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What's the he best way to fix this screen door? The porch has settled and the door rubs/sticks. The top handle side corner rubs quite a bit, and there's a spot on the handle side vertical frame that rubs as well. Here's the door:   So it looks like there's trim material in I can shave down. I'm thinking about 1/8 would be good? 1/16 doesn't seem like enough. I figure 1/8 is enough to expand/contract without opening too wide or rubbing anymore. Follow-up: how do I do this without disassembling everything completely? I don't expect sanding is a good idea... I have a router attachment for my Dremel. Not sure it'll work very well, but better than nothing.
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Apr 17, 2022 22:40
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DaveSauce posted:What's the he best way to fix this screen door? 1/8 of an inch? Sandpaper or a palm sander.... definitely don't go at that with a router attachment. Before you do that, check that the screws holding the hinges on the door and frame are good and tight. You might also be able to loosen the frame a little and get some wiggle room that way.
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Apr 18, 2022 00:58
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Really? Seems like it'd take forever to sand down 1/8" up the whole 80" of the door frame. Haven't tried the screws yet, but I'm not convinced. Trying to plan for worst case scenario... if I could gain 1/16 that might be enough to call it good enough, but I don't think there's enough room. I suppose to be clear: my plan is to remove the top and handle-side frame, remove 1/8" of the wood, and re-mount everything. Was planning on leaving the hinge side alone since it actually seems to be where it needs to be.
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Apr 18, 2022 01:41
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I'm a lazy pile of poo poo, but also a cheap pile of poo poo. I want to do a bit of renovations on my pad. Its pretty small, like around 500 ish sq feet. I specifically want to paint the walls to something lighter than they are as it gets fairly dark in here, even with the lights on. Probably some sort of off white/eggshell type colour, as currently the walls in most of the place are as my friend says "baby puke green". Then I want to get the floors replaced as my "hardwood floor product" is kinda beat up and its swollen and bumpy in a corner near where my dishwasher leaked. Lastly I want to get my kitchen and some storage cabinets refaced. I guess that can involve either just putting new doors on them, or could involve painting the outsides as well. I don't expect I can get all done at once, or in quick succession, but I figure I can space them out over a year or so. One task done first, the next in a few months, and a few months after that the last one. If I were going to do that, which order should I do them in? I have no idea if I will do these things myself or pay someone to do it. I'm leaning towards getting a pro as it would take them a day to do each thing whereas I'll take a month to paint one wall  Is the interior design thread a place to ask for more specific questions/advice or is that more the "crappy construction but for bad decorating decisions" thread?
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Apr 18, 2022 02:21
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DaveSauce posted:Really? Seems like it'd take forever to sand down 1/8" up the whole 80" of the door frame. With 60 grit sandpaper on an electric sander, that's not going to take any time at all.
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Apr 18, 2022 02:25
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wesleywillis posted:I'm a lazy pile of poo poo, but also a cheap pile of poo poo. Painting can be done in a weekend - the hardest part is moving any crap out of the rooms. This is by far the simplest task you can do from your list. Watch some videos from This Old House on youtube about painting, and you'll be fine. This is *really* hard to gently caress up unless you spill a gallon of paint into carpet or something. Absolute worst case you sand it down and start again. TOH also has videos on painting cabinets, but that definitely is more work then painting a random wall. The floor is probably the hardest thing you listed. It's definitely doable DIY, but you'll have to consider if you want to buy the relevant tools.
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Apr 18, 2022 02:29
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All else equal, I'd do floors first, especially since Doing It Right almost always involves doing something with the baseboards. If you painted and did the relevant caulking and repainting you'd have to just do it over again. I am a big fan of tile in any room that gets wet. Tile is trickier to install than laminate, and for the size you're talking about it is probably better to hire someone to do it rather than buy all the tools. If you do it yourself or hire someone, do not be a scoundrel and tile up to the baseboards with a grout line because that is the worst!
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Apr 18, 2022 04:23
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DaveSauce posted:Really? Seems like it'd take forever to sand down 1/8" up the whole 80" of the door frame. No need to mess around w the frame, just re-mount the track in which the screen door slides.
