What are you doing today? [Part II]

[xavierny25]

Pool what??? Stocked up at costo got 4 case of shock and 4 cases of chlorine. Ph and alkaline stuff was still brand new in the shed I got with the house.

I've been at it for the past 4 days. Lots of leaves cause I didn't get to cover it till what I think was January. Went at it with the huge net on my extention poll which my upper arms are not happy about. Filter do get clogged up fast yesterday alone I most of cleaned it up about 4 times. Today only twice but I'll do it again before going to bed. Its clearing up nicely using the vacuum on a stick.

 

[Blckshdw]

Yesterday: Only had to work a half day, since the boss wanted to do a team building day again in the afternoon. Foundation repair rep stopped by just before lunch to sign paperwork and get my deposit. He said they're looking closer to the 4 week timeframe, so mid June, but I should get a locked in date on Monday. He thinks it will be a 3-5 day job, but if weather cooperates (we'll be in fully rainy season mode by then) they could wrap up in 3.

After that, headed out to meet with coworkers. This time, it was a cook out at the boss' house. Few people brought stuff, I brought my Oreo pudding, and brown sugar bourbon sauce. Both were well received. Had a pretty good time, lots of jokes and laughs, played with the dogs, and ate a ton. Brought home plenty of leftovers, and a big piece of red velvet cake.

Today: Got up bright and early to get that last gutter put up. It's not perfect, but should be good enough for now. Need to buy a couple of splash guards for the inside corners. After the house gets painted, I plan to do some landscaping changes. The wood chips and stones are gonna get pulled out of there. The weed barrier is pretty beaten up where the water poured off the roof, so all that will get replaced. Thinking of getting one of those drains that you cover with landscaping to blend it, and have it pop out at the same spot on the walkway.




Got all my tools cleaned off and put away, had a little chat with the neighbor. He's also in the process of putting up the same gutters on his house. May offer him the leftover pieces since they are decent length, and could probably be used for shorter runs, or on the tiny side of a downspout. After that swept all the saw dust and plastic shavings/dust out of the garage. Will be nice to park the EXT in there again, it's gotten so dirty these last couple of weeks, just sitting out in the driveway.

After getting myself cleaned up, made a snack and settled on the couch to see what's going on here, and watch some TV. Pulled up my emails, to find this in my inbox...



The email goes on to say they're working to find a new carrier for me, blah blah blah. I figure I'll give them 2 weeks, before I start looking on my own to see if I can find similar coverage for the same price. With the number of storms that have hit FL in recent years, I'm betting that will be a tall order.

 

[xavierny25]

Got the condenser hung up and attached the eletrical whip. Also got the individual electrical lines from each wall unit tied into the condenser. Finished off by flaring all the copper tubes at the condenser. Used a touch of nylog blue at the matting surface on the flares and torqued each line to the manufacture spec.

 

[Mooseman]

Super nice day today, spring has finally arrived. Went to the farmers market to pick up some meat, veggies, plants. Very busy since it's just about the only thing open. Then picked up my 14 containers of chlorine curbside at Crappy Tire. Vacuumed the pool some more. Still can't see the bottom of my 16x32 inground the water is still cloudy but slowly getting better.

Then noticed that our natural gas BBQ is leaking gas. Not a lot but we could detect the odd whiff of it. Checked the connections and such with soapy water and couldn't find anything so must be coming from the main manifold somewhere. Can't trust it anymore so it's gone. Luckily still had our old one but the cast iron grills had rusted. Wire wheeled and washed them, heated them up in the BBQ and re-seasoned them with 4 coats of olive oil. I actually liked this BBQ before we got the other one, which was given to us. It's a little smaller but has much better temperature control and more even heat. And the cast iron sears better than steel grates.

 

[BrianF]

Well we have had an interesting year for weather thus far. The only sizable precipitation we had was back in November. All the rest was minimal and mostly just wind blown.

We are in a drought right now and had some decent heat to back it. Yesterday was +30c and 14 over night. Now tomorrow is a high of 8 eith -3c over night.

