HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Ok. I have galvanized bits and pieces on hand. Should be enough to fix up the bathtub plumbing. Also, I purchased a really nice replacement tub fixtures package complete: shower head, etc. All for $25.00 at Home Depot a couple years back. Was setting on the clearance table just waiting for me. Even has the pipes already to thread into the existing system. Wow, to be able to take a bath in a tub that works!!! I can hardly wait. This camping out/in stuff is great for a week or two but three years is pushing it. LOL<br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />Paticia - Home repair expert wanna-be.

 

[Ron G]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

I would go ahead and use cpvc on the tub,all you need is some cutters and cleaner and glue very easy to use.

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Dearest Rob,<br /><br />Thant's a "can do". What are the specs I'm looking for? Type, etc? Are there any "must dos" when working with this material? When I go to the home improvement center what should I ask for? Sometimes they stick us "females" with the strangest stuff to take home and don't give us a clue what to do with it. LOL<br /><br />Also, I should share my personal web site url so everyone can know more about my situation to get a better picture of what I am going through.<br /><br /> http://mypeoplepc.com/members/jspr007/patricia/id29.html <br /><br />Patricia

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Oops, sorry Ron LOL<br /><br />One of those mornings. Now you know why I wish I had a bit of help around here LOL. With electrical one "tiny" mishap could spell disaster.<br /><br />Patricia

 

[Ron G]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

The only thing to do is make sure its cleaned good,the good thing about cpvc is if you mess up you can cut it right out and redo it.The main lines are usually run with 3/4 inch and then you can tee off to 1/2inch running to the faucets.If you can go to a local plumbing and electric store and ask questions,ive found at the lowes or big stores the help there i have no clue to what there talking about.

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Originally posted by crab bait:<br /> WOW.. !! you're pretty amazin'..!!<br /><br />i'd sell/fire bomb the darn place an buy mi-ti's , shoes & jewlery.. ..

Now that's an idea!! You know how it is? necessity is the mother of invention and desperation is the mother of everything else. LOL My twist on the saying.<br /><br />Patricia

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Originally posted by JB:<br /> Howdy, Patricia.<br /><br />You say "Old, old house", but then you say it was built in 1947. That's not even 60 yet!<br /><br />To me, old is over 80 and old, old is over 100.<br /><br />My Mom told me about her visit to England in the 80s. She was out walking and came upon a man trimming his "garden" (back yard in USA). She admired it and asked him for his secrets. He told her about leveling and removing all rocks from the soil, seeding and rolling, and keeping it neatly trimmed for 600 years. His charming cottage was built in the 1400s, after his ever-so-great grandfather inherited the land from a relative who died of the black plague.<br /><br />That is an old, old house.

Oh, yes I need to clarify. "Old" in the "it's falling apart" way of the meaning. lOL<br /><br />Patricia

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Originally posted by crab bait:<br /> cpvc is approved.. been used for years.. <br /><br />is galvanize good for human consumption..??<br /><br />is the water that follows thru ANY pipe good for human consumption..

Now that I think about it, I am amazed that any of us are alive with all the toxins we have to live around. LOL<br /><br />Patricia

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Originally posted by Booner:<br /> quote by JMPJCK:<br />__________________________________________________<br />I don‘t like the galvanized piping because it wears out, corrodes over time.<br />__________________________________________________<br />Not in our lifetime Pat.<br />Wow Pat I’m impressed with your knowledge of construction. My wife doesn’t have a clue about electrical or plumbing. She knows that a 2x4 is wood. It’s a start.

This is true as to "Not in our lifetime." When my husband was alive I did not know that much about home repair except for the "make it look nice" type. I am learning that a person can be flexible when it comes to being desperate. This truly is a "desperate" situation. I just jump in and "do" and hope for the best. <br /><br />One thing about it being an older home in need of a lot of repairs is that if I make a mistake it's no "biggie" it just blends in with everything already here. LOL<br /><br />Patricia

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Originally posted by Tyme2fish:<br /> How he ever got permits is a question I will always have.<br /><br />PERMITS!!? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING PERMITS.

I think you have made a convert!! LOL

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Originally posted by Tyme2fish:<br /> How he ever got permits is a question I will always have.<br /><br />PERMITS!!? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING PERMITS.

