I can barely move today - I'm exhausted.

As part of my kitchen remodel (DIY Project), this weekend I installed my new French Doors and drywalled the new addition. This room was formerly a laundry room that was behind my narrow galley kitchen. I opened up the wall to expand the kitchen. The entrance to the new section is supported with a beam that I drywalled over but will eventually be covering with a faux barn beam.

Old Laundry Room - Windows to be Replaced with French Doors
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This Morning - Mudding all the seams & screws tonight:
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A couple more pics.

Original Kitchen - Laundry room behind fridge at left side:
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In Progress 06-07-2021
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Fixed up an old garage sale find and used that to fix up a loaf of dutch-oven bread:
(Pro tip, keep your yeast in the freezer, it'll last a couple of years and still proof beautifully!)

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Very nice! I’ve got a couple of old cast iron skillets that are old enough to be smooth milled inside. I use one all the time, the other needs some serious love, so it’s hanging until I can find time to bust out the walnut blaster to clean all the crusty off and restart the seasoning process

Outside light was not working right.

I was going to bypass the sensor and hard wire it straight through, but could not figure out how to access the sensor connections without smashing it all apart.
I had already painted everything up nice and pretty.

Then I noticed all the wire had been chewed through..
Thankfully is was only an illegal pigtail. Thankfully the connection was accessible with a bit more access.
My ears are pretty decent and for the first time in a decade also noticed chewing sounds in the wall.

It should be an easy fix....run a section of new Romex a few feet up the wall from the switch....right?

First I needed to access both back sides of the boxes.
But the exterior box cover was tucked underneath the siding.

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Another problem. The inside laminate also covered the existing box.
I almost ripped the wall covering trying to grind/pry it out.
(which would require resurfacing the entire interior kitchen wall)

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The outside box needed to be removed to get to the wire lock nut on the back.
Unfortunately that was buried behind several boards and not accessible.
(it would require removing all the siding on that side of the house)

There was a rotten nest in the way.
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After clean out, the wall openings stuffed with oil soaked steel wool. Mice will never chew through that.
New pigtail wire installed. At least it was safe.
(Tug to make sure it's tight and then wrap everything starting from the wires)
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Reinstalled with a custom plate from the hardware store and silicone.
Hack job.
I need to go back and add insulation/screws.
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A big fresh dead field mouse outside on the A/C was the bonus.

(edit: In retrospect it might still be possible to knock out another plug on the outside box, fish tape down, use a plastic plug, and feed new wire directly to the switch. I just wanted to get done and get it working.)

Honey, why did you leave a wet towel on the floor in the basement bathroom?

I haven't been in that bathroom in about a week. Now what? Turns out the line from the supply to the tank was loose, and dripping water. I put the toilet in at least 5 years ago, why now?

I went out to the garage to get a wrench. The service door is open. It won't shut. Looks like it sagged. I was going to bend the bottom hinge to bring the door back into alignment when I noticed there's a screw missing on the bottom hinge, and there's no shim behind it. So whoever put the door in forgot to finish the project. I found some shims, and a long screw that would go through the casing and shims and into the 2x4. The door shuts properly now. Found the right wrench, went downstairs and tightened the supply line to the toilet about a 1/4 turn, turned the water back on and no leaks.

There's now a couple rust stains on the tile from a box that had staples in it that was sitting in the water. I guess it's been leaking a while.

I put a fan in the room to hopefully dry out the wallboard and trim behind the toilet.

I thought I post a coupe pic on our covid deck build. This has been on going for the past few months. Its all I can get out of my slaves. Here's my 13 year old work horse screwing down the Simpson steel bracket

Working late into the evening after dinner just to piss off the neighbors :D

Under side all painted up. Hired my painter to do that. It was too painful to see my kids drip jpaint all over the lower deck.

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Almost done. Cap for the hand railing now needs to be attached and the last roll of the railing too. Waiting for my boys to cut the angle to joint the cap, its 55 degree so I like to show em' how to figure that out and set it up on the chop saw.

