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Welcome to Fix It Fast, the thread where you can get help fixing things. Fast! The previous iteration of this thread is here! We have several megathreads that may be able to offer faster or more in-depth answers for common household issues:
PSA: Motronic posted:Sorry you went through that, but never, ever hire a contractor associated with/referred out from Home Depot/Lowes/whatever else. Somebody fucked around with this message at 06:22 on Apr 2, 2024 |
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Oct 18, 2020 05:17
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 10:15 |
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Offsite Resources: (Please PM me to report broken links and submit new sites) General:
Home:
Electronics:
Sewing:
corgski fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Oct 18, 2020 |
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Oct 18, 2020 05:17
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Highlights! Mutata's Drywall Patching Guide corgski fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Oct 19, 2020 |
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Oct 18, 2020 05:17
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Thanks! I just went through the offsite resource list from the old OP and pruned all the 404 errors and ad search landing pages, so any and all resources you can suggest are appreciated!
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Oct 18, 2020 05:30
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Already in there, TraderStav!
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Oct 18, 2020 16:16
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Defective glass would have cracks spiderwebbing out from one of the edges wherever it was chipped and then eventually failed from heating and cooling cycles, not a clean hole through the middle of the pane like that.
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Oct 26, 2020 23:09
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For climbing applications, self-retracting lifelines are pretty common. For lifting loads it's likely you'd use some form of a friction brake on the rope instead to arrest progress in the event you let go rather than lower it back down. The solution to "in the event a line breaks" in the rigging world is generally to inspect your ropes before each use, replace damaged ropes, don't ever exceed the WLL, do your load calcs, and don't stand under the load so you never have a line break to begin with, and if it somehow still does it's only property damage. corgski fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Nov 3, 2020 |
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Nov 3, 2020 20:15
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Keep in mind that brakes like I'm referring to are designed to stop runaways, not lower loads in a controlled manner - usually spring loaded cams or pins that will bind the mechanism when it exceeds a certain speed and stop the fall at the expense of a shitton of wear on the rope and mechanism.
corgski fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Nov 3, 2020 |
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Nov 3, 2020 20:27
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DaveSauce posted:Yeah pro-tip: If you find a storage tote you like, stock up. We had a 19 gallon we liked, but only bought as needed. Then when we needed more, we found out it's not made anymore. So now we have mismatched totes. Yes absolutely this. Sterlite made a fantastic tote with hinged lids that they discontinued and so now I have a bunch of shittier totes with loose lids that also don't stack together. 
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Nov 18, 2020 20:17
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Putting a halogen/incandescent in a fixture rated for LEDs will burn your house down. Don't do it.
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Nov 24, 2020 00:05
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I have a chunk of old carpet in my shed that I throw down under my cars when I'm working on them. It's mostly for comfort and to keep bolts and sockets from bouncing when they inevitably get dropped, but it's also pretty good at picking up any dribbles during the process.
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Dec 4, 2020 07:53
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Home depot contractors the PO hired were responsible for the flashing installed on top of our shingles. If you get a good contractor from a big box store it was a mistake.
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Dec 8, 2020 02:37
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Ideas for removing the wash plate from a Maytag Bravos washing machine, model MVWX655DW1? Youtube videos show people wiggling it up after they remove the center bolt or at worst having to tap it with a hammer a few times and mine still isn't moving even after all that, plus grabbing it with channel locks and lifting up until the entire drat drum touched the lid, plus letting it soak in hot water, and now I'm trying soaking the center spline connection with penetrating oil. I'd like to not destroy it since the part I need to replace is $30 and the wash plate is over $100 but it's getting to that point.
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Dec 8, 2020 20:25
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I've had the bolt in and out with an impact driver about a half dozen times, I also tried threading it in and tapping it with a mallet while lifting the plate with channel-locks and neither seemed to do much. I'm not sure what CLP is in this context but I do have a big box of TSP if soaking it in a solution of that might work.
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Dec 8, 2020 20:52
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best bale posted:Can’t hurt! I guess it could but I hear that stuff recommended for most everything. Maybe talk pretty to it? I called it a lot of names I like to be called but as far as I can tell it's not any looser. TSP soak is happening now. Elviscat posted:
Problem is there's nothing to bear against, there's a 6mm hole in the center which is the exact same size as the hole in the splined shaft in the center and the plate is like 14" wide so even if I could find a puller small enough to fit through that hole that could also somehow grab the plastic and not the threaded hole it wouldn't be able to reach past the wash plate.
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Dec 8, 2020 22:02
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No but what you can do is expose some lath above or below and use wood glue and some scrap wood thinner than the plaster to put a surface in for it to bear against like I did here with a mantle outlet that was originally installed way too low. Only do that in spots that’ll be hidden since the patch will never look right however.  Or do it the right way and use expanded metal mesh stapled to the lath on either side if you’re really confident in your ability to put down new plaster. corgski fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Dec 22, 2020 |
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Dec 22, 2020 05:58
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Like I said in the other thread, if you want to diy it buy several high output blowers, remove any insulation and drywall that got wet, and blow air through there until it feels bone dry and then continue for another week or two. But the suggestion you pay a professional is 100% the better option.
