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Xenix posted:Ah ok. So that room slopes about twice as much as what the sort of "industry recommended" slope is for foundation performance where I'm at. If the house is old, the settlement from the new structure on the soil is likely complete. If it changes from time to time, you're on expansive soil, and it'll heave up a bit in the rainy season and settle back down in the dry season. If you're on a slope, you may want to monitor the area. The house was built in 55 so I'd hope it's done settling by now, and I'm on a hill so I cant really see the rain season thing being an issue. Is there a specific self leveler that would work best? I'd really like to get the floor sorted before I set a 900lb gun safe in its final resting place.
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Mar 14, 2021 17:24
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So I haven't gotten around to doing it yet but this spring (maybe?) I'm going to get our external grill running on natural gas as we have the hookup already in place. My question is the hookup pipe on the exterior has surface rust. Is that rust ok to not worry about or should I remove the rust and paint the metal with some exterior spray paint to protect it? If I should remove the rust and paint, what products do ya'll recommend?
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Mar 14, 2021 18:57
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It'll last a long time like that, but properly protecting it from the elements is always good, I'd hit it with a wire brush to get the chunks off then use some rustoleum that advertises itself as bonding to rust.
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Mar 15, 2021 00:06
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Elviscat posted:It'll last a long time like that, but properly protecting it from the elements is always good, I'd hit it with a wire brush to get the chunks off then use some rustoleum that advertises itself as bonding to rust. Excellent that sounds like just the amount of effort that I'm down for. Thanks.
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Mar 15, 2021 00:14
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Just got a new fridge and it slides forward when I go to open the door. There are casters, but they don't have locks. I have a couple shims blocking them right now, and it helps, but it's still more movement than I want. Is there something else I can do?
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Mar 15, 2021 05:25
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You should be able to raise or lower the casters by turning a screw or bolt in front of each caster. The heads should be visible if you get down low and inspect the front lower edge.
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Mar 15, 2021 05:29
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PainterofCrap posted:You should be able to raise or lower the casters by turning a screw or bolt in front of each caster. The heads should be visible if you get down low and inspect the front lower edge. I missed that there were feet to unscrew that will apparently stop the wheels from engaging (and they are not mentioned in the manual). A bit different from my previous fridge, but I should be able to make that work.
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Mar 15, 2021 17:15
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So there's a tiny leak on my water heater's shutoff valve. Where my finger's touching there's dampness, and it's new moisture since it comes back when I wipe it off: This valve has had some history: a few weeks ago I used it so that I can drain the water heater, and when I opened it back up it started leaking water from the screw up top. I called a plumber, and he ended up not having to do much -- he just tightened it and it stopped leaking. He said to call him if it started leaking again, and he'd replace it. However, recently I used it again and that's when it started slowly leaking. Should I: 1) Try tightening it again? Even if it works, I feel like it'd just be kicking the can down the road. 2) Try and replace the bonnet? It seems like I should just be able to replace some washers, but I'm worried about how much mineralizing there is. I have limited plumbing experience, and I'm worried that it'll turn out to be something more than I can handle. 3) Just call the plumber and have him replace it (ideally with a quarter-turn valve). What do you guys think?
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Mar 16, 2021 06:17
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You could try to replace the seal/o-ring underneath that top nut, but honestly small bronze gate valves suck and you would be better off replacing it with a quarter turn ball valve.
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Mar 16, 2021 06:29
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If that nut moves freely I'd give replacing the stem seal a go. If you start going at it and it becomes really difficult, nope out and have it replaced though. E: if you mess it up too bad there's always shark bites.
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Mar 16, 2021 14:51
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floWenoL posted:So there's a tiny leak on my water heater's shutoff valve. Where my finger's touching there's dampness, and it's new moisture since it comes back when I wipe it off: Repacking a valve is very easy and a good homeowner skill to have. That said, if you paid a plumber to do it already, he should finish the job. https://youtu.be/HYS_6_dkkYE
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Mar 16, 2021 15:37
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Friend bought an soldering iron and is asking me what this metal plate is for Even though I've used different soldering irons before, none of them included such thing so I have no clue.
