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Welp, the reupholsterer just wrote me back and said his shop burned down the day after Christmas, it'll be at least three months before he's back in operation. Rough year.
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May 4, 2022 21:17
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Arsenic Lupin posted:Welp, the reupholsterer just wrote me back and said his shop burned down the day after Christmas, it'll be at least three months before he's back in operation. Rough year. May his insurance cover all of his losses, amen
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May 4, 2022 21:27
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Arsenic Lupin posted:Welp, the reupholsterer just wrote me back and said his shop burned down the day after Christmas, it'll be at least three months before he's back in operation. Rough year. 
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May 4, 2022 22:01
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FISHMANPET posted:I'm in the great white north (Minnesota) so I've currently got gas for my boiler, water heater, dryer, and stove. Our gas stove is like 20+ years old and was probably cheap when it was first purchased, so it's probably our next appliance upgrade. I'm really trying to convince the Mrs to switch to Induction. My understanding is that for the oven part, electric is objectively better than gas (burning gas introduces additional moisture into the oven?). And once you've gotten cookware that works with induction, I'm not sure what the downsides actually are compared to gas (well, I can't put a poblano pepper directly over the open flame to roast it like I see on cooking shows). The upsides to me are less gas combustion in the house, which does have negative health side effects (even with ventilation, which we have), easier to clean (a smooth glass surface vs all the nooks and cranny of a gas range), and I'll admit the hippie-liberal instinct to burn fewer fossil fuels*. Plus I think it's cool! Cooking with magnets! I actually bought a countertop induction plate, and I've been amazed at how well it performs, and it can only go up to 1800 watts of power. Induction certainly has its fans and I think it is only going to get more and more common. Water heaters, electric *typically* costs less out the gate but gas is less expensive to operate and are much faster to heat/recovery times. Gas also typically have a longer life span. Another thing to consider (not much of a concern for most of us) gas has the ability to work to some extant in a power failure. Many (most?) current water heaters need AC for controls/exhaust so that might be negated.
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May 5, 2022 00:27
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slidebite posted:Another thing to consider (not much of a concern for most of us) gas has the ability to work to some extant in a power failure. Many (most?) current water heaters need AC for controls/exhaust so that might be negated. It's not at all negated when your gas heat and appliances only need a 2000 watt Honda generator burning 2 gallons of fuel a day and running so quiet you can have a conversation next to it as compared to the 15k generator that burns a gallon per hour and sounds like a lawnmower running at full throttle you'd need to run your electric appliances.
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May 5, 2022 00:32
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Motronic posted:It's not at all negated when your gas heat and appliances only need a 2000 watt Honda generator burning 2 gallons of fuel a day and running so quiet you can have a conversation next to it as compared to the 15k generator that burns a gallon per hour and sounds like a lawnmower running at full throttle you'd need to run your electric appliances. Or do what I did and get a Honda converted to run on Natural Gas. INFINITE POWER*  *during a power outage but not a gas outage
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May 5, 2022 00:48
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  Noticed some dirty water dripping from my soffit today and saw this pvc pipe. I did some research and I think this has something to do with the AC secondary drainage? Is it normal if it drips water or is it a sign of a clogged AC drain or pan? I do have AC components in the attic to. Edit.  Found the issue, looks like my pan is full of water and draining out and by all appearance from the rust it has been doing it for some time. Rythe fucked around with this message at 01:16 on May 5, 2022 |
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May 5, 2022 01:01
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I’m just gonna say, I have had regular electric, gas, and induction ranges, and I right now I have gas service to the house but an induction range. They are really nice. E: also, there’s some evidence that gas ranges emit bad gases into your house when in/not in use, I would encourage anyone deciding to do some research and come to your own conclusion. Infinotize fucked around with this message at 02:09 on May 5, 2022 |
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May 5, 2022 02:05
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Mirthless posted:... You can do the whole house off of a 12' roll if those measurements are correct, and with relatively little waste & no seams except at the doorways. 46-feet should do it.
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May 5, 2022 03:29
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 What's even the point then
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May 5, 2022 05:24
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Infinotize posted:I’m just gonna say, I have had regular electric, gas, and induction ranges, and I right now I have gas service to the house but an induction range. They are really nice. Agree with this. I also have natural gas service to my house but use an induction range. It's really great and I don't plan on ever going back to gas.
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May 5, 2022 11:47
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Sous Videodrome posted:
I can't imagine not wanting geckos in my house.
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May 5, 2022 12:33
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Rythe posted:
That is a drain for condensation, its normal to drip. Check to make sure that it isnt clogged anywhere, but otherwise its ok.
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May 5, 2022 12:39
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mds2 posted:That is a drain for condensation, its normal to drip. Check to make sure that it isnt clogged anywhere, but otherwise its ok. I had alot of water in the pan, it was draining just fine but is water being collected normal? I'm thinking I'll call a AC guy to come out and service the unit though, my buddy is staying with me for a bit and the upstairs AC can't keep the room cool at 72 degrees in North Carolina and the unit just runs non stop. At night it has no issues when the temp drops down to 66 but the last few days has been around 85. The room is above the garage but it is fully insulated on all sides to include the floor and ceiling.
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May 5, 2022 13:09
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Rythe posted:I had alot of water in the pan, it was draining just fine but is water being collected normal? Try pulling a panel off to see if your A coil is icing up.
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May 5, 2022 13:23
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Rythe posted:I had alot of water in the pan, it was draining just fine but is water being collected normal? Yes, it's normal; however, while you're up there, run a wire or something down the pan drain & drain pipe as far as you can (compressed air would be ideal, if impractical in your case); it might be easier to remove the PVC pipe at the pan drain to accomplish a thorough clean-out. Condensate drain pans typically collect dust & pet hair, not much, but can be enough to block the drain somewhat; these also trigger moss/mold mat growth, which is really what blocks these this but good. Make sure it's clear; you'd be amazed at the volume of water that these things wring out of the air on the daily. I've handled some pretty heavy water damage claims from attic-located blocked or broken condensate catch systems. If the AC guy doesn't immediately try to sell you a whole new system, I'll be shocked. The system shouldn't lose refrigerant; the biggest culprit for loss of efficiency is dust clogging the A-coil (in the attic; it's sitting in the condensate pan) and/or the compressor unit outside (a real bitch to clean the fins on those).
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May 5, 2022 14:16
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PainterofCrap posted:Yes, it's normal; however, while you're up there, run a wire or something down the pan drain & drain pipe as far as you can (compressed air would be ideal, if impractical in your case); it might be easier to remove the PVC pipe at the pan drain to accomplish a thorough clean-out. Sounds like my best bet it to try and access the coil to see if it's dirty and do some preventive cleaning before calling out any techs. I'll see what I can do with the drain, as of now it's dripping and releasing water at a steady rate. Just wasn't expected to see water in my pan
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May 5, 2022 14:36
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FISHMANPET posted:I'm in the great white north (Minnesota) so I've currently got gas for my boiler, water heater, dryer, and stove. Also Minnesota, and very much the same boat as you on almost all of this. Gas furnace, water heater, and dryer. We have a lovely electric stove we're going to replace at kitchen remodel (planned Dryer and water heater I'm indifferent to. If I got some white paper saying however Xcel gets us the electricity is net positive over us burning natural gas, I'd do that, but otherwise would default to gas for both since that's what we're setup for now. We're on a well with no generator, so a power outage shuts us down completely regardless. Changing to something else for heating the house is a non-starter.
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May 5, 2022 15:36
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Blowjob Overtime posted:Also Minnesota, and very much the same boat as you on almost all of this. Gas furnace, water heater, and dryer. We have a lovely electric stove we're going to replace at kitchen remodel (planned We're in the heart of Minneapolis and so basically never have extended power outages. Even when literal riots took out the power, it was less than 12 hours for Xcel to restore it. I've been eying that same Frigidaire stove myself, one thing I've discerned from reading the reviews is that they seem to get shook up a bit during shipment, so the induction units under the glass get out of place, and potentially the convection fan as well so it gets noisy. So if I do get it, I'd get it from a local place (Warners' Stellian) and make sure to discuss before purchase that they'd be willing to take care of any of those issues if they did come up. Infinotize posted:I’m just gonna say, I have had regular electric, gas, and induction ranges, and I right now I have gas service to the house but an induction range. They are really nice. And yeah I'd forgotten those recent studies that have shown that even when you're not using it, it's probably gassing into your house.
