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H110Hawk posted:End of the week? You're not getting it any faster AND high quality than having your local shop buy it. You might try other supply shops - shop by spec not "maytag part 1234" but "x-volts, y-microfarad" and you might get better hits. Good point. Went with local.
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Jun 20, 2022 22:38
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So I've got a physics issue with an Ikea MULIG clothes bar. We've got them hanging on opposite walls of a closet, diagonal to each other. The closet takes up an extension from the second floor, over the front door. One of the bars, the one closer to the outside wall, is hanging up just fine, no issues.  The other, closer to the closet door and with about the same amount of weight on it, ripped its way off the wall.  Both have been hanging for about 5-6 months, and again with roughly equivalent weight on them. The house was built in 1940, so at first I was worried about possibly having to replace ancient lath, but it looks like these walls might be drywall or plaster:   Assuming they are drywall, any suggestions on how to replace and reinforce the bar near the same place on the wall? And if it's lath or plaster, what then? TIA.
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Jun 21, 2022 00:10
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Could mount a board on the wall, secured to the studs, then mount the bar on that.
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Jun 21, 2022 00:14
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There is no way those things should be mounted on anything other than studs. Your house is old, so the stud spacing may be weird or inconsistent, but step one is to find them in the area you want these to hang.Bad Munki posted:Could mount a board on the wall, secured to the studs, then mount the bar on that. Or this. Or this, but behind the drywall. Plenty of options, but any sort of drywall or plastic anchor is not one that is likely to be successful.
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Jun 21, 2022 00:16
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floWenoL posted:Yeah, I've got some scrap wood so, this might work actually! I'll try that this weekend and if not, I'll probably try some toggle bolts. Update, cut some pieces of scrap wood and screwed it in, and it worked!  I already had to unscrew it and screw it back on, since I had to get longer screws to reach the board, but I figure if I wear out these holes, I can use the toothpick trick someone mentioned, or screw inserts.
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Jun 21, 2022 04:05
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Hello new forum I have a question. I have a friend with a yard and in her yard she has the remains of an old concrete foundation for what used to be a kind of lean-to shed. The foundation is flat and level, but the paving and the rest of the yard are not, and there is a very rough edge to this foundation where the paving falls below its level.  I would like to try and tidy this up for her as it sheds small rocks everywhere and obviously looks a bit crap. The whole place is old so it doesn't need to be fancy, but I would like, ideally, to at least smooth it off and leave it with a tidy, straight surface that won't shed aggregate out into the yard. I have zero experience with building but I figure I can probably make it look better even if not ideal. Does anybody have any suggestions for how this might be accomplished? with simple tools and minimal expertise? I was thinking some kind of mortar mixture might serve but the cavity is quite large and I can't really guarantee a clean surface to attach to, though it is obviously very rough with lots of locations for any mixture to bind with. I don't know if the space is too big and unsupported to just dump mortar into though. It's up to a couple of inches deep in places and maybe about half a foot high at the tall end? I'm not sure if there is any way for me to affix laths to help reinforce any filler material, as it's an awkward shape and there are no real anchor points. Same issue arises with the idea of covering it with a plank or something. It needs to not be a trip hazard. OwlFancier fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Jun 21, 2022 |
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Jun 21, 2022 20:39
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My first thought was to lay a course of bricks or cinderblocks there. But that's a lot of labor, and you'd probably want to be able to slice the bricks at an angle, to produce a flat top despite having a sloped ground. So it's not really "simple tools and minimal expertise" territory. Plus bricklaying is a fair amount of labor. My second thought would be stucco, but that also isn't trivial to install, and I'm not sure you'd be able to get a backing for it that wouldn't rot out, given the ground contact. And it'd probably look a bit odd in this situation. How long do you want your solution to last, anyway? And how much do you care about aesthetics? You could put some plastic or metal netting across the gap; that'd at least hold the aggregate in place. It'd look pretty lovely though.
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Jun 21, 2022 21:52
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Maybe set down a line of more charismatic decorative rocks in front of it? Or if bigger rocks aren’t available then maybe a faux dry stone wall made of smaller rocks so it looks less like exposed rubble?
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Jun 21, 2022 21:56
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Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. Put something solid and intentionally irregular in front of it. That gives you leeway for not precisely matching the slope.
