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TerminalSaint posted:After spending my life in houses with forced air heating my new house has hot water radiators, so I'm not entirely familiar with all aspects of their operation. The basement has a baseboard heater that I'd like to have put out a bit more heat. The heater doesn't have any valves or controls on it, but it's on it's own loop with quarter-turn valves on both ends near the boiler: Are these baseboard radiators or cast standing units? I'm not sure about the former, but radiators can get partially air-bound and have spigots at the top to 'burp' them. With the unit running and confirmed heat to the bottom of the radiators (or felt at their inlet pipes) you can tell if they're bound because the top of the radiator will be colder - feel down until it gets hot; that's where the air ends. OPen the boiler's water intake, and, starting at the lowest one in the house, open the spigot and put a cup under the spout. Once water comes out consistently, it's burped. One of the first jobs I had with my dad was to go around the house with the tiny key & a cup and push the air out
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Dec 21, 2021 17:39
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Woodsy Owl posted:We are in the Pacific Northwest. Our home has a crawl space, and there is a crawl space fan that seems to circulate air from the outside through the crawl space. It's about to get mighty cold (-8 Celsius) and we will be out of town for the Christmas weekend. I am concerned with our pipes freezing while we are away. Turn it off while you're out of town. A couple days' still air down there won't hurt anything.
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Dec 21, 2021 17:42
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PainterofCrap posted:Are these baseboard radiators or cast standing units? I'm not sure about the former, but radiators can get partially air-bound and have spigots at the top to 'burp' them. With the unit running and confirmed heat to the bottom of the radiators (or felt at their inlet pipes) you can tell if they're bound because the top of the radiator will be colder - feel down until it gets hot; that's where the air ends. OPen the boiler's water intake, and, starting at the lowest one in the house, open the spigot and put a cup under the spout. Once water comes out consistently, it's burped. It's a baseboard heater. It's giving off what seems like a normal amount of heat, I'm just hoping I could get a bit more to better balance it to the rest of the house.
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Dec 21, 2021 20:28
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I'm trying to find a replacement screw for the connection between the hinge on the cabinet door to the hinge mounted on the cabinet. the diameter is a little above 1/8 in, the length is 3/16, and there appear to be 5 threads. I've tried searching for "cabinet screws" but those are all for screws to fasten the hinge to the cabinet. what incantation do I need to find this screw? v large thumbnailed image of said screw 
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Dec 23, 2021 03:59
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FamDav posted:I'm trying to find a replacement screw for the connection between the hinge on the cabinet door to the hinge mounted on the cabinet. the diameter is a little above 1/8 in, the length is 3/16, and there appear to be 5 threads. I've tried searching for "cabinet screws" but those are all for screws to fasten the hinge to the cabinet. what incantation do I need to find this screw? McMaster Carr is your friend.
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Dec 23, 2021 11:52
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FamDav posted:I'm trying to find a replacement screw for the connection between the hinge on the cabinet door to the hinge mounted on the cabinet. the diameter is a little above 1/8 in, the length is 3/16, and there appear to be 5 threads. I've tried searching for "cabinet screws" but those are all for screws to fasten the hinge to the cabinet. what incantation do I need to find this screw? Yeah I'd say either take it to your local small hardware store that lets you buy screws by the screw (and has an old dude who will know what you need by looking at it) or spend some time on McMaster-Carr's site as Beef of Ages mentioned. It's probably a phillips pan head of some kind, you usually need to buy 100, and there's shipping but they're very fast: https://www.mcmaster.com/screws/rounded-head-screws/phillips-rounded-head-screws/ They also have details on each one. Like this is pretty close but without comparing the actual thing it's hard to say for sure, but just going down the list of pan head screws and clicking details on each one that's 3/16 long got me to the point where there's around 5 threads. Might need to keep going, plus the finish looks different: https://www.mcmaster.com/91772A105/ Another option is somewhere like home depot that sells cabinet hinges probably has whole hinge sets you could get that would have the right hardware (color and all) but you'd need to find the right one that matches your current stuff: https://www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Cabinet-Hardware-Cabinet-Hinges/N-5yc1vZc29a
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Dec 23, 2021 15:12
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Sending someone who’s quoting screw sizes as “a little bigger than 1/8” to McMaster seems like a bad idea. Hardware is standardized. It all makes a lot of sense if you figure out a few standards, but until then, there’s probably someone at your most-local small hardware store who can help.
