If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I’ve been busy in the back yard on projects and trying to get things fixed up. You would think on a three day weekend I would be working on the house all weekend long. I probably should be, but I feel like I need a break. So my finacee our puppy Willie and I are heading to the lake and taking a break from the house. I’ll get back to work next week.

I hope that if you decide to tackle some projects this weekend, you have success! I also hope you find some time to relax. It seems like that kind of time is harder to find… Happy Memorial Day from all of us at 106-5 The Wolf (WP)

I hope you have a good Memorial Day Weekend!

Have a BLAST getting together with family and friends… Mmm, I can just taste the BBQ now!

In the midst of all the fun, please take some time for remembrance, to honor those who have served our country, and the loved ones who have gone on before us.

It’s such a special weekend. THANKS for making the Wolf a part of the festivities!

I know for a lot of folks that getting things done around the house may not seem like much of a big deal.  I suppose the reason I’m excited about fixing up the house is the fact that I’m getting close to being finished with it, and therefore closer to the ability to have more time enjoying the space, rather than worrying about things wrong with it. My house is over 100 years old, it’s just a small two bedroom and it’s basically a good starter home. When I was a kid my parents bought a house as an investment property. The house was in really bad shape, and it gave me, my brother, sister, and parents the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of renovation. I don’t know it all but with time and research I know I can figure it out. And if I can do it, so can you. Here is a link I found on the web if you want to try and tackle this particular project. It’s where I got the basics for what I had to do.

How To Install A Sump Pump

Here is how mine turned out notice I got the cover on it and the concrete poured around the new basin.

It’s all done other than routing and burying the pipe outside, which I will do once I get the steps busted out and the patio underway in the back yard. Hopefully in the next few weeks! (WP)

We have a number of great arts organizations right here in Kansas City — and they’re getting national attention!  If you haven’t taken in a live performance or a museum lately, I encourage you to check out the cool stuff happening in our area!

Click here to read an article Robert Trussell wrote in the KC Star about local theaters being recognized nationally.  Thanks, Robert, and CONGRATS to all our friends and neighbors who have worked hard to make this happen!

 This is a big month for so many families! 

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S if you are graduating this year, or if you have a kid who’s graduating!  I wish you ALL THE BEST on this new adventure!

So Yesterday I posted pictures of the back steps that have yet to be broken up and taken out. I mentioned another project that I began. I moved my sump pump into a new location in my basement and installed a deeper sump pit. Which involved busting out a hole in the floor with a jack hammer and digging out a lot of mud.  This is the sump pit that has been there since we bought the place.

It’s about 1 ft. square. and about 9 inches deep. It filled up about every 10 minutes. So my sump pump was cycling on and off about 6 or 7 times an hour. Where the drain pipe was located it was noisy.

Here is the new set up.

With this new set up the pump comes on about once an hour. I still need to repair the concrete around the new basin, I will add a cap to the top to keep me and my fiancee from accidentally falling in. It was about as much work as I expected. The jackhammer was really the easiest part of it. Now I have to put a trench in the back yard and pipe it a little further away from the house to make sure the water I’m removing doesn’t run right back.

I’m definetly ready to have these little projects done so I can just chill in my back yard.

This upcoming weekend I’m going to build the steps I will be putting in place of the ones I’m removing. They will be movable so I can build them prior to the other steps being busted up, and then just move them into place once the spot is cleared. Which means less time with my back yard tore up from the floor up.(WP)

OK, if you read my post about back yard projects last week, here is where I ended up. I started Friday night after work. I picked up a Jack Hammer and got started, as you can see…

This was taken after about an hour of busting so not much damage done yet.

Saturday was a rainy mess so I couldn’t get much done because I was using an electric jackhammer and they don’t mix well with water. As I was busting it up I realized the entire thing is solid. You may not know, but most concrete work done in this day and age are not that thick. They back fill gravel or sand underneath the concrete and add steel inside to strengthen it to save money and to save your back if you ever have to do anything to break it out. I estimate these steps were poured 40 or 50 years ago, before building codes. It may not look very big in the picture but it’s about 2 1/2 foot high and it goes about 5 inches under the ground. So nearly 3 feet thick. The 65 pound jackhammer wasn’t going to be able to do this job. I didn’t want to destroy the tool I rented. Here is where it ended up…

So I moved on from that for now. I am hoping my Fiance’s father will bring his bobcat over, and I’ll rent a breaker attachment to go on that. I think that will do the trick. For now my back yard is a mess.

Not wanting to waste my 80 bucks I moved onto another project that needed to get done that also requires a jackhammer. I am relocating my sump pump in the basement and installing a new sump basin that goes down 22 inches. Where it is now; it’s sitting about 12 inches below the floor and my basement is always damp installing this should lower the water table enough to keep water from being directly underneath the concrete floor in the basement. I hope anyway! At the very least it will reduce the amount of times my sump pump cycles on and off. I’ll have pictures up in the next few days.

As for the back steps they’re on hold for the next few days until we can coordinate the other machinery needed to bust that up.  Stay tuned!

I did also want to say before you tackle any major projects and start tearing up your house or yard do the research to find out what that job will entail, and how long it will take. Also most home renovation projects go over budget, so take time to plan how much it will cost. The average is about 14% over budget and that’s pretty close to where I usually end up after a project is finished. And also talk with folks in your local hardware store about your project they’re usually knowledgeable about local building codes because you may have to get permits for the work you’re doing. Or you could always stop by your city’s permit office and tell them what you’re working on and they can tell you whether that would require permits and inspections. (WP)

As promised, here’s info for you on the baby texts I mentioned on this morning’s show!

Don’t you love it when something is free?   If you are an expecting parent, check this out… There’s a new text program through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.  It’s called the Text4Baby program, and what they do is send free health-related messages each week to your phone while you’re expecting (they’re timed up to your due date — how cool is that?), and then during your baby’s first year.

This is part of  a national program from the National Healthy Mother, Healthy Babies Coalition.  If you want to sign up, text the word “baby” to 511411.  You can also get more details here:  www.text4baby.org

Here’s info on that recall we mentioned this morning…

Due to two asphyxiation deaths, the government’s Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling 1.8 million “Auto Fire” toy dart gun sets.  The packaging also has “Gordy Toy” printed on it.  The toy dart gun sets were sold exclusively at Family Dollar stores between September of 2005 and January of 2009, priced at around $1.50.  The darts are soft plastic and an inch in length.  If swallowed, the dart’s suction-cup end could cut off breathing. 

The CPSC is advising that you discard the “Auto Fire” sets immediately.  Family Dollar is also offering a refund.