A few tasks today in between some light showers and an otherwise warm and steamy summers day. The main task was to replace a step tread that had started to rot from one end with part of the edge getting closer to breaking off if one stood on it.
The tread was coach bolted from the underside so these were removed and the new step tread cut to length, edges beveled and sanded, coach screw holes drilled, then painted on the underside. While that paint was drying I did a quick job to re-string a fence mounted clothes line as the old cord had deteriorated from being in the sun for many years. Then it was back to the step tread to turn it over and screw it in place, then paint the top side. Six coach screws hold the replacement step very firmly in position from underneath with a clean and smooth finish on top. After the paint had some time to dry a second coat of paint finished the job. While the colour isn't an exact match future painting of other parts of the house will resolve that issue.
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When I worked for Telstra I had a few sayings that reflected my ethos for the way I worked and the pride I took in whatever task I was doing. No task was too trivial and no task was too complex - I always gave my fullest attention to detail in all things. The saying that springs to mind here is as follows: A good technician always uses the right tool. A good technician can also improvise when necessary..!! In my Telstra jobs I often came across work done by others where they had not used the right tool (we had lots of specialised tools) and in the process they had made a real mess of the job and it required further remedial attention to fix it properly as well as make it neat and tidy again. A recent task required me to transport a large 2.5m long piece of heavy hardwood to a customer. How do you do this when you own a luxury vehicle suited for domestic use? How do you do this without incurring the cost of renting a vehicle for a 30 minute drive from the timber yard to the customer? Answer = improvisation The photo shows my $20 solution to transport the piece of wood in my regular car without the heavy piece rubbing or leaning on any part of the interior. The back seats are folded down with an old towel used to protect the back of the seats.
Between the seats I custom made a sheet of 7mm plywood to fit around the seat leaning back with a "V" shape cut in the middle to support the 2.5m plank of hardwood. The bottom of the plywood rests on the floor and was very stable throughout the short journey. The 2.5m plank sat slightly diagonally from the front left of the vehicle through the supporting "V" to the back right so it was well away from me as the driver. Needless to say the idea worked perfectly and the task was completed quickly, safely and simply. Another fairly simple task recently was to assist in creating an outdoor shower space as friends expanded the functionality of their pool area. They have or will be adding a spa and infrared sauna and wanted an outdoor shower space to make the most of the generous space available.
The customer purchased these timber panels from Bunnings but didn't have time to install them as they both work long hours and also have to travel at times. There were some complications as one had to be attached to an aluminium fence, and the other to part of the house. Both had to be off the ground and have fixings that would closely match the planned copper/brass shower fittings to follow. I found some bolts at Bunnings that have flat heads with hex-key heads that sit almost flush with the timber with a variety of lengths needed. A plumber has since added the shower fittings and drainage to complete their project. I wonder if I will get an invite back to "test" the new facilities..? Certainly not my field of expertise, but a task I was willing to attempt, was the replacement of a conventional hard drive with a solid-state drive in an iMac computer. This task had two phases, one to do the physical changeover, and the second to re-load the operating system and all the existing data on the new hard drive. My task was the first one only, the secondary task was executed by an IT professional with many years of experience. I located a company that provided a kit including the new hard drive and all tools required to perform the task, as well as providing a step-by-step guide with pictures to assist. The task requires the removal of the screen to access the hard drive (and other components) located behind it. Interestingly, Apple use a double-sided tape to secure the screen to the body - no screws used..!! You actually have to cut the double-sided tape to separate the screen from the body; new double-sided tape is provided to re-attach the screen when complete. The photo below shows the inside of the iMac with the screen removed, the hard drive being the silver item to the right of the cooling fan. The process to remove the old hard drive and insert the new one was quite quick and simple, and I found the instructions clear to follow. One thing I did notice was that the instructions stated you had to do several steps to remove the old hard drive, but actually you didn't need to do them all. The old hard drive could be removed without removing everything they said to. The photo below shows the new solid-state drive fitted and connected using the adapter cables provided. The speaker is yet to be placed back in position and secured. Once re-fitted the screen was replaced using the supplied double-sided tape and the process of re-installing the operating system and data was completed.