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Dec 23, 2021 17:23
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eddiewalker posted:Sending someone who’s quoting screw sizes as “a little bigger than 1/8” to McMaster seems like a bad idea. This is fair (other that the idea that hardware is standardized; lots of it is, sure, but some stuff is weird); I was assuming that the local hardware store was already consulted.
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Dec 23, 2021 19:27
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TerminalSaint posted:After spending my life in houses with forced air heating my new house has hot water radiators, so I'm not entirely familiar with all aspects of their operation. The basement has a baseboard heater that I'd like to have put out a bit more heat. The heater doesn't have any valves or controls on it, but it's on it's own loop with quarter-turn valves on both ends near the boiler: Quarter turn valves are not really meant to be in a half-open state like that.
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Dec 23, 2021 19:46
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The most relevant part of the local hardware store is that they will have a thread gauge in the hardware aisle so you can at the very least determine what that is. If you only need one or two of a given screw and your hardware store doesn't have your specific one in stock, https://www.boltdepot.com/ is my preferred place to go.
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Dec 23, 2021 19:49
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22 Eargesplitten posted:a one-handed reciprocating saw You mean a jigsaw?
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Dec 23, 2021 20:17
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Is there a tool thread? I want to get my dad a one-handed reciprocating saw for Christmas because all he has is a giant corded two-handed one but I’m not sure where to ask for advice. You mean like a Milwaukee M18 Hackzall? There is also the DeWalt Atomic Reciprocating Saw. I've had great experience with the Hackzall myself- even the non-Fuel (brushed motor) is solid and should suit most Dad-related projects melon cat fucked around with this message at 06:30 on Jan 10, 2024 |
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Dec 24, 2021 05:11
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Hey all, not sure if this is the best thread for this question, but I figured I'd start here. Just moved into a new house with a couple of rooms that will be used for work. Doors on them are super old, flimsy, thin, so they need to be replaced with something more soundproof. I measured the existing doors. They're a standard-ish size, appx. 30"x80", but only about an inch and a quarter wide. If I get new doors that are an inch and 3/8's wide, can I use them in the existing frame with that extra eighth inch sticking out? Are there any other considerations for replacing doors that I need to keep in mind?
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Dec 26, 2021 17:05
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kgibson posted:Hey all, not sure if this is the best thread for this question, but I figured I'd start here. Just moved into a new house with a couple of rooms that will be used for work. Doors on them are super old, flimsy, thin, so they need to be replaced with something more soundproof. I measured the existing doors. They're a standard-ish size, appx. 30"x80", but only about an inch and a quarter wide. If I get new doors that are an inch and 3/8's wide, can I use them in the existing frame with that extra eighth inch sticking out? Are there any other considerations for replacing doors that I need to keep in mind? Replacing doors isn't particularly hard but takes a bit of practice to get right. You want to make sure they swing easily, don't open or close on their own, and close snugly without rattling (particularly important if you want them to be blocking sound). In the case of going to a thicker door, you have the extra go away from the hinge pivot. You will almost certainly need to readjust the position of the door stops, which just takes pulling out the nails, moving things, and re-nailing. A finish nailer makes it super fast but it can easily be done with a hammer and nail set. You'll probably replace or reposition the hardware as well, which for 1/8" might be doable with just a utility knife (a chisel will be easier, though). Possibly plugging and re-drilling holes since they will likely be close to the original positions. If the jambs are in bad shape you may need to replace them, which can actually end up as a less involved process than just replacing the door, as pre-hung doors have a bunch of the fiddly bits solved. Really cheap jambs may not even support solid core doors properly.
