Your recent repair? - 2021 to ?

[grasshopper]

Replaced the dual wheel rollers on our patio door. Taking the door out twice first time just to order parts.

Needed some help from Ms G, and one dog didn't like us using his bed as a cushion to lay the door on.

Plus all the other door rollers were $10 each, ours were $25 each. But 1 finger open and close, and mama is happy.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoheadden I have a Moen Motionsense Hands-Free kitchen Faucet. It really is a nice feature if your hands are dirty from cooking, etc. However, this might turn you off even further. I just completed their “fix” which consisted of replacing the control box. Now it drips 2/3 times compared to 5/6 times that it was doing. Plus, the sensor on the neck of the faucet will turn the water on, but it shuts off on its own, shortly after. Looks like another call to Moen. Ugh

Yea, I might look into a foot operated switch/valve. That should be fairly robust.

-ERD50

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational I've been putting this off for a long time. Of course the rotted window sill was only the tip of the iceberg...the horizontal one-by on the bottom was rotted on both ends. I bought a PVC replacement yesterday. Today I get a reprieve due to everything being wet from a downpour yesterday, and I wanted to apply wood hardener. The plan is to replace the big stuff with PVC versions and Bondo the places I removed rot with the oscillating tool.

Not perfect, by any means, but good enough for who it's for. The sill and horizontal board below that are PVC. The plywood underneath (not visible in the picture) is cement board (Hardiboard). Filled rot with Bondo, caulked and painted. Replaced the screen material too. Now I need to go around the house and repeat the process in 20 other locations

[Music Lover]

I leveled our cabin over the weekend. The middle beam needed adjustment and the person who built it was nice enough to use adjustable teleposts which made it super easy. It took me 15 minutes to crawl under, jack up the beam next to each of the 3 posts, and make the adjustment. I had to drop the beam about 2" so I did an inch on Friday and another inch on Sunday. It's close to perfect so I'll let it settle for a few days and do a final adjustment the next time we go.

[sengsational]

This one was the rare collaborative repairs where DW and I worked different aspects of the project. I sourced/used the sandblaster and straps, she sourced/used the spray paint.

This is one of four, but I wanted to see if the 1 inch, and slightly thinner straps would work. I couldn't find 1 1/4 wide vinyl straps, so bought the 1 inch. The chairs have fixed aluminum post fasteners that are spaced so 2 inch strapping would not work. I don't think I was able to find anything between 1 and 2 inches. Also this strapping is not quite as thick as the original. But it seems to work (doesn't sink too far when you sit). One YouTube video said to measure the length and cut straps 90% of the length. I tested that, and it was too loose, so went with about 80% (distance 28, and I cut @ 22). These chairs are probably 30 years old, but they are comfortable, lean back rockers. Just what a retiree needs, lol!

[stephenson]

Just replaced the battery in my iPhone 7 Plus ... three variations of VERY tiny screws. :-)

[Jim59]

Not sure whether to be pleased or embarrassed, but today I replaced the Door Handle on my garage door. I lost the key about 20 years ago and have been standing on a chair, move a piece of timber, reach over and pull down on the wire to open the door.

Ordered a new handle and replaced the old with new today. I can’t explain why it’s taken so long.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim59 have been standing on a chair, move a piece of timber, reach over and pull down on the wire to open the door

Rube?
Rube Goldberg, is that you?

[ls99]

Checkbook repair.
A year or so ago my sump pump failed, had to invent a late evening substitute pump and a lightbulb based float switch. It still worked, but decided to have a contractor install a larger bucket, better pump and plumb the output to the outside world instead of previous path into the septic tank.
Job well done, they d did good cleanup after jackhammering a big hole in the floor and nicely concreted the the bucket in place. Blew some dough and if problems, pick up the phone.

[aja8888]

A retired friend's mosquito fogger quit "fogging". He called and asked me to have a look at it since I am an engineer (he teases me about being one). He was VP HR for Anadarko Oil & Gas..... We have been friends for 25 years and I have repaired countless things for him over the years, especially when he bought and ran a 20 year old RV.

The first thing I looked at was the tip of the fogger. Yep, you guessed it. It was clogged. So I removed the tip (screwed on) and use a 1/32" drill bit and cleared it. This took me all of 10 minutes to do.

I know this friend is not lazy (or stupid), but I can't get a grip on him not thinking about looking at the tip of the fogger to see if the hole was clogged before giving up and calling me.

[Jim59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Rube? Rube Goldberg, is that you?

I had to google that, but if the shoe fits

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim59 Not sure whether to be pleased or embarrassed, but today I replaced the Door Handle on my garage door. I lost the key about 20 years ago and have been standing on a chair, move a piece of timber, reach over and pull down on the wire to open the door. Ordered a new handle and replaced the old with new today. I can’t explain why it’s taken so long.

Reminds me of that old line: "When my wife asks me to fix something around the house, I'm good for it, I'll do it - and I don't need her reminding me every six months!".

Maybe every six years in your case?

Hey, it's a repair - good job!

