Fixing that Leaky Faucet

I’m almost ashamed to admit that the last home improvement project that I took on myself was over two years ago…

That time, it was replacing an ancient light fixture — this time I was taking on the kitchen sink.

Look at that thing?! It’s like a combination of a kitchen and bathroom faucet all in one. It’s horrible!?

Now, it’s also dripped since I bought the place back in 2002. I know, I know, I should’ve done something long before this weekend but it never really seemed to be a priority…

A couple of weeks ago, though, the drip turned into a stream. Then it started to whistle. And then I noticed that it was the hot water that was running 24 hours per day.

Hey, this is probably costing me a pretty decent chunk of change…

So off to Lowe’s we went to pick up the cheapest (but better) “kitchen” faucet they had. It was around $39.

The instructions said that the new faucet should take around an hour to install.

No problem, I thought, I can do this…

I turned the water off and proceeded to remove the old faucet.

Hmmmmm… It didn’t take to to realize that this was going to be harder than I’d thought… Nothing was moving. Nothing.

I made a quick trip to Home Depot to buy a monkey wrench and some WD-40 to loosen up the the nuts on the copper pipes.

With-in minutes of being WD-40′d, I had the water pipes disconnected but I still couldn’t get the old faucet off of the sink.

The underside was held down by these big plastic wing nuts that were fastened so tight (courtesy of corrosion) that I couldn’t get them to budge. Really, even if it weren’t such a tight cramped space, I don’t know that it would have been possible loosen them — they were that tight.

Another trip to Home Depot — this time to purchase a mini hack saw. My plan was to hack saw through the plastic wing nuts.

The plan was a total failure though as there wasn’t enough room under (and behind) the sink to get the saw blade up to where the wing nuts were. Argh?!

In the process of attempting the impossible, I’d managed to loosen/mangle things up enough on one side to slip the hack saw between the sink and the faucet so I cut right through the copper pipe (above the countertop). Hack saws are the best.

On to the other side… Crap. It was still flush with the sink so the hack saw wasn’t going to get the job done…

Out came the drill…even though it wasn’t listed a tool “needed” for installation.

From under the sink, I started to drill the plastic wing nut, here, there, from this side, from that side and then, suddenly, it started to give! No, not fall apart, but actually spin!

I unwound it, thinking, sweet, I’m almost there, and then it stopped. It wouldn’t move. Ugh…

So, since it worked on the other side and now that I had a little give, I went back to the hacksaw method.

Five hours later, I’d drilled and hack sawed the old faucet from the sink. Really, the one plumbing tool I’d purchased (the monkey wrench) was of no use. None.

Twenty minutes later, we had a new faucet.

I swear, the home improvement projects that I attempt would be *so* much easier if they were more of the addition kind rather than the renovation sort.

It’s not pretty but at least it doesn’t leak…

Posted on November 22nd, 2009 at 1:47 pm by Brainy Smurf
Home Improvements | No Comments »

My Home’s Value — Explained.

No one has actually posted such a thing in the comments yet but I’ve received a few borderline obnoxious emails regarding the home value that I list in my monthly net worth reports.

Specifically, the aforementioned and suspected one-and-done readers usually question the validity of the number that I post, call me a a few names, and then accuse me of inflating my numbers.

They justify it to themselves by saying that my home’s value fluctuations (or lack thereof) have never really reflected the widely reported “housing crisis” that I’m personally sick of hearing about.

I’ve posted this part before but here it goes again…

Here’s how I calculate the number that I post each month…

In 2007, the city that I live in did a revaluation of every residence in town in order to, well, in blunt terms, significantly boost their tax revenue.

I know that all cities do this from time to time but this one was rather suspect. Anyway, the city’s assessment of my house was $210200.

That’s my starting point. From there, I head over to Zillow.com on the last day of each month to get their “Zestimate” of my property.

I then take the weighted average of the two numbers — with the more current Zillow estimate weighted 3 times that of the 2007 assessment.

There, that’s how I come to that number each month.

So, back to the lack of fluctuation…

Back in June of 2008, I estimated my home’s value at $212300. The lowest the value has fallen since then was $193175 (May 2009). That’s a drop in value of 9 percent — not a small number but not something that would cause a responsible homeowner to go underwater.