Today the winds picked up fierce and in places the visibility was less than a mile on the open prairie. We are hoping for rain up here but they might be getting snow down south.

 

[Mooseman]

Nice day yesterday. Taped up some more of the roof on the RV, the pool is starting to clear up nicely now that I can see the bottom of the deep end a bit, pressure washed part of the pool deck to strip as much of the old paint as possible with lots of paint chips flying in preparation to repaint it, and got the lawn tractor going again with an oil change. Got a little sun burnt (I burn just thinking of the sun ).

Today, lather, rinse, repeat. My problem with doing the roof is I am a big boy and afraid that it may not support me but I'm one of those people that don't trust other people to do the work for me. There are things on there that I can't get to from the edge so I'm just gonna have to do it on all fours. Also need to get the Honda lawn tractor/snowblower running again so I can move it to a better spot out of the way. My son went and just parked in the the back yard in November when I got sick and bought a tiny snowblower to use instead. Hated that thing, way too small for our driveway when I had to use it when he started reneging on clearing the driveway.

 

[BrianF]

First day off today...... well I spent some time this morning dealing with work email bs. Got all our chores done and inside to get the kids doing some of their school work.

Tomorrow we will hit Crimetown for groceries, take in a museum and swimming. We are also going to get some different wire fence for the garden. Decided electric is a no go. Still have to plant it but the weather just ain't working with us.

Moose, I'm the same way, same cross to bare, once the sun is out my pasty ass burns quick. My wife tans up, enough that people ask for her treaty card.

 

[BrianF]

Alright gents, this is my luck in a nutshell.

Went out to do a final garden till. Got a few laps done and scraped a rock. No big deal, I fumbled through the soil and found the top of it. Oh its sizeable, grab a spade and dig. No dice. I keep digging and digging because that fcker ain't moving.

I get the sides clear and cannot budge it. So I wheel the Trailblazer back to lasso it with a strap. No dice because I jammed the partially open driver door on a post. Knock the post loose, swear a pile and then go to close the door. Again, no dice. Jammed it forward a bit by the hinges and now she cannot latch.

Eventually get the rock broke free but will need to get my good tow strap and some chains to properly drag it out.

I loosened the door jam and at least can close the door. I will need to make some shims to at least get it working. I might even try to bend the hinges back.....

 

[BrianF]

Well with the help of my wife, because she don't hit shit when driving, we managed to drag the rock out. Used some fence posts to prop it and able to loop the tow strap around. The old Trailblazer sure is handy.

We drug the rock to the end of our driveway and it took about everything I had to roll it to the grave of our one pup we had. Kids like it as a grave stone.

Then filled the hole and finished tilling the garden. Its almost June and I had to do this all with insulated coveralls.

 

[Mooseman]

Not too much today. Too hot to do anything outside. Went to Costco for some groceries (since that's all we CAN buy), gas for the Avy and filled the gas cans for the power equipment.

Then took the Caprice to a new automated car wash. Go to a lane, go to pay and the display was acting like Max Headroom. Attendant said they were having problems with it and asked that I go to the other lane. Do that, choose my wash and go to pay, the card reader didn't work and it wouldn't cancel. Even the attendant was getting frustrated. He went inside and next thing I know, codes are flashing and I got a free wash. Sweet!

 

[Blckshdw]

Pretty productive day for a Friday. Had an appointment at the bank to close on my HELOC, so that's all squared away. Just have to be patient and wait another month to get the work done. Work was pretty quiet. Had some discussions with management about coming back to the office, and some department restructuring with locations and such.

Started my home insurance shopping. No one will do online quotes for home, but they will for everything else, which I thought was strange. Found out the major deal breaker with them is the age of the roofs, which is why the 3 carriers are pulling out of FL in the first place. Anything 15 years old, they won't touch you. Fine, my roof was last replaced in 2011... Old carrier gave me a Citizen's quote, so I've got something to compare the new quotes to when I get them on Monday.

After work, dug a bunch of random scrap out of the back yard. There was one of those old, adjustable, bed frames. Was having a problem breaking it down, when I noticed some asshole spot welded all the junctions together. Break out the cutoff wheel and cut through all the welds. There were some old boat canopy frames in some weeds, cut those up too along with some other crap, and my old water heater.

