Hi there! I just wanted to let everyone know that your previous author has left the hardware store industry.
Don't despair! He's passed this blog along to me so that I can continue to educate everyone regarding the follies of trying to fix it yourself.
Case in point: today we had the season's first example of trying to buy a male-male extension cord.
November 29, 2009
October 05, 2008
Toilets are hard
Long time... people have been pretty reasonable lately. Until Wednesday.
This guy came in to the store looking for a way to install a toilet in his basement. His idea was to take the cleanup plug out of his main sewer line and just place the toilet right on top. The only reason he stopped and came into the store was that he ran into trouble connecting the PVC closet flange he had leftover from redoing his upstairs bathroom to the cast-iron sewer pipe.
This guy came in to the store looking for a way to install a toilet in his basement. His idea was to take the cleanup plug out of his main sewer line and just place the toilet right on top. The only reason he stopped and came into the store was that he ran into trouble connecting the PVC closet flange he had leftover from redoing his upstairs bathroom to the cast-iron sewer pipe.
August 11, 2008
How to take a large chunk out of your leg - step 1
A teenage kid came into the store yesterday looking for some braided steel cable. Showing him our selection I asked what he needed it for.
"Oh, I'm going to replace the plastic line on my weedeater with it."
This sounded like a seriously bad idea to me and I didn't hesitate to tell him so. It turns out his plan was to remove the plastic line and wind up a few feet of 1/16th inch braided steel cable onto the spool. I pointed out that the plastic wedge that's installed on the guard to cut the plastic line would be shredded in no time by a steel cable. In fact, so would the guard, and very shortly thereafter his leg.
In doing a bit of research I came across this forum thread where some random guys on the internet opine on the same subject. It looks like there may be some kind of titanium wire that would work like the kid was thinking, but that the braided steel cable will just shred after a few rotations.
"Oh, I'm going to replace the plastic line on my weedeater with it."
This sounded like a seriously bad idea to me and I didn't hesitate to tell him so. It turns out his plan was to remove the plastic line and wind up a few feet of 1/16th inch braided steel cable onto the spool. I pointed out that the plastic wedge that's installed on the guard to cut the plastic line would be shredded in no time by a steel cable. In fact, so would the guard, and very shortly thereafter his leg.
In doing a bit of research I came across this forum thread where some random guys on the internet opine on the same subject. It looks like there may be some kind of titanium wire that would work like the kid was thinking, but that the braided steel cable will just shred after a few rotations.
July 21, 2008
Like an electric-powered ninja throwing star of death
An older lady came into the store yesterday and picked up the circular saw we have on sale so I went over to see if she needed some help.
"Oh no, thank you, I just need a saw to cut down a rhododendron in my front yard."
I took the circular saw away from her and gently steered her towards the hand saws.
"Oh no, thank you, I just need a saw to cut down a rhododendron in my front yard."
I took the circular saw away from her and gently steered her towards the hand saws.
July 15, 2008
Popular Mechanics' DDIY
It looks like even that great bastion of DIY, Popular Mechanics, agrees with me. Don't get me wrong, I love DIY, but the line between self-reliance and self-destruction is very thin. Not as thin as as this article would have you believe, but thin nonetheless.
July 11, 2008
If your roof blows away in a strong wind...
Okay, I can accept that there are specific conditions in which rolled roofing is acceptable on a peaked roof (low pitches, for those who are curious.) What I cannot accept is that:
- You didn't know what a roof cap was.
- You didn't know to start at the bottom and work up - instead you started at the peak and worked down. Letting the water flow into the seams instead of over them seems so very counter-intuitive to me.
- You hoped to save money and create an attractive look by alternating mineral surface and plain felt paper.
- You thought that your leftover driveway sealer would work just as well as roof cement.
- Finally, if the roof that you installed last year blew away in Tuesday's wind storm, perhaps you shouldn't be the one to install the new roof.
July 02, 2008
Nothing funny this week
Well, I found this video while searching for some plumbing supplies earlier. Enjoy.
I've met guys like this before. Guys who wonder why their plastic drainpipe cracked when all they did was use a pipewrench to tighten the slipnut.
I've met guys like this before. Guys who wonder why their plastic drainpipe cracked when all they did was use a pipewrench to tighten the slipnut.
June 26, 2008
May as well suck on a penny while drinking that lemonade
I had a guy come into the store last night and putz around in plumbing for twenty minutes so I wandered over to see if he needed some help. It's a good thing I did.
He'd replaced the saddle valve for his refrigerator ice maker with a threaded T sweated onto the copper line. In order to connect the plastic tubing he picked up a 1/4" compression by 3/8" MIP brass fitting and a 1/2" to 3/8" galvanized steel bushing. Fortunately I was able to stop him and find some brass fittings to make his connection.
For those playing along at home the reason you don't want galvanized and copper touching is that they will corrode each other. If you have to have both in the same line make sure to use a dielectric union so that the metals are isolated.
He'd replaced the saddle valve for his refrigerator ice maker with a threaded T sweated onto the copper line. In order to connect the plastic tubing he picked up a 1/4" compression by 3/8" MIP brass fitting and a 1/2" to 3/8" galvanized steel bushing. Fortunately I was able to stop him and find some brass fittings to make his connection.
For those playing along at home the reason you don't want galvanized and copper touching is that they will corrode each other. If you have to have both in the same line make sure to use a dielectric union so that the metals are isolated.
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