Minor plumbing problems are easy enough to fix if you have the right tools and a bit of courage. Knowing how to repair plumbing problems yourself can save you some money since you don't have to hire someone else to do it for you. I've replaced our faulty toilet fill valve on my own before and I found it to be easy enough. You actually just have to follow the instructions on the package! LOL Here's how the kids and I did it.
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
DIY: How to Replace your Toilet Fill Valve
22 April 2017
Minor plumbing problems are easy enough to fix if you have the right tools and a bit of courage. Knowing how to repair plumbing problems yourself can save you some money since you don't have to hire someone else to do it for you. I've replaced our faulty toilet fill valve on my own before and I found it to be easy enough. You actually just have to follow the instructions on the package! LOL Here's how the kids and I did it.
Minor plumbing problems are easy enough to fix if you have the right tools and a bit of courage. Knowing how to repair plumbing problems yourself can save you some money since you don't have to hire someone else to do it for you. I've replaced our faulty toilet fill valve on my own before and I found it to be easy enough. You actually just have to follow the instructions on the package! LOL Here's how the kids and I did it.DIY: The kids and I apply wall putty and rig hanging posters
05 November 2016
Parents need to be creative when they want their kids to learn. For me, I like to teach them practical knowledge that they'll be able to use when they've grown up. Things like applying wall putty on cracks on the wall :) It's simple, easy to do and enjoyable. At best, it's doing something that will make them appreciate and value their room more since they had a hand in beautifying it.
DIY: Installing our new 2 TB Seagate internal hard drive
02 October 2016
A new, extra hard drive had been on my wish list for a long time. It was only now that I was able to buy it. I was originally intending to buy a 1 TB but Patrick convinced me to go for the 2 TB because there's only a small difference, so I did. We went to our favorite computer store, Dynamic PC in Gilmore, and bought this 2TB Seagate Barracuda in addition to 4GB RAM to upgrade our PC. So, let me tell you how installation of this Seagate hard drive went.Picking up a Parcel from the Philippine Postal Office
03 June 2016
We don't normally get notices to pick up parcels at the Post Office. Usually, any package that we receive is delivered door to door by couriers because they're faster and they don't get opened. So, when I received a Postal Notice to pick up something at the Post Office, my first thought was, "Who could possibly have sent me something through postal services?" My 2nd thought was, "Oh no, I don't want to be overcharged for the package!" There was a time when people were up in arms because they were being charged obscene amounts for packages that were being claimed at the Post Office. Well, with trepidation in my heart, this is what happened at the Post Office.
DIY: Removing rust from my tools using vinegar
05 April 2016
Everyday, I try to find something to do at the house aside from the normal chores. Today, I decided to tackle reorganizing one of our storage closets. To make a long story short, I ended up throwing a lot of things but the worst was I found that my toolbox and the tools inside got wet (for some reason) and now they're rusted! So, some of you may say that I should just buy new tools but see, these are my grandfather's and father-in-law's tools. They're really heavy-duty! :)
Anyway, I was racking my brain to figure out how to remove the rust without further harming the metal. Obviously, I couldn't just wash it in water and soap because that would just exacerbate the rust. I turned to Google to find out what I needed and after several articles they all pointed to using vinegar to remove the rust from my tools.
Knowing that, I took inventory of my tools and planned how to go about it. First, I didn't have enough vinegar to be able to soak the tools in one go. Second, I didn't have a big enough tub with which to soak them in too. So, I knew I'd have to do this in two parts - smaller, lightly-rusted tools first to test just how much vinegar to use and how long I have to soak them in for. The more rusted ones will follow. I asked Patrick to buy a gallon of vinegar just to be sure.
Like I said, I started with the smaller tools first. Silly me, I forgot to take a before picture because I was intent on making sure that I wouldn't get cut or hurt handling the tools. I put them in a small pail and added just the right amount of vinegar to soak everything. The picture below shows the result of soaking them overnight and scrubbing and scraping off the stubborn rust with a steel wool brush. I rubbed oil on them for good measure.
Now that I've seen that the acid in the vinegar actually eats through the rust, I was ready to deal with the heavier tools and I remembered to take pictures this time :) Instead of a pail, I used a medium-sized basin. I also put some vinegar in the bottom of the tool box although I kind of felt that I was going to throw it anyway but just wanted to try first.
As you can see, after a few hours, the clear bottom has turned murky and dark from the rust. I turned them over so that the other side can be soaked as well.
