Beetlenut
New member
Maybe they were thinking they could knock out a little electrical work WHILE they showered!
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DIY Thread
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
Maybe they were thinking they could knock out a little electrical work WHILE they showered!
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2001
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How so? I don't really see the problem...
I'm pretty proud of my latest electrical install. What do you guys think?
Reminds me of my stay at the Gorham Motor Inn this past winter. Exposed wires on the floor right in front of the bath tub and exposed wires in the light fixture in the bath tub.
andyzee
New member
I'm pretty proud of my latest electrical install. What do you guys think?
Sad part is, I don't think he's kidding :roll:
Marc
New member
Just finished my new bulkhead doors.... I'll put up a picture later. After all the hardware is on.
hammer
Active member
Well, after putting it off for years (yes, years), my VDW and I finally put the kitchen wall tiles up over the past few days. For such a small area, it was a lot of work...:roll:
After doing a practice cut with the Dremel, I decided to just go out and get the cheap $89 wet saw at Home Depot. Ended up being the best decision I could have made...with the large number of cuts (over 45 tiles), it would have taken forever otherwise. The wet saw also made nice clean cuts, and I was quite pleased with how well it worked. I didn't realize how precise the cuts around the outlets and wall switch needed to be...the tiles needed to be close enough so that I could remount the switch and plugs flush with the tile.
Hoping to grout this weekend. Hope that will take a lot less time than putting the tiles up.
Edit: Did the grout on 31 December...not happy with how it came out, not very smooth despite following the instructions. Think we made the mix too dry. Smoothed it out as best we could and let it go at that. Still on the walls a few months later so I guess we can't complain.
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hammer
Active member
Bump...new "project"...
Went to Home Depot on Sunday and picked up new faucets to replace the 14YO ones in the kitchen and bathrooms. Thought this project would be straightforward...right... :roll:
Apparently the old faucets in the kitchen have metal bolts and nuts, and after 14 years the nuts are fused...so after much yelling and cursing, I'm working on cutting the bolts from above with my battery-operated Dremel. I managed to get one side off by this morning but I need to recharge the battery after some time so it's a slow go. I've gone through one cutting wheel so far (actually wore it down).
I had a recommendation to remove the whole sink but I think cutting from above is working well enough.
In addition, I disconnected the supply lines only to find out the hard way that the shutoff valve for the cold water does not stay completely shut off. After reconnecting the lines to the partially disassembled old faucet, it looks like I don't have a leak anymore, but I managed to get water down through to the fire board in the garage below. It wasn't a lot of water, so hopefully that will dry out enough so I don't have to replace it.
If the shutoff valve won't work or the connections don't stay dry once I hook up the new faucet, then it's time to call a plumber...
I hope the bathroom faucets aren't as difficult but I'm not holding out much hope. :x
Went to Home Depot on Sunday and picked up new faucets to replace the 14YO ones in the kitchen and bathrooms. Thought this project would be straightforward...right... :roll:
Apparently the old faucets in the kitchen have metal bolts and nuts, and after 14 years the nuts are fused...so after much yelling and cursing, I'm working on cutting the bolts from above with my battery-operated Dremel. I managed to get one side off by this morning but I need to recharge the battery after some time so it's a slow go. I've gone through one cutting wheel so far (actually wore it down).
I had a recommendation to remove the whole sink but I think cutting from above is working well enough.
In addition, I disconnected the supply lines only to find out the hard way that the shutoff valve for the cold water does not stay completely shut off. After reconnecting the lines to the partially disassembled old faucet, it looks like I don't have a leak anymore, but I managed to get water down through to the fire board in the garage below. It wasn't a lot of water, so hopefully that will dry out enough so I don't have to replace it.
If the shutoff valve won't work or the connections don't stay dry once I hook up the new faucet, then it's time to call a plumber...
I hope the bathroom faucets aren't as difficult but I'm not holding out much hope. :x
billski
Active member
You are more talented and I. My wife and I learned years ago that while I'm talented at electrical work, I FAIL at plumbing. We have some horror stories to tell. So whenever there is a plumbing problem, she picks up the phone, and doesn't call ME!
I did the faucets in VT awhile back...all two of them! Despite being old and despite being supplied by a well without a filter, everything went pretty smoothly. Well, the bathroom was a little tough. The nuts used to hold the faucet to the sink were really tight. Luckily, the vanity is about 12"x12"...so I disnconnected the supply lines and lifted the entire sink top out. Problem solved! Made adcessing those nuts with channle locks 100x easier.
billski
Active member
You're hired! This explains why plumbers, electricians, mechanics all want to replace rather than repair...
hammer
Active member
I'm wondering if I have to do the same for the bathroom sinks...I didn't want to for the kitchen because the sink's a bit large. I also can't keep the supply lines disconnected in the kitchen for too long because of the valve problem (which isn't a factor when they are left open).
Got one of the bolts off this morning, still working on the other one...
Nice thing about the new faucets is that they got smart and made everything plastic. Will make things easier in another 15 years.
ctenidae
Active member
Except they never get tight enough so the faucet will shift. And if tehy do lock up, it's impossible to get enough grip on them. They are easier to break off, though.
