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Raenir Salazar posted:I don't think that works, how is the delivery person supposed to get the key? This problem got a little more of my attention largely because the post office suddenly decided some packages it just wouldn't accept, so I can't just have them act as my drop off point and be done with it. The delivery person doesn't get a key. Think of it like a post box with a bigger opening at the top or like a vending machine. It has a spring loaded door that would allow items to be placed inside, but attempting to reach in through that door, the door itself blocks someone from reaching in and pulling out anything. There would be a side door with some kind of lock that would allow you to unlock, open and pull out your packages. Also, depending on what you are shipping, you could always set up your work location as a delivery address (easier if you work in an office, but way less likely to be stolen by opportuning thieves).
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Mar 17, 2023 15:15
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Yeah they make specific ones for random drop offs
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Mar 17, 2023 15:50
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The specific scenario I have in mind is that they often don't ring my doorbell, and if they do I don't hear it. The primary goal is that I get notified by a means I am likely to well, actually notice (my phone ringing or vibrating in my pocket, I don't seem to get consistent email notifications from Amazon or Intelpro etc), which let's me go to the door immediately and can have the camera off at times when I'm not expecting a delivery. Because often the package gets taken when I am actually *was* home at the time, but didn't know it was there to retrieve it. The drop-off box is 300$ while I already own a spare outdoor camera (came in a pack of three, I have the other two mounted looking at my front and back doors) and presumably getting a little wooden enclosure is relatively inexpensive and at worst case I only risk the camera in the meantime. It's kinda asking a lot for me to order a big expensive thing although watching a video of how it works I'll definitely look into getting it in the future, looks clever.
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Mar 17, 2023 16:25
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Sounds like you'd want a Ring Doorbell type thing then. It'll give you an alert and live feed on your phone, and you can set them to alert you just when they see a person, even if they don't ring the bell
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Mar 17, 2023 17:02
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I understand that there are technically more optimal solutions for my situation. Those solutions require spending more money than I am currently willing or able to spend though. I am merely looking into a solution for the problem I am currently concerned with, for the existing equipment I already own. I hope this is clear. Which is that I'd currently would like to have a little light wooden enclosure to make my camera look like a bird house, and what would be the best way to accomplish that. Which currently I have some leads thanks to the suggestions given before, which I am looking into. Raenir Salazar fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Mar 17, 2023 |
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Mar 17, 2023 17:19
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I think you can put your camera in a birdhouse and it should basically work. You can get a birdhouse kit at Michaels but for the authentic look just find a plank of wood, a saw, and some nails, and make a lovely birdhouse. 
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Mar 17, 2023 17:23
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When it ends up being the best pretend bird house you've ever seen you'll regret those words! 
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Mar 17, 2023 19:10
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Dude it’s probably your neighbor if things are disappearing all the time while you’re home.
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Mar 17, 2023 22:27
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Visiting my parents for a bit, and... this has always bothered me, but it's getting worse over time. They have two attic hatches - the kind with the pull down stairs. Both are sagging. One is in the (uninsulated) garage, so not really a big deal. The other is in the hallway - you can feel cold air coming down in the winter, and it's noticeably warmer in the hall in the summer (and of course the HVAC thermostat is directly below it).  We've adjusted them as much as possible, but these things are pushing 30 years old, and it shows. Is there a way to replace just the springs? If so, do I just measure a spring or take one with me to LowesDespot? How do you install the springs, just a pry bar?
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Mar 17, 2023 22:54
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Came back from vacation and my fridge has frozen everything in the refrigerator side. Freezer side is also frozen but obviously that is to be expected. How can I figure out why this has happened as a home owner with basic tools, a multimeter, and a wired thermometer that has a nominal temperature range of -58 to 572°F? I am honestly completely flummoxed by a fridge that's working "too well" to cool the food. I cranked the fridge temp knob to "cold" (as far away from coldest as possible) as soon as I got home but its a slow process to see if that did enough to fix the problem. poo poo is still frozen 24 hours later. As I'm writing this I just remembered we had to cram the fridge full of stuff a couple weeks ago (our other [drink] fridge was making a weird sound). Could that have caused this issue somehow? The fridge was back to normal levels before we left for vacation but maybe the issue stems from earlier than I realized. edit: left the thermometer in the freezer for a while and it is reading negative 8 fahrenheit so it's not that the fridge is working overtime to keep the freezer cooler enough, right? Corla Plankun fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Mar 17, 2023 |
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Mar 17, 2023 22:56
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STR posted:Visiting my parents for a bit, and... this has always bothered me, but it's getting worse over time. Even fixing the springs really isn't going to fix that fully. There's a whole bunch of products like this https://www.amazon.com/Attic-Stairway-Insulation-Cover-Insulator/dp/B07WZYVGKY that would prevent the draft, and they'll all probably work better then the wood on wood contact. When I had my attic insulated they just built one out of inch thick rigid foam with a bunch of weatherstripping... but I really wouldn't recommend that, it gets bashed up pretty quick.
