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Motronic posted:How long were the tero baits out? They take a lot longer than neurotoxins, but also work better because they stay alive long enough to bring the active agent back into their hives. Terro was out for 2-3 weeks. I have a few good size mounds within 15’ of each other. As long as I take these out and they don’t make it inside the homestead I’ll be fairly satisfied. Living in Orlando so the ants are constantly marching.
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Feb 12, 2023 23:57
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nbakyfan posted:Has anyone had to go full out war against ants in their yard? I have placed 4-6 terro stakes and the ants seemed to eat all the source without consequences. Just laid Amdro ant pellets this morning and those suckers were taking them down to their hill fast. One did crawl up my leg and bite me while I was watching in joy. Jerks. To clarify, are you talking about ants that are making their way into the interior of your property through your yard? Or are you trying to control ants within the outside area of your property? Inner Light fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Feb 13, 2023 |
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Feb 13, 2023 01:17
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nbakyfan posted:Terro was out for 2-3 weeks. I have a few good size mounds within 15’ of each other. As long as I take these out and they don’t make it inside the homestead I’ll be fairly satisfied. Living in Orlando so the ants are constantly marching. If you really want to go to war against ants, Motronic mentioned Talstar and that poo poo works. My last house I had a massive issue with ants. I backed up to a greenbelt full of ant mounds and I couldn't keep them out of the backyard where my kids would play. This poo poo right here spread out in my yard took care of it. You might be able to find it cheaper locally at a local landscape supply place like Site One. I liked the granules, but you can use the liquid as well. https://www.domyown.com/talstar-pl-granular-insecticide-p-47.html
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Feb 13, 2023 16:54
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Give them a magnifying glass
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Feb 13, 2023 17:59
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The Wonder Weapon posted:Hi guys. I'm working on remodeling my hallway, and I've got some cracks that are persistent and really causing me a headache. I tried covering them with joint compound in early '22 but it never really worked. They're still visible today, and while they aren't getting worse, just slapping joint compound over them wasn't the solution. I'd like to really fix them, because I'm ready to paint and put up some wainscotting/wallpaper, and I don't want these cracks messing it all up. I posted this a week or so ago and you guys had some good feedback. While looking into some of the options, I figured I'd give that flexible acrylic caulk a shot. I picked a single cracked and filled it with the flexible acrylic caulk, and made sure it filled the cavities, but didn't sit above the wall level. After giving it a couple days to dry I put two coats of basic joint compound over it, and it looks completely fine. Of course, it's only been two days. I'm tempted to use this everywhere, but I've got two concerns before I do: 1. Do you think it's possible that over the time the caulk will dry and pulled away from the plaster inside of the crack? 2. Even though the caulk is flexible, the joint compound sitting over top presumably isn't. If there's movement again that puts pressure on the same spot, is the thin layer of joint compound just going to crack?
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Feb 13, 2023 21:03
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Yes it will crack again, no two days is not enough for it to crack again. Assuming it's drywall then, as has been mentioned, the fix is to tape and mud it properly. Acrylic sealant isn't a repair method for drywall cracks. If it's plaster then you need to excavate down to the lathe around the crack and apply new plaster because cracks like that on plaster appear where the keys have fallen off and it's no longer attached to the lathe at all. You will also need to use plaster washers to secure the remaining old plaster and then skim over those as well.
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Feb 13, 2023 21:07
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As soon as there's any significant temp/humidity change that's gonna crack again and you'll have an even bigger mess to clean up. Not sure how your takeaway from that advice given was to do......that.
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Feb 13, 2023 21:17
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It's lath and plaster, yeah. I wouldn't expect it to have cracked again in two days of course. My takeaway wasn't to do that specifically, but nobody said don't do it, so I thought I'd see how it behaved. It's only like 12" of wall, it wasn't like a major investment of time. Before I spend weeks digging out all these cracks and reapplying plaster, is it possible that the walls shifted and cracked a single time, and that a new plaster job that doesn't penetrate all the way to the lath would be sufficient? There are a couple spots that the cracks seem to run a little deeper, but lots of it appears to be surface level. I'm gauging by how hard it was to open up the crack further; a few spots gave away quickly, while others felt like the existing crack was only a couple mm deep.