I think you have made a convert!! LOL<br /><br />Patricia

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Oops,<br /><br />I let my fingers do the walking and "watch out" things get posted twice!! LOL<br />Patricia

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Originally posted by funpilot:<br /> My best wishes for your continued recovery, and for you willingness to tackle these projects.<br /><br />Knob and tube: Stop by a hardware store and buy an electrical wiring book. It will show sample circuits, and rules for following to create safe circuits. If romex is allowed, you can retrofit it everywhere you can gain access, which might be a lot if you don't mind re-mudding the holes and access you create in the walls. Otherwise, surface mounted chanels along the base boards can be a life saver in electrical installations.<br /><br />The air handling unit in the attic makes a lot of sense. Cold air is happier coming from the top, down. Although access is limited, it should be energy efficient. I'm not sure what you mean by the pulley that drives the motor, but remove the offending shaft and pulley (including the motor or other device it is attached to, unless it is the compressor, then you have an issue with refrigeration lines) and take the shaft and pulley to a welder. He can fab up a new shaft, or weld the grove closed and polish it as good as new. He also might have some ideas on a better set screw, perhaps a flat area to allow the screw to seat better. I'm not sure why it was calling for electricity when it was supposed to be shut off, unless there is a humidistat somewhere that calls for cooling or air movement when the humidity is high, to reduce the humidity.<br /><br />The water heater requires sweating pipes to do the installation, and making a good gas connection. You need a book on plumbing, and it will tell you what to get, and how to handle the piping. I've found on older projects that the plumbing is sometimes eroding from the inside due to water hardness, so you want to watch for that, and replace any lengths of pipe you can get at if you notice some of that (assuming copper piping) If it is the old cast pipe, you might want to remove it and replace.<br /><br />I'm not an expert, but you can learn a lot from books, at least to know if you can tackle a job, or if you need a repair man. With a book, you can talk intelligently and know what he/she plans to do, and understand what is necessary and what isn't.<br /><br />Good luck<br />fp

Great advice. Thanks!! Thanks also, for the "My best wishes for your continued recovery, and for you willingness to tackle these projects." <br /><br />And for the "I'm not sure what you mean by the pulley that drives the motor," I meant the pulley that is attached to the motor that runs the blower. <br /><br />“Otherwise, surface mounted chanels along the base boards can be a life saver in electrical installations.” Can Romex be channeled through these surface mounted raceways? I think this would be a great solution for any future upgrading/repair work that might/will be needed. <br /><br />“The air handling unit in the attic makes a lot of sense.” The entire nine yards is up there!! Except the condenser for the air is located next to outside of the house. The fellow/owner before us must have either removed a section of the roof to install it or he had to drag it into the attic one piece at a time. It’s at least 10 ft long and 3 ft wide. Hanging there from the roof rafters. It’s humungus! That along with all the duct work takes up the entire attic and the roof has a pretty good pitch to it so that’s a lot of space to fill.<br /><br />Patricia

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Originally posted by TexomaAv8r:<br /> JMPJCK, Im adding small point of use water heaters to my house, this will free up the space the previous HW heater occupied and buy me some time to have a good look at the gas lines etc. As I mentioned in a previous post the house has settled in numerous places and has had some add ons, some of the gas lines I can see appear to be under a load from the house and I am worried about their condition. So I amy be going "all electric" for the time being. I've never had natural gas before so I am a little nervous about it.

Dearest Tex,<br /><br />"I've never had natural gas before so I am a little nervous about it." Anyone who is not nervous about gas, electric, etc. has at least a few broken bones in their body and I would think a few burns in a few locations also. Not to mention one really big hole in the top of their head where there brains were blown out! LOL!!<br /><br />Your house sounds like mine.<br />Patricia

 

[tomatolord]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Pat - my brother has a 250 year old stone farmhouse - he has spent many a dollar on it just to bring it up to some type of par with a "new" house and even now he is getting tired of spending 5k a year on overcoming 250 years of other peoples fixes and repairs and upgrades<br /><br />My advice is if you are limited funds move to some place that you CAN repair in a reasonable time and cost.<br /><br />We have a few older ladies in our neighborhood who are now living in their living room because the rest of the house is shot and they are in a catch 22 - they cant afford to fix anything and because the house is in such poor shape they wont get any money for it.<br /><br />It can be a hard choice to sell the homestead.<br /><br />Tomatolord

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Dearest Tomatolord,<br /><br />If I did not have advanced stage cancer that required me to stay as close to my cancer doctors as possible and I had the help that is needed to move I think I would do just that. However, the home is a small, post WWII style home in a low housing market value area. With it being a "fixer upper" I know I would not get enough out of it to purchase a livable shoe box sized home to live in. And then there are all the costs associated with moving without any help. Everyone wants a "piece of the pie". When all you have is a few pieces of pie crust left no one is interested in "low cost" help. LOL If you would be interested in learning more about my situation you my visit my personal home site at http://mypeoplepc.com/members/jspr007/patricia/id29.html and if you look hard enough there are even several good belly laughs to be found. LOL<br /><br />Thanks for caring enough to post.<br /><br />Tell your brother about me so he can have a laugh or two also. Laughter really is the best medicine.<br /><br />Patricia

 

[JMPJCK]

Re: HELP!!! FIXING UP THIS OLD, OLD HOUSE

Great news everyone!! Not sure yet but I may be getting assistance with putting in the new gas water heater!! We will have to wait to see if anything materializes but it's a start. Just the hope of possibly getting a little help has me giddy with happiness. I don't get to feel that way very much lately being sick with cancer and all that has been happening. Wow, I must still be alive after all. Well, I shouldn't jump to any conclusions. LOL