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Any recommendations for bat houses? I'm getting a bit sick of guano droppings on my porch and patio.
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Nov 4, 2020 20:09
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it shriveled up posted:Not exactly sure where to ask this, but I'm looking into asking my family to help chip in for a wood burning stone for my parents this year for Christmas. My dad was recently diagnosed with a terminal cancer, and a wood burning stove has been one thing they have wanted in their house since they retired a few years back, but just haven't been able to afford it. So it's a nice comfort item I'd love to be able to surprise them with. What would be a good option to go with that isn't too costly? I'm thinking $1k at the most. They live in New Mexico close to Albuquerque, so it can get pretty cold, but their walls are pretty thick, so it actually stays fairly comfy with the electric heat they have. Their house is approx 1200 sq/ft. My dad also wants it to have a fairly large window on the front as well as a blower. I dunno if it's helpful, and I don't know anything about the topic, but the two things that popped to my mind: Is there such a thing as "refurbished" or "scratch and dent" sales for these stoves? Otherwise, is there a good used market for them? My question: Is the black/brown stuff in this picture mold? If yes, how do I get rid of it so it does not return, as it seems to be coming from inside/under the overflow drain cap: 
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Nov 4, 2020 22:54
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Rooster Brooster posted:I dunno if it's helpful, and I don't know anything about the topic, but the two things that popped to my mind: Is there such a thing as "refurbished" or "scratch and dent" sales for these stoves? Otherwise, is there a good used market for them? Most big box stores have a "scratch and dent" section that takes a mild to moderate discount off. Oh dang it sorry I see you're talking about wood stoves.
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Nov 5, 2020 00:17
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Wasabi the J posted:Most big box stores have a "scratch and dent" section that takes a mild to moderate discount off. No worries I also wanted to just bump that goon's question so this helps too 🌝
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Nov 5, 2020 01:53
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Rooster Brooster posted:My question: Is the black/brown stuff in this picture mold? If yes, how do I get rid of it so it does not return, as it seems to be coming from inside/under the overflow drain cap: Is that a giant hole someone cut into the side of your tub, or an optical illusion?
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Nov 5, 2020 01:54
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Tezer posted:Is that a giant hole someone cut into the side of your tub, or an optical illusion? If you mean the black area that must be optical illusion. It's just a dark build up of some kind, maybe mold? To add: normal cleaning spray didn't do poo poo to it which made me nervous
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Nov 5, 2020 02:19
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It looks like the overflow on a tub? With maybe some clear silicone growing mold? Why would there be silicone there?
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Nov 5, 2020 03:11
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My new apartment came with an old Wedgewood gas stove: There's no cord or anything going into the back, it has no electricity and I figured, no pilot light. No knob I can see would light one.  I bought some kitchen matches and practiced lighting the range burners but wasn't successful lighting the stove (looks like I didn't have the gas turned fully on the time I tried, but trial and error with natural gas is SCARY OK). My main question is this: now that I've tried lighting the burners, the dead center of the range top is hot all the time now. Uncomfortably hot to touch. Does it actually have some kind of pilot light under there and did I light it by accident or something? If anyone has any other suggestions they'd be welcome as I swing back and forth on being excited to learn to cook on it, and very frightened of this thing.
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Nov 5, 2020 07:05
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Anyone have any neat suggestions on what to do what two dozen 10"-16" 2x4 pieces? Wondering if there are any cool little projects I might tackle with all my scraps.
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Nov 5, 2020 13:58
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Jenkl posted:Anyone have any neat suggestions on what to do what two dozen 10"-16" 2x4 pieces? Wondering if there are any cool little projects I might tackle with all my scraps. My wife and I are doing something like this with some of my off-cuts: 
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Nov 5, 2020 15:04
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fuzzy_logic posted:My new apartment came with an old Wedgewood gas stove: Sounds like there's a pilot light under there for the burners. If you remove the griddles, you should be able to pop up the range-top cover & see what's what - there should be a l'il flame in the center with a tube leading to either the left pair and the right pair, or a tube for each burner. If there's a central pilot, it might take a little bit longer for the rings to light as gas has to travel down the tube to the central pilot first. That spot is a great place to melt butter, by the way. You also have to check the oven and see if that has a pilot or if it needs to be lit manually. Pull the drawer, get down under there and have a look-see. In either case, with the oven door open, there should be a hole in the face of the oven body, at the bottom center, just above the plane of the open door, into which you insert a lit match. If memory serves, you turn the oven control to either any temp, or there may be a setting marked, "LIGHT", or you may need to push in & hold the oven control knob to get gas flowing...stick the match in & you should hear it catch. If it's a push-in primer, hold it in for a five-count to be sure the thermocouple heats up enough to keep the burner lit. Then you can let it go. Source: old bastard 
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Nov 5, 2020 16:33
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PainterofCrap posted:Sounds like there's a pilot light under there for the burners. If you remove the griddles, you should be able to pop up the range-top cover & see what's what - there should be a l'il flame in the center with a tube leading to either the left pair and the right pair, or a tube for each burner. If there's a central pilot, it might take a little bit longer for the rings to light as gas has to travel down the tube to the central pilot first. Thanks so much! And I do have a sort of pipe opening in the oven but putting a match down there just made it go out. I'll keep trying. Should I maybe re-season these griddles too? They look pretty banged up, but maybe it doesn't matter so much.
