Recently, I filled you guys in on a few ways to save water around the house. Many were quick and simple tips and repairs that anyone could make. However, an eagle-eyed reader noted a blinding omission on my part, a leaky toilet. Ironically, at the time I had a leaky toilet. How I forgot to add that to my list escapes me, but I’ve forgotten much more obvious things in my life (just ask my wife). Anyway, I finally got around to fixing that leaky toilet, much to happiness of my oft-reminding wife, and thought you would be interested in my tale of the throne. [Read more...]
Leaky Toilet Anyone? How To Change the Flapper Valve
Lord of the Wax Rings – How to Install a New Delta Toilet
Just like Frodo said “One ring to rule them all”—and he was right. A toilet’s wax ring is the key to keeping the poop where it belongs – in the pits of Mordor (aka your sewer). But whether your toilet is leaking from a faulty wax ring, dripping from an ancient valve or just won’t flush because of a broken flapper that qualifies as an antique, your old toilet might need to be replaced before you have to drop a “Precious” in a bucket outside. Skip the call to your local plumber and don’t worry about the high costs of repairs. Installing your own new toilet, like the Delta Corrente, is easier than throwing a magic ring into a pit of lava. Just follow along with these simple tips and techniques for how to install a toilet with minimal drama. [Read more...]
Beware of What Lurks Beneath – Do You Have Fragile Piping Underground?
Recently I had some old concrete removed from my yard. It worked out pretty well. I put an ad on craigslist for free fill and a few days later I got an email from a guy who needed fill. All I had to do was break up some of the larger sections and, with the help of my dad’s small tractor, help load the concrete on his trailer. I was almost ready, moving the very last chunk of concrete prior to him showing up when I just touched the valve box to an old outdoor spigot that never worked. The spigot was originally attached to some very vintage sheds, but the valve, which was about two feet below grade, was rusted shut and never worked. I never cared to use it or even think about it. Of course that all changed on concrete pick up day. [Read more...]
Kitchen Faucet Repair – Fix Your Leaky Kitchen Faucet & Avoid Waterworld
Two typical reasons the kitchen faucet is dripping are because you have loose nuts or washers that went bad (feel free to make your own jokes here). That is as long as it’s a compression faucet. In that case, the fix is pretty simple. Unless you forget to turn off the water. If you do forget, expect to re-enact one of the many painful scenes in Kevin Costner’s Waterworld. The main difference being you probably won’t be chased around your home by a sadistic Dennis Hopper on a jet ski. This article covers the basics of kitchen faucet repair to help guide you in your attempts to silence that pesky leaking kitchen faucet, hopefully without any drama. [Read more...]
5 Water Saving Strategies – To Save You Money, Energy And Oh Yeah – Water
Well for some of us out there the summer was pretty brutal. Little to no rainfall for most of July caused drought conditions over much of the US. Much of the central part of the country are still in an extreme drought situation. Many municipalities are under heavy water restrictions. With all that being said there are a number of things that you can do to reduce water usage while increasing effectiveness. Im sure at some point in your life you’ve seen a 7000 ways to reduce water, (my personal favorite is probably showering with your spouse…it’s all about the environment baby!) To limit the list we’ve categorized some of these methods into five strategies; Usage, Energy and Technology, Pools, Ponds and Pumps, Vegetation, and ‘no-nology’. [Read more...]
Hot Water Heater Pans – Why You Need One
Photo - Lowes.com
The Slide-N-Pump Review – It’s Not What You Think
The Slide-N-Pump is neither a hot, new dance craze nor a disreputable establishment boasting dollar shots and “live nude girls!” It’s not Nike’s latest marketing effort aimed at every kid who dreams of better moves and eventually a whopping endorsement deal. More than likely, it’s also not anything your wife wants you to ask if she’d be interested in “giving a go.” [Read more...]
How to Change the Distribution Box on Your Septic Tank – And Why You Shouldn’t
This is where it all begins
As I gaze out my front window at all the pretty daffodils, in anticipation of summer, I can’t help but remember some high points from last summer. Unfortunately, it is but one, low memory, (and all its accompanying imagery), imprinted on my brain: that infamous day when I casually remarked to my husband, “Something smells funky.” [Read more...]
Schluter Kerdi Prefab Shower Kits – Mortar Bed be Damned
Believe me when I say…a shower and/or bath project does not fall into my comfort zone. (Unless, that is, it involves bubbles and wine.) Laying tile after the fact? That I can do. As for all the hoopla involved in prepping the mortar bed? Not so much. I’m fairly confident though, that even I could manage the Schluter-KERDI watertight shower kit. This system is so easy to install… I mean, other than a hand or coping saw and a trowel, no tools are even required. (FOR SHAME!!!) [Read more...]
Knipex Cobra vs. Irwin GrooveLock Pliers – Channellock Killers?
At last year’s STAFDA trade show we spent some quality time talking with the reps at Knipex and Irwin about their respective lines of push-button style locking pliers. As Knipex prefers to say, they’re “selbstklemmend!” That’s “self-locking” for the few of you that don’t speak German. As a longtime Channellock user, I was intrigued by what I saw. [Read more...]