Anyway, it felt really good to see the rust coming off. It was a lot of work and it's a pain on the hands but it's all worth it. I hope that this helps :)
Everyday, I try to find something to do at the house aside from the normal chores. Today, I decided to tackle reorganizing one of our storage closets. To make a long story short, I ended up throwing a lot of things but the worst was I found that my toolbox and the tools inside got wet (for some reason) and now they're rusted! So, some of you may say that I should just buy new tools but see, these are my grandfather's and father-in-law's tools. They're really heavy-duty! :)
Anyway, I was racking my brain to figure out how to remove the rust without further harming the metal. Obviously, I couldn't just wash it in water and soap because that would just exacerbate the rust. I turned to Google to find out what I needed and after several articles they all pointed to using vinegar to remove the rust from my tools.
Knowing that, I took inventory of my tools and planned how to go about it. First, I didn't have enough vinegar to be able to soak the tools in one go. Second, I didn't have a big enough tub with which to soak them in too. So, I knew I'd have to do this in two parts - smaller, lightly-rusted tools first to test just how much vinegar to use and how long I have to soak them in for. The more rusted ones will follow. I asked Patrick to buy a gallon of vinegar just to be sure.
Like I said, I started with the smaller tools first. Silly me, I forgot to take a before picture because I was intent on making sure that I wouldn't get cut or hurt handling the tools. I put them in a small pail and added just the right amount of vinegar to soak everything. The picture below shows the result of soaking them overnight and scrubbing and scraping off the stubborn rust with a steel wool brush. I rubbed oil on them for good measure.
Now that I've seen that the acid in the vinegar actually eats through the rust, I was ready to deal with the heavier tools and I remembered to take pictures this time :) Instead of a pail, I used a medium-sized basin. I also put some vinegar in the bottom of the tool box although I kind of felt that I was going to throw it anyway but just wanted to try first.
As you can see, after a few hours, the clear bottom has turned murky and dark from the rust. I turned them over so that the other side can be soaked as well.
When I figured I've given the vinegar enough time to penetrate the rust and make it easier for me to scrape it off, I did just that. The thing is, during the first trial, after removing the tools from the vinegar, I immediately dried them off and polished them quickly. With the second set of tools, I left them to air dry after the scrubbing and the scraping since I had to clean the bathroom first. This was a mistake. There was some oxidation on the tools which meant that I needed to double my efforts in cleaning them again. This didn't happen with the first set of tools. So, Lesson Learned. :) I remembered too late that you're supposed to put some baking soda on the tools to stop the acidic reaction but I forgot that.
There was a remarkable change in the tools as you can see. I made sure to really put a lot of oil on them too.
Anyway, it felt really good to see the rust coming off. It was a lot of work and it's a pain on the hands but it's all worth it. I hope that this helps :)
DIY: Bake your own Banana Bread
14 July 2015
We usually have bananas in the house but the problem is that if you don't eat them quickly, they can turn rotten so easily. So rather than let them go to waste, I thought I'd try my hand at making banana bread out of them. :) Naturally, I scoured Google for an easy-to-follow recipe and I found one here.
This recipe was very simple. I don't have a blender or a masher so everything I've done is by hand. If you have the equipment then feel free to use them :)
Ingredients:
4-5 medium-sized bananas (you can add more if you want)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
Procedure:
Step 1: Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl then set aside
Step 2: Mix the butter, sugar and eggs in another bowl. Set aside.
Step 5: Put the pan in the oven (preheated at 350 degrees F). In the video I looked at, the baking time was 60-65 minutes. With the pan that I used, it only took 30-35 minutes. You can check if the bread is done if you stick a toothpick in the middle and when you pull it out, nothing sticks to it. That tells you that it's done.
We let it cool out of the oven when it was done. Here are my assistants enjoying our success :)
We usually have bananas in the house but the problem is that if you don't eat them quickly, they can turn rotten so easily. So rather than let them go to waste, I thought I'd try my hand at making banana bread out of them. :) Naturally, I scoured Google for an easy-to-follow recipe and I found one here.
This recipe was very simple. I don't have a blender or a masher so everything I've done is by hand. If you have the equipment then feel free to use them :)
Ingredients:
4-5 medium-sized bananas (you can add more if you want)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
Procedure:
Step 1: Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl then set aside
Step 2: Mix the butter, sugar and eggs in another bowl. Set aside.
Step 3: Peel the bananas then mash them.
Step 4: Mix the mashed bananas with the butter/sugar/eggs mixture. After that, put that mixture with the flour/baking soda/salt and just blend them together. Put it in a loaf pan (in my case a baking pan since I don't have a loaf pan). Oh and don't forget to spread some butter on the surface of the pan to prevent the bread from sticking.
Step 5: Put the pan in the oven (preheated at 350 degrees F). In the video I looked at, the baking time was 60-65 minutes. With the pan that I used, it only took 30-35 minutes. You can check if the bread is done if you stick a toothpick in the middle and when you pull it out, nothing sticks to it. That tells you that it's done.