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Dec 27, 2021 00:40
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What kind of weatherstripping should I get for the front door to my apartment to seal it from the outside air in the common area? This is for coronavirus concerns when my anti-mask neighbors inevitably bring it home, and to prevent cooking smells from penetrating my unit. The gap that you can see daylight through is about 2mm, but it's uneven all around the door.   Yes I could ask my landlord to do this since it is a rented apartment but you may be able to tell, based on the quality of his previous work, why I want to just do it myself.
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Dec 27, 2021 17:00
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kreeningsons posted:This is for coronavirus concerns when my anti-mask neighbors inevitably bring it home i would simply tell your neighbors to stop breathing directly into the crack in your door
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Dec 27, 2021 17:09
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Deviant posted:i would simply tell your neighbors to stop breathing directly into the crack in your door Unfortunately there's a constant stream of air coming through the crack around the door, enough that I can feel it with my hand (which is also why the door frame looks as dirty as a return air register). I guess it's probably due to the fact that I'm on the top floor, hot air from the stairwell rises, leaks through my door and then exits through a leaky skylight on my ceiling.
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Dec 27, 2021 17:34
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kreeningsons posted:What kind of weatherstripping should I get for the front door to my apartment to seal it from the outside air in the common area? This is for coronavirus concerns when my anti-mask neighbors inevitably bring it home, and to prevent cooking smells from penetrating my unit. The gap that you can see daylight through is about 2mm, but it's uneven all around the door. The best way to do it would be something like aluminum door gasket carrier that gets nailed or screwed into place and a gasket added to it. Since this is a rental with chunky paint I'd probably just go for something easier/cheaper/less permanent like some commonly available adhesive stuff. You'll just need to clean the surface you're sticking it to with something that dries quickly and degreases like rubbing alcohol. There's tons of stuff like this on amazon that squishes down and would probably be good for your use case if you put some of it on the part that faces you when the door is open, so the door pushes into it when it's closed. This is just an example, you can find a ton of different ones. I'd just get white so it doesn't stand out: https://smile.amazon.com/Keeping-Stripping-Adhesive-Soundproofing-Weatherstrip/dp/B077LJT1F8/ Something like that should work for the side(s) and top if there's room. On the bottom you usually install a sweep kind of thing which can get more invasive since it has to flex and usually gets screwed onto the door, but there's a lot of different kinds and you didn't mention that part specifically. They do make some adhesive ones but it's got a lot more adhesive on it so your landlord might not like it but they're on amazon, too. You could also go with one of those cloth things filled with some foam and sand or whatever that are used to keep drafts out, just slide it into place against the bottom when the door is closed. The goal is really to stop air and not make an impenetrable fortress. If that's not enough look at soundproof door gaskets since it's a deep rabbit hole to search through. The main thing is that they tend to block air movement. Rexxed fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Dec 27, 2021 |
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Dec 27, 2021 17:44
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Rexxed posted:The best way to do it would be something like aluminum door gasket carrier that gets nailed or screwed into place and a gasket added to it. Since this is a rental with chunky paint I'd probably just go for something easier/cheaper/less permanent like some commonly available adhesive stuff. You'll just need to clean the surface you're sticking it to with something that dries quickly and degreases like rubbing alcohol. Thanks, this is in stock at Home Depot so I'll get some today and see how it works out. Luckily there is already a sweep on the bottom of the door. By the way, which surface should I stick it to? A or B? A is the closest to the outside, in the same plane as the door, and B is perpendicular to the door. I'm assuming I should stick it to B, because A might get in the way of the door closing. 
