Hi everyone,
Grandfather and I used to go fishing at New Hope just outside of Thornton, CA. He built his own wooden boat and we had so many good times cat fishing and digging for clams. He was an electrician in the US Navy for 31 years and stationed at Mare Island in Vallejo, CA where I was born. I’m in the process of making needed repairs to our three bedroom, one bath, with a few "tacked on" additions, home here, in Stockton, CA that was built in 1947. My husband, an electrician for the county did the electrical until his death three years ago. Ten months before that I had emergency surgery for colon/uterine cancer and all repairs went on hold. I could really use all the information I can get on the “how to” part of what I am doing around here.
My husband put in a new breaker box to replace the fuse type along with running a new service line to a meter and hooking everything up. I am faced with replacing the “knob and tube” electrical wiring that is the old two wire, single phase kind that was basically out of date when the house was built but was what the owner/builder knew and so here it is. The central heat and air was installed by the previous owner who was a heat and air man. He upgraded the gas floor furnace. The problem I now have is he installed the “monster” unit in the attic were the only access is a three ft opening into the attic. It hangs from the roof rafters on these long bolts. I’ve had to shut it down. The pulley that runs the motor had made a groove in the shaft over time and even though the set screw still holds enough to keep using it the groove that was made in the shaft makes the pulley wobble so much that is causes it to fall off in just a few weeks time. Also, it had water running up to it for the deionizer and the pipe running under one of the bedrooms was leaking. I still need to crawl under the house to find the tiny leak that showed under the carpeting that I removed in the second bedroom floor. It also had a problem where it would call for electricity when the thermostat was indicating that it should shut off. The great news is the roof is in good condition, asphalt shingles, except for the gaps that formed around some of the sealant that I have been going around patching up for winter. The wood floors are good except in the bathroom where I have removed the toilet and am in the process of opening the wall to have access to the plumbing to make repairs for the bathtub. I’ve repaired the floor area and just have to level the repair before putting the toilet back in. Of course in 1947 bathrooms around here were built tiny in size so I will need to finish opening up the bathtub wall before putting the toilet back. They are within inches of each other. I’m kind of camping out/in for now. I need to replace the gas hot water heater as my first “walk through” project. I’m replacing a 30 gallon with the same storage capacity size. I just need feedback on how to tackle the job. Any ideas you want to throw into the mix would be oh so much appreciated. I’ve painted the outside of the house and most of the inside. The biggest challenge is this is all new to me. I’ve never done house repairs before so I’m on the “learn-as-you-go” plan. I’m college educated in business administration/accounting. Now with cancer and not being able to have an outside job I’ve switched professions and have become a house repair expert in the making - LOL. We need to keep the laughter going because it is all that is getting me through this. Just eliminating the “I’m in this alone” feeling would be great.
Thanks everyone,
Patricia, Stockton, CA
I am adding my personal web site url to help everyone get a more clear picture of what this situation is all about. http://mypeoplepc.com/members/jspr007/patricia/id29.html Patricia
Grandfather and I used to go fishing at New Hope just outside of Thornton, CA. He built his own wooden boat and we had so many good times cat fishing and digging for clams. He was an electrician in the US Navy for 31 years and stationed at Mare Island in Vallejo, CA where I was born. I’m in the process of making needed repairs to our three bedroom, one bath, with a few "tacked on" additions, home here, in Stockton, CA that was built in 1947. My husband, an electrician for the county did the electrical until his death three years ago. Ten months before that I had emergency surgery for colon/uterine cancer and all repairs went on hold. I could really use all the information I can get on the “how to” part of what I am doing around here.
My husband put in a new breaker box to replace the fuse type along with running a new service line to a meter and hooking everything up. I am faced with replacing the “knob and tube” electrical wiring that is the old two wire, single phase kind that was basically out of date when the house was built but was what the owner/builder knew and so here it is. The central heat and air was installed by the previous owner who was a heat and air man. He upgraded the gas floor furnace. The problem I now have is he installed the “monster” unit in the attic were the only access is a three ft opening into the attic. It hangs from the roof rafters on these long bolts. I’ve had to shut it down. The pulley that runs the motor had made a groove in the shaft over time and even though the set screw still holds enough to keep using it the groove that was made in the shaft makes the pulley wobble so much that is causes it to fall off in just a few weeks time. Also, it had water running up to it for the deionizer and the pipe running under one of the bedrooms was leaking. I still need to crawl under the house to find the tiny leak that showed under the carpeting that I removed in the second bedroom floor. It also had a problem where it would call for electricity when the thermostat was indicating that it should shut off. The great news is the roof is in good condition, asphalt shingles, except for the gaps that formed around some of the sealant that I have been going around patching up for winter. The wood floors are good except in the bathroom where I have removed the toilet and am in the process of opening the wall to have access to the plumbing to make repairs for the bathtub. I’ve repaired the floor area and just have to level the repair before putting the toilet back in. Of course in 1947 bathrooms around here were built tiny in size so I will need to finish opening up the bathtub wall before putting the toilet back. They are within inches of each other. I’m kind of camping out/in for now. I need to replace the gas hot water heater as my first “walk through” project. I’m replacing a 30 gallon with the same storage capacity size. I just need feedback on how to tackle the job. Any ideas you want to throw into the mix would be oh so much appreciated. I’ve painted the outside of the house and most of the inside. The biggest challenge is this is all new to me. I’ve never done house repairs before so I’m on the “learn-as-you-go” plan. I’m college educated in business administration/accounting. Now with cancer and not being able to have an outside job I’ve switched professions and have become a house repair expert in the making - LOL. We need to keep the laughter going because it is all that is getting me through this. Just eliminating the “I’m in this alone” feeling would be great.
Thanks everyone,
Patricia, Stockton, CA
I am adding my personal web site url to help everyone get a more clear picture of what this situation is all about. http://mypeoplepc.com/members/jspr007/patricia/id29.html Patricia
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<br /><br />Be patient, we have a lot of doityourselfers here and they will be along to lend a hand to a damsel in distress soon.<br /><br />It sounds like you have your work cut out for you, but what a rewarding project it'll be when you start making big progress.<br /><br />Best wishes to you on your cancer recovery, this project should keep your mind off of it, if nothing else.
