Handyman Wednesday: The Roof, The Roof, The Roof Is On…No wait, it’s off!

If you’re like most people, you’ve never put a roof on a house.  That’s ok!  I’ve helped my family re-roof their houses in Illinois, but in Texas, no one wants to be on a hot roof…especially if insurance is paying.  Perhaps you remember this post.  As you can see, there was a hole in the roof of our garage!

He’s a play by play photo log of the re-roofing process.  Let me know if you have any questions (and I’ll ask my dad or dad-in-law, who have re-roofed about 50 houses in their lives).

1. Strip the old shingles, felt, and decking off the roof

2: Remove broken 2×4 braces (underneath the horizontal boards you can see they’re removing the supporting structure because it was broken when the tree fell on it)

3:  Replace with new 2×4 boards.

4:  Replace horizontal support boards.

5: Lay decking down to cover roof.  I prefer 1/2″ plywood or OSB but most code requires only 7/16″.  Something to ask your contractor when getting quotes!

6:  Lay felt down for under your shingles (I like 30 lb felt paper over 15 lb.  It gives the roofers more grip on their feet and provides better protection to your roof).

8: Lay your shingles on your roof.  We went this GAF Timberline HD shingles on our house in January and garage here. Our color was Weathered Wood (most homes in our neighborhood have the same color!).

If you have any questions on the process, ask here and I’ll ask my dads.  Thanks!  Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?  Whose idea was it to put an ‘S’ in the word ‘lisp’?  Why does mineral water that has “trickled through mountains for centuries” go out of date next year?  Where in the nursery rhyme does it say humpty dumpty is an egg?

Handyman Wednesday: Replacing Spark Plugs

Hi everyone, Kevin’s here giving Jess the day off and providing you with another Handyman Wednesday.

We had a sad moment this weekend.  We went to start up our power-washer, and it wouldn’t work.  It’s a really nice power washer, too.  Here’s a link to it.  We got it from Sears Outlet for $200 almost 2 years ago.  If you haven’t read this post from last summer, now’s a good time to.

Ok, back to the problem.  It wouldn’t start. We pulled, and pulled, and pulled.  This model doesn’t have a choke on it, so there’s not much you can do but check the oil, gas, flip the switch on, and pull (really nice when if it works).  Jess and I, after careful online research, decide to replace the spark plug.  If we could fix it ourselves, we would avoid the $89.99 fee Sears charges to fix it.  Spark plugs are also really cheap ($2-$5).

Signs you may need to replace spark plugs:

1.  Engine is very hard to start (or won’t start)

2. Engine will “miss” and not develop power it should

3. Backfire caused by un-exploded gasoline going through your muffler

Fortunately, this is a VERY easy repair.  Here’s the steps.

1. Find the spark plug.  It’s about 2″ (5 cm) long and should have a wire with a rubber head connected to it.

2. Pull off the rubber head with your hands.  It doesn’t require tools.

3. Get a deep socket and socket wrench and remove the spark plug.  This will take some turning as there are a lot of threads on a socket.

5. Go buy a new spark plug at your hardware store (make sure the numbers on the side of the spark-plug match).

6.  Put it on the same way you took it off.  Push the black rubber wire back on, and you’re done!

If it still doesn’t work, you didn’t need to replace the spark plug.  We had this happen, as we pulled and pulled to no avail.  So Jess looked at the manual and saw that it had a 2 year warranty! Hooray!  We took it to the local Sears Repair Center and dropped that puppy off.  In 10 days, we’ll get it back or get a new one for free!  I love Sears.

Have you ever had tools fail on you?  Why do girls go to the bathroom in groups (seriously)?  If money doesn’t grow on trees, why do banks have branches?  If you cut off a glowworm’s tail would it be delighted?  If scientists were ever going to figure out how to travel through time, wouldn’t we now be seeing people from the future?  If you don’t pay your exorcist, do you get repossessed?

Handyman Wednesday: Weed and Feed (Plus Kill the Bugs)

Hi everyone, it’s the Hubs again for another edition of Handyman Wednesday.  It’s that time of year again.  Time to start paying attention to your yard, killing the bugs, and fertilizing the grass.  If you own grass and don’t fertilize, you need to definitely consider it.  The investment is relatively small (especially if you just laid $600 in sod like we just did).

Tools Required:

1. Spreader:  I like this model from Scotts.  It has an “Edge Guard” knob so I only spread fertilizer straight and left.  This way, it doesn’t get in my flower beds and kill plants.