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Jun 21, 2022 21:57
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Oh sorry I did not specify this: the edge of the foundation is right up agains the main "path" so to speak to the back gate, so I can't extend it. Whatever solution really needs to be flush with the existing edge of the concrete top which itself is plumb with the edge of the paving stones, give or take maybe an inch, as if it protrudes further it is going to protrude into the way of the back gate and possibly stop it opening (the gate opens into the yard and the outer arc of the door brings it just along the leftmost edge of that image. The space is the size of the gate and opposite the leftmost edge of the former foundation is a flowerbed, with the path of those large pavers running between them. Also the full width of the path is needed to get the wheely bin out. Also the lady who lives there is quite old so I am trying to make this less of a trip hazard, which I fear piling irregular rocks in front of it would not accomplish. The main thing I would like to do is to make it look nicer, stop shedding rocks, and be safer to walk on (as in, less likely that you catch your toes under the edge of the concrete when stepping up and fall on your face.) Thus it doesn't have to last forever, but ideally a few years at least. Nothing about the yard is really "regular" as all the paving has seemingly been done in different fits and starts, the wall above that image is off the ark and the brickwork is dropping to bits, also the garden wall may or may not be mostly supported by the lamp post in the alley. It's an old victorian terrace, of which there are many in the UK and if you have any experience with the general vibe of knackered old victorian terraces, you will probably understand the idea. it's utilitarian but sort of comforting in a brokebrained UK kind of way. So if it looks a bit "rustic" shall we say, that's fine, just ideally not horrible and it's important that it's safe. Ideally I would like to be able to just pack the cavity with something and basically cover it in mortar to leave a fairly smooth finish, like an extremely large bit of pointing, as that would most fit with what the rest of the yard is made out of (mostly old brick, concrete pavers, and mortar in varying states of decay) but not having any expertise with brickwork I have no idea if that would work or whether I'd just end up with a heap of runny mortar that won't hold the shape. The "ideal" outcome I am hoping for would be that the concrete top could just transition to mortar which goes directly down to hit the pavers, which would neaten it up significantly and solve the issues with it. While I have no practice doing this sort of thing I'm certainly willing to put time and care into it, if it would give a decent result. Basically it would be nice if it could look like this instead, becoming a squared off step going down to the pavers:  Though obviously the filler material wouldn't match totally. The concrete top has some loosely squared parts presumably from when it was poured, but I don't what was where the edge now is, or what they used to pack underneath it that is now missing, creating that undercut cavity:  I could possibly try excavating some of the smaller rocks and trying to put a board between the edge of the pavers and the concrete top (I assume this must have been done initially when the concrete was poured and also possibly how the former lean-to was constructed) but I would really want something to pull the top edge flush with the top of the concrete, or else it would probably come loose very quickly and be more of a trip hazard. This is also the difficulty with putting in any sort of metal wire reinforcement to support mortar, I would need some way to attach it to the existing structure I assume. E: I could conceivably try and get some stones and try and fill it in with rough stone and mortar? It would still look better than it is now and be better for stepping up. Don't have to worry about bricks not lining up either. OwlFancier fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Jun 21, 2022 |
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Jun 21, 2022 22:24
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You're getting well outside of my limited expertise with concrete and mortar. You might be able to put in a temporary wall out of plywood, with a hole to pour concrete into, and just pour in concrete until you've filled in the gap. But it'd be a tricky job. Stucco might still be a possibility -- put in a sheet of marine plywood, say, which is attached to the existing concrete with brackets/screws, then put wire mesh and cement on top of the plywood. But I honestly don't know how practical, or how accessible to an amateur, either project would be. Also, any time you're talking about concrete or mortar, you're looking at a substantial amount of physical labor, just as an FYI. Definitely a situation where I personally have no qualms about just hiring someone to do all the sweating for me.
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Jun 22, 2022 00:44
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I may get some rocks and some mortar mix and just try filling a bit in with rock and mortar and see how it goes then. I suppose I can hardly make it worse than it is, and I don't really mind the effort, nice way to spend an afternoon really. Have been looking up how to do it and it looks like something I should be able to do in theory and a bucket of mortar is cheap enough, and I can borrow a trowel.
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Jun 22, 2022 01:23
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I need to buy a new ceiling fan but those remotes annoy the poo poo out of me. I have a two switch setup right now. Can I bypass the remote controller and just wire everything directly? And then use something like https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-DVFSQ-F-WH-Single-3-Speed-Control/dp/B0006UUIC4/ to control the fan speed?
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Jun 22, 2022 07:06
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Yeah, usually it’s just a box that goes between the house wiring and the unit and gets stuffed into the junction box. Just don’t install it. I have several shoved into a drawer for use never.
