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How would I fix a kitchen faucet that has experienced a sudden decrease in water pressure? The faucet is relatively new (~ 5 years old) and has never done this before. The head of the faucet unscrews and both with the head and without it, the water pressure is lackluster (maybe 30-50% decrease from before). I've checked the lines under the sink, but they appear to be OK. No kinks or tears in the material between the water line and the faucet. Anybody have any ideas?
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May 2, 2010 14:12
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spankweasel posted:bummer It sounds like the cartridge might be bad. What style and brand of faucet do you have, and do you have and paperwork from when it was bought/ installed? Some manufactures warranty things like this for life. It can be as simple as calling their customer service line, telling them the problem, (providing them with proof of ownership might be required, but never in my experience) and them mailing you the parts.
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May 2, 2010 17:24
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morethanjake32 posted:It sounds like the cartridge might be bad. What style and brand of faucet do you have, and do you have and paperwork from when it was bought/ installed? Some manufactures warranty things like this for life. It can be as simple as calling their customer service line, telling them the problem, (providing them with proof of ownership might be required, but never in my experience) and them mailing you the parts. http://www.danze.com/product_details.asp?id=D456513 I have all of the paperwork, including the original receipt. I've had to replace the faucet head twice now due to the head itself getting gunked up, but I have already checked that and the current head doesn't appear to have any calcium (or whatever) build up on the tiny nozzles. You think it's best to call them up and simply ask their opinion?
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May 2, 2010 19:02
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What can you do for generally crap water pressure in the whole house? My mother's house is like this. The shower is like a light spring rain, it's maddening trying to get shampoo out of your hair. Running the washer will slow any of the faucets in the house to a trickle. Flushing the toilet also kills pressure to any of the faucets. I considered moving back in with her and helping her out with bills and such but I can't do that if I can't shower.
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May 2, 2010 19:11
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NancyPants posted:What can you do for generally crap water pressure in the whole house? My mother's house is like this. Was the pressure always poo poo or did this just begin to happen? First thing to check is at the meter, make sure the isolation valves are fully open. Obvious I know but I've seen it enough. Second, check the isolators at the pressure reg valve, make sure they're open full on. If everything's open wide, check with the city to find out what sort of service is delivered to the home. Lastly check the plumbing sizes. It's possible that the diameters are too small -- even a booster won't cure that. You an also put a pressure guage on the outside hosebib to make sure proper pressure is coming to the house. Should be between 60-120 psi There are other things to do but these are the simple ones e: a more complete explanation: http://www.ofallon.mo.us/pubs/Water_tips.pdf Flay Minion fucked around with this message at 22:53 on May 2, 2010 |
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May 2, 2010 19:57
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spankweasel posted:http://www.danze.com/product_details.asp?id=D456513 Yeah, just give them a call and tell them the story. Worst thing is they wont do anything for you, but its worth a shot. Do you have problems with your water quality, it sounds like this problem might be related to the head getting clogged up twice already.
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May 2, 2010 20:55
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morethanjake32 posted:Yeah, just give them a call and tell them the story. Worst thing is they wont do anything for you, but its worth a shot. Do you have problems with your water quality, it sounds like this problem might be related to the head getting clogged up twice already. When my faucet clogged up the first time, I called City Water and they told me to inspect my water heater. In doing so, I found that my water heater (installed at the time the house was constructed in ~ 1994) was on "the list" that used a plastic PVC pipe as a 'dip tube'. Over time, that pipe disintegrated into tiny little bits which traveled through the pipes in the house, getting lodged in various faucets. It was at this point that I replaced the water heater and all non "screened" faucets like the kitchen sink and both shower heads. Bathroom faucets were fine after taking that little screen off and cleaning it. Water pressure tripled in my kitchen sink and shower after this. In no way whatsoever do the shower heads or kitchen faucet show ANY kind of debris like this. The lack of pressure in just the kitchen faucet is recent development and, as far as I can tell, only affecting the kitchen. Is there a way to test the pressure of the line? Could I turn off the water under the sink, disconnect the pipes leading to the sink and turn the water back on to check that? Is this sane in any way? 
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May 2, 2010 22:42
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spankweasel posted:When my faucet clogged up the first time, I called City Water and they told me to inspect my water heater. In doing so, I found that my water heater (installed at the time the house was constructed in ~ 1994) was on "the list" that used a plastic PVC pipe as a 'dip tube'. Over time, that pipe disintegrated into tiny little bits which traveled through the pipes in the house, getting lodged in various faucets. It was at this point that I replaced the water heater and all non "screened" faucets like the kitchen sink and both shower heads. Bathroom faucets were fine after taking that little screen off and cleaning it. Water pressure tripled in my kitchen sink and shower after this. In no way whatsoever do the shower heads or kitchen faucet show ANY kind of debris like this. The lack of pressure in just the kitchen faucet is recent development and, as far as I can tell, only affecting the kitchen. Its sane, but really the problem lies in your faucet 99% of the time. I just didn't know if you were on a well with extremely hard water. Call the manufacturer and see if they will send you a replacement or at least the parts to fix it.
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May 3, 2010 00:24
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Well I have decided to take down the dying oak tree next to my house. Probably around 24" diameter trunk and situated about 15' from the house. There is nowhere to fell this tree without extensively damaging the garden or the neighbor's property, so it must be limbed from up in the tree. Obviously this tree has some decent sized branches hanging over the house. My question is whats the tree-professional-approved way to take down these limbs without making a skylight in my roof? My current idea would be to shimmy out as far onto the branches as possible and attach a rope to the branch, where the rope run through a branch crotch farther up. Should I run this rope through an eye hook, pulleys, how do I quickly cinch my rope on the limbs so I can get this done quickly? Basically I want to know what a pro would do. Anyone fell trees for a living that is willing to lend some advice? I do have extensive chainsaw experience, albeit while standing on the ground and will wear all appropriate safety apparel and a harness. dinozaur fucked around with this message at 04:47 on May 3, 2010 |
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May 3, 2010 04:45
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That is 100% a job for the pros. Felling dead or dying trees is dangerous when you're standing on the ground, never mind trying to climb one and cut from above. I have extensive experience using a knife, but I'm not about to go carving up a blowfish.
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May 3, 2010 11:48
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I'm installing a hottub, the previous owner has taken care of most of the work. They installed the 240v circuit in the breaker box and ran conduit underground to the hot tub pad where it terminates inside of the hottub body. The only problem is that they did not install a GFCI. Not wanting to die a horrible electrical death while trying to relax after a hard day's work I went ahead and purchased the GFCI and a box to house it in. The only "problem" is that I need to tap into the existing conduit. Is it as simple as cutting the conduit in half, installing a T junction and then plopping the GFCI on the bottom of the T and then running the wire from Breaker -> GFCI -> Hottub? I'm having an electrician do the work so that I'm up to code, I just want to make sure that my master plan is sound.
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May 3, 2010 18:26
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I'm installing a 4x4 fence post along the edge of a concrete patio. I got a couple of these things to anchor the posts: Since the slab is sloped to shed water, the post leans over quite a bit if I bolt the anchor flat to the slab. How do I plumb the post once the anchor's installed, shims or washers or something?
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May 3, 2010 20:18
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Wreckus posted:I'm installing a hottub, the previous owner has taken care of most of the work. They installed the 240v circuit in the breaker box and ran conduit underground to the hot tub pad where it terminates inside of the hottub body. The only problem is that they did not install a GFCI. Return the GFCI (outlet, I assume) and buy a GFCI Breaker for your breaker box. Done.
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May 4, 2010 00:39
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Richard Noggin posted:That is 100% a job for the pros. Felling dead or dying trees is dangerous when you're standing on the ground, never mind trying to climb one and cut from above. I have extensive experience using a knife, but I'm not about to go carving up a blowfish. Well, obviously its dangerous. But seriously, when I say I have "chainsaw experience", I mean that I'm a professional landscaper who has felled hundreds of trees and taken down several large trees from the air. Calling in a professional is not in the cards. I'm not asking if this is a good idea, I'm requesting specific advice on rigging and methodology. Right now the idea is to try out some different rigging methods on the side of the tree that is not overhanging the house and continue to the hazardous side if I feel comfortable. I should be able to limb enough of the branches to get it to the point where I can fell it safely in 12' that are open between the deck and the garden. Not trying to be a smartass, I genuinely appreciate the warning about the danger of the job, I know dead wood can react unpredictably. The only reason I feel capable doing this task that none of the problem limbs are thicker than 5", so should be able to be easily handled with a rope by help on the ground.