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Nov 5, 2020 23:44
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So I did some drywalling and need to prime. Part of my rooms are new drywall, some are old wall, and there's mud everywhere. Can anyone recommend a nice primer that isn't too expensive but works well to cover up all this mess? Basically I took a couple walls down and need to paint a newly combined large room that has different old walls from three different spaces (that I patched a bunch of wholes in) and a new wall that is new drywall and mud. I'm not sure how best to make all the different textures match so the final painting looks good.
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Nov 8, 2020 16:24
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One coat of Killz imo
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Nov 8, 2020 18:21
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regulargonzalez posted:One coat of Killz imo There's so many killz...maybe killz2?
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Nov 8, 2020 19:05
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Rooster Brooster posted:I dunno if it's helpful, and I don't know anything about the topic, but the two things that popped to my mind: Is there such a thing as "refurbished" or "scratch and dent" sales for these stoves? Otherwise, is there a good used market for them?
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Nov 8, 2020 19:32
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GWBBQ posted:metal eating bacteria that turns black with iron in the water and pink with manganese (I may have that backwards) Nope you don't have that backwards, that's the stuff in the well at my old house. It's such a pain in the rear end. Dunno if that's what we're looking at, but yeah....I hate that poo poo. I put a big canister water filter just past the well pump so I could fill it with peroxide, run hot+cold out of every tap in the house until I could smell it, and the let it sit in the pipes for 20 minutes. Then you flush out this godawful mixture of peroxide bubbles and black death (take the aerators off!) and everything good for another several months. Motronic fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Nov 9, 2020 |
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Nov 8, 2020 19:38
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Guess who misjudged the thickness of his subfloor and has two small children holes in his hardwood from screwing upwards? What's the best way to fill such a hole - it's a light hardwood, was refinished last year. Is there a wood filler/epoxy kind of thing??
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Nov 9, 2020 00:09
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Jenkl posted:Guess who misjudged the thickness of his subfloor and has two small children holes in his hardwood from screwing upwards? Absolutely. You may even be able to find it color matched. This is totally a "go to your local hardware store, if you don't have one box store, and find the oldest dude there and ask". E: you're probalby going to be looking at something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Color-Putty-Company-124-3-68-Ounce/dp/B002YC9RQ0?th=1 But there are a ton of options and a very practical one will be available to you locally for probably under $10. You will then be the ONLY person who ever notices the holes again. Motronic fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Nov 9, 2020 |
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Nov 9, 2020 00:33
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I learned that sawdust from a project can be mixed with wood glue to create a good color-matched filler.
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Nov 9, 2020 00:48
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The putty stuff works great but you will definitely 100% notice the spot forever (no one else will) When I made a similar oopsie with a half-inch drill bit I filled it with a dowel rod
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Nov 9, 2020 00:48
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Awesome! All great news. Thanks everyone.
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Nov 9, 2020 00:57
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Jerk McJerkface posted:There's so many killz...maybe killz2? I usually just go with original for something like this but I'm sure premium or 2 or 3 will work fine too.
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Nov 9, 2020 03:11
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Any tips on how to loosen the valve on my toilet's water intake line? Trying to install a bidet and I should probably shut off the water before I add the bidet line on.
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Nov 9, 2020 04:17
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C-Euro posted:Any tips on how to loosen the valve on my toilet's water intake line? Trying to install a bidet and I should probably shut off the water before I add the bidet line on. Turn off the water to your house and do it. If you have to try that hard with tools it's already busted. So plan on replacing the valve and have the parts on hand. This is what happenes with almost all of them because they don't get moved like...ever. Replace it with a nice quality quarter turn that will have a better chance of surviving this absolutely common and normal level of abuse.
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Nov 9, 2020 04:26
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regulargonzalez posted:I usually just go with original for something like this but I'm sure premium or 2 or 3 will work fine too. Original Kilz is oil based which there's zero reason to mess with for new drywall. Any of the water-based Kilz or Zinsser primers that say drywall will be fine. If you're putting a topcoat on with a sheen to it like a satin as opposed to a flat maybe get one of the slightly better primers they offer as it will give you better sheen development which means a more even finish and better touch up.
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Nov 9, 2020 13:13
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I posted this in the discord, but I think the forum thread still gets a lot more traffic. Apologies if it's a repeat to you. I had a major reno including a full basement addition and a new porch. The company placed a large amount of gravel under the porch, but I can't figure out why. It's maybe 18" higher than grade, and just sits on the grade soil. It's slightly sloped from the house to the edge of the porch. This porch also has a roof, so it basically doesn't get weather or water.   
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Nov 9, 2020 14:56
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> Start Digging DIY&H's first mystery CYOA thread?
