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Home Improvement

Various topics related to home improvement.

Bare grass in backyard

Improving lawn with multiple bare patches – Summer 2022 Project

My lawn always looks kind of crummy early in the season.  This year is no different.  I was thinking maybe it even looked worse than usual.  My front yard looks thin.  The backyard looks thin with many bare patches.  The backyard I’m thinking is worse because I’ve had so much clover growing back there, which may be crowding out the grass.  The other possibility is that we may have a… Read More »Improving lawn with multiple bare patches – Summer 2022 Project

Green Dragon Hybrid Cucumber

Growing Green Dragon Hybrid Cucumbers – 2022

I’ll update this thread throughout the summer – bookmark it and check back for updates! I’ve been growing cucumbers for a few years now.  My wife really hates seeds in her cucumbers, so we usually get English Cucumbers when we buy them.  I have a spot in our yard where I’ve grown cucumbers – it’s a small area near the house with full sun.  I didn’t have an actual trellis,… Read More »Growing Green Dragon Hybrid Cucumbers – 2022

Bare Root Raspberry Canes – 3 Year Update

I didn’t do an update last year, but I’ve been documenting the progress of my raspberry plants over the years.  Each year does seem to get better, but there are a few general observations.  The plants with the most sunlight markedly outperform those plants with partial shade.  I planted two rows of raspberry canes.  I believe the Anne raspberries planted in partial shade did not survive.  The Joan J are… Read More »Bare Root Raspberry Canes – 3 Year Update

Rheem Furnace Green Light Flashing Four Times – Pressure Switch Stuck Closed

About 1.5 years ago, my furnace stopped working.  At the time it was due to an inducer blower having burned out, causing a warning of “Pressure Switch Stuck Open”, with the warning of a green light blinking twice. Today, we came back from a week vacation where we had the thermostat turned down.  When we turned up the thermostat, nothing happened.  Uh oh.  I went down to the furnace to… Read More »Rheem Furnace Green Light Flashing Four Times – Pressure Switch Stuck Closed

Bathroom Sink Aerator Can Not be Removed – or Can It?

First, what is a sink aerator and why have it? As explained in detail on wikipedia, a sink aerator is the wire mesh cap that typically is screwed onto the end of the faucet. It’s main purposes are to reduce splashing, create a more uniform stream, reduce water usage, and increase the water pressure (yes – it increases the pressure while reducing the amount of water used). Here’s a basic… Read More »Bathroom Sink Aerator Can Not be Removed – or Can It?

Garage door remote not working after changed bulb – fixed

Short answer – LED light bulbs frequently interfere with the garage door remotes. Changing to a standard light bulb will fix the problem. Long version:  So after having some service done on my garage (again – I’ll eventually write a post on what happened and what fixed it) our light bulb stopped working. Yes, I tried a new bulb and it still didn’t work. I’ll have to write another post… Read More »Garage door remote not working after changed bulb – fixed

Rheem Furnace Two Blinking Lights – Pressure Switch Open

Thursday October 26, 2017 Yesterday the furnace stopped providing heat.  I’ve had some success troubleshooting in the past, thanks to the internet.  My Rheem furnace has an indicator light that will flash different codes based on what the problem is.  This was a new one – two flashes of the green light followed by a few second pause, then two flashes again, etc.  Looking at the panel schematic, it said… Read More »Rheem Furnace Two Blinking Lights – Pressure Switch Open

Bare Root Raspberry Canes – 1 Year Update

I decided rather than doing multiple post updates like last year that I can do one post and just update as I go along.  I just haven’t been sure when I was ready to start.  It probably would have been better to start at the beginning of the summer, but it is probably better to start now rather than waiting any longer. Briefly, I planted bare root raspberry canes the… Read More »Bare Root Raspberry Canes – 1 Year Update

Refinishing a Wood Front Door – Cheap and Easy

I remember shortly after moving in during 2009, during the “restoration” after our basement flooded, one of the repair workers commented that our front door needs to be re-painted. It turns out that the restoration company also does a lot of painting jobs. I hadn’t really paid much attention to how the door looked, as I wasn’t aware of many of the details in our house at that time. We… Read More »Refinishing a Wood Front Door – Cheap and Easy

Sewer gas smell in basement after ejector pump repair

Last week I had the pleasure of learning what happens when the ejector pump in our basement fails. Very messy and stinky to say the least. I’m driving home and get a panicked call from my wife that we have a problem in our basement. She of course asked if I used the toilet the prior night assuming I’m responsible for blocking the toilet (again). For once, this wasn’t my… Read More »Sewer gas smell in basement after ejector pump repair