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Apr 18, 2022 13:03
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devicenull posted:Painting can be done in a weekend - the hardest part is moving any crap out of the rooms. This is by far the simplest task you can do from your list. Watch some videos from This Old House on youtube about painting, and you'll be fine. This is *really* hard to gently caress up unless you spill a gallon of paint into carpet or something. Absolute worst case you sand it down and start again. For the floors, thats one thing thats really been off putting for me, like yeah I can buy some sweet sweet new tools, but they'll probably be used once every 10 years or something or maybe never again.... I've still been playing with the idea off and on about painting and still might do it, but I know that to do it right, particularly with a colour change, I'd have to do several coats (maybe not that big of a deal) and maybe prime too? And figure out which kind of paint it is, as I recall, you can put one kind of paint over another, but not the other way around Like paint X can go over paint Y, but paint Y can't be put over top of Paint X and I have no idea how to figure out which is which. DIYing it though, WOULD save me a few thousand probably which would of course mean I could spend a bit more on the hardwood, or cabinet work. gently caress me  canyoneer posted:All else equal, I'd do floors first, especially since Doing It Right almost always involves doing something with the baseboards. If you painted and did the relevant caulking and repainting you'd have to just do it over again. Good point about the baseboards, from the little bit of looking that I've done, it seems that most places that do floors also install baseboards too, so I could get both done at the same time. How awful of an idea would it be for me to yank out the baseboards, have the place painted first, then get floors done? Reasoning being: the painters (or I) could basically paint right down to the floors and then once the floors are done the baseboards can be put right over top of the paint, without having to worry about masking down there. Good idea? Bad? Is that the sort of thing that *sounds* like a good idea, but is actually not that great in practice?
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Apr 18, 2022 20:39
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That’s a bad idea, bc you’ll have people inevitably bump into and scuff your freshly painted walls when you’re doing flooring. Plus you have to caulk and paint the baseboards anyways. Do floors first, then cabinets (I’d hire someone) then paint
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Apr 18, 2022 23:28
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Got ya. I figure with the cabinets, I'd just bring each door to a "place" and get them to remake them, just with a better quality product. The fake wood looking plastic covering is starting to chip and flake off the edges of some of the drawers and doors. I figure if I get them to drill all the holes for hinges and whatnot in exactly the same places, then I could probably do that myself. It *seems* like I would just have to remove the old doors, and then screw the new ones in, but then I've never done something like this before.
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Apr 19, 2022 00:01
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I liked pre-painting my baseboard then only having to touch up corners and nail holes. It made the project go a lot slower than a pro would do it, but I work slow either way. Painters-caulk gets dirty really fast, so resist the temptation not to paint that.
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Apr 19, 2022 00:30
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Whenever I consider hiring a professional for a task, I think about what kind of value that professional is adding and whether that's worth the extra cost to me. Professionals add value through force multiplication, access to better equipment, expertise and technical experience, better access to materials, and being able to summon a large crew to lend many hands. We painted our cabinets ourselves and they turned out great. It is a task that requires a lot of meticulous surface prep. It all but requires a good HVLP paint sprayer, good technique, and a lot of space where you can set up a dust-free, draft-free spray booth (lots of plastic sheeting in our garage). It also requires the willingness to do a lot of re-work for when you did everything right and somehow got a little running drip and need to go back several steps to fix it. The economics worked in our favor because we had help from family members who had done it before (skills and experience minimized rework), access to borrow a pretty good paint sprayer (not as good as a true commercial one, but a pretty nice consumer one), and enough space and timeline to absorb schedule decay. If any one of those factors didn't apply anymore I think I'd just hire someone for it.
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Apr 19, 2022 01:05
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Is there a specific thread for home solar?