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Jun 22, 2022 07:11
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Bad Munki posted:
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Jun 22, 2022 07:30
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I've got one more question re. soffits. So I took out an old security camera mounted on underside of the soffit: Since I mounted its replacement somewhere else, I took some wood putty and used it to fill the hole:  I erred on the side of putting too much, since the directions said to do so since it shrinks a bit when it cures, and I could always sand it down...but since it's on the underside, it's a bit awkward to sand by hand. It seems like an orbital sander would be ideal, but I don't want to buy one just for this job. I own a Dremel, but all of its sanding attachments seem to work by sanding from the side and not from the top like an orbital sander, if that makes any sense. Is there an easy way to get this at least approximately flush with the surroundings? It's probably not noticeable by others unless you know where to look, but I'd like to clean it up regardless. (I also thought about using a utility knife to cut out some of it, but I'm afraid that I'll end up pulling it out of the hole, since due to the way I stuffed it in I couldn't really shape it from the top.)
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Jun 22, 2022 07:42
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OwlFancier posted:Hello new forum I have a question. I can't tell from that angle, how wide is the gap between the the pavers and the foundation? Regardless of the solution, the first thing to do is gently pull out all of the loose bits and sweep it out. A few Ideas:
I think the garden bed would be best imo, with concrete being the worst. El Mero Mero fucked around with this message at 08:02 on Jun 22, 2022 |
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Jun 22, 2022 07:57
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Bad Munki posted:
I bought one to use because the way my room is set up I've got one light on one switch and in the winter it's nice to not stub my toe on the bed or whatever to turn off the light.
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Jun 22, 2022 14:27
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floWenoL posted:I've got one more question re. soffits. So I took out an old security camera mounted on underside of the soffit: You can get an orbital sander with sander paper delivered for $23 bucks. There's a decent chance a 23 dollar orbital sander with survive through this job, but even if you end up buying 2 you're still ahead on the cost of gas to go get any other solution  https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tacklife...wE&gclsrc=aw.ds disclaimer: I would never recommend this thing outside this literal situation.
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Jun 22, 2022 15:38
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You can also buy a fan that doesn't come with a remote kit at all. But yeah, to echo, every fan I've installed integrated the remote as an optional module. If there's a fan model you really like you can probably look up the install manual and it will show you how the remote is integrated.
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Jun 22, 2022 15:43
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floWenoL posted:I erred on the side of putting too much, since the directions said to do so since it shrinks a bit when it cures, and I could always sand it down...but since it's on the underside, it's a bit awkward to sand by hand. It seems like an orbital sander would be ideal, but I don't want to buy one just for this job. I own a Dremel, but all of its sanding attachments seem to work by sanding from the side and not from the top like an orbital sander, if that makes any sense. Wrap a sheet of sandpaper around a 2x4, staple it to the wood, then sand it by hand?
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Jun 22, 2022 16:10
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Wrap a sheet of sandpaper around a 2x4, staple it to the wood, then sand it by hand? Yah this or a sanding sponge like they use for drywall Wood filler sands nicely
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Jun 22, 2022 18:51
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You might want something like this for cheap. You can be sure it's flat enough, and it has snaps to keep the sandpaper secure.
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Jun 22, 2022 20:46
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i like nice words
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OwlFancier posted:I may get some rocks and some mortar mix and just try filling a bit in with rock and mortar and see how it goes then. I suppose I can hardly make it worse than it is, and I don't really mind the effort, nice way to spend an afternoon really. Have been looking up how to do it and it looks like something I should be able to do in theory and a bucket of mortar is cheap enough, and I can borrow a trowel. Can you pack it with clay, like that wild jungle house guy on YouTube?
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Jun 24, 2022 01:18
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Tyro posted:So turns out there IS a capacitor in the washing machine, just not where I was expecting it to be. It was the capacitor. Machine is working fine now.
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Jun 24, 2022 01:21
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Tyro posted:It was the capacitor. Machine is working fine now. Hell yeah. Glad you tracked that down. The complexity of modern appliances is disappointing so it's always good to hear about a win.
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Jun 24, 2022 01:25
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Tyro posted:It was the capacitor. Machine is working fine now. 
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Jun 24, 2022 02:44
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Tyro posted:It was the capacitor. Machine is working fine now. Well done goon 
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Jun 24, 2022 12:31
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It's always the capacitor.
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Jun 24, 2022 13:48
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Why do they even put those in, all they do is break.
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Jun 24, 2022 15:28
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Big Capacitor has every single phase motor manufacturer under their thumb. It's all just a scheme to sell more capacitors. It's just like printer companies... they don't sell printers, they sell ink.
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Jun 24, 2022 16:12
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I'm trying to install a new sliding screen door. It measured out fine in theory, but in practice, maxed out it's still just a hair too small and pops out of the upper channel frequently if not babied. This is the tallest door I can find (80") so buying a bigger door doesn't seem like the solution. Seems like my options are: 1. Extend the channel at the top to bring it low enough to cause the door to stay on the track. Local hardware stores don't seem to have much, but Amazon sells something like this which appears like it might fit and be deep enough. Price seems a bit rough (almost as much as the door). I could also possibly just glue something inside the current channel to drop it down, but that seems a bit hacky. 2. Replace the bottom rail in hope that its just collapsed a bit over time and might add enough height to keep the door in track. 3. Add something like this on top of the existing bottom track and pray that it adds enough height to solve the problem. This is by far the cheapest and easiest option ($16 and available locally), but I'm not very confident I'd get enough height off it to make a significant difference. Any thoughts or ideas? Photos below. Sorry, it's dirty as gently caress.     
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Jun 25, 2022 19:56
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In your top picture, I see the wooden frame and your shiny aluminum track, can you take that down and put a shim between the two?
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Jun 25, 2022 20:10
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BeastOfExmoor posted:I'm trying to install a new sliding screen door. I was curious, so I googled a little bit and this youtube (timestamped) makes it seem like you could make the springs springier to get it to stay put: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG_UVCjKhTM&t=45s Maybe you already did the retensioning step but this seems like an easy solution.
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Jun 25, 2022 20:20
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Ambassadorofsodomy posted:In your top picture, I see the wooden frame and your shiny aluminum track, can you take that down and put a shim between the two? In the top photo both shiny parts are both part of the door. The top part is spring-loaded so you can retract it if your door is shorter than the maximum and then tighten some screws to keep that position. If it extended another 1/4" I'd be set, but its at its maximum height. There's also an identical situation on the other side (which can be the top depending on door orientation), but also maximized. Corla Plankun posted:I was curious, so I googled a little bit and this youtube (timestamped) makes it seem like you could make the springs springier to get it to stay put: I'll look at it more closely to see if there's an option to extend those rollers any more, but my impression from looking at it was that the mechanism described above is the way to adjust the rollers height and I'm already maxed out on both of those. Oddly enough, my other two sliding doors don't have this issue and it appears that those frames at actually 1-2" shorter than this one. One of many odd decisions taken when building this house 35 years ago, I guess. Edit: Confirmed, no springs in the wheels. BeastOfExmoor fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Jun 25, 2022 |
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Jun 25, 2022 20:55
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Saw a video of some roofers\framers using a router on a stick to trim osb to size when installed. They were zipping through it a LOT faster than I would normally think was healthy for a trim router bit. Is there a special bit for this sort of work? If not, should you go spiral or straight?
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Jun 26, 2022 17:03
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I used a beefy trim bit to chew through 3/4" plywood when I built my workshop. It worked fine, though it produced an unholy quantity of chips and dust. I don't remember using anything particularly special; just a big trim bit, probably at least 1/2", with a guide bearing and my usual handheld router (Bosch 1314 or something like that? I forget).
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Jun 26, 2022 17:18
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I've got three light switches and outlets inside my home that are collecting condensation. All on the same stretch of exterior wall (the affected switches and outlets are inside my home, FYI, just in case I have my terminology messed up). Pacific North West. Two story home surrounded by green belt. In the middle of a heatwave this weekend. I think that the moist hot exterior air is working it's way through the walls and blowing through the outlets, and the switch plates or outlet faceplates are cold because of the A/C. The moisture in that exterior air is condensing on the cold faceplates. I can feel the hot air escaping through the switches/outlets. Question the first: Is it normal for outside air to get inside the home through outlets and switches? Question the second: How do I bandage the issue so it doesn't cause a short? Question the third: How do I fix the issue permanently?
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Jun 26, 2022 18:45
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Make sure breakers are tripped on all work areas first. Remove outlet / switch covers Remove outlets Remove boxes, keeping wire pulled out where you can get at it. Stuff insulation in the wall, above, below & around the opening. Replace removed boxes with 'old work' boxes, threading the wire through them first Reinstall receptacle/switch Reinstall covers
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Jun 27, 2022 03:58
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I'm looking at doing a coat of a metal mobile home room (galvanized) and trying to figure out the best coating solution/brand since I'm not really wanting to do one of the roof replace/cover systems right now. Silicone seems like the best long-term solution at the highest cost. I'm thinking it will cost about $1200-1500 for coating. The elastomeric acrylic I think I can do for about $500-600. Any suggestions for brands/pros/cons?
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Jun 27, 2022 05:19
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