Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[sengsational]

I'm no EE, but I did take Circuits 101 in college

Might be more work than you're willing to put-in, but here's what I did with a signal cable (coax), and it's still working.

Created a "boat" out of aluminum foil and put it under the wire (while in the ground, exactly where it would be after I put dirt around it). Then I melted some soft wax (in a tin can in the garage), then came out to the hole and filled-up the aluminum foil "boat" with the wax, entirely covering the connector and wires going into the connector. Then I buried it, trying not to move it at all while doing so.

 

[travelover]

The way I'd splice a low voltage wire is to slide on a piece of shrink tubing away from the break, solder the wire, then slide the shrink tube over the soldered joint, then hit the shrink tape with a hair dryer or heat gun. Do each wire separately.

 

[SpinDr]

Not really a repair but a maintenance item. Always do my own oil changes as I know it's done right (some not so good oil changes done by "professionals" in the past) and I like doing the work. But...the oil changes on my wife's Toyota 4Runner are quite the task. A 22 step process believe it or not! Took me about 90 minutes start to finish. I know some Porsches are crazy but surprised at the work needed for this Toyota.

 

[manerac]

The way I'd splice a low voltage wire is to slide on a piece of shrink tubing away from the break, solder the wire, then slide the shrink tube over the soldered joint, then hit the shrink tape with a hair dryer or heat gun. Do each wire separately.

Wrap with silicone tape such as Scotch 70 before shrinking the tubing for better waterproofing.

 

[RockyMtn]

Been in the remodeled house for a year so I guess it is time for things to start breaking.

Kitchenaid Range circulation fan started making an awful racket. Replaced fan. Warranty!

Pentair Pool Pump programming pad/led went out. Replaced control panel. Warranty!

 

[Texas Proud]

The way I'd splice a low voltage wire is to slide on a piece of shrink tubing away from the break, solder the wire, then slide the shrink tube over the soldered joint, then hit the shrink tape with a hair dryer or heat gun. Do each wire separately.

I do not want to have to get down in the hole to solder... there is not much extra wire to work with.... thought about just wrapping them together and shrink wrapping... but then saw the splice thing and bought it...

 

[travelover]

I do not want to have to get down in the hole to solder... there is not much extra wire to work with.... thought about just wrapping them together and shrink wrapping... but then saw the splice thing and bought it...

That may be fine. Solder seals the connection against corrosion due to moisture. If the lights dim, you know where to dig.

 

[John Galt III]

Finished installing my new water heater from Home Depot. Went easier than I thought. I was able to drag old one out, angle new one up onto 3 bricks. Sharkbite connections went on easily, even though I missed the fact that one pipe was 2 inches lower than another. Already had a hot shower.

 

[Sunset]

Finished installing my new water heater from Home Depot. Went easier than I thought. I was able to drag old one out, angle new one up onto 3 bricks. Sharkbite connections went on easily, even though I missed the fact that one pipe was 2 inches lower than another. Already had a hot shower.

Great way to save a lot of $$$
Did you put in in a pan or is it in a location where it doesn't matter too much if it leaks ?

 

[LakeRat1]

Fun Fun ..... Our PM home is Ft Myers has sprung a leak..... Had the roof inspected and it was suggested that we need a new roof. Nails are exposed on the shingles, along with silicone patch jobs..... Got the estimate for a metal roof, new vents, etc.... $2150.00.... The joys of retirement ....

 

[travelover]

........ Got the estimate for a metal roof, new vents, etc.... $2150.00................

Pretty cheap. I'd expect it cost 10 times as much.

 

[Sunset]

Fun Fun ..... Our PM home is Ft Myers has sprung a leak..... Had the roof inspected and it was suggested that we need a new roof. Nails are exposed on the shingles, along with silicone patch jobs..... Got the estimate for a metal roof, new vents, etc.... $2150.00.... The joys of retirement ....

That is really cheap for a metal roof.
Our shingle roof would have been $5,000 - $6,000 and it is a small house. j
Metal is normally more expensive.

 

[John Galt III]

Great way to save a lot of $$$
Did you put in in a pan or is it in a location where it doesn't matter too much if it leaks ?

No pan. It's next to a floor drain and the leaks, if not huge, will go down the drain (mostly).

 

[LakeRat1]

Actually, several people have had their roofs replaced with metal in our community. The roof area is 420 sqft .... This is a Park Model Home / Trailer ..... Includes the removal of the old shingles, a barrier, then the tin...... along with new vents

 

[Koogie]

That is really cheap for a metal roof.
Our shingle roof would have been $5,000 - $6,000 and it is a small house. j
Metal is normally more expensive.

Jeez, that is expensive ! I guess home reno, like real estate, is local, local, local.

The last year we rented a house beside the lake in Toronto, the landlord had to replace the roof and a skylight (2014). It was a small 60's bungalow, about 800 sq. feet on the main floor, with a simple slope, medium pitch. The total job came to C$1700.00 (say U$1600) at the time. That included the (non opening) skylight and 25 year shingles. I know by speaking to the current neighbors that 2 storey jobs in our area still don't come to much more than about 2.5 grand.

 

[REWahoo]

Jeez, that is expensive ! I guess home reno, like real estate, is local, local, local.

The last year we rented a house beside the lake in Toronto, the landlord had to replace the roof and a skylight (2014). It was a small 60's bungalow, about 800 sq. feet on the main floor, with a simple slope, medium pitch. The total job came to C$1700.00 (say U$1600) at the time. That included the (non opening) skylight and 25 year shingles. I know by speaking to the current neighbors that 2 storey jobs in our area still don't come to much more than about 2.5 grand.

