Wisconsin Weather

Well you know I never blog about the good weather in Wisconsin, so it must be snowing again... I almost posted last week with temps in the 70s at the start of November, just because it was so nice, but I didn't. However, it was in the 70s for three days in a row, then the 50s, and now we're on out third day in a row of flurries. Not flurries of sunshine. So far nothing sticking, but it is supposed to get more frigid, and maybe get up to an inch or two over the next couple of days.
Soon on tap also is replacing the brake pads and rotors on the Volvo. It would have been better when it was in the 70s!!!
And with this talk of snow, I'm looking at more of the 700c Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 35mm tires for Dr. Katie's bike.

House guest (guest worker program) Part Two

So on the second day we took on door number two. This was the door from the dining room to the screen porch. We found a great replacement that looks like this one at Menards, and put it right in. This was probably the easiest door of the three. While we had the old door out and were preparing to put the new one in, it started snowing!

Later that day, after mom left for her conference and Katie left for work, dad and I decided to try to clear some leaves out of the vent pipe from the downstairs bathroom. The outlet for the vent is almost even with the deck, and there is very little access to the duct. There was no cover on the vent to keep things out. We had to take off the first deck board in order to access the vent, and that was a chore in itself. Many of the deck screws were stripped, and others had broken off. Dad had to use the Dremel tool to make cuts in the top so we could use a slotted driver to remove the screws. When we got the deck board off, we discovered that not only were there leaves, but there was a lot of dirt and rocks in the pipe as well. Some sort of critter had made its home in the pipe, and had made it so that the air had nowhere to go as it was trying to be pushed out by the bathroom fan. That could help to explain why we had some mold develop in the basement during the summer. We cleaned the duct out, and the next morning went to the local Ace hardware store and got a bunch of stuff, including a damper/dryer vent style flapper to try to keep out whatever had been living inside.
At the Ace we also bought electrical stuff to wire up some switches downstairs so that we don't have to pull strings to get the lights to come on.
On Wednesday, the day before dad left, we replaced the front door. This one had a higher degree of difficulty, since we did all of the work from the inside in order to not have to completely take apart the trip work outside the front door. Here is the new front door getting ready to go in:

We really got a lot done while my dad was here. (by we I mean he got a lot done). We replaced three doors, wired lights downstairs to come on with a switch, cleaned out and insulated around the bathroom vent duct, poured a cement "transition" from the driveway to the garage where there had been a bit of a ditch, and measured for a bathroom project that he can work on next time he comes, provided that he ever wants to come back, since all he does is work when he is here. But I'll let him have a day off next time.

Thank you dad!!!!

House guest (guest worker program) Part One

So last week my parents came to town! It was nice to see them, although I only saw mom for a few hours between conferences in Chicago and New Jersey. But my dad was here from Saturday afternoon through Thursay morning. He initially didn't want to stay for that long, but we convinced him that there would be enough to do while he was here, and it turns out that we were right. There was plenty to do!
Saturday night we had a flank steak on the grill, blogged about the wine we had, and planned out the rest of the week.
We got up on Sunday morning and headed out to the Home Depot to get what was needed for the projects. The primary project would be to replace the three doors coming into the house. They were old and fairly drafty. We were not too happy with the choice of doors at the Depot, so we decided to head to Menards to see if they had a better selection. Boy, did they ever! I think I now have a new favorite home improvement store.
Here are three pictures of the first door we did, from the garage to the house. When we pulled out the old door, we found a void beneath the threshold, and needed to poor some cement in to support the door.
The second picture shows dad using the screwdriver from the Volvo tool kit to chisel out the recess for the strikeplate of the new lockset. Not having the right tools for the job was a primary mantra for the week.

The first door finished:

My mom arrived just as we finished this door, and then we made dinner, a pork roast with a somewhat spicy gravy. But at least now I know how to make gravy. Thanks mom!

Auto Shop Class

So, I didn't really have too much time to get this car stuff done, but the Volvo needed it. Especially since the T5 is now our only automobile. Tuesday I came home and pulled her up on some makeshift ramps and changed the oil. It was not too messy, but while I was under there I noticed that some oil had leaked, and is dripping slowly from the turbocharger. The cause is as yet unnown, as my ramps were not high enough to get all the way under there. I think the oil change went okay, but I inda wreced my thumb when the drain plug finally loosened and my hand slammed into something on the bottom of the car. Well, it wouldn't be working onthe car if you didn't hurt yourself, right?
So, since that Auto Shop 101 project was done, it was time to get started on 102 and maybe 103. Here is what arrived last week from IPD: Spark plug wires, spark plugs, distributor & rotor, torx tool set, brake fluid & brake pads (not pictured).So I removed my bike from the garage and pulled down the workbench to get started.First step was to remove the spark plug cover, which is the black piece on the engine that proudly says "Volvo 20 Valve." I noticed while taking it off that one of the special Torx screws that holds it on is missing, and another is stripped. The rest are corroded, so I'll need at least two, but may as well get all six new. They're $1 each from IPD.

