Master Bath D-Day 4

If you remember from previous photos, we have 2 large wall mounted mirrors in the master bathroom. They are not mounted with little plastic brackets, they are held onto the wall directly with adhesive. Well not anymore! Here is what you'll need:

• work gloves
• contact paper
• thick wire
• patience

First we covered the mirror with the thickest contact paper we could find. Tape just wouldn't cut it here. It reinforces the mirror and also keeps shards at bay if it breaks.

Then holding the wire taut, slowly run between the mirror and the wall. In our case this method didn't work that well as it just got gunked up with adhesive but still try it anyway.

In the end we just slowly pried and pulled the mirror off the wall directly:

It worked with one mirror but not entirely with the other:

I'm thinking of salvaging the broken mirror by cutting it down to window size and inserting into a window frame. Or building a frame out of molding and attaching to the mirror. Suggestions?

Over Fire

When it's warm out, we like to be outside as much as possible. When we can, we grill.

But sometimes, we're just simply forced to (thanks Mother Nature for this wonderful heat wave!)...

Yep, you are seeing right. That's a whole pizza being 'baked' on a grill. No, we are not renovating our kitchen again. We actually chose to do this.

How to do this? Just keep the grill on a low heat, oil both sides of the dough one side at a time, and cook until it is a bona-fide crust (be patient, it takes longer than you would expect). Then top your pizza and cook some more.

The result: a tasty deep dish pizza (take note of the meat cleaver in the photo. You'll need it).

Master Bath D-Day 3

Now that the master bath has been cleared out, we proceeded to the flooring. You see, it was boring white square ceramic tiles with highlights of hideous shades of orange. I like orange, and have nothing against that color but what were the PO's (previous owners) thinking when they chose to put that in a room that received no sunlight with overhead fluorescent lighting?

And so out it went. For this job, make sure the toilet drain pipe is covered to protect it from debris falling in. Also put up plastic drop cloths to prevent dust and tile chunks from flying into any nearby rooms (we didn't have to do this as we just closed the bathroom door).

What you'll need:

• rubber mallet
• crow bar
  
• hammer or metal mallet (forget what this is technically called)
• grout removal tool
• metal putty knife
  
• floor scraper
• dust pan and broom
• dust mask (I know the bf isn't wearing one in the above pic but apparently he doesn't care about his lungs)
  

I also suggest ear plugs of some sort, this process gets loud.

Take the grout removal tool (which is basically a stack of utility blades with one handle) and run along the ground lines (it will make an awful sound. Like fingernails. Along a chalkboard. A very clean one. Times 10).

Then take the rubber mallet and lightly pound the tiles that you have used the grout removal tool along to loosen it up. Work in sections, like one entire row at a time.

Now take your crowbar and hammer (or metal mallet) and pry off the tiles. They should start to come off. Then use the floor scraper and the tiles should come off in whole pieces (which will make for less dust and way easier clean up).


And if a ton of grout was used, then you've just got to smash the hell out of the tiles. Clean up will suck. But at least you can unleash your aggression on the stupid ugly tiles.

By the end of this, you'll be deaf and your arms will want to fall off (if you are hauling loads of broken tile from the second floor, that is).

Any better tips to this type of demolition? Or tile hauling? Did you actually like the orange tiles? Are you the PO's that picked it out? Care to defend it?

Mending Hoses

For over a year now, I've had this awesome kink-free hose. The only problem is that I bought a cheapo nozzle and it calcified onto my rocking hose:

So one day the bf and I got fed up and snipped the damn thing off:

Then we slipped on a hose mender (which can be purchased at any hardware store):

We inserted the male part into the hose and put the loosened collar around the hose:

Then we pulled it up to the end of the hose and tightened it with a screwdriver:

But wait the fun doesn't stop there. To prevent the calcification (is that a word?) from happening again, we also installed hose quick connects (also available at any hardware store). One end goes on the hose and the other goes on the nozzle:

And then I installed my favorite hose nozzle back on:

And then hose away! Whee!

I've learned that not all hoses are created equal. Do yourself a favor and skip the medium duty and go straight to a heavy duty kink-free hose, and it should come with a lifetime warranty (I got mine at Lowe's). You can go cheap with the nozzle if you wish, as it's dropped often and won't matter. But make sure you do not store the hose with the nozzle attached for any long periods of time (especially if you have hard water). The best way to go about the hose situation, is to get a kink-free heavy duty hose, high quality nozzle, quick connects from the faucet to the hose, and from the hose to the nozzle, and a hose caddy.

Any other advice to share? Any hose caddy recommendations?

Clearing Up the Air

I have a dirty secret. Literally. And it involves this:

(my furnace)

I have never changed the air filter in this thing since I've lived here. I have no excuse because I have pets. And eczema.

So that's where this comes in:

I ordered a 6 pack from Amazon. Not that kind of 6 pack. Or that kind either. Although I would be happy with either. Or both!

First take out 1 filter, and put away the rest. Then cut along the top to access the filter, but don't remove the plastic case completely (you'll soon see why).