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Feb 13, 2023 22:40
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The Wonder Weapon posted:, but nobody said don't do it, This is how Groverhaus happened
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Feb 13, 2023 22:44
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The Wonder Weapon posted:Before I spend weeks digging out all these cracks and reapplying plaster, is it possible that the walls shifted and cracked a single time Yes. But you'd be able to see repaired or unrepaired structural damage (probably in your basement). The Wonder Weapon posted:and that a new plaster job that doesn't penetrate all the way to the lath would be sufficient? Unlikely. You're missing that part where plaster changes shape due to temperature and humidity. It will continue to re-crack in any area where it's insufficiently bonded, supported and repaired to make it once again a part of that wall that can remain together as a unit as a unit even if your have a magical house that is 100% stable now. If you live in a seismically sound area with consistent temperature and humidity even a poor fix may last for many years. In other areas a poor fix may not make it through springtime.
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Feb 13, 2023 22:46
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Motronic posted:Yes. But you'd be able to see repaired or unrepaired structural damage (probably in your basement). Well actually yes. The PO spent quite a sum of money ($30k?) having the whole house propped up with a big beam in the basement because at one point the house was sagging. Everyone that's been down there commented that it was a well done job and that they didn't skimp. So maybe it won't shift around now? We live in Buffalo, which while it had a 4.4 earthquake just last week, is traditionally very seismically stable. Although temp and humidity is obviously anything other than stable. I guess I'm on the path of digging them out as best I can, using the basic base coat plaster I have (image in prior posts) with a mesh tape, and finishing with a whole area skim coat.
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Feb 14, 2023 01:07
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The Wonder Weapon posted:I guess I'm on the path of digging them out as best I can, using the basic base coat plaster I have (image in prior posts) with a mesh tape, and finishing with a whole area skim coat. Without a full gut or furring strips and sheet rock yes, this is the best you can hope to do. It will work or it won't work. Anything less is guaranteed to not work.
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Feb 14, 2023 02:12
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Minor point, but I use paper tape on areas I expect to crack. It's solid so it can conceal cracks that form underneath in a way that mesh tape can't. Which could be an advantage in this situation.
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Feb 14, 2023 02:28
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If you're going to be doing a TON of taping get yourself a banjo and learn how to use it. That may be beyond the scope of normal DIY homeowner use. But if you have to re-drywall your whole house it'd be worthwhile.
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Feb 14, 2023 15:33
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BaseballPCHiker posted:If you're going to be doing a TON of taping get yourself a banjo and learn how to use it.
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Feb 15, 2023 00:03
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I am looking at flooring options for my family room. Between the judge’s paneling, fireplace and sliding door the room doesn’t have any floor boards. I think this basically leaves me carpet and tile as my only options?
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Feb 15, 2023 04:49
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The Wonder Weapon posted:but nobody said don't do it,
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Feb 15, 2023 05:56
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Crossposting a bit from fix it fast: any opinions on heat pump water heaters? Pacific Gas & Electric (my utility) has some pretty juicy rebate incentives for 'em, and I'm about due to replace my gas heater. I live in a coastal area where it rarely gets below 40F and practically never goes below freezing. I should have plenty of space for a bulkier unit. Powering it will require some panel upgrades which I'm looking into. Mostly I'm wondering if there's any major drawbacks to the tech that I need to know about...all of the materials I can find online are relentlessly upbeat, basically marketing copy.
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Feb 15, 2023 06:17
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Crossposting a bit from fix it fast: any opinions on heat pump water heaters? Pacific Gas & Electric (my utility) has some pretty juicy rebate incentives for 'em, and I'm about due to replace my gas heater. I live in a coastal area where it rarely gets below 40F and practically never goes below freezing. I should have plenty of space for a bulkier unit. Powering it will require some panel upgrades which I'm looking into. Mostly I'm wondering if there's any major drawbacks to the tech that I need to know about...all of the materials I can find online are relentlessly upbeat, basically marketing copy. People seem to universally like em? idk, I think the wall warts look ugly so I'd go for a ducted one if possible - but the ductless ones require a lot less to install. There are also now a handful of window heat pump units too. Even with the incentives it might not pay itself back in energy savings for a long long long time due to the panel upgrade costs, but if you have to do an upgrade there's not much of a downside to em.