Muhahahahah. Got my supreme commander working on the hand railing today instead of kids since they are busy with their heavy, busy scheduled goddamncomputer games.:D She heard lots of cussing because I was struggling with a 14' piece of railing and a couple of clamps decided to come out into the sun light to do some work. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1624083418.JPG
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kids complaining our growing their smallish desk, so we build a new top at the shop couple week ago. Here's the install. My 15 year old gittin' down and dirty.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1624083621.jpg

Deck looks good, Jeff! Massive joists! That sucker isn't going anywhere!

Changed the wipers on the 850 today plus got some new drawers for the garage. They come as a 4 drawer piece and are stackable, so I got two of them.

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Spa day for the Ninja. Cleaner wax on green parts....Zymol for the seat......and Windex for the windscreen and mirrors. Then took her for a little spin. Runs GREAT! :p

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Left an extension cord on the back patio and a squirrel decided to adjust it a bit. Lots of solder and heat shrink tube and it will be all better.
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Just finished the fuselage, the empanage is nexthttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1625712834.jpg

That looks like it just came off the showroom floor. :eek:

Thanks - both the Ninja and the Volvo!

BTW - I bought some Meguiars Ceramic Wax tonight after reading the thread on washing your trucks. Got some work ahead of me but will be worth it in the long run.

Also, just for you Jeff......I put a brand new tire and tube on my hybrid bike tonight. 26" and a whitewall....lol. Trying to catch up on all my bicycle stuff. Lots to do! :)

You do know that retired folks have schedules too, Baz.SmileWavy

Good thing is that you get to enjoy those activities all year long.

Let me know how it goes with that wax. I bought some Turtlewax ceramic wax and went over half my truck to test the longevity. It lasted about two to three weeks.

No it doesn't. It looks like it was found unclaimed on the side of the motorway next to four empty shell cases.

I finally got around to installing the new storm door. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1625775379.jpg

Let's see. Helped some friends put up the sides of an above ground pool, (which will partially be below ground), spread out sand and made sure it was all 2 inches deep and level, then we installed the liner. Hung a branch in my daughter's room so she could hang plants on it and fixed the door of a jewelry box for my mother in law. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a2cc246f8c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...5b17a681de.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3cb09a685a.jpg

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Crazy wind last night knocked down a ton of dead ash and poked a hole in my garage roof. So patched that in. Also tarped the edge of my neighbors roof where a big tree uprooted and took it out. Its going to be a long time im sure before anybody fixes it.

This isn’t really fixing anything but just minor tinkering. Still, it has worked so well I’ll mention it.

If you have a long hair cat or certain dog breeds, it needs brushing to remove excess undercoat and mats. The most effective tool is a detangling brush like Freshly Bailey Dog and Cat Dematting Tools - “Miracle” Undercoat Rake/Comb - Safe Dog Detangler and Cat Brush for Matted Hair/Fur - Easiest Pet Grooming Brush to Maintain Pet's Coat https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SR5M71B/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_7DS13SJ2TQENXPE2M9EW

That tool can be improved by disassembling the blades and sharpening the small inner curved part of each blade. The edges come vaguely sharp or maybe just corner-ish, but it’s not really an edge. If you use a Dremel to put a real edge on the blades, the brush will remove 2x the undercoat with 1/2x the tugging at your pet’s skin.

I don’t think you want too keen an edge. You want the blades to comb through untangled fur, and only cut the fur when the edge encounters higher resistance like tangled undercoat or a mat of fur.

Ha, the ole Chinese again. that's a copy of the Mars Coat King that has been around for a long time.

A/C wasn't cooling today. Furnace fan was running as was the condensing unit fan. Compressor, not so much. Popped off the cover, looks like a wire from the capacitor to the contact switch fried. Loose connection at the contact switch appeared to be the culprit.

$2.50 later and A/C works. Also blasted out the coil and checked other connections "while I was in there".

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Man you are lucky, Jay! Great job on tracking down the problem, though. Huge shout out! I'm curious how you "blasted out" your coil.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Removed the fan, took the side covers off, and put the hose on "jet" setting. Then sprayed from the inside out with water. Tons of crap came off.

It's a 20 year old A/C unit, and still runs smooth. Not gonna call for service until it's time to replace.

OK thanks! Man - 20 years.....that's fantastic!