Then head to your nasty old air filter located under your furnace:

Remove the old air filter*. And brace yourself:

How gah-rows is that? Big time yuck.

This is when you finally remove the plastic sleeve off the new filter, and carefully slide it over the old one:

Mark your new filter with the date you installed it:

Now slide the clean new one where you pulled the gross old one out.

Now toss the old filter and try to forget you let that happen. And then sit back and take a deep breath.

But before you forget the horror, here's one last look at how nasty mine was. *You saw right, it said '30 Day' on the old filter (and indeed it's been a year and half since we've lived here). Are you horrified? Did we beat the world record for air filter procrastination/ignorance?

Have you any similar horrors? Obviously, I won't judge...

Changing Motor Oil

Here's a tutorial on how to change your motor oil. It should be done routinely, every 3,000-5,000 miles (check your owner's manual). It's the best thing you can do for your vehicle and a great way to save some mula. I also find it kinda fun.


First, gather your supplies:

1. New motor oil (my car takes just over 4 quarts, so I find 1 big 5 quart jug is perfect - again check your manual)
2. New oil filter (go to Pepboys or Auto Zone and there will be something hanging at eye level that resembles a phone book, use it to find your car's make, model and year to determine which oil filter to use)
3. Disposable gloves (this is optional, but used motor oil is thick stuff so this makes clean up much easier)
4. Oil drain pan (this technically is optional as well, you just need something with the capacity to catch the old oil, but I recommend investing in this they are about $10. If you plan on future self oil changes, it's a much cleaner process when you are pouring out the old oil - I have done it both ways and this is best)
5. Oil filter socket with corresponding wrench in correct size (after you find your oil filter, open it and test it on different oil filter sockets to see which fits best)
6. Socket and corresponding wrench to the size of the drain plug on your car (mine is 17 mm)

You should have plenty of rags on hand as well. This can be a messy project.


Now that you have your supplies ready, make sure your engine is not hot. Pop open your hood and locate the oil filler cap. When you are ready to drain the oil, removing this will allow air flow to help draining go a lot faster.



Here is a view from underneath my car, where you'll see the oil drain plug and the oil filter. If you don't know where it is located on your car, check the manual.


Loosen the drain plug with your socket wrench and have your drain pan close and ready to slide under once you remove the drain plug.


When it is loosened, make sure you hang onto the bolt. If you drop it in the pan it will be a giant pain to get out. If you drop it on the floor, it will be an annoying mess that will leave permanent stains. Once you remove the drain plug, also make sure you catch the gasket as well (it looks just like a metal washer).


It should drain out rather slowly into your drain pan. Make sure the little air cap on top of the drain pan is open to allow air flow so it can keep up with the oil draining so it won't bubble out.


Now slide out from underneath the car and remove that oil filler cap to speed things up. Hopefully your aim into the drain pan is better than mine...


Here is the drain plug. It will get covered in oil, just give it a wipe down. Same goes for the gasket (not pictured). Inspect both and see if they need to be replaced. Then put the gasket and drain plug back in once the old oil is completely drained.


Next, use your filter socket and place over the oil filter to remove. Have drain pan ready.


Next, open new oil filter. Lubricate the rubber gasket with new oil using your finger (I prematurely tossed my gloves). This will help form a tight seal. Then place new filter back where you removed the old filter. Hand tightened is great, don't need to over tighten with the wrench or else you'll have a hard time getting it off next time you do this.


I didn't mention a funnel in the list of materials but it will make this next step go faster. If you don't want to buy one or don't have one, just cut an old milk jug in half like I did. The spout happens to be the perfect size, and you can use the bottom half of the jug as a holder for the top half so you won't drip motor oil everywhere. If you are not using a funnel of any kind, just pour straight from the bottle. It will just take a steadier hand and a little bit more time.


It's easier to pour less than you think and check the level and add more, than it is to drain out the excess. Look at the the nice light color of fresh new oil...

How do you check? Well once you're done pouring, give it a second to settle in the crankcase. And pull out the oil level stick (also known as dip stick) and wipe the tip with a clean rag. Then reinsert the dip stick, wait a second, and pull out and see where the oil level is. It should be between the 2 notches. You can see from my photo above, that mine is on the high end but still falls between the notches (I have an old car that burns oil more than newer cars).

Put the oil lever check back. Close the hood. Take the car for a spin around the block and then check the level again, it should go down a tiny bit.

Tips:

• Do not attempt this unless you have the supplies. You don't want to be stuck without your supplies and a car with no oil. A good way to permanently kill your engine. Motor oil = car's lifeblood.
• I chose not to jack up my car because I'm small enough to slide under the car. Plus it's quicker that way. And less work. But from now on, I may just start jacking up the car. The visibility will be so much better. Remember to use stands and engage your emergency hand brake if you do this.
• Put a cardboard box down (or tarp) to catch any little drips and dribbles. I failed to do this.
• I prefer rubber or plastic oil filter wrenches to metal ones. I have a metal one because that's all that I could find at my auto parts store. If your metal filter wrench can't get a good grip on the filter, place a piece of sandpaper (grit side out) inside and insert over the filter for a better 'bite'
• Pour old oil back into empty oil containers.
• Old motor oil and old oil filters can be recycled. Check your local waste facilities for household hazardous waste collections (my city does it once a month) or check with local auto shops to see if they accept.
• Most oil grades are 5W/30 or 10W/30 depending on your climate. Since I live in a climate where it doesn't ever get really cold either will work. Ask your auto parts store guy about your climate.
• You can use regular or synthetic motor oil but do NOT mix the 2 types. And if use synthetic, use that for the remainder of that car's life. 

You're done! Now go wash your hands and pat yourself on the back!

Avoiding the Draft

My New Year's resolution for 2010 will be to stop throwing money out the window. And since I like a good head start, I weatherstripped our windows.

Here's what you'll need and how to do it, if you're lucky enough to have ancient windows like me:

Rubbing alcohol, paper towel (or a rag), tape measure, scissors, weatherstrip (appropriate width for your window)


First, open up your window and clean your cracks (or tracks, jambs if you take offense and want to be technical) with rubbing alcohol and paper towel. This will clean up greasy stuff, and general debris. Let it dry (which won't take long).

Then measure the crack-track-jamb and cut weatherstrip to length.

Then remove the adhesive strip and stick inside the area you just measured.

Close your window tightly, and you're done. If you have side sliding windows (or doors), do it on the sides. If you have regular up-down windows, do it on the top and bottom.

I should have done this a year ago, but we thought we were going to replace all our windows. Which is also why we didn't bother doing a decent job painting around the windows. Just ignore that :)

Do you have old original windows in your home? Is your place drafty? Are new windows crazy expensive like I think they will be (none of ours are standard sizes)? Do you have any resolutions for the new year that you can't wait to get started on?

No Skid Ro-tor (Part 3)

9. Reinsert cleaned (or new if you are replacing those as well) brake pads into the caliper

(there are 2 clips holding the brake pads, use a flat head screw driver to help get them in)

10. Reinsert caliper onto rotor so each brake pad flanks the rotor, and resecure bolt back into place behind the rotor and tighten with socket and socket wrench

11. Put wheel back on wheel bolts and screw lug nuts back on and tighten

12. Lower car back onto the ground and remove jack - you're almost done!

13. Set your torque wrench to recommended torque specs
(I set mine to 72 pounds)

14. Tighten each nut with one click* (and only one click, if you do it twice you are using twice the torque, ie. in my case it would have been 72 lbs x 2 clicks = 144 lbs).

*with my particular torque wrench, when releasing it makes a quiet click which could be confusing and alarming. Just pay attention to what you are doing and you'll be fine

15. Repeat all this with the other side. You should always replace all brake pads and rotors at the same time to keep even wear.

16. With engine still off, pump the brake pedal to set brake pads against the rotors

16. Disengage the emergency brake, turn on engine and take the car for a drive around the block. Roll your windows down and keep your radio off so you can hear any noises. You should hear nothing.

Silence is golden. Especially when it saves you about a hundred bucks.

Read part 1 here and part 2 here.

No Skid Ro-tor (Part 2)

Now that you have your materials, here's how to get started:

1. Make sure the car is in park and the engine off and for added safety, engage the emergency brake




2. Loosen lug nuts by turning counter clockwise
(because you can't remove the wheel without jacking the car up and you if you do this after jacking the car up, you'll just be spinning the wheel rather than loosening the nuts, make sense?)



3. Jack car up so that wheel is no longer touching the ground, and don't jack up higher than necessary
(place the jack near the wheel you are working on and be sure that you place the jack on the metal frame and not the plastic body. There are usually notches to indicate which you can see in the photo above and to the right of the jack. If you are still unsure, check the owner's manual - which you should keep in your glove compartment)


4. Remove lug nuts and remove wheel (you should be able to do this by hand since you should have broken the resistance to the nuts in step 2)



5. Remove bolt behind brake caliper* and rotor to release caliper assembly (mine was on too tight for me to loosen by hand so I lightly tapped with a mallet).

*do NOT allow the caliper to hang by the brake lines, have someone hold it or better yet, rig a holder using some wire to secure it. If you break the pressure seal on the brake fluid, you WILL get brake fluid everywhere. Your face, your clothes, the ground, tools - everywhere.

6. Remove brake pads from caliper, inspect*, and clean using brake cleaner
(warning: this is highly stinky stuff, spray over a bucket and have some rags nearby to wipe dry)

*if your brake pads appear worn, this is when you would replace them. At this point, just pop out the old ones, and insert the new ones.


7. Remove old rotor* off wheel bolts, (if the rotor doesn't come off easily, tap with mallet or gently with a hammer - it's ok since the rotor is metal)

*if they appear to be in decent condition, hang onto them and have them "turned" at a garage (where they grind the surface so the groove is gone) so you don't have to buy next time, or to have spare part on hand



8. Open new rotor, and place on wheel bolts



Left: new rotor on wheel bolts, right: old rotor (which actually isn't very old so that's why we hung onto it)

Read part 3 here.