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Feb 15, 2023 06:33
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El Mero Mero posted:People seem to universally like em? idk, I think the wall warts look ugly so I'd go for a ducted one if possible - but the ductless ones require a lot less to install. There are also now a handful of window heat pump units too. Even with the incentives it might not pay itself back in energy savings for a long long long time due to the panel upgrade costs, but if you have to do an upgrade there's not much of a downside to em. OP was discussing boiler replacements rather than minisplit style climate control units, so no issue with interior cassettes. I don't actually know if you can use the same heat exchange unit to power a water heater and minisplits - I'd guess that many people with an existing boiler have hot water radiators and just keep them, but what if you want cooling too? Some people might prefer radiant heat from radiators to convection from minisplits/central air, particularly if they tend to keep their house cool.
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Feb 15, 2023 10:51
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Calidus posted:I am looking at flooring options for my family room. Between the judge’s paneling, fireplace and sliding door the room doesn’t have any floor boards. I think this basically leaves me carpet and tile as my only options? I don't quite get why that means you can't have wood flooring, not sure the english term (I think "engineered wood flooring") but like this  You can get varieties with various thicknesses of solid wood as the top layer, about 3-8mm normally, and loads of finishes. We had two rooms done by pros and one ourselves over a concrete base and while the pro's did do a better job they were pricey and you can't really tell the difference for the floors without looking closely (the sideboards are another story). Otherwise "luxury vinyl tiles" are the way to go IMO, the nice ones look and feel really good. distortion park fucked around with this message at 11:02 on Feb 15, 2023 |
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Feb 15, 2023 10:58
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I've been looking into heat pump water heaters as well. They pretty much just use the air of wherever you put them. So in a basement it's pulling heat out of your basement air. If you're in one of those crazy places where the water heater goes in the garage, it's pulling garage air. I think you can install some ducting so they'll pull air or exhaust air somewhere else. But they're nothing like a heat pump for climate control where you've got a exterior unit pumping refrigerant to some interior mini split or furnace. It's a self contained unit.
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Feb 15, 2023 13:21
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Hood vent took 4 hours to install. loving bullshit. (Didn't help I had to stop to take meetings so I could still be  working )
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Feb 15, 2023 13:43
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distortion park posted:I don't quite get why that means you can't have wood flooring, not sure the english term (I think "engineered wood flooring") but like this I don’t have baseboards or quarter round to hide the expansion gaps. I installed vinyl tile in the laundry room with an extra pad. It’s nice but it really wants a perfectly flat sub floor.
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Feb 15, 2023 13:48
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Mustache Ride posted:Hood vent took 4 hours to install. loving bullshit. (Didn't help I had to stop to take meetings so I could still be We're currently shopping for range vents in that similar style. What did you like about the KitchenAid that made you choose it? What was such a pain in the rear end about the install?
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Feb 15, 2023 14:17
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I did KitchenAid in my whole remodel because my brother has a whirlpool insider account that gave me 20% off all purchases. So vent hood, range/oven combo, microwave, fridge and wine cooler all KitchenAid came out to about $8k. Only thing I don't like about it is the KitchenAid badge they plastered on everything but oh well. The products are great and I have no complaints. Issue with the vent hood was that I didn't realize that I had brick on the other side of the wall, which was a pain in the rear end to work with, mostly. Ended up wheel of deathing the brick to a semi circular shape and putting a big rear end aluminum flapper on the other side, anchoring it with concrete screws, mortar and spray foam inside the house around the hole. Other than that it was easy to install, they gave me a template for the mounting holes, and I went to home depot (2 times, granted) to get 6" ducting, elbows, aluminum flapper and materials.
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Feb 15, 2023 14:27
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I’ve got a crumbly plaster problem too: high traffic area at the top of the staircase, painted wallpaper over plaster. There’s a soft spot in the plaster about 18” square, and the paint/wallpaper has cracked in a few places where it’s gotten bumped into. I’ve tried doing a bit of compound over the cracks and dents, and it looks okay for a bit but eventually gets bumped and cracked again. The wallpaper texture is going to make any cutouts extremely obvious, any thoughts besides hiding everything behind some drywall?