We let it cool out of the oven when it was done. Here are my assistants enjoying our success :)
DIY: How to clean your computer fan
09 July 2015
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that our CPU was making a weird humming noise and noticed that the fan attached to the CPU case stopped working. Now, ever since our motherboard expired last year due to dust and dirt, I've been conscious about cleaning the CPU regularly. But I haven't had a chance to clean the actual fan unit. So, I searched Google (of course!) for an easy to follow DIY video on cleaning CPU fans and I found one here and I proceeded to try it out for myself.
DIY: Replacing a faulty bidet
28 April 2015
Yesterday, our bidet in the bathroom broke. There was a small crack in the bottom part of the bidet, the one which connects the hose to the handle, and of course over time, it eventually grew bigger until it snapped. I tried to fix it as soon as it happened but the truth was it really had to be replaced.
Yesterday, our bidet in the bathroom broke. There was a small crack in the bottom part of the bidet, the one which connects the hose to the handle, and of course over time, it eventually grew bigger until it snapped. I tried to fix it as soon as it happened but the truth was it really had to be replaced.Kat's quilts
June 24, 2009
I am very grateful to my best friend Kat for making my kids these precious quilts :) I didn't know that she was a gifted quilt-maker, much less had the interest for it, but as you can see she really did a fine job!! I'm so proud of you, Kat!!! My kids love the quilts and are now a constant bedspread. Dana got a Lightning McQueen and Dylan got his favorite Dinosaurs.. Den also got a blue quilt but she didn't want me to take pictures of her on it LOL
Here are pictures of Dana and Dylan enjoying the quilts.. Oh and those clothes are the ones you sent Kat! :) they love them hahaha
I am very grateful to my best friend Kat for making my kids these precious quilts :) I didn't know that she was a gifted quilt-maker, much less had the interest for it, but as you can see she really did a fine job!! I'm so proud of you, Kat!!! My kids love the quilts and are now a constant bedspread. Dana got a Lightning McQueen and Dylan got his favorite Dinosaurs.. Den also got a blue quilt but she didn't want me to take pictures of her on it LOL
Here are pictures of Dana and Dylan enjoying the quilts.. Oh and those clothes are the ones you sent Kat! :) they love them hahaha
Trip to Go Soc and Wilcon Builders Depot
One of the best parts about renovating or reconstructing a house is buying the materials.. Since we're fixing our bathroom and the connecting bedroom, it's been very exciting to see it all come together. So last April 2nd, Lolo Ben, Den, the kids and I went to Balintawak to browse the numerous shops there for ceramic tiles, sanitary wares, plumbing fixtures etc.Since I didn't have any idea what color the bathroom would be, I decided going to a shop with a showroom may be a good idea. At least they have all the fixtures laid out and it's simply a matter of replicating them in your own bathroom. So that's what we did. I asked my Dad to drive us around since he had a bigger car hehe
We finally saw what we liked at GO SOC & SONS SY GUI HUAT, INC. . The big plus was that they were on sale too! Who could pass up a deal like that?! hahaha So we simply went around the huge warehouse until we were directed to the showroom in the next building. Here we went crazy looking at the different designs. You can even feel free to grave the tiles off the shelves and mix and match your own. The staff was pretty helpful and tolerant (whew! they were really nice to speak with!) and the service was pretty fast. We bought all of the tiles we needed from here because they were
Next, we went to Wilcon Builders Depot for our sanitary wares. It was also nearby, just a few minutes away. I was floored when I saw how big it was!! Man, I was in heaven hahahaha The first building we went to was their showroom and it was so fun and exciting to be roaming it LOL When I asked about a particular package they directed us to their "warehouse" type of building where all the other products were located. It was awesome and immense!!
I've always had my eye on a dual-flush toilet. First, it's economical and second it looks cool hahaha but given my budget I wasn't too sure I could afford it. But when I got there, the first thing I asked our salesclerk was to show me the low-cost packages of dual flush toilets. Well, fortuntely for me, they were on sale! woohoo!! From the original price of P8790, it was down to P7,032. I was staggered because usually dual flush toilets were in the range of P10K and above. I settled for the Royal Tern brand because we had the same brand in our house and it never broke down. Patronize Filipino products I say LOL Plus, the toilet bowl was bigger compared to some and that was a consideration Patrick raised before when we were looking at toilets LOL His big butt needed to fit in it LOL Together with this, we also bought a telephone shower, a bathroom mirror, a handheld bidet, a towel rack, a glass shelf and floor drains :)
The drive home was funny.. We were moving so slow because my Dad's van was a little lowered at the back from the weight of all those tiles and sanitary wares LOL I did give him some money for the day for the wear and tear and for the service LOLIt was a fun and exciting day! Good day of bonding for Lolo Ben and the kids :)
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