2. Weed and Feed: This is simply the nutrients to help your grass thrive mixed with weed killer to kill all the bad stuff.  Don’t get it in your flower beds though, or you can kiss them goodbye.  We got a kind with Fire Ant killer mixed in too!

3. Old pair of shoes (you don’t want to get the fire ant killer on your feet)

4. Watering hose

How to:

1. Set the spreader pouring speed by turning the knob on the back.  If you buy Scotts weed and feed and a Scotts Spreader, it should have the recommended setting.  Our setting was 4-1/2.  Also turn on the “Edge Guard” on the front of the spreader.

2. Fill the spreader with the weed and feed.  My bag covered 5000 square feet, so I used about half a bag on my front yard.

Fill the spreader with Scotts Weed and Feed

3. Pull handle and walk around yard.  It’s that simple.

4.  You’re done.  Turn your sprinkler system on for about 15 minutes, making sure to cover the entire area.

Or, if you’re like me and don’t want to waste water: wait until the evening before a rain.  I remember my dad always running outside when it started to sprinkle and fertilizing the yard.  Trust me, you want to do this if you want a pretty yard…and it’s a good excuse to add an awesome spreader to your garage.

Do you fertilize?  When one of our friends found out we were fertilizing last night and couldn’t hang out, she thought we were trying to make a baby (we are not trying yet).  If someone leads but no one follows… are they just out for a walk?  Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?  How do you know if honesty is the best policy unless you’ve tried some of the others?  If the FBI breaks your door down do they have to pay for it?

Handyman Wednesday: Break-in, Not Again

Hi everyone, Kevin again.  Well, bad news.  If you follow us on Pinstagram (I get confused between Pinterest and Instragram so I just combine them), you know I had my car broken into Sunday night.  This is now the third time in 3 years of living in Dallas we’ve had our vehicles vandalized.  Don’t get me wrong, you’re usually pretty safe in Dallas (unless you park your car in the alley behind your house and forget about it overnight).  Then, the neighbor wakes you up and shows you this:

So, now I’m thinking we don’t have enough security in the back on our house.  Currently, there are 4 garages from all the neighbors on a corner where two alleys cross (not the most secure of places).  There are three floodlights on each garage, but do lights really scare people off?  Do they help you catch people once a crime has been committed? No.  I’m thinking about alternative methods of protection now (flashback to 007 Goldeneye Proximity Mines from the Nintendo 64…ask any man, he’ll be able to explain better).

Here’s some of the cooler things I’ve found to protect the Little House.

First Awesome Idea: Cameras.  Night Vision.  Smartphone Access.  Need I say more?  Here’s a few that I’ve found on Amazon.

Next Awesome Idea: Robot Dog.  Although impractical, this little guy can move and record images.  It kind of reminds me of one of those automatic vacuums that stroll around your house and clean.

Nerdy Awesome Idea: A laser trip-wire that takes a photo and tweets when it trips.  I’m seriously considering this one.

Way Over the Top Idea: Personal Drone.  Yes, when a security breach happens, put this guy into the air for live video recording.  Plus, it can go back to home base on its own and re-charge.

Serious Car Protection:  Want to get a photo of the intruder sent to you?  Buy this for only $300.  That’s barely more than I paid for my window…  Plus, you get remote start, and 10 full color images of the intruder.

All of these ideas are over the top, but I want to hear any awesome ideas you have for home/car protection that I can think about doing.  Let me know below and send links so I can check them out!

Has your ever woke up to a smashed window? Did Adam and Eve have belly-buttons?  Now that Microsoft is so big, should it be called Macrosoft?  Why is the third hand on the watch called a second hand? Why is it that doctors call what they do “practice”?

Handyman Wednesday: Don’t But the Extended Warranty

Hi everyone, I’ve been plagued with bad luck lately.  In the past 6 months, our dishwasher has broken three times (bought last June), our air compressor has broken once (bought last summer), and just this past weekend, our computer lost its hard drive (bought in November).  There is one upside to this story: everything was under warranty and fixed for free.  The dishwasher required a repairman to come out 3 times (would have cost about $1000 without the warranty), we took the air compressor back for repair (would have cost $70), and the computer repairman replaced the hard drive yesterday (repair cost about $200).  That’s a grand total of $1270 that we would have had to pay if our devices weren’t under manufacturer’s warranty.

Wow, this sounds like a case for buying the extended warranty.  Well, time to look at the other side of the coin.