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Feb 15, 2023 14:53
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You could put some new wallpaper on top.
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Feb 15, 2023 16:13
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Sirotan posted:Took exactly 5 business days to get my results but, phew Just to follow up on this again, in case anybody found this data point useful: I had a company in this morning to give me a quote for my asbestos abatement. It's about 100sqft of flooring total comprising of 10'x10'ish kitchen floor covered in several layers of vinyl/linoleum with at least one layer having asbestos and asbestos-containing mastic, a single step, and a side entranceway landing that is maybe 2'x3'. They are quoting me $2800 for the removal, and $295 for air testing after the job is completed. Job will take one day. I don't even have to give them a deposit to get the work started either, which is nice. Edit: oh apparently the follow-up air testing isn't even required, but it seems kinda silly not to do it.
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Feb 15, 2023 22:00
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Bosch 500 installed let's fuckin gooooooo   
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Feb 16, 2023 15:11
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Johnny Truant posted:Bosch 500 installed let's fuckin gooooooo Great choice if this is dishwasher. Good choice if it’s any other kitchen appliance.
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Feb 16, 2023 15:19
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Calidus posted:Great choice if this is dishwasher. Good choice if it’s any other kitchen appliance. Oh yeah, their 500 dishwasher!  The 800 was Very Out Of Stock, and when I compared the two it didn't seem like it added all that much so I pulled the trigger on the 500 after checking HD's website daily for like a week and a half.
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Feb 16, 2023 15:33
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I'm going to be installing some mineral core LVP down in my house. The product instructions are helpful: "continue installing and trimming as necessary." Is there a set of decent youtube videos or a book that is not utter poo poo or trying to imfluence or sell me crap that can help me with those fun edge cases like closets and non-parallel walls? The manufacturer recommends I use table, miter, and jigsaw blades for masonry to cut this. Since I'm an idiot and it's my first time with a table, miter, and jigsaw, is there a particular type of blade I should be looking at? Diamond... sure. Teeth or smooth? Different to rip vs trim? I have no goddamn idea. PO pics for your enjoyment: the builder cut at the wrong joist for the duct. This was held in with some extra subfloor strips underneath and some nails, then drywall mudded over before carpeted. Other bumps in subfloor joints were also mudded to provide a smooth transition. The WTF was my note. 
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Feb 16, 2023 17:12
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LVP and laminate are usually score-and-snap for straight cuts from what I've seen. I used my cheapy B&D jigsaw with the stock blade for cutting around vents and corners as necessary, just clamp the material to your work bench to hold it stable. If your particular manufacturer doesn't have an install video, you could try to find a similar manufacturer and look at their install videos.
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Feb 16, 2023 17:16
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I think the "mineral core" part is what's important, hence the "masonry blade" recommendation.
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Feb 16, 2023 18:34
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DkHelmet posted:I'm going to be installing some mineral core LVP down in my house. The product instructions are helpful: "continue installing and trimming as necessary." Is there a set of decent youtube videos or a book that is not utter poo poo or trying to imfluence or sell me crap that can help me with those fun edge cases like closets and non-parallel walls? I’m assuming limestone dust in polymer core? Seemed standard for LVP. I used a cheapie wood blade because it will dull a nice blade. For the jigsaw get a blade that cuts on the downstroke. Also, get a guillotine cutter and a speed square from Home Depot. An oscillating multi tool or handsaw equivalent are also necessary. Make sure you start any area (room, hallway etc) from the complex trim towards the flat wall (if possible). You generally won’t be able to slide a piece under door trim and have it lock into a neighbouring flat piece. If you watch a few videos on installing LVP around door frames the previous paragraph will make more sense.
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Feb 16, 2023 21:20
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Mmmmm backsplash grout Anybody wanna come install crown on my cabinets? I don't wanna
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Feb 16, 2023 22:19
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All I want to know is why that outlet is so close to the stove.
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Feb 16, 2023 23:05
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StormDrain posted:All I want to know is why that outlet is so close to the stove. Look, it's impossible to predict where outlets will end up
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Feb 17, 2023 00:15
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poo poo I've been wondering that for 4 years
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Feb 17, 2023 00:22
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