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hot water, part 3
Jun. 20th, 2014 10:04 pmThanks to Greg from Craigslist, Steve the plumber, his brother Lou the electrician (and the $550 between them).
hot water, part 2
Jun. 19th, 2014 01:55 pmThis morning's plumber felt there was too much rust and fail in the boiler. He gave about 50/50 odds of shearing off one or both of the bolts, which would require welding new bolts in place. And even if he replaced the leaking upper flange, the lower one was just as sketchy, and could blow as well.
So the plan is to install a standard electric water heater as a stop-gap until we can get the gas conversion. I'm going to pick up a heater off craigslist this evening, and our preferred plumber and his brother the electrician will hook it up tomorrow. (God willing and the creek don't rise.)
There's an element of throwing money away here, but there was as well with the idea of fixing the boiler.
So the plan is to install a standard electric water heater as a stop-gap until we can get the gas conversion. I'm going to pick up a heater off craigslist this evening, and our preferred plumber and his brother the electrician will hook it up tomorrow. (God willing and the creek don't rise.)
There's an element of throwing money away here, but there was as well with the idea of fixing the boiler.
plumbing fail
May. 15th, 2011 08:33 pmReplace a bathroom faucet - simple, right? Only if your idea of simple includes bolt cutters and an angle grinder (well, yes?).
The first sign of trouble was needing a wrench to turn the water supply valves - kinda stuck. Kinda stuck because the faucet had leaking off and on for 20 years. The lock nuts that attached the faucet to the sink were badly corroded; after half an hour, several scraped knuckles, two different penetrating oils, and nearly every wrench in the house, I removed the sink with the faucet still attached, and took the angle grinder to the faucet inlet pipes. Drain pipe has seen better decades, so let's cut that out too.
The fail is that, when I finally had the sink cleaned up and the new faucet and drain pipe attached, it turned out that the new faucet inlet pipes are longer than the old ones, and the sink has rigid copper supply lines, which would rather kink than bend. And, being Sunday, not only are the hardware stores long closed, but even WalMart and Home Depot close at 8:00.
I really wanted to have this finished today, sigh. Next project: do the same thing in the upstairs bathroom, then kitchen faucet.
The first sign of trouble was needing a wrench to turn the water supply valves - kinda stuck. Kinda stuck because the faucet had leaking off and on for 20 years. The lock nuts that attached the faucet to the sink were badly corroded; after half an hour, several scraped knuckles, two different penetrating oils, and nearly every wrench in the house, I removed the sink with the faucet still attached, and took the angle grinder to the faucet inlet pipes. Drain pipe has seen better decades, so let's cut that out too.
The fail is that, when I finally had the sink cleaned up and the new faucet and drain pipe attached, it turned out that the new faucet inlet pipes are longer than the old ones, and the sink has rigid copper supply lines, which would rather kink than bend. And, being Sunday, not only are the hardware stores long closed, but even WalMart and Home Depot close at 8:00.
I really wanted to have this finished today, sigh. Next project: do the same thing in the upstairs bathroom, then kitchen faucet.
barnacle bike
Aug. 22nd, 2010 01:03 pmThis is actually one of the last things I saw in Amsterdam. Out at the end of the pier that science center NEMO is built on, I found this incredible derelict bike, covered with rust, seaweed, and barnacles.
Clickenzee to embiggen. It's totally worth it.
( +10 )
Clickenzee to embiggen. It's totally worth it.
( +10 )
My second and newest chopper, name of Frek:
I reused as much of the original bike as possible, but it was made of rust and fail. Seriously folks, no matter how you hate your bike, don't leave it out in the New England weather. This one clearly spent several years, untouched and unloved, until it was finally hauled to the curb.
( 'before' pictures )
Work to be done, but it's a really nice ride.
I reused as much of the original bike as possible, but it was made of rust and fail. Seriously folks, no matter how you hate your bike, don't leave it out in the New England weather. This one clearly spent several years, untouched and unloved, until it was finally hauled to the curb.
( 'before' pictures )
Work to be done, but it's a really nice ride.
