When you own a home, toilet replacement (and toilet maintenance and toilet repair) – all come with the territory. You can always hire a plumber to help, of course, but even if you do – it’s still best to know what it takes to get something done yourself. What follows is a little chronicle of […]
Repairs
My Battle with Surface Water Runoff
2020 Update – Originally Published March, 2016 Surface water runoff from rain, downspouts, roofs and gutters can make your life miserable if your landscape grading hasn’t been properly designed. The equation isn’t terribly complicated: water needs to flow away from things it can damage. But this can sometimes be overlooked or frankly creep up on […]
Repairing a Backyard Trampoline
2020 Update — Originally Published 2016 Some of the best money I’ve ever spent has been on our backyard trampoline – the kids love it, they get exercise, fresh air and sunshine, and we’ve all had a lot of laughs with it. I won’t even pretend I don’t jump on it myself, though I do try […]
Replacing a Central Air Conditioner Return Vent Cover
Both central air conditioning return vent covers were smashed. Oddly smashed. I could almost picture a toddler on a Fisher Price trike having a blast slamming into them repeatedly… because nothing else really seemed to fit the damage I was seeing. But no matter what really happened, we were preparing the home for rental in […]
How to Clean Your Outdoor A/C Unit for Better Cooling
I don’t know about the weather in your locale, but here in the middle of the country, we’re getting temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s with 85 percent humidity. Yesterday, even though the air conditioner was cranked, the house wasn’t cooling down like it should have been, and we were all sweaty and cranky. There […]
How to Replace a Dead GFCI Outlet
GFCI Outlets, often referred to as GFI outlets or just GFIs, are used to reduce the risk of significant electrical shocks and injury. If you used a hair dryer this morning, you probably plugged it into a GFCI outlet. We’ve all seen GFIs in our homes – they’re the electrical receptacles with the ‘test’ and […]
How to Convert a Fluorescent Fixture to LED Lighting
I was within minutes of ordering my fluorescent fixture replacement bulbs and ballasts when it hit me. There must be a way to retrofit highly efficient LED lighting to existing fluorescent fixtures. I mean – if there isn’t, let’s start that company right now, right? So, I went to Amazon and immediately found a number […]
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