VILLAGES DIY

HOME ALONE WHEN AN ACCIDENT HAPPENS !

If you are home alone when an accident or illness strikes and you can't reach a phone. How will you get Help?? One of the many things Alexa can do is that our voice can tell Alexa to call one of your contacts like family ,friends or neighbors. With the free Alexa App on your phone and an echo Device. You will be all set and no monthly charges like the  private services charge.

The link to the Echo Show 8 is:

https://amzn.to/3vVszXZ

The link to the Echo Dot is:

https://amzn.to/4851lvA

A great book and easy to understand all the other things Alexa can do for you is SENIORS GUIDE TO ALEXA

https://amzn.to/3w1Tamv

If your Back Flow Preventer on your hose spigot sprays water all over it needs replacing, This video explains what they do and shows how you can quickly replace it for under $10.

Items used in this video

Replacement Flow Preventer kit:

https://amzn.to/3w2YdTI

 1/8 " drill bit for metal:

https://amzn.to/484RplI

ROOF RIDGE VENTS

This video is of a problem affecting homes in the Villages. This was discovered by a roof inspection in the Village of Dunedin on an 8 yr old home. Other home owners started having their roof inspected and a majority found the same issue. Roofing companies report seeing it in other villages with different manufacturers. To inspect for this problem you might see pieces of black plastic about 1 inch square laying on your roof or the lawn but, someone really needs to go up on the roof to inspect. Note; Some homes do not have ridge vents, They may have the circular mushroom style vents or some of both types. Only the ridge type are affected by this. I made this video when I did my own vent replacement. I found The old vents where a mixture of manufacturers , none were labeled and  all of which were the black plastic vents. The warranty department told me that they do not track the manufacturer of what vent manufacturer was installed on each home.

RIDGE VENT DETAILS

I strongly recommend that any contractor who wants to replace them with ones they claim are "new and improved ones" be asked to show you the manufacturer's warranty on the new ones. These typically cost about $15 per 4 ft piece. I would also ask for a warranty on his labor when the new part fails . The labor part is is the expensive pieced of the replacement. Additionally if a contractor wants to increase the number of vents on your roof, ask why when the soffits can not be increased to match and thereby no airflow will increase will happen. This could lead to you having more vents without more cooling and thereby end up changing a lot more vents in the future . Your soffit flow and vent flow are suppose to be balanced. If your house came with inadequate ventilation per the code than you have a real issue with the villages warranty dept. Since I did my own, I do not have any recommendations on what roofing company to use.

HOT WATER EXPANSION TANKS

If you have a standard type electrical hot water heater and not an on demand one you probably have one of these plumbed near it. The manufacturers say these should be changed every 5 years. This video shows you how to check it and what can happen if it fails. People have reported flooding in their homes among other things.

EXPANSION TANK DETAILS

The size tank that is recommended:: Water heater size of 40-60 gallons and pressure of 40-50psi needs 2 gallon tank Water heater size 40-60 gallon with pressure of 60-80 needs needs 3.2 gallon tank. A link to a replacement tank (2.1 gallon) https://amzn.to/3lF36gh

If you have a whole house filter with a pressure gauge on it than you won't need this, A link to the gauge to check your home water pressure https://amzn.to/3lF36gh

FLUME WIFI WATER LEAK DETECTOR

Flume can be installed easily with no tools on either your house (potable) water supply or your irrigation water supply. I have been using it for a year and it works great. Once I saw what my normal water usage was I could put in limits on the app to notify me when it went above those. Since it is wi-fi I am able to get alerts when I travel or am up north in the summer.

FLUME DETAILS

The cost is about $200 but I think this link will beat that a little.

https://flumewater.com?grsf=7e27z4

or

amazon https://amzn.to/3I6v8sG

GOLF CART THEFT & BATTERY DRAIN

A push button remote control key fob that cuts off your battery preventing your golf cart from starting. This also prevents battery drain when the cart (or car) sit for long periods.  How to install yourself.

GOLF CART THEFT DETAILS

You can find this item here on amazon at https://amzn.to/3Xxjuge

WATER DETECTOR ALARM

These are great alarms that you place under your sinks, by the water heater or near your A/C. When it senses a drop of water it goes off loud and clear. Water Detector Alarm that you just set and forget and costs about $10 each.

WATER DETECTOR ALARM DETAILS

These work great and come in a pack of 5 where you have enough for kitchen sink, 2 bathrooms and water heater and A/c condensation drain. you can get them here: https://amzn.to/3S9wCqF

SPRINKLER QUICK CHECK

This shows you how to run a quick check on your sprinklers when you have a Hunter pro-c controller.

SPRINKLER QUICK CHECK DETAILS

See our other videos on how to program your Hunter Controller and adjust your individual sprinkler heads.

