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Alright, thanks, that's useful info. I'll come up with a design that doesn't exceed 1:12. Fortunately there's plenty of space if I do include a landing and a 90; no need to put a zigzag into the thing. It's just going to be a substantially bigger construction, and I probably won't be able to knock it out in a day or two over Christmas break. Oh well. Re: walker, he's already using a cane and a walker indoors. He tends to eschew them outdoors which makes the rest of us nervous as hell.
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Dec 6, 2020 00:20
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If I can make a suggestion, the modular aluminum ramps work very well, are extremely nonslip, and can be installed quickly while remaining removable in the future, where a wooden ramp is basically a deck (unless built on skids, dunno if that's a thing though). At current covid-19 lumber prices, it may even be competitive in price.
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Dec 6, 2020 00:32
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A bonus with following the ADA (width not just slope and also the turns) is that a stretcher should be able to maneuver on it which is safer than alternate methods if someone was to need ambulance transport from a house with a ramp.
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Dec 6, 2020 00:35
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angryrobots posted:If I can make a suggestion, the modular aluminum ramps work very well, are extremely nonslip, and can be installed quickly while remaining removable in the future, where a wooden ramp is basically a deck (unless built on skids, dunno if that's a thing though). At current covid-19 lumber prices, it may even be competitive in price. Yeah, that's a good thought, thanks. I spoke with my parents and they're OK with spending more on materials if it makes the job easier. Do you have any specific recommendations as far as brands or models?
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Dec 6, 2020 01:16
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Hed posted:For times when I know I’m going to be working with it, I just throw cardboard boxes from the recycling under the pan and plug. Cardboard worked beautifully! Even had a large sheet from a new appliance purchase that caught the spray from the driblets when the wind picked up. Another case where the simplest solution is the best, gracias!
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Dec 6, 2020 02:15
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edit: disregard. Figured it out!
melon cat fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Dec 6, 2020 |
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Dec 6, 2020 05:00
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Yeah, that's a good thought, thanks. I spoke with my parents and they're OK with spending more on materials if it makes the job easier. Do you have any specific recommendations as far as brands or models? No, sorry I'm not that much of an expert. Just my observation, and seeing many wooden ramps in poor condition. If your dad is a veteran or has medicaid he may qualify for financial assistance, though. Also just FYI, there are prefab 10' aluminum wheelchair ramps with handrails for under $1k. It would be slightly under spec per ADA for a 13" rise, but may be useful for other exits (or this one temporarily).
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Dec 6, 2020 05:15
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melon cat posted:edit: disregard. Figured it out!  Well? I saw you and your uncapped live wire!
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Dec 6, 2020 05:23
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angryrobots posted:No, sorry I'm not that much of an expert. Just my observation, and seeing many wooden ramps in poor condition. No worries, I appreciate the advice. The setup here is door -> porch -> ground. The porch is 7" below the door, and the ground is 6.5" below the porch. The porch is 40" deep. So what I'm thinking here is, build an elevated platform that's level with the door, and which extends out a few feet past the edge of the porch (however much the width of the ramp requires). I feel like having a sloped surface right up against the door is probably a bad idea, since it'd mean holding the wheelchair steady while opening the door. Then after that platform, a 90 degree turn to the right, and a straight ramp down to the ground 13+ feet away; there's plenty of room in that direction. I can build a platform out of wood no problem -- anchor some 2x4 or 4x4 PT posts to the concrete, run joists up to the door, surface with exterior-rated plywood or decking, paint or stain it. Or probably there's a prefab aluminum option too.
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Dec 6, 2020 05:29
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tangy yet delightful posted:If the wall switch is bad is there a recommended replacement brand? I'll see about checking this if/when it happens again. I just used a generic hardware store snap switch in the same form factor as the old one.
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Dec 6, 2020 05:33
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Corla Plankun posted:I'm running an extension cord for my xmas lights out through a window, so it is going to stay cracked for the duration of the holidays. What can I put in the crack to keep bugs out (and the weather a little bit, but this isn't a big deal because I live in central texas)? I think any old uv-proof foam would do but my searching has lead to products that cost about ten times what I'm willing to pay for a gap-filler. I'd sooner put some old t-shirts in the hole than pay jeff bezos 20 dollars for some disposable foam. I was going to suggest some foam pipe insulation or a pool noodle sliced lengthwise but that'll probably work.