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Dec 27, 2021 17:58
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kreeningsons posted:Thanks, this is in stock at Home Depot so I'll get some today and see how it works out. Luckily there is already a sweep on the bottom of the door. That's going to depend on how much space there is. Putting it on B is more traditional, but will also pull at the adhesive as you close it. If you put it on A (if there's room when the door is closed), then it will push against the adhesive and be less likely to come off. There are other kinds like neoprene that have a little bit more give than the D shaped stuff that might compress better if you were to put them on the A side and block the gap. Something like this but do some measuring since there's multiple sizes: https://smile.amazon.com/fowong-White-Foam-Tape-Adhesive/dp/B083XD44YR/ On the front door here we have an aluminum channel that some D style stuff slots into, but then it got a little beat up after a few years and I put some neoprene stuff on top. It's not perfect but it helps seal against air movement which steals the precious AC in summer and heat in winter.
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Dec 27, 2021 18:15
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Wanderless posted:Replacing doors isn't particularly hard but takes a bit of practice to get right. You want to make sure they swing easily, don't open or close on their own, and close snugly without rattling (particularly important if you want them to be blocking sound). In the case of going to a thicker door, you have the extra go away from the hinge pivot. You will almost certainly need to readjust the position of the door stops, which just takes pulling out the nails, moving things, and re-nailing. A finish nailer makes it super fast but it can easily be done with a hammer and nail set. You'll probably replace or reposition the hardware as well, which for 1/8" might be doable with just a utility knife (a chisel will be easier, though). Possibly plugging and re-drilling holes since they will likely be close to the original positions. If the jambs are in bad shape you may need to replace them, which can actually end up as a less involved process than just replacing the door, as pre-hung doors have a bunch of the fiddly bits solved. Really cheap jambs may not even support solid core doors properly. Thanks. Seems like the jambs are some kind of solid wood and appear in okay shape to this layperson.
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Dec 27, 2021 22:11
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Just got back from a few days of visiting my dad and walk in to my place. I step from the tiles at the entrance/kitchen and on to what passes for "hardwood" in my living/dining room (my pad is pretty small) and I notice its lumpy. Uh-oh. There were a bunch of pieces that were like that. They seemed to originate by the corner of my kitchen counters that houses my dishwasher. Of course dishwasher = water. FFFFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!! I looked at the tiles in front of the dishwasher and saw what looked like water in the grout lines. FFFFFFUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!!! I shut the water off to the dishwasher and ate my Wendy's because gently caress eating Wendy's when its cold. I've got the dishwasher out of its spot under the counter, and figured out the problem. It appears to be the fill solenoid. Not sure what the gently caress else its called, but the thing that the water line goes to, its got a couple wires going to it, and a hose going out. When you hit the button the wires do some scientific stuff and the dishwasher starts to fill. That thing. I guess its time for a new one. I've fixed this dishwasher before, and mostly know where to find parts for it so thats not really my issue. The issue is the water on/in the floor. As this is a condo building the floor floor is concrete and there is whatever the gently caress for a subfloor and then some sort of poverty spec "hardwood". Laminate I assume. The leak was a small drip as well as some really super fine mist that was so fine it looked more like smoke ( but was moist when I put my hand in it). I have no idea how long it was leaking for. I have a fan on the big hole where the dishwasher was, but it looks like some water went further under the counter following the grout lines between the tiles. There was probably less than a liter under the dishwasher itself (two dishrags were enough to soak it up if that), but I don't know when it started leaking, so I don't know how much was leaked total. Enough to gently caress up some of my flooring at any rate. I guess my questions are: Should I be worried about how much water went under the rest of the counter? Is my flooring destined to be lumpy until it gets replaced? In my house when I was a kid, my brother had a fish tank that leaked and one of the floor boards warped and curled right up off the floor, but that was also real wood. I don't know if laminate acts the same way, or if it will shrink a little bit when it dries out. Thanks for any advice goons. wesleywillis fucked around with this message at 06:44 on Dec 28, 2021 |
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Dec 28, 2021 04:56
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I'm finally getting around to painting our house and came across some bubbly paint in the bedroom. I knew I had to scrape and then patch it before painting, but I found a little more than I expected: 1) What is the mesh stuff? It's loose from the wall. Should I pull it all the way off? 2) How do I repair the wall? Would a liberal amount of patch filler work or do I need something more advanced?