Rule #1: The extended warranty isn’t the salesperson looking out for your best interest.  This is math.  Some people that work for large retailers or manufacturers get paid a lot of money to make sure that this is a profitable business.  I love Investopedia.  Here’s what they have to say:

“What most consumers fail to realize is that although the price of an extended warranty often seems like a bargain to a consumer who is aware of the steep price of repairs, it has actually been carefully considered through actuarial analysis by the company that offers it. In other words, the company uses probability and statistical methods to calculate the likelihood that your new refrigerator or big-screen television, for example, will require repairs. This figure is weighed against how much those repairs would cost to arrive at the price that a company will charge consumers for a warranty on a particular item. This formula is not designed to work in your favor.”

Rule #2:  Check the manufacturer’s warranty.  Most products come with a 12 month warranty.  If most products are going to break, they do it in the first couple months of use (i.e. all of the cases we’ve experienced in the introduction).

Rule #3: Check your credit card.  My American Express and Jess’ Discover card both extend the manufacturer’s warranty for an additional 12 months for free.  That means I already have a 24 month warranty. I found an article on this exact topic (By the way, AMEX, Visa, and Mastercard don’t cover repairs to your pet…Apparently Discover does).

Rule #4: Electronics depreciate with time.  This means that yes, Best Buy will replace your computer in 3 years if it breaks, but the computer you buy today will be way cheaper in 3 years, so they won’t have to spend very much to replace your computer with the same specs.  Furthermore, if you do need a repair, it may cost less than the warranty cost in the first place…and you could have been making interest on that money (or got the benefit of buying new shoes/tools/plants).

Rule #5:  I found this AWESOME table on Investopedia.  This shows how often common products need to be repaired within the first 3 years.

Rule #6: There are still good extended warranties you should buy.  Namely, Apple’s mobile products.  For some reason, Apple products don’t get much cheaper with time and you can get an extended warranty for pretty cheap.  I recommend SquareTrade, but wait until they have a sale.  I’ve been able to get a 3-year iPhone warranty with drops and spills for $54.  Chances are, I’m going to drop or spill on my iPhone during that time, and replacing an iPhone 5 will cost at least $300-$400 for the next couple years.  Replacing a broken screen is at least $100, so I found this to be a decent buy.

Let me know if you have an opinion on this topic.  I take the stance: the math doesn’t permit me to buy an extended warranty.  However, I’ll gladly take the free one my credit card offers.

Have you ever been thankful you did buy the extended warranty? Should you believe a chronic liar if he admits that he is a chronic liar?  Many builders refuse to have a 13th floor. Why aren’t book publishers afraid to have a Chapter 11?  What was the best thing before they invented sliced bread?

Handyman Wednesday: Purging Crawfish

Hi everyone.  Today I wanted to share with you what Jess and my steps to cooking up squeaky clean crawfish.

Chances are, if you buy live crawfish they were caught in the process of munching down on some food and that’s a good thing. If they weren’t eating, then they wouldn’t grow.  However, if you don’t “purge” your bugs before you cook them you might end up eating their last meal along with them (if you get what I mean). If you’re like me, eating the the crawfish’s waste sounds less than appetizing.  Thanks to our good friend (in our dreams) Alton Brown from Good Eats, we we able to purge the crawfish so they would be squeaky clean before we ate them.  Here’s how.

Step 1: Get an aquarium pump (20 Gallon Size) from your local pet store or Amazon.  Get the tubing and an airstone to attach to it.

Step 2:  Get a big cooler large enough to fit all your crawfish with several inches of water covering them.

Step 3: Connect your aeration system together and install it in the cooler.

Step 4: Rinse crawfish 3-5 times until the water is clean and clear.  GET THICK LEATHER GLOVES FOR THIS… they might be small, but their claws hurt!

Step 5: Insert bugs into cooler and wait.  Make sure when you close the cooler lid you don’t pinch off the air hose.

Step 6: In water from your faucet, there is no oxygen for the crawfish to survive.  All the oxygen in the water comes from the bubbler we built.  Therefore, don’t change the water too often.  About once every 6-8 hours is plenty.

Step 7: Cook Crawfish! (Alton Brown has a custom recipe for this…we listen to Alton).  Be sure to pick out the dead ones.  We had about 5-10% die on us.

Have you ever had crawfish with a poopy tail? How does a Real Estate company sell its office without causing confusion?  Why is there a disclaimer on the Allstate Auto Insurance commericals that says “Not available in all states”?  If you jaywalk in a J shape, then are you automatically considered a criminal mastermind?

Handyman Wednesday: How To Kreg Jig

Hi everyone!  Kevin’s here for another handyman Wednesday.  Today, I get to talk about something that has been frustrating me ever since I bought it: a Kreg Jig. What’s a Kreg Jig?  Well, have you ever looked under a table and seen how professional carpenters connect corners with only screws?  This is how it’s done.

