What A Drip!

Another unforeseen expense that crept up on me the past week or two - a replacement kitchen faucet, GRRR

The old faucet began leaking from around the collar when the water was running.  Not a bad leak but leaking nonetheless. The other day I had the darndest time turning the water off, as the lever was stuck.  I'm guessing the rubber or plastic parts within the collar wore out or started corroding and this was causing the issues.  I sprayed WD40 in and around the seal of the collar and that eventually allowed me to turn the water off and on, and to continue to use the faucet.

I installed the old faucet years ago, guessing in early 2000s, so I got my use out of it and more, so it was time.  I didn't feel right leaving this issue behind for the new owners, so I picked up a new faucet.

I had a fleeting thought that I would tackle this repair and easily install the new unit but thankfully I chose to have a plumber do it.  Turns out the old hardware, underneath the sink, was rusted and the plumber had a hard time trying to get things disconnected.  He ended up using a Dremel-like saw to cut the old rusted parts out. Of course he made easy work of it and with the right tools it was. I would still be under the sink, bloodied knuckles and cursing up a storm, all the while making zero progress.

Before -

After -

Sometimes it's a well worth while investment to pay someone to do such tasks - money well spent!

Where There's Smoke...

The Franklin Fire Department was out this morning to test my fire and CO2 alarms, which is a requirement in order to close and sell on a house here in Massachusetts -

CO2 alarms passed with flying colors!

However, the (4) hardwired smoke detectors did not pass, UGH.

They failed because they're older ionization-type alarms, which are no longer supported, GRRR.

So, I ran out to The Home Depot and picked up the below Kidde (4) pack of photoelectric alarms. Another hidden expense of selling a home -

I removed the old ionized alarms - 

And installed the new photoelectric alarms -

The vaulted ceilings in the living room were a bit more challenging and required the use of my long extension ladder -

The new alarms all tested fine!

Now it's just a matter of having the Franklin Fire Department come back out to reinspect and issue their passed certificate, so the closing can be completed.

A Sprinkler Conundrum

Posting to get your thoughts on what appears to be a lawn sprinkler, that is recessed in a ground level green PVC pipe.  It's located in corner of the front yard of my daughters new house in Chicago.

It's the only one on the property and I was unable to locate any button or switch or spigot or anything, both inside the house and out, to control this thing.  Nor was there any way to physically raise the sprinkler up directly.

** Side note - look at how nice the flower bed is edged in the picture below <pats myself on the back>!

The yard itself is tiny, so this one sprinkler as installed would be sufficient to water the entire front lawn without any problems.

 The house was originally a one story house with a basement.  However, a second floor was added and the house remodeled from top to bottom, including a complete finish of the basement.  What I'm guessing is that this was installed BEFORE the house was renovated and during the remodel, the switch or nozzle or whatever it was that controlled this device was either removed or covered up with sheetrock and plaster.

It's unfortunate to lose the ability to control this but what worries me, especially residing in Chicago, is the winter and the very real possibility of the water line feeding this freezing and busting.  How would you know, assuming it wouldn't puddle?  Perhaps, a super crazy water consumption bill!

Any thoughts on how something like this can be troubleshot in an effort to locate a way to turn on\off or confirm it's still connected to the water lines?

SO weird!

Getting Back On "Track"...

Another home repair project completed!

This one has been a problem for years, which I should have addressed long before now.  It's been a pain in the rump with the doors not closing properly and often popping open.

The washer and dryer closet track system for my bi-fold doors has been damaged to the point that it could no longer be adjusted properly.  This would cause the hardware to come loose at times, doors not hang vertical and flop open.

Well, no more!  I bought all new track and hardware and in less than an hour replaced it all AND what a difference!

Before - old rusted, base door bracket -

After - shinny new hardware -

New top track and door rollers AND you can see the perfect vertical spacing of the two abutting doors, which now stay closed without needing to lean on each other -

MMHGA - Make My House Great Again!

#Blessed

The Devil Is In The Details

I'm still making a few small changes here in there to my bathrooms, which help make the recent upgrades, e.g. paint, look and 'pop'. It's a work in progress, as they say.  Here are some examples below -

Let me start by saying that the town of Franklin has very harsh water, which is evident over time on all things that the water touches and runs through, e.g. sink and tub fixtures, toilets, etc.

I stopped in at Lowes, and for relatively short money, picked up some new chrome bling for both of my upstairs bathrooms

Before - Master bedroom shower head trim -

After - Master bedroom shower head trim -

Before - Communal upstairs bathroom shower head trim - 

After - Communal upstairs bathroom shower head trim -

Before - Communal upstairs bathroom tub drain cover* -

After - Communal upstairs bathroom tub drain cover* -

*Apologies for the pics containing hairs!  I know EWWW!

