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Jenkl posted:Does it really need to be fixed to sell? In my market at least no one would bat an eye at that. This is my take on it. Wait until it's a problem. If the buyers somehow balk at it tell them "no" - they could see that damage when they made their offer.
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Jul 20, 2023 18:30
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I have a strange electrical problem in my separate garage. Both it and the house are very old, and the wiring is just 2 romex strung between the buildings. The outlet tests fine, however there is a 105v between the electrical ground of the outlet and the earth ground. If I touch the metal garage door or a metal pipe just touching the damp earth and the grounded outlet casing you feel a buzz. I'm quite confused on what could be causing this problem.
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Jul 20, 2023 18:42
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GamerMage posted:I have a strange electrical problem in my separate garage. Both it and the house are very old, and the wiring is just 2 romex strung between the buildings. The outlet tests fine, however there is a 105v between the electrical ground of the outlet and the earth ground. If I touch the metal garage door or a metal pipe just touching the damp earth and the grounded outlet casing you feel a buzz. I'm quite confused on what could be causing this problem. Sounds like a question for the wiring thread. As a non-expert, though, I have to wonder what you mean about "electrical ground of the outlet" if you don't have a ground wire. In any case, something's getting electricity that shouldn't be. Jenkl posted:Does it really need to be fixed to sell? In my market at least no one would bat an eye at that. Thanks, yeah, this is a good reality check. I was kind of assuming that everything "wrong" with the house needed to be fixed, but it's true that that's not necessarily the case. I should focus on the issues that will have the best return on investment.
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Jul 20, 2023 18:45
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:As a non-expert, though, I have to wonder what you mean about "electrical ground of the outlet" if you don't have a ground wire. There is a ground wire going out to the garage. But, I'm moving this question to the forum you suggested.
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Jul 20, 2023 18:51
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:The steam/clothes iron trick won't work completely in this case, because he absolutely severed fibers and removed material from the door. Bondo and paint is potentially an option, though. My primary goal here is to rehab the door enough to sell the house, so really all I care about is that there won't be issues that will make prospective buyers lowball me. All the effort you put into your workshop and you're going to sell? Hope it's good news, but if not I'm sorry man.
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Jul 20, 2023 20:46
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SouthShoreSamurai posted:All the effort you put into your workshop and you're going to sell? Hope it's good news, but if not I'm sorry man. It's all good! I'm hoping to move closer to family. If necessary I'll build a new workshop wherever I end up.
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Jul 20, 2023 21:11
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:It's all good! I'm hoping to move closer to family. If necessary I'll build a new workshop wherever I end up. If only you had your workshop!
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Jul 20, 2023 23:04
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Jenkl posted:If only you had your workshop! Not gonna lie, the bootstrapping process may be interesting. At my current property, I used my garage to hold my bandsaw and other large tools, and spent some time each day setting up and tearing down my miter saw on-site. I have a lot more tools now, though, and some of the properties I'm looking at don't have garages. Probably I'd end up making an 8x12 shed as a temporary workspace, use that to build the full-size space, then use the shed for yard tools or something.
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Jul 20, 2023 23:34
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Jenkl posted:Does it really need to be fixed to sell? In my market at least no one would bat an eye at that. Just have the agent add "rustic" to the listing
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Jul 21, 2023 00:15
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Anyone here know much about dimmable LED bulbs? My ancient apartment has a mix of newer-style slider dimmer switches and what are clearly old rotary dimmers. I purchased some dimmable LED bulbs that work fine on the sliders, but fade in and out, strobe, etc -- clearly don't work properly on the rotary dimmers. Do I need some kind of even more special bulbs for these? How do I know if I've got the right ones?