Thought I had the water heater drained when I fought with it to get in the back of the EXT, then I start hearing water splashing. Run around and there's water coming out of the outlet tubes. Why it didn't drain out of the bottom, is beyond me. Threw a drain pain under it, while I looked for a garden hose. Woulda been much easier lifting that thing into the truck if I had known there was all that water still in it. Since I had the air line out, blasted some air into the water inlet tube, and the pressure seemed to help push the water out of the outlet a bit faster.

Threw a pizza in the oven, now relaxing in front of the TV, contemplating some cocktails

 

[Mooseman]

The day started off on the wrong foot. Barely started drinking my morning coffee when I had to get dressed to go look at our lawn tractor. Son's GF borrowed it to mow the lawn at her grandmother's, who lives just a block away. The bolt that retains the pulleys on the crankshaft fell out, nowhere to be seen. Had to push it back home, which was uphill by the way . After researching what the bolt size and pitch was, ordered one at the fastener supply house. Had to go to the one at the other end of town since the closer one didn't have one of the proper length . I took the Caprice using backroads instead of the highway just to enjoy the drive and it turned into a slow drive following dump trucks spewing dust and stones . Took the highway back home. Fixed up the tractor, relatively easy fix and used Loctite on the bolt. Then figured I would sharpen the blades since I had it jacked up. Problem was I had the wire brush on the grinder and I couldn't find the backer plate for the grinding wheel . After an hour, I found one and sharpened them.

So to top off this fantastic day, check the pool and the robotic pool cleaner wasn't moving. Vacuum works but the drive motor for the wheels isn't working . I guess I overworked it cleaning out the paint chips from the deck. I do have a spare motor but don't know if it works. I sure hope I can get it to work again as there's one thing I really hate is cleaning the pool.

 

[TollKeeper]

Yesterday...

Buddy called that his 3400 in his Equinox was peeing coolant out of a weird spot and needed help..

So go and help him out. Kind of a pain in the butt. The timing chain cover is leaking where the coolant journal goes into the block. Luckily, the cover looks to be in good shape. Just need a new gasket, and some RTV. Im not doing a lot of the wrenching as my back wont take it, and he isnt a mechanic.. So he put the 3 jaw puller on the crank, but didnt put the bolt back in, and screwed up the first couple threads on the crank. I was able to just BARELY run a thread chaser on it, and hopefully all is good. Going to finish up tonight. HOPEFULLY!

 

[Reprise]

Im not doing a lot of the wrenching as my back wont take it, and he isnt a mechanic.. So he put the 3 jaw puller on the crank, but didnt put the bolt back in, and screwed up the first couple threads on the crank. I was able to just BARELY run a thread chaser on it, and hopefully all is good. Going to finish up tonight. HOPEFULLY!

Sometimes, acting in a 'supervisory' capacity... ultimately saves time & effort. And beer helps

Given the potential cost of recovering from that crank issue... if I'm your buddy, I'm indebted to you for a good, long time.

 

[TollKeeper]

Sometimes, acting in a 'supervisory' capacity... ultimately saves time & effort. And beer helps

Given the potential cost of recovering from that crank issue... if I'm your buddy, I'm indebted to you for a good, long time.

I dont drink.. And he works for Coors.. So beer for him is free.. But yea.

 

[Mooseman]

Went for a cannonball run this morning to Princess Auto to pick up a switch and a new 7 way trailer plug to put on the Avy. Why does GM put these damned things under the bumper when most of the others put it in the bumper beside the license plate?

Then went on pick up a load of soil that a friend was giving away. Had a bunch of plastic tubs and buckets. Wife also picked up a couple of half wooden barrels as planters as well as some plants. Some of the soul we used to fill in a hole left when we had the well drilled last year. Need some more.

 

[Reprise]

Why does GM put these damned things under the bumper when most of the others put it in the bumper beside the license plate?

I think they finally got smart with the GMT-900 (and derivatives). Agree, tho -- they're susceptible to (more) rust, debris, moisture, under the bumper.

