Friday, May 30, 2008

Anything A Guy Can Do, A Chick Can Do Too

A very good friend of mine keeps commenting on how amazed he is at how I just get stuff done. To me I see something that I want to do or needs to be done, so rather than dwell over it, just do it. Done.

Home improvement projects are something I love to do. Sometimes the project is chosen like painting a room or changing the landscaping. Other times, something happens that results in the project needing to be done like a leaking faucet or a broken ceiling fan.

My recent project has been lingering for about a year or so. The toilet on the main floor had a small leak and I replaced the bolts/washers thinking that would do the trick. Well, the bolts became gross, black and smelly due to the leak continuing over the past year. I thought I would try to replace the bolts/washers again for $5 rather than $200-300+ for a new toilet. Plus I had no idea how to replace a toilet.

Well, after spending an hour trying to get the last bolt free from the tank I let out a "Aaaahrrrgg! That's it!" Jumped into my car and headed to Lowes for a new toilet. Walked right up to the plumbing person, Heidi (yeah a chick, how cool is that?), asked her to help me.

TIP: When in doubt, just ask for help.
It will save you time and hassle.

Heidi was awesome. She hooked me up with a complete toilet kit for $225. I was a bit nervous about installing it. I hate plumbing jobs because you can't use duct tape or painter's chalk to hide your oopsies.

A few things I learned:
1. Toilets are not as heavy as I thought.
2. Installation is so easy, under one hour from removal of old to flushing the new.
3. Don't be itimidated by ANY challenge.

No. I am not adding plumbing services to my organizing services. Just because I can install a toilet, doesn't mean I want to do it again. I still don't like plumbing projects

Don't think because you have never done something you can't. Most tasks are NOT that difficult. The worst that will happen from your attempts is you won't be able to do it and you'll likely learn something along the way. Think about how great you will feel for giving it your best effort and completing it.

What home project did you tackle recently?

6 comments:

SOUL said...

rats :))
killed em all too. :))
oh then it was flies. :))

but i too did a blind- toilet installation once. the worst part was that disgusting wax seal.. ewwwweeee... i did not expect that. did you?

i haven't had to do one since-- but i know i could if i had too.

congrats on your plumbing success !!

hope you have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Being allergic to Fire Ant bites, I hate killing anything that could cause reason for a trip to the hospital (ants, some spiders, etc.).

While living in South Carolina, I found out I was allergic to the fire ants, so anytime I saw one, I raided it along with the ant pile I saw...I knew no other way to kill them. I also made sure to be very careful where I was walking.

Then I started noticing spiders a lot...but most of them were either Black Widows or Brown Recluse. I tried getting Josh to kill those since those would probably affect me worse than ants, but he refused so I had to kill those things all the time...that was horrible!

I am lucky enough that anything to do with the plumbing or heating or whatever, I just call maintenance and within a few days, they'll come fix it for me.

It's the car that worries me the most...Josh nor I are car fixing people, so that one would be hard one me, especially if he were out to sea when something happened to it.

Anonymous said...

I planted some perennials today. What I really need to tackle is the full-blown landscaping of that barren area in our backyard. Terry and I have a plan -- but this girl will probably have to get the ball rolling. ;)

Candid Carrie said...

Hi - I saw you on BlogHer and thought I would pop over and say hi!

Today I tackled vacuuming, I know that isn't really a home improvement project to most people but at my house it is a serious improvement.

SOUL said...

flies and rats sound kinda bad huh-- really-- my house isn't conducive to such things-- it's just that "i am ME" -- ya know? :))

howya doin?

i still can't see the video-- that makes me sad...

happy tuesday--babay!

Angie Weid said...

@Soul - Rats would completely gross me out, though I did survive the disgusting wax seal on the toilet repair...eeeew!

@Stevie - Hope you are feeling wonderful and enjoying your 2nd trimester.

@Leasa - I'll have some plants for you from my mom on Friday. (Party at my place Friday night, y'all are invited!)

@Carrie - Welcome and congrats on vacuuming. I hate housecleaning so vacuuming is a great accomplishment in my eyes.

@Soul (again) - rrrrr ... what's up with YouTube? Perhaps I will have to post The Amazing Race audition for a brief moment for y'all to see.

Peace Baby! To everyone in BlogLand