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Nov 9, 2020 15:31
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Probably just meeting code requirements for grade. Has to be sloped away from the house. The existence of the roof above doesn't matter.
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Nov 9, 2020 15:53
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Centrist Committee posted:General question about DIY lifts and pulleys. I want to rig up some random projects to lift small loads (< 100 lbs) using mechanical advantage, not electricity. Maybe someday I will build my own linear actuators but for now I want to go even lower tech. My question is what to do for safety in the event that a line breaks or I let just let go like a dumbass. I don’t want a locking mechanism, but instead an trying to think up simple, mechanical options for countering or reducing the force of gravity such that if I released a pulley line, the load would slowly settle down vs. free falling. Are there any technical terms I should search for? I was thinking maybe a shock absorber but that doesn’t seem right. Maybe I just don’t understand physics! Also rigging is its own special hell when it comes to math. I failed trig twice so good luck with that. But to slow a fall you need a counterweight which just made your calculations WAY harder. Arresting (stopping, making less catastrophically shocking) a fall is as describe previously. Your best bet is to simply follow the other advice of "never stand under your load" (or in the path of it when your rope breaks.) Get straps to do the holding, ropes to do the lifting. Can you post a picture of what you're trying to do and where? (Please be a car.)
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Nov 9, 2020 18:54
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Final Blog Entry posted:Original Kilz is oil based which there's zero reason to mess with for new drywall. Any of the water-based Kilz or Zinsser primers that say drywall will be fine. If you're putting a topcoat on with a sheen to it like a satin as opposed to a flat maybe get one of the slightly better primers they offer as it will give you better sheen development which means a more even finish and better touch up. One of my buddies works for Benjamin Moore, and he recommended their Fresh Start Primer, but man it's $40/gallon. That's nuts.
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Nov 9, 2020 20:11
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You get what you pay for with paint. Cheap paint sucks. I believe the same holds true for primer.
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Nov 9, 2020 20:29
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:You get what you pay for with paint. Cheap paint sucks. I believe the same holds true for primer. So circling back, I picked up a 5gal bucket of Killz2, and I guess it'll be terrible?
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Nov 9, 2020 20:41
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Jerk McJerkface posted:So circling back, I picked up a 5gal bucket of Killz2, and I guess it'll be terrible? It will be great. It will be hard to mix and pour is about it.
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Nov 9, 2020 20:59
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Bad Munki posted:Probably just meeting code requirements for grade. Has to be sloped away from the house. The existence of the roof above doesn't matter. I can see that argument, but it’s just dumped on the existing grade, which is basically flat all around the house. Does it count as proper slope when you just put a mound of dirt up against the house?
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Nov 10, 2020 04:25
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Well, they had to do something with the left-over gravel.
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Nov 10, 2020 04:38
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Jerk McJerkface posted:So circling back, I picked up a 5gal bucket of Killz2, and I guess it'll be terrible? Sample size of one, but it’s worked out great for me. Pressure washed, scraped and primed my T-11 detached garage with it, and it’s holding up great 4-5 years later with two coats of the whatever long expired de-chunkified latex paint my dad had laying around. Also chooched through the HF airless paint sprayer real well, though that may not exactly be a point towards how much you’ll need for a good coating vs something more expensive.. Oh, also used it for the front porch (same application) and no complaints there, as well as my kitchen cabinets. I think that’s the main complaint, it’s a bit thin so two coatings probably wouldn’t go amiss. Higher end stuff might only need one coating, but hey, prep work is 80% of painting so what the hell if you gotta apply another round of happy trees
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Nov 10, 2020 04:53
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mr.belowaverage posted:I can see that argument, but it’s just dumped on the existing grade, which is basically flat all around the house. Does it count as proper slope when you just put a mound of dirt up against the house? I believe so. Certainly has for the few foundation/grade inspection projects I’ve been involved in.
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Nov 10, 2020 06:49
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mr.belowaverage posted:I can see that argument, but it’s just dumped on the existing grade, which is basically flat all around the house. Does it count as proper slope when you just put a mound of dirt up against the house? Yeah. What do you think "grade" is? No doubt the part of the pile against the house is however deep code says it needs to be to make the slope back down to grade required. What you're looking at is below average work quality. Potentially average depending on the area.
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Nov 10, 2020 16:03
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I bought an old Tizio lamp off ebay a few weeks ago and either the seller hosed me, or it happened later during my unpacking and handling, but in any case I didn't notice that the base transformer housing was cracked until it was too late to complain. It's not visible from the outside, but it's behind the top rivet: This causes it to be a bit wobbly. I opened it up and it is indeed pretty messed up:  I doubt any amount of glue would help there so I'm thinking sticking a thin aluminum plate in there so that the arm can be tightened to it. Or can someone think of a better way? Also I never used a rivet gun, will a regular hardware store gun produce identical looking results? I could just use a small bolt and nut in the short term, but it would be nice to retain the original look.
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Nov 10, 2020 17:17
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