... a day in the life of this wknd warrior

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[rogzballz]

Updated my rental with a new kitchen counter-top. The Bathroom got a new travertine style ceramic tile floor and kholer low flow toilet. Finally the bathroom door also needed to be replaced because pets can be bad ...  

[rogzballz]

Woke up early to take care of some wood. #Makita

[rogzballz]

Ready to battle the upcoming winter with our new Merrell Arctic Grip boots! If you haven’t seen this new technology then you wouldn’t know these can walk on ice!

[rogzballz]

ZomBEEland - This new local honey is great! It might be my new favorite because it doesn’t taste processed or sugary, it’s smooth and flowery. I’m a huge tea and coffee drinker, so my honey needs to compliment all the different selections I have. Compared to the stores, unlike TJ’s multi-floral clover honey, this has more floral flavors. Unlike thrive’s raw honey, it’s not buttery. It’ll just be easier to try it rather than let me explain it, just get it and eat! 

[rogzballz]

This weekend, I helped a friend do a quick update for his rental unit, installed a L-Shaped shower curtain rod because there's only a half wall. Then I finished the trim on this Closet doorway.

[rogzballz]

Painting my Patio: Pressure Washed twice, Acid Washed once, concrete was very rough so I used all 10 gallons for one coat, so I’ll need to order more... This Behr GraniteGrip paint isn’t cheap, at about $45/gallon it’s very thick to apply but at least it fills imperfections and cracks. The consistency is like sand with Elmer’s glue and It’s just weird how the color changes with lighting but it dries fast and seems to be tough/durable.

[rogzballz]

Fixing my parents home, after replacing the roof shingles, we noticed there was rotted wood behind the gutters. This project included replacing all that rotted wood behind the vinyl siding. Unfortunately the siding is too old to be replicated so we decided to just use a new white vinyl piece to accentuate the new gutters. I am labeling this new design as a #CrownBorder . Next the deck was significantly damaged during the winter with over 100″ of total snow accumulation. As we tore down the deck, we discovered a lot more rot and realized it never had a concrete footing. Instead of replacing the deck we decided to expand the backyard by eliminating the deck’s footprint and just build stairs. I also wasn’t worried about losing an entertainment space because there’s already a stone patio. 

[rogzballz]

A little suspension maintenance on my ‘05 Nissan Frontier pickup truck, both sides got new Moog tie-rod ends, upper and lower ball joints. Including a new wheel bearing on the driver side. Totaled about $380 in parts, a few quality hours with my buddies and I just need to get an alignment to finish it off.

[rogzballz]

Goodbye under-sink storage space, a small price to pay for healthy clean water.

Since becoming a father, my concerns have been geared towards the health and safety of my little girl.  With these concerns, a major aspect of our lives revolves around water. The more research I did, the more worried I became. The chemicals that are in our water system can have long term side affects on us.  Thinking that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something did happen to my little baby girl especially when I know I could’ve prevented it as easy as installing a filter system. This is why I decided to install an iSpring RCC7 - Reverse Osmosis 5-Stage Under-Sink Water Filtration System.  I understand the debate between Hard and Soft water, but my main concern was with Floride and pharmaceutical drugs in the water. Determining that I just can’t eliminate the latter without removing the minerals first.  I’m a realist and know I can’t shield her from everything. Foods she will eat and drink will contain these things but at least I know I can eliminate the majority of it while at home. 

I ordered the filtration system on Amazon.com and it arrived in 2 days, yes I love Amazon Prime! When dealing with plumbing, I am very cautious because water can be the most damaging element on a home. I made sure all the right parts came in the box and followed the instructions step by step. In less than 2 hours, all the hoses and adapters were in place.  I guess the only drawback is that I had to wait another 2 hours for the system to fill before I can purge the tank. You need to “rinse” the system at least once because of the carbon deposits before consuming the water. 

!!! Results !!! Throughout the week, I’ve been testing my tap water with the TDS-EZ Water Quality Tester, getting results between 230-270ppm. My Britta filter only removed about 50ppm from the water. Amazingly my first read with the RO System was 10ppm !!! Incredible !!! I’ll continue to test the water as we use the system to see it’s effectiveness over time. 

Update: The pH of my Tap Water was off the chart deep blue, now with the RO system it’s under 7.0! 

[rogzballz]

I made Cornhole platforms this weekend for my upcoming kid’s birthday party.

Materials:

2 - 1/2″ x 24″ x 48″ Plywood for surface

4 - 1″ x 4″ x 48″ , 1″ x 4″ x 22″ pressure treated lumber for sides

4 - 1″ x 4″ x 11″ w/ 12-deg cut for leg angle

Center of 6″ Hole should be 9″ from top and 12″ from side.

Used a combination of screws and finishing nails to secure it all together. Now I’m just trying to decide on what color/design to paint it. 

[rogzballz]

In the garage, this pipe burst yesterday. The water created a hole in the side of the house and caused water to leak into the basement. Amounting to a couple inches of water until it was discovered. To fix this, take apart old pipes and replaced with 2-2" nipples, new right angle and union pieces. Use Teflon on the connections and add pipe insulation to protect it.  When it gets warmer this summer, I'll have to take apart the damaged concrete wall and repair. 

[rogzballz]

Replaced the oven sensor on my Frigidaire Range model FEF352FSB stove because the oven was not getting hot enough but all the heating elements are clean and red hot. So first you need to pull the stove away from the wall and unplug it. Then there are about 10 screws you need to remove that hold the back panel in place. There is only one screw that holds this Sensor in place on the top right corner. Comparing the new to the old, you can't see any visible differences. Then plug in the new one and place cover back on. 

[rogzballz]

In with the new and out with the old! At 110k miles, I think it's about time I gave my '05 Nissan Frontier some new NGK Spark Plugs. Here I had to remove the intake manifold to get to the 3 on the right side.

[rogzballz]

I know, It's been a long while since my last post, but I guarantee you that I have NOT been slacking.  A couple of months ago, my wife and I had relocating to another state, purchased a new house and had a baby! Unfortunately this home was not well maintained and over time the neglect had added up to become hazardous. We even needed professional mold remediation to be performed. 

As you can see from the before (left side) and after (right side) pictures, our new home has been going through a lot of transformations. I am excited to be sharing more and more pictures as I continue to enhance this home.

[rogzballz]

Over a decade ago while I was in college, I had built these dilapidated stairs for my parents. They have finally given way but I'm actually surprised no one has gotten hurt by them because of its steep incline and narrow treads.

The new and improved steps are pre-cut risers and just 2x8" pressure treated lumber boards. Simple exterior screws holding everything together and I'll probably stain it this upcoming summer.

[rogzballz]

Awesome - I can't believe I actually just won something, especially something that I'll actually be able to use! Check out BigNate84's How To blog where I've also learned a few good tips to help me with my weekend warrior projects.  Thanks again #BigNate84

[rogzballz]

After 4 years of neglect, I helped my friend clean and stain his deck. We actually did two coats of PPG Flood Waterproof stain in Cedar color but I didn't get a picture of it yet. He was very lucky we did not have to replace any of the wood and I have to say it came out very well.