Step 1: Go get a Kreg Jig! I went to Lowes and got this one called the “Pocket-Hole Jig”.  It was abuot $40, but worth it.  There’s a cheaper 1-hole “mini” model here for $20, or the full-fledged “master system” here for $140.  Here’s what ours looks like when opened.

Step 2:  Read the table provided by Kreg.  The important column is the second one.  You have to make sure you get the correct screw length for your material thickness.  We’re Kreg-ing a 2×4, so the thickness is 1-1/2 inches.  We needed to buy 2-1/2 inch screws (get coated screws for outdoor use if you will be putting this outside).

Step 3: Put the collar on the bit in the correct spot using the guide located on the case.  The Kreg kit comes with its own drill bit. This bit has an adjustable collar that you move to match the thickness of the material you’re Kreg-ing.

Step 4: Set the Kreg tool to the appropriate depth.

Step 5: Clamp the Kreg tool to the board.

Step 6: Screw the holes using the guides.

Step 7: Remove the Kreg tool and screw in your screws using the provided driver bit.

You’re done.  Trust me, once you get the hang of it, this is a very easy tool to use.  However, I probably scraped 4 or 5 pieces of wood before I figured this out.  Once done, this looks better than anything else you can do on your own.  That’s why Kreg makes a ton of money off of this piece of plastic and metal.

Have you ever Kreg’d before.  Do you own a Kreg-erator?  Why do we press harder on the remote when it’s out of batteries?  Why is it called “fun size” candy…what’s so fun about getting less candy?  Why does the space bar make a louder noise than the rest of the keys?

Handyman Wednesday: How to Lay Sod

Hi everyone! If this is your first time here, my name is Kevin and I’m the husband around here.  I’ve created a little series inside our regular posts called “Handyman Wednesday” that shows you how to do handyman things that I’ve encountered that week.  Today, that encounter is laying sod.

Here’s the disclaimer: laying sod will make you sore.  Very sore.  Very VERY sore.  Remember to stretch!

Step 1: Get Sod Delivered.  Don’t pick it up unless it’s a small quantity.  Have a semi and fork truck put it exactly where you want and you’ll save your back a lot of pain.  Cost: $70

Sod Semi Truck

Most sod companies in Dallas cut the sod the night before from a warmer area then have it over-nighted into the city and delivered at 10AM the next day.  This way the sod is fresh and more likely to survive.

Pallets of Sod Delivered

Three pallets is a lot of sod.  Don’t fool yourself.  It took Jess and I about 5 man-hours of labor per pallet!

Step 2: Put sod in wheelbarrow.  Don’t stack more than 7 or 8 high. I put 14 on an early wheelbarrow and tipped it over!

No more than 7 or 8 peices!

Step 3: Find your favorite corner for each partition of yard.  You want to start laying sod in a corner to minimize the amount of cuts you need to make.  We chose the corner of the sidewalk and the corner by the garage.

First pieces of sod put down

Step 4: Lay the sod in a brick pattern.  This means the joints of rows should never line up.  See the picture for a better description.

Lay the second row in a “brick” pattern

Step 5:  Make sure all seams are as tight as possible! It’s ok to step on the seams to insure the pieces lay flat on the ground.  Then, continue to build out the pattern.

Ok, everything I’ve shown so far has got me through 1 pallet of 3.  A pallet of sod should be 50 square yards (450 square feet).  I think ours were closer to 60 sq yds.

Dum, Dum, Dum…Another one bites the dust!

Now, you’ll need a break.  Drink some water.  stretch again.  Get ready for Pallet 2!

Final Step: Cut the sod to fill in the holes.  You’ll have a lot of gaps from laying the brick pattern down, going around curved surfaces, and needing to cut around sprinkler heads (hopefully).  We just used a regular shovel for this task.  The lines don’t come out perfect, but they’re pretty close.  The pro’s use a machete.  If you have a machete I’m a little worried about you, but you finally have a use for it!  (You could probably also use one of those ninja swords your husband got at a street fair 15 years ago but refuses to throw away… it’s possible!)

Hopefully, you’re done!  If you have an entire pallet left like us, take it to your front yard or sell it to coworkers (we did both).  The dirt showing in the pictures above are future flower beds (Jess is excited about these).  That will be another post in a month or so once warm weather hits Dallas (It’s ONLY 60 degrees today…brrr).

Here are some pictures of the final product.  You must remember to WATER THOROUGHLY for the first 2 weeks.  The first couple days, over-water.  I mean it.  A sprinkler for 30 minutes isn’t too much water.  After that, you can cut it back to about 15 minutes, twice a day (morning and evening).

