Joined: Dec 27, 2004 Posts: 12471 Location: zombie horde wonderland
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:13 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
Bytesmiths wrote:
learn how to do basic plumbing.
Plumbing is easy and fun. I'm the plumber in the family; my husband is usually the electrician. _________________ No original ideas are contained in this post.
Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5389 Location: Oklahoma
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:22 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
Ludi wrote:
I'm the plumber in the family;
Me too! I first took on that job when we had a broken water line at our new property. I had to dig around to find the leak, then patch up the PVC with a new section. It's a fun and satisfying job, and easy, like you said. _________________ "Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young
Joined: Apr 17, 2005 Posts: 2717 Location: Vancouver Island
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:17 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
Quote:
Plumbing is easy and fun. I'm the plumber in the family; my husband is usually the electrician.
Thats why I was asking for more details about what is wrong. When I replaced my bathroom I repaced 90% of the waterlines in the house basically everything but the last 10 feet going to the kitchen sink. Total cost for all the million and 1 fittings(I did pex) and the pipe and everything else necessary wasn't $400.
It's entirely worth learning how to do on your own. Worst thing that can happen is you get a leak so watch for it and then fix it when it happens. _________________ shame on us, doomed from the start
god have mercy on our dirty little hearts
Joined: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 6497 Location: My Grandkids' Farm
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:45 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
benzoil wrote:
Man, I got this all backwards. I can do my own electrical, but I'm terrible with plumbing.
You are half way there; just remember water and power are not friends – especially when you are the matchmaker!
Seriously, download or buy a CodeCheck and a DIY plumbing book from your local big box home store, the first tells you how it should be done and the second tells you how to get it done.
Best money you will ever spend if you own your own… _________________ Make a plan and work it:
Joined: Aug 26, 2005 Posts: 423 Location: Windy City No Longer
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:52 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
I've heard it's easy: water goes up, sh*t goes down, payday's on Friday. Still, after electrical, drywall, and framing, I balk at plumbing. I have to dig up the water line to my wood furnace next year and rebury it deeper, so I will get my chance to learn some plumbing. _________________ TANSTAAFL
Joined: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 6497 Location: My Grandkids' Farm
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:04 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
Gluing up PVC, soldering copper and threading pipe takes a little practice and tools.
Buy the tools and materials you need to do only one job and it doesn’t matter how much material you waste you will be ahead of the bill you receive from the pro.
And you will also be ahead in tools, knowledge and a few spare parts… _________________ Make a plan and work it:
Joined: Sep 16, 2007 Posts: 1317 Location: Oklahoma City, USA
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:11 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
strider3700 wrote:
RedStateGreen wrote:
Got an estimate on fixing our hot water issue. Basically, we have an electric heater (which as it turns out, works fine) but hot water isn't getting to the faucets. It's going to cost $500 - $1000 to fix.
Can you give some more details on this? Do you get any water from the hot water tap? My thoughts are either the line is clogged and you get nothing, you get lots of cold because it was plumbed wrong in the first case(unlikely), or it's somehow losing all the heat on the way from the tank(also unlikely but cooling is normal)
We get water from the hot water tap but very low pressure. Some taps are fine, others not. The water here is very poorly filtered and we have to clear out the little cap on the faucets about every few weeks with pieces of lime in there. The plumber thinks one of the distribution lines is clogged up.
I know how to do some things but I'm doing everything on my own right now (DH is mostly disabled and I'm just happy he's going to work and getting a paycheck) and if he wants to pay for a plumber I'm happy to let someone else figure this out.
(meanwhile, back on the topic ...) I sent my cousin in Bolivia an email today. I'm going to find out what the situation is there where he lives.
I also talked to DH about a property a lady on an email group I belong to said is being sold down the street from her (30 miles south of here but way rural), 2 acres and a house for $16,000. DH laughed at me but said it was okay to take a look at it.
In any case, my plan for this month is to get my kids their passports. The way things are going I'd like to keep my options open. _________________ Conservation is conservative
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment."
Joined: Oct 27, 2004 Posts: 633 Location: Salt Spring Island, Cascadia
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:43 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
Today, we laid out an area to be deer-fenced. "Big deal!" you might say. But this is fence we salvaged from another location, and it extends an existing fenced area and abuts a property line, so the calculations got a bit complicated in order to optimally re-use all the materials. (We even straightened the fencing staples we pulled.)
I also collected 160 liters of used vegoil, which will be biodiesel this time tomorrow.
I also worked on a neighbor's antique tube radio, which had a bad electrolytic condenser. I replaced the ancient, three-section one with three capacitors from my junk box, and it no longer hums, but there's no music coming out, so I have to resort to signal tracing and injection to figure out the next step.
(This neighbor -- coincidentally -- has a 30 foot easement on our property right were I want to put the new fence... Community building never ends... :-) _________________ :::: Jan Steinman, Communication Steward, EcoReality, a forming sustainable community. Be the change! ::::
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 10:45 am Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
I'm having a compost day today. All the various rotted and semi-rotted piles of organic stuff that have been building up in various locations will be layered onto my veggie beds, in order of decomposition, and the beds will be generally tidied up for Autumn & Winter. Finishing the composting in place should result in less loss of nutrients. I've had some stuff under a black sheet of weed-barrier plastic for the whole year, and I will take my first peek underneath it to see what's happening down there. I'm a bit nervous; I might find a gateway to the Underworld complete with ticket-booths!
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 2:36 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
Okay just a few bewildered ants under the cover, and lots of rather nice-looking compost (Oh how my tastes and interests have changed since taking the pill...blue? red? I can't remember which). I'm about a third of the way through the task I've set myself, and I'm going to have to take it easy...not so young as I used to be, unfortunately. But all the aches and pains will be worth it, I'm sure.
Joined: Sep 16, 2007 Posts: 1317 Location: Oklahoma City, USA
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:13 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
This morning I harvested my third heaping batch of basil this year. I've been experimenting with various ways of preserving it.
Also found a more local source of milk and picked up some. My goal is to have all my food within 25 miles (which is about as far as I can see biking in one day).
Today I finished reading "Eating Fossil Fuels". It wasn't bad. I think it would be too basic for most people on here.
(link deleted)
ETA: Turns out that book was posted on that site without the permission of the author, sorry. _________________ Conservation is conservative
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment."
Last edited by RedStateGreen on Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:31 am; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:32 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
Mid summer I replaced my very old inefficient shower haed with a new one that was standard now, and reduced my propane use by 2/3. Yesterday I replaced it with an even more efficient 1.6 GPM model and expect to see further savings. Also cleaned out the garden for fall today and squirelled another 5 gallons of diesel fuel in the shed in case we attack Iran. Also sighted in one of my scoped AR15s the other day.
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4409 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:45 pm Post subject: Re: Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil wo
I replaced a pressure tank and in the process a bunch of other pipes i rerouted this summer. I also tore out all the glavanized i had and replaced with copper. Soldering is not hard if you get it good and clean and use that tinned flux and MAPP torch. You MUST make sure all the water is out of the line before soldering, i about went nuts a couple of times because tiny amts of water would keep get in the pipe i was soldering and not allowing the fitting to heat up (always heat the fittings/not the pipe). I wouldn't say plumbing is fun, but it is satisfying when you turn the water back on a no leaks/sprays/gushers spring forth. _________________ "Oil is going up because we use too much oil, and the capacity to replace reserves is dwindling"
-President Bush 11/07/07
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