How to Fix Stuff

[Bronze]

I finished the gutter guard job. Bought more guards from Home Depot (this time) and finished the whole house. The front required the most cutting, trimming, and puzzling so it goes slower. Because I have four gables in the front everything drains down to two points. This is a plus and a minus. The minus is all the tree trash funnels to one spot (interior corner) that quickly dams everything up. No gutter guard can prevent this. The plus is I have only two spots to clean up. So frequent cleanings but quick work. So far I'm liking these guards but I am reserving judgement until I go thru a full year.

Two VERY good products:

For gutters (spray and wipe, no elbow grease required, turns them to new)...
https://www.amazon.com/KRUD-KUTTER-...1594490201&sprefix=Krud+Kutter,aps,160&sr=8-2

For soffit, fascia, and siding (melts algae, mold, and dirt. spray and power wash off or even garden hose will work)...
https://www.amazon.com/Jomax-Outdoo...dchild=1&keywords=Jomax&qid=1594490353&sr=8-1

 

[markfm]

I finished the gutter guard job. Bought more guards from Home Depot (this time) and finished the whole house. The front required the most cutting, trimming, and puzzling so it goes slower. Because I have four gables in the front everything drains down to two points. This is a plus and a minus. The minus is all the tree trash funnels to one spot (interior corner) that quickly dams everything up. No gutter guard can prevent this. The plus is I have only two spots to clean up. So frequent cleanings but quick work. So far I'm liking these guards but I am reserving judgement until I go thru a full year.

Two VERY good products:

For gutters (spray and wipe, no elbow grease required, turns them to new)...
https://www.amazon.com/KRUD-KUTTER-...1594490201&sprefix=Krud+Kutter,aps,160&sr=8-2

For soffit, fascia, and siding (melts algae, mold, and dirt. spray and power wash off or even garden hose will work)...
https://www.amazon.com/Jomax-Outdoo...dchild=1&keywords=Jomax&qid=1594490353&sr=8-1

Thanks for the lead on the mold and mildew cleaner! We've got some skirt pieces at both home and camp that need a de-gunking.

 

[Bronze]

Thanks for the lead on the mold and mildew cleaner! We've got some skirt pieces at both home and camp that need a de-gunking.

You mix part Jomax with part bleach + water. Spray it on with a garden sprayer and it turns that black crap to a tea color within a minute or two. Spray it off. I've always used a power washer but some people use a garden hose. .... and span! I think Home Depot n Lowes sells it too.

 

[AstroTurf]

.... and span!

so racist...

 

[Bronze]

so racist...

You noticed.

 

[CMD-Ky]

Bronze, if you like them today, wait until Fall when you see the leaves from your trees just flow over the edges of the gutter while the water rushes into the gutter and down spout. You will wonder why you waited, like me. When our gutters were replaced after our monumental ice storm, I went ahead and had some installed, very similar to yours. Good stuff, you get to keep both feet on terra firma.

We have a couple of areas that are prone to grow moss or algae, little sun and moist most of the year. I used the Jomax just as described with a hose rinse, it is good stuff and rather easy, otherwise I wouldn't do it. I'd paint the rest of the house green and praise my color matching skills.

 

[Bronze]

Bronze, if you like them today, wait until Fall when you see the leaves from your trees just flow over the edges of the gutter while the water rushes into the gutter and down spout. You will wonder why you waited, like me. When our gutters were replaced after our monumental ice storm, I went ahead and had some installed, very similar to yours. Good stuff, you get to keep both feet on terra firma.

We have a couple of areas that are prone to grow moss or algae, little sun and moist most of the year. I used the Jomax just as described with a hose rinse, it is good stuff and rather easy, otherwise I wouldn't do it. I'd paint the rest of the house green and praise my color matching skills.

I know my downspouts and drain tubes wont get clogged anyway.

 

[Bronze]

Well, no rest for the weary. Wanted a break from home n car projects but doesn't look like I'm gonna get it. Latest thing now is my HVAC duct work. I'm getting bits of insulation collecting on my floor registers. Vacuum them out and more recollects. Started a year or two ago and kind of comes and goes. My first suspicion is vermin in my insulated flex ducts that weave throughout my crawl space under the house. So I went in the crawl (nasty, nasty, nasty) to inspect. I see no obvious vermin intrusions but then that doesn't always mean anything. No obvious breaches in the flexible duct. I inspected the various duct routes and what I found further confuses me.

I have three registers where this insulation collects. None of the others are collecting insulation. So I figured I'd be able to isolate this problem by finding a common duct that serves these three registers. Uh, no. The three duct lines attached to those registers goes to a distribution box that has 8 duct lines coming out of it. So there are 8 duct lines that have this distribution box in common. Actually, it is more than that because there is a 9th line that goes to another distribution box that has another handful of lines going to floor registers at the other end of the house. Soooo, WHY am I see insulation collecting on only three of the registers and nothing on all the others?

God I hate this job!

 

[r77r7r]

I got this in a bathroom, lol. I'm hoping it is just the cheap 4yr old cover exhaling rust???? Cleans easy. Tub surface is not deteriorated. didn't know rust traveled...

 

[markfm]

My latest project is getting our camp lawn tractor back running. I thought I'd run out of gas last time I had it out, brought some fresh had out on Sunday and filled it, but nothing when I turned the ignition key, not even a click.

I didn't have a meter with me, so decided to try the "easy" route, toss the trickle charger on (unlikely since the battery is only 1 yo, but, again, most of my tools were at home).

Opened the door to the storage shed where the charger is and got 8 yellow jacket stings. I needed to get the door closed again, picked up another 4 stings before I got a 2x4 in place to hold it shut.

I do keep a can of wasp/hornet/yj spray at camp - of course it's in the shed [emoji3]

I'm relatively non allergic to wasp stings - 11 of the 12 were fine, only 1 on a forearm had some real swelling (though clearing after 2 days).

Got the first of 2 new cans of spray in today from Amazon. Friday I'll be back to camp with tools, meter, and spray to get those buggers out of the shed.

(My other Sunday task was putting up some new flashing - after all those stings I was in no mood for ladder work, particularly since part of it was immediately adjacent to the shed where the yj were actively guarding the area.)

 

[Bronze]

My latest project is getting our camp lawn tractor back running. I thought I'd run out of gas last time I had it out, brought some fresh had out on Sunday and filled it, but nothing when I turned the ignition key, not even a click.

I didn't have a meter with me, so decided to try the "easy" route, toss the trickle charger on (unlikely since the battery is only 1 yo, but, again, most of my tools were at home).

Opened the door to the storage shed where the charger is and got 8 yellow jacket stings. I needed to get the door closed again, picked up another 4 stings before I got a 2x4 in place to hold it shut.

I do keep a can of wasp/hornet/yj spray at camp - of course it's in the shed [emoji3]

I'm relatively non allergic to wasp stings - 11 of the 12 were fine, only 1 on a forearm had some real swelling (though clearing after 2 days).

Got the first of 2 new cans of spray in today from Amazon. Friday I'll be back to camp with tools, meter, and spray to get those buggers out of the shed.

(My other Sunday task was putting up some new flashing - after all those stings I was in no mood for ladder work, particularly since part of it was immediately adjacent to the shed where the yj were actively guarding the area.)

I have found the bees, wasps, and hornets to be very aggressive this summer. I truly do not recall them being this spazzed out. Perhaps their populations exploded this year. I’ve been stung twice and harrassed countless times. I feel like I’m in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

 

[rob33]

I have found the bees, wasps, and hornets to be very aggressive this summer. I truly do not recall them being this spazzed out. Perhaps their populations exploded this year. I’ve been stung twice and harrassed countless times. I feel like I’m in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

I don't mind honey bees, but hornets, yellow jackets and wasp have been bad at my house. Never had any issues with hornets but all ready I've sprayed two nest this year.

 

[Bronze]

Caught me a mouse today near the HVAC cutout in my crawl. Reset the trap to see if there are more.

 

[AstroTurf]

Caught me a mouse today near the HVAC cutout in my crawl. Reset the trap to see if there are more.

did you ask if it were a fan of fiberglass insulation?

 

[Bronze]

did you ask if it were a fan of fiberglass insulation?

He said yes.

 

[AstroTurf]

He said yes.

and you said...

not no more!!!

 

[Bronze]

and you said...

not no more!!!

How’d you know?

 

[AstroTurf]

How’d you know?

the man of bronze rules his castle with an iron fist!!!

(an a pretty quick mousetrap too)

 

[Bronze]

the man of bronze rules his castle with an iron fist!!!

(an a pretty quick mousetrap too)

A 1.7 ounce mouse should not be as annoying as they are.

 

[markfm]

Wow, you weigh your conquests!

We get field mouse visitors fairly frequently. Caught one today who went into the trap backwards - it came in through the u-shaped space in the upper part of the jaws. Weird.