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I'm making a kotatsu as a gift and I'm stuck as to what kind of heat source to use. Safety is a big concern, and it needs to be fairly small and mountable to the underside of a table. It's only going to be heating about 10 square feet so it doesn't need to be all that hot. I don't know very much about heaters so I'm having trouble figuring out exactly what I need. What are some good options?
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Nov 21, 2010 08:22
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I need advice on how to fix a noisy floor. There's a small section of my hardwood floor in the living room that almost consistently makes a creaking noise without anyone even walking on it and it's driving me up the wall. My guess it has something to do with a change in heat and/or humidity because the problem just started over the past few days as it's been below freezing most of the time and the offending section is located directly under one of the heating vents.
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Nov 22, 2010 16:13
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So I enjoy taking baths, but I hate how there are those drains that are practically halfway up. I can't get submerged. In my old house I duct taped over that drain and it was awesome. I just moved into a new place and it is newer, so I don't trust it as much (In my old house the tub was on top of a 2 foot by 2 foot oak beam, so I wasn't too concerned). My question is: Is it stupid for me to cover that drain up with duct tape? Are there any instances of a tub coming crashing through a ceiling? I may just be paranoid, and I'm pretty sure my renter's insurance covers it, but I thought I'd just cover my back.
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Nov 22, 2010 19:09
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Why is my ceiling fan mounted like this? Every employee milling around the Home Depot lighting section looked at the photo with bewilderment.  The hook has 4" of threads, and I'm assuming with the peaked ceiling that you can kind of make out in the next pic, that there's a solid beam running the length of the room. Am I cool to just lag this plate to the ceiling with 4" bolts? It just makes me nervous to sit under a heavy fan with 15ft of height in which to pick up speed falling. 
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Nov 22, 2010 20:13
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eddiewalker posted:Why is my ceiling fan mounted like this? Every employee milling around the Home Depot lighting section looked at the photo with bewilderment. I have a vault ceiling with a fan at the peak as well, originally there was a simple light box anchored to the beam at whatever angle the ceiling ran next to the beam. Might want to see if you can anchor the correct box into the drywall against the beam, and then attach your fan plat to it. It should be able to hang fine as those plates allow for some goofy placing.
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Nov 22, 2010 20:17
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bollig posted:So I enjoy taking baths, but I hate how there are those drains that are practically halfway up. I can't get submerged. In my old house I duct taped over that drain and it was awesome. I just moved into a new place and it is newer, so I don't trust it as much (In my old house the tub was on top of a 2 foot by 2 foot oak beam, so I wasn't too concerned). My question is: Is it stupid for me to cover that drain up with duct tape? It depends on the design of the drain, but if there's a metal cover with the opening at the bottom, you may be able to remove it and flip it (and seal the new bottom) so the water drains from the top . This may give you an extra 2 inches of water when you bathe. If you're worried about the weight of extra water on the floor, I wouldn't be. Even if the tub is as full as it is now, add your body weight, that's already 200+ pounds on that spot. A little more water isn't going to cause a crash, unless you're really worried about the structure of your building. Elijya fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Nov 22, 2010 |
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Nov 22, 2010 20:26
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How do I prepare my rosebushes for the winter? The temp is expected to started dipping down into the teens this week and I want to make sure they survive.
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Nov 22, 2010 21:49
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eddiewalker posted:Why is my ceiling fan mounted like this? Every employee milling around the Home Depot lighting section looked at the photo with bewilderment. First off, the ceiling fan is currently hung with a hook because it was done by a good ol' boy. If there is a load bearing wood beam going through the length at the top, which I would assume there is given it's the apex of the roof, there's no reason to not use lag bolts. That hook setup is an accident waiting to happen to say the least. edit: don't forget to drill pilot holes before you anchor the fan to the lag bolts because you wouldn't want to split wood, that's a bad place for that accident to happen. keykey fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Nov 22, 2010 |
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Nov 22, 2010 22:26
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Thanks for the reassurances. Lags it was.
