I though my dad was the only one who drank Busch light
The DIY thread - DIYourself
- Thread starter Red Mosquito
- Start date
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
Update on the furnace room.
It was a quick progression, from suspect asbestos panel to test results of 40% asbestos panel, which led to complete removal with regular state permit and mandatory air quality certification (passed).
Once shed those few thousands dollars in excess (sigh!), we decided to go balls to the wall and change the heating system right away, we had enough of that pump coming on continuously and especially of the $600 monthly bill!
But before that we had to insulate the now bare walls of the furnace room, which is the part relevant to this thread as it took yours truly the whole weekend to complete as some previously undetected and unrepaired wood destroying insect damaged had to be repaired as well. As suggested by the building inspector, an external layer of tyvek housewrap went in first, followed by rockwool R15 and a 6mil plastic vapor barrier, finished by mold resistant sheet rock panels. The tricky part was that the walls are regular frame with a split log siding with no sheeting, so the housewrap had to go in between studs. Actually splitting the 36" wide foil gave me about 2" lips on both side of the foil to staple it nicely to the studs. I also had to completely redo the transition from the chimney to the wall stud, as I could almost pass one arm through it, it took some mortar and an improvised metal
Working with the old furnace in the way was horrible, the new system costed us an arm and a leg but being completely hanging from the wall (in addition of working much better and at an extremely lower cost) freed up a lot of valuable estate soon to be taken by the snowblower, lawnmower etc.
It was a quick progression, from suspect asbestos panel to test results of 40% asbestos panel, which led to complete removal with regular state permit and mandatory air quality certification (passed).
Once shed those few thousands dollars in excess (sigh!), we decided to go balls to the wall and change the heating system right away, we had enough of that pump coming on continuously and especially of the $600 monthly bill!
But before that we had to insulate the now bare walls of the furnace room, which is the part relevant to this thread as it took yours truly the whole weekend to complete as some previously undetected and unrepaired wood destroying insect damaged had to be repaired as well. As suggested by the building inspector, an external layer of tyvek housewrap went in first, followed by rockwool R15 and a 6mil plastic vapor barrier, finished by mold resistant sheet rock panels. The tricky part was that the walls are regular frame with a split log siding with no sheeting, so the housewrap had to go in between studs. Actually splitting the 36" wide foil gave me about 2" lips on both side of the foil to staple it nicely to the studs. I also had to completely redo the transition from the chimney to the wall stud, as I could almost pass one arm through it, it took some mortar and an improvised metal
Working with the old furnace in the way was horrible, the new system costed us an arm and a leg but being completely hanging from the wall (in addition of working much better and at an extremely lower cost) freed up a lot of valuable estate soon to be taken by the snowblower, lawnmower etc.
olegbabich
Well-Known Member
Had a 30 ft Holly Tree that was too close to the house and lots of unused space.
Last summer I build a deck.
Took the tree down in 4 pieces with electric chain saw and put up a 28x22 Cedar Deck. Deck needed to be raised because of underground power going to detached garage.
Still adding trim and other decorative items as directed by Mrs. Oleg.
.
Last summer I build a deck.
Took the tree down in 4 pieces with electric chain saw and put up a 28x22 Cedar Deck. Deck needed to be raised because of underground power going to detached garage.
Still adding trim and other decorative items as directed by Mrs. Oleg.
.
Last edited:
Red Mosquito
Formerly RLB the Scrapple Boy
@serviceguy did you wind up using gr tech for the asbestos removal?
huffster
Well-Known Member
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
My latest trouble...the car, a 2007 Chevy Equinox LT AWD with approx 147K on the odometer starter to sputter and hesitate at almost exactly 50Mph.
The related forums all reported it as a common problem related to spark plugs / wires arching under load, solution is a tuneup thus replacing plugs and wires. So I bought the parts (added new coils for good measure, prices were reasonably low on Rockauto for AC Delco OEM parts).
I never did the tuneup on this car (or a V6) before. I soon realized I would not be able to finish the job in the allotted time (post dinner and with the car needed the following morning at 6:45am) so I opted for replacing the coils and the three front spark plugs and wires. At first it seemed to work but it came back with a vengeance. So I decided to tackle it again last night since the weather had taken a turn for the better (did I mention that my 91 eclipse is parked in one of the garage slots while the second one is full of crap from the ongoing construction of our lovely money pit of a house? ).
So last night I removed a few more parts than the night before and gained access to the rear plugs (further research indicated the culprit being #1 overheating and cracking, causing serious arching and misfire, known non-recall-classified GM problem on the chinese 3.4l V6). Started with #1 and stopped there, hours into the job I could merely turn the plug. If the problem had been tackled before there a chance that whoever fixed did the job cross threaded the spark plug hole OR the used the wrong plug (non-nickel) without anti-seize or worse using the wrong one (you need a nickel based one on those) causing the plug to bond excessively to the head.
The way I see it my options are:
a) bring it to a mechanic, not going to happen unless I really mess up the plug
b) use a cordless/air ratchet to extract the plug
While at it, I realized that PCV valve had broken off and two of the plastic tabs that hold it to the intake manifold are missing. The new part has been ordered but what do I do about the missing tab, most likely now deep into the intake manifold?
So off I go to the nearest Enterprise for a rental car...to make everything worse, Saturday I am off to Miami coming back the following Saturday. I know, could be worse but aybe not under the circumstances. Unfortunately it's work so not avoidable.
The related forums all reported it as a common problem related to spark plugs / wires arching under load, solution is a tuneup thus replacing plugs and wires. So I bought the parts (added new coils for good measure, prices were reasonably low on Rockauto for AC Delco OEM parts).
I never did the tuneup on this car (or a V6) before. I soon realized I would not be able to finish the job in the allotted time (post dinner and with the car needed the following morning at 6:45am) so I opted for replacing the coils and the three front spark plugs and wires. At first it seemed to work but it came back with a vengeance. So I decided to tackle it again last night since the weather had taken a turn for the better (did I mention that my 91 eclipse is parked in one of the garage slots while the second one is full of crap from the ongoing construction of our lovely money pit of a house? ).
So last night I removed a few more parts than the night before and gained access to the rear plugs (further research indicated the culprit being #1 overheating and cracking, causing serious arching and misfire, known non-recall-classified GM problem on the chinese 3.4l V6). Started with #1 and stopped there, hours into the job I could merely turn the plug. If the problem had been tackled before there a chance that whoever fixed did the job cross threaded the spark plug hole OR the used the wrong plug (non-nickel) without anti-seize or worse using the wrong one (you need a nickel based one on those) causing the plug to bond excessively to the head.
The way I see it my options are:
a) bring it to a mechanic, not going to happen unless I really mess up the plug
b) use a cordless/air ratchet to extract the plug
While at it, I realized that PCV valve had broken off and two of the plastic tabs that hold it to the intake manifold are missing. The new part has been ordered but what do I do about the missing tab, most likely now deep into the intake manifold?
So off I go to the nearest Enterprise for a rental car...to make everything worse, Saturday I am off to Miami coming back the following Saturday. I know, could be worse but aybe not under the circumstances. Unfortunately it's work so not avoidable.
breaker bar on the spark plug, once it moves a little, work it back-n-forth to get it out (thank you @extremedave ) - it is just stuck from overheating.
if it is cross threaded, you'll need a new bike. you can put more leverage with a breaker bar than a gun. use a spark plug specific socket too.
squirt some thread-release crap in there so it sits while you are away..
so the pcv valve broke while doing this? isn't the valve on the crankcase side of the system? (so if there is a tab anywhere, it is in the crankcase, not in the intake) -
if it is the other way, someone needs to have a little defensive-engineering talk with the new guy....
if it is cross threaded, you'll need a new bike. you can put more leverage with a breaker bar than a gun. use a spark plug specific socket too.
squirt some thread-release crap in there so it sits while you are away..
so the pcv valve broke while doing this? isn't the valve on the crankcase side of the system? (so if there is a tab anywhere, it is in the crankcase, not in the intake) -
if it is the other way, someone needs to have a little defensive-engineering talk with the new guy....