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Dec 6, 2020 20:09
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So I'm looking for some ideas here. A few months back we moved to a new house. Unlike the previous place, this is not a DIY nightmare and has been almost entirely stress free. There is one quirk, the basement doesn't have a door. There's a finished frame but no door. The basement is where I keep all my collectible junk and we quickly discovered that our newest cat rather enjoys chomping on plastic. So I came up with an awkward solution for the time being. And this is clearly not a permanent solution. A custom door to match our existing ones will be kind of pricey, not really what I want to spend at the moment so I'm looking for ideas. The doorway is 81" x 28.5".
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Dec 6, 2020 20:55
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Rhyno posted:So I'm looking for some ideas here. A few months back we moved to a new house. Unlike the previous place, this is not a DIY nightmare and has been almost entirely stress free. There is one quirk, the basement doesn't have a door. There's a finished frame but no door. The basement is where I keep all my collectible junk and we quickly discovered that our newest cat rather enjoys chomping on plastic. So I came up with an awkward solution for the time being. How much space do you have to the right inside? Because that's looking like "figure out if you have space for a pre hung door" to me.
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Dec 6, 2020 21:00
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Rhyno posted:So I'm looking for some ideas here. A few months back we moved to a new house. Unlike the previous place, this is not a DIY nightmare and has been almost entirely stress free. There is one quirk, the basement doesn't have a door. There's a finished frame but no door. The basement is where I keep all my collectible junk and we quickly discovered that our newest cat rather enjoys chomping on plastic. So I came up with an awkward solution for the time being. What’s so custom about your other doors? The opening looks like something a $200 pre-hung door would fit.
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Dec 6, 2020 21:04
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I have an old wall furnace in the middle of my living room with an annoyingly loud intake fan. Similar model to this one where the fan is at the top: https://www.totalhomesupply.com/p/williams-furnace-company-3144030-31-400-btu-forsaire-electric-counterflow-furnace The fan was just replaced earlier this year, so it's not malfunctioning, and replacing the unit entirely is not an option since I'm renting and it's the primary source of heat for my place. It's just a loud source of white noise that makes talking and hearing the TV difficult. What I'm thinking is adding some kind of wedge-shaped metal box with an opening on top to block some of the noise and attaching it with magnetic strips. This is a rough photoshop mockup of sort of what I'm picturing...  Would this affect air flow and/or put strain on the fan at all? And would painting it the outside face of it before attaching present any danger I'm not thinking of? I think it's probably totally safe and fine but I just want to get a more educated opinion before I go to the trouble.
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Dec 6, 2020 21:06
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Motronic posted:How much space do you have to the right inside? There's space but there's a hand rail on that side and it can't really be moved to the left side because of a recessed area that forms a ledge along that wall of the staircase. For a hot minute I pondered an accordion door but I think it might look too trashy. eddiewalker posted:What’s so custom about your other doors? The opening looks like something a $200 pre-hung door would fit. The door panel pattern. I haven't seen anything that's an exact match and my wife would want it to be the same if possible. She's probably being a little too picky, I'd be fine with a smooth door. Rhyno fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Dec 6, 2020 |
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Dec 6, 2020 21:06
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Rhyno posted:There's space but there's a hand rail on that side and it can't really be moved to the left side because of a recessed area that forms a ledge along that wall of the staircase. For a hot minute I pondered an accordion door but I think it might look too trashy. Railing is fine. I think you need to look for pre hung doors. You can find a 4 panel like the one next to it and it should match up just fine. You may need a touch more trim to cover the opening, but that's easy enough since that millwork looks pretty plain. You should be able to match it at a big box store.
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Dec 6, 2020 21:09
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Motronic posted:Railing is fine. I think you need to look for pre hung doors. You can find a 4 panel like the one next to it and it should match up just fine. You may need a touch more trim to cover the opening, but that's easy enough since that millwork looks pretty plain. You should be able to match it at a big box store. Looks like the doors themselves are fairly cheap, I'm seeing a few options under $200. The door to the left is to the garage and doesn't actually match the other doors exactly. I didn't notice but my wife actually measured the panels sizes.
