(no subject)

[nolly]

So, the wishlist meme tht was going around recently. I wavered a lot on whether to post it, for all the standarrd reasons. Sure, there's plenty of Stuff I'd like, and no, I don't expect y'all to provide me with it. I've decided to post my own variation: I want (a subset of) your skills and knowledge. Specifically, here's what I'd like, should any of y'all be so inclined:

1. Sewing lessons. I have a machine, some patterns, and some fabric. I have insufficient notions, but may be able to snag some from my grandmother's stash over Xmas, and live close to a Yardage Town, a Jo-Ann's, two Michaels, two Wal-Marts, and probably more besides. I have sewn in the past, but not for years.

2. Basic plant/garden info. I have some flowerbeds, some large pots, and a rosebush. I would like to have a nice looking, low maintenance yard/porch. I could use assisstance with plant selection and installation, and knowledge on care and feeding.

3. Home improvement/maintenance info. As a first time homeowner, what do I need to know? (I've heard something on a radio home show about a "sacrificial anode" on water heaters, which should be replaced every three years or so. What is it, where do I find it, how do I know if it needs replacing, etc.? What else should I know about?) There are a few things that need doing, and more I'd like to do. For some things, I just need an extra set of hands; for others, a competent set of hands. (Ex: I tried to hang some mug racks, and fond that the fasteners I had just weren't working for that space, and also that it was hard to get everything lined up and level singlehandedly.)

All standard disclaimers re: expectaions, etc. apply, of course.

What other teachable skills/knowledge do you have that you'd be willing to pass on?

Comments

[kightp.livejournal.com]

As another single home-owner, I can offer a quick fix for the "getting everything lined up and level" issue: An inexpensive carpenter's level and a pencil. I don't know where I'd be without my level!

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I've got a level, but should have thought through the process more -- the way I was trying to do it really did need another set of hands to hold things steady. Part of the problem was that I was trying to hang it fairly high, and also that I couldn't be right in fron of the wall in question (unless I moved the microwave to kneel on the counter.)

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Ai. Been there. No fun.

Somebody should invent a "third arm" for solo home owners, like the "third hand" they make for jewelers only way bigger. (OK, now I'm envisioning a gi-mongous alligator clip on a stick ...)

[king-tirian.livejournal.com]

If you go to your favorite home improvement store, there will be a pile of books right in front of the front desk that's about the size of a dictionary and called something like "Complete Guide to Home Repair and Improvement". Owning that book will let you sleep at night.

The sacrifical anode seems to be a superfluous zinc pipe inside the tank that exists so that it will rust instead of the interior of the tank. I've never heard of it before tonight, and no one ever mentioned replacing parts as part of my water heater maintenance program. Might be just for electrical heaters, dunno.

What you do need to do every so often (twice a year, they say) is to run the faucet at the bottom until the water runs clean (with a hose or a bucket or what have you) and to test the pressure release valve which on my unit is a pipe which pops out of the top and doesn't connect to anything but it has a water-cooler type of spigot on it.

sacrificial anodes

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

we have those a lot in marine applications. it makes perfect sense to have them in water heaters. because what happens when two metals are connected (in waterheaters usually steel and copper) and come in contact with water is electrolysis (the metals exchange ions) -- and the less "noble", more reactive metal corrodes (oxydizes). so, when you want to protect the metals you're connecting, you stick an even less noble metal in there as a "sacrifice" -- it does nothing else but corrode. in marine applications that's usually zinc, but for waterheaters it can be magnesium or aluminum, because they're more reactive than steel, which is more reactive than copper.

Re: sacrificial anodes

[fourgates.livejournal.com]

That is so cool. Really!
The take-it-to-Home-Depot message is that there is a metal probe thingy that sticks into the water heater, which is the heating element. They wear out. They screw into the top of an electric water heater, and (I believe) have a standard fitting so they're interchangable. Cost around $20, I think.
I would also note that water heaters should be replaced at around 10 years old even if they don't seem to need it. All water heaters wear out after 7-14 years, and then start to leak. If you're lucky, it'll leak slowly and the heater will be sitting in a pan for that purpose. Many people aren't so lucky and end up making an insurance claim.

Re: sacrificial anodes

[sarahemm.livejournal.com]

re: the anode, it's usually something on the top of the water heater, looks like a big nut and says 'ANODE' beside it embossed in the metal or somesuch. most people likely never replace it, but it's one of those things you *should* do :)

Re: sacrificial anodes

[fourgates.livejournal.com]

OK, cool. Thanks. I'm still learning. Why is there one on the top of my gas water heater but not on my electric one?

Re: sacrificial anodes

[sarahemm.livejournal.com]

hmmm. no idea! is one newer? maybe technology has improved, and they're using something else that won't corrode... hrm. i dunno about the element tho... weird!

