The Cold Drizzle

Miss me? Yes, we have been behind on projects. Why? Because all of the projects we have left are little horrible projects we don't want to do. Or, on the flip side, they are giant horrible projects we don't want to do. Ok, enough chit chat. Here is what I decided was absolutely necessary to get my project on.

Our guest bathroom is the never ending project. It's the shower this time. The funny part is we have never used the guest shower in all our time in this lovely home. It has however, been used by our guests much to their chagrin. Each time one of our guests would exit our shower they would attempt to bring up the delicate subject. Oh, what could possibly be the problem? First, the shower head is ultra low flow. So low flow that it feels like a drizzle of ice water trickling down your spine. I know this because it is our old miserable shower head we replaced in our bathroom because it was so miserable. Aren't we nice? Secondly, the faucet is old and giving out, so every time the water was turned on and then diverted to the shower, water would spray out of it in every direction. All of the directions, people!

I had enough. I couldn't let another loved one suffer the misery that is our guest shower. Hubs? Didn't care so much. So, I had to venture into this one on my own.

Off to the hardware store.

I started by replacing the worn-out faucet. Then very easily replaced the crappy shower head with a low flow (but higher gpm than the last one) hand held shower head.

The project was quick and painless. I just followed the instructions on the packaging exactly and then tested everything. It took very little time once I had all of my tools and new purchases.

Bring on the holidays and bring on the guests.

Before:

 After:

I found an identical faucet to replace the old one. This saved me from having to replace the handle portion and ensured a clean installation.

Miracle Product: Voltage Detector

I bought this electrical testing kit for the multimeter quite a while ago and never used the other items, until I installed the fan in the bedroom.  The little pen/flashlight looking thing is a voltage detector, and it's great.  You just hold it up to a wire and it tells you if it's live, without stripping it or touching a bare wire.  It's a miracle.

Rusty Roll Bar Holes

We bought the Miata with a roll bar already installed, which saved me a lot of time and effort; however, the holes that needed to be cut were not the cleanest.  There were some burrs and rust that I wanted to clean up.
I started by grinding off the burrs and rust with the Dremel then did a little masking.

I finished it with a little flat black Rustoleum to hopefully deter rust in the future.

Back to Baseboards

Before

The baseboards in the hallway have had the nail holes unfilled since we bought the house.  Somehow it's taken us this long to correct it.
You can see the holes every one or two feet.

Before

 I just used a little white wood putty to fill everything in; I didn't even bother painting.  It looks much better, as you can see below.

After

After

Windshield Trim

The Miata had plastic trim around the windshield, which didn't really accomplish anything and actually obscured the top quarter inch of windshield (which is significant when you're tall), so it had to go.

I started by removing a couple little ovals, which may or may not have held visors at some point.

Then I removed the rear view mirror, which was harrowing.  You just yank it off, hoping the spring loaded clip doesn't break.

I originally planned to just remove the center piece, but the side trim wasn't doing anything either.

When I finished I just popped the mirror back on.  It looks a little more industrial, but I doubt most people would notice.

Weight Savings:  1 lb, 3.4 oz

Ragtop Rail Removal

Before

We took the top of for a sunny drive today and I noticed a metal rail that wraps around the back of the passenger compartment.  It looks like the soft top attached to it, but since I don't have a soft top, there's no reason to keep it on the car.  All it took were a few bolts and the three separate pieces came right off.

After

I also noticed a random little bracket behind the driver's seat which I removed.
Total weight savings:  4 lb, 1.4 oz

Before

After

Sinking Seat

My seating position in the Miata was acceptable when we purchased it, but only with the pad removed from the seat.  After a long drive in Malibu and a sore butt, I decided it was time to lower the seat.  I knew it wasn't going to be too easy, given that the seat was hard mounted and was already as low as it was easily going to go, but I had a plan.

Here's the rear mount.  The seat is already mounted as far back as it can go, but the bolt is in the top hole, and there are two lower holes, begging to be used.

It was easier to remove the seat and mount together than to remove just the seat.  I did vacuum.

Here you can see my main obstacle.  The bottom of the seat was already hitting the cross-bar of the mount so it didn't want to go any lower, but I had a plan.

I put the mount back in the car and proceeded to wail on it with the largest hammer I could find.

I forgot to take a picture right after the beating, but here it is after I touched up the paint.

Here it is mounted on the seat.

And here's the bolt, now one hole lower.  I can now sit in the car with the pad in the seat.  I might even be able to fit with a helmet if I remove the pad at track days.  I call this project a success