Fixed By Nick

No back and leg workout quite the equivalent of installing a basketball goal in concrete. All told moved almost a TON of concrete in order to make this happen.

Customer was so happy they had to dunk the basketball!

Whenever a client tells me about their high light bulbs or high ceiling fan or high chandelier and they ask me if I can handle it I just send them this...

For those of you guys that have been living in a cave we're about to get hit here in Texas with some severe cold temperatures.

Just a couple tips from your favorite handyman company that you probably already know but just in case you don't....

Cover your outside hose faucets. Best thing is the insulated hard plastic covers from Lowe's or Home Depot. As of yesterday they still had them. If they're sold out and you have nothing else grab a bunch of towels and wrap them and put a little duct tape around the towels. It's better than nothing.

Check to see if your fireplace is working. Some fireplaces ( the kind where you flip a wall switch to turn it on )have emergency battery operation underneath the fire shelf. They are all a little different but you may want to check to see if you have that and if so you may need some D cell batteries. At least that's what mine takes.

Drip hot and cold water wherever possible. The reason you want to drip hot and cold is very often the hot water pipe is routed in the same wall space as the cold water pipe so the hot water pipe will radiate heat in the wall space and help keep the cold water from freezing. If you have a one handle shower you can't really do that without turning it on full blast so you'll just have to drip cold water there.

Charge up your phones and any backup batteries you have.

Check your flashlights and if they're rechargeable recharge them now.

If you have salt for your sidewalks make sure you apply it before they start freezing not afterwards. The salinity raises the freezing temperature of water but it doesn't melt the ice.

I have a saltwater pool which probably half of you have and I always add an extra bag of salt. Again raising the salinity of the water lowers the freezing temperature.

Hopefully if you have a pool you've already checked that your freeze guard is working. If it's not you can try calling a pool company but good luck with that at this point.

If your car windshield or doors gets covered in ice do you not throw hot or warm water on it. You can crack that glass windshield or window.

Based on the images I've seen everyone reading this has enough toilet paper and bottled water for the next 30 Years so won't even talk about that🤣

If your kids go out in this weather make sure they have extreme cold weather gear with them. Even if it's a run to Starbucks if that car breaks down and it's 8° out it's going to be a problem ( that's from the dad and me not necessarily the handyman)

If you have a portable generator don't run it in the house or the garage. I know- common sense right? But you'd be surprised

If you have a water shut-off valve for your house I would test it to make sure it's working. If you get a broken pipe you're going to need it. If you don't have one hopefully you have a water meter key and shut off tool so you can shut the water off at the meter if you have a break in a line. You might still be able to find them at Lowe's or Home Depot. It's not a hard task if you have the right tools.

Here is decent video by the city of Garland that shows you how to shut off local water meters. Yours may vary but the principle is the same.

Check out this video, "how to shut off the water at your meter video" https://share.google/14jvwtlWN5BIpEBXY

If your sprinklers don't have freeze protection make sure they're off right now.

Good luck, God bless, stay warm and safe.

FIXEDBYNICK.COM
469-888-3680

As I keep getting calls from clients that have not taken any precautions, just wanted to throw out a few to all of our friends and clients in the DFW area.

1. Cover your exterior faucets. If you can get encapsulation insulated covers that cover the entire hose bib, get them. Lowes and HD should have them. They trap warmer air coming off the house structure. The insulating socks are better than nothing if you can't find them

2. Take off and drain any hoses still attached.

3. Drip faucets on INSIDE of house- especially ones on the exterior walls. When possible drip hot and cold. The hot in the pipes can keep the area around the pipes warm and since hot and cold pipes are usually run together, can help keep the cold line from freezing along with the hot. Remember, the water in the hot lines are cold until they are run so they can freeze.

4. Open cabinet doors to any plumbing on any exterior walls. You can do this for all of them if you want but at the temps we are seeing you probably don't need to for plumbing on interior walls.....but it can't hurt.

5. If you can, check your fireplace for emergency heating option. May have a battery backup (2 x D cell) in the cavity at the bottom of the fireplace. This allows your fireplace to run even if the power is out. If you have straight gas or wood burning that you have to light manually, you will not have this option nor do you need it.

6. You can crack your attic ceiling doors to allow some heat to rise up into the attic from the house.

7. If you have a pool, your freeze protection should be running all pumps at this time. Actual setting may vary from setup to setup but usually it is set to come on around 36 degrees. If it is 30 outside and your equipment isn't running, call someone.

8. If possible, cover your pool equipment with a tarp/moving blankets. I do both. I also have low temp heating wire that I leave on the equipment year round and plug in in times like this. Put some of those left over bricks you have on the side of your house around the tarp to keep it down when windy. NEVER run your hot tub or pool heater when equipment is covered.

9. It is doubtful that your garage will get down below freezing but if your concerned and have a water filter/softener in your garage, keep door to house open during peak cold periods or get some area heater(s) on in garage. Be careful around any flammable materials. Image below is a very affordable wall mounted option that is easy to setup and install . Even comes with a template with built in level to install 2 screws to hold it on wall. Wifi enabled and has a thermostat.

10. Keep a windshield scrapper in your car. Don't ever throw warm or hot water on windshield to try to get snow and ice off. Can crack your windshield. You can also try putting large trash bag or moving blanket over your windshield and then typically you can just remove it when your ready to drive.

11. If you have a portable generator, test it out before you need it. Especially ones with electric start-they don't start if battery is dead.

Probably not telling you anything you don't already know but if it helps just one reader, worth my time!!

Be safe out there.

Nick