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Dec 6, 2020 21:12
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If you go with a bi-fold like this you might be able to make it look ok. I'm just imagining redoing all the mill work around the door would be annoying if you were to go with a full pre-hung.
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Dec 6, 2020 21:19
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Rhyno posted:Looks like the doors themselves are fairly cheap, I'm seeing a few options under $200. The door to the left is to the garage and doesn't actually match the other doors exactly. I didn't notice but my wife actually measured the panels sizes. Yes, that's an exterior (fire rated) door so it's gonna be different. Panel size doesn't matter so much, just style so it doesn't looks way off. And yeah, they are pretty cheap that's why I was suggesting doing that way rather than trying to find some crazy custom stuff that will match and then dealing with cutting everything in for hinges and a striker plate, etc. I've done that like...maybe once in the last couple of decades and I had a carpenter buddy's kit for it. It still sucked and I'm been a 100% proponent of prehung doors both before and certainly after.
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Dec 6, 2020 21:19
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I'll watch some YT videos and see if it's within my skill set. I imagine the hardest part will be the trim and making it not look like total poo poo.
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Dec 6, 2020 21:36
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Quick question. I bought a new house which is about 3 years old. I would like to install a chandelier in the second floor ceiling. I've climbed into the attic and it appears that parts of the attic roof is completely walled off. Is this for safety reasons? Or heating reasons? I haven't climbed completely through but should there be some opening somewhere or would I need to rip down the walls? Any place I can rent a Scaffolding that can get me to the 2nd floor ceiling? Also, would builders completely seal off small attics? I have a what should be a very small attic to a roof outside my house which covers the front door patio but there seems to be no entrance or access. By small I mean I don't think a fully grown adult would be able to get in there. I would only be interested to get access so I can run security camera wires/install new potlights.
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Dec 6, 2020 22:58
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This isn't a quick question. It sounds like these might be shear walls, but that depends entirely on how your house and roof are constructed. If they are shear walls they are absolutely structural and required. How to get around or through them is a whole other topic.
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Dec 6, 2020 23:06
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Question on vapour barrier (I'm in cold climate). Whoever put the vapour barrier in the basement had originally had it in front of a bulkhead containing most of the main supply run for our forced air. So I'm basically a chunk of the HVAC was outside the vapour barrier. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? I'm thinking the point is to keep condensation away from the walls/insulation, e.g. cold outside air from meeting hot inside air (or vice versa). Or would the idea maybe have been, assuming no leaks in the ducts, thered be relatively little heat loss? Basically getting the barrier behind them is really tough/impossible as currently built, so I see why it'd be done that way, I'm just concerned that makes the whole thing a bit of a waste?
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Dec 6, 2020 23:15
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Jenkl posted:Question on vapour barrier (I'm in cold climate). Post a picture. Most likely it's a minor building sin, but nothing catastrophic.
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Dec 7, 2020 00:56
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tangy yet delightful posted:I have a gas fireplace in a just out of warranty (of course) new home. We're attempting to turn it on for this second winter and it's not firing up. It doesn't have a pilot light, instead it's electric ignition. We have gas for our stovetop, water heater and furnace and that all works so I don't think it's a gas issue but rather an ignition issue. When we press the switch on the wall the little ignition spark doesn't do anything. we have a gas floor heater (IDK if this is related or not) but we had so many problems with it and I don't know anything about wiring or electricity or whatever. First I thought it was the thermostat but it wasn't. Then I realised that one of the connectors in the floor furnace was loose. Finally one other year it wasn't working and my landlord (former nasa engineer, so not a complete idiot) fixed it and said that the 'it's too hot' cut off was always activating, so he bypassed it. Also the gas technician came over before that and diagnosed it as 'too much resistance making it hard for it to turn on' which my landlord proved was not the real issue. Anyway, my point is I think there are lots of ways this kind of stuff can go wrong and even experts can talk poo poo. It works now.
