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Opera Bitch posted:I have a quick question for anyone who knows a bit about plumbing, though I don't know if anyone can provide me with more information than I already have. I own a condo that I am renting out and my tenant called to let me know that some sewage had backed up into her tub. I called a plumber to take care of the issue and after finishing up he told me that after snaking the line through the toilet he found baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, and a washcloth in the drain. When I asked if he thought the tenants had flushed those things he said couldn't give me a definitive yes or no because he couldn't find any access drains outside and had no idea how our pipes connected to those of our neighbors. Ask the plumber how far he found the baby wipes and tampons in the toilet line. It may help determine whos at fault.
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Mar 7, 2011 06:31
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My mission to renovate a room marches ever forward. It has been a great learning experience, as this is the first house I've owned, and I've never really done any kind of DIY before. Thanks to those who have helped so far! I have: Stripped wallpaper, put up new plasterboard, moved a light switch, patched up former light switch hole, Removed sliding doors and rails from 2 rooms, converted the rails to mount back to back in order to become the rails for the same doors but now in sliding wardrobe configuration, increased the size of the wardrobe doorway to accomodate sliding doors, knocked a small wall out to make 2 wardrobes into 1 bigger wardrobe for this room (other room will have new wardrobe built, and skim coated over the stripped plasterboard. Also had a new ranchslider put in by professionals, that was out of my league. So... should I have painted on some kind of sealer paint before skim coating? Because if so, I haven't  . If I have to replace all the plasterboard in that room now, then my next step will be to look up how to tie a noose. I am hoping I can move on to painting the room now, will I still need some kind of different paint other than a couple of coats of the colour I want it to end up?When the builders were putting in the ranchslider they noted that the floor has a slight bow in it. They recommended floor level compound. Honestly, I'd never noticed the issue before and I'm hoping that with new carpet padding it out, it won't matter. Am I shooting myself in the foot by being cheap here?
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Mar 7, 2011 17:30
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A day full of power outages has left my LG window air conditioner in a condition of powering on but nothing happening (only lights show, the fan does not work, the compressor does not start). I only need this AC for a few more weeks. Is there some internal breaker that I can reset to make it go? EDIT: In desperation, I beat on the LCD panel and it started up. (??) kapalama fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Mar 7, 2011 |
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Mar 7, 2011 19:33
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EVERYTHING I SAY ABOUT JAPAN OR LIVING IN JAPAN IS COMPLETELY WRONG, BUT YOU BETTER BELIEVE I'LL 
ABOUT IT.
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Phooney posted:So... should I have painted on some kind of sealer paint before skim coating? Because if so, I haven't A couple of coats of a decently covering paint will do just fine. I usually save the sealer for when I paint on concrete or bricks.
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Mar 7, 2011 21:29
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Does anyone know where I can get battery ends? I'm looking for 2 wire quick connects, that look like this:  but something I can slide over the wires I have, and crimp them on.
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Mar 7, 2011 23:28
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scanlonman posted:Does anyone know where I can get battery ends? I'm looking for 2 wire quick connects, that look like this: Isn't that exactly what those are?
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Mar 7, 2011 23:33
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eddiewalker posted:Isn't that exactly what those are? Pretty much, but I don't have much room in the battery pack I want to install them in. I want to be able to crimp them directly into the ends, not in the middle of a wire.