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Mar 18, 2023 00:18
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Corla Plankun posted:Came back from vacation and my fridge has frozen everything in the refrigerator side. Freezer side is also frozen but obviously that is to be expected. How can I figure out why this has happened as a home owner with basic tools, a multimeter, and a wired thermometer that has a nominal temperature range of -58 to 572°F?
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Mar 18, 2023 00:30
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STR posted:Visiting my parents for a bit, and... this has always bothered me, but it's getting worse over time.
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Mar 18, 2023 00:45
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i like nice words
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Hey thread, this is a really obscure question that I'm not expecting to have actually answered, but hey, this thread surprises me at odd times, so I'm gonna give it a go. I've bought some C-channel with which to make some new mounting brackets for the springs in my stilts. I originally used some scrap metal I had laying around, and as such, the stuff was cut at odd angles and had superfluous holes drilled in it. piece in question, for reference. Note the C-channel on the ends of the spring there.  So, my question is: When I make the new brackets, should I cut and drill the holes as square as possible, or at an angle as close as possible to the angle that the springs are aligned? My thinking is that, maybe cutting the brackets at an angle as close as possible to the angle the springs put tension on said bracket might, somehow, allow them to be stronger than just keeping everything at 90 degree angles? I legitimately don't know. But, I would like to find out before I need to spend more money on C-channel. I made a quick, hopefully not-confusing diagram. Left side is how it currently is, right side is how it could be. 
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Mar 18, 2023 03:53
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Anne Whateley posted:I’m dumb so feel free to ignore me, but if the goal is just to keep the door closed, what about adding a little latch? I've thought about that, but as it is, my parents can barely handle a ladder at this point (which sucks, the furnace is up there and needs filter changes - though at least the new one uses 5" filters, so it's more of a 2-3x a year thing now instead of monthly). This would be a double whammy of a ladder to.. access a ladder. devicenull posted:Even fixing the springs really isn't going to fix that fully. There's a whole bunch of products like this https://www.amazon.com/Attic-Stairway-Insulation-Cover-Insulator/dp/B07WZYVGKY that would prevent the draft, and they'll all probably work better then the wood on wood contact. I did plan to add some kind of seal as well. That might be a bit overkill though - my parents are in their 70s. Mom can't climb the ladder at all anymore, stepdad can barely climb it and doesn't have good balance. There's also handrails, light switch, etc just as you get up in there that may interfere. That's a really cool product though, I'll run it by them. If the furnace and water heater weren't up there, I'd just throw a latch on there. But in an emergency (broken water heater, for example) they need to get up there as quick as they can. Also to change the air filter on the air handler.
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Mar 18, 2023 05:17
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I don’t know how close you are geographically or emotionally, but in my family that would be the point where the younger generation says “you’re not allowed to use this ladder (without me).” You don’t want an old ill guy with bad balance trying to race up a rickety ladder in an emergency. Ideally you want to train them to stay put and call you or a neighbor or a plumber asap. I would just plan to replace the filter myself at Christmas and maybe the Fourth of July. Or find a neighbor or fellow church member who’ll do it for an apple pie or something. Ymmv, obviously it depends on the kind of relationship you have, but imo it seems like the ladder has to be a no-go area, the question is just whether it happens before or after a broken hip or worse
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Mar 18, 2023 06:00
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Freezer stopped working. Checked the compressor. It's humming for a while then it clicks and shuts off. Hot to the touch but not enough to burn. My hope here is the big start capacitor to the left of it has given up. Thoughts? Gonna go bury the contents in the freezer in snow now, at least we got that.
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Mar 18, 2023 08:13
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STR posted:I've thought about that, but as it is, my parents can barely handle a ladder at this point (which sucks, the furnace is up there and needs filter changes - though at least the new one uses 5" filters, so it's more of a 2-3x a year thing now instead of monthly). This would be a double whammy of a ladder to.. access a ladder.  Works decently well imo.