I just bought an aerosol can of foaming coil cleaner for mine. Just have to schedule the job.

Gotta keep up with the maintenance on these things!

Installed the seat harness and bled the brakes on the 330ci.

Installing this blasted camshaft position sensor, 2006 Nissan Quest, yeah it's a "minivan". A couple of new lights decorated the instrument panel the other day and turns out it's the camshaft position sensor on bank 1 that was the cause of the illumination!!! Went to Autozone, guy at the counter was confused as to what was bank 1 and bank 2 as his screen only said "left or right side". Bank 1 on my van's engine is on the side closest to the windshield and I tried to explain this to him, I even had a picture, (straight from their website), of the part I needed with their catalog number and still he was confused. I said well, the front of the engine is the end with the accessories right, so if you look from the front of my engine, then bank 1 would be on the left side of the engine, that's the side with the #1 piston, hence, "bank 1". Oh my freaking Gawd, I thought I was gonna pull my hair out. They didn't have the sensor in stock so they ordered it and gave me a "courtesy" discount. What should've taken 5 minutes, ended up taking oh, about a half an hour!!!! Wow!!!! https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...9d932311a4.jpg

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Still working, but in April I began a complete R & R of our house HVAC. Has been a POS since we moved in and finally tired of it not working.

Installing a three zone Fujitsu system that is more efficient. Doing this on my days off and before work. What I did not plan on is all of the additional work of structural repairs I have had to make to do this job right. Such as rebuilding all of my stem walls. Interesting what you discover when the "licensed contractor" is literally drinking buddies with the local building inspector. I was amazed that this place passed final inspection.

I have lost count how many "WTF's" have been uttered on this journey.

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Had to build a small wall and pour a pad to set the new condenser on.

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I should mention that for every step forward, it's been two back. Such as while prepping for the pad, I was forced to completely rework and modify our LPG line, union, valve and pipe. While there, I just went ahead and built a manifold to allow me to isolate each appliance and main LPG line. This was done so I could shut off each one independently so I wouldn't have to bleed the entire system.

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More to follow,
Bugs

^^^ Wow! Good to hear from you, Bugs but holy cow......you have your hands full! Looks like you are taking care of bid-ness the right way, mate! Please keep us posted!

Well done. You've made it into a very use-able space.

You're installing three separate Fujuitsu mini-splits?

I suspect it's one outside unit that run three registers inside.

I've been looking at these ductless mini-splits for quite a while and think it's how I will go when my current system goes away.

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Had one of these go out on my Xterra. The warning lights went crazy on mine too. Not a terrible job but of course of the two it was the hardest one to get to.

I thought I would tackle my Dad's desk light. The on/off switch gave up and I sourced another from the manufacturer (Dazor in St Louis).
It's a two lamp florescent fixture with each bulb wired independently, as are the twin ballasts.
Here's what lamp wiring looked like in 1945 - lots of wire nuts and Bakelite switchware.
Bought a new pencil type soldering iron and set to work.
Lots of wires.
Good for another 66 years.
Bill K
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Had to help my son create a future tinnitus issue by installing some super tweeters in his Rav.

My grill wasn't getting as hot as it did when it was first given to me. Yesterday I took it apart (pulled the grates and heat diffusers) and cleaned them off. Cleaned the drip pan out too. It just pulls out from the back, easy peasy. Have the grills soaking in ammonia inside trash bags as my wife says that will clean them up easy peasy too.
Once those are clean I'll give it a try. I already tried it yesterday and the burners light easier than they did and it felt hotter real quick, so it may work out just fine. It is a Nexgril four burner unit that my son swapped us for our 6 burner which he'd given us as a gift but was just too big for only two people. I think he was tired of us trying to grill with our old two burner Charbroil.

I can't even listen to the radio in my cars because of my tinnitus, Nick.

Luckily mine hasn't gotten that bad.... yet. But listening to music will make the ringing louder even if the music isn't turned up. My brother and I have both warned the boy... but you know how that goes.

The subwoofer he has in the back will shake the entire Rav... and the dishes in the cabinets in the house even though he's parked 60 feet away. I tried to warn him.