These pictures are a little late, the snow was pretty much all gone about 10 days into last month, but it does show how nice everything is starting to green up. This year, Shannon and I decided to use TruGreen on the yard. We have heard very good things about them, and they gave us a pretty good deal. We just need a little help getting the yard back after the years of neglect from the previous owners. We will see how the yard looks at the end of the year!
Along with the start of spring, I started my projects for the summer. Some of them are small (and will probably never make the blog), but some will be bigger! I started with the basics, getting the lawn equipment swapped out with the snow removal equipment. I did the appropriate oil changes, put a new battery in the tractor, and tested everything out. Dad and I also got the snowmobiles summerized and put into storage on the side of the house.
I turned the outdoor water valves on and found my first problem for the year! One valve opened just fine and didn't have any leaks, however, the second valve started spraying water once I turned it on. Of course, it was the water valve up in the ceiling, behind the furnace!
After a little checking, I was relieved to learn the the leak, wasn't a big deal. It turns out that the rubber gasket on the drain cap (picture above pointing down behind the black handle) was hard and brittle and not sealing anymore. I went to the hardware store and couldn't find anything that was the correct size. So, I took a suggestion from Dad and made my own gasket. Using a dental pick (one of the best tools to have in your toolbox) to remove the old gasket, I cut out a chunk rubber from an old bicycle inner tube that was the same size as the old gasket, installed it in the cap, and then on the valve. I turned the water back on and NO LEAKS! Cost: $0! Gotta love that!
The other project that I have tackled so far is the storm door on the front door. If you remember from last year, we installed a new front door, but ran out of time with the temperatures outside to get the new storm door on. So, on a overcast Saturday morning, I got the storm door box out and started the installation. I had never put a storm door on before and didn't really know what to expect. The instructions turned out to be VERY good and pretty much walked you through everything. After about 3 hours, the door was up and functioning! It looked and worked great!
Now that the storm door is up, I can take the actual front door off one morning and get it painted. I should be able to get two coats of paint on, have it dry, and get the door back on in a day. After the door is painted, the front door will be done!
Most of the summer projects I have this year are outside and involve the yard. I should have a couple more posts coming soon! TIMBER!
1 comments:
Great job, can't wait until the timber one
Post a Comment