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Nov 22, 2010 23:09
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Electric dryer (Kenmore 400 if it matters) Replacing 3-prong cord with 4-prong. All the clear screenshots I'm finding online so far show the terminal block of various kinds of dryer with a strip of metal directly bridging the grounding screw and white on the terminal block. This Kenmore instead has a wire coming off the grounding screw and apparently spliced with the wire coming off of white as they go into the guts of the dryer. In that case is it best to secure that wire on the white terminal along with the white wire from the cord, or should I cap it somehow?
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Nov 23, 2010 04:17
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Anyone ever add insulation to an existing garage door? My garage is below grade on three sides, and has bedrooms overtop, so only the two doors are exposed to the outside. The garage ceiling is uninsulated, and there is a small section of radiant heat pipe (connected to the bedroom thermostat) that runs through he corner of the garage so there is a small amount of heating capacity. I have heavy solid wood garage doors, and the gaps are sealed pretty well but it still gets quite cold in the garage and in turn makes the floors above cold. Googling around there are garage insulation kits that seem to work best with metal doors with a track, and there is also a foil type radiant barrier material that some people use for this purpose. These doors do not have automatic openers although I may add them in the future. Seems like I should go for lightweight (to not overload garage springs) and max R value. Is there any reason I should use the radiant barrier material vs. ~1" typical fiberglass? I dont want to use a styrofoam on wood as that's flammable.
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Nov 23, 2010 15:05
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I want to install a ceiling fan/light. Right now, the room has a switch that controls an outlet. What is the easiest way to fish a wire across the ceiling and down the wall to the switch? I don't have access from above, but I know there is plenty of space between my ceiling and the condo above me. I had my head up there and looked around when I had a hole in the ceiling from a water leak from upstairs, and there are no obstructions. What I don't want to do is put more holes in the ceiling than I have to. Preferably one hole for the fixture. My main concern is being able to turn the corner from the ceiling to go down the wall.
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Nov 23, 2010 15:30
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the yeti posted:Electric dryer (Kenmore 400 if it matters) Replacing 3-prong cord with 4-prong.  This is what I'm finding for that specific model. Hope that helps. The green from dryer and white from cord go on the same screw. Makes sense though, when rewiring a 2-3 prong gfci grounded outlet, you have to make a jumper wire from the white wire (neutral) to ground screw (green) in order for it to read correct with a tester. What you have on that dryer are 2 positives (black and red) 1 neutral (white) and 1 ground (green). I take it you're connecting it to a 4 prong outlet? Why would you previously have a 3 prong cord on it? keykey fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Nov 23, 2010 |
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Nov 23, 2010 17:31
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Safety Engineer posted:How do I prepare my rosebushes for the winter? The temp is expected to started dipping down into the teens this week and I want to make sure they survive. Typical winter temps here are in the 40s or upper 30s, but we have prolonged periods below freezing from time to time. Our roses always do just fine the next year without taking any precautions whatsoever. If you're really concerned you could throw an old blanket over them, but I don't think it's really necessary. And I'll repost a question I just put in the A/T small questions thread since this might be a better venue for it. It is winter here, and I have an old house. I get a lot of condensation on the inside of my windows, to the point that it starts dripping down the walls and poo poo. I'm worried about mold happening or causing electrical problems, so is there anything I can do to prevent/reduce this, short of installing double-pane windows?
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Nov 23, 2010 17:55
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Elijya posted:It depends on the design of the drain, but if there's a metal cover with the opening at the bottom, you may be able to remove it and flip it (and seal the new bottom) so the water drains from the top . This may give you an extra 2 inches of water when you bathe. Yeah. You never know. I'll bathe easy now.