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Mar 16, 2021 15:39
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Sininu posted:Friend bought an soldering iron and is asking me what this metal plate is for Wild guess, but it looks like a stand for the World's Cheapest Soldering IronTM. Fold the middle tab out, the soldering iron should rest in the V portion, wider portion would be the base. Even my cheapest radio shack soldering iron has a better stand than that and a on/off switch in line with the cord.
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Mar 16, 2021 15:50
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DaveSauce posted:Wild guess, but it looks like a stand for the World's Cheapest Soldering IronTM. Fold the middle tab out, the soldering iron should rest in the V portion, wider portion would be the base. I'll go with that guess. Thanks!
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Mar 16, 2021 16:04
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are furnace filters that have carbon added worth the extra cost? https://nordicpure.com/product/16x25x5brand/ e.g. MERV 12 vs. MERV 12 + Carbon it's about $6 extra per filter
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Mar 16, 2021 22:00
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Elviscat posted:If that nut moves freely I'd give replacing the stem seal a go. If you start going at it and it becomes really difficult, nope out and have it replaced though. eddiewalker posted:Repacking a valve is very easy and a good homeowner skill to have. That said, if you paid a plumber to do it already, he should finish the job. Hunh, yeah, repacking the valve seems like it's worth a shot. (The plumber actually just wanted 'beer money' for just tightening the valve, I didn't actually pay him for the labor to replace the valve.) One question re. shark bites. It looks like the valve is soldered onto the pipe, right? So if I did want to use sharkbites, I'd have to do some pipe cutting/desoldering to do so? Here's a wider pic of the connection:  I can't see very well behind the valve, but I'm guessing that part will be soldered too.
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Mar 16, 2021 23:19
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fps_bill posted:The house was built in 55 so I'd hope it's done settling by now, and I'm on a hill so I cant really see the rain season thing being an issue. Is there a specific self leveler that would work best? I'd really like to get the floor sorted before I set a 900lb gun safe in its final resting place. I've used Combimix 740 with good results, but I had to buy that from a specialty chemical company. Ardex also has good engineered concrete products and it looks like most of their self leveling products are high strength. I have not used their self leveling compounds but have used their other underlayments with good results. Quickretes fast set self leveling product has good max strength, but their regular set time self leveling compound looks relatively weak (5800 psi vs 2000 psi). I'd make sure you have the recommended minimum thickness at the location the safe is going to sit at and probably for at least 1 foot around it to keep the stuff from spalling. All of these products are underlayments so they all say they're supposed to have some sort of resilient flooring installed on top of them. I'm not sure if or how that will affect your specific situation.
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Mar 17, 2021 18:08
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fps_bill posted:The house was built in 55 so I'd hope it's done settling by now, and I'm on a hill so I cant really see the rain season thing being an issue. Is there a specific self leveler that would work best? I'd really like to get the floor sorted before I set a 900lb gun safe in its final resting place. Hah, my house was built in 78 and it didn't stop settling until we underpinned the whole foundation last year......... but yeah, that's what expansive soil gets you  edit: nvm, just saw you said it was a basement.
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Mar 17, 2021 22:23
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actionjackson posted:are furnace filters that have carbon added worth the extra cost? No, because unless your returns have over provisioned surface area, you're going to increase the static pressure drop across the filter, which means your furnace/air handler are going to have to work harder, if the amount of carbon added is actually enough to do anything. If you look at the estimated pressure loss across the filter in the little table usually provided on the filter frame, the MERV+carbon should show greater drop across the filter (thanks to the carbon) relative to the standard MERV you're comparing it to. If the pressure drops are equal, that means they've added just enough carbon to make it look like there's carbon, but it's not going to really do anything above what that filter was already going to do. If there is a slight increase, then you may get some odor reduction... Either way, it's not worth $6, especially when you probably should be limiting yourself to MERV8-10 anyway to not stress your unit, unless you're using 2" or thicker filters. I'm guessing it's just a standard 1" filter though. MERV8 is usually more than sufficient to protect the unit, and personally I would only look at higher when doing activities that might introduce larger PM into the air, such as remodeling, etc, and even then only during those activities and shortly after.