As of last month, though, the value is right back up to $207050. That’s a mere drop of 2.5 percent since the housing market apparently started to tank.

I’m fortunate in that respect - not padding my numbers.

I only mention it because a Reuters story caught my attention today:

Northeastern Cities Perform best in Job Growth

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Several cities across the northeastern United States were among the biggest gainers on the Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities 2009 index, the economic think tank said on Wednesday.

Fourteen cities across the Northeast, including some in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, were among the top 20 gainers in terms of job growth and sustainability.

The institute compiles the index annually by ranking 200 of the largest cities in the United States based on measures such as wage and salary growth and short-term job growth.

“In a period of recession, the index highlights (cities) that have adapted to weather the storm,” said Ross DeVol, lead author of the report.

“As we move forward in a recovery that still lacks jobs, (cities) will be further tested in their ability to sustain themselves.”

Hartford, Connecticut, was the largest gainer this year, jumping 101 spots from its 2008 ranking to 48.

Hartford was followed by New Haven, Connecticut, which rose 96 spots to 88.

“These cities didn’t experience extreme housing bubbles and therefore avoided a major correction,” said the report.

“They also tended to have a smaller dependence on durable goods manufacturing and instead have a larger stake in the services sector.”

The biggest decliners were cities in Florida and California, which have suffered most in the housing downturn.

Twelve of the 20 worst declining cities were in Florida, including Pensacola, which fell 124 spots to 157 to lead the laggards.

So, guess where I live?

Yep… the Northeast.

Somewhere right between Hartford and New Haven.

While this article certainly contradicts my recent comments regarding salary growth in the area (and the country as a whole), it certainly substantiates my relatively steady home value…

I think my 2007 assessment and monthly Zillow zestimate calculation is pretty darn accurate.

Posted on November 11th, 2009 at 8:29 pm by Brainy Smurf
Current Events, Finance | 2 Comments »

Photo of the Week: In the Toy Box

It’s been, well, over 5 months since I last did a “Photo of the Week” and since I don’t really have anything on-topic to write about today, I figured I’d just go all Mommy-Blog…

Today while cleaning Duncan’s room we decided to put him in the toy box too. And then take a picture.

Exciting stuff, let me tell you, at the Smurf household…

Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 12:01 pm by Brainy Smurf
Photo, Smurfling | 3 Comments »

Giving I-Bonds Another Looksie…

Okay, so I mentioned the other day how I-Bonds purchased right now will earn over 3% for at least the next six months.

Dare I say it?

That sounds pretty good to me.

The last time I said that (back in April when the 6-month rate was over 5%), I threw a cool grand towards TreasuryDirect and, in hindsight, it was a move that I now feel was pretty wise…though opening a Roth IRA or buying some Ford stock at the time would have made me more money.

Hindsight is 20/20.

But for a totally safe no-risk investment — I did the right thing. My only mistake was not maxing out my yearly contribution back then.

The big downside with I-Bonds is that the money is “locked-up” for 12 months and you can only “buy” $5000 worth per year online. You also forfeit 3 months worth of interest if you redeem them with-in the first 5 years.

I’ve little doubt that I’ll cash out well before the 5-year mark but a 3-month interest penalty doesn’t really turn me off enough to turn another direction. A 12-month holding period isn’t unbearable either — especially when it’s not enough to tap out my savings account.

But on the subject of my savings account…

My ING Direct account currently has $15k in it. On it’s own, it earns a paltry 1.292% or around $16 per month.

Now, I still have the option of purchasing another $4000 worth of I-Bonds in 2009 (because I only bought $1000 worth back in April).

And $4000 at 3.36% (the current rate for the next 6 months) will earn me a little more than $11 per month for, again, at least 6 months.

Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this one out…

      $4000 earning $11 vs. $15000 earning $16

If even for just six months, the I-Bond is more attractive than stashing money with ING.

If the rate gets better in six months, I’ll let it sit there. If it gets worse, I redeem them next November and take the 3-month interest penalty which certainly won’t amount to much since, in that case, the last three months will be earning substantially less than $11 per month.

I haven’t done anything just yet but I’m pretty certain that I’ll be moving some money around at the tail end of the month…

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Posted on November 5th, 2009 at 8:25 pm by Brainy Smurf
Finance, I-Bonds | No Comments »