While the hard-drive replacement was interesting to undertake, it is not the type of task I would want to do often. In 2015 I was living in an old Queenslander at Annerley which had been mostly renovated with a new built-in area underneath. The job was quite well done and this blog is no reflection on the previous owner or the contractors doing the work. On the lower level was a double garage with an internal door into the downstairs living space including a bedroom, the kitchen, dining and lounge areas. Between the garage and living space was a lockable entry door, and this door was keyed-alike with most other entry doors around the house. One day the lock broke which presented the problem to be addressed and presented a question - call a locksmith to have the lock replaced (which would likely cost a couple of hundred dollars) or remove the lock, pull it apart and see what had gone wrong? Naturally I chose the latter option first to see what was wrong....maybe I could fix it. The photo below shows the before and after of the repair job. What had happened was the spring that pushes the lock tongue out had snapped so you could not close the door nor could you lock it. I knew finding the same shape spring would be just about impossible but on looking at the lock mechanism design I could see that a regular expansion coil spring, placed around the vertical shaft attached to the tongue, would do the same thing but in a different way. I know Bunnings is supposed to have everything, but this was too specialised so I visited a local hardware store as they often have more unusual items not available in the so-called major stores. I asked the gentleman in the shop and he pulled out a dusty box with a variety of springs in all shapes and sizes. There was not one to replace the broken one, but there was one like what I imagined would do as a replacement fitted in a different way. He didn't know how much to charge me as there were no prices marked on the box, so we agreed on $1. I took the spring home and fitted it to the lock as shown above - it not only fitted but it worked exactly as I had imagined it would. The only difference was that the key/handle was a little firmer to turn as my new spring had a bit more tension than the old one.
An excellent result - and the cheapest repair job I've ever done. We live in an average sized three-bedroom duplex and although we were the first owners we didn't design or build the house. The plan matched what we were planning to build quite closely so it was an easy decision to buy it after the first inspection and walk through. The local builder has done several properties in the local area and has a good reputation, but occasionally there are some things that are found to be not quite right. The single garage also has a small laundry space with a tub and space for a washing machine. We opted for a washer/dryer which was the right choice for the space available. The photo below shows the layout of the laundry nook in the garage, the washing tub with storage underneath and the washer/dryer. It all looks very normal, now, but I did have to make a modification to make it look like this. Originally the door under the tub opened the other way with the hinge on the right so it opened from the left. That does not sound like a problem but it was very user un-friendly as the door was in the way when you bent down to access whatever you needed from the cupboard.
I noticed that the pre-manufactured tub/cupboard was designed to have the door fitted both ways, opening from the left or from the right. Further investigation revealed that the door and latch could be removed and put on the opposite side such that it opened the other way with no modifications required. It was a cramped and awkward space to work in but it avoided the need to remove the tub/cupboard and avoided disturbing any tiles and sealant behind and beside the tub. The space now works more smoothly as the door can be opened fully to the left against the wall where it is out of the way while accessing the cupboard - simple but important..!! Recently our workplace training room was gifted a few surplus items so we can show new Train Controllers what various items that get talked about actually look like. Many new Train Controllers joining the role today they have come from other roles in often totally different organisations and have little or no previous railway experience. Even those that have had previous railway experience may not have seen all the small parts that go together to make an entire railway operate. Our training room is small so the amount and size of items selected is based on that, and also not wanting the room looking cluttered with junk. One item we were gifted, that would have otherwise gone from scrap metal, was a small Position Light Shunt Signal from the Toowoomba area. The item was in fair condition but would not sit on the bench as it is meant to be mounted on a post beside the railway line. With some spare timber at home I designed a wooden base for the signal to sit on, and used the existing mounting bracket to secure the two parts together. The timber base was stained and the signal itself was completely pulled apart for cosmetic restoration. Everything was in good condition however there was corrosion on some aluminium parts and the cork gaskets between some parts were deteriorated. The internal 110 volt light bulbs, wiring and connections were removed as they were no longer required. It has been suggested that I design and fit a low voltage LED system so that the lights can be illuminated - I'll think about that suggestion. Some metal parts were completely cleaned back to bare metal and repainted while other parts only needed re-painting. The original stainless steel nuts and bolts were used to re-assemble the signal. A small builders plate on the back shows that the signal was made by Westinghouse. It was only a quick restoration job but it has made an incredible difference to the look, feel and usefulness of the item. And...I have already been assigned another task to restore a larger item for the training room. Above: The restored Position Light Shunt Signal back in the training room along with a shelf-mounted relay, two plug-in type relays, and two lenses from a colour light signal.