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Nov 23, 2010 21:27
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stubblyhead posted:And I'll repost a question I just put in the A/T small questions thread since this might be a better venue for it. It is winter here, and I have an old house. I get a lot of condensation on the inside of my windows, to the point that it starts dripping down the walls and poo poo. I'm worried about mold happening or causing electrical problems, so is there anything I can do to prevent/reduce this, short of installing double-pane windows? If it's not too bad or if nothing has became of the condensation issue yet, you can usually get by using some mold and mildew resistant paint. I had the same problem at my old house, it had large single pane windows in the front room and every year it would sweat on the inside because of the difference in temperature between inside and outside. Anyway, mine was fairly severe where I had to scrape out the rotten portion of wood/drywall then repair it and paint. After caulking using joint compound, I first painted with a layer of Kilz to cover up previous discolored water damaged area after sanding and such then used Behr bathroom paint which is made specifically for damp environments and it worked perfect. If you have a lot of windows, it's gonna take some time, but it's better to take the time once then to have to screw with it a few times a year.
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Nov 24, 2010 00:09
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kuddles posted:I need advice on how to fix a noisy floor. There's a small section of my hardwood floor in the living room that almost consistently makes a creaking noise without anyone even walking on it and it's driving me up the wall. My guess it has something to do with a change in heat and/or humidity because the problem just started over the past few days as it's been below freezing most of the time and the offending section is located directly under one of the heating vents. Floors creak when humidity changes cause the wood to shrink and start flexing and rubbing against each other and the floor joists. You can run construction adhesive along each side of the joist where it meets the floor in the basement. a nice thick bead pressed into the joint really good should alleviate some or most of the creaking. Refer to the red lines in the below pic. I recommend the Loctite PL Polyurethane stuff. I have used it in the past with great success. Make sure you brush down the joint where you are putting it with a stiff brush and maybe a vacuum to remove any dust and grit that could prevent the glue from adhering to the wood. Make sure you pack it in as best you can to that 90 degree angle where the floor meets the floor joists. Think of it like caulking a tub. http://www.homedepot.com/Paint-Adhe...catalogId=10053 
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Nov 24, 2010 00:26
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The lights have been flickering in our downstairs room occasionally starting today. It just flickered from dim to regular for about a minute. It was all the lights -- we have string lights from one outlet and a lamp from another outlet across the room. No other appliances were turned on or anything when it started happening. What's going on here? I tried googling and it wasn't really precise but hinted at a potential fire hazard which has me a bit worried given it's almost midnight and we can't call the power co.
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Nov 24, 2010 05:19
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No. 9 posted:The lights have been flickering in our downstairs room occasionally starting today. It just flickered from dim to regular for about a minute. It was all the lights -- we have string lights from one outlet and a lamp from another outlet across the room. No other appliances were turned on or anything when it started happening. Check to see if you have anything plugged into a loose outlet. If you can put a plug into an outlet and it feels loose or if it comes out a bit, change that outlet. Either that or does it happen when an appliance turns on like an electric heater or something?
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Nov 24, 2010 16:40
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The fact its happening to two sets of lights from different outlets doesn't lead me to think it's from one outlet itself. Didn't happen when an appliance turned out, like you'd expect. Seemed random.
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Nov 24, 2010 17:14
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keykey posted:If it's not too bad or if nothing has became of the condensation issue yet, you can usually get by using some mold and mildew resistant paint. I had the same problem at my old house, it had large single pane windows in the front room and every year it would sweat on the inside because of the difference in temperature between inside and outside. Anyway, mine was fairly severe where I had to scrape out the rotten portion of wood/drywall then repair it and paint. After caulking using joint compound, I first painted with a layer of Kilz to cover up previous discolored water damaged area after sanding and such then used Behr bathroom paint which is made specifically for damp environments and it worked perfect. If you have a lot of windows, it's gonna take some time, but it's better to take the time once then to have to screw with it a few times a year. Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that. I would really like to just stop the condensation entirely, though. Would that window shrink wrap stuff help with this any?
