An Improved System for Even Faster Hot Water
I missed an opportunity. You may recall the retrofit I did in 2022 to get faster hot water at three of my fixtures. It made a huge improvement, but it could have been even better. But before I go there,…
plumbing
Concrete, Steel, and Demolition in My Basement
Things are heating up in my basement now. Really. Our outdoor temperatures have risen since I began my basement renovation in early February and I still don't have heating and cooling down there yet. So it's getting a bit warm…
Making a Roof Less Likely to Leak
I got the shingles replaced on my roof this week. I've needed it for a while but held off for a couple of years. Why? Because there were a couple of things I needed to do at the bottom of…
The One Reason NOT to Do It Yourself
I've taken on a whole lot of do-it-yourself (DIY) projects over the years. I built furniture (end table, bookcase, coffee table...) in high school and college. Thanks to owning a couple of old Volkswagens ('61 Beetle and '65 bus), I've…
Basement Renovation in a 1961 Home
My wife and I bought our 1961 house in 2019, and it came with a basement in pretty rough shape. It smelled musty. There was evidence of moisture damage. The slab was cracked along the perimeter of the exterior walls. …
A Weekend Plumbing Adventure
Did you know that some plumbers stuff a wad of white bread (sans crust) into a pipe before they solder it? That's one of the things I learned during my weekend plumbing adventure. More about that later, though. The purpose…