what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[Major Tom]

Unfortunately, this resulted in a bleached spot on the knee of my jeans.

Consider it as an enhancement. Some people pay good money for jeans finished that way.

 

[Lisa99]

End of day two babysitting twin six-year old nephews. Hyperactive, non-stop talking, yelling, arguing, typical kids and my nerves are fried.

Unfortunately I'm not retired so will go to work tomorrow with no mental break...pity party over.

 

[NW-Bound]

Today, my daughter invited us out for lunch. She just had another transfer/promotion in just 2 years with her present employer, and a total of 20% raise since she started. It was relaxing sitting out in the patio of the restaurant, enjoying the weather while sipping some Sangria.

I usually do not have such a heavy lunch, so took a nap when we got home. Then, woke up, did a bit more work on my solar panel project**, and now resting and contemplating the meaning of life and ER. You see, I got an email from the people for whom I did a short project late last year. As expected, they are happy with the results, and now talk about up-scoping it to a larger project, with my share of work in the couple of thousand hours. I think to do the whole thing that I proposed would have taken longer than that, so will have to negotiate.

I will have to really think about whether to accept this. It's not a dream job, I no longer can think of any job as such, but it may be a fun one, and pays well. My wife is still taking turn to take care of her infirm father, so I cannot travel much unless I go alone. Looks like just another year of w*rk for me. But heck, I already work myself to death doing personal projects for little return anyway, while waiting for my sweetheart to be free so we can travel [-]to Alaska and Siberia[/-] the world.

** About the MPPT charger project, I will not bore you anymore with the details until I get either some definite progress or throw in the towel. But I will keep you informed.

 

[Spartacus]

A dozen of doughnuts and my family tonight at Krispy Keene.

Easter candy and doughnuts.
Now for coma.

 

[REWahoo]

As I shuffled past the half bath this morning on the way to make coffee, I heard the distinct sound of dripping water - a lot of dripping water. The floor of the bathroom was very wet and it was coming from the back of the toilet tank. After a minute or two of blurry-eyed investigation, I discovered a crack in the tank (see photo).

Last evening we did hear an unusual noise from that part of the house and thought something fell from a shelf in the closet or utility room. It wasn't loud enough to be alarming and I was too lazy to investigate.

I am so thankful this happened while we were home. I'll never leave on a trip again without turning off the well pump as a flood prevention measure.

I'm off to buy a new toilet...

 

[TromboneAl]

You say the drip was coming from the back, but the crack is on the front. Cracked back there too?

 

[W2R]

What an awful occurence, REWahoo. Good luck in finding a new toilet. Mine is a rose-beige color that is probably no longer made, and matches the tub and sink. It would drive me nuts to have a mis-matched toilet. So, if that happened to me I'd probably have to do a complete bathroom remodel. In fact, maybe I'd have them take down one of the walls to make the bathroom bigger, and put in the giant shower I've always wanted..... but then there is a (tiny) shower only in the other bathroom, so maybe I'd have to remodel and enlarge BOTH bathrooms... and if I took the extra space from the master bedroom, I'd have to tack on an addition to the house for that... yep, that would be a very expensive toilet by the time I was done.

 

[REWahoo]

You say the drip was coming from the back, but the crack is on the front. Cracked back there too?

No, only the crack in front. Water was running down to the base of the tank and dripping off the back edge.

I'm really stumped as to what may have caused the tank to crack. I haven't fiddled with that toilet for more than two years and there is no sign of any blow to the tank that may have led to the failure. No extremes of water temperature either.

W2R, although the fluorescent light in the photo makes it look yellow, the toilet is plain white. No home remodel necessary, just a $200 Kohler replacement which, of course, is turning out to be a lot more work than it should. Seems the base of the new toilet is deeper than the old one and I had to cut out a small section of quarter round molding on the baseboard to allow it to fit. Which means I needed a second wax toilet ring - the spare I forgot to buy when I made the trip into town to get the toilet. So, I'm taking a break while DW picks one up for me after buying groceries.

A two hour project that will end up taking six - if I'm lucky.

I hate working on plumbing...

 

[W2R]

Wow, that was fast! It's great that you didn't have to worry about toilet color or style.

While you were actually accomplishing something, I have been tearing my house apart looking for my checkbook. The last time I wrote a check was in January, right here where I am sitting, and I haven't thought about it since. I look at my checking account every day, and no illicit checks have been passed. It's here somewhere.... Bet it fell under the sofa.

 

[MichaelB]

No, only the crack in front. Water was running down to the base of the tank and dripping off the back edge.

I'm really stumped as to what may have caused the tank to crack. I haven't fiddled with that toilet for more than two years and there is no sign of any blow to the tank that may have led to the failure. No extremes of water temperature either.