Again, low cost and minimal effort to replace these items, yet they make a big difference in appearance.

Onward I go...

A Fresh Coat Of Paint Makes a Difference III

I've completed painting the master bathroom, hooray!

The ugly lilac color is no more and has been replaced with a light grey called "Etched Glass".  I like it SO much better and it brightens the room up too!

The shower has a new, more appealing curtain (yes, it needs to be ironed, just too lazy on my part) and I've replaced the light switches from almond to white. I even sanded and painted the baseboard heater to match the wall color.

I still have some decorating to do.  I'm mulling things over and in no rush.  Leaning towards a wall mounted, over the toilet farmhouse style vanity, new throw rugs and perhaps, even a new light fixture over the mirror and sink.

Before -

After -

Before -

After -

Before -

All the shelves and stuff were removed from the walls, all the holes patched and sanded before I began painting

After -

On to the next project...

New Boiler Observations

If you recall, back in May 2024 I replaced my older gas boiler and water heater, see previous post - "BIG Home Improvement!", and for the most part I am pleased.

There are a couple things I'm still getting adjusted to, things that it would have been nice to have been given a heads up on by the plumbing company.  They're not show stoppers but rather annoyance that come with making the change from an older boiler to a newer, wall mounted system.

Now that we're into winter and the heat is on...

The first and most noticeable is that my basement is CONSIDERABLY colder, see thermometer pic below - mid to low 50s!  My old boiler was a steel box that sat on the floor and would radiating heat into the basement as it ran.  That alone kept the basement somewhat toasty.  I never took a temperature reading with the old but was definitely some ~10 degrees warmer than it is today, so mid 60's.

It was also nice, after shoveling snow, to be able to place my wet items, e.g. boots, gloves, hat and coats near the old boiler to help them dry quicker.  That 'feature' is no longer available with the new boiler, alas.

The second item is hot water.  I have endless hot water now, once it's warmed up, however, it takes much longer to call and get hot water when needed.  It's not the time that irks me, rather the amount of cold water that runs down the drain while waiting for the hot water to arrive. Potentially saving money, on gas, with a new energy efficient boiler but it's costing me more in water and sewer use for all the extra water going down the drain.

Meant as observations rather than criticisms.

I'm thankful for all that I have! 

Home Repairs, So "Draining" II!

After my recent kitchen sink plumbing repairs I noticed the new drain that was installed wasn't installed properly in the recessed area of the sink itself, see first pic below.

Unfortunately, I didn't notice it while the plumbers, who did the work, were still here, otherwise I would have said something then.

Frustratingly, I decided I'd just live with it, yet I struggled with my darn OCD every time I placed an item in the sink. 

It remained that way for about a week until I received the invoice in the mail for the work done. Well, that was all the motivation I needed and sent a text, with picture, to the owner to request they return to correct their mistake.  He responded immediately, apologized and had the plumber back out the next morning to fix, see second pic below -

After the initial installation of this new sink drain -

After having the plumber come back out to the house to fix the new drain properly -

Phew, all better, which has quieted and satisfied my OCD.

A More Subtle Look

Can you spot the difference between the two sets of pics below?!

Seems once I get an idea in my head, watch out.  For whatever reason, perhaps when organizing the upstairs hall closets, I became fixated on the attic pull down stairs and how the wood stain look was drawing too much attention to it.  Plus, I've come to realize that I'm not a big fan of the stain wood doors, trims and baseboards throughout the house and in general. So, I decided to paint it white to match the ceiling with the hope that it would blend in a bit better.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon, and pictured below, where I applied the third coat of paint.  It's looking like a fourth coat is needed, especially the trim, and then I can claim victory.

When I apply the 4th coat, I also plan to paint the ceiling too, giving it a fresh new look, so stay tuned.

Before -

After -

Before -

After -

Just trying to keep myself busy.

Onto the next project...

Home Repairs, So "Draining"!

Back on November 5 I posted an entry called, "Boy Was I Flushed!", describing the crazy high estimate I received to replaced some toilet tank hoses.

Well, that estimate, and the main reason I reached out to said plumbing company "A" initially was because my kitchen sink was leaking, the dishwasher aerator was leaking and I had some concerns with the copper line shutoff valves looking all crusty, green and corroded.

Like the estimate to replace the toilet tank hoses, the estimate to do all the necessary working  under the sink was also crazy expensive too!  Fortunately, the leaks were not bad, so I was able to put a pan (seen in first pic) in place to catch the water, which then allowed me time to get some additional estimates.

Fast forward several weeks and tadah!

My old reliable plumber came through, as he always has, provided an estimate to do all the repair work, which came it at HALF the cost as the initial estimate from plumbing company "A", YES HALF, scheduled the work and had it all completed within a couple days of me reaching out.

All PVC piping was replaced to repair the leaks and is now up to current plumbing code, new sink drain basket, new dishwasher aerator, new copper piping and 3-new shutoff valves -

One less item to worry about.

Onto the next...

Will Wonders Never Cease!

It's taken years but yesterday was the day it happened, my paver walkway FINALLY got repaired!

Pavers were sinking causing the walkway to become uneven, several edge pieces had even come completely loose and the polymeric sand, the sand between the pavers (cracks), needed to be replaced.

Frustratingly, the company that did the original install has been bread crumbing me the last couple years but my persistence paid off and they stepped up and did the right thing to fix their work.

There are a couple more items from the original job that need to be repaired, so fingers crossed they continue to step up and do the right thing and schedule the repairs soon.

An Afternoon Of Patching

Along with flashing around my chimney the other afternoon I also took care of some other caulking chores around the outside of my house.

I felt confident enough time has passed since I defeated the yellow jackets that had moved into my living room wall via holes between the trim and chimney bricks, so I removed all the cotton balls I used to block the access holes, scrapped, brushed and removed all the old caulking and resealed!  I used a whole tube and a half to seal both sides from top to bottom, making sure to squeeze plenty off caulk into the larger holes, cracks and crevasses.  It comes out white but dries clear and looks nice!  Hoping this prevents further squatters from moving into the walls of my house - 

I also re-caulked some of the cracks in the walkway and pool deck -

And lets not forget about the driveway!  I filled a handful of cracks that have already started along the sides.  This will prevent water from getting in there, freezing this winter and making the cracks bigger -

Another fall project done! Onto the next...

Flashing Checking 101

I'm a Frye, it's what WE do.  This task has been handed down from one generation to the next - 

"check the flashing"!

I'm sure my grandfather, CBFrye, and my dad, CBFrye Jr., would approve and be proud.  They're both "master flasher checkers" and I'm proud to say that I'm on track to be one too!

I've picked up and continue to carry on the "did you check the flashing" tradition!

Today, I checked and re-applied the tar flashing around my chimney.  As you can see in the pic below it was time, as the flashing dried and had cracks in it -

Before-

A fresh coat of flashing and I'm now worry free from any leaks with the up and coming winter.

After - 

I'm not sure when I bought this can of Henry's FlashMaster but guessing some 20+ years ago and today I finished it off, empty.  That's a lot of flashing I've done over the years.

I learned from the best and continue to carry on the Frye tradition of "checking the flashing" whenever up on the roof, any roof!

You Suck!

So this happened on Thursday afternoon, the brush belt on my Dyson vacuum cleaner broke, UGH!

How am I supposed to clean up the baking soda I put down after cleaning up cat puke from my carpets, ALAS!

Not to worry, Amazon to the rescue.  A bit of research and for about ~$15.00 dollars I was able to order (2) replacement belts AND a new brush, which arrived late Friday.  The first item on my Saturday to-do list was to install the new belt and brush, which was easy-peasy!

Let me tell you, it is amazing the difference in how well the new brush picks up the dog and cat hair!  I can feel the difference in how the machine pulls, SO much better.  I highly recommend a brush replacement for any older vacuum,

To The Victor Belong The Spoils!

So, I just finished mopping the floors this morning.  Since they were still wet I took a seat in the living room to give them time to dry before walking on them and put things back in place.

A couple minutes later I hear, what sounded like the cat chasing her bell ball around in the other room, so didn't give it too much thought beyond that.

However, about 5-minutes later, when I made my way into the front hall, I noticed drops of blood all over the foyer carpet!  Trixie was with me in the living rooms, so not worries it was her blood, rather I assumed it was the frick'n cat -

Then I look up and am SHOCKED to see the below, my blinds torn apart and ruined, WTF, and NOW I am livid -

So, off I go in a seek and destroy mission to find Oliver!

I see him at the top of the stairs and immediately head that way with steam shooting outta my ears, however, when I get to the top of the stairs I am further shocked at what I discover -

A dead female Sparrow lying and staining my carpet!

Although, I am still upset at the destroyed blinds, which I now need to replace, I'm kinda proud that Oliver took care of this prowler!  I've seen him attempt to catch a chipmunk that was essentially cornered and he failed, so I assumed he was special needs when it came to his hunting abilities but that has now changed!

Seems the screen was opened just enough and this sparrow thought it a good idea to venture inside. I'm fairly certain that she won't be doing this ever again 😉(as I drop her into the trash barrel)...