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Nov 24, 2010 18:02
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No. 9 posted:The fact its happening to two sets of lights from different outlets doesn't lead me to think it's from one outlet itself. Didn't happen when an appliance turned out, like you'd expect. Seemed random. Those lights are most likely on the same breaker and are in line with each other. Turn a breaker off to make sure they are on the same breaker, if they are, then I'd replace both outlets on general principle. You can get 3 prong outlets at any home store for around $1.50 each. That would be a good place to start. I'd also get a tester and see how many other outlets are on the same breaker. You're gonna have to do some digging. stubblyhead posted:Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that. I would really like to just stop the condensation entirely, though. Would that window shrink wrap stuff help with this any? No window application will stop the condensation, even if you have double pane windows, it will still build up in the middle layer leaving you with fogged windows which really sucks. When your house is warm inside, water vapor turns to water when it comes into contact with a cold surface. The only thing I can think of that would take care of condensation entirely would be a dehumidifier. But a whole house dehumidifier would run roughly $1000 + installation.
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Nov 24, 2010 18:42
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No. 9 posted:The fact its happening to two sets of lights from different outlets doesn't lead me to think it's from one outlet itself. Didn't happen when an appliance turned out, like you'd expect. Seemed random. If you don't have electrical knowledge or experience, I do not recommend replacing outlets yourself. My thought is that there is a loose connection somewhere that may or may not be at those outlets. If you wish to do it yourself, turn off the breaker(s) that control the offending outlets and find every single outlet that is on that circuit. Check all the connections on these outlets. You can also try banging on the wall near the offending outlets with the lights plugged into the offending outlets to see if you can trigger a flicker. If you don't find anything, call an electrician. The problem may be in a wall, or may be in the breaker panel. Do a google image search for aluminum electrical wiring so that you know what it looks like. If you discover that you have aluminum wire in your house, call an electrician. Aluminum wiring was a cheap alternative to copper used from the mid 60's to the early 70's. It is inferior to copper in that it expands and contracts a lot as it heats up when in use and connections tend to work themselves loose from this expansion and contraction. These loose connections are a FIRE HAZARD. Please, do not procrastinate on this. Update me with your findings in this thread.
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Nov 25, 2010 00:46
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keykey posted:Those lights are most likely on the same breaker and are in line with each other. Turn a breaker off to make sure they are on the same breaker, if they are, then I'd replace both outlets on general principle. You can get 3 prong outlets at any home store for around $1.50 each. That would be a good place to start. I'd also get a tester and see how many other outlets are on the same breaker. You're gonna have to do some digging. The probably is most likely NOT the outlet, and replacing them would be a waste. bgack posted:Seems like I should go for lightweight (to not overload garage springs) and max R value. Is there any reason I should use the radiant barrier material vs. ~1" typical fiberglass? I dont want to use a styrofoam on wood as that's flammable. FogHelmut posted:I want to install a ceiling fan/light. Right now, the room has a switch that controls an outlet. What is the easiest way to fish a wire across the ceiling and down the wall to the switch? grover fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Nov 25, 2010 |
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Nov 25, 2010 01:42
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bgack posted:radiant barrier Just as a heads up, while radiant barrier does have some (but very little) insulating properties, it is most useful in decreasing heat gain to what it is surrounding. Basically good on bright summer days, lousy on cloudy cold days.
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Nov 25, 2010 02:10
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Plastic weather stripping covering stuff I need some kind of plastic window covering because my window seals are poo poo and my heater can't keep up with the cold. If they keep getting worse the heater risks freezing which will burst the pipes and gently caress me and everyone else living under me. The problem I've got is basically the entire wall is window. It's made up of 6 panes in this kind of configuration: code:Should I buy something that I can just cover it panel by panel? How do I deal with the window that's partially covered by the sliding door? It's so cold in here  I'm using my oven as supplementary heat because 15C isn't a very comfortable temperature
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Nov 25, 2010 03:58
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Safety Engineer posted:How do I prepare my rosebushes for the winter? The temp is expected to started dipping down into the teens this week and I want to make sure they survive. Its typical to prune them down for healthy and compact growth new next season. Prune to about knee height.