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
I do need a new bike! I mean an actually functioning bike that is.
This is the PCV pipe (I guess the check valve is integrated). The connector that broke off is the one in the lower left corner, as you can see there's 4 small tabs that are supposed to click in pace on top of what I thought was the intake manifold but it must be the top of the rear head, what was i thinking! The new guy has probably gone already...I am hoping that the two missing tabs got stuck on the hole somehow so that i would be able to pull them out...getting back at it with a air ratchet, the space is so small (even after removing a bunch of parts) that I could not apply any real pressure on the ratchet. The breaker bar was working but I have about 10 degrees of rotation to deal with, both my el cheapo craftsman ratchet as well as the top of the line HF composite (fancy) ratchet only click once on the backstroke.
Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
I do need a new bike! I mean an actually functioning bike that is.
This is the PCV pipe (I guess the check valve is integrated). The connector that broke off is the one in the lower left corner, as you can see there's 4 small tabs that are supposed to click in pace on top of what I thought was the intake manifold but it must be the top of the rear head, what was i thinking! The new guy has probably gone already...I am hoping that the two missing tabs got stuck on the hole somehow so that i would be able to pull them out...getting back at it with a air ratchet, the space is so small (even after removing a bunch of parts) that I could not apply any real pressure on the ratchet. The breaker bar was working but I have about 10 degrees of rotation to deal with, both my el cheapo craftsman ratchet as well as the top of the line HF composite (fancy) ratchet only click once on the backstroke.
WERA ratchets are about $30-40-ish from a few stateside dealers, full metal head, with 5° engagement. Totally worth it if you use them with any regularity. Search for Zyklop, you'll find them (not the swivelling head, though those are good for other things).
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
Thanks, they were on my radar. Lately I've been concentrated more on construction tool, this is a unexpected (and really not welcome) detour from my schedule...I am actually looking into the 120t / 3° newer ratchets (SK but also Craftsman, as new-ish permanent resident COO is important to me). I may actually fetch some USAG when I go to Italy in May..
02camaro
Well-Known Member
a swivel spark plus socket with extension works well on those. also unhooking and pushing aside the engine harness removing the coil assembly as well will net you some space, i assume you did this already since you said you pulled alot of stuff off.
in my experiences obv snap on ratchets are the best and indestructible, but the HF "pro" not the composite feel almost the same and has a 72tooth engagement compared to snap on 80t. ive never used the sk 120t ratchets, but i was not really impressed with the x-frame ratcheting wrenches that have the same mechanism, great at first but became notchy and sticky after a bit.
in my experiences obv snap on ratchets are the best and indestructible, but the HF "pro" not the composite feel almost the same and has a 72tooth engagement compared to snap on 80t. ive never used the sk 120t ratchets, but i was not really impressed with the x-frame ratcheting wrenches that have the same mechanism, great at first but became notchy and sticky after a bit.
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
Yep, I did remove both the coil and the coil bracket (the latter making the biggest difference) with allows the harness to get out of the way but requires the coolant bypass pipe to be loosened. It just a weird location, ended up laying on top of the engine and I have the bruises to prove it...just pure fun!
PICTURES!!!!!! 😀
amazing how everything is a pain - always a "who designed this" swoon......
i've heard of people cutting access holes through floorboards for some plugs.
free standing, or fit into a space?
can buy a 36", and have at it. if fitting a side to the wall.
easy enough to cut a top to fit.
qclabrat
Well-Known Member
Fit in, okay with 34" and build out. 32" or 30" don't look right. Just want to avoid shaving into the walls to fit. Houses with formica cabinets suck, so much is custom and not to standard. Considering custom to make it look right
picture?
i'm sure you can do some sort of decorative build out on the 34"
then a measured top.
qclabrat
Well-Known Member
This is the bath in the au pair suite, so was everything was super low end in 1990ish. The right wall is opposite to the tub fixtures.