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Mar 7, 2011 23:36
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scanlonman posted:Pretty much, but I don't have much room in the battery pack I want to install them in. I want to be able to crimp them directly into the ends, not in the middle of a wire. If the ends are tinned leads crimping will not hold IME. Crimping works well on stranded wire. Soldering is the best bet for anything else. (YMMV)
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Mar 8, 2011 05:07
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I have a question about fixing the drainage in my backyard. Every year when it starts to rain heavier (seattle) my backyard and side yard become a swamp. In about a month I will be building a fence and figured I better fix it now, before a fence goes up. I was thinking of digging a small trench near the rock wall, like 12"w x 12"d and putting in some of that black pipe they use and some pea gravel, and try to slope the ground towards it. Then tried to lead it around the south side and down my front yard. Then re-sod. The blue is where it gets swamped, and the black shows general slope.    Any thoughts? Is there an easier way? Would it be easier to just dig deeper( call first before digging)and let it drain in place farther down? I have no idea Thanks Edit: fixed images Dial M for MURDER fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Mar 9, 2011 |
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Mar 9, 2011 01:32
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Dial M for MURDER posted:I have a question about fixing the drainage in my backyard. Sounds like you have essentially the right idea for fixing your drainage issue. The solution you're describing is basically a "French drain." You run your perforated drain pipe surrounded by #57 gravel and encased in a long sock(designed for French drains) or another permeable fabric. French drains are the solution for a yard that simply won't drain and stays soggy. The only potential downfall is if you cannot slope your drain pipe from the back to the front. Obviously since water wants to run downhill you must have the open drainage end at the lowest point of the run. By "digging deeper" I imagine you mean having a gravel filled "leach pit" to allow water to collect underground and then naturally drain out. This option could possibly work(though I wouldn't recommend it) given the correct soil composition in an area other than Seattle. I imagine it simply rains to much to make this an option. dinozaur fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Mar 9, 2011 |
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Mar 9, 2011 01:46
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Good to know I'm not too far off. What would you recommend on the north side where the grass abuts my front porch and drive way? Should I just have a smaller pipe on that side and have it slightly exposed and terminate and my driveway and spill over it? I'm ok with that, I just want to make sure its ok to do. Edit: NM, I understand what you mean with the sock. Dial M for MURDER fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Mar 9, 2011 |
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Mar 9, 2011 01:58
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You would want to install a "drain bubbler" on the end of your pipe. Google is failing me for finding a picture, but it connects to the end of your 4" pipe with a 90' elbow that turns upwards and terminates with a spring loaded cap that sits at ground level. When the water pressure in your pipe pushes against the spring it flows out then returns back to ground level. This makes it easy to mow over and largely invisible. Any big box hardware store should have them near the downspout supplies.
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Mar 9, 2011 02:21
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Awesome! Thank you
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Mar 9, 2011 17:21
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Dinozaur has exactly the right idea. It might be a regional thing, but what he calls a "french drain" is what I know of as "drain tile". One thing we both have in common is that we can't remember the name of the bubbler part, but I know exactly what he is talking about. Here is a picture: http://www.wolfscape.net/images/LC_F_1.jpg
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Mar 10, 2011 19:36
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Actually I would call that pictured product a "catch basin" and use it to get surface water into the drainage system. The "drain bubbler" I referred to is actually called a "popup drain emitter" and is very similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VL8C0I/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&s=hi&psc=1
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Mar 10, 2011 20:19
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Electrical question. I need to install a new light fixture and am not sure about wiring for the extra (ground) wire. The first image is the ceiling with the two electrical wires. Ignore the yellow cap, that is coming off. The previous owner had a remote switch wired in that will be removed. The second image is obviously the new fixture that has three electrical wires. The bare one I'm assuming is ground but without a ground wire in my ceiling housing where should I wire/connect that to? Also not shown is a metal crossbar that attaches the fixture to the ceiling.  
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Mar 11, 2011 02:00
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If your house is as old as the wiring looks, it's probably old BX wiring and any grounding will be through the armored conduit. You would run the ground wire to a grounding screw on the electrical box the light fixture is mounted to.
