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Vim Fuego posted:
If it’s bucket mud, do not use - it shrinks as the water evaporates. If it’s the setting/hot mud (aka easy sand or durabond), great. Wood filler or painters putty is what I’d probably use .. The Dap wood filler has worked well for me. Bondo is overkill. Maybe you know this already but for shallow indentations it can be hard to get the thin layer of compound just right. Hitting it with the back of your putty knife to deepen the indentation enables you to place more compound, making it easier to work with and sand flush.
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Nov 2, 2023 17:39
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The Top G posted:If it’s bucket mud, do not use - it shrinks as the water evaporates. If it’s the setting/hot mud (aka easy sand or durabond), great. Wood filler or painters putty is what I’d probably use .. The Dap wood filler has worked well for me. Bondo is overkill. Do you mean hit it with the hammer side of the knife or like, a part of the blade?
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Nov 2, 2023 18:31
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I'm installing a carpet runner in our very old house. This obviously requires double-sided tape and a staple gun. Is there any way to avoid having to use staples, or at least reduce the amount of stapling required? I hate the idea of firing staples into our old growth oak wood stairs. I was thinking of using stair rods but I don't think those will completely replace the need for staples.The Top G posted:If it’s bucket mud, do not use - it shrinks as the water evaporates. If it’s the setting/hot mud (aka easy sand or durabond), great. Wood filler or painters putty is what I’d probably use .. The Dap wood filler has worked well for me. Bondo is overkill. melon cat fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Nov 3, 2023 |
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Nov 2, 2023 23:12
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My electric tankless water heater has been tripping the breaker this week. Turns out there's a pinhole leak in one of the joints inside, marked here in the upper left with a red X Is this possible to repair? I've done lots of PVC joints and also soldered plenty of electronics. Seems like the copper coil really does not want to be disassembled, but I also really don't want to spend $600 on a replacement
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Nov 4, 2023 07:15
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I don't know how difficult it would be to remove all of those electronics and get them back (with thermal paste) but that's what I start with. I don't think a propane/fake mapp torch will be hot enough to reflow that joint though. And if this happened because of water chemistry and not a manufacturing defect you run the risk of making it leak more and in new places. But it's already broken and breaking it more probably doesn't matter.
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Nov 4, 2023 14:45
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If reflowing seems infeasible could always last ditch try jbweld imo.
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Nov 4, 2023 14:59
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I wonder if shunting around the leaky cylinder and retaining 75% of function would be easier to do without potentially breaking more? Depends on how bad it is to disassemble ofc.
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Nov 4, 2023 16:21
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gonadic io posted:If reflowing seems infeasible could always last ditch try jbweld imo. This right here is the answer. I can solder too, but JB Weld would be my first attempt at fixing this.
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Nov 4, 2023 19:06
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kid sinister posted:This right here is the answer. I can solder too, but JB Weld would be my first attempt at fixing this. I'd like to say that JB Weld doesn't hold pressure, but here I am, 4 months later with an AC condenser that I "temporarily" patched with JB Weld, still holding pressure perfectly. I guess it's only temporary if it doesn't work. Now I regret ordering the replacement, because I really don't feel like installing it.
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Nov 4, 2023 19:14
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Nothing is more permanent than a temporary fix that works.
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Nov 4, 2023 19:15
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I read a bit more after I posted and apparently the thermal expansion of jbweld is quite different to copper. So this going through regular heat cycles means that it's probably more temporary than if it were just at room temp 24/7.
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Nov 4, 2023 20:09
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Sounds like it's a pick two situation out of fix it fast, fix it right, and fix it cheap. The leak is most likely due to internal corrosion, as I don't think the prior owner ever did a descaling flush. Even if I fixed it by cutting out and rebuilding the joint, odds are good that a corrosion pinhole will show up somewhere else soon. This would be right and cheap, but not fast for someone like me. The combination of high temp, temperature cycling, high flow, and high power draw (36 kw  ) makes me suspicious that an epoxy patch would hold. So I gave up and ordered a replacement for $425+ tax and it will probably take me an hour or two to swap it out. And then I can keep up on the descaling and make it last.
