When not attending to garden tasks what other things have filled your day?

I love that sideboard @Doghouse Riley . The color of the wood is very nice !!

 

Car jacks are handy.

When I put my two jukeboxes in our tea-house, nearly 20 years ago, these weigh around 300lb each I decided to add additional beam on each side of the base for more support. So as it just sits on brick piers, I was able to use my car jack and an axle stand to raise each side a few inches, in turn to fit the beams.

 

You guys, I don't have an old fashioned bumper jack. I only have one car jack and it's the new ones which don't have a flat plate to put underneath.

I've decided to use soft materials. A 6' x 2 1/2 foot couch cushion laid down with a couple or 3 pillows under it and a couple of thick stuffed comforters over that. Then, when I tip it back, it will be elevated. Getting it back up will still be a problem so, I have plenty of books and may stack four piles up and lift it onto those....maybe it'll work.

 

Thanks for that.

There's not much made of "real wood," these days, it's just like the sideboard, chipboard or mdf with a wood veneer. Even that is much thinner than it was once.

Hardwood is ridiculously expensive now, as it's not from, "sustainable sources."

Over thirty years ago, my wife suggested we bought a bookcase to go in the hall, as we had a lot of books at the time. To get one to fit was impossible. So I made one out of a few lengths of hardwood bull-nosed window sill I bought from a wood yard.
It just needed the top bit curving at the corners, unseen brackets to support the shelves and a bit of plywood for the back.
I can't remember how much the wood cost at the time, but I don't think it was that expensive. But I think now it would be nearly £300.
It's still as good as ever it was. I give it an occasional polish.

If I'd made it from mdf or laminated chipboard, the shelves would have bent with the weight.



At the same time, I made this shelf to go over the radiator in the hall. (recent photo).



Fifteen years or so, ago I used the same wood and made this shelf for my two wall boxes. They are extremely heavy, but there's no bending of the wood. Just two brackets support it. (the bit in the middle is conduit to conceal their eight cables).

 

What can I say … when moving heavy items … Leverage , leverage , leverage. Been doing it for years. I have rigged up all sorts of leverage systems. At one point to move a portable generator I set up a pully system to help move a small portable generator.

But … there is a huge but … ‘common sense’ … If leverage techniques are too risky wait for help. It’s not worth it to risk injury or possibly break something.

 

I gave Joe Bob a last name.

He is Joe Bob Slokum.

 

Today got to get all of the cotton wool that's stuck to the mats from having the Christmas trees there. I'll get a damp sponge to do it, it works well.

 

Damp sponge works well on cat and dog fur removal and just about most other house cleaning .

 

Too true Pac, I've just collected up the laundry and noticed a tissue had been left in a pocket of my dark blue cardigan...... ,but a damp sponge did the trick I'm relieved to report. Phew!!

 

Done that one too… what a huge mess Kleenex can make in the washing machine..

 

Yes it was easy and the small bits i vacuumed them up, did the landing carpet as well.

 

Kleenex , paper has clogged the discharge washer pipe as thick as concrete. Plummers are happy. Clothing fuzzy winter joggers and so much lint from towels. Not to mention all the other lil treasures found in the machine and or dryer.

 

Hubby tells me always clear the filter in the dryer because it clogs up the rest of the condenser, we have a condenser dryer upstairs.

 

Oh so your dryer is sorta like a dehumidifier. My washer and dryers are over 50 years old. All metal parts never break down ( knock on wood) , but once recently the washer needed a new motor made of steel and the dryer had the belt replaced.

I use a portable dehumidifier placed in the center of the house. Would you believe that the water collected from it I use to water my houseplants and store unused water for later. Is that recycling air? Recycling air to water for plants.

 

We have a British made Indesit tumble dryer that must be getting on for twenty years old. It was only a basic one, with just two levels of heat control and a timer. I guess it's on at least twice a day on average and is still going strong.

It is the same model that many caught fire.
A couple of years after we bought it, I learned there'd been some problems with them, I phoned Indesit and got them to come down and check it and they made some alterations to it. I got in early as they had thousands to check and nowhere near enough engineers.
The problem was that some owners couldn't be assed to clean the filter after use. So the lint built up and eventually became in contact with the element. Whether the guy fitted a guard around the element, I've no idea. Because it looked no different when he left.
It's easy enough to remove the filter just inside the door, it takes seconds to clean.