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Mar 18, 2021 00:16
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thank you for the very detailed response! I was told MERV 11+, but my filters are quite thick (4 3/8", the second size listed in the link)
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Mar 18, 2021 00:53
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Oh sorry, I completely missed that they're 5", so that's good and definitely helps with potential airflow restrictions. If this is just a return filter, I think MERV 12/13 is about what's considered the highest reasonable MERV level, and to still avoid anything above that. The replaceable filters used on inline scrubbers are often MERV 13 if I recall, but someone around here could probably speak more to that. I still think the charcoal is a waste of money though and unnecessary, but if you have odor-related issues (pets, smoking, whatever), it doesn't necessarily hurt. Canned Sunshine fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Mar 18, 2021 |
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Mar 18, 2021 02:18
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okay thanks again, no smoking but I do have a dog
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Mar 18, 2021 02:38
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Had a roof leak last season that caused paint bubbling and peeling in my bathroom ceiling. Tried peeling off the entire ceiling's layer of paint but couldn't, so I've decided to throw wainscotting on the ceiling (it would match the bathroom walls, which have 3 foot high wainscotting). Decided against repainting because the peel seems to creep outward slowly, which will gently caress up any repaint efforts. Do I need to paint on a layer of mildew-resistant primer BEFORE I throw on the wainscotting? Just wondering if exposed plaster is susceptible to mold or something since it is a humid bathroom. 
melon cat fucked around with this message at 19:08 on Mar 18, 2021 |
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Mar 18, 2021 19:02
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I'm building one of those cedar playhouses from Costco for my kid this weekend. I want to get 10 years out of it if possible, so I'm concerned about direct ground contact. My wife thinks I'm overthinking this (I am, its what I do). How long can I expect it to be safe without additional effort? I was thinking of just laying a line of pavers around the base to keep it off the dirt/grass, or even a course of 3/4 gravel a few inches wide. I was also considering painting the bottom with copper green.
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Mar 18, 2021 20:45
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By my understanding, as long as you base it on something with good drainage, it should be basically fine. Pavers would qualify so long as they don't sink into the ground over time. Something like pavers on top of gravel ought to work just fine. Putting the pen on just gravel ought to work, but you'd have to have gravel everywhere that the pen contacts the ground...and you'll want a few inches of gravel to get proper drainage. Pavers could be put just at the corners or other load-bearing points, leaving the rest of the pen suspended above the ground. The overbuilding approach here would be to get some of those prefabricated concrete pylons that you can slot 2x4s into. Arrange the pylons in a rectangle, connected them with PT 2x4s, and then put the pen on top of that. (and honestly, for all that it's overbuilding, it's also probably the easiest approach)
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Mar 18, 2021 21:01
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melon cat posted:Had a roof leak last season that caused paint bubbling and peeling in my bathroom ceiling. Tried peeling off the entire ceiling's layer of paint but couldn't, so I've decided to throw wainscotting on the ceiling (it would match the bathroom walls, which have 3 foot high wainscotting). Decided against repainting because the peel seems to creep outward slowly, which will gently caress up any repaint efforts. If it was my bathroom I'd figure out which way the joists are running. Once you know that--mark your lines in the middle of the joists and cut out all the damaged area between those lines. The idea being the existing ceiling drywall uses half of the joist for attachment points and your new patch will use the other half. You might need to span more than one joist bay. With the drywall removed you'll have a much better view into the area where the water penetrated. Hopefully there aren't any surprises. Once everything behind the drywall is cleaned up, get a 1/2 sheet / patch size of green board. (Moisture resistant wallboard tends to be called green or blue board depending on the region/supplier.) That is looking like a large patch. California patch would be rough to pull off, so you'll need to tape, mud, and sand. Over your head and first time--will probably look horrible... But if you wanted to beadboard--now would be the time to beadboard over your cruddy mudding. (Mudding looks way, way easier than it actually is.) Anyhow, if the mudding gets to an acceptable level, you'd repaint the ceiling and viola! Done without home's next owner using your name in vain when they remove the beadboard... HycoCam fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Mar 18, 2021 |
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Mar 18, 2021 23:21
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Currently getting some quotes for repointing our brick foundation. 1924 construction, so I thought you should use a softer mortar - one of the guys I talked to on the phone went on an on about using hydraulic cement. I thought if you used a mortar that was a lot harder than the brick it can cause the bricks to crack. Should I be weary of this company?
