Arainy day on the weekend can still be fruitful, especially if you have leaks to fix around the house; just be sure to do your research before heading out to buy parts.

That lesson was learned during my efforts to fix problems found during a more thorough inspection of the external pipes around the house

While a cursory examination took place after the last hard freeze, during which I discovered a small drip, the promise of warmer days this past weekend led to efforts to determine the cause of the drip and fix others.

Since the leak was coming from the plastic cover of the whole house water filter, my hope was the problem was the result of nothing more than a failing rubber gasket. But my attempt to replace the gasket with another did not provide favorable results. The leak remained.

A closer look at the filter housing revealed it was cracked at the gasket housing, probably from the freezing temperatures experienced months ago, meaning the housing would need replacing.

Since I was going to have to go to the hardware store anyway, I figured I would secure gaskets for the faucets in the bathtub and sink at the same time, since they too have constant drips.

However, before heading to the hardware store I made the simplest of mistakes, failing to remove the part that needed replacing from the sink and bathtub. As a result, the first trip to the hardware store would not be the last that day.

While I did secure essential part information for the filter housing, I was unaware the components that make up a water faucet are not universal. After staring at the plethora of sizes for flat rubber washers for far too long, I bit the bullet and relented to a second trip to the hardware store.

Had I put a bit more effort into the planning and removed the failing parts before the first trip, I could have saved myself some time on a simple project.