What did YOU do today?

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I'd have gutted it simply because of the toxic level of tobacco additive resin. I couldn't imagine the stench! I definitely agree that there are some items that are the standard, and anything else/less is not worth the cost savings. Just wanted to note the excellent use of the angle of the stairs and the wide light vs. a simple bulb, and I love how you managed to do the room with recovered items. Nice, man!

When they got the house they ripped out carpets and scrubbed the place pretty good before painting everything so the smell wasn’t really an issue anymore but the resin was crazy. We were able to clean up and reuse the fan in there but it just about required brake clean to strip the resin off. Disgusting.

I didn’t pick the light, but I did insist on putting it there. The old light was a like 18” cheap tube light that was hacked in right on top of the medicine cabinet. No electrical box. Fire hazard deluxe. I still can’t believe that a building code enforcement officer lived there for like 20 years and “never knew there were any issues.”

I knew there was serious problems the first time I set foot in the house, there was measurable voltage on the neutral and someone had chopped out not only some of the posts supporting the beam in the basement but also cut a section of beam out and left it unsupported. Some of the rooms don’t have plaster or drywall, they have 1/4” paneling that was installed backwards and wallpapered. The level of hackery is phenomenal.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Well, yesterday I got the one bad lower control arm and one bad tie rod end replaced on Lisa’s car. We thought the ball joint was bad like the other side we replaced last year or so (she didn’t have the money to do both at the same time) but it turns out the one bushing fell apart when I was removing it. Apparently the retaining bolt came out and it just rattled itself to junk. Oh well, it’s all new now.

Tie rod end was weird, I’ve had it out before but ended up having to heat things with a torch and use a 12# sledge to pop it. Also the new end didn’t have the standard castle nut and cotter pin, it was an interference lock nut instead. Not sure what I think of that.

Dummy me also forgot to grab my AN fittings kit while I was there since we did it at my buddy Paul’s and that’s where my kit currently is. But that’s another story.