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Mar 11, 2011 03:55
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It is old tarcloth/paper wire. No ground in that jacket. You can hook the ground up or just wrap it up neatly and stuff it out of the way, making sure that it is positioned so it cannot poke into the wirenuts for your hot and neutral leads. Don't just cut it off. White to white, black to black. Make drat well sure that you lead the stranded wire a bit above the solid when you wirenut everything up. Helps make a strong connection that won't pull out. Refer to the pic. I was taught to make the stripped portion of the stranded wire about 25% longer than the solid, and when wirenutting, line up the wires so that the end of the stranded goes up into the very peak of the wirenut and gets mashed there by the solid when you tighten everything down. Hold the wirenut in one hand and give the stranded wire a small but firm tug to make sure that it is locked in before you close everything up. iForge fucked around with this message at 05:50 on Mar 11, 2011 |
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Mar 11, 2011 05:38
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What is the best way to remove stickers from an electric guitar without stripping any paint/eroding the plastic?
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Mar 11, 2011 18:01
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Bigass Moth posted:What is the best way to remove stickers from an electric guitar without stripping any paint/eroding the plastic? I use a hair dryer to heat the sticker and remove it. Then use WD-40 to get up the remaining residue. Spray the WD-40 on a rag and test an inconspicuous place on the guitar first to make sure it won't damage the finish. I've heard peanut butter works for gettting off residue but I've never tried it.
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Mar 11, 2011 18:39
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Flay Minion posted:I use a hair dryer to heat the sticker and remove it. Then use WD-40 to get up the remaining residue. Spray the WD-40 on a rag and test an inconspicuous place on the guitar first to make sure it won't damage the plastic. I've heard peanut butter works for gettting off residue but I've never tried it. I just peel off the sticker. Then use car wax to buff off the good. It takes awhile but won't hurt it at all.
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Mar 11, 2011 18:41
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Rd Rash 1000cc posted:I just peel off the sticker. Then use car wax to buff off the good. It takes awhile but won't hurt it at all. Yeah, I've not much experience with electrics as I restore mostly acoustics. I imagine the finishes are tougher on those bodies -- sad experience relates that if you just peel an old sticker off an acoustic it'll take the finish right off so now I'm extra careful and go with the heat solution.
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Mar 11, 2011 18:51
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Flay Minion posted:Yeah, I've not much experience with electrics as I restore mostly acoustics. I imagine the finishes are tougher on those bodies -- sad experience relates that if you just peel an old sticker off an acoustic it'll take the finish right off I actually didnt do it on a guitar but it was on my motorcycle. I figured the paint would be similar. But I could see a varnish on an acoustic being more difficult.
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Mar 11, 2011 19:04
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Bigass Moth posted:What is the best way to remove stickers from an electric guitar without stripping any paint/eroding the plastic? Smear it with rapeseed/olive oil and leave it overnight. Scrape it off with a fingernail in the morning.
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Mar 11, 2011 19:45
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Crowley posted:Smear it with rapeseed/olive oil and leave it overnight. Scrape it off with a fingernail in the morning. This method definitely works well with the paper-based stickers (though I used a popsicle stick whittled down to make a wedge to scrape); however, I've had no luck using it with the newer, vinyl based stickers. Did you just use the oil straight out of the bottle? Did you have to peel a bit of the sticker off to get the oil to penetrate? e: the reason I ask is a luthier friend swears by the technique of nuking the oil to get it really hot and applying it with an eye dropper. I've never been able to get it to work as well as the dryer. Flay Minion fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Mar 11, 2011 |
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Mar 11, 2011 20:19
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I pour a bit of rapeseed oil in a cup and use my finger as a brush. If it's not a paper-sticker I peel the top layer off first, smear the leftovers in oil and leave it until next day.
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Mar 11, 2011 22:28
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I bought a cube storage unit like this: that I would like to hang on the wall. Would a french cleat be an appropriate way to do this? How much weight could something like that support?
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Mar 13, 2011 01:46
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stubblyhead posted:I bought a cube storage unit like this: Just nail a pair of picture hanger brackets to either side of the top edge on the back and hang it like a picture. Of course, that won't lie flat against the wall. The only way to have it lay flat would be to cut keyhole slots with a router and a special keyhole bit, and if that's even possible depends on what this thing is made out of, if the boards are thick enough, etc. How much weight it could support depends again on what it's made of.