[kishiriadgr.livejournal.com]

I think cacti are t eh sex and have been accumulating a collection and Knowledge. I hear large plants are quite expensive, but I can start you off on small ones.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Sounds cool to me!

[kishiriadgr.livejournal.com]

If you come to one of the Meetups I can bring my cactus books. I started with two of those cheezy "moon cacti" which are a brightly-coloured gymnocaycium grafted onto a root stem, a Haworthya Cymbiformis and a Lithos I have not been able to identify further. Now I've got a strap cactus and an oreocereus as well. My dream is to have a nopal that gives fruit and a saguaro of my VERY OWN!

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Which Meetups do you usually hit? I should be at the next Roleplayers, though I'll be late, since I'm going to the PerlMongers meeting first.

[kishiriadgr.livejournal.com]

SF and Livejournal.

[fourgates.livejournal.com]

Re home improvement, here are some off the top of my head:
- Water damage can be much more expensive than one might think. If you have any leaks in pipes or exterior walls or ceiling, do whatever is necessary to get it fixed immediately.
- Chuckless electric drills are the coolest home-repair invention since the hammer.
- 110/120 volt electricals won't kill you if you inadvertently get shocked (well, it's quite unlikely). 220/240 volt circuits can kill you.
- Galvanized steel plumbing should probably be replaced. You'll be glad you did.
- CPVC plumbing isn't very difficult to install yourself.
- Most home appliances (the big square types -- stove, dishwasher, clothes washer, etc.) can be purchase new for 30-50% off at the Sears outlet store near you, with only minor cosmetic damage.
- High-efficiency refrigerators pay for themselves.
- A garbage disposal has a place on the side where the drain for a dishwasher can be connected. That drain is blocked by a metal slug that can/should be popped out with a screwdriver when it comes time to install the dishwasher. Otherwise it's a $75 plumbing bill.
- A roto-rooter company has basically one tool: a power snake. It's a long semi-stiff flexible steel cable that is run down the pipe, twisting as it goes down, to a) negotiate the many curves in the pipes, and b) root out the blocking goop. It takes almost no skill to use this tool. Renting one at Home depot is much cheaper ($50 vs. $125) than calling the service. You can buy a manual one for less than $50.
- Drain-0 is almost always worthless. It won't fix a truly clogged drain and will bleach a tub.
- Probably 75% of all clogged drains are due to hair getting caught in the drain trap, which was designed for that purpose. Use tweezers to pull it out in clumps, save $125.
- Replacing toilets is quite easy but can be a little messy if you don't do it in the right order. Follow these steps: a) lay down about a dozen towels around the toilet. b) turn off the water supply, c) Flush the toilet as many times as necessary to drain the tank. d) soak the remaining 1 inch of water out of the tank with another towel, e) soak as much of the remaining water out of the bowl as you can with a towel (it's designed to hold some after flushing, to block gasses from coming back up the drain), f) remove the tank from the base (really, you'll be happier this way), g) remove the two nuts that are attached to the bolts that hold the base to the floor, h) lift the base off and watch for sloshing water and loose gobs of sealing wax on the bottom, i) remove the remaining gobs of wax from the floor (and wipe out the drain if necessary. If you are doing other work on the bathroom, put paper towels in any drains to keep junk from falling in.
- A 7-gallon shop vac may not hold an entire bee colony.
- Professional movers are hired for muscle, not brains. It shows.
- Expanding foam insulation is very cool stuff, but it's also somewhat dangerous because a) it expands more (over hours) than most people think it will, and can break thing, and b) it's extremely adhesive. I would simply recommend experimenting on a stack of paper towels before doing the real job.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

- Professional movers are hired for muscle, not brains. It shows.
- Water damage can be much more expensive than one might think.

I got both these lessons for the price of one last move. The movers got the bill for the water damage.

- Most home appliances (the big square types -- stove, dishwasher, clothes washer, etc.) can be purchase new for 30-50% off at the Sears outlet store near you, with only minor cosmetic damage.

Mostly good on the appliance front corrently, though the dishwasher could use new trays. Guess I need to contact the manufacturer for that?

[fourgates.livejournal.com]

Guess I need to contact the manufacturer for that?
I recently learned, after squeezing a 30"-wide appliance through a 30"-wide door opening, that Sears also has a web site where you can get just about any part for their major appliances. Sears Parts Direct (www.searspartsdirect.com/)

foam-in-a-can

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

A 7-gallon shop vac may not hold an entire bee colony.