When I got my first trailer (towing with the Envoy), the brake lights didn't work when the guy installing the WDH hooked up to the plug (parking lamps & turn signals were fine). Turned out there was corrosion in that pinout. Got it rectified for the trip home, and then put a more permanent fix in.

You've given me an idea, though... I'm planning on eventually replacing my rear bumper / face bar on the Sierra, but with one in black steel, vs. chrome (the one I have on the truck is dented, anyway).

When it comes time to replace it, I'll practice putting a hole in the old bumper to evaluate moving the plug to the bumper, in line with the plate. In symmetry with the spare tire winch plug on the other side would be nice, I suppose, but I've finally (?) reached the age where appearance takes a back seat to functionality & reliability.

 

[Blckshdw]

Another early start this morning (I thought weekends were for sleeping in? ) Moved some scrap wood out of the garage, to the shed. Got busy with the pressure washer, and foam cannon. Washed the EXT, and got it all nice and clean. Got a much better technique with the pressure washer and was able to get the sap and bugs off quickly, as well as get all the grime and brake dust off the rims. Resulted in a lot less effort during the wash phase. Back did start to complain a bit while drying the lower sections.

After that, moved a bunch of stuff around in the garage and got that other side swept out. Tons of saw dust, sand, and plastic shavings needed to get cleaned out. Took the opportunity to rearrange some stuff so I've got a lot more usable space now. After a shower, I was in the mood for some sweets, so made some peanut butter cookies. Had never made them before, but figured it would be cheaper to satisfy my sweet tooth that way, than to get store bought. Threw on a movie, and proceeded to eat ALL the damn cookies.

The blue smile van dropped off a new floor lamp for the bedroom, and a Bluetooth receiver for my stereo so I can play music from my phone in the bedroom without having to take the case off and plug into the headphone jack.

 

[TollKeeper]

Saturday evening..

Finished up the above repairs on the Equinox. Spent 2 hours just using a razor blade to get the old timing cover gasket off. Put it all back together. Crankshaft bolt went in, with barely a hesitation on the impact. Got it topped off with coolant and did an oil change.

Took it out for a test drive, and its leaking coolant again, from a different location. Drained the coolant, took the lower radiator hose off, cleaned off the metal, put it back together. Filled it back up. No more leaks.

So its like 930pm, and its time to go home. Get the wife and kid loaded up is the Escalade, and go to start it.. Click, no start. Jump pack on it. Click, no start. Jump start. Click, no start. So now I am getting pissed, and start repeatedly just going to the start side of the ignition switch. 5 times in, it starts. Get home. Shut it off, and test again. Click, no start. Went to do some diagnostics on it Sunday, and everything checks out. No problems starting, relay is clean, starter is not drawing any more, or less, amps than it should. So I am going to risk it, and see if it was just a fluke of me running the radio while working on my buddies car, or?

 

[BrianF]

Hauled another 2 loads of manure into the garden. Its finally supposed to be above freezing at night....... how many times have I said that...... now we are finally getting some rain. Has rained all night and will all day. And now the power is off so I can't even make some coffee. Oh and I only had my shirt off for a bit yesterday and my pasty ass burned.

 

[northcreek]

Visit to Urgent Care......was distracted (loose grip) when new pup saw mom and took off on my 16' retractable leash and my arm became a bungee. Seems to be broken vessels causing the pain/swelling and nothing broken. Brake job on Nox is on hold....

 

[Matt]

Working a "half" day and leaving at 11 to go play golf.

 

[Redbeard]

Watching men install an underground concrete storm shelter in my back yard.

 

[Redbeard]

Working a "half" day and leaving at 11 to go play golf.

 

[Redbeard]

Storm shelter installed
Now just to get rid of the extra clay and plant some new plants:
plus run electricity so I can have a fan and radio...

 

[xavierny25]

Last night I finally got the mini split system up and running. I pressure tested over the weekend with no leaks. Pulled the vacuum Sunday let it sit till yesterday evening before opening up the valves.
I really do want a fancy set of digital gauges but these do the job just as good and I've had them for over 10yrs.

