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H110Hawk posted:Lock nerd. 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. 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. 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 |
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# ? May 30, 2024 05:23 |
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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?
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# ? Sep 5, 2020 12:04 |
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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. 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. 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.
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# ? Sep 5, 2020 12:54 |
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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. DIY > Home Spergin: This sounds crazy but, you know, home ownership.
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# ? Sep 5, 2020 13:07 |
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pmchem posted:DIY > Home Spergin: This sounds crazy but, you know, home ownership.
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# ? Sep 5, 2020 20:17 |
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I'm so honored! (... can anyone give me any more advice on the door?)
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# ? Sep 5, 2020 21:20 |
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tetrapyloctomy posted:(... can anyone give me any more advice on the door?) Looks like you've got a handle on it.
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# ? Sep 5, 2020 21:39 |
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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?
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 00:05 |
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peanut posted:Pay the money. That frame is hosed and the walls around it are probably gross, too. 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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 00:39 |
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Did a thing today https://i.imgur.com/IbnHyIH.gifv
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:01 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:14 |
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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? Electronic death chamber and peanut butter.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:20 |
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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? 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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:42 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:47 |
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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
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 01:58 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 02:55 |
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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? 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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 05:35 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 10:28 |
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tetrapyloctomy posted:
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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 13:35 |
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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. 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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 19:09 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 20:04 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 20:28 |
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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: Bumping to see if this is a stupid idea
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 20:41 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 6, 2020 21:42 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 7, 2020 03:38 |
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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. 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.
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# ? Sep 7, 2020 08:35 |
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I am not looking forward to that process when it is my mom’s time.
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# ? Sep 7, 2020 11:31 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 7, 2020 13:02 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 02:07 |
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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
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 02:47 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 03:09 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 03:28 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 03:45 |
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Do they take care of everything that doesn’t sell as well?
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 04:29 |
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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?
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 04:36 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 04:44 |
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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
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 19:45 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 22:21 |
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I guess my choice is then: whatever Costco stocks and I can slap the Costco extended warranty onto. Thanks!
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 22:35 |
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# ? May 30, 2024 05:23 |
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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.
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# ? Sep 8, 2020 23:10 |