Goings on

Hey all,

I know I hardly post here, especially lately. Today and yesterday were the first days I felt like I could relax after the end of the semester. We've been traveling and fighting coughing colds.

Some around the house items:

First I replaced the diverter faucet on our upstairs clawfoot tub. Remembering last time I did this, I decided to replace the turn-off valves on the upstairs water feeds (rather than literally replace the faucet with the water still dripping out). The water upstairs was off for about 12 days while we ordered it and waited for it to arrive. But it looks nice now. Evan likes to turn it on and off...

Just a note: I'm going to guess that a large number of houses in the area have this style of tub/shower in at least one bathroom, but Lowes doesn't sell any faucets for them, Home Depot only carries a really cheap one (lasted all of 9 months and never worked well), and the local high-end plumbing store offered to order one for me for well over $300. I had to order this online.

Next was the hose faucet (silcock) outside... basically it was fine except it leaked, had a broken handle, wasn't actually mounted on the house (just attached to the pipe), and was crudely drilled and stuffed into a hole in the siding. This is along the lines of the quality of workmanship I encounter at every turn in this house. I decided to mount it and trim it.



A shout out to my dad who purchased for me (out of the blue) some very very neat tools. I now realize the hole in my life that could only be filled by this Dremel set. The driver is so easy to control and the high-speed drill is exactly what a do-it-yourselfer needs to add some trim and a new hose faucet.



Note the old, old valves, silcock, and crappy clawfoot faucet (lasted less than a year) in the lower right.

Next was the refrigerator ice maker. We have one, but no water. And it's getting hot. I ran some 1/2" copper under the fridge, drilled some holes, put in a wall fixture and voila!






This is dedicated to my dad who taught me how to either do all of the above (solder, cut, mount, run pipe) or how to think clearly enough to understand how to go about it all. Also generous in just up and buying about half the tools I used. If he had been here, I know he would have insisted on helping every step of the way. I love you dad.

Here's four generations: