DIY Jobs That Taker Longer Than you Planned, Or Just Go Badly Wrong
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@meatmarketdenim1 that’s scary as hell.
I’ve seen what happens when it doesn’t turn out wellThose are my principles, and if you don't like them…
Well, I have others. -
Every home project I do ends up turning into a can of worms. My wife noticed deteriorating grout in our shower so I started on that yesterday. It interrupts the garage I'm insulating for A/C, and the bathroom sink I need to re-attach to the wall because my daughter leaned on it too heavily. I got about 30 minutes into scraping out grout and decided it requires a power-tool solution. Which means I need to find time to run to the hardware store. Which means we have to shower in the kids' bathroom until I can finish. It never ends.
"The whole future lies in uncertainty: Live immediately."
-Seneca -
@meatmarketdenim1 holy shit man, that’s nuts!!!
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A few months ago, I stumbled upon a second-hand listing for a nearby Concorde bicycle. The frame was steel and it had a Campagnolo groupset. Driven by curiosity to learn something new and brush up on my technical skills, I decided to buy the bike for €170.
After doing some research, it turned out the bike was much more special than I initially thought. The frame was built in Italy in the early 1990s by a legendary frame builder under the name Coïc. Everything was still in original condition and working fine, except for the rear derailleur.
I started by giving everything a thorough clean, taking it all apart and putting it back together. For example, the seatpost and stem were completely stuck in the frame because the old grease had completely hardened. I stripped the rear triangle of surface rust, re-greased everything, replaced the bearings, and added a new saddle and handlebar tape. The only thing left to do was replace the rear derailleur.
For this, I went to a local bike shop. The technician's eyes went wide when he saw it, and he was more than happy to help me restore the bike to its former glory. He decided that the shift cable needed to be replaced, and since we had to get into the levers anyway, we might as well replace all the cables. He snipped everything, only to suddenly realize that the old cable wouldn't release from the shifter.
After more than an hour of fiddling, I decided to take the lever home—along with the piece of cable stuck inside—to drill it out myself. Three drill bits and two trips to the hardware store later, the stubborn cable was finally out.
The next day, I headed back to the bike shop and got everything mounted. Only one problem: the shifting still wasn't running smoothly. So, we decided to replace the cassette as well. With a final bill of €200 from the shop, the bike was finally finished.
However, one major issue remained: the frame is a size too small for me, so I decided to sell it. This whole adventure literally cost me many hours, blood, sweat, and tears, and a total bill of over €400. In the meantime, the bike is still up for sale because there currently seems to be an oversupply in the market. On the bright side, I've learned a lot, and the bike has turned into an absolute little gem.
"I hate a man that talks when he's got nothing to say." – Woodrow Call
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@steelworker
Yeah man it was scary. Turned off the gas line right after it happened. I was all shaking from adrenaline after, was kinda in shock like so close to blowing up. I Went and hugged my wife right after and told her the story. I already knew not to mess with electrical, and after that experience way more cautious. I manage a few properties my old place being one of them and its worth paying the professionals. My handyman skills are limited, keep it to small safe repairs if at all -
Aww def a lot work put into that. Huge bummer the bike doesn’t fit, and hopefully someone buys in soon.
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@meatmarketdenim1 if I manage to keep it in storage for about 4 to 6 years, I'll be a great bike for my oldest.
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I could also get a raised stem and get a longer seatpost, but that would ruin the look IMO.
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What saves me is that I have so little experience and self confidence on house DIY jobs (runs in the family), that I do normally not even attempt them. A daily reminder: We have a small entrance gate to our garden, where one of the support posts (the one without the hinges) rusted trough and broke off. Iron with wooden core. I tried pathetically to place a new wooden element inside and ram it into the ground. Since this obviously did not work, the gate is now missing a post, and has to be blocked with a piece of firewood. I could either have it replaced professionally, or buy a new gate but then would need to try and set it myself (I imaging digging holes, puring concrete, getting exact measurements right etc).
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Almost everything that involves being handy
My rule of thumb … if it requires a tool to fix it, I call for help
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@WhiskeySandwich the first house I bought was when I was a single guy. I loved doing house projects and learning new skills etc. If problems arose (and of course they did) I could leave things in a state of disarray while I problem solved over the course of days or even weeks.