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Dec 28, 2021 07:14
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The mesh is drywall tape. There is probably a seam right there. Cutting that piece, thats not stuck to the wall is *probably* fine, but don't start tearing it off. Its probably several feet long.
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Dec 28, 2021 07:20
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I've got 2 steps down into our garage that I'm wanting to put a handrail on (at least one side for now). The steps are wooden and attached to the concrete garage wall. If I put a 4x4 post at the top and bottom ends secured with two 1/2" bolts lagged into the stringer, and then connect the posts with 2x4's top and bottom, throw the appropriate amount of pickets in and then throw a piece of wood on top. Will that be sufficiently sturdy? Basically following this link for instructions and measurements. My steps are 36" wide, 22" deep. The bottom step is 6.75" high from the garage floor and the top step is 13.75" high from the garage floor. The link above mentions attaching the upper and lower rails to the 4x4 posts via 3" deck screws and their picture makes it looks like the rails are flush with the posts, which makes sense for anti-racking purposes. Are you supposed to screw the screws in at an angle sorta like pocket screws? 
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Dec 30, 2021 02:35
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The house I bought back in April has a finished basement, where the flooring is carpet squares with these things underneath, some of which are cracked in places which makes walking around down there a little annoying- What are these and how do I go about fixing or replacing them?
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Dec 30, 2021 21:24
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C-Euro posted:The house I bought back in April has a finished basement, where the flooring is carpet squares with these things underneath, some of which are cracked in places which makes walking around down there a little annoying- When googling "backer wet area cement board" the first result is: https://www.jameshardie.com/products/hardiebacker-cement-board
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Dec 30, 2021 22:30
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Is there a framing thread? I have an old and very rare silk screen print that I really need to get into a frame, and I'm trying to do it to archival standards or somewhat cheaply/DIY.
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Dec 30, 2021 22:45
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kreeningsons posted:Is there a framing thread? I have an old and very rare silk screen print that I really need to get into a frame, and I'm trying to do it to archival standards or somewhat cheaply/DIY. Archival standard and cheap are usually pretty mutually exclusive.
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Dec 30, 2021 23:26
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How complicated/safe is it to replace the garage door belt? The belt seems a bit worn out, but I don't know anything about garage doors, and I'm afraid the belt will snap my face in half if I cut it. Is that belt liable to injure me if I try to remove it? It looks safe, but why not ask first because garage doors in general just freak me out. 
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Dec 30, 2021 23:54
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How difficult is it to paint baseboards yourself and have them look good and definitely not get any paint on the floor? We just had our floors restained/finished, predictably stain got on the baseboards higher than the shoe molding covers in some places. Considering painting them ourselves but terrified to get a fleck of paint on the brand new floors. Also could we spot paint, or will it look bad/patchy if we dont paint the entire thing?
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Dec 31, 2021 01:22
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Bioshuffle posted:How complicated/safe is it to replace the garage door belt? The belt seems a bit worn out, but I don't know anything about garage doors, and I'm afraid the belt will snap my face in half if I cut it. Is that belt liable to injure me if I try to remove it? It looks safe, but why not ask first because garage doors in general just freak me out. Wear safety glasses, be aware of where the belt could snap while you're doing it, and you'll probably be fine. The opener belts are not under a ton of tension, should be fine.
