Here is one thing I actually can do!! Everybody else should to.

Change the batteries in your smoke and CO detectors when you change your clocks. You can get a 2 pack of Sunbeam 9V batteries from Dollar Tree stores. Those work just fine. Its worth the $10 a year to be sure those will actually work. I hope nobody here EVER needs them, but when you do it can literally be a life and death matter.

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Here's another thing you can do, Frank. Especially in hot climates, where houses have a big deck, make sure it's well-supported and that there are no signs of rot. You want to be sure it's going to hold up when a dozen people sit on it during an afternoon cookout.

Who are you to be offering advice? May I ask how long you have been performing this work?
I have a homeowner's tip for Darko: Time for the the children to take a nap, Daddy is here to take care of business

On that note CO detectors are only good for about 5 years. Get them replaced after that.
And please spend the extra few bucks on low level detectors.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

frank wants me to buy my made in Bangledsah batteries at Dollar General, and here you are telling me to spend extra cash on a low level CO detector !!

I think they're designed to annyingly beep forever if they're at a certain age ... at least the Kidde ones at my grandmother's were doing that recently ... read the manual online and it says after about 5 years they will start to beep every 30 seconds or so and that's that ... go buy a new one, tubby (okay it didn't quite read like that).

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

This is going to sound terrible but I dont have any CO detectors in my house. Never got around to buying one and never remember to when I am out and about.

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just get a Life Alert bracelet instead

If you had one, it probably would have started going bonkers after you came home from the McNugget contest.

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My pump didn't go out. Thankfully I did not run out last night and buy a new one.

Ours hasn't gone on much if at all. I don't know if the ground is frozen or what but we are still dry. Hope everybody else is too.

Hey everybody, Spaulding is dry.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Maybe I don't understand exactly how a sump pump works, but isn't it a little early for all of the panic?

If the ground is frozen solid 20" deep (Jerry Taft told me that, has to be true), how is the water getting through to the sump pump under the foundation? Isn't all of the rain just running off the frozen ground into the sewers?

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We've got water coming up from under the floor in 1 basement room. Rest is ok. Good advice on the filters. Im stocking up on the blue ones.

I like the idea of being able to replace it myself, one question, I'm in about a 10 year old Ryland home. And the sump pump appears to be imbedded into a canister that sits in the foundation. How do you get to the sump pump. I remember looking at another house in the area that had flood damage, and it looks like they cut and pryed it open to get to the pump. Is there a graceful way to get to it? I haven't ever actually tried to open it.

Also any advice for ejector pumps? When ever mine kicks on it makes a pretty loud knock that can be heard on the main level. Not sure if that is normal.

Knock might just be the check valve. THey make "quiet" check valves.
Take a picture of the sump and let me see...

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Code.


BTW, we announced a moratorium on new sump coverage earlier today ... I'm guessing other companies are doing so now if they haven't already.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Ask Bigfan's plumber.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

This is one of the greatest inventions in the history of...inventions.

Turd, I had the same problem. You could hear it on the main level, on the other end of the house. My plumber, who is awful, and shouldn't be trusted by anyone, hooked me up with one. Now, you can barely hear anything, even if standing next to it.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

I dunno if I mentioned this before but please for the love of god if you're one of those goofs that covers your AC condenser (the outside unit) in fall/winter take that cover off before you fire it up tomorrow/Thursday (80's predicted).
Already had a trouble call where a goofy bastard didn't do that and blew out a liquid line today.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I use franks brother in law now, he is a handy man.

The guy I used was too smart, he only knew how to install all the plumbing in luxury chicago homes of 5,000 SF+ and that License and Insurance..Pffttt..not impressed.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

If your HVAC guy shows up to install a whole house humidifier, and wants to use a saddle valve to tap into the water supply, kick him/her right in the taint. I balked when he did mine, but let him get away with it. A couple days ago mine let loose, spraying the furnace room down for a couple hours before being found.

I do prefer to solder in some copper and fit in a 1/4 turn stop valve but I don't think there's anything wrong with a saddle valve. Just don't be the guy who opens and closes it each year.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Good advice.

Saddle valves=no good. Even for a fridge ice maker/filtered water.

Hey, if you can't sweat a copper point joint on your own you ain't a man. Pittmike has spoken.

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Elections have consequences.

I concur, Mikes. I expected a soldered fitting, but accepted the saddle valve. Emergency replacement to stop the leakage will be replaced with soldered connection when time allows. Went looking for a 3/4 by 3/4 by 1/4 valve tee, but Ace isn't the fully-stocked plumbing supply house on a Sunday Afternoon...

You need a new ace they should have what you need. That is their calling? To have what you need closer than Lowes in a pinch.

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Elections have consequences.

I was just gonna say that. What the fuck? That's a pretty damn common fitting.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Ours is a relatively new, smaller store. As I was working on 1.5 hours of sleep after working Saturday night, I wasn't looking to spend any more time to get it sealed up than one trip.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way