While this isn't related to telephone wiring it does reflect how I like to see a finished job and it does involve extra low voltage electrical/electronics work - well within my field of expertise. Our workplace was donated a piece of redundant railway signalling equipment which had basically been thrown on the junk pile decades ago. It was dirty and dusty and didn't really do anything anymore, yet it was to become a display item in our workplace. I took the initiative to clean up the item and add some electronics so that it is now an interactive working display. The other side of the panel (see bottom photo) has some lights that used to shows various indications the operator would need to know when working at that station. I added an Arduino/screw terminal board (top right) and a relay board (bottom right) and connected it via the existing resistor board (centre left) to the existing LED's (light emitting diodes). The white wires (including LED's and resistors) were existing and have been neatened up, basically everything else has been added. With a suitable program added to the Arduino the interactive display item now sits in the office where visitors can watch the red, yellow and green lights change in a semi-realistic manner as if a (simulated) train was passing through the station, and also operate the switches in front of the panel to manually control the signals to stop a train or let it proceed. This has proved to be much better that just hanging the panel on the wall as it was, and has generated interest and discussion amongst office regulars and visitors. Above: The fully refurbished interactive display item ready to return to the office.
I don't know how long this drain has been like this, but I did notice after the recent lengthy periods of rain that the grass in this area seemed to have no soil under it. I also discovered that if you stood here you could hear the plastic pipes creaking as they are very close to the surface. This is one of our storm water drains on the footpath running to the street kerb. Thankfully it is right beside our green underground power connection box so nobody actually walks on this part of the footpath. It is also quite close to our fence. That said I suspect the builders did this when finishing up and just laid the grass over the top as nobody else would have reason to stand in this exact stop. There were about three or four broken pieces of plastic pipe found inside the drain, one was just hanging there ready to drop off. What they have done is add a short length of pipe to the piece coming under the fence, and then join it to a fitting to drop the level slightly towards the kerb. A similar configuration on the adjacent pipe is intact. So how to easily fix..?? The pipes are glued together at least partly so attempting to replace it with one new piece of pipe seemed like it may not be possible, and would have required a larger excavation. Considering that nobody will actually walks over this I decided to use three pieces of 100mm PVC pipe joiner, like the broken piece in the centre. Instead of using the complete piece of pipe I cut about 1/4 of the pipe away so it could just slip over the top and hold itself in place. The image below will show you what I mean. I washed the exposed pipe so the glue had a better chance of adhering and let the sun dry it out before fitting the sleeves. Of course it is also glued into place with the appropriate PVC adhesive and I was a bit more generous than the builders seemed to be with it. The photo above shows two pieces already fitted and the third sleeve ready for a test fitting. The old sleeve joint was left as it also provided some protection and it helped hold the new piece of pipe in place while the glue dried. The finished job was let dry overnight then back filled with soil, grass replaced and watered in.
Although we were the first owners of our home, we didn't build our home so we didn't get to see or supervise any of the construction, this included the side fence. I looked at it recently to see how they had built it as with a new house being built next door there may have been a need for modification. No modification was necessary but I did see that the metal fence posts in the middle, which go down into the concrete retaining wall, did not have caps on the top like they should. I also noticed this specific post was almost filled to the top with rain water - surely not a good thing as it will only encourage rust over time. I purchased three new caps but had to make modifications before they could be fitted, and I had to get most of the water out. As the photo below shows I used some plastic tube to siphon out as much water as possible and this worked quite well. All three posts had at least some rain water caught in them, stagnant and stinky it was too. After siphoning out the water I used a thin dowel with paper towel on the end to try and soak up any remaining moisture. Again this seemed fairly successful as the paper towel was less damp each time I put it down the bottom of each post.
Next I had to make a small gap so the cap could fit over the post as the builder had screwed the fence together without considering this. The side screw was loosened to create a gap, and the top rail was gouged out a bit so the cap could sit down in position. The other thing needed was to cut pieces out of the top timber so it could be screwed back down into place. A couple of saw cuts and some chiseling had a neat fit on all three posts. All I need to do now is apply some more paint to make it look brand new again. Oh - and now to check the back fence to make sure it has the caps on the top of the posts too..!! |
AuthorAfter spending 22 years in the Telecommunications Industry, I've decided to keep those skills alive and offer my services to people needing assistance with small phone cabling jobs in the home or office. Archives
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