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Dec 31, 2021 03:35
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black.lion posted:How difficult is it to paint baseboards yourself and have them look good and definitely not get any paint on the floor? Just go slow, you'll be using a brush instead of roller so you shouldn't have much in the way of paint flecks. The worst part if just the fact that you're bending down and in an uncomfortable position the whole time. I would recommend buying some padding for your knees you can move around. If you're worried about drips on your new floor buy some masking paper and lay it out, should only be a couple bucks https://www.homedepot.com/p/TRIMACO-Easy-Mask-12-in-x-180-ft-Brown-General-Purpose-Masking-Paper-12912/202040755
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Dec 31, 2021 03:48
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Cyrano4747 posted:Archival standard and cheap are usually pretty mutually exclusive. I guess my budget is about $200. Not the bottom of the barrel for framing, but definitely not as expensive as the fancy framing shops around here. And a piece that has as many issues as mine might be more expensive. If anyone else has advice: I was looking at the "premium" model of these frames, which claim to be made with archival materials. https://www.hollywoodposterframes.com/index.php?p=page&page_id=frames Assuming that website does offer decent frames, I still need to figure out how some other parts like the moisture barrier and dist cover, and how to install this print in the mat, and with what type of glue/tape. http://www.hymnscript.com/fine-art-framing.html  The piece is silk screen of "Supernovae" by Victor Vasarely for the Met. Probably printed around the 1960s? It's an early and influential work and a rare print as far as Vasarelys go, but it has some issues. I found it in the basement of an estate sale, and it had severe water and mold damage on the bottom. I cut those portions off and threw them away. It was also pasted on a foam board that I got rid of, and it still has a ton of dried adhesive smeared on the back. You can see the corner has some rippling to it from the water damage, but I cut off all the stains. Considering I rescued this print from a dumpster and I've already cut off a big portion of it, I guess a strict conservator's approach to framing isn't really warranted. Also, I'm assuming testing the pH of the adhesive on the back of the print and getting a suitable buffer is out of my price range. But I would at least like to have a frame that won't visibly degrade it in a few decades. Considering all this print has been through, maybe that can't even be guaranteed. Or maybe I'm off base and this is overkill for a trashed print. 
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Dec 31, 2021 03:48
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black.lion posted:How difficult is it to paint baseboards yourself and have them look good and definitely not get any paint on the floor? If the shoe isn't caulked to the floor and there's enough of a gap see of you can slide something under the shoe like a thin piece of cardstock, posterboard, etc and just move it along as you go. Faster than taping the floor and nowhere for paint to bleed under
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Dec 31, 2021 15:25
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Final Blog Entry posted:If the shoe isn't caulked to the floor and there's enough of a gap see of you can slide something under the shoe like a thin piece of cardstock, posterboard, etc and just move it along as you go. Faster than taping the floor and nowhere for paint to bleed under If the bottom is quarter round and you can remove it, I would do that because it becomes a lot easier to use the cardstock method and then replace the quarter round so it looks nice and clean.
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Jan 1, 2022 04:50
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What's the best way to fill in these larger gaps on a window sill replacement? For reference, the old window sill was tiled over a mortar bed. I did pick up some Great Stuff Window & Door insulation foam - am I fine to spray foam these gaps, and then caulk over them once the foam has cured?   
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Jan 1, 2022 20:03
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For those bigger holes I think I would use the low expansion foam in them. Wait for it to cure then cut flush. Then for the thinner gaps between the windowsill and the wall I would get the appropriate sized backer rod and caulk on top of that. Unless that gap is I think 1/4" or less in which case I think you can get away without using backer rod. edit: and make sure you use paintable caulk
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Jan 1, 2022 21:34
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I’d foam and caulk whatever you need for air sealing, but slap trim on all of that.
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Jan 1, 2022 22:11
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black.lion posted:How difficult is it to paint baseboards yourself and have them look good and definitely not get any paint on the floor? Paint the whole thing. Have a wet terrycloth rag in your pocket and immediately wipe along where you just painted. Rinse as needed. If you do put down some kind of floor covering make sure to pull it up and check underneath it. Not that I've ever realized I got a bad seal on something after it's had plenty of time to cure or anything. Fortunately it was in the middle of the room and is now covered by a rug. Ahem.
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Jan 2, 2022 00:19
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