DaveSauce posted:

It should be easy for someone who knows what they're doing, but it's easy to gently caress up if you don't. There are a few details that aren't quite obvious if you don't know what to look for, so you can't just grab any ballast and wire it in 1:1. I mean, if you buy the correct ballast then yes, it's an easy swap, but I'm guessing dude just grabbed the cheapest thing that said "ballast" and shoehorned it in.

One thing that's weirding me out is every ballast I've seen has the label visible once installed. Like, the side facing you should have a bigass sticker that has brand, model, specs, wiring diagram, etc. on it. So that's another red flag there...

SourKraut posted:

Is that a bear arm?

Edit: I guess given the size, more probably a racoon or something similar in size?

BonerGhost posted:

The label is visible. The model # is 3324 2L 17W WRAP

It also says:

Fixture utilizes series circuitry, ballast characterics include:

*Ballast wires connected to one end only
*Single bulb failure results in both bulbs not operating *Power connections must be made in junction box-not
in fixture.

SourKraut posted:

Is that a bear arm?

Edit: I guess given the size, more probably a racoon or something similar in size?

DaveSauce posted:

It should be easy for someone who knows what they're doing, but it's easy to gently caress up if you don't. There are a few details that aren't quite obvious if you don't know what to look for, so you can't just grab any ballast and wire it in 1:1. I mean, if you buy the correct ballast then yes, it's an easy swap, but I'm guessing dude just grabbed the cheapest thing that said "ballast" and shoehorned it in.

One thing that's weirding me out is every ballast I've seen has the label visible once installed. Like, the side facing you should have a bigass sticker that has brand, model, specs, wiring diagram, etc. on it. So that's another red flag there...

BonoMan posted:

It does have this label on it:

DaveSauce posted:

Yeah so I was looking at the ballast itself, not the fixture. When you said he replaced the ballast, I thought it was just the ballast, not the entire fixture (edit: the ballast being the white box the wires are going in/out of).

So I'm totally wrong here, that entire unit was probably wired at the factory and looks to be wired as it's supposed to be.

I mean, dude still did it wrong because the wires are supposed to go through that hole in the middle up in to a junction box, but that's a separate issue.

BonoMan posted:

Oh my bad! This is why I hire people to do my work

BonoMan posted:

Edit: Also I think he just rewired it like the old one because that's how it was too, the junction box didn't seem accessible... just wires coming through wood from what I can see.

The PO had some really not up to code wiring in other spots (for instance a completely bypassed exterior breaker at the AC condenser that almost killed my AC repair man because it was remounted to *look* correct).

So if I had to guess something is just not right with the wiring (or possible he just bent a pin when installing the bulb). Either way already got an electrician on his way to come look at it all and reinstall a new LED fixture.

DaveSauce posted:

Nah you're good, I made an assumption. The whole fixture was probably about the same price (or cheaper) than just a ballast, without the concerns of trying to figure out which ballast to use and how to wire it and if the tombstones are the right type blah blah blah.

By the looks of it, that fixture is designed just for this scenario, quick and easy swap out. Cheap series wiring (one burnt bulb means the whole thing goes out), and the fixture isn't rated for holding the wiring (hence the stated need for a separate junction box).

edit:

Typically fluorescent fixtures are rated to have the wiring terminations inside, so there's no need for a junction box in the ceiling. Your old fixture was likely rated for this. This new fixture is not, which is why it tells you you need a junction box.

Again, this all points to it being a purpose-designed cheap replacement. Made to do the bare minimum required for the lowest cost they can manage, but that means it can only be used in certain scenarios. Since you have no junction box, this is not an appropriate fixture. I'm sure your electrician will gripe about it.

BonoMan posted:

Electrician came by and is off to get an LED fixture. He did mention it's wired into the main overhead light in the bathroom (the one in the center of the space)... is that normal?

Deviant posted:

buddy if there is a bear on your roof you got problems a contractor can't solve

DaveSauce posted:

That I couldn't tell you, might be worth pressing your electrician for more details. Is it turned on by the same switch? Because having multiple fixtures using a single switch is certainly common, and if this was by design then I'm pretty sure wiring it from the other light's junction box is the right way to do it.

Not sure if the implication is that the PO added it on his own, or if he was just mentioning it because there was something else weird about it, or if it was just mentioned in passing.

H110Hawk posted:

And now you have LED's! Anyone newly installing fluorescent fixtures should be a red flag. Also what's inside them? Mercury! (I mean just a tiny bit.)

BonoMan posted:

Yeah I'm not sure why he did that. Likely just buying what was cheapest?

Anyway the bulbs didn't break, but the ends sure did fry (as visible in the pics). I have two small kids - any danger I need to be aware of toxicity wise?

BonoMan posted:

H110Hawk posted:

Don't huff the gas inside them, and when they break that glass is the WORST to clean up because it shatters SO FINELY. Otherwise, no, just return it and demand an LED fixture should this ever come up in the future. They're an antiquated technology no one should be buying new these days. LEDs are better in every way. They're safer to maintain (no ULTRA fine/sharp glass when they break), put out better light, last longer, etc. But to your point - no, you and your kids are fine. We've all been around a FL or CFL that's shattered.

That's open right? Either way, just toss it into your dumpster and get a refund from Herr Chucklefuck who thinks it's a good idea to buy those things to cover the cover of the big kid contractor you hired to do it right the first time.

corgski posted:

I'm strongly in favor of more house/apartment project threads, not every thread has to be people with falling down historic houses doing major renovation.

Yooper posted:

That was after our first coat. We used an 18" roller, sanded between coats, and filtered our paint, both by recomendation of the drywallers. I'll never use a 9" roller again. Not sure how much difference the filtering made.

BonoMan posted:

Did something get reversed?

NomNomNom posted:

You could use pvc trim boards instead, would cost a bit more but look nicer. Stuff is definitely waterproof.

That Works posted:

Any thread favorite / recommended undercounter LED lighting? I had some little 1 foot modular strips that just daisy chained together and plugged into the wall that I taped in when I moved into the house but 2 years in and they are flickering like crazy and need to go.

I have about 4 feet of non continuous counter to hang it under.

That Works posted:

Any thread favorite / recommended undercounter LED lighting? I had some little 1 foot modular strips that just daisy chained together and plugged into the wall that I taped in when I moved into the house but 2 years in and they are flickering like crazy and need to go.

I have about 4 feet of non continuous counter to hang it under.

Vim Fuego posted:

There is drywall sealing primer: https://www.kilz.com/primer/kilz-drywall-pva-primer

It's normal primer mixed with pva (elmers glue)

Really any good quality primer will work. But if you feel better using a specialized product, you can get the drywall primer. I usually do a coat of drywall sealing primer, a coat of normal primer, then color coat. But realistically you'll be fine with one coat of whatever primer you user.

Final Blog Entry posted:

PVA's are decent economical drywall sealers under a flat or matte topcoat. Its sheen holdout sucks though, so if it's being topcoated with anything eggshell/satin or higher in sheen then I'd recommend a better primer to give you full and even sheen development. I've seen a lot of streaky satins and semiglosses over new drywall + PVA even with two full topcoats.