Oversees with fine fescue, not Kentucky bluegrass grow. Apply a spread of annual ryegrass every spring and I’ll bet you’ll do ok.
Sandy soil is ok for grass, but you have to match fertilizing to the soil conditions and water more. Improving soil is best done by adding peat or compost, not topsoil.
Problem area is not only sandy but also pure sun. I don't think fescue will do well in that but I'll look into it (likely to brown and go dormant in the summer). I agree peat/compost is definitely the better option now but I've got about an acre of soil to improve so may try tackling a section at a time each year and see what works before repeating.
Roof day. There’s a team with hard hats clattering about on top of the house. Won’t get much work done today. For a small peaked roof there sure was a lot of timber that arrived this morning. My idea of how they were framing a new peaked roof was obviously less structurally rigid than theirs which is why we hired pros rather than me even attempting something like this. My attempt would probably have been a bit of a “we're not in Kansas anymore” moment when the first stiff breeze arrived.
PEX week. I am reworking some water lines that ideally need two tees back to back. Can I install them almost touching, with about 1/4 inch of pipe between the fittings? I cannot find any code rule or manufacturer warning against it for crimped copper ring installations.
For pex A (expansion type - best choice, marginally more expensive) you need enough room to fully seat the expander tool on each side of the pipe.
For pex B, (cheaper but more restrictive) a 1/8th” space between fittings is best practice (allows for expansion without the fittings colliding). It also depends on the size of the crimp tool jaws, chunky tools dictate spacing, make sure they only catch one crimp ring at a time. Safe is 2” between rings. If it’s really tight work, use SS cinch clamps as the tool is much smaller.
Tips: with PEX B you want to limit tees in the main line. If you need 2 tees, say for a vanity and toilet, put one tee on the main line, then another on the line to the vanity instead of 2 on the main line. pex b fittings restrict downstream flow, each tee has the equal to adding 10’ of pipe to the downstream run, so careful planning can help maintain flow to the downstream fixtures.
Best practice is to run the main lines in 3/4, branch lines in 1/2”.
Our overgrown hedge is down and all cleared away. A fence guy is coming tonight to make a proposal.
We get along with our neighbours but also respect privacy. Having the space so open makes it brighter but we both feel a privacy fence is a good thing.
The city says a max of 2 meters, 6'-6", but they only enforce when there is a complaint so we pick a number. We want privacy not a Trump wall.
I'm looking at the interior heights of our house and door height looks good but wall height seems excessive.
Buzzed down the cedar "squirrel elevators" at each corner of the house. Manged to leave a little bit of each and the house doesn't look as naked as I feared.
For pex A (expansion type - best choice, marginally more expensive) you need enough room to fully seat the expander tool on each side of the pipe.
For pex B, (cheaper but more restrictive) a 1/8th” space between fittings is best practice (allows for expansion without the fittings colliding). It also depends on the size of the crimp tool jaws, chunky tools dictate spacing, make sure they only catch one crimp ring at a time. Safe is 2” between rings. If it’s really tight work, use SS cinch clamps as the tool is much smaller.
Tips: with PEX B you want to limit tees in the main line. If you need 2 tees, say for a vanity and toilet, put one tee on the main line, then another on the line to the vanity instead of 2 on the main line. pex b fittings restrict downstream flow, each tee has the equal to adding 10’ of pipe to the downstream run, so careful planning can help maintain flow to the downstream fixtures.
Best practice is to run the main lines in 3/4, branch lines in 1/2”.
Thanks. My house has PEX A terminated with PEX B. My local supplier switched to a new PEX called Vipert PE RT. It is pretty new stuff, and I was not about to be an early adopter, so I hunted down the same PEX A I already have. Mainly, if there is ever a recall, at least everything is the same.
I only had to rework the existing lines over to another wall, but there were still over 50 rings to press.
Thanks. My house has PEX A terminated with PEX B. My local supplier switched to a new PEX called Vipert PE RT. It is pretty new stuff, and I was not about to be an early adopter, so I hunted down the same PEX A I already have. Mainly, if there is ever a recall, at least everything is the same.
I only had to rework the existing lines over to another wall, but there were still over 50 rings to press.
There are about four hundred homes around mine ( mines been remediated) with KiTec plastic pipe plumbing. Not all new inventions go as planned . I would say good call on not being an early adapter.
There are about four hundred homes around mine ( mines been remediated) with KiTec plastic pipe plumbing. Not all new inventions go as planned . I would say good call on not being an early adapter.
Vipert is not new tech, just another pex manufacturer. That said, I’ve used other”new” manufacturers expansion rings and fittings that hurt. Uponor is my first and only choice.
There are about four hundred homes around mine ( mines been remediated) with KiTec plastic pipe plumbing. Not all new inventions go as planned . I would say good call on not being an early adapter.
That was a simple metallurgy problem, brass fittings became porous - the pipe itself was is no more problematic than other forms of pipe.
It happened to regular brass pex fitting too, just not as much as with the poorly designed Kitec made stuff.
Only solution is to rip her out and replace. $1000 parts $10k labour per floor in most houses. Water plays nicely with plastic, pex A retrofit it the best solution.
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