Mini Temperature and Humidity Monitors

That you can monitor from your phone. I put one in my car and one in my attic . The neighborhood AED groups are now using them in the AED cases to monitor them since some cases leaked and the expensive expensive AEDs were destroyed

Mini Temperature and Humidity Monitors Details

The blue tooth Govee Mini Hygrometer used in this video has been replaced with one that can use either blue tooth or WIFI. It is model# H5100 which  is blue tooth and doesn't use the homeowners wifi. #H5100 is good for AED cases around your village. get it here https://amzn.to/3ZOkjSP

For other uses in your home I recommend the wifi model H5100 which you can monitor when you are away from home. https://amzn.to/43gzAPy

On Amazon you can also find the desiccant packs that are made by DRY & DRY and are gram and come in a bag of 22 packets for $8.00 here is the link https://amzn.to/3jTCoAh

Installing a Removable and Collapsible 25' Flag Pole.

This pole is a heavy duty extendable Flag Pole. It is 10 Gauge aluminum which is the thickest they make. The LOWER the gauge number the thicker the metal. Most others are a 16 gauge which is not nearly as strong. This extends to 25 ft. and can handle 2 flags . I use the larger flag 4'x6' plus a smaller 3'x5'. , This also extends and retracts bu using a "push pin" lock system which is superior to  the "choke collar" which I find jams and hard to use. This model comes in black or silver and I have installed 2 of these with great success. I recommend a solar light to go on top to meet the requirement to fly it at night.

FLAG POLE DETAILS

You can order this from amazon

https://amzn.to/3zCgTIt

A good solar pole top light https://amzn.to/3Kijk7O

Mosquito trap that works! 

This safe trap stops the mosquitos in the larval stage. NO INSECTICIDES that kill all insects and  harm pets and wildlife. Adult mosquitos are drawn to a fermenting solution and lay their eggs. Add a Mosquito dunk that releases a  bacterium that only affects mosquitos.  Dunks are used in  expensive commercial traps and contain Bacillus Thuringienus (BTI).

Mosquito Dunks Details

Mosquito Dunks

https://amzn.to/3ZUg9ZG

Excellent buckets (1 gallon, black and sturdy)

https://amzn.to/3KmTLTc

Change Whole House Filter yourself!

You can save a LOT of money by changing filters when they really need it and not when salesmen tell you to. This video shows how to know when they need it and how you can change them yourself.

AFTER THOUGHT NOTE: When you check your filters by comparing your gauges , you do that when the water is running some where in the house...turn on a faucet.

Filter Replacement Details

Water Filter Housing wrench

https://amzn.to/3Gt6Ed8

Drinking water test strips kit

https://amzn.to/43mh2gP

Sediment (particulate) water filter cartridges

https://amzn.to/43mh2gP

Activated carbon filters

https://amzn.to/3zPWXlk

Food Grade silicon grease if needed

https://amzn.to/3KRtL3Q

Water Testing in a Few Seconds

How to do an accurate quick water test of 16 items that may be in your tap water.in just a few seconds.

Also a quick way to see if any of your carbon water filters needs changed

Professional Grade

EPA Comparison to check your results against

Water Test Details

Water Test Kit

https://amzn.to/3ZZU4ch

UN-JAM YOUR GARBAGE DISPOSAL
When your disposal only hums but does not turn because it is jammed. This simple little tool can quickly put it back in service.

Un- Jam Details For Your Garbage Disposal

The tool used in the video can be purchased on amazon https://amzn.to/3CAmOPw

Emergency Personnel Must See Your House Numbers At Night.

I responded to an neighborhood AED response call at night a few months ago. I jumped in my car and and headed out quickly realizing that although my GPS on my phone worked pretty well, I could'nt tell exactly by looking at the small screen. I stopped twice to get out of my car because I could not see the house numbers in the dark. I also realize that one minute of delay means a 10% less chance of survival.

Solar Light Details

This solar light for house numbers is easy to install.It is available here.

https://amzn.to/3NApD9L

How to check and/or change your oil in your Yamaha Gas Golf Cart.

DETAILS OF CHANGING / CHECKING OIL

Foil pan to capture oil

1 Quart of oil

19 mm Wrench

 Installing LED rope lights for permanent holiday decorations.

This video shows you how to select and use LED rope lighting to decorate your home both inside and outside for holidays and such.

Details of LED Rope Lighting

The rope led lights used here are waterproof rated wp 67. they can be found here:

https://amzn.to/3Ng8pNr

Insulate Your Garage for $100 to R Value of R 5.69!!

There are do it yourself styrofoam kits to insulate your garage but they really don't make much of a difference by only insulating to R 1.9 This shows how you can do a garage door to R 5.69 for less than $100

Details of Insulating Garage Door

These items can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot