Very good point. Have to be careful with that. Luckily I knew about that and my popcorn was done late enough that it did not have any.
Worst DIY job to tackle??
- Thread starter StillShaving
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There is a lot of wisdom in this statement. Being a perfectionist is great to a point, but you can literally drive yourself crazy redoing things and trying to get it perfect.
My father was a painting contractor and he was always looking for help. My cousin who had OCD commented he would be interested in working with us and would like to go on a job site to see what it was like.
My father’s test for an experienced painter was to see if they could paint with both hands and if they could free hand cut in a ceiling. My cousin actually brought in an artist brush and was going to cut the entire ceiling with that brush. My dad said, “ Look Leonardo da Vinci by we are production painters , if you want to do that at your home go ahead, we don’t do that here“. He finished the day and that was it.
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- #43
Reminds me of one my friends, she is a great person, a seamstress whom you would want to hire to do any work like clothing alternation, dress making, curtains, etc. She once got a part time job painting figurines for a gift shop. Her work was impeccable but she was getting paid by the piece and had to stop as she was earning too little for what otherwise should have been large production work.
And that's why I have a water meter key. I turn the water off at the meter anytime I am going to be away overnight.
We have a cat….. We have to leave the water on so the cat sitter can give him fresh water every day. I have a water/main meter key as well. We also have a shutoff valve at the house but if I’m or a plumber is doing a repair, I always shut off the main..
When we go on vacation I always shut the water off at the meter where it comes in the house. We have a parrot that needs freshwater everyday, so I buy bottled water for that period of time.The pet sitter empties the water bowl in the bathroom sink and refills it with the bottled water.
I had a cabinet maker that did a set of kitchen cabinets for a customer that was getting ready to go on vacation. They wanted the cabinets installed the day before they left to allow time for curing and off gassing. They were leaving the day before Thanksgiving and returning the day before Christmas Eve. The shop completed the cabinets as agreed and got them installed literally as the people were walking out the door.
After leaving a third floor bathroom above the kitchen had a supply line break. The water ran from the third floor through the newly completed kitchen into the basement. Somehow the cold water triggered the furnace to run continuously and it created a situation where it raised the temperature in the house to 80 degrees. The water running over the new cabinets combined with excessive heat caused the cabinets to peel.
As you can imagine the insurance company got involved and said the cabinets should not have failed. I was called out to give my opinion and the cabinets had actually peeled and the doors warped. I explained that no coatings would have protected the cabinets and explained cure times and provided data sheets along with moisture meter readings. Fortunately the cabinet maker didn’t have to pay.
After seeing the cabinets and all the damage I always turn the water off.
I am looking at putting in a monitoring system that detects leaks and shuts the water off.
Just finished finding and digging out my septic system. Now I can schedule a pump out and service.
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- #48
After my neighbor's big water leak disaster, I started turning off the water in my home when planning to be away for a few days as well. Though soon thereafter the shutoff started leaking so I replaced it, testing my ability to solder without burning down the house. (It was an older gate valve that started leaking at the packing nut and I was too ignorant to know to try and tighten the packing nut, instead I replaced it with a quarter turn valve).
I have seen some "intelligent" water shut-off valves which look promising for home usage but have not done enough investigation to find one. Valves that can be setup to switch off if a certain flow rate is seen for too long, indicating that a leak might be occurring. I am curious what data from home insurance claims might show, but I suspect that if every home had some crude water monitoring system that could switch off the flow of water when a leak occurs, they could increase their insurance deductible and still come out ahead on average.
Painting. Drywall. Mulching.
For me it depends on if the plumbing is incoming or outgoing.
Lol, I just realized that this also applied when I was in the nursing bidness!
In both cases, it washes off with soap and water!
Back when I had less money, I was frequently forced to rent the big giggle machine and snake the main sewer line in my house. 118'....8' interlocking cables, down the basement steps, snake and pray. Yep, ever get 118' of cables locked on roots so bad it starts flipping the giggle machine over and over? Sore for days after from the retching and gagging. Did it more than once.....
There will forever be a black cloud of profanity lingering over my house.
There will forever be a black cloud of profanity lingering over my house.
I'm always afraid I'll end up punching a hole in my pipes if I snake them.
I've done both electrical and plumbing work and don't particularly care for either. Electric is easier, but always made me nervous.
I never minded painting. My father taught me when I was fairly young and I'm a pretty good painter, although I never liked painting ceilings. One of the nice things about painting is that you get rewarded every time you walk into the freshly painted room.
But I find in my retirement that I generally come to the same conclusion about most of these jobs, "That's a good job for a younger man." Sealing the driveway was probably the worst job I ever did.
I never minded painting. My father taught me when I was fairly young and I'm a pretty good painter, although I never liked painting ceilings. One of the nice things about painting is that you get rewarded every time you walk into the freshly painted room.
But I find in my retirement that I generally come to the same conclusion about most of these jobs, "That's a good job for a younger man." Sealing the driveway was probably the worst job I ever did.
For me it's drywall...use 100 lbs of mud and sand 99 of them off. That's me...I know the pros do so much better. BUT, I do enjoy painting, I find it relaxing and therapeutic.
My wife asked me how much work was involved with making an upstairs laundry room. Lol.
Im a carpenter but jeez maybe it’s easier to find a new house that has that. She said that I could do anything but I don’t think she realized all work from plumbing, (supply, drain,vent), electrical,gas and structural that was involved.
Anyway, mudding d.w. is the least fun.
Im a carpenter but jeez maybe it’s easier to find a new house that has that. She said that I could do anything but I don’t think she realized all work from plumbing, (supply, drain,vent), electrical,gas and structural that was involved.
Anyway, mudding d.w. is the least fun.
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And when it’s done if she is like my wife she will say(WE) put in a new laundry room. This week we did some roofing repair and dug out 4 bushes. My part was on the ladder and the roof. Hers was watching the tv to make sure no one took it while I was on the roof.
My mother always did that and it drove me nuts. I'd flat out tell whoever she was talking to that no, I did it while she watched. She stopped doing that a few years ago. The funny thing is that as she's gotten older and less able she actually does more.
My wife does that, and I encourage her to.
I'd not have done it without her agreeing that it be done (we are a partnership) and if she gets some cred after some work is done, that's a good thing - it encourages agreement on other projects I want to do.
We had different roles in the project, but it was indeed a "we did that" kind of thing.
I'd not have done it without her agreeing that it be done (we are a partnership) and if she gets some cred after some work is done, that's a good thing - it encourages agreement on other projects I want to do.
We had different roles in the project, but it was indeed a "we did that" kind of thing.
Ours is more of a running joke. I always we tell her when “ we” had the kids. She said having kids is a lot more difficult that painting. My response is yeah, but roofing on a 100 degree day is close. Then I throw the kidney stones that I have had and the surgery to remove them. She rolls her eyes . It keeps her on her toes.
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