What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

General conversations about BMW E28s and the people who own them.
Mike W.
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by Mike W. »

The Water Heater from Hell. 5 days without a shower.

OK, I'm a lazy retired bum, what's the big deal. Well, aside from waking up a little more than I intended to when my foot went squish on a 2AM trip to the RR, I'm on Jury Duty and had the water heater install from hell. Soldered in place, well, unions, but you couldn't move it even after breaking them apart. Pitched from it's residence in the garage back towards the house so when it sprung a leak, it leaked into the house. Broken sill plate that should have mostly stopped it. Nothing I can't do, I've done my share, but no time W-F with jury duty and I had to do everything from build a new platform to replumb things. It was due, it was on my list, I was just hoping it would last until I got to it. Water is currently heating up and a hot shower awaits me in just a few.
:wrenchtime:

I should add, I've installed a bunch over the years, from under the counter point of use to 100G commercial, and everything in between. But none of them took a fraction as long as this one. :evil:
a
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Location: Marshfield ,MA

Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by a »

aHH, the glories of a dirt floored utility dungeon. I 'm on my 4 th or 5th 40 gallon propane water htr. I have streamlined the process with ball valves and unions. The last R+R was an easy afternoon including picking up the new htr from Loews. I have dispensed with the oldstyle globe valves in favor of ball valves for every water supply leaving the dungeon. Mike, back in the days before I stopped fixing The jury rigged stuff and replaced it with all new stuff. I wouldn't bother with un- sweating stuff, I just shut off the water and opened up stuff with a tubing cutter.The system wasn't pitched right. You can't sweat a pipe with water in it. :laugh:
I'm rebuilding the raised beds with 6x6s salvaged from a retaining wall. They are random lengths, so I'm half lapping them.
Last edited by a on May 14, 2018 8:39 PM, edited 1 time in total.
Mike W.
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Location: California Whine Country

Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by Mike W. »

a wrote:You can't sweat a pipe with water in it. :laugh:
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Sure you can, you just have to boil it out first. :D Yep. I didn't even think about keeping the ever so slightly leaking gate valve. I ran flex lines so it's like a union. I've got it pitched towards the garage, not the house, I had to replace a bunch of sheetrock so it's now got aluminum flashing all the way around. I say 15 minutes, but really no more than 2 hours if I have to do it again. Much more, but that's the executive summary.
krhodes1
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Joined: Jan 23, 2007 11:46 PM
Location: Westbrook Maine

Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by krhodes1 »

Redid the kitchen in my place in Florida. Lower cabinets are IKEA, uppers are from Lowe's - couldn't do IKEA uppers due to the soffits above being only 12" deep, didn't want to deal with ripping them out. Kind of wish I did now though... But overall it looks good and works well for a tiny 8x9 galley kitchen. Added a slightly stupidly expensive 18" Swedish dishwasher, and a gigantic 48" drainboard sink. Did it all myself, with the help of a friend for a week. Got all the fancy drawer sides, dividers, and inserts too.

Before: ImageOld kitchen by kevinr1916, on Flickr

After: ImageSink Side by kevinr1916, on Flickr

ImageStove side by kevinr1916, on Flickr

With backsplash completed: ImageBacksplash 2 by kevinr1916, on Flickr
russellrh72
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Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by russellrh72 »

Looks nice...good job! I really did the single drain board sink. Are you now going sans microwave?
krhodes1
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Location: Westbrook Maine

Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by krhodes1 »

russellrh72 wrote:Looks nice...good job! I really did the single drain board sink. Are you now going sans microwave?
Thanks! Only thing left is paint, but I can't decide on a color. I really like the sink too, it was a bit of a splurge... I got a smaller microwave on a stainless steel cart - built a cabinet for above it for glasses and such. It's across the dining area from the kitchen area.

ImageCoffee Cart by kevinr1916, on Flickr
a
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by a »

Scored a Regency ceiling fan with a 4 light set up from Craigslist free stuff. I took it apart and replaced the single light fan in the front room. The old fan sans light will go into a wired fan box in the kitchen I had wired when I had an electrician in back in '02 when I last re-did the kitchen.
e28Sean
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by e28Sean »

Installed an Idiot Bump in the garage, so the car is always perfectly positioned front to back.

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It's positioned for the Mercedes, not tried to park the e28 in that spot yet...
oldskool
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by oldskool »

Renovated a 1990’s craphole I bought for 130k and just now sold for 199k. Not as easy as it looks on TV, but I suggest everyone do it once.
Mike W.
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by Mike W. »

oldskool wrote:Renovated a 1990’s craphole I bought for 130k and just now sold for 199k. Not as easy as it looks on TV, but I suggest everyone do it once.
Pics or it didn't happen. :laugh: Seriously though, hat's off to you. :up:
tschultz
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by tschultz »

Painting my house exterior. May get a photo when I'm finished but over 20+ hours in and I have a long ways to go still. This project is taking away from my other car project time! :evil:
a
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by a »

