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Old 07-19-2014, 08:53 PM   #321
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In my home, an access panel for the shower valve would put it right by my bed!

How would I camouflage it? A painting or even a nicely framed photo by Walt would look really weird at that location.

No, no access panel.

How about a "false" air vent?

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Old 07-19-2014, 09:16 PM   #322
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I dunno. Air vents are usually not placed 2 or 3 ft off the floor. It would attract more attention.
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Old 07-20-2014, 11:13 AM   #323
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That could be a very good approach, it's hard to say w/o seeing it. Another option that works well in many cases is good old 'bondo', or generic 2-part auto body filler.

I patched our front entry door with that a few years back (we get the West sun, so wood takes a beating), and it has worked well. You can rough sand it as it sets to kind of match the grain of the wood. Then paint.

-ERD50

Thanks for the ideas! I'm still (over) analyzing the project.

I'm also concerned about the second panel from the bottom, which has its veneer separating at the bottom, and lately also at the top edge. Since the veneer at the top is only starting to separate, on the right side, I might just drill a few evenly spaced holes in it, and turn in some flathead screws over some finishing washers, to hold it down. Then paint, and hope the screwheads aren't too noticeable. I might just leave the bottom edge of the second panel alone for now and hope it doesn't get any worse. It's already warped out 7/8 of an inch and putting screws into it might make the panel get wavy.
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Old 07-20-2014, 02:00 PM   #324
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Thanks for the ideas! I'm still (over) analyzing the project.
Have you considered buying a new garage door and installing it yourself? I've seen basic garage doors available at the big box stores in the $300-400 range. I've never had to install one myself but it doesn't look like it would be a difficult DIY job, may need another person to lend a hand installing. May end up spending a lot of time trying to repair the old one with no guarantees to how good or long the repair will last.
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Old 07-20-2014, 02:05 PM   #325
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I've never had to install one myself but it doesn't look like it would be a difficult DIY job, may need another person to lend a hand installing .
If the door can use the same tracks/hanging hardware as the previous door, then getting the door up isn't very hard at all. What can be >very< dangerous is the springs. Either inline or torsion springs pack a lot of energy, and one slip can lead to a very bad or even fatal accident. There are some designs that are DIY friendly (i.e. install the door, then tension the spring with a hand drill chucked into a special attachment), and I'd spend the money for that type if I were to do this myself.
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Old 07-20-2014, 04:26 PM   #326
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Had leaky transmission cooling lines on winter beater truck. Cut out the rotted pieces, spliced in transmission line hose. Double clamped. Add 1/2 quart of tranny fluid to replace leaked stuff. Done.

In the process of crawling around underneath discovered another oil leak from some pipes near the radiator bottom. Poking about found it was the return line to the power steering pump. More cutting with the handy dandy mini tubing cutter. Had some high pressure hose left from repairing transmission line. Spliced it in.

No more leaks. Test driven the repair, still good. For now. At 190K miles plus in the rust belt I am sure there will be more.
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Old 07-20-2014, 09:56 PM   #327
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Originally Posted by zinger1457 View Post
Have you considered buying a new garage door and installing it yourself? I've seen basic garage doors available at the big box stores in the $300-400 range. I've never had to install one myself but it doesn't look like it would be a difficult DIY job, may need another person to lend a hand installing. May end up spending a lot of time trying to repair the old one with no guarantees to how good or long the repair will last.
Zinger, thanks for responding. No, I hadn't considered it. Seems too big of a job. But I have replaced one of the 2 coils already, many years ago. The old coil had snapped. Can't recall if it was easy or hard to do, but it was non-injurious, thankfully. The other coil has held up fine.

Wish I had more knowledge of carpentry, or had a friend with that knowledge. I would have had the door all fixed up way before things became a problem.
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Old 07-21-2014, 10:45 AM   #328
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Might be fixing up my garage door. The alternative is to spend about $1,000 on a new door. Must be inflation, but $1,000 sounds like a lot.

