Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[NgineER]

Installed a new water heater at home.
My old one lasted 29 years (5 year warranty). I doubt this one will last as long, but I bought a 12 year warranty one to replace the old one.

I noticed a wet spot underneath the old water heater and sure enough there was water leaking slowly from the bottom.

I placed the new one on foam board to get it off the concrete floor and hopefully reduce corrosion.

The biggest complication was getting the black pipe gas supply line aligned with the gas valve port. Fortunately there was a stub on the pipe that was the right length to make up the difference in height off the floor. After switching some fittings around I got it hooked up and we had hot water again. I understand why people go for the flexible gas lines.

Minnesota code just allowed flexible lines off the water heater in the 2016 code adoption. At the same time they also require Union fittings so that you can easily remove a water heater without cutting pipes. The plumber who installed the old one was smart enough to have put those on 25 years before code required it.
I also upgraded to a ball valve to turn the water off, I just hate the multi turn stop valves. I had to sweat some new fittings on because the new water heater was 12” taller than the old one.

 

[NateW]

I built a very large deck outback 8 yrs ago. I have noticed how the pressure treated wood seems to rot way too much compared to my older deck I had. I am finding my main supports are rotting on the edge and the top boards are coming loose due to the screws no longer having solid support. I spent the last few days removing bad boards and adding fresh wood to the supports. When I am finished with that I will be stripping and re-staining with TWP100. I figured with the virus and all, I should have plenty of me time.

Sometime around 2006 the US EPA banned arsenic containing compounds for use in pressure treated lumber. Copper sulfate and other less effective (and less toxic) compounds came into use.

 

[NgineER]

Put a flashing tape on top of your beams and joists to extend life substantially.

 

[John Galt III]

Replaced a rotted fence rail on my split rail fence. The new rail had huge, barely tapered ends, and I had to move a rail from another set of posts, into the place of the rotted one, and then I got the huge rail to fit in somewhere else. I suppose the holes in the posts aren't all the same size. I've noticed it has been getting harder and harder to find rails that are tapered down enough to fit into the post holes. Usually you can dig one out of the pile at Lowe's but this year every single rail had huge ends. I guess I could either saw the ends down, an ugly awkward job, or drill out the post holes larger (removing perfectly good wood in the process). What planet are these fence rail makers living on?

 

[Music Lover]

Put a flashing tape on top of your beams and joists to extend life substantially.

Last year I took down a 20 year old deck and the joists were in perfect shape. I wonder how much the deterioration has to do with the supplier or local climate?

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Installed a new water heater at home.
My old one lasted 29 years (5 year warranty). I doubt this one will last as long, but I bought a 12 year warranty one to replace the old one.

I noticed a wet spot underneath the old water heater and sure enough there was water leaking slowly from the bottom.

I placed the new one on foam board to get it off the concrete floor and hopefully reduce corrosion.

For other handymen and -women out there, a cut-out section of a wooden shipping pallet makes a nice platform for a water heater.

 

[Music Lover]

For other handymen and -women out there, a cut-out section of a wooden shipping pallet makes a nice platform for a water heater.

If that's not handy a Dricore panel works too:

 

[John Galt III]

I had a smaller 20x20 deck in the same spot, I put in 25 yrs ago. That wood held up beautiful. When I pulled it up to build this new one I gave my son all the old wood. He has it in his back yard and its still in good shape. Not sure when they changed the treatment away from arsenic but these newer boards don't seem to last like the old stuff.

I notice the wooden fence rails I get at Lowe's have gone down in quality over the years. A new fence rail seems to start rotting in about 5 or 6 years, usually at a knot on the surface. The original rails lasted about 15 years, some longer. The fence is 33 years old. The fence posts last longer than the rails. Maybe they are treated differently, or are made of different wood. Another problem with the new rails is that some of them warp terribly after 6 months. And they have doubled in price from $6.95 each to $13.95 each, over the last 10 years, even as the quality has decreased. Maybe time to shop around at fence companies for a better product. Hope they aren't sky high in price, though. edit to add: I've started to paint the new rails with one or 2 coats of Olympic wood sealer. I think it is making a difference. I recoat them, once they are outside, with a new coat every couple years, only on the top surface.

 

[NgineER]

If that's not handy a Dricore panel works too:

View attachment 34751

This would have been a slick solution as well. I would be concerned about the water wicking moisture from our basement floor as we do get water in when we have heavy rains. Out 1870’s house does not have great waterproofing.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I would be concerned about the water wicking moisture from our basement floor as we do get water in when we have heavy rains. Out 1870’s house does not have great waterproofing.

I fear the foam board might trap moisture under it then. I'm in a century-old place too and had a similar experience until I had a landscaper come out and do some fairly radical grading around the house. The old rubble foundations are far from waterproof. You might consider putting in a groundwater sump, although it would be pricey if coupled with a french drain. Grading cost considerably less in my case.

 

[Sunset]

I was in an old house, they had poured a 4 inch square of concrete to create a raised area for the water tank and furnace to sit upon.

I suppose a bunch of concrete blocks laid down would also work, or a 2x2 patio stone.

 

[txtig]

Installed a new water heater at home.
My old one lasted 29 years (5 year warranty). I doubt this one will last as long, but I bought a 12 year warranty one to replace the old one.

You must have much better quality of water than I have. I just replaced both of my water heaters after only 10 years. They’ve been making banging/knocking noises while heating for almost two years. I didn’t want to push my luck any further.

The heaters are located in the attic space above the second floor in my home (pretty typical Texas construction practice). I got one of my adult sons and one of his friends to do the heavy lifting . . . getting the old ones down and the new ones up. It was quite a chore, especially since one of them didn’t fully drain due to sediment build-up.

