Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

«‹›600 »

BLARGHLE: Oct 2, 2013; But I want something good
to die for
To make it beautiful to live.; Yams Fan

H110Hawk posted:

Lock nerd.

I was confused as to the hostility as well and it totally makes sense from that mindset. My house is secured* by Kwikset Cheapest At Home Depot quality locks, with deadbolts up top and never-locked handle "locks" below. I can tell when someone has accessed my house with their loaned key because they invariably lock the handle and it confuses me. Fixed pinning, all the same all the way around. Even replaced the core in a cheap Abus padlock to match. Had a hard sell on Medeco, which was embroidered into the shirt, from the locksmith who re-keyed my house on move in, and later had to explain the above to our GC who was installing our new locks that yes I wanted them all to match the whole rest of the house. If you're going to do me harm I presume you're going to enter my house through the plate glass windows if the door somehow gives you hassle. Don't worry, the hinges aren't studded (but interior pinned), the frame isn't reinforced, but the strike plate is accurately placed to retract the little pin that makes the handle latch not move. I assume the screws in the strike plate are AT LEAST an inch in length.

Security is a hobby of mine, both in technology and the physical sense. You don't start with "how can I secure this" but "what is the threat model we want to protect against?"

* lol

They were hard selling on medeco because they've dropped $20-50k on becoming a medeco vendor, and need to make that back. Locking your deadbolt and having the latch on your handle/knob/lever/whatever properly installed are the best things you can do short of putting bars on your windows. Really, your knob largely doesn't matter if the deadbolt is locked. Your deadbolt exists to keep people honest- if someone walks up with the ability to defeat that, then they're going to attack various other windows and doors before they resort to picking the front door.

Jaded Burnout posted:

OK so I have a question for you.

The way I have my door set up is to not auto-lock on close. Most people round here do, because you can't forget to lock it, but I'm personally more likely to forget my key than to forget to lock it, and even more likely to forget my key than to forget to lock it on a day that a thief decides to try the door.

Because the door is a multi-point lock, the only way to lock it then is with a key, inside or out, so the only way to lock the door at night (that didn't involve an automatic night latch for reasons above) was with a key, and that's what I did for a while.

I switched to using a hotel-style security bar (like a chain but the solid loop bar kind) because it's faster to operate and I can see if it's secured at a glance from the other end of the house.

Now it's obviously not super strong security. People can still open the door a little bit, and four screws into wood/PVC aren't going to hold up to someone really determined to shoulder it in, but is this a reasonable approach? One issue is that anything I add has to sit on the surface of the door/frame because the multipoint lock takes up the entire edge face.

It sounds like you're describing an Anderson or Pella door, or possibly another regional variant. These are fairly secure locking systems, although they do require quite a bit of precision in their installation, and aren't exactly straightforward in operation, and will wear out over time. If you have them, use them, don't fall back on a night latch that I could silently unlock in seconds. Leave the key in the lock cylinder if you must, but do not rely on a little pissant chain or bar to secure your home, because anyone with a piece of plastic can unlock that hotel bar, and that's not to mention the insecurity that you already pointed out of the four little screws holding your chain/bar in place.

Jaded Burnout posted:

It's a mortice lock, yes, in the sense that the gearbox is in a mortice in the door, but it's a multipoint one so the mortice extends the entire height of the door so it can activate deadbolts at the top and bottom.

The way it works is when you turn the handle upwards it runs a central deadlock and top/bottom hooks into receptacles in the frame, and then you lock the cylinder to prevent the handle from moving back down again. Without turning the key to lock it you can just pull the handle down from inside or outside and it'll unlock everything.

Yes this was my choice. The standard behaviour in the UK (in my experience) is to have a split spindle, so the handle on the outside only actuates the latch, not the gearbox, so you need the key to get in always, but not to get out. I chose to have a solid spindle because of the aforementioned anxiety about leaving my key behind, which doesn't happen often, but is such a loving hassle when it does.

Honestly the main reason I fitted it is that trades and delivery people kept walking into my loving house unannounced, and I do lock the door with the key at night. I suppose it would not be the worst thing in the world to have something more secure for when I'm actually in the house. And I really need to get around to replacing the strike plate.

It uses a euro cylinder so I could almost certainly buy one with a key outside and turn inside. Not sure how I feel about that bearing in mind it's the UK so we have letterboxes. If all you had to do was get your hand on the turn then you wouldn't need a key, anyone can reach that far unless I go down the road of putting cages around the letterbox.

As for smart locks, I will never in my life install a smart device in my house unless I wrote the firmware myself. I just can't trust that poo poo, defcon seal of approval or otherwise.

This could spark a discussion about handle and lock functions, but if you just want to talk about solutions to the problem of forgotten keys, I really like my electronic deadbolt. It's an older model (like six years old at this point), so not bluetooth or anything else connected, but as long as the batteries are good, I can never be locked out of my house. Definitely keep a spare key on yourself, though, because a surprising number of people can't recognize the signs of their lock's battery dying (usually flashing red lights), and it wasn't uncommon for me to get lockout calls almost exactly a year after installing one for somebody.

The locks you describe are fairly common in US office buildings, but somewhat rare in houses, at least in my area. The relative level of security afforded by the various designs is debatable, but you've hit the insecure nail on the inconvenient head- even the best lock is only as good as its user

Also, I really can't speak for anything in the UK. I deal in US trends, almost exclusively in the automotive realm these days, and just....don't ever put anything you don't want stolen in your car...just don't.

BLARGHLE fucked around with this message at 10:27 on Sep 5, 2020

# ? Sep 5, 2020 10:20

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 29, 2024 21:24

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

So, the ancient door from my basement to my garage has significant frame rot because Wissahickon Schist apparently is more sieve than stone, so any water hitting our patio over the garage percolates down inside the wall above the door.

The local best-pick door replacement people want to install a steel door and frame and are quoting something like $2300 because I guess its a non-standard size. This sounds crazy but, you know, home ownership. Is it a reasonable cost, or should I just chop out the rotted part and screw in a new length of 2�6?

# ? Sep 5, 2020 12:04

Jaded Burnout: Jul 10, 2004

tetrapyloctomy posted:

So, the ancient door from my basement to my garage has significant frame rot because Wissahickon Schist apparently is more sieve than stone, so any water hitting our patio over the garage percolates down inside the wall above the door.

The local best-pick door replacement people want to install a steel door and frame and are quoting something like $2300 because I guess its a non-standard size. This sounds crazy but, you know, home ownership. Is it a reasonable cost, or should I just chop out the rotted part and screw in a new length of 2�6?

Replacing the front door on my house (including frame, upvc, good quality) cost �1000, if that helps as a data point.

BLARGHLE posted:

They were hard selling on medeco because they've dropped $20-50k on becoming a medeco vendor, and need to make that back. Locking your deadbolt and having the latch on your handle/knob/lever/whatever properly installed are the best things you can do short of putting bars on your windows. Really, your knob largely doesn't matter if the deadbolt is locked. Your deadbolt exists to keep people honest- if someone walks up with the ability to defeat that, then they're going to attack various other windows and doors before they resort to picking the front door.

It sounds like you're describing an Anderson or Pella door, or possibly another regional variant. These are fairly secure locking systems, although they do require quite a bit of precision in their installation, and aren't exactly straightforward in operation, and will wear out over time. If you have them, use them, don't fall back on a night latch that I could silently unlock in seconds. Leave the key in the lock cylinder if you must, but do not rely on a little pissant chain or bar to secure your home, because anyone with a piece of plastic can unlock that hotel bar, and that's not to mention the insecurity that you already pointed out of the four little screws holding your chain/bar in place.

This could spark a discussion about handle and lock functions, but if you just want to talk about solutions to the problem of forgotten keys, I really like my electronic deadbolt. It's an older model (like six years old at this point), so not bluetooth or anything else connected, but as long as the batteries are good, I can never be locked out of my house. Definitely keep a spare key on yourself, though, because a surprising number of people can't recognize the signs of their lock's battery dying (usually flashing red lights), and it wasn't uncommon for me to get lockout calls almost exactly a year after installing one for somebody.

The locks you describe are fairly common in US office buildings, but somewhat rare in houses, at least in my area. The relative level of security afforded by the various designs is debatable, but you've hit the insecure nail on the inconvenient head- even the best lock is only as good as its user

Also, I really can't speak for anything in the UK. I deal in US trends, almost exclusively in the automotive realm these days, and just....don't ever put anything you don't want stolen in your car...just don't.

I'll give it some thought. The two options open to me I think are either to separate concerns, which I've partially done, and not rely on the hotel bar for anything other than stopping trades blundering into the house while I'm getting out of the shower or whatever, or upgrade the locking system I have now, since the manufacturer offers a lot of this functionality built-in to their strips. It's a bit all eggs in one basket but it would solve the problem of everything extra having to be surface mounted.

# ? Sep 5, 2020 12:54

pmchem: Jan 22, 2010

tetrapyloctomy posted:

So, the ancient door from my basement to my garage has significant frame rot because Wissahickon Schist apparently is more sieve than stone, so any water hitting our patio over the garage percolates down inside the wall above the door.

(pics)

The local best-pick door replacement people want to install a steel door and frame and are quoting something like $2300 because I guess its a non-standard size. This sounds crazy but, you know, home ownership. Is it a reasonable cost, or should I just chop out the rotted part and screw in a new length of 2�6?

DIY > Home Spergin: This sounds crazy but, you know, home ownership.

# ? Sep 5, 2020 13:07

devmd01: Mar 7, 2006; Elektronik
Supersonik

pmchem posted:

DIY > Home Spergin: This sounds crazy but, you know, home ownership.

# ? Sep 5, 2020 20:17

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

I'm so honored!

(... can anyone give me any more advice on the door?)

# ? Sep 5, 2020 21:20

Jaded Burnout: Jul 10, 2004

tetrapyloctomy posted:

(... can anyone give me any more advice on the door?)

Looks like you've got a handle on it.

# ? Sep 5, 2020 21:39

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Pay the money. That frame is hosed and the walls around it are probably gross, too.
How about replacing that whole wall, with a standard-sized door?

# ? Sep 6, 2020 00:05

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

peanut posted:

Pay the money. That frame is hosed and the walls around it are probably gross, too.
How about replacing that whole wall, with a standard-sized door?

That wall is eighteen inches of stone. Even the frame only seems to be rotted at the bottom, hence asking if it's worthwhile just to chop out the affected portion.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 00:39

Sirotan: Oct 17, 2006; Sirotan is a seal.

Did a thing today

https://i.imgur.com/IbnHyIH.gifv

# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:01

Ashcans: Jan 2, 2006; Let's do the space-time warp again!

What do people recommend for mouse poison? I bought the Tomcat stations on impulse when I realized we had a mouse, but he seems to have zero interest in those fat green log things. Anyone have advice on what might work better?

I've also set up some a couple different variety of trap in the hope one of those will work, but no luck so far.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:14

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

Ashcans posted:

What do people recommend for mouse poison? I bought the Tomcat stations on impulse when I realized we had a mouse, but he seems to have zero interest in those fat green log things. Anyone have advice on what might work better?

I've also set up some a couple different variety of trap in the hope one of those will work, but no luck so far.

Electronic death chamber and peanut butter.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:20

DaveSauce: Feb 15, 2004; Oh, how awkward.

Ashcans posted:

What do people recommend for mouse poison? I bought the Tomcat stations on impulse when I realized we had a mouse, but he seems to have zero interest in those fat green log things. Anyone have advice on what might work better?

I've also set up some a couple different variety of trap in the hope one of those will work, but no luck so far.

You don't have a mouse. You have a shitload of mice. WAY more than you think.

Snap traps are tried and true. Use peanut butter for bait and set them perpendicular to the wall.

Don't use glue traps, they're inhumane, and now you have a not-dead mouse to dispose of.

If you use poison, they'll just wander off and die somewhere inconvenient. Now you have a rotting mouse corpse in a place you can't get to.

Most critically, find where they're coming in and seal it off. If you don't, you'll just get more later.

Sirotan posted:

Did a thing today

I keep meaning to do this, but I don't really have a good spot in my backyard. Very jealous.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:42

Nevets: Sep 11, 2002; Be they sad or be they well,
I'll make their lives a hell

These snap traps + peanut butter are my go to. They are easy and safe to bait & set, and work about 75% of the time, so get a few cause one or two might be a dud. Still more reliable than the old fashioned snap traps though.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:47

Sirotan: Oct 17, 2006; Sirotan is a seal.

DaveSauce posted:

I keep meaning to do this, but I don't really have a good spot in my backyard. Very jealous.

Maybe pick up one of those enclosed metal pits that you could move around? Because sitting here right now with a beer listening to the crickets and the cracking fire, is some highly recommended poo poo.

Don't buy firewood from Home Depot though, everybody was sold out of everything but HD had $10 bags of birch wood available. I've been out here maybe an hour and am about to put on the last two pieces. :x

# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:58

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

DaveSauce posted:

If you use poison, they'll just wander off and kill a red-tailed hawk.

You're a dick if you use poison.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 02:55

Rexxed: May 1, 2010; Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

Ashcans posted:

What do people recommend for mouse poison? I bought the Tomcat stations on impulse when I realized we had a mouse, but he seems to have zero interest in those fat green log things. Anyone have advice on what might work better?

I've also set up some a couple different variety of trap in the hope one of those will work, but no luck so far.

