Fighting the weeds

It seems like it was snowing last weekend. And this weekend I am fighting weeds. The weeds are taking over everything! Thank God for Round Up!

I spent enough of my childhood pulling weeds. I do t want to be doing it as an adult. So I am happy to pay for Roundup.

Never ending house costs

You stretch your budget and enslave yourself to a mortgage. Move in to your palace. And then kick back and enjoy the home that now owns you, right? Wrong! You have just entered an arrangement with a money pit that will suck your wallet dry!

Take my neighbors for example. They bought a nice ten year old home. In the first year, they put in new sidewalks, landscaping, trees, and an air conditioner. In the second year, they black topped the driveway. And now I year three? They are replacing the "builder grade" windows.

Each of these projects cost thousands of dollars per year!

You might believe a 10 year old house wouldn't need much work done to it. But you would be surprised!

Replaced another flapper

It is always handy to keep an extra toilet flapper around to deal with leaky toilets, especially if your house has 3.5 baths. They are easy to replace:

http://kevinscoffeebreak.blogspot.com/2015/09/running-toilet.html?m=1

Sometimes the flapper will just get some dirt or debre on it that will prevent it from sealing. You can try cleaning the flapper if you want, or, it is easier (and not all that expensive) to just replace it.

Clean the tank

Everyone cleans the toilet bowl, but how many of us think to clean the tank?

Even though fresh water flows into the tank, it can be a breading ground for mold, germs, and crud. You can fix that problem by placing cleaning disks in the tank.

There are many different kinds and brands on the market. They all last several weeks, keeping the tank clean, and wash those cleaning chemicles into the bowl.

Filtrate air freshener

It is time to change the furnace filter.

I am trying something new: Filtrete Whole House Air Freshner by 3M. It hooks into the filter and then blows the scent throught the house.

I will let you know if it is any good in a few days.

Patching the driveway

It is bound to happen. Your beautiful driveway will get a pothole, collect water, and need to be patched.

If you have an asphalt driveway? Patching can be a lot of work and very expensive.

If you have a stone driveway, patching is simple! I just stop off at the hardware store and grab a bag of gravel, then dump it on the hole. Cheap and fast and done!

Another Storm Door Fix

We get a lot of wind at the house. And when a certain adult daughter opens the storm door without holding it? The wind grabs the door and tends to break things. This is the second repair this year!

Earlier this year, I had to replace the bottom closer. This time? It is the top closer. And I am replacing it with a heavy duty one.

The first step was to remove the old broken quick connect bracket.

Then attach the new one. The old one was plastic and this one is metal.

Next, I adjust the door attachment.

And then finally the new closet.

I am all set now until the next wind storm!

Roof Update #3

My house is not small. It has an attached inlaw so roofing it is almost like roofing two houses! We have received two estimate so far. Both estimates were $16,000 to tare off the roof and put a new one on. One quote included replacing the box vents with ridge vents, the other didn't.

$16,000 is a lot of money to unexpectedly cough up! If I were renting a town house, I could probably rent for a year for that cost! I am told I should only expect to get 15-18 years out of this 20 year roof. That means I am paying $1000 per year just for the roof over my head (literally).

I want to get one more quote and then we'll make our decision. So far, $16K with ridge vents is the winning bid. The American Dream of home ownership is a very expensive dream.

Lint for Lent

Remember the slogan: Lint for Lent, and you'll prevent a house fire by cleaning your dryer vent every year!

You might only have a short pigtail between your dryer and the outside wall. If that is the case? Throw away the pigtail and replace it with a new one. Most high capacity dryers want metail pigtails, not plastic or rubber.

My dryer vent is over 20 feet long of solid duct and passes through my basement. Cleaning this requires a shop vac, a drill, and a vent cleaning kit that includes a brush and extenders. The extenders connect to the drill, and the drill spins the brush.

When I installed the duct, I left myself access for cleaning, so, the first thing so needed to do was tear off that tape to get access.

You can see: it has only been a year and I have collected a lot of lint!

The brush goes into the duct along with a cap that will help create a vaccuum.

The cap fits over the duct.

The shop vac hose goes into the cap.

Then we are off to the races! The drill causes the brush to turn.

I attach extensions as I fish the brush down the duct.

When done, I tape the duct access. There are different kinds of metal tape to use: cold use and hot use. I didn't realize it and last year I used cold metal tape. The hot dryer exhaust caused the tape to come apart and spew lint in the basement. I learned my lesson! 

The dryer vent is cleaned for another year!

New Tires

Car ownership can be more expensive than home ownership. Car loans, maintenance, repairs, gas, and more - it really adds up. Cars are especially expensive if you don't know how to do your own work on them. However, as the slogan says "It's not just your car, it is your freedom.", so I guess the cost is worth it.

Car ownership requires a correct mind set. A car isn't status, it isn't luxury, and it isn't fun. It is an engine that turns the tires to get you where you have to go: work, the store, etc. If it is your wife's car or something that will be transporting the kids? It has to be safe and reliable too. Otherwise, get something cheap that will last a while and won't cost much to maintain. Always try to pay cash instead of taking a loan (although loan rates are very cheap these days).

After decades of driving clunkers, I splurged on my last car. I bought a four year old car with only 18,000 miles on it. I have been fortunate that in the four years I have owned the car, I have only driven it 28,000 miles.

Since Spring, my mechanic has been warning me about cracks in my tires and low tread. If this problem was on the family car? I would have fixed it right away. But since it was my car? I have been delaying doing anything.

I have now gone through several flat tire scenarios because the tires are having difficulty holding air. I have decided it is time to break down and get the tires before my car breaks down.

I am off to Dunn Tire to get the cheapest 16" tires I can find. Tax and total? Will be around $350.

I am not happy about buying these tires but I realize that these flats are going to leave me stranded one of these times, and I am risking a blow out.

Houses are expensive. And cars are expensive.

Roof Update 2

The Insurance Adjuster arrived today to look at our roof. He explained to me that insurance is typically used to cover something that is sudden and unexpected. For example, a water pipe bursts or a tree falls on your house. He looked at our roof and says it looks like the roof has just warn out early. He said the shingles looked like they baked and became brittle. He said a 12 year old roof shouldn't look this bad, but it doesn't look like the problem is the result of a single instance.

He is going to send his results to the insurance company and the insurance company will contact us and let us know their decision.

I told him that we had purchased a 20 year roof and expected to get more than 12 years out of it. He agreed. Although, he warned, in Western New York State, a 20 year roof usually only lasts 15-18 years. He explained how New York gets the really cold and snowy winters combined with the really hot and humid summers. Getting 20 years on a 20 year roof is only under ideal situations.

He also explained that the pitch on the damaged roof is extreme. That means the roofer will need extra gear to work on the roof, and that is going to cost extra.

I showed him moss growing on the north side of the roofs. He explained that we don't need to worry about it. The moss won't cause any damage. We'll damage the roof if we try to remove the moss.  He thinks the mild summer or some weather condition might have encouraged the moss growth

So... great. I'm not very optimistic that this is going to be covered by home owners insurance.

Kids and Houses

Some days I think I should wear my tool belt and follow my kids around the house - fixing all the things as they break them. Everyday they get a little more creative in the damage they accidentally cause.

After the nightly shower routine, had to fix the toilet flushing chain.

It is funny how the toilet no longer flushes but they don't think to mention it.

Then I screwed the under sink cabinate door hinge back on.

Replaced the bathroom lights.

The shower needs to be re-caulked and painted, because they have started pealing that off. But this is more work than I have time for tonight! At least the gluing and recaulking of the bathroom sink is holding.

I will post some pictures when I get around to fixing the shower. Hopefully I won't see water damage before I can fix it.

Winter means Blown Bulbs

Maybe it is the dry static filled air? Maybe it is because the bulbs stay on longer? Maybe it is because I am home more and notice more? Or perhaps I have something odd that only runs in the winter that sends surges through my house (hmmm... That electric fireplace in the living room...). Whatever the cause is, I blow a ton of light bulbs at the start of winter.

Here is a pet peeve of mine: can't we have one kind of bulb?

No! I have to keep a stock of all kinds of different bulbs!

Everything from LED to holigen.

It is just an annoyance.

Here is something else: when you go shopping for light fixtures, think about the difficulty of bulb replacement! 

For this ceiling light, I have to grab the fragile glass housing and twist it counter clockwise without breaking it.

Others are on high ceilings that only I can reach.

Don't talk to me about going to CFLs. I switched a third of our normal lights to CFLs and even one of those died this year!

The best bulbs have been Westinghouse incandescent bulbs - many of mine have been burning for 12 years and they are still going!

My recommendation? Make life easy for yourself. Get lights that use the same bulbs and are easy to replace. 

Roof Update 1

Previously, I wrote about problems we are having with our roof shingles. I asked a builder for his opinion and he thought the problem was related to a defect in the shingles. However, the problem only appears on the southern side of one roof - if it was a shingle defect, wouldn't we be seeing this problem everywhere?

We contacted our Home Owner's Insurance. If the damage is due to wind, snow, sleet, or ice? It is covered. But if the shingles are defective or if the problem is due to age? It will not be covered.

The insurance agency is sending out an adjuster to look at the roof. Stay tuned for more information!

Home Ownership In The North

Are you sure you really want to be a home owner? If you live in the northern states, like I do, home ownership includes owning all the snow that lands on your property.

The snow weighs down the roof and sometimes turns to ice and damages the roof.

The snow lands in your driveway giving you three possible chores: shovel it. Buy and maintain a snow blower (good only if your driveway is paved). Or pay for someone to plow the driveway (as I do).

Equally important is shoveling all the sidewalks and keeping them clear of snow and ice. If you have a sidewalk out by the street? That is your responsibility too. If anyone slips and falls on your sidewalks? They can sue you. 

Ahhhh... Home ownership. The American Dream. Work all day so you can come home and work on maintaining a house.

Stove Control Panel Replacement

I have a GE  Jbp69BH1BB range (Aka Stove +Oven) that has served my family well for over twelve years. Unfortunately, someone has been too aggressive with the buttons and has warn them out. It takes around eight button presses for the range to respond.

I ordered a replacement panel from GE via the Internet. 

By entering my range's model number I was able to see a parts diagram with part numbers. Then, I just ordered the part number (WB27T11311) I needed.

The first installation step was to unplug the range.

Next, I removed the back of the control panel.

The control board is located behind a metal plate.

I aligned the new control panel next to the old one and moved the wires one at a time, making sure each connected to the right place.

I then unscrewed and removed the old panel.

You have to remove the control panel's black lamanet cover (that has the words and buttons) from the old panel so it can be stuck onto the new one. Be careful! When I pealed it off, some of the glue caused the back finish to come off the plastic cover.

I used a sharpee to color in the places where the black paint came off. The sharpee did an OK job, however, if anyone looks closely that will be able to see the problem.

There was enough adhesive on the cover to easily stick to the new control panel. I was concerned I might need to add some glue, but that was not necessary.

I screwed the new control panel back in place and then put the metal cover back on.

Tip: when you have appliances pulled out and pulled apart? Have a vacuum handy to clean up the area.

Plug it back in and give it a try!

Now our buttons work great!