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Mar 18, 2023 13:29
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STR posted:... This would be a double whammy of a ladder to.. access a ladder. What about a pair of magnets? I’ve seen tape strip like magnets. Then you can still just yank it down. neogeo0823 posted:I made a quick, hopefully not-confusing diagram. Left side is how it currently is, right side is how it could be. I think your shear plane and the tension moment are still at the head of the fastener, in the same direction, so you’re complicating your work for no gain 
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Mar 18, 2023 15:33
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Corla Plankun posted:Came back from vacation and my fridge has frozen everything in the refrigerator side. Freezer side is also frozen but obviously that is to be expected. How can I figure out why this has happened as a home owner with basic tools, a multimeter, and a wired thermometer that has a nominal temperature range of -58 to 572°F? Something somewhere is clogged up or broken in the guts. Basically your fridge works by blasting below freezing air into the freezer section, and venting a bit of that up to the fridge section. There might be a damper somewhere that gets actuated, but more likely it's just running literally constantly. Thermostat stuck or broken, control board stuck (crashed) or broken, damper stuck open in combination with the other things, you get the idea. If your freezer is at the set point it should have stopped cooling. How crammed full are we talking here? It IS possible to overfill a fridge/freezer, but that generally results in icing over of the evap because it can't move the air and stuff thaws out. My inlaws WAY overcram their freezer sometimes and panic it's broken, but in reality they just need to not force the door closed and make sure there is a cubic inch or two available for airflow over everything. Try rebooting your fridge (unplug it, wait a minute, plug it back in.) Make sure stuff isn't clogging it. It will take a LONG time to defrost if it's frozen solid, especially if it's still blowing cold air to keep the freezer frozen. Make sure your defrost is working in the freezer and it isn't iced over back there. Make sure the freezer vents themselves aren't blocked off forcing air into the fridge section while also trying to keep the freezer at temp.
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Mar 18, 2023 16:58
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Raenir Salazar posted:When it ends up being the best pretend bird house you've ever seen you'll regret those words! Depending on the layout of your front door overhang, a birdhouse under there will look out of place - practically zero birds want to live right next to your front door. If you do build a birdhouse one of the big considerations is hole size. Make it the “wrong” hole size, too large or too small, and you can skip the mirror plan because no birds will bother with it. If you want a REAL deterrent hide the camera inside a fake wasps nest.
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Mar 18, 2023 17:17
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ohhyeah posted:If you want a REAL deterrent hide the camera inside a REAL wasps nest.
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Mar 18, 2023 17:24
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mr.belowaverage posted:I think your shear plane and the tension moment are still at the head of the fastener, in the same direction, so you’re complicating your work for no gain Yeah, that's why I asked. I'm not a mechanical engineer, nor do I know any of the math for this. I'm just intuiting out this stuff, and for a bit, it seemed like I could possibly get more strength by doing the more complicated thing. I'll keep the cuts straight, then, thanks for the answer!
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Mar 18, 2023 18:45
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GWBBQ posted:To test tap water for lead, are Safe Home and/or Watersafe at-home kits decently reliable and reputable, or is it a waste of money to do anything other than send a sample to a certified lab? Late reply, but I was reading the Wirecutter article on water testing. They recommend send-in kits in general, but do list a test-at-home kit (Safe Home) specifically for lead.
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Mar 18, 2023 19:44
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Welp. I changed the blade on my Ryobi 10" Compound Miter Saw, and when I was reattaching the blade shroud cover, I found out they can make screws out of pot metal. I guess I need to go buy some kind of extractor?
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Mar 18, 2023 22:36
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I'm replacing the lock and knob on an external door that I'd been putting off dealing with to find out the deadbolt and latch holes are way out of wack. The previous homeowner must have replaced the door at some point and didn't bother making sure it fit. How do I remedy this? It's a significant difference and the new top screws are going to be in a void. Should I just use a longer screw or something? Is where where people shove toothpicks and wood glue? How do you neatly cut out and extend the inset for the strike plate? The youtube videos are all of people using wood chisels. I guess I can buy a chisel? Can I get some rec's if so? You can see the original pencil marks on the trim and then my mark to the right. 