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Dec 24, 2020 01:25
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For unfinished spaces I’d recommend something like these, or the much more expensive but more reliable Feit or Cree products in the same vein. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerc...83141/206028970 Five of these light my entire 25x30 basement, for reference.
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Dec 30, 2020 02:37
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Qubee posted:I currently have a single socket in my bedroom and I want to upgrade it to a double socket. I've looked online and it seems relatively straight forward? Kill power from main fuse board, double check to make sure wires aren't live (with a socket checker or multimeter). Then it's a simple case of removing old housing and putting a double housing over it, and wiring the new double socket up. Here’s the electrical thread which can answer your question. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3090739&perpage=40&noseen=1&pagenumber=357
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Jan 4, 2021 06:28
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redbrouw posted:I'm considering going tankless for the water heater, primarily because it's stored out in the garage and it's cold as gently caress out there. They have a little electric heater installed to keep it warm. It's just the two of us, and we don't tend to use anything at the same time. There is a pretty huge bathtub, but I guess tankless would just mean it would take a little longer to fill? I’ll give you the same advice I got when I was getting my water heater replaced: Power vented gas tankless is nice, especially if it’s only two people. Electric tankless heaters aren’t so hot and are only really useful as boosters for commercial dishwashers. People run into problems when they undersize the heater for their usage, the winter inlet temperature, or both, and or when they don’t have a suitable gas supply (typically 3/4”) Personally my fiancé and I got a Navien NPE240 in our house and it’s had no trouble keeping up, even with both a shower and the washer going at the same time. It also costs significantly less to run than your typical lovely 40gal tank, which offsets the somewhat higher initial outlay.
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Feb 24, 2021 07:31
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melon cat posted:Tankless units need to be flushed out periodically and if you don't keep up with maintenance they can fail quite early in their life cycle. Yeah, unlike tank heaters which will limp along with a decade of lime scale in the tank, tankless heaters really do need to be cleaned annually. Usually it's just something like taking a small pump and some length of hose and backfeeding it with cleaning solution for 30 minutes once a year. Not onerous, but something to keep in mind. Here's an example of the annual maintenance for my model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF9ndoxBY_E corgski fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Feb 25, 2021 |
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Feb 25, 2021 22:32
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The Slack Lagoon posted:Currently getting some quotes for repointing our brick foundation. 1924 construction, so I thought you should use a softer mortar - one of the guys I talked to on the phone went on an on about using hydraulic cement. You’re correct to be concerned, you need to find a mason who works with older foundations and knows how to match the hardness and permeability of the original mortar. Old foundations are designed to dry to the inside and any waterproofing material applied to the interior, including hydraulic cement, will cause foundation damage. corgski fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Mar 19, 2021 |
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Mar 19, 2021 03:41
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The Slack Lagoon posted:PO put up whitewash - will that damage the brick? If all the brick is above grade then that's different and you have more leeway in getting the perfect mortar mix versus using something close enough, but you still wouldn't want to cover it with hydraulic cement or use a modern mortar blend. By whitewash do you mean limewash? That's a traditional way of treating brick and not going to cause any issues, it's very permeable and basically just functions as an ablative layer for erosion. If they painted it, it'll eventually flake off from trapped moisture and look like rear end but it's also not at all durable so it'll still be the point of failure before the brick. The "traditional" interior coating to watch out for is parging, since if it's not done with something that exactly matches the permeability of the brick and mortar it'll cause tons of erosion behind it. corgski fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Mar 20, 2021 |
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Mar 20, 2021 00:55
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The Lutron is available in a lot of esoteric colors while the contractor pack GFCIs are usually only found in black, white, almond/ivory, and grey.
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Apr 21, 2021 05:15
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Lever splices like the wago 221s are fine as long as you prepare your connections exactly properly and don't just jam a previously twisted wire in there or something with the wrong amount of insulation stripped. Push-in splices have all the same issues as backstabs and should be avoided at all costs. They basically just exist so cut-rate builders can throw up an entire subdivision worth of McMansions before they start to collapse in on themselves. Personally I use wing nuts (e.g. Ideal 451) because that's what was used when I was taught and IMO there can only be benefits to making sure your wires have a good mechanical connection to each other directly that isn't dependent on a connector.
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Apr 26, 2021 19:30
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Years ago when I lived in a lovely part of town, having a very visible IP camera just meant that people put on masks before grabbing deliveries off my doorstep, so I took it down and started shipping stuff to a PO box. And I don't think package theft is exactly endemic to the suburban neighborhoods these cloud-connected IoT cameras are marketed to, so they're probably even more useless there except as nextdoor post bait. I know my house came with two and I pulled power to them and plan on removing them when I get around to working on the spots where they're installed.
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May 27, 2021 02:37
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What’s the best way to clean up the powder from a BC dry chemical extinguisher? I stupidly had one of those on my electronics workbench because it was cheaper than a halotron 1 extinguisher and now that I’ve had to use it I’m regretting it. corgski fucked around with this message at 09:41 on May 31, 2021 |
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May 31, 2021 09:15
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Old capacitors fail catastrophically and sometimes they decide blue smoke isn’t enough and try to take the rest of the circuit with them too. Sadly the only picture I have of the aftermath right this second isn’t that interesting, you can barely see where the failed caps are. 
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May 31, 2021 17:43
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H110Hawk posted:
Cool. I’m definitely getting a halon or halotron extinguisher to replace it. 
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Jun 1, 2021 00:17
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AmbassadorofSodomy posted:Mods: Check the forum title. 
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Jun 10, 2021 20:59
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Any time I need to make up a nut that needs to look pretty I just do the electrical tape thing like Kaiser suggested. Works a charm.
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Jun 11, 2021 19:12
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MeKeV posted:What are the rules on multiple cross posts? I've put this in a general thread earlier, then found the plumbing thread. Though I probably should have come straight in here... HVAC (E: or plumbing) thread would probably have the best information for you but that said, I don't know they're going to be able to help at all with a tankless water heater purchased on Amazon from a dropshipper in China. Part of what you're paying for when you buy brand name (literally any brand name) is the support and parts availability from domestic suppliers. Without that your best bet would be tracking down the manufacturer in China (which is probably not the brand on the amazon listing) and trying to get support direct from them. There's no way to possibly know if it has any facility for cross-compatibility or frankly if it's even suitable for its intended purpose with the information available on the listing. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3761260 E: If you have friends or family with experience working directly with Chinese manufacturing supply chains (i.e. not through a broker who does all the difficult bits) I'd recommend hitting them up for help. corgski fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Jun 24, 2021 |
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Jun 24, 2021 17:02
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Yeah sorry I think in this case you’re poo poo outta luck. If it was a reputable brand like Haier, parts and support for what you’re trying to do might be possible to come by but that has nothing at all to go on.
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Jun 24, 2021 20:16
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Tezer posted:Drowning animals is pretty hosed up. If you're going to kill the chipmunk, kill it, don't torture it. Chipmunks can swim, so it takes a while for them to drown. Really messed up. Yeah drowning traps and glue traps are both extremely hosed up. Get a bunch of quick-kill mousetraps and a jar of Jif and spam them everywhere. If you have pets and you're worried about them getting to it, buy some cheap tupperware containers and put holes in the sides for the rodents to get in to reach the trap.
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Jul 14, 2021 22:36
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When faced with that problem we found a cheap lawn guy to run a mower over everything once a month and the neighbors can just deal with the clover that’s taking over as the grass dies off without PO’s aggressive fertilization and pesticide regime.
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Jul 15, 2021 21:15
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You could try hempex or any of the other synthetic ropes made to replace hemp rigging on boats. I’m not sure how well it would adhere to wood glue specifically but there are other glues that would work for sure.
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Aug 6, 2021 03:44
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DreadLlama posted:I guess I mean cheap glue. Wood glue is $40 for 3L but resin is closer to $100. I'm trying to freeze a catenary arch into a bunch of ropes to make the rigid back of a solar cooker. So it's a lot of rope and a lot of glue. I guess I should have asked "What is the cheapest rope / glue combination?" Ah, ok. If it's not for decorative purposes I'd just buy some crappy cotton sash cord and do some experiments to figure out how much it actually shrinks when you're forming it and then just account for that in your cuts. If you want something that doesn't shrink at all you're looking at probably solid braid polyester rope and that's gonna be a lot more expensive, not to mention that depending on how it's coated the wood glue may not absorb at all.
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Aug 6, 2021 08:11
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3M 6041 citrus base adhesive remover Make sure you use it in a well ventilated area, the fact that it’s natural terpenes doesn’t make them any less of an irritant, much less a solvent. That poo poo will strip paint if you’re not careful, but it does a number on glues too.
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Aug 11, 2021 06:02
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tangy yet delightful posted:You'll want a good monitor to edit the footage on so you're not creating something that looks like dogshit on anything except your bespoke but bad monitor [snip] Not that this is the monitor thread but to expand on this point: I can wholeheartedly recommend the Asus ProArt line for affordable calibrated monitors. I use a pair of the 24" PA248QV monitors on my editing rig. However, anything that has a calibrated rec.709 mode will work for your use case. Springing for 100% Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 gamut is overkill.
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Aug 12, 2021 08:13
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 10:15 |
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H110Hawk posted:I can't believe convinced someone on the internet to bash a hole in their ceiling. It’s the power of the star. Use it wisely, young padawan.
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Sep 7, 2021 06:25
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