Category: DIY

My DNA time capsule

Ian Hunter1 Comment

Owning an old house brings many challenges

Trying to figure out how it was originally built

Looking for clues into modifications done by previous owners

Tracing the lines of hidden plumbing and wiring

Each home improvement project takes on the mystery of an archeological dig

Giving insight into the lives of those who touched these spaces before

Wondering why they laid out the basement plumbing so bizarrely

With some sections of drainpipes sloping upwards

You question if previous owners knew what they were doing

Left to their own devices in times when there was no Youtube guidance

They just fumbled in the dark with no respect to codes and ordinances

Sometimes you just have to start over again and redo entire systems

The demolition hammer makes quick work

Tearing down structures that have been around for decades

Canceling out the sweat and toil of years gone by

Did the original owner ever imagine his work being dismantled one day

A few years ago I was framing in an old basement

Part of a remodeling project to upgrade a bathroom

I carelessly cut my thumb while working

A minor cut but enough to bleed all over the framing

I looked at the red-stained wood

Soon to be covered by new drywall sheets

My spilled DNA would be hidden for decades

It could be part of a time capsule

I left a note inside the drywall

Beneath here lies the blood of Ian Hunter spilled on this day of 2020

This framing was done to upgrade the toilet waste pipes

Here is a diagram to help you figure out how it all works

When you demolish, please do so with the utmost care and respect 

Are you an avid DIYer

Ian HunterLeave a comment

I often wonder why some folks are afraid of DIY projects

did they try it once and have a major disaster

perhaps coming from a family with non-DIY parents

or maybe just being too shy to ask how

I grew up in a non-DIY household

my father was an engineer and could fix anything

but he regarded home as a place to rest and relax

not wanting to turn our house into a second workshop

I have tackled many projects in and around our house

learning the hard way like drilling into utilities

struggling to make inadequate tools perform

rushing into jobs without any pre-planning

over time you learn to respect your own limitations

recognizing when its best to pay for expert help

doing more research definitely makes jobs go smoother

buying good tools and quality materials is a must

I remember living next door to an avid DIYer

a twice divorced lady living alone in a big house

she took on the most incredibly complex reconstruction projects

yet her finished work was of the highest standard

how did you learn all those skills I asked

she went around construction sites and asked the workers

people love to teach willing students she explained

when you get stuck just go back and ask again

life itself is really just one big DIY project

learning good parenting skills when your cute baby child morphs into a teenage monster

fixing a broken relationship without running to Home Depot

taking on ambitious self improvement challenges is the most rewarding DIY task

Strive to be better with shelf improvement

Ian Hunter1 Comment

In its simplest form the shelf is a plank fixed to a wall

A place to keep your stuff organized

Visible for easy access

Sometimes pleasing to the eye

Some shelves are hidden inside cabinets and closets

These are the easiest targets for unorganized clutter

No need to keep these neat and tidy

Just try to keep the door closed door

Books are more likely on open shelf display

You can easily tell if people actually read their books

From the way their shelves are arranged

The neatest ones with a few books on their sides are purely ornamental

The simple shelf also has some special associations

Nobody wants to be left on the shelf

Instant unemployment arises if your job is shelved

Top shelf items can either be high end goods or pornographic

Items fly off the shelf when sales are soaring

Tailor made or exclusive items are never bought off the shelf

Expired goods are way past their shelf life

Empty shelves remind us of famine or shortages

Some things live on shelves forever

Starting life in a warehouse shelf

Progressing to a shelf in a retail store

Then purchased and put on a shelf at home to be forgotten

A modern glass shelf can have no visible brackets

Embedded into a wall with no means of support

This gravity defying feat catches your eye

The ideal way to display a piece of fine art

Much less pleasing is a badly installed shelf

Overloaded sagging shelves are painful to look at

Perhaps the worst of all is a leaning shelf

Even one degree off horizontal catches your eye

Shopping is a whole new experience without shelves

Warehouse pallets on the floor replacing supermarket shelves

No need to employ shelf stackers there

Its called Costco