Have you ever laid sod?  Have you ever killed sod?  Do the lines in the yard bug you from the sod?  Why don’t you ever see the headline “Psychic wins lottery”?  Why is it called lipstick if you can still move your lips?

Handyman Wednesday: Kill the Bugs

Hi everyone, Kevin here for another rendition of Handyman Wednesday!  I have something serious to talk to everyone about today.  Bugs.  Yes, be scared! You should be!  We at the Little House don’t like bugs, and don’t want them anywhere near us while we sleep.  Don’t agree? Here are some pictures to change your mind (none of these were taken by us)

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I think we have you convinced.   I don’t want any form of Metamorphosis (awesome creepy book by the way) inside my dwelling!  So today, I’m teaching you how to kill the bugs the professional way.

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Killing bugs is easy if you have the right tools.  First thing you need is some bug killer.  I don’t go for that wimpy Walmart stuff.  If I’m going to spray, it has to annihilate these bugs. I’m getting the stuff the pros use: Talstar P (or Talstar One).

Why we chose this:

1. It kills a lot of different types of bugs

2. It’s pet safe (after dry)

3. It’s kitchen safe (after dry)

4. Indoor and outdoor use

What the pro’s don’t tell you is that you can buy the same stuff they use online and spray yourself for way cheaper.  I use www.pestmall.com for all my bug killing needs.

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Talstar P 3/4 Gallon

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The 3/4 gallon size makes 96-288 gallons of spray, depending on how strong you want it.  It kills just about all bugs for 3 months.  This is the good stuff.  Also, this size has a handy measuring device at the top so you don’t ever come in contact with the concentrate.

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Measurement tool on the 3/4 gallon jug

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The other tool needed is a 1 gallon sprayer.  Pick this up at your local Walmart, Home Depot, or if you like shopping online I bought this one from Amazon.

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After that, read the directions, mix in the correct amount of water for the correct amount of Talstar P, and spray.  When you’re inside, spray all the baseboards and crevices you can find.  Bugs generally hide where they can’t be seen by light.  I use about a gallon and a half inside our 1500 sq ft house.  The best thing about Talstar P: this can (and is) also used for a yard bug treatment.  Slowly pace back and forth over your yard making sure to cover every flower bed and all the way around your house.  Repeat this every 3 months for maximum effectiveness!

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Disclaimer: we are not bug professionals and are in no way responsible if you would like to try this yourselves.  Do this at your own risk, and if you have any reservations, please contact a professional.

Thanks for reading and good luck killing all the buggies that may ever enter your domain!

Have you ever sprayed your own house for bugs before?  Do bald men wash their head with soap or shampoo? Why are the obituaries found in the “living” section of the newspaper?

Handyman Wednesday: Replacing a Plug

Hi! It’s Kevin again! It’s been a couple weeks since our last Handyman Wednesday on installing an outdoor patio light.  Today, I want to talk about a little problem we incurred last week on our bedroom desk fan: the decapitation of the plug. In an ideal world you never pull a plug out of the wall using the cord.  You do it right and pull the actual head that plugs into the wall, right?

Let’s say you don’t do it right. Let’s say that you pull the cord and tragically you pull the cord loose from the plug, leaving you with an electric cord without a plug on the end Another scenario would involve the destroyers of worlds your puppies eating the plug off the cord (which is what happened here… thank goodness it wasn’t plugged in!).

In either case, you’re left with a useless cord. Never fear; we can fix it – and here’s how:

Tools needed: Wire Strippers (Scissors or pliers will work), Screwdriver, replacement plug from hardware store

Replacement Plug

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Step 1. Strip the ends of the wire off (the insulation only) so you have exposed copper.  Chances are, there will be a bunch of little strands of copper together.  You want at least 1/2″ of exposed copper to work with.

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Step 2: Fit the bottom half of the replacement plug over the wire.

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Step 3: Unscrew one of the screws on the top half, and wrap one of your copper wires around it.  Then, tighten the screw onto the wire so it can not move.

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Step 4: Unscrew the other screw on the top half and wrap the other wire around it.  Then tighten it down.  When you’re done, it should look like this:

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Step 5: Fit the bottom peice of the plug onto the top piece.  It is very snug and you may require a screwdriver depending on your replacement plug.  After that, simply tighten the inlet of the bottom piece so if you do pull on the cord it doesn’t come loose.  Here’s the finished product!

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Have you ever replaced a plug before?  Anything you need help on for Handyman Wednesdays?  Why does the sun lighten our hair but darken our skin?  Why are there Interstates in Hawaii?

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