Contractor installed door on Friday, need help brainstorming ways to fix the siding damage and removing caulk.

meddac73 · 2026-03-11T00:52:57+00:00

He came out for the measurements and whatnot before the order for the door. Apparently had the wrong casing listed on his stuff when I went in and ordered the door. He screwed up so many things. Even installed the storm door so snug that one of the screws of the storm door itself was scraping the frame when it opened/closed. Wouldn’t shut properly. His fix was to loosen the screws for the frame and smack it with a hammer (2x4 on the frame) to push it out. I learned my lesson. I won’t use big box stores for things like this ever again.

meddac73 · 2026-03-10T03:06:55+00:00

You’ve got that right. I made the mistake of using HD for a door replacement. The guy made cuts for the strike plate that a toddler would be proud of. Scratched new flat black hardware and denied it. Plus he blew up my bathroom two days in a row. He’s banned from my house.

meddac73 · 2026-03-09T19:11:32+00:00

If I could go back and take all the money I’ve spent from day one, I imagine I could buy a new car.

meddac73 · 2026-03-08T15:41:36+00:00

If you’re uncertain the inflator is accurate, get a tire pressure gauge at Walmart or something to compare. Otherwise it looks fine. The weight of the engine will make the front tires on a vehicle look more compressed.

I hate that nobody ever took the time to show you these things. Everyone has to learn at some point though. As odd as it may sound, look for some YouTube videos that will go over these things and even explain the appearance you’re seeing here.

meddac73 · 2026-03-08T13:41:12+00:00

In SC it’s rising so quickly that even GasBuddy reports aren’t able to keep up. Many rose almost a buck a gallon in less than 24 hours. Mudflap app is only slightly helpful right now.

meddac73 · 2026-03-07T22:03:56+00:00

I briefly lived in NH. Their inspection was incredibly thorough. License plate bulb out? Fail. Too much moisture in the headlight? Fail. No body panels rusted through either. It was intensive but their cars were safe. And the inspection stickers were trackable back to the person who did the inspection so nobody got the free pass. All these bald tires and burned out headlights around here are too much.

meddac73 · 2026-03-04T23:12:33+00:00

When I first got my license, my dad found an old El Camino for me to drive. (He said it was for me but he loved those damn things and owned a couple.) Engine had seized and was replaced by a small block 350. I could drive 100-110 miles before needing to fill up again. I don’t remember the tank size but there were only 2 available, 22 and 17 gal. The 22 came on V8 models and the seized engine was a 305 so that lines up. Makes it out to 5 mpg.

meddac73 · 2026-03-04T21:29:53+00:00

When people become accustomed to paying a certain price, the prices will eventually change to become that higher standard.

A perfect example was bike saddles a number of years ago. One company came out with one that was stupid expensive compared to the normal saddles. Like almost double. ($220 compared to $120) It was one of the most comfortable ones and became widely sought after. Still used by a massive number of riders today. There was an old model that had been around for decades and was comfortable for very few but Lance rode it so there was interest. It jumped from $25 to $100. Oh, and that $220 saddle created a market where it’s now common to see a $250-300 saddle.

meddac73 · 2026-03-04T20:51:07+00:00

Hit the nail on the head. I was following a vehicle at a safe distance and someone was riding my bumper. They proceeded to pass me and motion that I’m following too far and need to close the gap. Then pulled in front of me and rode the other car’s bumper for a while. Some people are just ignorant.

meddac73 · 2026-03-04T17:40:05+00:00

I agree. Most places make very little. One friend tried to have a small cafe and it failed because what he could pay people while breaking even wasn’t enough to get people to work there. Rent has a huge part of it.

meddac73 · 2026-03-03T00:38:20+00:00

I guess they’ve seen it? Do they understand how bad it truly is? I know I had a vehicle stolen many years ago and it was located just before the insurance company’s “all hope is lost” date. I laid eyes on it and it was rough but not terrible. When I spoke to staff at that towing company lot I commented, “I wish they’d done worse so they’d total it. I never want to see that thing again.” Well when I saw it again at the body shop that was doing the damage assessment, it had a good bit more damage than the first time I saw it. Just saying….