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May 4, 2010 01:23
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I plan on switching my 20 year old natural gas water heater to an electric heat pump model. What should I do about the vent that runs through the roof? Take it out? Leave it alone? Hire a pro? The water heater is currently located inside a utility room at the back of our one story garage, and the vent pipe runs through the ceiling, through the attic, and up the roof.
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May 4, 2010 03:34
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I'm finally down to remodeling the kitchen in my 100+ year-old house. I ripped out all of the excess flooring material, which was a big sandwich of carpet, glue, self-adhesive tile, and linoleum flooring on 4x8' sheets of plywood. Underneath all of that is what I'm assuming to be the original floor: Click here for the full 940x705 image.  Click here for the full 705x940 image. Should I even bother trying to sand some of this down to see how it looks? The boards are actually flat and smooth without any large gaps or rot, but there's that spotty old varnish all around the edges. It almost looks like someone else sanded the entire center of the room a long time ago before saying "gently caress it" and nailing down some plywood. Tell me to forget about it so I can put down some nice ceramic tile.
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May 4, 2010 04:14
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gross posted:Tell me to forget about it so I can put down some nice ceramic tile. Can't tell you that. The floor looks like it is in great shape and properly refinished would add value to the home beyond tile.
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May 4, 2010 04:28
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dinozaur posted:Anyone fell trees for a living that is willing to lend some advice? I do have extensive chainsaw experience, albeit while standing on the ground and will wear all appropriate safety apparel and a harness. My friend and I cut down two trees from my yard. We attached a rope to the limb, tied the rope to my truck on the street and would then apply slight tension to make sure the limb fell towards or into the street. Naturally we had people in the street watching for traffic. Make sure you tie a rope to the saw so you can raise and lower it easily. http://www.urlesque.com/2010/01/13/tree-removal-fails/
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May 4, 2010 13:53
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Return the GFCI (outlet, I assume) and buy a GFCI Breaker for your breaker box. Done. Nah, it's a GFCI Breaker(e: apparently it is a GFCI Disconnect) and box. I was under the assumption that the GFCI needed to be relatively close to the hot tub in order to function. The breaker box -> hot tub conduit is about 40ft long. Wreckus fucked around with this message at 14:00 on May 4, 2010 |
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May 4, 2010 13:56
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Uh, so I had started painting my small balcony a while ago with tremclad paint. I started a while ago, but I couldn't finish due to weather, and then I sort of forgot about it. For a year. Turns out that I had thought I brought in the can of tremclad, but I didn't. So now I've cracked open the rust-covered container to get another crack at finishing the job, but find that the container is pretty much filled with water, but it doesn't look like it's mixed with the paint (supposed to be really thick stuff, right?) Is it ruined, or can I just pour out the water somehow and still salvage the paint?
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May 4, 2010 21:45
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Are you sure water got in there? Maybe the paint just separated and you can stir it back together. This happened to some of the interior latex I inherited with my house, and it still works just fine once mixed.
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May 4, 2010 21:57
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slap me silly posted:Are you sure water got in there? Maybe the paint just separated and you can stir it back together. This happened to some of the interior latex I inherited with my house, and it still works just fine once mixed. I'm pretty sure that there's more in the can than when I last saw it...but that was some time ago, so you might be right. Perhaps I'll give it a shot (when it stops raining outside, funnily enough).
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May 4, 2010 22:12
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Flay Minion posted:Can't tell you that. The floor looks like it is in great shape and properly refinished would add value to the home beyond tile. I guess the least I can do is rent a sander and see how well it cleans up. I definitely wouldn't mind having some extra money for cabinets if it works out.
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May 5, 2010 03:04
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Wreckus posted:Nah, it's a GFCI Breaker(e: apparently it is a GFCI Disconnect) and box. I was under the assumption that the GFCI needed to be relatively close to the hot tub in order to function. The breaker box -> hot tub conduit is about 40ft long. Nope. It's fine as it is.