Now that I’m married and we have our new shared home, that same level of grace period to complete “new skill” projects is not nearly so relaxed. Therefore, I don’t love house project nearly as much anymore.
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I find bigger projects go easier and simpler than the oh that will only take 10min jobs
Install a new kitchen not a problem goes to plan
Strip the floor for a sand and polish no problemsThe squeaky sliding door that should just need some cleaning and some lubricant 5 hours later and the door is still out of the cavity the sliders are in bits and I’m about to sink my 4th beer and lose my mind
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Not a house, but the boat. I am planning on upgrading the "house" batteries to Lithium. The house system runs all the domestic stuff and is 24V, dropping to 12V where something does not come in a 24V version. Apart from the house batteries, we have 12v battery banks for starter motors and thrusters, and they need to be AGM (basically lead acid), because for reasons I do not yet understand (but I dont really need to know the why, just accept the fact), starter motors do not like Lithium.
On the face of it is seems like a simple job, drop new batteries in, connect them up and voila......
Nope. I need to set new algorithms in the chargers, make sure that the lithium batteries are protected from variable charge from the generator and solar etc etc etc.
I will spend 10 times as long trying to figure it all out, compared to actually doing it. And I know I will hit some gotchas. Paula said I should get someone to do it for me, and I know someone who can. But the fact that it's going to take me so long to figure it out, is because I was not involved in the initial build or subsequent add-ons/upgrades, and I really want to know how this shit works.
We plan to take SAKURA down to The Med next May, and that will involve some long offshore passages. I'll feel way more comfortable if I have some level of electrical system knowledge. And I am sure the people I have with me (because Paula will not want to do the long passages), will feel more comfortable too. Looking at you @goosehd
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Three years ago, I installed solar power on our boat. I innocently thought that this would reduce my requirement for shore-power when in a marina (which, funnily enough is extortionately expensive). Wrong, when shore power is plugged in, it takes priority over any other power supply. This has been pissing me off ever since, and no one I have spoken to has a solution, in fact most of them assumed like I did, that I would be able to use the solar I was generating. All that solar is just going to waste.
As part of our possible upgrade to Lithium batteries on the boat, I have been trying to really understand how everything works. One of the things, I did not have digital access to was the "charger/inverter" (the inverter converts 24v DC current to 240v AC - so we can run 240v AC appliances basically off the batteries). I came across a blue tooth dongle that plugs into the charger/inverter through an RJ45 socket. I got gone and started playing. First thing I found was that the charger was set up incorrecly (thanks boat factory), but then I found a setting called "Island Mode". Basically that means if you enable it, it assumes you are an island, but do have access to external AC power if needed. I thought I had cracked it earlier this week, but it failed. Today, I upgraded the firmware, set some rules up, like, prioritise solar but if battery state of charge falls to 90%, then switch to shore power.
Watching TV tonight and monitoring the app on my phone, it duly switched when the battery SOC fell to 90%.
Fuck me, 3 years to fix that one.
I'll save a fortune over the winter when I run dehumidifiers on the boat.......
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I just gave up on a descale operation on our kitchen faucet. Thought I had planned everything well, took the whole assembly apart and soaked everything in vinegar. Chrome is shiny again, put it together with all new gaskets I bought in advamce. Even bought a very specific tool for removal of the cartridge. Only to find it dripping from the two hoses which are a very specific push-in type only found on that model. Double o-ringed with a clamp holding them in place. They don‘t seal anymore after cleaning. I might have an o-ring assortment in my garage, but that is 30min away. Amazon Prime to the rescue, a new set will be delivered tomorrow. Fingers crossed…
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On our home water system we have filters to catch any sediment from our well, a water softener, and UV light to kill any bacteria or pathogens. Today, I refilled the salt for the water softener, the sediment filters, and went to change the UV light…
I didn’t have a spare and had to run to town mid process to pick up a new light…The first hurdle was finding where they were in the hardware store. It was in isle 8 (the computer said they were there, but it took forever to find. Then the brand that I was looking for wasn’t there and I had to do quick cross reference checks to make sure what I was buying was compatible with our system. Thankfully yes and after a planned 15 minute job, it only took 2 hours to complete
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@steelworker exactly what I was thinking