The veneer layer is peeling away from the edges, and warping, and tearing in some places. Trying to come up with a simple way to fix it that doesn't look like too much of an atrocity when done and painted. Probably lots of ways to do it.

I'm more comfortable working on cars. Don't do much carpentry.
It appears that it is only water damaged up about 1 inch or maybe a little more? What about just get a piece of alum angle, like 1.5 x 1.5 inches and put that on the corner. It will cover the damage and help reinforce the bottom edge. Being along the bottom it may look like it was intended to be there. You could paint it to match.
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Old 07-21-2014, 11:34 AM   #329
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It appears that it is only water damaged up about 1 inch or maybe a little more? What about just get a piece of alum angle, like 1.5 x 1.5 inches and put that on the corner. It will cover the damage and help reinforce the bottom edge. Being along the bottom it may look like it was intended to be there. You could paint it to match.
Thanks, Chevy454. I might end up doing something like that. I'm a little concerned that the veneer above the water damaged part will buckle once I press the aluminum down hard.

Today I painted all the exposed edges of the veneer so that at least it has some protection against soaking up more water.
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Old 07-21-2014, 06:41 PM   #330
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About vehicle leaks.
Over the years, have used for:
Radiator
Transmission
Power steering
Air conditioner
Oil leak
Tire
Brake fluid

all successful...

Pick any one, and the shop price for fixing.
new car, maybe different, but I've never owned one...
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Old 08-04-2014, 08:44 AM   #331
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More of an addition than a repair.
My wife and i got kayaks and have been camping in lake areas more this summer. i have a fully contained cab over camper and decided to install a solar system to keep the deep cycle batteries charged up. I bought a 25 watt crystalline solar panel and a charge controller. Attached the panel on the roof near the refrigerator roof vent - ran the wires down the vent into the camper attached the wires to the charge controller and back into the vent down to the battery bay and attached to the batteries. It is amazing how well this system works! We listen to music have several lights on at night and reading lights til we go to sleep and by noon the next day the controller is on maintenance having already charged the batteries to 100%. Have not had to use the generator (portable Honda 2000) since installing - will leave it home next time! A nice improvement
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Old 08-08-2014, 09:10 AM   #332
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I started noticing a little wind noise in my 2000 Volvo S40. Tried lowering the windows and putting them back up a couple times to try to re-seat the window, but still a little noise.

Tried again later, and I got a bad grinding, clunking sound, and the driver-side rear-seat window was stuck 1/4 down. Arghhhh!!!! I rarely run that one, you'd think the driver side would be the first to go?

After a few tries, I was able to grab the window with the palms of both hands with the door open (looking like I'm praying to the auto-gods or something), and with some vigorous side-side rocking, it finally rose and snapped into place.

Put some stylish black duct tape around it to hold it temporarily, then got some black caulk, and over the course of two days, ran a bead under the gasket all the way around, both inside and out. I'm pretty sure that ~ 12 feet of caulk will provide a great deal of tension, and it doesn't look bad at all. I never really need to open that window, and I'm in the OMY syndrome with this car, so that's fine.

I then looked into disabling the switches so it wouldn't be activated and possibly break the caulk free (unlikely). That turned out to be easy, I just popped the door switch out (one screw), and by disconnecting the plug, it seemed to disable both the door and driver control, so I taped that up and stuck it back in.

Tires are good, newer battery - yep, I think I can get OMY out of this car.

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Old 08-08-2014, 09:34 AM   #333
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Your window fix reminds me the fix on winter beater pickup passanger window. The channel under the glass which is traveled by the roller of the raising mechanism rusted out.

The fix:
Remove inside door panel.
Raise glass to proper height so fully closed.

Use temporary vedge to keep it up there.
Get a piece of 2x3" wood of the required height, or a bit longer.

Cut a V into one one end.
Jam in place so V is vedged against glass bottom, other end against bottom of door or horizontal crash bar inside door.
Trim 2x3 if too long, make sure it is a good and tight.
Replace inner door panel.
Disable control switch.