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May 5, 2010 03:12
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gross posted:I guess the least I can do is rent a sander and see how well it cleans up. I definitely wouldn't mind having some extra money for cabinets if it works out. No no no not yet. First, rub some of the area with mineral spirits to get out the stains and old finish(es). Hand sand the stubborn spots. Sand with the grain. Try a boiled linseed oil finish cut with a bit of turpentine and see how it looks. A power sander will chew up an old pine floor so fast you wouldn't believe it. Additionally, with a sander you need some form of dust abatement or you'll be months getting the dust out of everything. It's a lot like work but worth it
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May 5, 2010 03:27
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Flay Minion posted:It's a lot like work but worth it Thanks for the advice. If I sound like I'm out of patience, it's because I've been working on and off for the last year removing wallpaper and repairing all of the plaster upstairs. Of all the weird crap I've had to clean up so far, I still can't believe that someone decided to wallpaper the drat ceiling and then paint over it in four different rooms. That's a different topic, though. I will try what you suggest for the floor.
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May 5, 2010 05:28
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Honestly, minerals spirits aren't going to do squat with that floor, it needs to be sanded. And you'll need to finish with something a lot more durable than linseed oil.
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May 5, 2010 06:55
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Having re-surfaced and finished all the hardwood in my house this December, I can tell you this: you will not get satisfactory results from hand-sanding or a small hand-operated sander. To refinish properly, you need to rent a good floor sander - the best ones are at OSH, which have three rotating disks. The drum sanders they have at home depot work amazingly well but are very unforgiving and can leave big gouges if you are not super-careful. Go ahead and do some testing with a hand-sander in some corner where it'll be covered up later if you want, of course. If you do decide to re-finish, you can get two or three different grits and the rental, and do the whole sanding job in one day (for just one room, you can do it in maybe 3 hours). You'll also need a small edge/corner tool to get in the corners. Sand with the grain, and finish with a fine grit (120). Then, you can pick a variety of different treatments - polyurethane in water- or oil-based, for a hard, waterproof, durable surface that you can mop, or, natural wax for a softer surface that you can re-wax any time, just like your grandma did. Either way, you can stain first, or not if you like the natural color. For one room, the cost for the rental, sandpaper, a coat of stain, and a couple or three coats of urethane, will probably run you less than $300. And it will be so, so very worth it, when your loving gorgeous floor is what you have at the end.
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May 5, 2010 07:18
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Leperflesh posted:Having re-surfaced and finished all the hardwood in my house this December, I can tell you this: you will not get satisfactory results from hand-sanding or a small hand-operated sander. To refinish properly, you need to rent a good floor sander - the best ones are at OSH, which have three rotating disks. The drum sanders they have at home depot work amazingly well but are very unforgiving and can leave big gouges if you are not super-careful. This is great advice for a hardwood floor. For pine, no. And your grandma didn't have hitech wax, she used oils which are a pain in the rear end. As a softwood, pine sands easily. My experience is as a contractor doing restoration of victorian style homes circa 1890-1920 in Colorado.
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May 5, 2010 12:32
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Why do you think it's pine? It looks like oak to me. Edit, it could be fir, just thought of that, but I can't tell from the picture.
wormil fucked around with this message at 14:21 on May 5, 2010 |
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May 5, 2010 14:15
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I don't remember who asked a while ago but they were installing a new fan in a house with 2 wire electrical. I just installed another fan in my house last night and the wiring from the house into the fan is this: white - white black&blue - black green wire on fan connects to green wire on bracket that comes with fan.
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May 5, 2010 15:55
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a handful of dust posted:I'm installing a 4x4 fence post along the edge of a concrete patio. I got a couple of these things to anchor the posts: Since the slab is sloped, you'll need to bend the part of the metal bracket to the angle of the edges of the post, you can try with some vice grips, but you'll have better luck with a table mounted vice. Also, if it isn't already done, you'll need to cut through the concrete straight down to make sure your hole/bracket line up once the tabs are bent to the angle you need. edit: You're using pressure treated 4x4s aren't you? keykey fucked around with this message at 16:32 on May 5, 2010 |
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May 5, 2010 16:30
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Flay Minion posted:This is great advice for a hardwood floor. For pine, no. And your grandma didn't have hitech wax, she used oils which are a pain in the rear end. As a softwood, pine sands easily. I had no idea people put in softwood floors, interesting. Yeah, if that's actually pine, then my advice is not good. However, Grandma definitely used wax on her floor (in the 1950s). Minwax made stuff, and I think she might have also used beeswax? It might have been in a liquid form... I'll ask my mom next time I see her.