If the shut off at the faucet doesn't work then turn off the main water to the whole house while you fix it. Sometimes the shut off valves are threaded onto the pipe, which makes them easy to replace. If it's soldered on then I would probably just leave it.
billski
Active member
We used to live in a house that had one shutoff valve - the main. Cheapskates. Everytime we did a repair, we added a shutoff valve.
The three family house that I used to own not only didn't have shut offs on some of the faucets, but some were plumbed right up to the faucet with copper, no flexible hose or anything. No way to replace the faucet without shutting off water to the whole house and then cutting the copper pipe. Of course then I would have had to sweat some valves onto the remaining piping to install the new faucets. That was beyond what I wanted to deal with, so I left those faucets alone. They weren't in the apartment I was living in anyway.
Marc
New member
Valves used to be more expensive and much less common. When the original plumbing was put in my farmhouse in the 40's there were no appliance valves on anything.
Contrast that with today when I get brass body quarter turn ball valves for next to nothing. Just remember it always pays to exercise all your valves once a year.
As for DIY projects, I've been working on a lot since this summer.
I'm adding a bathroom on the second floor. Pulled all the permits myself. Had a guy do the rough framing. I did all the rough wiring and had it signed off by the inspector. Almost done with the rough plumbing. Ran all hydropex with crimp fittings. Black ABS drain pipe. Bathroom is going to have a 42" square shower stall, a whirlpool, double vanity and I had to special order a rear outlet toilet because there was no way to plumb a trap into the floor for a drain big enough for a toilet. Ripped down the horsehair plaster on the outside walls to wire outlets and insulate. I'm going to have ceiling speakers with an auto on amp hooked up to Logitech Squeezebox. Hmm... what else.
Oh, I still have to go down to Cranston to pick up the first of my piping for the residential sprinkler system and order my sprinklers soon.
Just installed two of the 13 new double hung windows this Sunday. The house has 32 total windows but the new section I'm working on now has 13. Two I just replace are in the future bathroom.
Over the summer I ripped off all the cedar shakes and tar paper because the original clapboards (circa 1812) where still underneath. I started scraping and filling holes and cracks. That and repainting plus replacing broken clapboards will get done next spring.
I also prepped the bottom of the house which included taking out the plantings, scraping back the grade and ripping off the clapboards and 1" tongue and groove sheathing so I could have a couple post and beam specialists come in and replace the rotted sill beams. That was fun. Also had to partially dismantle two porches.
Also "assisted" my dad's friend (a licensed electrician) in moving the service from the garage to the house and upgraded to 200 amps from 60.
Probably a few things I've missed but that's the big stuff. Talk about a work in progress.
Contrast that with today when I get brass body quarter turn ball valves for next to nothing. Just remember it always pays to exercise all your valves once a year.
As for DIY projects, I've been working on a lot since this summer.
I'm adding a bathroom on the second floor. Pulled all the permits myself. Had a guy do the rough framing. I did all the rough wiring and had it signed off by the inspector. Almost done with the rough plumbing. Ran all hydropex with crimp fittings. Black ABS drain pipe. Bathroom is going to have a 42" square shower stall, a whirlpool, double vanity and I had to special order a rear outlet toilet because there was no way to plumb a trap into the floor for a drain big enough for a toilet. Ripped down the horsehair plaster on the outside walls to wire outlets and insulate. I'm going to have ceiling speakers with an auto on amp hooked up to Logitech Squeezebox. Hmm... what else.
Oh, I still have to go down to Cranston to pick up the first of my piping for the residential sprinkler system and order my sprinklers soon.
Just installed two of the 13 new double hung windows this Sunday. The house has 32 total windows but the new section I'm working on now has 13. Two I just replace are in the future bathroom.
Over the summer I ripped off all the cedar shakes and tar paper because the original clapboards (circa 1812) where still underneath. I started scraping and filling holes and cracks. That and repainting plus replacing broken clapboards will get done next spring.
I also prepped the bottom of the house which included taking out the plantings, scraping back the grade and ripping off the clapboards and 1" tongue and groove sheathing so I could have a couple post and beam specialists come in and replace the rotted sill beams. That was fun. Also had to partially dismantle two porches.
Also "assisted" my dad's friend (a licensed electrician) in moving the service from the garage to the house and upgraded to 200 amps from 60.
Probably a few things I've missed but that's the big stuff. Talk about a work in progress.
mondeo
New member
Ah, Massachusetts.
Marc
New member
Don't even get me started. I could whip out a 500 word, profanity laden rant about Dudley's permitting and inspection process in a matter of minutes.
mondeo
New member
So, sometime between now and Sunday afternoon, I get to install 2 bathroom fans and add insulation to half of my house, before my roommate moves in and hogs her closet with attic access.
Not hard work, but I've got skiing to do. And crawling around in an attic isn't my idea of fun.
Also squeezed into my skiing schedule in January will be adding insulation to the other half of the attic, putting in a new vanity base/sink in my bathroom, some fairly extensive tile repair in the shower, and replacing my stove, refrigerator (adding a water line involved,) and adding a dishwasher.
Not hard work, but I've got skiing to do. And crawling around in an attic isn't my idea of fun.
Also squeezed into my skiing schedule in January will be adding insulation to the other half of the attic, putting in a new vanity base/sink in my bathroom, some fairly extensive tile repair in the shower, and replacing my stove, refrigerator (adding a water line involved,) and adding a dishwasher.