 

[TollKeeper]

Monday Night...

Polished up the headlights on the Esky, popped the dent out on the passenger fender.

The Acura I sold a couple weeks ago, the new owners came and picked it up.

Moved the XUV from the back of the lot, to being parked in front of the trailer.

 

[Mooseman]

Picked up some more pool supplies curbside, the dentist, home for lunch, added shock to the pool, put some Roundup on the poison ivy near the pool gate, spread the soil around the septic tank traps, spread some grass seed and watered.

Man it's a PITA to order anything during this lockdown. Want to order concrete epoxy paint for the pool deck and Home Depot is the only one that sells it in 18L pails. It has to be tinted but the online paint ordering system doesn't list that paint. I can order the pail in base white but can't specify the tint. Try to call the paint Dept, they don't answer and it eventually hangs up. I could drive across the river to Quebec who have reopened however we're not supposed to do that and with my Ontario plates, I could get pulled over by the cops or "accosted" by the locals.

 

[northcreek]

I really do want a fancy set of digital gauges but these do the job just as good and I've had them for over 10yrs.

lol.. I bought cheap updated Chinese gauges on ebay and put them on my old manifold and they work just fine, wasn't planning on running any R-12 with the old ones...

 

[TJBaker57]

The TrailBlazer suddenly developed a coolant leak. Coolant all over the engine compartment and 45 minutes from home. Couldn't really see anything but guessed water pump. Picked up a pump at Napa and drove home with a few stops to add water and check on it. As always had my OBD2 adapters and apps so I could monitor temps and such. Got home and threw the pressure tester on it, pumped up to maybe 13 psi. Could not find an active leak!! This is silly I thought, there's coolant everywhere in here! Cannot say what made me think of it but I dropped the pressure down closer to my actual operating pressure. Thar she blows!

 

[Mooseman]

Went to Kenny-U-Pull to grab a tranny cooler and scope out for a R&P for the TB. Did find a couple of candidates that looked dry and turned smooth but were the slower ratio (almost 4 turns of the wheel). Found one in a LWB with the quicker ratio (3 turns of the wheel) but driver side boot seemed to have a little sweating of fluid. $35 for the used one instead of $352 rebuilt. It's a roll of the dice though. I'm still gonna try flushing it with tranny fluid to see if that valve can be freed up.

Found some tranny coolers for my son's '11 Silvy. One was an aftermarket add-on. Easy to get out, just the hoses to cut. Then noticed one on a 96 Burb that was essentially the same size and connections as the stock one but 3x the thickness. Saw the same thing on a 1 ton so it should be adequate. Likely will be able to just use the original quick connect lines from the puny original cooler. If it's not enough, I have the other aftermarket one.

Original:


Beefier one:


The aftermarket one:


And I had found another huge one but at $25 each and $3 core, I passed on it. Too big.

 

[gmcman]

Installed about $175 worth of the Toyota copper and vinyl on the Highlander for the trailer lights....

I get it though, can't argue the fact it's seamless with the vehicle, mounting points, etc.

 

[xavierny25]

After work today and the start of a 4 day weekend. I slapped some battle ship gray paint on the new deck steps I put in last weekend.
The 2×6 boards at the bottom are just there to keep me from painting the fake grass mats we have down in that area.

 

[mrrsm]

For @Blckshdw re: Post# 362 Last Paragraph:

Here are some suggestions regarding your pending Home Owner's Insurance Automatic Cancellation Notice:

(1) Florida maintains state managed Home Owner's Insurance Coverage under the "Citizens" brand name that may be a bit pricey... but will probably be less than anything the poorly run companies that are over charging for this and yet ... still bailing out on their policy holders. Google "Florida Citizen's Insurance" for more dope on this subject.