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May 5, 2010 18:51
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Leperflesh posted:I had no idea people put in softwood floors, interesting. Yeah, if that's actually pine, then my advice is not good. Pine is typically installed as wide planks, 4.5-5", especially in old houses; although I'm sure there are exceptions. Even if it were pine, you could still sand it. People make a big deal that you can only refinish a floor so many times but honestly, how often are most people refinishing their floors? Not very often. And there is nothing that says you have to start with the most aggressive grit like you would with hardwoods. On the other hand, some people like the patina, antique, beat up, distressed, look on their floors.
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May 5, 2010 21:21
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wormil posted:Pine is typically installed as wide planks, 4.5-5", especially in old houses; although I'm sure there are exceptions. Even if it were pine, you could still sand it. People make a big deal that you can only refinish a floor so many times but honestly, how often are most people refinishing their floors? Not very often. And there is nothing that says you have to start with the most aggressive grit like you would with hardwoods. On the other hand, some people like the patina, antique, beat up, distressed, look on their floors. The term "heart pine" is closely associated with historic pine floors. I have some heart pine flooring which I was looking into resurfacing (didn't end up doing it for different reasons than are being discussed right now). http://www.heartpine.com/ is a business, but might help get your bearings if you want to do some more searching with that term.
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May 5, 2010 21:46
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All of the exposed flooring in the rest of the house is narrow boards of pine, though the stuff upstairs looks like a lower quality (more knots, less consistent grain): Click here for the full 940x705 image. Edit: maybe this did deserve its own thread.
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May 5, 2010 22:59
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Edit: Nevermind, figured it out.
Hired Gun fucked around with this message at 01:21 on May 6, 2010 |
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May 6, 2010 00:57
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a handful of dust posted:I'm installing a 4x4 fence post along the edge of a concrete patio. I got a couple of these things to anchor the posts: How exact do you want to be? I would just shim with some washers and be done with it. If you really want to be neurotic about it. 1: make sure that after driving in wedge anchors you will have about 3, maybe 3 1/2" protrusion from the cement. 2: Drill holes 3: put flat washer and 2 nuts on anchor 4: hammer away 5: tighten bottom nut until tight 6: put washers on top of nuts 7: put bracket on anchors, finger tight nut on top 8: put 4x4 in bracket 9: check plumb 10: adjust bottom nuts until plumb, then tighten down top nuts to hold. 11: ensure 4x4 is down all the way. 12: fasten 4x4 to bracket. repeat.
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May 6, 2010 02:58
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Leperflesh posted:However, Grandma definitely used wax on her floor (in the 1950s). Minwax made stuff, and I think she might have also used beeswax? It might have been in a liquid form... I'll ask my mom next time I see her. Heh, sorry, I forget where I am sometimes. I'm an old coot and my grandma was born in the early 1900's. Most finishes were oil based back in the day and could be refinished or cut with mineral spirits. Many folks painted their floors back then creating ornate borders and interesting designs, and it was easier to clean -- the 'natural' wood finish was not as popular back then as now. All I can say is that, it's your house, you're welcome to go at it however you will -- however, some uniqueness can be added by the method I described. It's not for everyone and hey you might end up tiling it after all. If you *do* tile it, eliminate any squeaks, cracks or movement NOW. You won't get a good shot at it later.
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May 6, 2010 04:58
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| # ? May 17, 2024 16:46 |
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gross posted:All of the exposed flooring in the rest of the house is narrow boards of pine, though the stuff upstairs looks like a lower quality (more knots, less consistent grain): Now that is pine. Your earlier pictures look like the oak flooring that was under the carpet I pulled out of the living room. Rather than sanding and refinishing with poly, we cleaned it with Murphy's Oil Soap and finished it with shellac which is far more durable than oil and you don't have to worry about the oil weeping out and staining your socks. You will however need to refinish it every couple of years. Shellac can be used over other finishes. Mark Kidd posted:http://www.heartpine.com/ is a business, but might help get your bearings if you want to do some more searching with that term. I have my bearings, thanks. Frankly I find nothing interesting about a pine floor with no distinctive grain nor any knots, might as well have fir.
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May 6, 2010 05:26
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