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Jul 21, 2023 01:28
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Not sure where to ask, but I'll start here and if this is more appropriate for the electronics thread or somewhere else please let me know. I bought (for approximately zero dollars) a Panasonic SA-DK20 system at the Tip Shop. I'm in Australia, and next to the municipal landfill (the Tip) is a ramshackle warehouse that sells things salvaged from the landfill or donated directly by the public. I've picked up a few similar three-component-stereos over the past year or two, always for a price somewhere between a shrug and a wave (at most, $20). They let me plug it in at the shop and it turned on. I took it to my office because I want to use the 45W-per-front-speaker amp as my laptop's sound output. I have a cheap 8W USB soundbar that crackles its way through Zoom meetings and the like. I have a Sony system as my home desktop's sound output. I cleaned the dust off of it (there wasn't much dust on it), hooked up the speakers, and plugged it in. It picked up FM radio signals no problem, and I grabbed a few CDs and loaded the 5-disk changer. It was running OK, but sometimes hesitating while playing a CD - just a half-second pause in the music and some mechanical noises from the CD player. Poorly-functioning CD players are very common in these 20-year-old stereos - my Sony at home initially played disks OK but stopped after a month or two, and of the two other systems at home (a Kenwood in the living room to run big speakers for the TV; another Panasonic in the kitchen), only the kitchen Panasonic still plays disks. All three systems at home can play what's put in through the AUX channel, no problem. Yesterday, I let it just play continuously from a CD, at very low volume, hoping to work out if the hesitations were on all disks, just the one in position 1, or some other issue. When I cam back from lunch it had turned off. I assumed this was because it reached the end of the disk and then timed out, but the standby light was off and I could not turn it on. Nothing at all. I can push that power button and everything else and nothing happens. I verified that the wall socket was supplying normal power (I plugged in a fan, it turns) and then I took the case off of the stereo. I pulled the fuse at the power supply, a T2AL 250V glass fuse and took it home. My multimeter tells me it is not blown - resistance drops to zero when I apply the test electrodes - and the wire inside looks unbroken (though it is hard to tell for sure). Today I put a coin between the terminals of the fuse holder, on the chance that I had been using my multimeter wrong last night but nothing changed. The inside looks reasonably clean for a 20-year-old stereo - a light coating of dust on most surfaces but not enough to interfere with any moving parts and I see no signs of scorches or melted components that would indicate a short-circuit or similar problem. There's no smell of burnt plastic, either. It's sitting on a desk in my office, without anything blocking any of the vents on the sides and rear. The heat sink inside looks clean and the fan turns easily and has only a thin layer of dust. A recurring turns-off-for-no-reason problem may well be the reason this thing was donated in the first place. I'd like to fix it if I can, but if it's a total write off I'm out literally nothing except some time at this point. And I can wait for the next similar system to show up at the Tip Shop (there is another 3-component-system there but it has no easy way to pipe in a signal from my laptop - this beast has RCA red/white AUX inputs at the back and the 3.5mm-to-RCA cable I bought on Amazon arrived today).  DSC_3660 by Martin Brummell, on Flickr DSC_3661 by Martin Brummell, on Flickr DSC_3662 by Martin Brummell, on Flickr DSC_3663 by Martin Brummell, on FlickrDoes anyone have any suggestions for where to look next for the source of the problem? Is there a way to reset the computer in this thing, like pushing a button for 30 seconds or something?
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Jul 21, 2023 02:34
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Cyril Sneer posted:Anyone here know much about dimmable LED bulbs?
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Jul 21, 2023 14:23
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i like nice words
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Cyril Sneer posted:Anyone here know much about dimmable LED bulbs? Almost all dimmable LED bulbs require a PWM dimmer. Not old school resistance one, which is what you have. If you have any LED bulbs dimming properly on an old resistance dimmer they are a unicorn and/or are going to have a short lifespan. What you need are new dimmers.
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Jul 21, 2023 14:24
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Motronic posted:Almost all dimmable LED bulbs require a PWM dimmer. Not old school resistance one, which is what you have. If you have any LED bulbs dimming properly on an old resistance dimmer they are a unicorn and/or are going to have a short lifespan. Do old incandescents and ceiling fans work fine with the new dimmers?
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Jul 21, 2023 14:27
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Do old incandescents and ceiling fans work fine with the new dimmers? Absolutely. You're increasing compatibility, not changing what you can use. The only things I've ever heard of (not personally seen) having issues were some of the weird old dimmable CFLs. And I doubt anyone has any of those anymore.