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Apr 20, 2022 07:16
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wesleywillis posted:For the floors, thats one thing thats really been off putting for me, like yeah I can buy some sweet sweet new tools, but they'll probably be used once every 10 years or something or maybe never again.... I've still been playing with the idea off and on about painting and still might do it, but I know that to do it right, particularly with a colour change, I'd have to do several coats (maybe not that big of a deal) and maybe prime too? And figure out which kind of paint it is, as I recall, you can put one kind of paint over another, but not the other way around Like paint X can go over paint Y, but paint Y can't be put over top of Paint X and I have no idea how to figure out which is which. DIYing it though, WOULD save me a few thousand probably which would of course mean I could spend a bit more on the hardwood, or cabinet work. gently caress me There's a painting thread here - but you're way overthinking this. You can put modern latex over anything that's already on the wall. If you want to prime you can, but if you don't buy the cheapest pain possible it's probably not necessary. The important part is to thoroughly clean the walls with TSP (wear gloves and safety glasses) before you start painting (and wipe it off with water) You'll always be happier if you do two coats, so just plan on doing that to begin with. As far as paint, I've been happy with Benjamin Moore Regal Select (or find whatever paint store is nearby - not home depot/lowes). There's no way your floors are going to need to be redone in 10 years, unless you wear sandpaper shoes around the house or something.
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Apr 21, 2022 00:16
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I thought that latex didn't stick particularly well to oil paint?
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Apr 21, 2022 01:47
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My exercise bike has been making an annoying squeaking/rubbing sound. I opened the case up and took this video (has sound): https://i.imgur.com/gaTNYZx.mp4 The squeaking is definitely coming from the rear hub. Any ideas what specifically I should be looking for? The rubber belt is a little frayed on one side but otherwise looks to be in good shape. I could easily believe that some shed fur from my dog got up into the internals of the bike, but I don't see anything obviously wrong. Could this be as simple as just lubricating the rear axle? If so, what kind of grease should I use? The only kind I have on hand is graphite powder, and I rather suspect that's not the right tool for this job.
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Apr 21, 2022 14:28
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Sounds like rubber on metal squeak to me but that's very faint. Might try cleaning pulley and belt or try some belt dressing spray. The belt may have stretched over time and a new one might take care of it otherwise. If that doesn't do it then next step would probably be to take it apart and throw some grease at it internally.
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Apr 21, 2022 14:34
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Rakeris posted:
This worked insanely well, thank you! I ordered a scraper with both plastic and metal blades. The metal end made quick work of the sticker on the chrome bumper. I used the plastic one for the window at first because I was worried about scratching the tint, and it sucked. When I gave up on it and switched back to the metal one the window sticker came off extremely easily and nothing got even close to getting scratched. Razor blade scrapers work way better than I expected and my motor skills are absolutely dogshit so if I can do it, anyone can.
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Apr 21, 2022 16:49
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my white vinegar says 6% acidity - does this mean it's already diluted? I'm trying to figure out what the "average" dilution is of white vinegar that you buy at the store.
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Apr 21, 2022 20:54
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actionjackson posted:my white vinegar says 6% acidity - does this mean it's already diluted? I'm trying to figure out what the "average" dilution is of white vinegar that you buy at the store. It's vinegar, which is mostly water. Vinegar contains acetic acid, yours is at 6%. The exact acidity you'd get from home-making your own vinegar depends on the strain of culture's tolerance to the rising acidity, which always eventually kills the culture. But storebought vinegar needs to have fairly consistent acidity, so quality control almost definitely involves brewing it at a bit higher concentration and then carefully diluting it to exactly the acidity advertised. Typically that's 4-8%. If you want more concentrated/stronger acid, you can buy it, but maybe not at the grocery store. E.g., https://www.fishersci.com/us/en/products/J5JUYHRB/general-purpose-concentrated-acetic-acid.html "Acetic acid solution" is 10%-80%, "Acetic acid - glacial" is anhydrous (water free) and flammable and probably not what you want lol. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Apr 21, 2022 |
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Apr 21, 2022 20:59
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White cleaning vinegar has 6% acidity. Normal vinegars for cooking usually have less. If you've got cleaning instructions talking about vinegar, they probably mean your 6% vinegar and might also be saying to dilute it.
