After installing the new thermocouple, the hot water heater worked and heated the water in the tank. Thereafter, the pilot went out yet again. I contacted the retailer and they warrantied the gas valve but would have to charge me for labor to install. I decided to remove and replace the part myself and learned a few tricks along the way.

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While I was traveling last week, my wife ran into issues with our 15-month-old hot water heater; the pilot light would not stay lit. She managed to re-light it and got hot water for a single use but it went out again. Upon my return, we once again faced cold water. We turned to the Internet to try and diagnose the issue and found that if a pilot would light, but not stay lit, it could be 3 potential issues:

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We were invited to attend the Austin Board of Realty annual tradeshow, the Realty Round Up. Goomzee Connect was VERY well received and we have some partners interested in working with us to promote our services throughout Texas. Here is a photo of our booth the day before the show (without all the table props).

My fortune from lunch yesterday.  I’ve never seen one like this and ironically, I’m a computer guy. I had to share - enjoy!

We layed out the boards on two 2×4s held up by cinder blocks so we could stain them. After about 30-45 minutes, we flipped over the boards and stained the opposite site. Another 45 minutes and although still damp, I proceeded to install the first batch and get the fence started. The original fence was out of plumb so it will take a little finesse for a couple custom pieces to tie it all together. See below.

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In my last post (below) I upgraded the electrical service to the house to support a hot tub and any other needs in the future. Prior to the delivery of the hot tub, I decided to install a 6-foot cedar privacy fence using the existing chain link fence posts. Given my neighbor has a dog, we thought it would be best to leave the chain link side towards his yard to protect our fence.

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To support the new hot tub, and any other upgrades to home appliances and amenities, we decided to upgrade the electrical service to the house from 100 amp to 200 amp. This requires collaboration with the carpenter (me), city (building permits/inspectors), electrician and power company. You first get your permits, then schedule w/ the utilities (24 hours notice) to shut the power off to the house, then have the electricians install the new service so inspectors will pass it and “green tag” the job, otherwise the power company will not hook the power back up. See below:

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