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Jul 21, 2023 14:42
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ExecuDork posted:Not sure where to ask, but I'll start here and if this is more appropriate for the electronics thread or somewhere else please let me know. First thing's first. Pull that main fuse and see if it's corroded or if the sockets are loose.
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Jul 21, 2023 16:19
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H110Hawk posted:
So after nearly five days we finally have a resolution. They kept passing the buck forEVER and never calling us back. Finally someone calls my wife (even though they were supposed to be calling me) and said that it was installed correctly and in fact they had photographic proof it was installed correctly and they wouldn't be refunding anything. Needless to say I called and raised even more hell and finally got connected to someone at the warehouse that said the only photos they had were showing it was delivered and nothing showing the cords. So without even a fuss he just refunded it and is price matching to the current price (we bought on sale for $430 and it's $800 now). I'm glad it got resolved but I just hate how endlessly and tirelessly you have to be your own vocally irate advocate lest they just gently caress you over.
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Jul 21, 2023 17:55
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hello all, i'm back with some more stupid newbie first time actually having a house questions =) so as the summer's gotten hotter, we've been using the ac a bit more, and over time i've noticed that it actually has a relatively significant shaking/rumbling effect that's easily felt throughout the house. the ac unit is lifted up like 10 feet off the ground, roughly flush with the second floor i guess, and the rumbling is especially noticeable in that area of the house/near that wall. i was wondering if there's anything we might be able to do about this given how noticeable it is. like, you really can just feel your whole body kinda tremoring a little bit. here's some pictures of what it looks like:       i was wondering if, hopefully as an easier option, a dampening pad could be added between the metal casters that it sits on + the metal casters on the ac unit itself. aside from that, i suppose building/inserting something underneath it to transfer some of the vibration down into the ground rather than the house could be helpful. do either of those seem realistic/helpful/possible/effective, or if not, any other ideas? i'm not looking for a 100% fix, like even a 50 - 75% reduction would be great, but yeah, open to any suggestions / let me know if there's more questions i can answer. thanks!
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Jul 21, 2023 18:40
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Soap Scum posted:hello all, i'm back with some more stupid newbie first time actually having a house questions =) Dunno if it’s possible given the mounting, but maybe look into spring isolators. They’re made for stuff like this, but usually on a much larger scale.
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Jul 21, 2023 18:46
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Soap Scum posted:hello all, i'm back with some more stupid newbie first time actually having a house questions =) Yeah, that's installed wrong. There are supposed to be rubber isolators (about 1" tall) between each of those 4 bolts and the wall bracket they are mounted to. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/AC-Parts-Anit-Vibration-Compressors-Harvester/dp/B07D8JLPRJ Those absolutely came in the parts bag in the box with the compressor and whoever installed it simply didn't put them on.
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Jul 21, 2023 18:52
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Dr. Lunchables posted:Dunno if it’s possible given the mounting, but maybe look into spring isolators. They’re made for stuff like this, but usually on a much larger scale. Motronic posted:Yeah, that's installed wrong. There are supposed to be rubber isolators (about 1" tall) between each of those 4 bolts and the wall bracket they are mounted to. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/AC-Parts-Anit-Vibration-Compressors-Harvester/dp/B07D8JLPRJ haha, okay, thanks for the diagnosis and advice. i know almost nothing about this but i figured something was wrong given that i've never seen an ac that rattled picture frames off shelves before. those look easy to install except that it's 10 feet in the air so.... i'll have to look into how to get that done i guess just for my own education, these little black bits here: are those anti-vibration but just too small / in the wrong place / needs an additional piece on top of it? or are those totally unrelated to vibration dampening? thanks again, super appreciated
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Jul 21, 2023 19:30
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Soap Scum posted:just for my own education, these little black bits here: That's not in the right place to be vibration reduction. It looks like it's just a part of the white piece that adjusts on that universal bracket to the width you need for the unit you're mouting to it. Maybe it's the lock to old that piece where it is in the channel? I'm not familiar with that particular bracket. But the general idea is that the AC compressor should not be bolted to that bracket. It should be bolted to a chunk (well, 4 chunks) or rubber that are then bolted to that bracket. Other than being that far in the air this should be a pretty simple job. There should be plenty of slack in the lines and wires to move it enough to install those things.