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Dec 7, 2020 01:11
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redreader posted:Finally one other year it wasn't working and my landlord (former nasa engineer, so not a complete idiot) fixed it and said that the 'it's too hot' cut off was always activating, so he bypassed it. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOO THAT'S A VITAL loving SAFETY FEATURE IT KEEPS THE UNIT FROM CATCHING ON FIRE. What NASA project was he on, Shuttle Solid rocket boosters?
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Dec 7, 2020 01:36
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Elviscat posted:AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH He retired in 1986!
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Dec 7, 2020 01:50
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His career trajectory just kind of blew up on itself.
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Dec 7, 2020 01:58
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Tezer posted:Post a picture.   I unfortunately need the vapour barrier even though it's spray foam because in this remodel the walls are less than 2" off the concrete. Both the manufacturer and the city say it doesn't count as a vapour barrier unless it's 2" continuous. The duct work and bulkheads are very tight to the wall, so sliding some vapour barrier behind it might not be possible. Even if it were, I don't see a way to get a staple in there, or a caulk gun for acoustical. It might be unavoidable, but any ideas/comments/thoughts are very welcome.
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Dec 7, 2020 04:14
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Is there a type of thermostat that's less susceptible to erroneous readings from sunlight? I have an old mercury thermostat on the wall now but when the sun hits it, it reads 15-20F high. It's connected to a gas wall furnace in an out-building so it's not crucial that it's 100% accurate, but if a $20 electronic thermostat would fix it, I'd happily spend the money. It's a 2-wire system if it matters.
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Dec 7, 2020 20:18
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two_beer_bishes posted:Is there a type of thermostat that's less susceptible to erroneous readings from sunlight? I have an old mercury thermostat on the wall now but when the sun hits it, it reads 15-20F high. It's connected to a gas wall furnace in an out-building so it's not crucial that it's 100% accurate, but if a $20 electronic thermostat would fix it, I'd happily spend the money. It's a 2-wire system if it matters. Any outdoor thermometer should be shaded from the sun
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Dec 7, 2020 20:25
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My bathroom sink is clogged pretty bad, not sure what with. Probably hair or something, but I got one of those drain snake things and can't get it to drain. Is there anything else I can do to get it to drain before undoing the pipe and finding the clog? Or do I just need to get a bucket? I'd call maintenance since I'm in an apartment complex, but they fired the maintenance department when COVID hit and seem to be taking the attitude of "call a company if there's a valid reason for someone to break their lease for habitability, otherwise ignore tenant calls."
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Dec 7, 2020 20:46
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Do you not feel adventurous enough to try liquid plumber / drain cleaner? If you try it and it fails, please tell the real plumber though. That stuff is really really unhealthy to touch, and they'd have to take extra precautions.
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Dec 7, 2020 20:56
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22 Eargesplitten posted:My bathroom sink is clogged pretty bad, not sure what with. Probably hair or something, but I got one of those drain snake things and can't get it to drain. Is there anything else I can do to get it to drain before undoing the pipe and finding the clog? Or do I just need to get a bucket? Don't put liquid plumber down it. If the sink is accessible underneath its easy to fix assuming they use screwed on things. Call them and tell all bathroom sinks are clogged and not draining so you cannot wash your hands in the bathroom. If they insist on DIY then put a bucket under the trap, unscrew it, clean it out from below, put it back in snug but hand tight. Brace yourself for what is about to come out.
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Dec 7, 2020 21:13
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Rhyno posted:I'll watch some YT videos and see if it's within my skill set. I imagine the hardest part will be the trim and making it not look like total poo poo. Home Depot will also install it for you for about $350. Of course, you have to find and buy a door from them too.
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Dec 7, 2020 23:15
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And you're absolutely rolling the dice and might pay to have someone do an even shittier job.
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Dec 8, 2020 00:00
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Might? There are literally zero contractors signed up for home depot mcjobs that you want working on your home. Especially now.
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Dec 8, 2020 00:12
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The good contractors don't need to sign up with a big box store to get work. They get all they can handle through word of mouth (and maybe Yelp, Angie's List, et al where you can see how their customers rated them).
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Dec 8, 2020 02:00
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Home depot contractors the PO hired were responsible for the flashing installed on top of our shingles. If you get a good contractor from a big box store it was a mistake.
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Dec 8, 2020 02:37
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