I've done this over the years on several beaters.
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Old 08-08-2014, 09:39 AM   #334
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Originally Posted by ls99 View Post
Your window fix reminds me the fix on winter beater pickup passanger window. The channel under the glass which is traveled by the roller of the raising mechanism rusted out.

The fix:
Remove inside door panel.
Raise glass to proper height so fully closed.

Use temporary vedge to keep it up there.
Get a piece of 2x3" wood of the required height, or a bit longer.

Cut a V into one one end.
Jam in place so V is vedged against glass bottom, other end against bottom of door or horizontal crash bar inside door.
Trim 2x3 if too long, make sure it is a good and tight.
Replace inner door panel.
Disable control switch.

I've done this over the years on several beaters.
Yep, that'll do it! But sometimes, getting those door panels apart can be a real bear - often special tools are required.


-ERD50
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Old 08-08-2014, 03:11 PM   #335
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After my daughter backed-up into a high curb and jacked the tailpipe forward and up, it was hitting the hanging bracket. Instead of fixing it "for real", I just improvised. Normally I wouldn't admit to this, but after "Jam in place...Disable control switch", I think I'm ok, hehe.

Using a couple of jacks, some 2x4's, and strategically located fulcrums, I was able to bend it so it didn't hit the frame any more. My first attempt was not successful because I didn't remove the thick rubber hangers, and all of my force went into stretching those, which just of course just sprung back to the original position. Once I pulled the hangers off, I got it bent enough (only needed an inch or so). After getting the hangers connected, it no longer buzzed against the frame!
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Old 08-08-2014, 03:18 PM   #336
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ls99 View Post
Your window fix reminds me the fix on winter beater pickup passanger window. The channel under the glass which is traveled by the roller of the raising mechanism rusted out.

The fix:
Remove inside door panel.
Raise glass to proper height so fully closed.

Use temporary vedge to keep it up there.
Get a piece of 2x3" wood of the required height, or a bit longer.

Cut a V into one one end.
Jam in place so V is vedged against glass bottom, other end against bottom of door or horizontal crash bar inside door.
Trim 2x3 if too long, make sure it is a good and tight.
Replace inner door panel.
Disable control switch.

I've done this over the years on several beaters.
So you're the guy I see ahead of me in the drive through who opens his door to order, then pulls up and opens his door to pay and get his food...
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Old 08-08-2014, 03:20 PM   #337
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This was my Dad's "repair" that all three of us kids remember. For some reason the washing machine was in the dining room - I think to get the water and drain connections without having to build an addition on the house. We're talking mid-1950's here, house built before WWII.

Anyway, one day the washing machine started leaking a small bit of water. After pondering this development, aided by a quart of beer, Dad got his 1/2" drill and drilled a hole in the dining room floor through to the crawl space underneath.

And that was his washing machine repair for the next several years.
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Old 08-08-2014, 04:40 PM   #338
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So you're the guy I see ahead of me in the drive through who opens his door to order, then pulls up and opens his door to pay and get his food...
I've been that guy. Then do the same thing to show the ID to get on the AFB.
The doors can be a big PITA to fix, hard to find the hidden clips (which break half of the time) for the trim and the crank handle (remember those?). I'd love to buy a car with simple exposed screws attaching the interior of the door, with easy-to-access wiper and heater motors, with light lenses that are held in place with simple screws, etc.
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Old 08-08-2014, 05:07 PM   #339
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So you're the guy I see ahead of me in the drive through who opens his door to order, then pulls up and opens his door to pay and get his food...

Had to laugh at this. Remembering a time when we had to drive armored civilian vehicles (Suburbans) in another country. You could roll down the window, but there was still an inch of a hard plastic (Lexan?) in the way. Made toll booth stops very interesting!
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Old 08-09-2014, 06:09 AM   #340
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Some of my window screens, especially on the south side facing windows, were showing their age so spent the morning replacing the screens. Used a heavier solar screen material this time. Sure wish they would make it in narrower widths (most of my window screens are long and narrow), ended up with a lot of waste and the solar screen material isn't cheap.
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