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Jul 21, 2023 19:46
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Motronic posted:That's not in the right place to be vibration reduction. It looks like it's just a part of the white piece that adjusts on that universal bracket to the width you need for the unit you're mouting to it. Maybe it's the lock to old that piece where it is in the channel? I'm not familiar with that particular bracket. got it, makes sense, thanks a ton again. yeah it's unfortunate it's lifted so high up because otherwise i'd be totally happy to handle this myself (or with a +1 maybe), but this might require some pro help since i don't even have a single ladder that could make working on that reasonable. well, annoying, but at least it's good to know that probably the shaking can be dealt with to a moderate degree. thank you!
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Jul 21, 2023 20:10
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BonoMan posted:So without even a fuss he just refunded it and is price matching to the current price (we bought on sale for $430 and it's $800 now).  Congratulations. We're in escrow on a house and we have the age old question so place your bets: Is It Asbestos?! 
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Jul 21, 2023 22:18
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What is that? Looks like some sort of flex vent, did they even ever make those with asbestos?
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Jul 22, 2023 03:07
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Danhenge posted:What is that? Looks like some sort of flex vent, did they even ever make those with asbestos? Oh, sorry. According to the inspection it's hvac ducting. Kinda gives off fiberglass vibes but I honestly have no idea from that one crappy picture.
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Jul 22, 2023 04:30
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kid sinister posted:First thing's first. Pull that main fuse and see if it's corroded or if the sockets are loose. Done. No visible corrosion, and the fuse tests intact on my multimeter (unless I'm using my multimeter wrong, but I think it's showing very low resistance when I touch the probes to the fuse). Is there a way to use a multimeter on the device itself, like by removing the fuse and making the connection across the fuse holder sockets through the multimeter? Nothing seemed loose in that area but I didn't really yank on anything there. I think I'll just go ahead an order a big box of fuses from Amazon or someplace, I seem to be collecting these devices and having fuses on hand will be useful again eventually.
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Jul 22, 2023 06:26
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ExecuDork posted:Done. No visible corrosion, and the fuse tests intact on my multimeter (unless I'm using my multimeter wrong, but I think it's showing very low resistance when I touch the probes to the fuse). Is there a way to use a multimeter on the device itself, like by removing the fuse and making the connection across the fuse holder sockets through the multimeter? I mean, multimeters can measure voltage and amperage across a circuit. Plug it into a calculator to see if it should pop that circuit
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Jul 22, 2023 06:35
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I find continuity is a better test that resistance for fuses. You can probably use your meter to jump the fuse but most of them are only rated to 10amp and if you don't know what you'll doing you'll break it. You'd be better off putting the fuse back and just checking voltage end to end
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Jul 22, 2023 16:45
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Don't use current mode on your meter, especially if it's not a fluke.
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Jul 22, 2023 16:51
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I’m an idiot when it comes to paint and walls so possibly dumb question: I was going to fill in some various bolt holes and other blemishes in the drywall at our place that some idiot who is definitely not me created. I was planning on using DryDex spackle then painting over but if anyone has a better rec I’m open to it. Also DryDex says you don’t need to prime it before you paint over but how realistic is that? These will be like one square inch size batches and an off white paint if that matters.