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May 5, 2022 19:09
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Of course the $15 hole saw was just not *quite* deep enough, expensive rear end hole saw on the way
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May 5, 2022 19:11
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ok hopefully i'm at the end of the grout saga I contacted TEC, they are sending me the grout colorant which matches the color, and also seals. according to them, it's all efflorescence. I asked why some of it doesn't react to acid and doesn't result in the salt coming up, and they said "The efflorescence may be throughout the depth of the joint in some areas so an acid wash will not always remove this discoloration." I'm inclined to believe this because the tile person that I used before showed up with two other people unexpectedly, and they are the ones that installed, which I found very annoying. The two people were somewhat new according to him, so I could see how they might not have the expertise to manage the moisture appropriately to avoid efflorescence. However, this guy did my bathroom in a very light gray grout, almost white. If there was efflorescence, you would literally never see it. This install was a very dark grout, so obviously even the smallest amount will be noticeable. There is a separate issue that can causing this whiteness, but according to TEC: "Leaching latex is caused by an extreme case of moisture (usually under a tile installed outside). A high alkaline cleaner will be effective with removing latex but if the high moisture condition continues the latex will also continue to re-appear. Normally latex migration occurs with exterior installation that have not adequately address how water (rain) is managed along with cool temperatures." So I have learned more about grout than I ever wanted to know. gently caress grout.
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May 5, 2022 19:30
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PainterofCrap posted:You can do the whole house off of a 12' roll if those measurements are correct, and with relatively little waste & no seams except at the doorways. 46-feet should do it. Yeah, this is pretty much exactly what I was thinking. I looked at the space, measured the space, looked at the blueprints, and looked at the space again and I couldn't figure out how they got the extra 100ft no matter what way they were doing it. I'm still probably going to pay someone to do this job but it's definitely not going to be home depot
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May 5, 2022 19:52
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I am working on a basement renovation project and could use some advice. I am refinishing a room and looking to lay down subfloor over the concrete slab. The finished floor will eventually be carpet, it is entirely inside the bounds of the wall framing and there will no be no structural concerns anywhere. I have lived here for 7 years, through every weather was get in central VA and we have not had, and I do not anticipate, water issues. Basement stays dry, I have run moisture tests and am confident of the space as well as the grading around the building. My plan has been to use 1/2 thick xps foam on the concrete and then cover that with osb subfloor. This will give me a thermal break from concrete as well as provide a softer (than concrete) floor surface for us. I am finding myself a bit paralyzed here though as I worry about overlooking some aspect of the project and screwing it up. I have found numerous references and discussion online where people do this, however they seem to go about it many different ways. So my questions are basically: is this an inherently bad idea? and if not, how should I go about laying and securing the subfloor? Some options I have read about are as follows: Do the whole thing floating, with the weight of osb layer holding the foam down. Lay the foam as above but then float 2 layers of subfloor, where the 2 layers are screwed together to make a single unit. (downside is losing more height in the room). Laying foam then tapconing the osb into the concrete over top (if my experience with tapcons and old concrete is anything to go by this seems awful to do). Glue down foam directly to the concrete then glue down subfloor to the foam. Looking for any experience or feedback on this suggestions of other methods, anything at all to help guide me.
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May 5, 2022 20:31
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FISHMANPET posted:We're in the heart of Minneapolis and so basically never have extended power outages. Even when literal riots took out the power, it was less than 12 hours for Xcel to restore it. Minnesota as well here. I love my gas furnace and on-demand water heater, and even with all the water I use my gas bill in the summer months is usually the minimum service fee. I too was looking at a gas stove, but will now probably go for induction when I get around to redoing the kitchen. Gas is still much cheaper than electricity in my area, so there's really no better option for heating.
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May 5, 2022 20:35
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I do wonder on how biased those recent studies are. Where are the stoves leaking from? Is it improper installation? Is it leaky valves? Are they testing old stoves with pilot lights?