My part of the job was the disconnections and reconnections. I bought new flex pipes for the gas supply, hot and cold water supply, and pressure relief valves. That made the job fairly simple, in spite of working in cramped quarters. Everything started up just fine with no gas or water leaks. A successful job! I hope I’m good for at least another 10 years.

 

[ERD50]

....

The biggest complication was getting the black pipe gas supply line aligned with the gas valve port. Fortunately there was a stub on the pipe that was the right length to make up the difference in height off the floor. ....

You want to leave a stub there, in case you didn't. Theory is that residue and moisture drop into that stub, it acts like a filter. Not sure it matters in practice though, or maybe 1 in a million?


-ERD50

 

[NgineER]

I switched the shorter stub for the longer one with the union coupling, essentially just turning the assembly another half turn and switching the union and the stop around. The stop cap had a bunch of natural gas smelling goop in it.

I know that there will be a lot of moisture under the foam board, but I’m ok with that.
Our house does need a lot of grading, but unfortunately our yard is lower than two of our three neighbors.

 

[Boho]

I fixed a leak at the base of the tap that's been a problem for years. The super came up a few years ago and just tightened the nut which re-squished the washer, but I think that only lasted a few months, then I re-tightened it, and that lasted a bit longer, then I just dealt with the leak. I kept a plastic cookie container under the sink to catch the occasional drip, which I'm keeping there just in case, whether there's a leak or not. Today I did some research and removed the tap to see what washer I need and got lucky to find a replacement for one of the two washers in my faucet parts bag, and that fixed it.

 

[madsquopper]

Replaced the tub seal on the dishwasher (again) after we saw some water leaking out the bottom. This is the second time I've had to do this; thought the last time was only a couple of years ago but maybe it was longer. Washer is something like 12 years old so can't complain too much, other than the cost of a long piece of rubber seems a bit high, even on Amazon.

 

[Time2]

Visited my daughter last week, her Shark vacuum cleaner took a trip down the stairs and broke where the brush/beater bar connects to the upright section. No material to get a screw or metal pin in. I bought some superglue with an activator for plastic.


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Loctite-Plastics-Bonding-System-2g-Super-Glue-681925/100371829


I glued it in place, and then sanded the surrounding surface until I had a prepped as well as possible.



I then mixed up a two part epoxy and applied it on both sided of the crack,
filling in as much area as I could.



https://www.lowes.com/pd/JB-Weld-Plastic-Bonder-Brown-Epoxy-Adhesive/1000820860


I let it cure for 24hrs, it made it through the first vacuum without any problem. I'm hoping I saved her the cost of a new vacuum cleaner.

 

[travelover]

...............I then mixed up a two part epoxy and applied it on both sided of the crack, filling in as much area as I could...........

I've found that there is a big difference in two part epoxies, with JB Weld being the best. I repaired an electric chain saw handle using JB in conjunction with some fiberglass cloth and, wow, it is amazingly strong.



I loved this test. this test.

 

[Time2]

For over 40 years, I have used a two part epoxy called Fastweld 10, now made by Huntsman. Forty years ago it was made by Ciba Geigy and was called Araldite, it is still sold under that name.
It is a very good fast cure (5 min) epoxy. Can be filed or sanded once cured.
https://krayden.com/fastweld-10-ab/

 

[travelover]

For over 40 years, I have used a two part epoxy called Fastweld 10, now made by Huntsman. Forty years ago it was made by Ciba Geigy and was called Araldite, it is still sold under that name.
It is a very good fast cure (5 min) epoxy. Can be filed or sanded once cured.
https://krayden.com/fastweld-10-ab/

Sounds good, but until I see it tested by Project Farm, I just don't know.

 

[Palmtree]

I was in an old house, they had poured a 4 inch square of concrete to create a raised area for the water tank and furnace to sit upon.

I suppose a bunch of concrete blocks laid down would also work, or a 2x2 patio stone.

Our 15 year old electric water heater sits in a pan and the pan rests on two short sections of treated 6x6" lumber to keep it off the floor. I've never seen this before, but it works.

 

[Arizona1]

Just ordered amazon part to rebuild RV toilet again. They aren’t made for full time use so need to replace the flush spring again. Only about a 30 minute job bit my recliner will miss me.

 

[JP.mpls]

I opened my cabin yesterday.

Turned on the water, and the copper pipe connected to the main water valve came flying apart. Water everywhere.

This valve is in the dark damp root cellar of my 1925 shack of a cabin.

I tried to just resolder it back together, and it still leaked. I ended up cutting off the section with the valve, and replacing the whole thing. Very satisfying when it didn't leak, and everything is now working properly.

I even have a working toilet.

I earned my evening beer.

JP

 

[6miths]

Put in a new sink at the cottage. Replaced a double stainless steel with a single stainless steel from Costco. Sink is very nice but the mounting clips were a joke compared to the one that I took out. Looks good and more room under the sink with only one drain in the sink. Tomorrow, new laundry room tub.

 

[kjpliny]

Just replaced the run capacitor on my 4-ton HVAC unit. On startup, it was pulling too much current and making noise, so I figured it was time to change it. Runs great now, but I also ordered a 5-2-1 Soft Start kit on Amazon to lower the LRA even more. Might even be able to run it off the Honda EU7000is generator after that...we'll see.

Also installed a new Pentair variable speed pump for the pool. Got a $350 rebate from the utility company and should save about $400/year on electric vs. my old single speed pump. It's really quiet out there now...no pump noise when running at a lower RPM, so it was a good decision.

All ready for summer!