I removed the spark plug cover and was surprised to see oil sitting in the indentations on top of the engine. It looks like oil somehow seeps up out of the oil fill cap, and then trickles under the cover. That is a bit of a relief, since I was a little concerned about the old oil on the back side of the engine, and I'm sure this is where it is coming from, not from a bad gasket.

So I replaced the spark plugs one at a time with Denso Iridium plugs. I'd had Bosch Super plugs, which were copper. I've actually heard conflicting reports. But it sounds like if you are driving a Turbo and really pushing it a lot, Iridium plugs are not as good as copper, since they run hotter and Turbocharged engines generate lots of heat. But they actually do better where you are in a lot of traffic or colder climates where the engine does not achieve as high of temp. Sadly, I don't take many spirited drives in the T5 these days, so I think these plugs will be good.

After changing each plug, I went through and replaced the wires with a higher-quality upgrade. The routing of the wires was a bit of a pain, especially trying to get all of the clips back in place. I did it pretty well, but then lost part of a clip that clamps down on all five wires where they exit the spark plug cover. It sprung out of my hands while I was trying to force it onto a wire, and fell behind the fuel injector rail, and then out of sight.

Here are the new wires installed. I decided not to do the rotor and distributor last night, because I had a lot of other stuff to do and was tired of working on the car!

So what is next? Brake pad replacement and brake fluid flush need to be done, and maybe my dad will be able to help with that while he is in town. Also I need to take the car in to have somebody look at the turbo oil leak and at least tell me what the problem is. I've also started to notice some noise coming from the fuel pump, which is located under the back seat/cargo area. Hopefully that doesn't go out!

Finally, a weather report: Bring clothes for rain/snow/wind if you are coming to Wisconsin on Sunday.

One Car Family!

We sold the Honda! It took less than 12 hours. We're now a one-car, six-bike family...
1994 Honda Accord Wagon. 127.5K miles.
Bought: 2003 for $4500
Sold: 2008 for $1700.
That is about the same return you'd get on a stock in the same period, maybe better. :)

The Garage Project

So I've had the goal since we moved into the new house of being able to park my Volvo in the garage. The garage is not big, and besides the car we want to keep bicycles and the lawn mower inside. There is a low ceiling in the garage, and I'm pretty sure it is not structural. The ceiling supports run perpendicular to the roof beams. I'm not sure what exactly is holding up the roof, but it doesn't seem like it would be these ceiling beams. Before I started this project, I took out some shelves that extended two feet out from the back wall of the garage.

I cleared out the attic area on the small side of the access, and removed the floor boards. Then I used my new reciprocating demo saw and cut out the beams. This allowed me to hang the bikes up higher, and park the car below them.

I saved the lumber, and removed all the nails. Too bad I don't have room to put any shelves in the garage!

Here is a picture from the "attic" looking down through the narrow access.
In the Next photo, I've taken off the "floor" boards.
Now, I've used the new sawz-all and taken out two of the beams!
There is a much better view into the "upstairs" storage area.
Success! It fits! But the car is so leafy and dirty...
Here is where we will keep the commuter bikes for easy access.
Notice that in this picture the car is clean, and in the garage so hopefully it will stay that way!

I back the car into the garage so that I can open the door to get out. There is no passenger-side access to the car while it is in the garage. The garage is quite narrow, and as I'm backing in, there are only about 3-4 inches to spare between the mirrors and the garage door frame. My brother won't be allowed to move the car in or out of the garage!
This project is pretty much done. I need to mount a support for the commuter bikes to that they don't fall over while propped on the wall, and I think I'll repair the concrete where the garage meets the driveway. There is a pretty decent curb there now.
The next projects will be car-related, as I need to work on brakes, oil change and spark plugs and wires.

My New Commuter

So, finally I've found time to post about my new cycle. It has disk brakes, an internal 8-speed transmission, and I put on a custom carbon fork to make it lighter and smoother. I also added a luggage rack on the back to hold panniers, and fenders to keep myself clean and dry in inclement weather. All-in-all, it is a pretty nice ride. I'd like to maybe get some longer cranks (they are only 170mm, but I have 175mm on my other bikes, those these feel like small circles). It was $750 for the bike, $45 for the rack, $45 for the fenders, and $200 for the new fork. It brings the total up to about what Katie's commuter bike cost. But we save about $50/week by not driving to work, so they bikes pay for themselves.
My total is now five bikes. Four in Madison, and my old mountain bike back at my parents' house. I will be getting rid of Ol' Red sometime, which will leave me with just the nice road bike, the fixed-gear (regatta bike), and the commuter.
This step of adding more bikes has led us to the decision to get rid of the Honda. If you are in the market, look at this on Craigslist.