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Mar 19, 2021 01:58
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HycoCam posted:Do you own or rent?  It isn't crumbly. But who knows maybe the plaster is peeling off the lath due to the water damage and I just can't see it. I know exactly the direction the joists run- the attic knee wall is right above it so I can get on top of the ceiling. But there's no way that I can easily cut out a section without compromising most of the ceiling since it's made out of plaster and lathe. If I cut out a section of it wouldn't it make more sense to just gut the entire ceiling's plaster and replace it with drywall? melon cat fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 02:30
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melon cat posted:We own so unfortunately this is my problem to deal with. Slam up a layer of 3/8" drywall over what's there. Thta's what I did to remedy the flaking paint all over the plaster ceiling.
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Mar 19, 2021 03:36
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The Slack Lagoon posted:Currently getting some quotes for repointing our brick foundation. 1924 construction, so I thought you should use a softer mortar - one of the guys I talked to on the phone went on an on about using hydraulic cement. You’re correct to be concerned, you need to find a mason who works with older foundations and knows how to match the hardness and permeability of the original mortar. Old foundations are designed to dry to the inside and any waterproofing material applied to the interior, including hydraulic cement, will cause foundation damage. corgski fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 03:41
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PainterofCrap posted:Slam up a layer of 3/8" drywall over what's there. Thta's what I did to remedy the flaking paint all over the plaster ceiling. I thought of doing that very same thing but it'll cover part of my shower tiling where it meets the ceiling:  Which could make future tile replacement annoying. I wouldn't give a poo poo if I didn't plan on owning this house for very long but I'd like to save future-melon cat a few headaches if I ever decide to remodel the bathroom. corgski posted:You’re correct to be concerned, you need to find a mason who works with older foundations and knows how to match the hardness and permeability of the original mortar. melon cat fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 04:11
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melon cat posted:I thought of doing that very same thing but it'll cover part of my shower tiling where it meets the ceiling: Put up cove molding and nail it vertically at the tile. Dot caulk on the tile face to secure it to the wall before you nail.
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Mar 19, 2021 04:56
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I'm asking here because I have no idea what thread I should put it in. Feel free to just direct me to a thread, I looked in AI as well but don't see anything relevant and this is about an outbuilding so maybe it goes here. I want to put up a tent garage thing so I can keep my cars out of the snow and also work on them without lying in mud and snow, but I'm not sure what to do for a foundation. Short of laying a concrete slab what are my options? I was thinking pavers but I'm not sure what to put underneath them to keep them level. I live in a mobile home park so while I am allowed to put up a tent I don't know if they would be happy with me laying a slab and also I don't own the land so I don't want to put that much money into it.
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Mar 19, 2021 07:23
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PainterofCrap posted:Put up cove molding and nail it vertically at the tile. Dot caulk on the tile face to secure it to the wall before you nail. \/ That would make a lot more sense. Looks like I'm drywallin' this summer. melon cat fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 14:13
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I think he means nail it vertically into the ceiling but next to the tile. There is no way to hammer into tile without destruction.
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Mar 19, 2021 14:20
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corgski posted:You’re correct to be concerned, you need to find a mason who works with older foundations and knows how to match the hardness and permeability of the original mortar. PO put up whitewash - will that damage the brick? Also I should say the foundation is cement with a few feet of brick on top of the cement, so it's not entirely brick
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Mar 19, 2021 15:10
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22 Eargesplitten posted:I'm asking here because I have no idea what thread I should put it in. Feel free to just direct me to a thread, I looked in AI as well but don't see anything relevant and this is about an outbuilding so maybe it goes here. I'd make a little pad for it with PT 2x4 sleepers and some marine plywood. You want something to elevate it iff the ground so water and mud and poo poo doesn't just flow in.
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Mar 19, 2021 17:27
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Is there any trick to getting this drain cap off? I removed the two screws but every attempt with pliers just warps and scratches the metal.
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Mar 19, 2021 19:10
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Less Fat Luke posted:Is there any trick to getting this drain cap off? I removed the two screws but every attempt with pliers just warps and scratches the metal. Jam a screwdriver you don't like into a hole and pry it up. Use a block of wood for a pivot point if necessary to not damage the tile. That cap looks like its sealed in, you're probably going to bend or break it.
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Mar 19, 2021 20:05
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Yeah gently caress it definitely looks sealed, goddamn. The builder special. I'll measure it and make sure I can find a replacement before trying again with more force, thanks!
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Mar 19, 2021 20:09
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