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May 5, 2022 20:50
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emocrat posted:I am working on a basement renovation project and could use some advice. Could adding 1/2 inch thick wood strips in between foam sections help? Trade some thermal and softness for stability?
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May 5, 2022 21:02
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SpartanIvy posted:I do wonder on how biased those recent studies are. Where are the stoves leaking from? Is it improper installation? Is it leaky valves? Are they testing old stoves with pilot lights? It's the natural issue with combustion byproducts combined with modern air tightness standards and the general allergy people have to properly ventilating their kitchens.
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May 5, 2022 21:05
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Epitope posted:Could adding 1/2 inch thick wood strips in between foam sections help? Trade some thermal and softness for stability? I will test this. I've kinda just disregarded sleepers as I've always seen them as made from 2x4s. But of course I could just make them thinner. So, this plan would be to fasten a grid of 1/2 wood to the slab, fill in with xps then lay subfloor and fasten that down into the wood grid. I understand your suggestion correctly?
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May 5, 2022 21:28
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SpartanIvy posted:I do wonder on how biased those recent studies are. Where are the stoves leaking from? Is it improper installation? Is it leaky valves? Are they testing old stoves with pilot lights? It's some/all of this when they're talking about raw gas in a home rather than combustion products. My stoves do not leak. Nor does my water heater or my dryer. This has been confirmed with actual calibrated meters, not whatever IoT junk is driving (or a symptom of) this paranoia (i.e. "airthings").
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May 5, 2022 21:29
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emocrat posted:I will test this. I've kinda just disregarded sleepers as I've always seen them as made from 2x4s. But of course I could just make them thinner. Ya, that's what I meant. No idea if it's a good idea or not, just throwing things out there
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May 5, 2022 21:45
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Motronic posted:It's some/all of this when they're talking about raw gas in a home rather than combustion products. My stoves do not leak. Nor does my water heater or my dryer. This has been confirmed with actual calibrated meters, not whatever IoT junk is driving (or a symptom of) this paranoia (i.e. "airthings"). That's my thinking. I have an antique stove and it's loving rock solid. I regreased all the valves, and have run several different pressure tests to ensure there were no leaks in my House. But I've seen how appliance installers do things and I can believe that in practice a lot of people have trace amounts of natural gas leaking into their homes because of lovely installations and cheap or worn out appliances.
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May 5, 2022 22:39
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Have sort of a design question that I'm hoping someone in this thread might have some random suggestions I've never seen before as we work through more PO issues. We have a second story "balcony" in our house (appears to be an old pergola that the PO put pavers/tiles on top of maybe) that we were looking at having redone, but it appears it might be too close to the property line, so it needs to come out (contractors have told us it's currently built incorrectly in multiple different ways): We unfortunately already replaced the door with a new one before now, but are trying to brainstorm options for what we should/could do with this space functionally, aesthetically, and financially. Balcony does need to come out because we can't repair/replace it, and tThe most obvious option is to take out the door and have a window installed in it's place. I'm also wondering if we can just keep the door opening (we do like the light) and put some sort of safety railing on the outside like I see around doors in Europe (sort of fake balconies where you never step outside the house) not sure if there's a term for it, but my hope would be that would be cheaper and we wouldn't have to mess with the door and that wall. I finally was looking at options of just replacing the door with a full height window but I don't think that looks right, and I think the safety railing is the most plausible idea for now. Is there a term for what we're looking for (that hopefully doesn't look out of place) and is relatively easy to have installed by a contractor? Are there any creative ideas we might be missing? PageMaster fucked around with this message at 22:53 on May 5, 2022 |
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May 5, 2022 22:51
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PageMaster posted:I'm also wondering if we can just keep the door opening (we do like the light) and put some sort of safety railing on the outside like I see around doors in Europe (sort of fake balconies where you never step outside the house) not sure if there's a term for it, but my hope would be that would be cheaper and we wouldn't have to mess with the door and that wall. I have no further insights or ideas, but the term you're after is "Juliet Balcony"
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May 5, 2022 23:00