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Nov 25, 2010 06:24
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keykey posted:No window application will stop the condensation, even if you have double pane windows, it will still build up in the middle layer leaving you with fogged windows which really sucks. When your house is warm inside, water vapor turns to water when it comes into contact with a cold surface. The only thing I can think of that would take care of condensation entirely would be a dehumidifier. But a whole house dehumidifier would run roughly $1000 + installation. This is not true. The heat shrink plastic when applied properly will prevent most condensation and greatly help in insulating the space. I just did 3 windows in my house this way as a stop gap before upgrading to dual pane and the space is much warmer and water no longer condenses on them Double pane windows also will not condense in the middle unless the pane is defective and there's a leak
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Nov 25, 2010 06:30
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I have an unfinished room in my otherwise finished basement where my furnace is, water heater, breaker box, etc. I want to keep my two very adventurous kitties out of this room, but I can't install a normal door because there is a large heating duct coming through the opening at the top (along the ceiling) and the walls on either side don't line up exactly. I'm thinking something like a pull-across screen door or a half-height door or something like that, but I have no idea where to look for something like that. Anyone have any ideas?
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Nov 25, 2010 07:46
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Removing wallpaper is sucking my will to live. We're planning quite a large extension to the house, but while we wait for all the paperwork to be done we've decided to make a start in the existing house. Being a willing but inexperienced DIYer, I thought I'd start with turning a bedroom into my home office. First step: Taking off the wallpaper! Well, the top vinyl covering came off with no resistance but I'm left with the backing paper, and it appears that the wallpaper has been glued directly on to the plasterboard (I think it's called drywall in the states?). Day 1, using a sponge and water I soaked the paper slightly and attempted to scrape it off. Very tough going, and didn't get very far as it was just a little test run at the end of the evening. Day 2. Using a wallpaper remover called Zif in a garden sprayer with warm water, I soaked the room, let it soak for 15 minutes, soaked it again, let it soak for another 15 minutes, then with a sponge and warm mildly soapy water I attacked it again, with high hopes. In the areas between the plasterboards where the previous decorators have used filler to cover the gaps, the wallpaper comes off quite easily, but directly on the plasterboard it is ridiculously hard. I managed to "clear" about 1 metre of wall in a little over an hour of scraping. I use the term "clear" loosely because there are lots of bits of paper left behind, some of it is super thin and seems almost impossible to get the scraper under. The tan coloured plasterboard covering gets pulled off with some of this paper as well. I gather that isn't good. Day 3. Same as day 2, except I've upped the temperature of the soapy-sponge-water to the brink of what I can bear to put my hand in. Slightly easier, but not much better than day 2. About 1.5m "cleared" today. So... like I said, this is sucking my will to live, it's been really tough going for a result that looks like crap to my untrained eye. I have a couple of photos to show, I'd feel better if anybody could either tell me this is what the wall is supposed to look like under these circumstances, or tell me how to fix any damage I've done and give advice for removing the backing paper on the rest of the walls in the room.  Click here for the full 540x720 image.  Click here for the full 720x540 image. I plan on painting this room... can these walls be sanded to get rid of the last of the paper and adhesive? Then a skim coat and then paint? aaahhhhh!!!
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Nov 25, 2010 08:52
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PickledFetus posted:I have an unfinished room in my otherwise finished basement where my furnace is, water heater, breaker box, etc. I want to keep my two very adventurous kitties out of this room, but I can't install a normal door because there is a large heating duct coming through the opening at the top (along the ceiling) and the walls on either side don't line up exactly. I'm thinking something like a pull-across screen door or a half-height door or something like that, but I have no idea where to look for something like that. Anyone have any ideas?
