Knockout List

I woke initially near 7am and thought briefly about getting up and heading downstairs. Thought better of it and returned to sleep. Slept till 855am. This time I got up for good, slipping out of the room without disturbing Mindy. Downstairs, I started some Starbucks then went ot my PC where I downloaded pictures from the previous two evenings.

Enjoyed coffee and internet for the next hour or more. And for the first time in a few days there was sunshine aplenty. Expecting highs in the mid 60s but with low 70s coming in for the start of the work week. Thinking it was near 1030am when I finally headed out for a run. Ran three miles.

Back home it was already 11am. Holy smoke! Mindy was up by then, too. It was nice enough that one could slip out onto the deck and actually enjoy the sunshine. Did just a little of that. We had nothing planned all day. That sounded good. I thought I might work in the basement again, and knockout a couple more punch-out tasks along with the possibility of cutting in the plumbing lines. I headed to the basement simply to assess the day’s work.

What the heck? Right away, I noticed a large puddle by our hot water tank and water dripping down from above. Great! Now what? ON closer inspection it appeared that the water was coming from the cold water input line that goes into the water tank. And more specifically, the stainless steel braided hose, which are supposed to be the cats meow of water hoses.

I went upstairs to tell Mindy that I needed to shut off the water for the time being. She’d just started a load of wash so we let it finish filling. Once it was full I suggested she shut it off temporarily. I thought I would simply remove the hose and see if it just needed reseated, though the water seemed to be leaking from just above the crimp.

I seem to recall, and it’s probably no coincidence, that particular hose was a bear to get tight enough to stop any dripping during install some 4 or 5 years ago. Anyway, I backed it off completely then put it back on. Turned the water on again. Still leaking, and from the same spot. Appeared to be a hose issue. That being the case, I figured it would be a quick run to Home Depot for a hose and then a rather simple repair.

I opted to head for the West Broad Home Depot since they seem to have a better inventory. Both Lowes and Home Depot in Mill Run are like that. One has to be careful now with the stainless steel braided water hoses. They make three or four different types these days, including those with Sharkbite connectors on one end, and still another with threads on one end, and a sweat joint at the other. I needed dual threads. They had just one, which was all I really needed, but my intent was to buy two – a matching set and replace both. I settled for the one and then picked up some kick plate molding and caulk I needed in the kitchen counters. Missing just a one inch piece. For the job, however, I had to buy a 3’ foot piece.

Home again near 1215pm, I headed right back to the basement and our latest plumbing dilemma. I carefully installed the hose, first to the water tank and then up top. Now for the test. Drum roll, please! Fixed! Bam! No drips, seeps, or nothing. I took notice of the difference between the two – the old and new. Both the same dimmesions connector wise and made by the same company. The difference was the girth. The new hose is about 50% thicker. Guessing most of that the inner hose. Bet there have been other issues. I took a good look at the leaky hose and noticed that the hose felt as if it were cracked and broke right at the crimp ring. Hmm?

I let Mindy know that she could turn the water back on but to turn all faucets on slowly, carefully since there would be air in the lines. Anyone who’s ever shut off the water and drained it out, knows what I’m talking about. By 1pm my plumber hat was off. As you might guess, I wasn’t in any mood to try cutting in the new water lines.

I was, however, in the mood to get more work done. I decided to relocate the smoke detector from what will now be the bathroom and move it to the basement stair landing. Easy enough, right? To do so meant removing the alarm itself and then raising the existing junction box so it will reside above the new drywall ceiling and then extending the electrical wiring to the new box. I tried using an older bakelite box but while preparing it to receive new wires, I cracked the entire side out of the box. That was a waste of almost 20 minutes. I wasn’t pleased, but have come to expect those types of inconveniences. Took one heck of a lot longer than I expected but I finally got the alarm relocated per code. One major hassle was merging 12 ga, 14ga and the twisted 16 ga for the alarm. Anyone who’s worked with 12 ga wire knows it’s much more difficult to work with and doesn’t want to twist around the smaller wires. Doable, but just a hassle.

By the time I was finished with the wiring the kids were home from their weekend with Jimaken. Pretty quickly Mindy had Jacob working on packing for his D.C. trip. They made a run to the mall around 330-4pm to exchange some pants. I was home by myself for an hour or so. During that time I took a much deserved shower, made snack, and got caught up on the day’s NFL action. Vikings lost. Browns beat Steelers, Bengals blew a chance to win an overtime game as time expired. Mike Nugent missed a 37 yard field goal. Game ended in a tie.

Mindy was making stuffed peppers for dinner. Invited my dad over too. The timer beeped while she and the kids were off to the mall. She didn’t say anything about me tending the oven but I didn’t’ want dinner to burn. I set the temp on low to keep them warm. Good thing I did. It was another 30 minutes before they got home. Dad was over between 5-530pm. By then I was relaxing in the family room loosely watching football.

Soon after Mindy and the kids got back, Dad was over. After he asked and before dinner was served, I showed him my progress in the basement. The stuffed peppers were good and very much appreciated, though I would’ve prefer them with more zing and pop. Just saying.

Dad left around 7pm. Mindy helped Jacob ready himself for his early morning DC departure. He needed to be at school by 6am. I tuned into SNF around 8pm – Giants/Philly. Wasn’t close. Philly dominated from the get-go. Mindy and the kids were off to bed shortly after 9pm. I stayed up until 10pm. By then I had started to dose from the sofa, but once in bed I struggled to find sleep. Thankfully I did.