(2) Next... Make a call to the Office of Helen Wade, licensed Allstate Insurance Agent and ask her great staff to assist you well before two weeks has expired. Don't rely upon your present Policy Holder to come through for you. Be especially aware of any fine print in your Mortgage Papers (unless you presently own your dwelling outright) which may indicate that they can foreclose on the property for reasons of NOT having steady insurance coverage on your dwelling:

Helen Wade - Allstate Insurance Agent in Saint Petersburg, FL

4.70/5 Stars (595 Reviews) - Home, Life and Car Insurance near you. Allstate Insurance Agent in Saint Petersburg FL 33712. Get a free quote today!

agents.allstate.com

(3) The Citizens Policy is supposed to be a last ditch way to get coverage...but the truth is...it is the only REAL policy that has the proper financial backing for handling Natural Disaster Losses in the State of Florida. The majority of the other fly-by-night companies in it for the Fast Buck that are leaving the field have ALWAYS been under-funded and will continue to place many Florida Home Owners in deep jeopardy as long as this branch of insurance coverage remains unregulated in our state. (We have a Citizen's Policy that we jealously guard that is handled through the Allstate Insurance Corporation).

 

[Blckshdw]

Yeah @MRRSM I've found that out as well. Current carrier gave me a Citizens quote, as did most of the other carriers I reached out to. Currently I'm down to All State and State farm, as they are both pretty close in coverage and premium, and it was quite the shock to see these quotes costing considerably less than what I had been paying these last few years. Will also look at bundling insurance on the EXT. At this point, I just need a new 4 point inspection, then I can get final figures and make a decision. I've got coverage until the end of June, so I'm not under a time crunch just yet.

Yesterday: Went to the office for a few hours. With everyone moving around, it was time to settle into my new office. A bit smaller than my previous one, so a downgrade there, but the last one was honestly too big. I don't bring in a lot of stuff, and don't have many meetings IN my office outside of 1 person maybe 2 at the most. There was a giant 1980s filing cabinet in there that was in the way, so brought in some HF furniture dollies, and got that thing to the storage room. Even though it was empty, still put me in a full sweat.

Wanted to rotate the L shaped desk, as the narrow leg room side was facing the door. But it's too big to make the turn, it has to be split into separate pieces first and I didn't have my tools. Might do that later. They gave me a pair of different monitors, same 24" sizes, but they have non-quick disconnect stands on the bottom, so when attached to the desk mount arms, the bases are dangling there where I'd want to put my laptop. Will need tools to take those apart. Management doesn't like me doing stuff like that, so I'll have to be stealthy.

After leaving the office, headed to a friend's house, their mom bought one of those smokeless indoor grills, used it once, and didn't want it cuz it was too big for their counter space. My friend didn't need it so they offered it to me. My George Foreman grill still works fine, but should probably be retired, so I figured free is for me! Gave it a run last night, threw a couple of burgers and slices of bacon on it. Took slightly longer to cook than the Foreman due to needing to flip the food over, but it timed up nicely with the air fryer that had my fries in it. So I'll call it a win.

 

[Matt]

Got a call from the body shop, my new rear doors are painted and ready. I'll pick them up on Tuesday. Then I'll start calling detailers to get a quote on removing the pin striping, bump strips on the front doors and giving it a cut and polish so you can't see where the pin striping used to be.

 

[xavierny25]

Had to put my electrical skills to the test today at my brothers shop. He's expanding and rented a portion of the lot next door. No electricity in the storage unit so I had to run some pipe from a disconnect box currently in his shop through the wall and out and in to the new space. Slapped a breaker panel on the freshly framed walls and pulled and connected the wires. Next Friday I'll be installing 5 8' light fixtures in there as well as wiring in the garage door opener and pipe in some outlets for receptacles.

 

[Sparky]

Surviving. Double family tragedies in the last week and it sucks big time.

 

[TJBaker57]

It seems apparent that I have too much time on my hands...

 

[TollKeeper]

Friday night...

3 day weekend, so decided to go spend it at my cabin. Suppose to rain, but was a beautiful, although cool, Saturday. Wife forgot her pre-natel meds, so made a trip down to grab those, freshen up a bit, and heading back up in a little bit.

My 3 year old asks a lot of questions when he doesn't have all his toys around!!

Neighbors aren't in, so hoping to get in some target practice in.

Next cabin set neighbor told me that we have a 500+ new bear in the area, and to be careful.