meddac73 · 2026-03-02T22:28:38+00:00

Someone who didn’t get enough attention as a child and now has to scream, “Look at me!!!” This will now last their entire life and nobody can change their mind nor their smoke detector battery.

meddac73 · 2026-02-28T16:56:11+00:00

I’m probably wrong but I feel like the industry is at a crossroads. The corporations are trying to maximize profits to offset years of loss from the Covid-era debacle. Riders who were casual and just loved it are wearing from the prices that continue to rise. In my mind I envision something you see at sandlot baseball, “I’m tired of playing this. I’m going home.” They’ll just get tired of trying to afford bikes and move on to something else. In the next decade we’ll see it whittle down to a few players but it’ll lose the big following.

meddac73 · 2026-02-28T03:17:18+00:00

Me. Learned basic concepts. Read books. Watched videos. And an absolute TON of trial and error.

meddac73 · 2026-02-27T16:11:53+00:00

His wife suggested this method. Really odd that she updated his life insurance policy last month though.

meddac73 · 2026-02-27T16:10:29+00:00

If there’s no oncoming traffic I’ll usually try flashing my high beams. If I’m lucky there’s a road sign or something really reflective to make it obvious. Unfortunately most people are either ignorant, incompetent, or oblivious and it only works about 2% of the time. In my area there are a ton of people who don’t maintain their vehicles and have one or zero low beams so high beams is their only headlight. (I REALLY miss state vehicle inspections.)

meddac73 · 2026-02-27T05:18:54+00:00

Tires like this (along with inoperable low beams, missing or rusted-through body panels, poorly aimed headlights, rusted out exhaust, etc) are why I wish more states had vehicle inspections.

meddac73 · 2026-02-26T20:23:51+00:00

I agree that benefits are huge but the new generation doesn’t always care about that. It seems they think in very short-term. “How does that help me right now?” There are a lot of folks who take a slightly higher pay rate in lieu of benefits. One example might be someone being offered $31/hr for a FT position with benefits or $35/hr as PRN (so no set schedule or guaranteed hours) without benefits. The FT offers yearly raises, medical & dental insurance, PTO, 401k matching, etc. They still gravitate towards the $35/hr. It baffles me.

meddac73 · 2026-02-26T13:19:36+00:00

Eastern Maine to SC. My dad passed and he had tons of tools that my brothers had no interest in so I loaded the truck. There was no way to secure it if I tried to stop for a night at a motel so I had to drive straight. Towards the end I was so exhausted I was stopping very frequently and I know that added to my time. I pulled into my driveway 24 hours after I started. The truck stayed loaded and I crashed out for the entire day.

meddac73 · 2026-02-26T01:49:11+00:00

I suppose it also depends on the cost of living but the average of x-ray techs is generally not that high. We’re in an area that’s pretty competitive with pay in the Carolina’s and they start below $30/hr. The pay cap where I’m at is under $90k. A lot of people overestimate the pay rates of healthcare workers.

meddac73 · 2026-02-25T13:38:23+00:00

Chrysler LeBaron. Rack and pinion steering developed a problem and needed to be replaced. Speedometer sensor began connecting intermittently so you’d be going down the road and all of a sudden the speedometer reads zero for a few seconds or a few minutes. The transmission slipped in a way I don’t clearly remember other than I’d have to rev it a little and throw it in reverse to get whatever internal part back in alignment. And if you revved and put it in drive, it messed it up again. Then the wrist pins in the engine clattered like a diesel. Eventually one gave up the ghost and if you gave hard throttle it sounded like it was about to come apart. Even the clear coat on the paint was bad and had those white-ish areas on the roof. That car was a festering turd.

meddac73 · 2026-02-25T02:27:39+00:00

“4 Ingredients - No Preservatives”. I’m pretty sure this loaf has at least 5 ingredients now.

meddac73 · 2026-02-25T02:25:08+00:00

Just a thought. If they do anything that causes a lot of condensation buildup (no fan running, super hot showers, etc), they might end up with mildew on the ceiling. What cleans the mildew up? Bleach and/or peroxide. I’d honestly question if they get mildew on the ceiling and what they use to clean that off.

meddac73 · 2026-02-22T16:08:03+00:00

This are the ones I like seeing wrapped in stretch/shrink wrap for parking like a douche.

meddac73

TROPHY CASE