-ERD50

[Jerry1]

Today was a frustrating yet still rewarding day. My whole house generator failed during our current power outage (going on day three). I was able to get someone out here this morning, but no joy. He traced the problem to the starter but couldn’t go any further until the starter gets replaced. He won’t have it until late next week. I tried every place I could think of, but there was not one to be had anywhere. I’ll order one on Monday, but I’m pretty sure the power will come back on before this repair gets completed. The generator was running for about 36 hours before it just stopped. Me and the repair person are pretty sure it didn’t stop because of a problem with the starter, but he can’t diagnose it further until he clears that issue. The starter is definitely bad, he tried hitting it with a hammer, but all it did was start smoking. It’s toast.

Since the whole house generator went down, we started swapping out my other small generator with my daughter. Thankfully she only lives 10 min away. I gave her my little Honda to use because she needed it and I had the whole house generator. With the big one down, we shared the little one over night to keep our food cold, charge the portable stuff, run a fan, etc.

But there’s more. DD has a larger portable generator that she got from her grandpa, my father in law, when he passed. I knew I should fix it but never did. My bad because now we really needed it. So I went over to fix it and things did not go well. It’s old and one of the failures was a grommet that seals the fuel line between the tank and the shut off valve. When son in law went to turn on the gas, we had a catastrophic failure of the grommet and a major gas leak. Probably about a gallon hit the cement before we got it under control. I was able to find a new grommet today, so that went pretty well. Mind you though, I was just done spending a couple hours trying to locate the starter so even finding the grommet at this point was a small pain.

Then, back to the main problem - the carb. I know how to disassemble a carb and try to clean out the small orifices but that didn’t work. Now I’m looking for a rebuild kit or a new carburetor. No luck there and time was running out. It’s Saturday and all the stores that handle small engines are starting to close. Now the best part of the day happens.

The last place I could think of to call didn’t have the carb or the rebuild kit. The guy said he had good luck cleaning them. I said something like okay, I’ll get some carb cleaner and go at it. He said that wasn’t going to work. Said that he uses an ultrasonic machine. I’m like cool, can you do mine? Well, I close in less than an hour. Is the carb off the machine? It wasn’t, but I said it was. He said come on but make it quick. The carb had been off a couple times so I had no problem getting it off and hurrying my butt up there. Got there, he cleaned the carb, we got it home and put it on the engine and it started on the second pull. High five the SIL and we’re back to having two generators. Not bad.

It’s Saturday night and our estimate for service to be restored is 11:30 pm on Monday. I sure hope the generators stay running and we get or power back on without further incident.

[6miths]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational Not perfect, by any means, but good enough for who it's for. The sill and horizontal board below that are PVC. The plywood underneath (not visible in the picture) is cement board (Hardiboard). Filled rot with Bondo, caulked and painted. Replaced the screen material too. Now I need to go around the house and repeat the process in 20 other locations

After that could you come over to my place and repeat another20-30 times?! Looks like solid work.

[6miths]

Was out watering flowers around the cottage this morning after a few dry days and lost pressure. Once a season or so the earwigs decide to sacrifice themselves in an effort to ruin my morning by disabling the pressure switch in the pump that draws water from the lake. Chitin is an excellent insulator! I really do have to get around to wrapping the thing in screen!

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6miths Was out watering flowers around the cottage this morning after a few dry days and lost pressure. Once a season or so the earwigs decide to sacrifice themselves in an effort to ruin my morning by disabling the pressure switch in the pump that draws water from the lake. Chitin is an excellent insulator! I really do have to get around to wrapping the thing in screen!

Yup. Lost my central AC once and found the contactor relay full of dead ants. They seem to be attracted by the electromagnetic field.

[Koogie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6miths Once a season or so the earwigs decide to sacrifice themselves in an effort to ruin my morning by disabling the pressure switch in the pump that draws water from the lake. Chitin is an excellent insulator!

The filthy things also like diesel fuel for some reason (or diesel tanks at least). They used to crawl up the hose and into our diesel tank, ruining the fuel. It got a permanent screen.

Yesterday I finished installing a screen door I purchased off Kijiji ($40 vs $200 at Homeless Despot) on the door from the kitchen to the deck. Lots of trim needed to make it bug proof but it makes both the kitchen and the deck seem bigger.

Up today is trying to fix the (^&*&$#@ dishwasher. Sometimes it seems like all I do all my life is plumbing...

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 .......... The starter is definitely bad, he tried hitting it with a hammer, but all it did was start smoking. It’s toast. ...........

Ace mechanic.

[turbo89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koogie The filthy things also like diesel fuel for some reason (or diesel tanks at least). They used to crawl up the hose and into our diesel tank, ruining the fuel. It got a permanent screen. Yesterday I finished installing a screen door I purchased off Kijiji ($40 vs $200 at Homeless Despot) on the door from the kitchen to the deck. Lots of trim needed to make it bug proof but it makes both the kitchen and the deck seem bigger. Up today is trying to fix the (^&*&$#@ dishwasher. Sometimes it seems like all I do all my life is plumbing...

What is Kijiji? Is that another Craigslist /Facebook marketplace? Any advantages over the other mainstream options?

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbo89 What is Kijiji? Is that another Craigslist /Facebook marketplace? Any advantages over the other mainstream options?

It's a Canadian craigslist type of place to buy and sell stuff.