Content warning, these Mousetrap Monday videos contain dead mice.
I've used these:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KGVCK42/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpKe4Dt-Ig4

and these:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FROLO12/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGXQhwfRDU8

Bait them with peanut butter. The former is my preferred over the latter because it almost always hits them on the head or neck instead of sometimes catching a leg or something as they jump away, and they have to push up on the trigger instead of down so it's harder to set off by accident.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 05:35

cakesmith handyman: Jul 22, 2007; Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

I've killed a whole bunch of rats with the second type, like at one point 1 a day for a couple of weeks. I stopped baiting it and just kept throwing it back in the same spot and bam, dead rat within a couple of hours.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 10:28

falz: Jan 29, 2005; 01100110 01100001 01101100 01111010

tetrapyloctomy posted:

The local best-pick door replacement people want to install a steel door and frame and are quoting something like $2300 because I guess its a non-standard size.

Always get 2-3 quotes on stuff, then you'll know if the price is sane or not.

You can also pretty easily figure out the cost of just the framed door at a home depot type of place without actually purchasing it, they can just type something up in computer.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 13:35

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

tetrapyloctomy posted:

So, the ancient door from my basement to my garage has significant frame rot because Wissahickon Schist apparently is more sieve than stone, so any water hitting our patio over the garage percolates down inside the wall above the door.

The local best-pick door replacement people want to install a steel door and frame and are quoting something like $2300 because I guess its a non-standard size. This sounds crazy but, you know, home ownership. Is it a reasonable cost, or should I just chop out the rotted part and screw in a new length of 2�6?

That quote seems ridiculous unless I'm missing something... I just had a custom steel one made for my uncle that was 42x80 with the heaviest grade metal and foam insulation filled. The price was $450 out the door. This was to replace the last one from the '80s that the shop did, it rusted because he never painted it. The frame, which is the original, would be an extra $125 in today's dollars.

Anyway, find a steel fab shop and tell them what you need, it should only take a day or two to fab.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 19:09

Jaded Burnout: Jul 10, 2004

Reminder that some contractors will quote you $crazy rather than say they don't want to do it, might be worth asking them which parts of the job raised the price so much, and if you get a sensible answer you could have someone else do those parts (or do them yourself).

I've cut the cost of plastering jobs by 80% if I do the boarding myself.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 20:04

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

I appreciate the input. It seemed like a fairly objective assessment in the sense that the guy literally plugged numbers into an iPad app and it tabulated total cost. There was no opportunity for him to fudge anything directly, though I'm sure that the company could throw a discount here or there if they wanted.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 20:28

BonerGhost: Mar 9, 2007

BonerGhost posted:

We're doing a largish format tile backsplash/kitchen wall so in prep for putting up wonderboard lite (per manufacturer) I found this rickety crap in my kitchen:

Disregard the broken waste pipe, I dropped half a sheet of drywall on it.

The "studs" are 1.5x1.5. My plan is to pull out everything that makes up the kitchen wall (the back wall is the bathroom wall) and replace with 2x4s. That would be 2x4s across the top and bottom screwed into the wood above and subfloor (or floor joists?) on bottom. It's 8.5' wide, so I figured 7 studs across (including outer edges) because the cement board can't span more than 16" OC.

I intend to attach the electrical boxes to the new studs right where they were before and dispense with the blocking in the center. I haven't dug through the book yet but maybe one of you folks will know if the plumbing needs a certain clearance from the studs?

Does this plan make sense?

E: feel free to poo poo all over the lighting fixtures, PO had no loving taste

Bumping to see if this is a stupid idea

# ? Sep 6, 2020 20:41

Ashcans: Jan 2, 2006; Let's do the space-time warp again!

Thanks guys, I guess I'll get one of those electric traps; I have a couple other varieties but they don't seem to be getting any attention. Maybe I'll try changing out bait options or replacing some, didn't occur to me that some traps are just duds.

# ? Sep 6, 2020 21:42

MetaJew: Apr 14, 2006; Gather round, one and all, and thrill to my turgid tales of underwhelming misadventure!

We are cleaning up my mom's house to try and get it on the market and I'm going through old toys, and I have no idea of any of these should try to be sold to collectors or just don't bother wasting time and putting it in the donate pile.

One thing that stood out to me are these 1971, made in England, "DEETAIL" knight and samurai action figures with what might be lead bases. Is there a toy collecting thread on SA or any good rule of thumb for cleaning out houses? This is such a huge undertaking.

# ? Sep 7, 2020 03:38

Rexxed: May 1, 2010; Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

MetaJew posted:

We are cleaning up my mom's house to try and get it on the market and I'm going through old toys, and I have no idea of any of these should try to be sold to collectors or just don't bother wasting time and putting it in the donate pile.

One thing that stood out to me are these 1971, made in England, "DEETAIL" knight and samurai action figures with what might be lead bases. Is there a toy collecting thread on SA or any good rule of thumb for cleaning out houses? This is such a huge undertaking.

I tend to look things up on ebay to see if there's a market for what I have and what condition its in. I also make sure to check completed auctions to be certain that the thing that's "worth $500" isn't just one guy buying them all at 20 and marking them up to try to make a market from old stuff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britains_Deetail
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2499334.m570.l1313&_nkw=deetail&_sacat=2638

For a general rule it's good to make three categories, keep, give away (or sell), and trash. For the stuff you're keeping some plastic storage bins are a good idea. Give away or sell could go in cardboard boxes, trash into trash bags. Since my mother passed away we try to work on her stuff a little at a time with all of that in mind.

# ? Sep 7, 2020 08:35

devmd01: Mar 7, 2006; Elektronik
Supersonik

I am not looking forward to that process when it is my mom�s time.

# ? Sep 7, 2020 11:31

The Dave: Sep 9, 2003

Cleaning out my Mom�s house when she passes will be so therapeutic for me. She�s not a hoarder per se but buys stuff she doesn�t need all the time and holds on to the dumbest poo poo.

Not that I�ve thought about this before... no that would make me an awful son...

What I�m not looking forward to is the whole house needing to be stripped down and sheet rocked but luckily it�s just a little 1000sq ft box.

# ? Sep 7, 2020 13:02

iv46vi: Apr 2, 2010

If you ever get a chance, go to a couple of estate sales just to get a perspective on amount if stuff left behind a typical household.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 02:07

Tiny Timbs: Sep 6, 2008

Our neighbor�s kids just said �gently caress it� and told people everything in the house was free

Got some sweet 1960s furniture out of it

# ? Sep 8, 2020 02:47

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

There are professional estate sale people who can help you with this. They're used to dealing with the "but what if this is worth something" questions. The thing you have to remember is "if this is worth something am I willing to spend the time to micro manage the sale of those items to get the revenue out of it." You could take a picture of "lots" of it and post on reddit, I bet there are whole subreddits dedicated to that sort of thing. Make little numbered cards to make it easier to ID things.

It doesn't sound like your mom is dead yet so an estate sale person might be a little gauche to have show up to start going through your moms things though.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 03:09

The Dave: Sep 9, 2003

Yeah my MIL just moved out of the house she lived in for 30 years and hired someone to run the estate sale. Seemed well worth it.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 03:28

BonoMan: Feb 20, 2002; Jade Ear Joe

It's def worth it as those things can be huge undertakings. Their take is big of course... 30-50%. But it's still worth it.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 03:45

FCKGW: May 21, 2006

Do they take care of everything that doesn�t sell as well?

# ? Sep 8, 2020 04:29

BonoMan: Feb 20, 2002; Jade Ear Joe

FCKGW posted:

Do they take care of everything that doesn�t sell as well?

Generally yes. You can have different levels of how to deal with that. Take it and donate it? Have an increasingly aggressive markdown as the sale goes on? Just take it themselves?

# ? Sep 8, 2020 04:36

SpartanIvy: May 18, 2007; Hair Elf

Typically the way estate sales work is that they go over 3 or 4 days. The first day or two everything is priced as marked. Second day everything is 20% to 50% off. The last day is "make an offer", the more stuff you're buying, the better a deal you can get. At the end of the last day there are usually a couple of people who will just load up boxes/trailers with stuff and give them pennies on the dollar for it. After those people are gone and they're closing up. Anything left is donated to goodwill or trashed.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 04:44

couldcareless: Feb 8, 2009; Spheal used Swagger!

What fridge manufacturers are good these days? I think ours just kicked the bucket and I'd like to jump on whatever labor day sales remain if possible

# ? Sep 8, 2020 19:45

Motronic: Nov 6, 2009

couldcareless posted:

What fridge manufacturers are good these days? I think ours just kicked the bucket and I'd like to jump on whatever labor day sales remain if possible

None. You choose your preferred likely problem area or just YOLO which one looks like what you want.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 22:21

couldcareless: Feb 8, 2009; Spheal used Swagger!

I guess my choice is then: whatever Costco stocks and I can slap the Costco extended warranty onto. Thanks!

# ? Sep 8, 2020 22:35

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 29, 2024 21:24

Motronic: Nov 6, 2009

couldcareless posted:

I guess my choice is then: whatever Costco stocks and I can slap the Costco extended warranty onto. Thanks!

That seems like a solid plan.

# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:10

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

«‹›600 »