It could have had an internal crack beneath the surface for a long time and it just reached the surface last night. Hope the replacement didn't set you back too much.

 

[pb4uski]

Too late now, but you might have been able to just buy a new tank and re-use the same bowl. I did the inverse once when the bowl cracked.

 

[REWahoo]

Too late now, but you might have been able to just buy a new tank and re-use the same bowl. I did the inverse once when the bowl cracked.

I thought about it but the bowl had a small chip in it plus a quick search showed a replacement tank would have run me around $120. Figured I'd boost the economy a bit and spend the extra $80 for an entirely new model.

 

[Alan]

Sorry to hear about the toilet woes, REW.

As you say, it's just as well it happened while you were at home and not away traveling.

I've changed a couple of toilets in my past - not one of my favorite jobs, mostly 'cos I'm rubbish at plumbing.

 

[braumeister]

A two hour project that will end up taking six - if I'm lucky.

I hate working on plumbing...

Braumeister's Invariable Law of Plumbing Repair:

All projects will require three separate trips to the store.

 

[MichaelB]

As you say, it's just as well it happened while you were at home and not away traveling.

Yeah. I had that happen to me in '09 when the toilet seal went and no one was around. The water ran for about a month. My fault for not turning off the water when we're away.

 

[TromboneAl]

While you were actually accomplishing something, I have been tearing my house apart looking for my checkbook. The last time I wrote a check was in January, right here where I am sitting, and I haven't thought about it since. I look at my checking account every day, and no illicit checks have been passed. It's here somewhere.... Bet it fell under the sofa.

It is in a pocket.

 

[REWahoo]

Is it in one of the spaces between your car seat and the center console? Or between the base of the front passenger seat and the door?

 

[oldphd]

As you say, it's just as well it happened while you were at home and not away traveling.

A friend of mine who's been spending a few winter months in Florida for the past several years once told me the steps he takes to winterize his house for while he's away. It included turning off the water, which I understand, and emptying the toilet tank, which I didn't. Makes more sense now, can't say that I've heard of someone having this happen.

 

[Moemg]

As I shuffled past the half bath this morning on the way to make coffee, I heard the distinct sound of dripping water - a lot of dripping water. The floor of the bathroom was very wet and it was coming from the back of the toilet tank. After a minute or two of blurry-eyed investigation, I discovered a crack in the tank (see photo).

...

We had the same thing happen a few years ago . It was in an upstairs bath and luckily we saw the leak right away as it dripped from the ceiling .

 

[W2R]

It is in a pocket.

Good idea. It could be in my coat pockets, since it is no longer cold enough to wear a coat. I need to check my pockets.

Is it in one of the spaces between your car seat and the center console? Or between the base of the front passenger seat and the door?

This sounded likely too so I just checked these spots. I also checked inside the center console, and on the floor behind the driver's seat. No luck yet.

I used some new checks for those I needed to write today. I'm not done looking for it yet. (sigh)

 

[MBAustin]

In lieu of my normal morning walk, I went to Home Depot to buy grout to fix a tile floor, a hinge for a desk, and two bags of river pebbles to finish the border of our new backyard pond. No luck on the desk hinge - guess I'll need to look online for the right hinge (aggravating as the desk is only a few months old).

Spread the pebbles out and admired my landscaping handiwork of the past week while finishing my coffee. Now I just need to get the algae under control so we can enjoy our goldfish!

Fixed the grout. Unfortunately the color isn't a perfect match.

Ate leftovers for lunch. Spent the afternoon doing DS's taxes. Took all the tax stuff for everyone to the post office. Came home and while I was feeding the goldfish, DS called to say he'd been offered a summer internship .

Time to go fix dinner as both DH and I have meetings tonight for (different) volunteer activities.

 

[REWahoo]

Install done. I'm good to go.

 

[NW-Bound]

Reminded me that I once had a cracked tank, for no known reason. I just replaced the tank, however.

 

[Alan]

A friend of mine who's been spending a few winter months in Florida for the past several years once told me the steps he takes to winterize his house for while he's away. It included turning off the water, which I understand, and emptying the toilet tank, which I didn't. Makes more sense now, can't say that I've heard of someone having this happen.

Not heard that before.

 

[Dawg52]

A two hour project that will end up taking six - if I'm lucky.

I hate working on plumbing...

I don't/can't do plumbing. But I do have an independent guy who is dirt cheap. Two years ago my water heater died and I get this guy to go with me to Lowes and haul it in his truck to my house. From there he does the entire installation which took 2-3 hours and hauls off my old one. Entire job ran around 4 hours including time at store and hauling off the old. When I asked him how much, he said $50 will do it. I gave him an extra $20 just because I'm such a good guy.

Of course you will sleep well tonight knowing you took care of the job from start to finish.