp is still only 56 degrees. It'll be interesting to see if we can even use it on memorial day weekend or not.

[Isgrimnur]

Dad and I changed out the kitchen faucet yesterday. Went off without any real problems, despite the fact that the apartment sink is about as sturdy as a pickle jar lid.

After pulling the front off the dryer and looking at what it would take to try and pull the heating element, he called it off and gave me money to call a professional. It's not often that he admits that he's over his head, but when he does, I'm more than willing to follow his lead.

[Carpet_pissr]

This was a good weekend for yard work. I put down about 4.5 cubic yards of mulch and finished off the front and left side of the house after an initial 2 cubic yards last week. It had been neglected by the previous owner for several years and needed a full 3" cover. I probably have some spots on the right side of the house that needs another 1.5 yards then I'm good. The backyard probably needs another 3 yards and then I'm set. A lot of work but it looks much better and should reduce weeding significantly.

I also got the pool from green to a light blue but it is very cloudy. I'm looking at a week of filtration at least I think. Not that clarity is that important right now since the water temp is still only 56 degrees. It'll be interesting to see if we can even use it on memorial day weekend or not.

You're freaking me out, man. We must be living in parallel universes, as this is about the third post of yours that I read and think "is someone in my head and writing posts about my shit?!"

I did the exact same things this weekend, down to getting the pool from green to blue, and it being around 56 degrees (due to my recent adventures in draining and refilling said pool). Definitely a chilly start to May. Kids are getting antsy wanting to go swim.

[morlac]

Anyone know a good arsonist? I'm about $30,000 - $40,000 upside down on a townhouse I need to sell and burning the fucker down seems to be about my best remaining option.

[Lassr]

My chore for the next few weekends is to build 2 raised garden beds.

Install railing on the back porch since we had a wild hair to just rip out the screen and framing a few weeks back. Opened back up like it was when we built the house. All the screen did was trap the pollen inside making it a bitch to clean. With it open we just blast it with a hose.

Also have to put a new liner down in the fish pond since my dog tore a hole in the other one.

I love projects.

2 raised beds done but no dirt in them yet.

bought the lumber for the railing but my wife wants the 4 by 4 posts wrapped with other wood to make them look better so I have to do that before putting up the rails.

Got the old liner out of the pond, raised the south side of the pond so the water level can be even all the way around and then it started to rain, and it is still raining. 6" of rain so far. SO I have water in my pond without the liner down. Hope it soaks into the ground so I do not have to bail it out.

Here is the pond before my dog tore a hole in it by knocking the rocks off into it. New pond will have a better edge to prevents rocks from falling in and will be 8" inches deeper. Then we will establish plants and add fish soon hopefully.