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Nov 4, 2023 20:30
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Proper decision. I'm chary of repairing temperature/pressure devices. I'll do a whole component that's designed to be removed. Or replace the appliance.
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Nov 5, 2023 00:30
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It’s a cool design to bolt the heating element MOSFETs to the cold water input. I never thought to look at how those tankless systems are built.
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Nov 5, 2023 06:09
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tuyop posted:Do you mean hit it with the hammer side of the knife or like, a part of the blade? Hammer side. Doesn’t have to be a putty knife, hammer would work fine too. Kinda like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgDyqCNaQa8 The idea is to make a small hole thats hard to patch + fill perfectly, and enlarge it so that it can hold more compound and more easily be sanded. It’s not always necessary but can be helpful if you find yourself struggling to patch a small hole Ironically, I don’t think it’s a great idea for drywall as demonstrated here, as dimpling the paper like that ruins the integrity of the gypsum behind it, increasing the risk of blistering down the road. I would personally use a razor on an angle to cleanly cut around the hole, enlarging it in that manner
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Nov 5, 2023 14:38
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melon cat posted:I'm installing a carpet runner in our very old house. This obviously requires double-sided tape and a staple gun. Is there any way to avoid having to use staples, or at least reduce the amount of stapling required? I hate the idea of firing staples into our old growth oak wood stairs. I was thinking of using stair rods but I don't think those will completely replace the need for staples. Ah good to now, my tub of Dap is running out so I’ll give the quick wood stuff a try  Regarding the staples - I don’t think there’s any nondestructive way to affix the carpet to your stairs. For what it’s worth, the staple holes are small and easily filled  but I’m sympathetic to your concerns. If you have the $$$ maybe there’s a speciality carpet contractor that has a solution for you. I’m sure this isn’t the first time this issue has come up.
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Nov 5, 2023 14:43
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So, this has been an on-going mystery since I bought my house: The house was originally built by a tile installer in the 60s and almost every room has some sort of tile feature in it (floor to ceiling mosaics, sunken tub, etc.) and all of it is mudset. This is the last room that I've been avoiding touching because it's a thing, but some interim owner managed to do ... something ... and caused this wonderful mosaiced fireplace mantle to pop and shift the horizontal mantle about half an inch forward. Oddly, everything seems solid still, and nothing shifts when I try to move it around other than the clearly broken mortar. Any ideas what could have happened here, and how should I go about fixing it ? I have enough loose tiles, and I think I can salvage enough off the original mantle to retile it in the original shape so I'm not concerned about the surface finish, but I'm at a loss as to how to repair/replace the underlying structure. If it influences the answer, I'm in the process of converting the fireplace to a gas insert. Not to influence your guesses, but my prevailing theory is that the fireplace is the lower of two stacked fireplaces. The ash box for the upper fireplace is above and to the right of this fireplace, so essentially directly behind this damage. The cleanout door has rusted off the hinges, which implies enough water was reaching it to corrode the cast iron, so perhaps water also made it into the ash box and soaked through the floor. At that point, someone had the bright idea to try to dry the fireplace out by lighting a fire, which superheated the water soaked into the mortar and *pop*. I see quite a bit of efflorescence in the fireplace, so there's definitely been water in the past, and a few days ago we had some torrential rain that caused water to flow into the firebox, so the situation described above may still be occurring.        - note there appear to be two lintel bars, one for the fireplace masonry and one for the mantle itself.  And the outside:   The fireplace in question is approximately where the gas line flag is, so the ash cleanout here is above and to the right as you look at the first picture.
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Nov 6, 2023 01:11
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Groundwater intrusion over a period of years. See all that white crap? That's efflorescence from ongoing moisture penetration through masonry. The deposits are lime that was dissolved out of the masonry by groundwater & precipitated out on contact with the air. The landscape outside - the grade with grass & soil right up against the foundation - is ideal for this condition. You're going to have to pull that mantel and some of the surrounding panelling to expose the condition. It is not covered by homeowner's insurance because a) its probably groundwater, which is specifically excluded; if its' a leak from somewhere up in the chimney structure, the 'fresh; water damage might be covered, but the ongoing swelling pre-dates your purchase of the home (so it is outside the policy period). PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Nov 6, 2023 |
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Nov 6, 2023 01:40
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I definitely agree about the water causing the efflorescence, but that’s pretty much limited to entirely within the firebox itself. How could that have have popped the leg of the mantle apart? How do you pull a mantle? I’m guessing this was poured in place?
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Nov 6, 2023 03:45
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Where you see it, is where some of it is winding up. There's more coming in where you can't. You could leave it in place, but to arrest the decline, you have to find out where and how water is penetrating. I'd start with a chimney inspection, possibly with a camera, to see if it's the chimney structure that is leaking. After that: If it's groundwater penetrating at/below grade, excavating around the chimney & foundation wall to or preferably somewhat below) the highest entry point inside. As an absolute last resort, you'd have to tear the mantel out.
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Nov 6, 2023 04:03
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Yeah, not looking forward to any discoveries behind the walls, even if there's no other leakages there's definitely going to be something else critical I find. I put some calls into masons, see what they have to say. I wonder if I can get a scope in the damaged mantle area and see anything interesting.
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Nov 6, 2023 06:37
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My first suspicion would be rainwater intrusion. The top corner of that chimney especially seems like water would collect there from uphill and slowly drain into the masonry structure. The climbing moss present at the point where the brick facade meets the ground suggests that this area stays moist, and I’d bet some rainwater seeps in through there as well. Establishing source control is the first thing you’ll want to do so I’d Dig up and re-do the area surrounding the chimney, and distribute the earth in such a manner so that it slopes away from the chimney on all sides. Don’t give rainwater an easy route of entry
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Nov 6, 2023 14:01
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My dryer has been under performing for a new unit. Had some vent folks out and they could even tell where the exit vent was. We suspected under the deck. Is that some sort of nylon band... stapled to the wood??  I have to pull out all this drywall and framing anyway because repeated rainwater intrusion has obliterated the lower wood. Motherfucker.  This is after pulling out god knows how much lint. I have to remove that green panel as well to get at the foundation and I just want to sleep.
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Nov 8, 2023 01:37
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Inzombiac posted:Is that some sort of nylon band... stapled to the wood?? Yes. It is called duct hanger and it's meant to do what it says on the tin.
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Nov 8, 2023 13:26
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Ah well, the staples they used to secure it weren't bent and it's a miracle it stayed on. I measured the pipe and there is no way it had enough length to reach the vent. Someone made a "gently caress it, good enough" call that created a massive fire hazard.
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Nov 8, 2023 17:02
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canyoneer posted:Sounds like it's a pick two situation out of fix it fast, fix it right, and fix it cheap. Update here to with good news and bad news. I got the new unit, and installed it in an hour and it works great. Bad news is that the thing runs off of four 40 amp breakers. I knew this and flipped them at the box, or so I thought. The 40 amp breakers are the type that take up 2 bays and have a bar between them. Somewhere in my dumb mind last week I had remembered "4 breakers" and flipped off TWO of the 40 amp breakers, because they take up 4 spots, right? So that means I was poking around in there with the cover off trying to diagnose a leak while I had half the unit energized. Glad I caught that and flipped the other two before I started uninstalling it
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Nov 8, 2023 20:19
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Your electric tankless water heater can draw up to 80 amps off of each leg? 
