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Household

Valet Intercom
Cabinet Hinges
Garage Doors
Fence Damage

• 2022-10-20 - Master Bath Ventilation Fan : Some time ago I purchased several replacement fans (Broan BP27) to have on hand. The old fan's bearings/bushings have worn and the fan stopped turning. Replacement was easy, with one particular gotcha. The new fan is designed to mount 'above' the housing bracket, where my old fans were mounted 'below'. Using the instructions given with the new fan won't work because the overall housing is too low if mounting the motor and fan unit above the bracket. Here's the solution:
  • Remove fan assembly from housing by unplugging fan, remove retaining screw holding bracket, tilt assembly to remove from housing
  • Remove the old fan:
    • Remove the old fan 'blade' from shaft
    • Remove x2 nuts holding the old motor to the bracket
    • Discard the old fan blade, motor and x2 nuts
  • Install the new fan:
    • Loosen and remove the two torx-headed bolts from the new fan motor assembly
    • using three (3) #6 washers as spacers between motor and bracket, mount the motor to the bracket with the shaft projecting through the bracket hole (per old motor)
    • install the new fan blade by pushing onto shaft
  • Remount the fan/motor/bracket assembly into housing, secure the screw, and plug in the fan
• 2022-10-08 - LG HE Washer : Not enough water for the last 11 years, so we have been running each load using the 'Bulky Bedding' selection. This fills the tub with A LOT of water. Trouble is, when the tub drains with a small-ish load, the load is often unbalanced and the spin will error out, or try to refill with water and try again. Both are either a waste of water, or time. It would be better to allow the washer to sense the load and use an appropriate amount of water. YouTube suggested a way to force the washer to 'sense' less water, thereby filling the tub with more water, but not too much. This allows the load to be better distributed for the spin cycle, and eliminates most of the unbalanced errors. The key was:
  • removed the 5 screws holding the control panel's rear cover (this can be done with the washer in place)
  • tilted the control panel forward exposing the innards of the control panel and valve solenoids AND THE WATER PRESSURE SWITCH
  • marked the pressure switch adjustment screw with a notch between to arms of the female Philips Head adjustment screw
  • removed the Loctite material
  • turned the adjustment screw ONE FULL TURN CLOCK-WISE
    • ran a load using NORMAL cycle, and saw about 2 more inches of water than previously
  • Was not able to convey to RB that the extra water was there, so returned to normal (sorta)
    • turned the adjustment screw ONE FULL TURN COUNTER-CLOCKWISE + 1/4 CCW past original position (where notch lines up with brass screw head)
• 2022-02-07 - Central Vacuum Hose handle switch : Switch will engage for the vacuum unit in garage, but the power head no longer will start. Bad switch in hose handle. Removed switch assembly and found a replacement at A-1 Vacuum in Orem for $65. Part number is (HD)SHCBEZHR01 and seems to be a fairly common replacement part: brand of PlastiFlex hoses show this number. Online, found for $40-55. For future reference.
• 2021-12-30 - Telephone Jacks Polarity : After installing a Pulse-to-DTMF converter in my Automatic Electric Model 80 Rotary Dial telephone, I discovered that several jacks thoughout the house are wired with reverse polarity. I confirmed that the wiring in the basement utility room is correct for each jack's line, so confirmed that the reversal was at the jack itself. All of the line-1 phone jacks throughout the house are now correct with positive voltage on the TIP (RJ11 Pin 4; Green or White/Blue) and negative on the RING (RJ11 pin 3; Red or Blue/White) conductors, except for:
  • East wall Loft - cannot access it presently, but have confirmed that is it reversed. NOTE: once accessible and set to the correct polarity, recheck the South wall Loft jack again; this jack is an 'extension' of the East wall jack
  • Gazebo: unconfirmed polarity one way or the other. Needs confirmation with voltmeter.
• 2021-11-27 - GE Profile Dishwasher : Not draining during the past week very well. I wanted to check the water flow path for obstructions. Here are the steps used to get at the drain sump:
  1. removed the lower rack
  2. lifted the lower spray rotor arm and turned it counter-clockwise and lifted it off the spindle housing
  3. turned the upper spindle housing a quarter-turn counter-clockwise to remove; it will 'snap' when released
  4. lifted the fine filter assembly from the spindle housing
  5. eased the upper rack out a few inches and pulled the upper-rotor 'pipe' off its anchor (about midway up), then easing it to the right
  6. turned the lower spray rotor spindle slightly counter-clockwise to allow the upper-rotor pipe to slip out of the spindle housing
  7. with the upper-rotor pipe out of the way, squeeze the sump filter and remove
  8. squeeze the sump 'bucket' filter and remove

With all of these actions performed I could see that the sump bucket filter was clogged. I cleaned everything, opening all of the filter holes, then ran a quick rinse cycle (as disassembled) to confirm that the drain pump was working and water was removed, it was. Reassembled everything in reverse order and ran an Anti-Bacterial cycle with Added-Heat to do a clean. Back in business.