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Jul 22, 2023 21:57
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Is this asbestos? Commercial building from 1967, on steel water pipes, wrapping is white paper and I can’t see any labels anywhere. Not sure if fiberglass was around then, but internet says pipe asbestos was usually white or blue not yellowed-brown 
icantfindaname fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Jul 22, 2023 |
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Jul 22, 2023 23:19
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icantfindaname posted:Is this asbestos? Commercial building from 1967, on steel water pipes, wrapping is white paper and I can’t see any labels anywhere. Not sure if fiberglass was around then, but internet says pipe asbestos was usually white or blue not yellowed-brown Looks like fiberglass to me, but the only way to be sure is to get it tested. Fiberglass existed in 1967 and there's some here (house built in 1964) that looks similar to that. It could contain asbestos, though. They put that poo poo in everything. Most of the commercial asbestos pipe wrapping I see in online images looks a bit more like a mat/fibrous but that doesn't mean you're not looking at it there: https://hawkenvironmental.com/learning-center/asbestos-faq/asbestos-pipe-insulation/ https://lipsitzponterio.com/occupations-and-trades/pipe-covering/
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Jul 23, 2023 01:15
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Anytime someone asks “is this asbestos?” the answer is either “yes” or “no but it’s covered with asbestos” People loving loved asbestos back in the day.
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Jul 23, 2023 01:56
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To be fair, it is kind of a miracle product. Edit: as long as it stays outside of your lungs ofc.
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Jul 23, 2023 02:02
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Voodoofly posted:I’m an idiot when it comes to paint and walls so possibly dumb question: I was going to fill in some various bolt holes and other blemishes in the drywall at our place that some idiot who is definitely not me created. I was planning on using DryDex spackle then painting over but if anyone has a better rec I’m open to it. Also DryDex says you don’t need to prime it before you paint over but how realistic is that? These will be like one square inch size batches and an off white paint if that matters. This is fine. Anything bigger than 1x1 and you'll want to put something like this down first: https://www.amazon.com/Duck-282084-Self-Adhesive-Drywall-Repair/dp/B0046D2BA4/ref=sr_1_7?qid=1690077293&sr=8-7
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Jul 23, 2023 02:56
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H110Hawk posted:Oh, sorry. According to the inspection it's hvac ducting. Kinda gives off fiberglass vibes but I honestly have no idea from that one crappy picture. Unless the interior brown bit is asbestos I'm being you got lucky and that's just fiberglass
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Jul 23, 2023 05:09
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Cosmik Debris posted:
There is a trick for getting caulk/silicone to look perfect, use canned glass cleaner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHwmqkoz1tE The name of the product we use at work is "Sprayway World's Best Glass Cleaner". And yeah, it's magic compared to everything else when working with silicone. Wet the surface of the silicone, and your hand with the spray, and be quick with touching the silicone. Even with the spray, the silicone will stick to your fingernails, and some other materials. But skin and cloth soaked in the cleaner are both pretty resistant to sticking. If you use cloth or shaping or texturing, soak a rag in the cleaner, and use quick dabs on the silicone. Fold the rag over once it starting picking up silicone, if a glob gets stuck to the cloth, more silicone will start sticking to that. Soapy water (dish soap in water, spray lots of it to keep everything wet) also kinda works, but the glass cleaner is better. I've personally used the cleaner with silicone, construction adhesive, and fire barrier caulking, and it's been great with all 3. Concrete patch caulk does NOT work with glass cleaner, it went right through the cleaner and got all over my finger.
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Jul 23, 2023 07:29
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jetz0r posted:There is a trick for getting caulk/silicone to look perfect, use canned glass cleaner. Came for the tip, stayed for the U2 soundtrack.
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Jul 23, 2023 14:57
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floWenoL posted:... the overflow tube is too high, so it drains out the non-watertight hole for the flush handle first. Here's a picture ...: IOwnCalculus posted:It looks just aged enough that I wouldn't attempt the fix without having a whole replacement kit on hand, because that tube looks like it might snap when you try to cut it. But then yes, I'd attempt the repair without pulling the tank first. tangy yet delightful posted:Nah attempt the repair and then drive to the store after it breaks like a real man. I finally (!) got around to this. I did try the repair without a replacement kit on hand, and the repair gods were with me today, because the tube held up when I cut it. I was worried about having enough room to cut the pipe, but I used this ratcheting PVC cutter tool, and there was just enough room on the right side to use it. I ended up with:  The refill tube is a bit long, but it seemed brittle and I didn't want to push my luck. I'm planning on replacing the whole fill valve anyway (since it started squeaking). Thanks for the help everyone!
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Jul 23, 2023 19:33
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