Recent content by funflyer

Now teach him how to do proper periodic brake maintenance.

Gassed up the Rav4 today for a trip to Nevada on Monday. Calculated was 51.6 MPGs.

Got my spare garage door springs yesterday. Probably won't need them for several more years but at least I'm ready when I do. I can only imagine what someone would charge 10 years from now to replace door springs.

What I considered "unnecessary" things like the complete kitchen and bath remodels, my wife looked at those as "must do" projects or she wasn't interested in buying the house. They were a bit dated and with a little paint and new fixtures would have been just fine but in the long run it was...

Sounds like the same granite countertop experience I had when I lived in SoCal. Only guy that spoke English was the one who came to my house to give me a quote and measure. The two guys that came on install day only spoke Spanish and did an excellent job without me ever needing to ask a...

Forgot to add in the money we saved when we painted our house last fall. Never did call for quotes, just bought an airless sprayer, 15 gallons of the best Glidden paint and went to town.

You'd be surprised at how simple and safe they actually are to change with the right winding bars and a little patience. I wound my new springs per the online instructions and they were just a tad too strong so I backed them off by 1/2 turn and all was good.

That happens a lot, especially on small jobs.

I understand. Some jobs are better left to the pros with the right tools. One of the first kitchens I ever helped remodel was a coworker's and he bought Ikea cabinets. I recall they had an odd rail system to hang from and also reversible panels for different applications. I didn't care for them...

I keep a spreadsheet of all my home project costs, and call two or three local contractors to satisfy my wife's curiosity as to "is it worth doing ourselves". One of the first projects we did in 2013 was the kitchen remodel and she was shocked when the lowest estimate was 16K more than we spent...

I've also done a few minor A/C repairs but draw the line when it comes to complete installs. We had a new 18.5 SEER air conditioner w/heat pump and furnace installed last year which cost us a little over 12k. Estimates ranged from $8,500 up to 25K.

This thread should prove interesting as I know there are many of you on here who are DIYers and have done/saved much more than I probably have. The wife and I have been keeping track of our home DIY project/repair savings (labor cost) since we bought our current home in 2013. We've done just...

I remember those days well. I always kept a change of civvies in my locker for those days we had fuel system maintenance.

Original Gunk, not the foaming stuff, will take oil and hydraulic fluid stains out of clothes. Only problem is the Gunk smell remains for several washes but eventually clears up.

Our well water tested high in arsenic last year so I had to do something. Now I use a distiller to make my drinking water and also for coffee. Takes about 3 hours to distill 1 gallon which is what we use per day...