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Mar 18, 2023 23:10
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FogHelmut posted:Welp. I changed the blade on my Ryobi 10" Compound Miter Saw, and when I was reattaching the blade shroud cover, I found out they can make screws out of pot metal. Unless you can get some pliers on the other side yeah, that looks too flush for anything other than an extractor
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Mar 19, 2023 01:11
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The Dave posted:Sure cameras get stolen here and there or more likely some kid fucks with it but I don't know it seems like just mounting the camera is a much better solution than this birdhouse thing. To add to this, both Ring and Nest cameras appear to have a limited free replacement policy in place with proof of theft/police report.
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Mar 19, 2023 01:21
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They also usually go through your door’s peephole, so the camera itself is indoors and not exposed. But you could put any other camera indoors the same way, as long as you have a peephole (or a neighboring window or something) A wasp nest would be way cooler, though. At this time of year you could actually get a real wasp nest that’s abandoned
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Mar 19, 2023 02:09
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Anne Whateley posted:They also usually go through your door’s peephole, so the camera itself is indoors and not exposed. But you could put any other camera indoors the same way, as long as you have a peephole (or a neighboring window or something) Sadly reminds me of the pet wasp that died on me.  I saw a wasp building a nest in my window and I was hoping to make it a pet, because wasps can remember human faces, but it died I think of natural causes before I could prepare an enclosure for it.ohhyeah posted:Depending on the layout of your front door overhang, a birdhouse under there will look out of place - practically zero birds want to live right next to your front door. If you do build a birdhouse one of the big considerations is hole size. Make it the “wrong” hole size, too large or too small, and you can skip the mirror plan because no birds will bother with it. The real advantage of a fake bird house is its easier to adjust because the idea is it just enclosed by a tight fitting wooden box, while a fake wasp/bee nest I think needs to be correctly positioned the first try. But yeah to be clear this is only because of the existing camera I own. If I don't end up finding anything suitable that's convenient I'll just install it outdoors in the corner of the awning(?) out of reach and c'est la vie.
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Mar 19, 2023 02:25
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Raenir Salazar posted:pet wasp Find a bunch of crows. Feed them some poo poo and then they'll start doing stuff for you. You could probably train them to guard your porch and gently caress up any package jackers that come along.
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Mar 19, 2023 02:32
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I support the bird house camera idea because it sounds like something I’d conceive as an 8 year old while designing my “ultimate house”.
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Mar 19, 2023 12:57
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Talk to me about awnings. I have an uncovered 13x21 deck that desperately needs cover BUT the deck may be removed next year, so it must not be dependent on it. I've set up some waterproof fabric sunshades but I live in Portland where rain is constant and the wind can be pretty severe. The house has vinyl siding, which I know will crack at low temps and I'd like to avoid drilling in to it if possible. The more I look for DIY solutions with my limited skills, the more I think I should just get a contracting company to do it.
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Mar 21, 2023 18:32
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Is the wind seasonal? You could set up a collapsible awning where the frame is screwed down to the deck and the cloth cover is removed when you anticipate heavy weather.
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Mar 21, 2023 18:44
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The wind is low in the summer but severe at all other times, mostly. I really need a permanent thing so I can stop thinking about it all the time.
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Mar 21, 2023 19:00
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Inzombiac posted:The wind is low in the summer but severe at all other times, mostly. I really need a permanent thing so I can stop thinking about it all the time. If you make it permanent it will either attach to the deck or extend beyond it to permanent attachment points. It is very likely going to be tied into your house. Wind doesn't care how "detached" you want it, it has to be anchored into the ground somehow. Your best bet would be to do the deck at the same time, detach it from your house then, and integrate it into the new deck. Beyond that, how do you intend to hold it "down" through the wind that wants to rip it up and sideways? Picture?
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Mar 21, 2023 19:07
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I'm in the PNW and a couple years ago I bought one of those collapsible awning tent things for camping, then decided to throw it on the deck for the summer. It worked great, you can screw it down or use sandbags if you're worried, and if there's a big storm or you're just ready to put it away, you can fold it up and store it somewhere Basically this. If you want to cover the entire space that's tougher, but it'll easily cover a table and chairs
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Mar 21, 2023 19:42
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^^^ I have cement slabs spanning the house that I will anchor it to. The deck is getting removed but not replaced. We're going to make the space more like a sun room or something we have be outside and have a sofa. Opopanax posted:I'm in the PNW and a couple years ago I bought one of those collapsible awning tent things for camping, then decided to throw it on the deck for the summer. It worked great, you can screw it down or use sandbags if you're worried, and if there's a big storm or you're just ready to put it away, you can fold it up and store it somewhere Hahaha I had a 12x12 version of that and even with bags full of cement bricks, it got torn to shred by the east gorge winds.