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Apr 21, 2022 21:02
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Leperflesh posted:It's vinegar, which is mostly water. Vinegar contains acetic acid, yours is at 6%. The exact acidity you'd get from home-making your own vinegar depends on the strain of culture's tolerance to the rising acidity, which always eventually kills the culture. But storebought vinegar needs to have fairly consistent acidity, so quality control almost definitely involves brewing it at a bit higher concentration and then carefully diluting it to exactly the acidity advertised. Typically that's 4-6%. thanks. I'm using it mixed with water to deal with grout efflorescence. it's effective to some degree (I've had a few spots where the salt comes up out of the grout a couple days later), but so far I've only done 50/50 which is recommended. I want to go higher without causing any damage. I apply, brush, and then wash with cold water after five minutes. The tile getting damaged isn't an issue as it's glazed porcelain. I guess I'll just go to more concentrated on a small spot and see how it goes. generally you want to hear the fizzing to now something is happening.
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Apr 21, 2022 21:03
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actionjackson posted:my white vinegar says 6% acidity - does this mean it's already diluted? In practice, any acid you're going to come into contact with is likely to be diluted. The only counter-example I can think of is that you can buy pure citric acid, which comes as a white powder that you then have to dilute into water yourself (or mix into whatever recipe you're making; it's good for making sour candies, for example). I would expect that any product that has a specific listed acidity on the packaging has been diluted or distilled to achieve a consistent result.
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Apr 21, 2022 21:04
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yeah i guess my question should be is that more diluted than other store bought white vinegars. the label says distilled white vinegar, diluted to 6% obviously target is not going to sell undiluted acetic acid haha
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Apr 21, 2022 21:05
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In the US at least (maybe everywhere?) they're going to expect people to have either 5% "white vinegar" or 6% "cleaning vinegar" on hand. 5% is the "normal" concentration that people will have for "white vinegar," for things like making pickles and otherwise doing cooking. Most instructions for how to use vinegar for cleaning will assume most people will use 5%, and that some will sometimes use 6% cleaning vinegar that they ended up buying for that purpose. That isn't to say you shouldn't try using a more concentrated solution, but the short version is no, yours is either as or even more concentrated than what the instructions expect.
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Apr 21, 2022 21:14
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Suburban Dad posted:Sounds like rubber on metal squeak to me but that's very faint. Might try cleaning pulley and belt or try some belt dressing spray. The belt may have stretched over time and a new one might take care of it otherwise. If that doesn't do it then next step would probably be to take it apart and throw some grease at it internally. Thanks for the advice. I went to the local auto parts store; they measured the belt as being about 52.5" long, and sold me the closest they had, a 52.25" belt. However, I'm totally unable to get it into position:  The tensioner isn't in the belt path, but no matter what I do, the belt doesn't want to go around the rear wheel. It just slips off as I rotate the wheel. Any advice? EDIT: I tried loosening the bolts that hold the front wheel in position, so it can move back. That makes it trivial to get the belt into place, but then the belt prevents me from putting the wheel back. Same problem, different angle. TooMuchAbstraction fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Apr 22, 2022 |
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Apr 21, 2022 23:53
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Use a thin flathead screwdriver to hold the belt where your thumb is in that picture and slowly turn the pedal lever clockwise. You'll need to use a little leverage to hold the belt, so you'll be pulling the screwdriver handle away from the center as you rotate. Probably should spin both the pedal wheel and the front wheel to see if the squeak is present without the belt.
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Apr 21, 2022 23:58
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CRUSTY MINGE posted:Use a thin flathead screwdriver to hold the belt where your thumb is in that picture and slowly turn the pedal lever clockwise. You'll need to use a little leverage to hold the belt, so you'll be pulling the screwdriver handle away from the center as you rotate. Thanks. It took some contortions to brace the bike properly, and way more force than I was really comfortable with, but I got it!  Now I get to uninstall it, because I didn't check to make sure the tensioner was properly set up, and it's not.  At least the wheel isn't making a rubbing noise!