Am in cool down mode. Last 2 days spent fixing the dryer. 95 and super muggy Sinus headache. I worked on it in briefs, I'd worked in 10 15 minutes. That would drench me in sweat so I couldn't see straight.Crazed on store brand pseudoefedrine , I dismembered the poor thing. Removed the top , front and sides. I was following the interweb wisdom that told to check for a bad door switch , then a few thermo fuses I had a schemtic that identified colors and fuses Everything worked as it should with a continuity test. Back to more interweb,. Turns out 21st century dryers can be reset by turning the timer to off and pushing the start button. Had the drum out. Taking it out was the beginning of the put together cycle. Typical 2 steps forward 1 step back stuff. moves. Good tutorial for future work when about 20 $ of parts come in.
Mike W.
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by Mike W. »

a wrote:Scored a Regency ceiling fan with a 4 light set up from Craigslist free stuff. I took it apart and replaced the single light fan in the front room. The old fan sans light will go into a wired fan box in the kitchen I had wired when I had an electrician in back in '02 when I last re-did the kitchen.
Funny you should mention a ceiling fan. Just did one for our bedroom. A cluster as usual. Studfinder didn't show anything on the ceiling, so I bought a better one. Supposedly. New one still didn't show anything that made sense. 1st floor of a two story house. Turned out the ceiling joists weren't 2X10's, but some sort of engineered wood I beam. Thick plywood top and bottom with a OSB main web. 6" apart where I wanted the fan. A bit of repair work from where I tried to first cut out for the box, but not too bad and it works just in time for 112 yesterday. No wonder my upstairs floors squeak.
Kenny Blankenship
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by Kenny Blankenship »

Hire a realtor.

What do I do with multiple sets of E12 6x14 turbines???
a
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by a »

Engineered floor joists, Mike, The twenty' foot I beam 2x12s only weigh about 50 lbs, yet they are code for 20 foot spans . My father did the same span with paired douglas fir 2x12s The ceiling sheet rock should be screwed into 1x3 strapping run at right angles to the joists. . Least thats how my addition was done. here is my experience with the electrician's bulk fan boxes on a flimsy strut that fatigued and broke within 2 yrs. I replaced it with a steel 4" round box screwed to 2 1x3s laid across the joist. then you screw it all together with 1 1/2 sheet rock screws. I've done 4 fans that way and the install is pains taking , but is a rugged install.
Mike W.
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by Mike W. »

a wrote:Engineered floor joists, Mike, The twenty' foot I beam 2x12s only weigh about 50 lbs, yet they are code for 20 foot spans . My father did the same span with paired douglas fir 2x12s The ceiling sheet rock should be screwed into 1x3 strapping run at right angles to the joists. . Least thats how my addition was done. here is my experience with the electrician's bulk fan boxes on a flimsy strut that fatigued and broke within 2 yrs. I replaced it with a steel 4" round box screwed to 2 1x3s laid across the joist. then you screw it all together with 1 1/2 sheet rock screws. I've done 4 fans that way and the install is pains taking , but is a rugged install.
No 1X3's at right angles, the rock is just screwed into the I beam. Assuming the I beam flanges to be suitable for a 20 pound load, when split between two of them, I laid a shortie 2X4 on top of the I flange, screwed it at a 45 to the vertical webbing just to locate it, not to really support it, then the 4" round box to the 2X that is resting on the flanges.

If I'd known what I was going to be looking at before hand, time would have been cut in half if not less. I'm sure they're adequate, perhaps better, but I doubt it, but I just don't like working with them. Of course the biggest problem was the 6.5 inch spacing between those two studs, again, more for not expecting it than it really being a problem.
a
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by a »

I've evolved my go to fasteners from bailing wire to duck tape to sheet rock screws. :laugh:
Mike W.
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by Mike W. »

a wrote:I've evolved my go to fasteners from bailing wire to duck tape to sheet rock screws. :laugh:
I keep them on hand, labeled in separate boxes, 1-1/8, 1-1/4, 1-5/8, 2", 2.5", 3", 3.75". Plus most of those sizes in galvy deck screws too.
e28Sean
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by e28Sean »

Straightened up the garage a bit...
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... and figured it was about time I put one of these out there. Just in case.
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Karl Grau
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by Karl Grau »

e28Sean wrote:... and figured it was about time I put one of these out there. Just in case.
Good call! Every garage should have a doorbell. :up:


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e28Sean
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by e28Sean »

Karl Grau wrote:Good call! Every garage should have a doorbell.
You think you are funny... don’t you?
cek
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by cek »

Julie decided to replace the downstairs carpets with hardwoods, and to replace the upstairs carpets with new.
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I decided to rip and and replace all the circa 1999-2002 electronics in the house. All my "do it yourself" stuff, including a panelized Lutron lighting system, and Crestron AV control is gone. It will all be replaced with Control4. Also upgrading all my speakers, receivers, and TVs.
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We are doing both projects at the same time. Duh.

Leading up to this insanity we cleaned the house of 16 years of kids crap. I lost count of the dump and donation runs we made. House feels lighter, for sure. Kind of like an E28 with its interior stripped out.

It'll still be a few weeks before it's done. Assholes and elbows every day, all day. We can't live in the house right now because almost no lighting works (and there are no carpets). At least my garage is still functional, although I have to use a 7 foot stick to turn on and off the lights. We're staying in a hotel.
vinceg101
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by vinceg101 »

e28Sean wrote:
Karl Grau wrote:Good call! Every garage should have a doorbell.
You think you are funny... don’t you?
Chas is f*ing hilarious. :rofl:
vinceg101
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by vinceg101 »

cek wrote:We can't live in the house right now because almost no lighting works (and there are no carpets). At least my garage is still functional, although I have to use a 7 foot stick to turn on and off the lights. We're staying in a hotel.
Ummm... :?
cek
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Re: What Did You Do To Your House Recently?

Post by cek »

vinceg101 wrote:
cek wrote:We can't live in the house right now because almost no lighting works (and there are no carpets). At least my garage is still functional, although I have to use a 7 foot stick to turn on and off the lights. We're staying in a hotel.
Ummm... :?
Don't you fret. There is a plan A, B, and C.
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