Replacing leaky bath/shower one-handle faucets this week. I recommend using plumbers silicone grease on the internals of the valve. Switched the shower diverter from under the handle to the bath spout. Had to cut down the spout stub and solder a new screw fitting to it.
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Texas Power & Light?
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Old handhold box for maybe exterior lighting, ie poles or something like that?
So best place I could think to post, not home, but vehicle related. A few months ago I had to replace the lower manifold gasket on my 2000 C2500. Part of that requires removing the distributor. Unfortunately Chevy had by this year model gone to need a dealer type scan tool to set the timing. I know I got it back on the same tooth, all three of my witness marks lined up, and the next tooth either direction is very obviously out of alignment. With that said, the fuel trim appears to be off. Iāll be honest Iām not terribly conversant with fuel trims. I know per the book what theyāre supposed to be, but Iām not totally sure what them being high or low means beyond the general sense.
Can anyone recommend a good scan tool that wonāt break the bank? I have a bluetooth OBD 2 reader that is great for 99% of what I do, so Iād prefer to not drop more than a couple hundred on a new scanner.
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Not sure what you need, but check out BlueDriver - Iāve got one and itās been quite handy:
Thatās the one I happen to have already. Great product, it just doesnāt have some of the extra features I need in this case.
Iāve spent the last few weeks clearing out the woods on our four acres. We have about 1 acre of lawnā¦but the rest is a tangled mess of huge hardwoods, less mature trees, and scrub and thorns. Iām trying to get down to just leaving the mature trees and some of the medium sized trees.
The other goal was to find the small steel pins that mark the property boundaries. They were covered after decades of tree debris falling on them. Found them, cleared them off, and put in some stakes adjacent to them to make them easier to find in the future.
I love working out thereā¦although I find muscles aching that I had forgotten I had. My new favorite tool is my brush saw for my Stihl weed wacker. For brush and saplings up to about 2" in diameterā¦this thing will just zing right through it. Much easier than hauling around the Husqvarna chainsaw and has the advantage of taking a stump down to just below ground level if you want.
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It is also a great pole weapon in case of a Zombie apokalypse
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Depending on the type of wood and size of the tree a lumber company would be willing to take some of those useless trees off your hands and in most instances even pay you money for the privilege to remove them.
Wheels
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Ohā¦I make good use of the wood. I either stack it for burning in our outside firepit or if the limbs are big enough I saw them up for our wood stove. We just spent $1300 to have a tree taken down at my in-laws house - it was rotten at the base and it was too close to the home and power lines for me to attempt. The good news is, the company agreed to leave the felled wood on the lot, so I have about $400 worth of firewood I can shuttle over to our houseā¦so it was closer to a $900 job.
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So now that itās stopped raining here for a few days, Iāve started looking into how to go about fixing the drainage issues and maybe level parts of the yard. Anybody have any experience in this arena?
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The natural way to drain it would be to un-level part of it. Make a wadi, a shallow dry ditch in the grass that will form a natural run-off for the water. Have perhaps a leaf-pit at the end, makes for awesome compost. The bare strip neatly points out the way the water āwantsā to run. You can try and fight nature, or roll with it and make it pretty 
Naturesā a lady, sheās having her own way anyway
That lawn isnāt just too wet, itās also has to contend with trees for light and that ground looks pretty compacted to me. Rake it open. Allow the grass roots to breathe again, and rainworms to tunnel the upper crust. Repeat that at least twice a year and that grass will grow strong and dense. Rake! no leaf blower!
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I have a serious problem with this picture.
It feelsā¦ Unnatural.
Like thereās some chequered pattern in the picture that I canāt somehow point atā¦
Weird! @_@
Hereās a few more pics for clarification (not through window screens). The path of the stream follows the lowest part of the yard down a pretty good slope to the creek behind the fence. Overall thereās a decently steep slope to the main part of the yard, with two smaller patches of flat just outside the back door.
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Also, I will definitely be doing this- thank you!
Iām a bit worried about adding a drainage ditch because the dog pretty much runs wild in the yard, and Iād worry about him potentially hurting himself. Ditto for any future Little Navynukes that may come along. Would a buried drain be worth it? Also, it needs to be noted that thereās a 3ā storm drain pipe buried pretty much directly under the lowest part there, though Iām not sure how far down it is.
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Naw a wadi has rounded slopes that are about 30 degrees. Itās really just a depression. Grass should grow in and over it. A baby that can crawl, can crawl out of one. It shouldnāt hold the water, just collect it. But Iām not so sure your patch needs drainage. Seems water can run off it just fine.
Perhaps it runs off too well. In that case you can terrace it a bit. half-bury logs or make little walls only three or four bricks high. If you open the soil, by say sticking a shovel in, is it wet or dry about four inches down?
Trees and grass often donāt mix well. You may want to do some different covering growth round the trees in a radius of six or so feet. Depends on the kind of tree. Pine for example are agressive as F. They will brook no life under their branches and over their roots. But those look like oak or beech? Ferns if wet enough or perhaps some shrubs that yield a harvest like brambles. Yes they have prickly bits but both dogs and babies will learn right quick not to F with those.
It needs a good hard rakinā. Thatās for dam sure.
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These are white oaks, at least the big ones that youāre seeing on the edge of the flat hill with the fire pit. The other big ones are outside of the fenceline, but are also mostly oak - the pines are on the side. 
But, seeing as Iām planning on putting my hammock between two of the trees, I donāt see any problem with putting mulch down around the roots!
Great info on the wadi as well- that makes total sense, thank you! Weāre also getting quotes for putting a deck on the back, so potentially losing part of the flat patch behind the house, which is part of why Iām thinking about seeing getting a bit more leveling done, which seems it would work well with terracing.
Add very sandy soil to that and you have our yard. It looks abysmal right now, where my neighbor with fewer trees, has thick brown grass, dormant, but healthy. Considering our options. How does Bermuda grow in shade? I used to hate it living in Florida as a kid, it grew so quickly and was so tough to cut. But I need the beast master of grass right now.
Never mind. From the inter webs.
Bermuda grass requires at least 4 hours of direct sunlight each day to do well. ā¦ Bermuda grass has a higher light requirement compared to many other turfgrasses. It will not grow well in shaded areas (areas with low light conditions).
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