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Apr 22, 2022 00:14
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Thanks. It took some contortions to brace the bike properly, and way more force than I was really comfortable with, but I got it! This still counts as a success story
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Apr 22, 2022 00:23
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Thanks. It took some contortions to brace the bike properly, and way more force than I was really comfortable with, but I got it! Using the same screwdriver, about the 6 o'clock position, wedge the screwdriver between the belt and pulley, just enough to reach the back edge of the belt. Push the screwdriver handle in towards the center of the wheel as you turn slowly clockwise. Keep practicing and one day you'll be able to do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQhfcdQf1QA
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Apr 22, 2022 00:31
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Got it done! I have two spare screws, but they're the size used to hold the cover onto the frame, so I assume I'm just missing two of those -- there were a ton of those screws, so no big deal if two are missing. And the bike's running smoothly. Presumably I'll need to re-tension the belt in a week or month or something, but that's easy. Thanks again for the help, y'all!
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Apr 22, 2022 00:39
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Good job, glad it worked out.
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Apr 22, 2022 02:43
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Corla Plankun posted:This worked insanely well, thank you! I ordered a scraper with both plastic and metal blades. The metal end made quick work of the sticker on the chrome bumper. I used the plastic one for the window at first because I was worried about scratching the tint, and it sucked. When I gave up on it and switched back to the metal one the window sticker came off extremely easily and nothing got even close to getting scratched. Protip: Buy a pack of 100 blades. They only work so well when you're applying a clean, sharp blade.
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Apr 22, 2022 05:25
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PainterofCrap posted:Protip: Buy a pack of 100 blades. They only work so well when you're applying a clean, sharp blade. Yeah I have about 7 box cutters spread around the house with a pack of 50 blades at my work bench inside and 50 outside. I just bought a scraper because I lack one, but I also bought a 50 pack of those blades becuase fresh blades are key.
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Apr 22, 2022 13:22
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Corla Plankun posted:This worked insanely well, thank you! I ordered a scraper with both plastic and metal blades. The metal end made quick work of the sticker on the chrome bumper. I used the plastic one for the window at first because I was worried about scratching the tint, and it sucked. When I gave up on it and switched back to the metal one the window sticker came off extremely easily and nothing got even close to getting scratched. fwiw I think tints are applied to the interior side of the glass
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Apr 22, 2022 13:56
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dupersaurus posted:fwiw I think tints are applied to the interior side of the glass Aftermarket tint goes inside, yes. Factory tint tends to just be darker glass, no film needed.
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Apr 22, 2022 14:03
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Recent homebuyer here. Discovered a missing line of grout on a floor tile in my bathroom - looks like it's been chipping away in recent months. One side of one tile. Is that a you-must-fix-now-or-things-will-shift kinda deal or can I put that off a few weeks til I get the rest of the house tuned up? Thinking I might just get what it takes to regrout the whole floor if I'm gonna be working on it anyway.
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Apr 22, 2022 14:11
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Not a Children posted:Recent homebuyer here. Discovered a missing line of grout on a floor tile in my bathroom - looks like it's been chipping away in recent months. One side of one tile. Is that a you-must-fix-now-or-things-will-shift kinda deal or can I put that off a few weeks til I get the rest of the house tuned up? Thinking I might just get what it takes to regrout the whole floor if I'm gonna be working on it anyway. If you have a rug and aren't dripping water on it, let it wait, if you're dripping water on that spot I'd say grab some and fix it, so you're not dripping water on your subfloor.
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Apr 22, 2022 14:36
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Not a Children posted:Recent homebuyer here. Discovered a missing line of grout on a floor tile in my bathroom - looks like it's been chipping away in recent months. One side of one tile. Is that a you-must-fix-now-or-things-will-shift kinda deal or can I put that off a few weeks til I get the rest of the house tuned up? Thinking I might just get what it takes to regrout the whole floor if I'm gonna be working on it anyway. Do you have any easy way to get a look at the subfloor? It's worth checking if you have water damage there. But yeah, at minimum it's worth putting some temporary cover over the tile until you can fix it properly. Even just a piece of tape would do.
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Apr 22, 2022 14:45
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