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Nov 8, 2023 20:34
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Danhenge posted:Your electric tankless water heater can draw up to 80 amps off of each leg? This is the reason electric tankless water heaters are not particularly popular or common (at least in the US). Gas is good at getting very hot, very fast but you need a whoooooole lot of juice to do that with electricity. E:VV Assuming you live in hot/warm desert, that makes electric more viable too. Electric tankless heaters are not as good as gas ones at raising the water temp by a large amount. If the water is coming into your house at 75F instead of 40F and you only need to raise the water temp 35 degrees, electric will do okay whereas in a colder climate it might only be able to get that 40F water up to 90F or somethin. Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Nov 8, 2023 |
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Nov 8, 2023 20:36
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Last place I lived out here in the desert had gas for the heat and hot water heater only. It was so uneconomical because we barely ran the heat in winter but still paid the fixed pipeline fees for delivery every month. Bill every month was ~$25 in fixed costs and taxes and then $3-5 in actual utilization for therms burned. Even if the electric was wildly inefficient we still spend much less by having zero gas. But yeah, it is a little unnerving to see 1/3rd of the circuits in the breaker box be dedicated to the hot water heater
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Nov 8, 2023 21:26
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are these two levers for water and gas, and if so which is which? I want to turn off my water before I leave for a trip tomorrow
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Nov 9, 2023 05:06
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They're both water. One is the cold coming in; the other is hot going out, Touch them to know which is which. Depending on how long you'll be gone, you may want to turn off the gas if you're turning off the intake side. The gas should be a pipe terminating in a hose (yellow or silver) that attaches to a box towards the bottom of the heater. Somewhere along the run, you'll find a shutoff valve. I'm guessing it's the looping copper pipe in the right foreground.
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Nov 9, 2023 05:25
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PainterofCrap posted:They're both water. One is the cold coming in; the other is hot going out, Touch them to know which is which. oh great, thanks! just five days. here's the gas lines. grill is for the patio gas line which I don't use, and for range I put in electric so that was shut off. should I turn off the water heater one but leave the furnace on? I assume that's the right most one, and I will want to have the heat on, albeit pretty low. also I assume the orange lever is the main gas line? 
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Nov 9, 2023 05:38
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Very nicely labelled! Yes, turn off the line to the water heater, and leave the furnace on. Yes, the big yellow lever shuts off everything. For added peace of mind, shut off the water main where it enters the house.
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Nov 9, 2023 05:46
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PainterofCrap posted:Very nicely labelled! ok - i'm in a condo so I don't think there are any other ones I can turn off without affecting other units as well
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Nov 9, 2023 06:14
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I may be wrong about costs here but given that your water heater tank is just a big rear end thermal battery, I doubt you’ll actually use more than $1-3 worth of gas maintaining the water heater. You’ll be gone for five days, I wouldn’t worry about turning off your water, your water heater, or anything else. Just set the thermostat to 55 and walk away.
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Nov 9, 2023 13:53
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Dr. Lunchables posted:I may be wrong about costs here but given that your water heater tank is just a big rear end thermal battery, I doubt you’ll actually use more than $1-3 worth of gas maintaining the water heater. You’ll be gone for five days, I wouldn’t worry about turning off your water, your water heater, or anything else. Just set the thermostat to 55 and walk away. I assume they're doing it for flood risk.
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Nov 9, 2023 15:45
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we had another unit with a water leak that got mold so I'm just insanely careful
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Nov 9, 2023 16:21
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Ahh, carry on then
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Nov 9, 2023 17:24
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I have at least one mouse in my attic. I can hear them at night, and there's spoor left around the boxes of my old possessions. Said old possessions are mostly going to get tossed -- they've been sitting up there for over a decade without me using them, so clearly they aren't important. Is there anything in particular I need to watch out for while tossing them? I figured I'd mask up, wear old clothes and my gardening gloves, bag everything, and haul it to the dump, then toss the clothes in the laundry and shower. The stuff I want to keep is old videogame consoles and the games themselves. Figure I'd wipe them down with lysol and let them air out; should that be sufficient? As for the mouse, I'm leaving out snap traps. I just wish it was less of a pain in the rear end to check on them.
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Nov 9, 2023 22:37
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Get your consoles down now cause it will eat every cable
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Nov 10, 2023 14:47
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