Been a while since the last Old House update. I got the heating system drained but found I had nothing big enough to undo the nuts on my radiators. A couple of trips to the hardware store later I had a nice big pipe wrench that makes short work of them. I was afraid that pulling on a nut that hasn't moved for maybe 50 years might have detrimental effects but so far everything seems fine. Sadly I hit something of a reality check. I knew the (cast iron) radiators were going to be heavy but thought I'd be able to move the smaller ones unaided. Yeah, about that..... thankfully I have a friend who is a body builder so perhaps I can borrow him some day soon. I'm also beginning a very early and tentative foray into making my own picture frames. I've found my regular suppliers prices are such that I struggle to sell them even with a very modest markup. They are good quality frames but sadly it seems, in this area at least, that people don't want to pay for framing. They'll buy a $40 frame from Michael that's cheap Chinese junk but won't buy a $50 frame from me that's the same size and robust enough to literally be punched and dropped on the foor (and I prove it in front of them). Sadly my home made frames probably aren't going to be tough enough to thump them but should work out quite a bit cheaper, unless I find it takes me hours and hours to actually make them.
How very useful. Welcome to the board. Wait indefinitely until we decide whether you're allowed to stay.
No, got a message from sheperdsword to log in with my old account. So now, I'm on hold in C2M with the old one. Apparently their thinking is to reinstate the old me rather than just approving the new.
It makes sense to reinstate the old one I suppose. I didn't know Amos had retired. He always seemed like a good guy.
Today's plan was to do plumbing but since the sun was very bright and very hot and shining directly on a section of wall that needs some TLC I decided to do that instead. So I mixed up cement and filled a couple of cracks in the porch wall. In a couple of places the concrete is damaged - cosmetically rather than structurally - so I filled the missing sections with cement. By the time I decided to come indoors I'd done most of it, gone through several pounds of cement mix, and made it look a whole lot better. I would have done more but adding cement to the underside of a surface is tricky because if you overdo it the weight of the wet cement can pull itself off the wall. And on top of that the heat of the sun was getting to me so I came indoors and put the air conditioning on. Then I tried the plumbing but found that I only have one wrench and to open one of the joins I think I'm going to need another wrench. I may just ask my heating guy if he can spare me some time to undo them for me and get the radiators off, so I can get on with working on the walls behind them.
I think the thing I'm going to end up remembering is more like "whack, whack, whack, crack" or something. The problem is that when I try and turn the nut the entire pipe moves and I'm afraid I'm going to do something irrepairable to it. What I think I need is one wrench to hold one nut and another wrench to turn the other one. It pains me to pay someone to undo nuts but I'm going to need help to shift these things anyway and I really want to get on with seeing to the walls behind the radiators, which I can't do while they are there. I don't want to find I run out of time and go into the winter with all the radiators in half the house disconnected.
What you have is fit x fit pressure unions. And although two wrenches are handy, most of the time, one is all you'll need. A wrench on the largest, or outside nut is sufficient. Try it first before you call your plumber friend. After you get it apart you'll see the simplicity of its function.
Just got this from Shepard (I don't think I'm violating any rules with this copy/paste. If I am, please ignore this message!) It is ok to post with this original account. I am 99.9999% sure no one will overturn my decision. Per procedure I had to ban your second account. Blessings to you Brother. I hope your participation and restoration encourages others to come back as well. There will be a few, that if they want to come back ,will have to go through a longer vetting process due to the nature of what occurred, The only reason I see you being banned is making too many reports (?????) and only two people voted for it. It was done before the rest of us could even discuss it. I am open for the return of all banned members during that season. But like I said some offenses were more serious than yours so it will take some discussion to work it out. Keep in mind that my position on politics and doctrine are sometimes opposed to yours and the others that were banned, But I am sure we can discuss those differences in a spirit of friendship and love. That entire group will bring new perspectives that will encourage healthy discussion as long as we do it in the right attitude and spirit. I welcome full restoration One turn of phrase in that "during that season". Says volumes.