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Nov 25, 2010 16:49
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Phooney posted:Removing wallpaper is sucking my will to live. You could get a steam wallpaper stripper - mine was about £20 for something cheap and basic from Argos (UK) and it makes life a hell of a lot easier. Then you just need to wash the walls down with a detergent to get rid of the old wallpaper paste and size once the paper's off.
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Nov 25, 2010 23:52
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My apartment is heated by what I believe to be a heat pump. However, when the thermostat is in normal mode, the blower is constantly on while the actual heating coil seems to shut down (the air is no longer notably warm). However, I can switch on the emergency heat and then the blower and heat start and stop at intervals as expected. Is it behaving normally, or is there something wrong with my thermostat? Should the blower be stopping when the air is at the right temp?
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Nov 26, 2010 02:57
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mdf posted:You could get a steam wallpaper stripper - mine was about £20 for something cheap and basic from Argos (UK) and it makes life a hell of a lot easier. Then you just need to wash the walls down with a detergent to get rid of the old wallpaper paste and size once the paper's off. Following this advice, also seconded by my neighbour who is a retired builder, I went and got a wallpaper steamer. What an incredible difference it made, this is now looking like a manageable job, I think the room will be stripped by tomorrow evening! The steamer cost $140NZD, but comparing to how much they cost to hire with how many rooms I will eventually have to do, I might as well own it and sell it when I'm done.
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Nov 26, 2010 09:48
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scott14277 posted:My apartment is heated by what I believe to be a heat pump. However, when the thermostat is in normal mode, the blower is constantly on while the actual heating coil seems to shut down (the air is no longer notably warm). However, I can switch on the emergency heat and then the blower and heat start and stop at intervals as expected. Sounds to me like you have the thermostat set to off with the fan set to on. Verify that you have the thermostat set to HEAT and the fan set to AUTO. If you are sure that you have the thermostat set right, contact your landlord asap, as it is their responsibility to maintain/repair your heating system unless you directly/indirectly damaged it. He/she is legally obligated to provide you with a properly functioning heating system, among other amenities. If he/she refuses to take action, look into your state/county/city residential landlord-tenant code under "Essential Services." It may grant you compensation or the ability to terminate your rental contract early without penalty.
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Nov 26, 2010 10:01
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Phooney posted:I might as well own it and sell it when I'm done.
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Nov 26, 2010 12:38
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grover posted:You've just hit upon some of the best DIY advice ever. Especially if you can find it used. Buy used, sell used, and you've got the right tool(s) for the job for essentially free. Even new, it's a good way to go. Yep, can't argue with the numbers. I'm still just blown away by how much difference this thing makes... What do you reckon is the best thing to do about my pre-steamer walls? Go over them again with the steamer? The extreme vast majority of the wallpaper is gone... but it is comparatively very rough with millions of tiny little bits of the plasterboard covering paper stuff like fluff all over it as per the pictures.
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Nov 26, 2010 15:52
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Phooney posted:Yep, can't argue with the numbers. I'm still just blown away by how much difference this thing makes... i recommend just skimcoating that section. if you try to scrape more on that section you will eat through the paper and get into the gypsum and that is a no-no. That section will probably never look right, but just skim it. 4 or 5 coats should make it look decent, sanded smooth in between coats
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Nov 26, 2010 18:15
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Tornado Lazers posted:Plastic weather stripping covering stuff I have two very large windows which in total take up about 8'x12'. I got some very large sheeting, taped two strips together to get the full height I needed, then basically covered the whole thing with one sheet. If you can avoid using that door, I'd just cover over it, too. I have a back door that gets sheeted over and left unused in winter.
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Nov 27, 2010 16:13
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Does anyone have experience with painting countertops, rather than replacing? Rustoleum has a countertop paint for $20 a can, and there are other kits to do more complex surfaces which cost about $250. I imagine that it's pretty heavy duty stuff and not your typical paint. I'm thinking about different options and just wondering if anyone has had experience with these things, or if it's even worth it.
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Nov 28, 2010 03:54
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