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PageMaster posted:Have sort of a design question that I'm hoping someone in this thread might have some random suggestions I've never seen before as we work through more PO issues. We have a second story "balcony" in our house (appears to be an old pergola that the PO put pavers/tiles on top of maybe) that we were looking at having redone, but it appears it might be too close to the property line, so it needs to come out (contractors have told us it's currently built incorrectly in multiple different ways): The normal term for that is a Juliet balcony. I had one at my old condo, it was pretty nice for letting light and air in. e:fb
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May 5, 2022 23:02
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My front porch is crumbling. Or at least the facade of the front porch. My house was built in 2001 or 2003, I can't remember. The front porch appears to be mostly a big concrete casting with a brick facade on it to class things up a bit. I have seen similar damage on other homes in my neighborhood. All the houses in my neighborhood were built by the same builder within a couple years of each other. I took some pictures and a video. The video first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ucKajpnI4 And now the pictures. Here is the long view. You can see the three places (as of this posting) where the brick facade has started to deteriorate. The spot on corner (far left in the picture) is what started breaking down first.  A close-up of the middle hole:  The interior of the center hole.  This picture is the inside of the corner cavity:  A close-up of the right-most damaged section.  So the question is what can I do about this? I don't think the porch is going to fall apart, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. I am concerned that the front-most part of the porch that sticks out over the brick may not have adequate support. I don't really want to pay for any serious concrete work. Can I DIY fill the cavities with concrete (or that expanding foam made for fenceposts maybe)? After filling with concrete could I just use construction adhesive to stick some vinyl tile to wrap around the parts that are currently brick? Should I use an SDS or something to crack all the "brick" and make a new front out of some of that cedar-toned pressure treated lumber? I have a lot of woodworking tools, but I have never worked with concrete.
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May 5, 2022 23:06
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Functional balconies are very common here for line-drying laundry and airing out blankets.  There also are prefab aluminum balconies that can be easily added to a finished exterior. I don't know if similar products are available in your area, but maybe there are some ideas in here.Examples: https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%83%9F+%E3%83%90%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8B%E3%83%BC
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May 5, 2022 23:47
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I’m done, these windows are getting replaced, and getting that sorted is a blocker for other interior/exterior projects at this point. Any recommendations on brand? I am looking for double-hung. If there’s no real difference, I’ll tie-break with a big-name brand… my current windows are Carefree and they went out of business which is a pain for replacement. The other problem is that the current windows are just a little crooked. The width varies by like a quarter inch between the top and bottom in some cases, found that out when trying to get replacement screens. What happens to the framing and siding? Can they put in an exact replacement or do they need to modify things and replace some siding? I just don’t care at this point and I just want it to be done right, if there’s a benefit to more intrusive modifications then I’ll save up and do it right. I know no house is perfect but I’m just tired of all the corners that were cut in the first place and the previous owner didn’t help anything with their maintenance or “improvements” and I just want it fixed. Har-har look at the outlet hanging by the romex over the sump, or the one tied onto a wall bracket right where the water filter bleed valve will spray it (de-energized). It’s not funny anymore, it’s just aggravating at this point. Paul MaudDib fucked around with this message at 06:53 on May 6, 2022 |
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May 6, 2022 06:49
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I'm just gonna go ahead and assume that 10 new windows for $450 a piece is an okay deal until someone tells me otherwise. And that an air infiltration rating of 0.28 isn't terrible.
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May 6, 2022 09:26
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I. M. Gei posted:I'm just gonna go ahead and assume that 10 new windows for $450 a piece is an okay deal until someone tells me otherwise. And that an air infiltration rating of 0.28 isn't terrible.
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May 6, 2022 12:39
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I. M. Gei posted:I'm just gonna go ahead and assume that 10 new windows for $450 a piece is an okay deal until someone tells me otherwise. And that an air infiltration rating of 0.28 isn't terrible. What you're asking: is $3,500 good for a car? is that installed price? What's the material? What's the brand? Honestly 450/window installed is an okay deal, you're probably getting lovely bottom tier white vinyl windows from Lowsdepot / whatever window company they're using to pump out cheapo windows. But 250-300/window plus 150 for install is not terrible for bottom tier double hung double pane windows tater_salad fucked around with this message at 13:45 on May 6, 2022 |
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May 6, 2022 13:42
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