*heh*. ok, that one was new to me! :)

re. the expanding foam -- what has worked for me when i've wanted to not use it all in one shot is to turn the can upside down and blow until nothing comes out anymore. that way the foam is out of the nozzle and can't set up in there.

i love that stuff. i am about to build myself a guitar case with it. definitely second your and anonymous's cautions there.

[fourgates.livejournal.com]

- Expanding foam is a one-shot, one-use product. Do not put the can aside, let the foam dry in the straw nozel, come back later, press the trigger repeatedly trying to get it blown out, then remove the nozel thinking you'll just un-plug it with wire hanger. No.
- Door knobs can usually be replaced in about an hour after some practice. Installation of the bolt piece may require some work with a chisel, but don't worry about that.
- A 1/4" gap above or below a door or window can double your heating bill. Having a fireplace usually means having such a draft.
- If you have a gas furnace and it seems to be blowing all the time, or turns on and off way too much, it probably means you need to replace the filter. In a pinch you can just remove it.
- If an electrical circuit-breaker trips in the main breaker box, that means there is a significant problem of overload. If the overload is too many appliances trying to draw power at the same time (by far the most likely scenario), just remove some of them and re-set the breaker. If that doesn't fix the problem, DO NOT force the breaker or bypass it. This includes the circular fuses that were used in houses before the 60s. One potential cause of a tripped breaker is a ground fault, where the electrical current is actually passing through the structure of the house. Forcing the circuit on in this situation is a good way to burn the house down.

Expanding foam.

[(Anonymous)]

I have the following comments regarding expanding foam:

This stuff is great, but: 1) makes an unholy mess if something goes wrong (I cannot emphasize this enough), and 2) involves a lot of unpleasant chemicals / vapors.

If you want to use it, and do not have (or are unwilling to use) eye protection (*not* normal glasses), gloves, and a respirator (a half mask activated carbon VOC mask, not one of those silly dust mask things) stop now. You are clearly too stupid to use this stuff, and will likely end up a drooling idiot (due to vapor inhalation) and / or blind (because you got it in your eyes). Before dealing with these foams I was really cavalier about safety stuff like this. I'm not any more. Luckily, I didn't manage to damage myself in the process.

There are actually three distinct types of foam available at HomeDespot:

1) Latex foam (sold under the DAP label); low expansion, medium adhesion, easy to clean up, squishy even after full cure.

2) Solid Polyurethane foam (the DuPont (?) 'Good Stuff' and HILTI foams): High adhesion (to just about everything), High and low expansion ('Good Stuff' is available in 'Gaps and Cracks' and 'Large Space' formulations. The HILTI foam is pretty much the same as the 'Good Stuff' 'Gaps and 'Cracks' (but the end foam is slightly denser)), difficult to clean up (even acetone doesn't cut this stuff well), very solid after full cure.

3) Elastic Polyurethane foam (DuPont 'Good Stuff: Doors and Windows'). High adhesion, medium expansion (but it expands less forcefully than the solid foam), has some give after full cure (but less than the Latex foams)

Good Stuff Gaps and Cracks is available in 6oz cans, which is pretty much more than you'll ever need for any one job (expands to about .75 cubic foot of foam). (I was going to post a technique that improves your odds of using a can after it's initial use, but cooler heads (and the maximum post length) prevailed).

If you have a really big volume to fill, work in layers, waiting for the previous layer to completely cure before proceeding, moisten the previous layer of foam with a mist bottle to improve the adhesion. If you do not do this you will end up with large voids in the middle of the foam. This may be a problem if you need to shape the resultant blob.

If it's really dry out, mist the foam with water to speed up the cure.

Foam-in-a-can (as opposed to 2 part) needs to out-gas to cure. The rate of cure is proportional to the amount of foam and the surface of the foam exposed to outside air. Big blobs of foam can take up to 24 hours to completely cure (poke it with a thin wire to tell if it has cured all of the way through (like testing a cake in the oven)).

I know it sounds like I went to HomeDespot, bought a single can of every style of foam, and tried them all out. I did.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

The next time you're up here, if I happen to be free, I'd be happy to do some sewing stuff with you. (Right now Warren is cleaning out my living room so I can start my holiday season projects.)

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Cool. Dunno when I'll be up with any free time, but I'll let you know. (I'll likely be up around New Year's Weekend, but I'm already fairly booked, at least in pencil.)

[jenatheia.livejournal.com]

If you ever want any help planting anything, I am insanely and totally in love with playing in the dirt. I volunteer to pot friend's plants just for the dirt time it gets me.

[signsoflife.livejournal.com]

get your furnace checked out once a year -- ours (being hooked to a steam radiator system) gets checking by "Plumbing and Heating" guys. The first time we called them in, we learned we'd been filling it all wrong. Oops. Lucky we didn't ruin the thing.