Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Bad Toilet! Bad!

So, it seems we're going to have to replace the original 72 year old cast iron waste pipe for the toilet. When I have enough time off and emotional energy to deal with that, I'll get to it.

The front window glazing finally got a coat of primer yesterday. It took forever for the glazing compound to set up, but I'm glad I didn't use the latex window caulking in a tube. That stuff looks like crap, if you ask me. I would have painted today, but the new kitchen faucet arrived around 2pm today, so that took priority.

One of the requirements for financing on the house was a new kitchen faucet. While the "newness" of the faucet that was installed is dubious, one thing for sure is that the morons who did the "repairs" on the house need to stick to concrete. They crossed the threads on the supply line for the "new" faucet. The hot water supply started leaking four days ago, and until about 3:30 pm today, we've had no hot water in the kitchen. I ordered the new faucet from Amazon, because a) they had what I wanted for less than retail, and b) credit lines exist for a reason. Anywho, the new faucet outclasses the rest of the house, but it's pretty, and works very well. We also have a sprayer hose now, too! (It only took two trips to the hardware store to get the correct length of supply line.)

Autumn is officially here and I'm going to have to weather proof all the windows very soon. I'm not sure how long we're going to be able to hold out on turning on the heat, but once we have plastic over all 24 windows, things won't be as drafty.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Toilet update

When last I posted, the toilet was installed for the 2nd time. Sure enough, not 10 days later the damn thing started leaking again when Himself used it. When I went to disconnect the water line, I noticed that the tank had a crack down the front. Replacement time.

Fast forward to today. One of my co-workers had an extra toilet new-in-box hanging out in his garage and he sold it to me for $50. Yay! It's actually a better match for the current color in the bathroom (bone), and it's the same style as the old one. Another run to the hardware store for yet another wax ring and a new toilet seat. I figure I'll get around to installing it sometime this evening. Third time's the Charm, right?

I also started working on some of the window glazing on the front of the house. The old stuff was gone on one of the windows, along with quite a bit of paint. I chipped out and pried out everything that was loose and layed in new putty. Had I known that they make latex window glazing in a caulking tube these days, I probably would have used that. Oh well, I think the linseed based stuff will probably be better in the long run. Besides, it looks better than the glazing done by the "professional home repair people" who replace two of the panes on the house during escrow.

Re-glazing project

Re-glazing project
I have to wait until it cures before priming & painting, but I think it'll look ok. I did a total of 5 windows - just the bottom and sides where needed. I didn't see the point in chipping out solid glazing.