What home repairs are you working on?

A few inches of snow is one thing, but in NH 6 inches to a foot is not unheard of; also where the driveway meets the roadway can often be 2-3 feet deep once the snowplows go through. And it ain't dry fluffy powder either, its more often heavy wet snow. I think I'll rely on internal combustion for the time being......

I forgot about the leaf blower; I got one several years back. Its a Dewalt, and although the brand has a good rep, for whatever the reason the battery is VERY finicky about when it wants to charge and to boot doesn't seem to hold a charge that well. I'll avoid Dewalt going forward. I think EGO will take care of my future needs - mower when the time comes, pole/modular stick tool.

I'm back on my property with an extremely wooded 3.5 acres. It basically hasn't been tended for over twenty years and is so overgrown it is impossible to do anything inside except trudge in overalls picking wineberries. Been trudging in for two hours a day just clearing it by hand (and electric tools until the batteries run dry). Sometimes it's taking down a dead ash tree, sometimes clearing fallen wood, sometimes using the brush cutter and weed wacker to make paths to get to the fallen wood.

Since it's summer I pull my two boys out to help everyday. I just started having them dig up rocks and line the paths I have been creating. It's really amazing to see the (albeit slow) transformation from overgrown forest to pleasant forested area that you can easily walk through.

Long term plan for that area is when the VA Department of Forestry re-opens the tree shop in October I'll buy a bunch of hazelnut trees for that area since those are shade tolerant. They are $2 a pop if you buy ten or more. Maybe some elderberry and cherry as well.

Got two dwarf cherry trees (different species and all that for cross pollination) that are coming in soonish, but paid a premium for those so am going to clear out lawn space for those suckers.

Long term plans include a sunken greenhouse on the south lawn, but that is a far, far way off. Probably get geothermal upgrade and pay the bucket operator to dig a huge pit for a couple hundred on the side. I'd like to be 60% self sufficient by the time I retire in six years.

Msample wrote: My old Makita, probably 20 years old at this point, held a charge for about 2 minutes, if that. I am not kidding. And a new battery for that....might as well buy a whole new tool.

I don't know how practical it is, but I just learned you can buy battery adapters. Maybe you'll be able to run all of your stuff off of a single battery system.

Nah, I'm good. I think the new stuff I have will lay a good foundation for going forward witrh mostly EGO stuff.

I bought an battery powered weed whacker a couple of years ago, to replace my old 2-stroke one that decided it was going to stop running. I'm never going back to gas. If I need to whack more than a half-hour of weeds at a time, I need to rest anyway.

I’ve bought into the dewalt ecosystem and am very content. One of my 10 amp lawnmower batteries got faulty and they sent me a replacement with minimal fuss.

These new 20+v lithium systems are pretty nice. Not -quite- the horsepower of corded, but far superior to the old battery systems with power fade and low capacity. I converted everything over to Dewalt last year. Pricey, but now I have a single battery system and NOTHING uses a cord or gas, including mower or chainsaw (well, table saw has a cord, but wouldn't surprise me if they don't come up with a 40v version eventually). If you hunt for deals on combos with batteries it's pretty easy to accrue enough juice to last all day doing pretty much anything.

Last week I successfully mapped out all the outlets in my house and which circuit breaker they were on, then replaced two malfunctioning outlets. I did this all without electrocuting myself. Given the degree of my home improvement skills, this is a major accomplishment.

Replacing the stock and lightless fans in the new home with lighted fans. One with retractable blades in my video game room/den so I don't hit then during VR sessions.

finished hanging slats on the wall in the garage for the gladiator storage stuff we brought with us. Very nice, off the rack storage option.

Msample wrote: Nah, I'm good. I think the new stuff I have will lay a good foundation for going forward witrh mostly EGO stuff.

I had to go gas for my 2 stage snowblower because we get an insane amount of very wet snow just like you do in NH. But for most other stuff I'm electric. I don't have a lawn so a mower isn't something I have to worry about.

re: wooded lot. Sounds like a pretty huge relief from your last year or two of travel/covid madness.

the_jake_1973 wrote: Replacing the stock and lightless fans in the new home with lighted fans. One with retractable blades in my video game room/den so I don't hit then during VR sessions.

What the what? How well does this work?

But I gotta say, replacing noisy squeaky shaky fans with new silent fans is.....well, not quite a sexual bliss but not far from it. You never realize how much background frustruation there is until you start fixing stuff. Doors that close with no rubbing. Deadbolts that slide shut without having to push in the door or twist hard. Stairs with no creaks. Faucets with no drips and really positive on/off motion. Windows that slide up and down with no effort.

Here's a fun one that I just started yesterday: Invisible Fence. I have two senior dogs. Neither is much for running away but they both like to mosey when the sniffies hit so they end up all over the place. I don't expect either will ever get shocked or maybe once at worst. I plan on spending a lot of time training them. Should be a good bonding experience that will hopefully allow them a lot of freedom. We won't ever leave them unattended, this just lets me sit outside and not have to constantly panic that they're around the side of the house or the neighbor's yard.

stormseeker75 wrote: Here's a fun one that I just started yesterday: Invisible Fence. I have two senior dogs. Neither is much for running away but they both like to mosey when the sniffies hit so they end up all over the place. I don't expect either will ever get shocked or maybe once at worst. I plan on spending a lot of time training them. Should be a good bonding experience that will hopefully allow them a lot of freedom. We won't ever leave them unattended, this just lets me sit outside and not have to constantly panic that they're around the side of the house or the neighbor's yard.

One of my neighbors had an invisible fence set up for years, for his aging dog. It made a peculiar high-pitched sound in rainy weather, but seemed to work well. After the dog passed away, the neighbor removed the invisible fence system.

I hope this one doesn't squeal! I figure I'll have more dogs after the current pack so this will likely be used for the foreseeable future. I hope it works well because I really want Jet to be able to enjoy her yard without me constantly hollering for her. I realize this is a "me" problem as much as Jet problem.

Our carport has a storage room, or one was created a long time ago. We have ripped out the built in shelves and are now removing this poured slab so that the floor is even. This took me five hours (not counting the first failed attempt with a crappy Home Depot concrete cutter that had bad gas). I was so focused on the task that I forgot to drink any water. Afterwards I was dizzy and nauseous. My neck was incredibly sore from peering down at the blade for five hours. I stretched out on an acupressure mat and it took the pain away, which was cool.



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