Wow, sounds like a bargain to me.

I got three bids last year when we replaced ours, and all were north of $15K.

 

[Sunset]

Jeez, that is expensive ! I guess home reno, like real estate, is local, local, local.

The last year we rented a house beside the lake in Toronto, the landlord had to replace the roof and a skylight (2014). It was a small 60's bungalow, about 800 sq. feet on the main floor, with a simple slope, medium pitch. The total job came to C$1700.00 (say U$1600) at the time. That included the (non opening) skylight and 25 year shingles. I know by speaking to the current neighbors that 2 storey jobs in our area still don't come to much more than about 2.5 grand.

Sounds really cheap for Toronto (land of expensive houses).
Ours did require a 2 layer tear off, 40 year shingles, but otherwise was for a 1,000 sq ft bungalow type home, and the pitch is easy to walk upon.
In fact if insurance wasn't paying for it, I considered doing it myself, one slope at a time.
I had a bunch of quotes, and none were anywhere as cheap as your example.

 

[Koogie]

Sounds really cheap for Toronto (land of expensive houses).
Ours did require a 2 layer tear off, 40 year shingles, but otherwise was for a 1,000 sq ft bungalow type home, and the pitch is easy to walk upon.
In fact if insurance wasn't paying for it, I considered doing it myself, one slope at a time.
I had a bunch of quotes, and none were anywhere as cheap as your example.

Toronto is in a real estate bubble. That does not necessarily reflect the cost of building materials nor of building trade work. ie: a house that costs 250K to actually build does not inflate by 10 times the cost just because the land underneath it did. Land(location) costs. Sticks and bricks do not inflate the same.

I grant you the 1700$ job was a bargain. But 2.5k (Canadian pesos) is around the norm for a general house around here. See the following guideline from a local roofer site: Sum-it Roofing Inc. – Reliability . Integrity . Efficiency - Roofing Services in Toronto
====
View our “typical” roofing project scenarios to get a better understanding of how much it costs to replace a durable and dependable roof that will last for many years to come.

Roofing Scenario A
Starting at $2,500 approx.
House size: 1,000 square feet, semi or single detached

Roofing Scenario B
Starting at $3,500 approx.
House size: 1,500 to 2,000 square footage, semi or single detached

Roofing Scenario C
Starting at $5,200 approx.
House size: 3,000 to 3500 square feet footage, semi or single detached

 

[Texas Proud]

OK... finished the splice on the low voltage lighting.... it did not want to connect for some reason and I did not want to take the stupid thing back to get a new one.... so, kinda stepped on the splice and the teeth cut into the wires pretty good...

Wrapped only partially with a sealing electrical tape as I could not get to the short end of the wire without digging under the walkway.... so, just wrapped it up as much as I could... for now it is working...

THEN, put back the sprinkler head that had broken off.... a 58 cent extension tube was all it took....

 

[6miths]

Battling the evil red squirrels... one had chewed it's way into the attic so had to get up and replace a piece of board and put some sheet metal in. Along with some steel wool and foam insulation. I'm sure this will lead him to sit up there and yell at me before finding another place to chew through. Winter is coming! This may turn into a shooting war before too long.

 

[samclem]

Battling the evil red squirrels... one had chewed it's way into the attic so had to get up and replace a piece of board and put some sheet metal in. Along with some steel wool and foam insulation. I'm sure this will lead him to sit up there and yell at me before finding another place to chew through. Winter is coming! This may turn into a shooting war before too long.

We'd never had red squirrels in our yard before last year, just the "regular" grey squirrels. Wow, despite being about half the size of the grey squirrels, they dominate them. They claim a territory and chase out
grey squirrels (doesn't matter how many), chipmunks, etc. I think they would put a badger on the run. We still think they are a lot of fun, but then again they aren't chewing their way into my house . . . yet.

 

[Hermit]

Replaced the furnace in my motor home this morning. The old one died a few weeks ago. A place in Huston had them on sale for $600 so I thought it would be quicker and easier and probably not a lot more expensive to just replace the 30 year old one. The new one appears to be working fine and sure is a lot quieter than the old one.

 

[RockyMtn]

So I replaced the "touchless" toilet unit in our powder bathroom for the 3rd time today. This is a unit that replaces the handle on your toilet. You wave your hand over the top of the toilet and it flushes...or so it is supposed to.

Kohler has been very good about sending replacement units for the one's that die or become "phantom flushers" whereby the toilet flushes for no reason other than it must want to!

I'm at the point where I can change the unit in about five minutes. Maybe I have a life as a plumber somewhere down the road.

 

[Walt34]

This is a unit that replaces the handle on your toilet. You wave your hand over the top of the toilet and it flushes...or so it is supposed to.

I had no idea such a thing existed. Guess I need to get out more. DW will never learn about this product from me, she will want them, and we have three bathrooms.

 

[exnavynuke]

I had an open neutral on the garage door opener outlet. Borrowed a friend's continuity checker and back-traced the line to a switch-box that had the neutral wires connected poorly. Re-did the connection properly and all is well again.

I had no idea such a thing existed. Guess I need to get out more. DW will never learn about this product from me, she will want them, and we have three bathrooms.

Wait until she discovers the joy of heated seat bidet add-ons for toilets (for the record... LOVE THEM!). They're not exactly cheap, though the one I have installed so far hasn't had any problems in the past 2 years.