• 2021-10-25 - X10 front porch switch : Replaced the X10 dimmable switch (ivory) for the front porch. I bought from eBay three switches, allowing me to have two spares going forward. These are the X10 PRO models. I noticed when I removed the old switch that it may have been reverse wired. Instructions indicate that the black wire connects to the "Load" (HOT) wire, and the blue wire connects to the "Switched Load" (COMMON) wire. The replaced switch was wired the other way. I don't know if this contributed to the replaced switches relatively short life. I recall replacing it just 2 or 3 years ago. Hopefully this one will last a much longer time.
• 2021-09-09 - Stucco repair above back door : Contacted several potential stucco outfits and settled on Casper Stucco, who are in Orem. Shane Casper gave me a quote of $385 for the repair, suggesting that the color match will be "pretty close". I asked him to take some extra time to get the color match perfect, and would pay $500 for that level of effort. He agreed. Over the past week, Shane has come 4 or 5 times to match the color, and start the process of repair. First a sealing of the hole, then the undercoat, then the outer color coat. Pretty close match, not exactly perfect, but not noticeable unless looking very, very closely. On the whole I'm happy with the result.
• 2020-04-20 - Front and Back Door varnish : using Marine Varnish from Jones Paint & Glass, refinished both front and back Pella doors. There was some serious weathering on the lower panel of the front doors, so it was good to get this done.
• 2019-05 - Lot 13 perimeter fence : used Wes Duvall of Duvall Decorative Ironworks to re-anchor the iron fencing sections that were removed during the initial efforts to repair crumbling mortar joints in 2016 by Aaron Callings two workers (the first guy that didn't finish the job). He also replaced to missing finials and reattached a loose finial in the sections south of the front gate. Total charges: $475 (5 hours @ $95/hour).
• 2018-08-09 - Back Door Intercom : functioning in all respects except no external audio. Ringing bell sounded indoors, but not at the back door unit. No audio. I disassembled the unit, and tested the 16-ohm 10W speaker and found that is open circuit, failed. I removed the speaker from the spare (original back patio unit) and installed in this unit. Fully functional now.
• 2018-03-09 - West Bath toilet seat : Kohler K-4536-47 "almond" Cachet El Seat Q3 Advantage. Old seat (not Kohler) hinges broke and the seat was unstable. "Thomas" at Standard Plumbing Supply Orem, had the seat sent down from the Sandy warehouse. Cost was 36.25 + 2.48 tax = 38.73. Installation was a breeze and the seat is acutally (at last!) a match for the unit.
• 2017-11-09 - Upper-level Furnace : Carrier WeatherMaker 9200 58MXA100-12116 model no: 58MXA100-16 series 121 serial no: 1296A01229. The intake air fan motor (model JE10010N) has not started as usual, lately. When the thermostat calls for heat, the motor won't immediately start to turn, and will sort of 'moan' as it tries to turn. I can 'help' it with a twist of the plastic 'flywheel' and after a number of tries eventually the intake motor will start and run for that heating cycle. Depending on how cold, or length of non-use, the motor may have trouble starting again. We've been turning the system completely OFF overnight, and in the morning for the past week, the intake motor will moan and maybe turn very slowly, but not as it should. Today I called in PPM ("Casey") who looked things over. He indicated that the intake motor cannot be replaced as a component, but only as part of the entire intake air sub-system, about $900. He suggested replacing the motor's 'startup' capacitor, which he did. Surprisingly, the system seemed to operate well enough after that change. Casey did indicate that the motor appeared to be a little worn, shaft bearing-wise, but hopes that the capacitor will do the job. Total charge $78. 2017-11-17 Still having trouble starting the inducer motor. It is a bit better than before, but still not right. I went on-line and researched, the inducer assembly I have is 319825-402. New replacement inducer assemblies (fan, motor, housing) were on the order of $350. I found an eBay seller offering a clean, working, but used assembly for just $130, including shipping. I ordered it, paying as a "guest" via PayPal. Should arrive by Monday 2017-11-27. 2017-12-02 Installed the replacement today after getting some black RTV caulk from Tru-Value Hardware (couldn't find any at Lowe's!). The RTV caulk is used to seal the replacement assembly against the mounting socket on the collector box. To replace I followed PDF instructions found online for a 320725-75[678] Fixed Speed Inducer Assembly Kit, which was exactly what I needed. I turned off power and gas, disconnected the AC power quick-connect, removed the drain line (lower-left) and pressure switch and outlet vent clamp (upper-left), removed the four mounting bolts, and eased the old assembly out. I applied a small bead of the RTV caulk to the receiving groove (which was slightly damaged with the removal, as expected in the instructions), applied a film of kitchen PAM (as instructed) to the replacement assembly and installed the replacement assembly reversing the steps. One gotcha was that the pin holding the upper part of the pressure switch mounting bracket had been more-or-less broken off, which created a small hole into the inducer fan chamber. I applied some RTV into the hole and around the shoulder of the broken-off pin, then mounted the pressure switch bracket. I hope that the bracket will hold the pin in place long enough for the RTV to cure. Also, after testing the furnace, I was getting a drip of water from the upper-left vent clamp joint (which was true before the replacement) and with a little re-alignment and further tightening of the clamp, it is now dry. Overall operational testing was successful; the system works perfectly!
• 2017-09-27 - MTD Snow Blower : 21" 123cc Snow Blower, Model 31A-2M1A729 s/n 1L188B20134. Auger rubber blades and scraper blade were worn. Ordered replacements $96.76. 2017-11-02, installed the replacement rubber auger blades and bottom scraper blade. Very easy. Turns out that the original scraper blade can be reversed and used again. I installed the new scraper blade, but am holding on to old blade for later use.
• 2017-09-26 - Attic Ventilation Fans : Over the garage fan stopped working this season. The other two fans are just as old. I removed the garage fan from its housing. It is marked:

CERTAINTEED VENTILATION
MODEL F051082705, E62788
120V 60HZ 2.00AMP, E62815
THERMALLY PROTECTED L, E62862
INSUL CLASS 130(B), P/N 35000
DALLAS, TEXAS 75212

Air Vent MTR034, $63.54 (motor only)
ComfortGurus.com. Indoor Air Quality & Climate Control Superstore
631 West Commerce Park Drive, Midvale, UT 84047
Phone: (866) 519-2461
Fax: (801) 563-9784

• 2016-04 - 2016-10 - Perimeter brick wall repair : Having first engaged Aaron Callings in April 2016, but having him and his guys (Bob and Sam) abandon the job, I next engaged John Larson 'JCL Masonry' 801-636-5177 to rework the first partial job and then complete the project, which he did between August and October. [I paid a total of $1600 to JCL Masonry, $0 to Aaron Callings. [One item to note: we made many, many calls to lots of masons and homebuilders, including Magelby's and Gene Robison, and only got responses from Aaron Callings, earlier, then JCL Masonry when the job was left unfinished. Not a single other mason returned my calls at all.]
• 2016-05-15 - Left-side Water Heater : Replaced left-side (east) water heater, and added expansion tank to right-side water heater cold supply line. PPM (Parley and Tallin)
• 2015-11-10 - Basement Furnace : Replaced basement furnace, AC coil, and outside AC condenser. PPM (James Pino) did the work.
• 2015-09-22 - Roof shingles : Replaced two ridge shingles over Master Bath and resecured that line of original ridge shingles; Replaced three ridge shingles over garage and resecured ridge shingles on west dormer; resecured all ridge shinges on garage peak.
• 2015-02-12 - Garage Lighting : Replace fluorescent light ballast in each fixture (x3). Removed: "Advance Electronics" 2-bulb T12 ballast, RQM-2540-3-TP. Replaced with "General Electric" Res. #1404912 (PC61373) [Lowe's $15.95 each].
• 2014-10-15 - Roof Shingles : Replaced several ridge and flat shingles on West ell over garage. Re-secured entire line of ridge shingles.
• 2014-02-22 - Basement Furnace : Replace drain hose and fitted with caulked grommet into plenum.
• 2013-08-21 - Main floor Bathroom : Replaced toilet seat mounting washers with black rubber (3/8 x 7/8 x 1/16).