A Call Back to the Previous Post

In my previous post, I brought up the conclusion that some projects would be easy enough to do if I had the knowledge of how to do them. As a handy person not having the knowledge to know how to do the project but having enough skill to know you could is why I feel home improvement can be mildly frustrating.

Projects that Unnecessarily Raise My Blood Pressure

Anything plumbing has to raise my blood pressure as there are way too many connectors and trying to keep the project in code feels exhausting. While electrical is definitely more dangerous knowing that there is normally only a hot, neutral, and negative wire to contend with makes projects with it feel easier.

On the flip side, plumbing has pressured lines which can be PEX or copper, and how you connect to PEX and copper is a matter of deciding if you want to go with welding, crimping, compression, Sharkbite, and so forth. Then there are the drain pipes which can be steel, ABS, or PVC and again can be connected in a multitude of different ways. Once I know the materials needed to transition and connect pipes, or fittings the plumbing normally is straightforward forward but finding out what I need is never an easy task.

Dancing with the Electrical Devil

Electrical can cause serious harm which means it is very important that nothing is done that is not for certain the correct way to do it. One recent thing I discovered about my home is half of the wall outlets are not in their outlet boxes. My wife said one of the outlets is loose and that is because it is held into the outlet box with drywall screws. The outlet box is so recessed that the outlet does not go inside it which I believe I am sure is a big problem.

I would love to slap a new plastic box in there and make it safe for her to use but I have no idea how I am supposed to do that. To postulate, would I need to cut the drywall out attach the box to the stud, and then patch it with a piece of drywall? If my guess is correct then the thought of having to do more dodgy drywall patchwork is scary enough without the worry of electrical fires. This project might best be left to the professionals.

The outlet box which I am referring to in the above paragraph.

The Forbidden Outside Project

I have not done any work outside yet but I do have a project I would love to share with everyone. The project has been on my mind for a while but I have not done any research into it. The project would be installing a French drain in front of my garage.

My garage is at the bottom of a slope so it is constantly getting flooded and with my lawn equipment in there it is less than ideal. My biggest issue would be the removal of the concrete and the general supplies I need to do it. I really have not put much thought into the project despite being higher up on the list mainly because removing several feet of concrete is off-putting.

This is mostly what I had in mind for a French Drain but I am not so sure about the rocks.

What We Are Left With

I know today is not a normal post but I am going to post a normal blog sometime this week or the next which shows my journey of replacing the drain to my bathroom sink. However, as plumbing goes it is complicated and will take me a bit of time to gather the photos and cut what needs to be cut. Hence the creation of this blog post as something people can hopefully relate to in the meantime of me creating another project blog.

The not-so-great image shows the first cut made on the new drain project.