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do all projects end like this? Nate Nagel 12-01-2007
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Posted by Nate Nagel on December 2, 2007, 2:01 pm
aemeijers wrote:
> Bill wrote:
>
>> They do at my very old house!
>>
>> Basically whenever I tear anything apart, I find more problems and the
>> project winds up costing a lot more than I expected.
>>
>> For example I had a leaky horizontal drain pipe going from the kitchen
>> sink to outside. A few bucks to replace right? NO! I wound up having
>> to replace that pipe, the pipe going down, and the pipe going all the
>> way under the house to the other side of the house.
>>
>> The previous owner of the house installed this drain pipe (under the
>> house) basically level. Then proceeded to fill it up with grease from
>> the kitchen. It was solid grease for the entire length of the pipe.
>> Then they poured tons of drain cleaner into the drain which ate away
>> at the pipes and it was actually draining out the bottom of the pipe
>> and not a drop going into the sewer. Luckily plastic drain pipe is not
>> too expensive, so was just a lot of work. (I installed the new drain
>> pipe at the correct angle.)
>>
> Chuckle. I <always> plan on a project taking twice as long as it should,
> and costing half again as much money. I also try to plan a fallback
> position- if the project utterly crashes and burns on me, how do I keep
> the house livable and weather proof, etc, in the meantime, while I call
> in professional help? (I'm a big believer in having shutoff valves on
> plumbing runs, replacing all the replaceable pieces as long as I have
> something apart anyway, etc. And never start a plumbing project past
> noon on Saturday- starting later will ensure you are missing a needed
> part when the stores close.) Parts are cheap, my time and ambition are
> precious. If I don't have a warm fuzzy that I can do something
> successfully, I hire it out, and watch and learn for next time.
>
> aem sends...

Past noon? The real plumbing supply place near me closes at 1PM on
Saturday, leaving me only the fallback of Home Despot until Monday
evening. You're a lucky man.

Yes, I started demoing my sink drain at about 8AM on Saturday because I
figured I would demo first, then buy what I needed before the store
closed. Came upstairs while I was getting ready to leave and SWMBO was
asleep with a pillow over her head. :)

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Posted by Pete C. on December 3, 2007, 1:49 pm
aemeijers wrote:
>
> Bill wrote:
> > They do at my very old house!
> >
> > Basically whenever I tear anything apart, I find more problems and the
> > project winds up costing a lot more than I expected.
> >
> > For example I had a leaky horizontal drain pipe going from the kitchen sink
> > to outside. A few bucks to replace right? NO! I wound up having to replace
> > that pipe, the pipe going down, and the pipe going all the way under the
> > house to the other side of the house.
> >
> > The previous owner of the house installed this drain pipe (under the house)
> > basically level. Then proceeded to fill it up with grease from the kitchen.
> > It was solid grease for the entire length of the pipe. Then they poured tons
> > of drain cleaner into the drain which ate away at the pipes and it was
> > actually draining out the bottom of the pipe and not a drop going into the
> > sewer. Luckily plastic drain pipe is not too expensive, so was just a lot of
> > work. (I installed the new drain pipe at the correct angle.)
> >
> Chuckle. I <always> plan on a project taking twice as long as it should,
> and costing half again as much money. I also try to plan a fallback
> position- if the project utterly crashes and burns on me, how do I keep
> the house livable and weather proof, etc, in the meantime, while I call
> in professional help? (I'm a big believer in having shutoff valves on
> plumbing runs, replacing all the replaceable pieces as long as I have
> something apart anyway, etc. And never start a plumbing project past
> noon on Saturday- starting later will ensure you are missing a needed
> part when the stores close.) Parts are cheap, my time and ambition are
> precious. If I don't have a warm fuzzy that I can do something
> successfully, I hire it out, and watch and learn for next time.
>
> aem sends...

Parts (both plumbing and electrical) are cheap, so I keep well stocked
parts kits with everything I might need for the typical projects. I
figure the perhaps $100 (combined) in parts on hand will easily save
that just in the gas that would otherwise be required to run out and get
parts as needed.

Posted by aemeijers on December 4, 2007, 10:29 pm
Pete C. wrote:
> aemeijers wrote:
>> Bill wrote:
>>> They do at my very old house!
>>>
(snip)
>
> Parts (both plumbing and electrical) are cheap, so I keep well stocked
> parts kits with everything I might need for the typical projects. I
> figure the perhaps $100 (combined) in parts on hand will easily save
> that just in the gas that would otherwise be required to run out and get
> parts as needed.

I'll agree with that. I'm not organized enough to build a stockpile in
any planned fashion, but I always keep any extra parts- every few years
I get motivated enough to sort out all the misc screws, bolts, brackets,
etc. And when I replaced some 2-hole outlets and some worn-out switches,
I rounded up the numbers and bought the 'contractor' 10-packs, since the
unit cost was lower anyway. I've used a couple from shelf stock since
then. Fasteners, unless they are expensive, I will buy by the box
instead of the overpriced baggies.

I <really> need to get off my ass (and off this time-sucking Usenet) and
sort out that island of trash-picked milk crates in my basement, where
my tool and part stockpiles have sat since I moved in 2.5 years ago.
They are <kind of> sorted by category, but small bins (that I don't
have) on a bank of shelves down there (that I haven't built yet) would
work SO much better...

(the milk crates did work out pretty well in the 2x5 patio storage
closet in the apartment where I lived for 12 years before buying the
house...)

aem sends...



Posted by on December 2, 2007, 12:36 pm
wrote:

>Do all around-the-house projects end up like this? If so, I might just
>have to stop fixing stuff and start placing buckets strategically.

My mom wanted to replace an old toilet seat and ended up remodelling
the bathroom. (the bozo handyman cracked the toilet yada yada)

Posted by Douglas Johnson on December 2, 2007, 7:08 pm

>Today's project: replace the sink strainer in the kitchen sink (it was
>of unknown - probably geriatric - age,
<...>
>Do all around-the-house projects end up like this?

Doug's law of old houses: Every little project has a big one hiding behind it.

-- Doug

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