Quick Plumbing Problem

The hot water knob on the downstairs bathroom does not fit and you also had to turn it the wrong way.  So I decided to fix it.  I should have known it would develop into a whole project.

I casually took the handle off, and went to "Home-I-Depo" to replace it.  Oh my goodness.  It took forever.  This was the most complicated system to organize faucets.  For example, there might be a part named 2H-1C/H.  Are you kidding me?!?  What kind of system is that?  Anyway, eventually (R almost went crazy) I figured out that the first number is the length, the letter was the style and size of the part that goes into the handle.  The next number is the type of threading (?) and C or H or C/H stands for hot or cold or both.

The problem was that I didn't know what I had.  There were no markings on my faucet.  Anyway, after a few missed tries, and I finally got a set that seemed right.

When I went to replace it, I started to turn out the shutoff valve right under the bathtub.  As soon as I started turning the knob, it started to leak profusely.  Oh no.  This is not good.

I finished the replacement of the faucet, but now I had a bigger problem.

Let's see...

I had to replace the valve with a new one.

I went back to "Home-I-Depo" and got a $20 Benz-O-matic (propane torch) for copper sweating and a new shutoff valve.

I crawled into the crawlspace (I hate doing this), and turned off the water.

It took forever to unsolder the connections, and once it was undone, I couldn't move it anywhere.  The way it had been constructed, there was no play in the pipes, and I couldn't separate the connections.  I had to cut the pipe and work it off that way.

Eventually, I replaced the valve, but not before making a HUGE mess of solder and copper and almost burning myself a few times.  Man, I had forgotten about doing this.  I did a lot of soldering when remodeling my kitchen.  I don't exactly remember it fondly, but at least I felt the soldering joints were pretty.  My soldering looks horrible, but on the other hand, I only had to do it once!  After looking at my soldering job, I was sure that I would have to do it again.

Two things to remember for next time:

1)  Use a male-male adapter that doesn't have a stop.  That way, I can slip it on, and still fit very tight fitting.

2)  Make sure that you get all of the water out if you can, it took forever to heat the pipe when there was still water in the pipe.

3)  Try not to end up with the red handle for the cold and the blue handle for the hot.

Trunk Board

I was driving home from my brother's house late at night.  It was cold and sleeting.  I had forgotten my cell phone but my brother's house was only 15 miles away, so I should be alright...

I was on 495 heading west when I saw flashing lights ahead.  I was trying to see what was happening when I saw a few metal bed frames in my lane and the next.  I ran over them.  There was nothing I could do.  The visibility was pretty low, and I was moving at about 80 mph.  Anyway, as soon as I hit them, I knew it did some damage.  I just didn't know what.  So I turned off the heat and the radio and I listened.  Incidentally, the cop had pulled over a truck carrying bed frames...

I was listening for any sort of trouble, but I knew it was only a matter of minutes.  I decided to go 201 to 193 to go home as opposed to 495 the rest of the way.  As soon as I got off the interstate and onto 201, I heard my tire start to thump.  So I pulled over where I could and started got out.  It was freezing and wet.  I went to my trunk (which is ALWAYS full) and started digging out the spare.  I couldn't believe my bad luck!  Since we had been celebrating something (Christmas?) I was all dressed up with my leather coat on.  I was none to happy.  I finally got the spare out, and went to get the tire off.  I jacked the car up (which was fun), and went to take off the lug nuts.  They wouldn't budge.  I worked for 45 minutes in the cold and rain eventually putting all my weight onto the crowbar.  I kicked them and cursed them.  Eventually I got them off, but I have never had difficulty like that before.

Anyway, I was so angry that I *tossed* the tire into the trunk cracking the board that makes a flat surface above the spare tire enclosure.  Great.

I got home alright, very wet and cold, though nobody ever did stop.  I guess I wouldn't either.  I big man in the dark rain wearing a black leather coat and carrying a tire-iron.

After many dollars (actually the tire was still under warranty), I had a new tire, but the trunk was not very functional.    Until today!

Here is a before picture of the board:

After a trip to "Home - I - Depo" (as R says), $15, and a few hours, this is what I got:

Two things to note.

1) I put in (or really just couldn't find one cheap 4x4 plywood piece) a hinged joint right where spare tire ends.  This is nice because it gives me some extra storage space.

2) I had to grind off the screws that protruded from the other side of the hinge.  I really thought this was going to be a problem, but it turned out to be easy.  Also, R really liked the sparks that flew during the grinding.

All better!