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Mar 21, 2023 19:52
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Anne Whateley posted:I don’t know how close you are geographically or emotionally, but in my family that would be the point where the younger generation says “you’re not allowed to use this ladder (without me).” You don’t want an old ill guy with bad balance trying to race up a rickety ladder in an emergency. Ideally you want to train them to stay put and call you or a neighbor or a plumber asap. I would just plan to replace the filter myself at Christmas and maybe the Fourth of July. Or find a neighbor or fellow church member who’ll do it for an apple pie or something. Ymmv, obviously it depends on the kind of relationship you have, but imo it seems like the ladder has to be a no-go area, the question is just whether it happens before or after a broken hip or worse It sounds bad, but my stepdad is (a) the one that taught me everything about self reliance and implanted the whole "DIY" mentality in me (and I'm forever grateful to him for that - I was already driving [not on public roads] at 12, knew how to do brakes and oil changes before then), and (b) has been pushing me away pretty bad for about a decade now. We (my mother and I) suspect he's got some dementia going - it runs in his family (both of his brothers have it), and he's in his 70s, his brothers are both in their 80s. He and my mother barely talk at all, they don't even sleep in the same room unless I'm visiting, and only so I have a bed to sleep in (I'm more than happy to sleep on the couch... the TV out there is a lot bigger anyway). Geographically, I'm about 4 hours away with typical traffic (I'm in the Austin TX area, they're in the far northern Dallas suburbs), though between the two of us (GF and myself) we both have cars that we trust to make the trip on a moment's notice. Emotionally, I'm very close to my mother (as long as politics or LGBTQ issues don't come up). My stepdad... I used to be pretty close to him, but we really don't talk anymore unless I'm visiting, then it's a "hey how did I get 50 toolbars on my browser again, can you fix it?" (probably from using google to find porn again, when I keep telling you pornhub has a safe search engine, pretty good porn, etc - nope, you can't deny it, you left your browser open with some sketchy porn site with 50 popups for Jasmine trying to chat - this happened TWICE over the past few days, all I have to do is pull up his browser history to get him to shut up about how porn is immoral and he's never watched it, I tell him I don't judge as long as it's not child porn, and that I know I've seen more porn in the past year than he has in his life....). I would very much PREFER he not try to go up the ladder, but he's hard headed. I finally have a car reliable enough to make the trip on short notice, and I'm trying to find a WFH job (partly for that, partly because my own mobility isn't great anymore). They don't go to church, they alienated every single neighbor 20+ years ago when they bought the house (both are very much "gently caress the neighbors, they're spying on us, they're all illegals, they're stealing our votes too!!!!111!1!!1!" and have been that way every time a new neighbor tries to say hi). Their only local family is even older. I'm not the church type myself, but I really do wish they'd found a church when they moved to their current city - they claim to be the super religious type, but they don't even go on Christmas (my GF and I, both agnostic, go on Christmas, though to a UU church). At least they'd have a network of some kind if they hadn't actively alienated everyone around them. But this is already deep into E/N. Flipperwaldt posted:Where I'm at, it's common to have a broomstick with a hook on it to operate this kind of spring loaded attic hatch door latch: Oh that's loving genius. I've never seen anything like that before. I'm already back home, but I can head back up in a couple of weeks. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 07:09 on Mar 22, 2023 |
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Mar 22, 2023 07:00
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STR posted:It sounds bad, but my stepdad is (a) the one that taught me everything about self reliance and implanted the whole "DIY" mentality in me (and I'm forever grateful to him for that - I was already driving [not on public roads] at 12, knew how to do brakes and oil changes before then), and (b) has been pushing me away pretty bad for about a decade now. We (my mother and I) suspect he's got some dementia going - it runs in his family (both of his brothers have it), and he's in his 70s, his brothers are both in their 80s. He and my mother barely talk at all, they don't even sleep in the same room unless I'm visiting, and only so I have a bed to sleep in (I'm more than happy to sleep on the couch... the TV out there is a lot bigger anyway).
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Mar 22, 2023 12:36
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