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Mar 13, 2011 05:54
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kid sinister posted:Just nail a pair of picture hanger brackets to either side of the top edge on the back and hang it like a picture. Of course, that won't lie flat against the wall. The only way to have it lay flat would be to cut keyhole slots with a router and a special keyhole bit, and if that's even possible depends on what this thing is made out of, if the boards are thick enough, etc. If you support it properly. It will support the same weight on the wall as it would on the ground. Because it's sheer strength on the wail.
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Mar 13, 2011 07:21
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Except maybe the bottom shelf. It could just be held in place with a couple brad nails and that's it.
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Mar 13, 2011 16:21
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JoeWindetc posted:Alrighty, looking for advice on the next step of our little problem here. We have a front-loading, stacked, washer/dryer(Frigidaire). Dryer works fine, but the washer leaves clothing soaked. After some Google, I went ahead and removed the kick plate, disconnected the hoses and checked them for blockage, along with the drain pump. (Is this all making sense to those more technically-inclined?) I reconnected everything and just tried a drain/spin cycle, still soaked. I then tried a rinse/spin cycle, still soaked. I can see the drum spinning in there, though it doesn't seem to be spinning that rapidly. Thoughts? TYIA Still having this issue, wondering if anyone had any thoughts. It looks like the locking mechanism is working, but there's really no way of checking I guess. Just wondering if anyone had any ideas...
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Mar 13, 2011 23:23
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JoeWindetc posted:Still having this issue, wondering if anyone had any thoughts. It looks like the locking mechanism is working, but there's really no way of checking I guess. Just wondering if anyone had any ideas... http://fixitnow.com/appliance-repair-faqs/washing-machine-repair-faq/
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Mar 14, 2011 00:24
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Flay Minion posted:Yeah, I've not much experience with electrics as I restore mostly acoustics. I imagine the finishes are tougher on those bodies -- sad experience relates that if you just peel an old sticker off an acoustic it'll take the finish right off For what it's worth, I accidentally sprayed one of my electric guitars with what I thought was Windex, but turned out to be DIF wallpaper stripper. It didn't hurt the finish one bit and I bet it would work great for removing stickers.
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Mar 14, 2011 10:00
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Now that things are starting to grow in I'm just now noticing that my front lawn is complete poo poo, it's about 90% clover and 10% grass. I don't think this is a great time of year to be planting grass, but if I were to try are there any methods or kinds of grass that would be best? Alternatively, is there a lawn and garden thread?
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Mar 14, 2011 19:49
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Probably not what you want to hear but clover is a great companion plant for grass. It fixes nitrogen into the soil which feeds the grass or other plants. Id think this time of year would be perfect for seeding grass. Id recommend native grasses, your local extension program should have more information
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Mar 14, 2011 23:05
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I just got a new house and the previous owner had painted the bathrooms and textured them also. It's almost like a popcorn ceiling but on the walls and painted. What would be the easiest way to remove this? I was going to just go at it with a power sander, but if there is an easier / less messy way, I'd prefer that. Any ideas?
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Mar 15, 2011 00:01
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I had/have the same problem in my house (I hate texture) The first attack is scraping. One of my rooms has what seems like foam sprayed at it and this scrapes off easily. The other rooms have something harder and it was painted over with gloss so scraping was impossible. I tried sanding with a random orbital and it works a little bit but it'll gum up pads and its a lot of work. I basically tried to level out all the pointy and high spots I could then painted over it in a flat white (light color flat paint helps hide texture a lot) Another option is floating the whole wall with plaster or joint compound or the like. This requires skill and lots of effort and time but would produce good results Do be aware that if the house is older than the late 70s, there could be lead paint and sanding should not be done and scraping should be done only carefully with a drop cloth collecting the chips dwoloz fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Mar 15, 2011 |
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Mar 15, 2011 00:23
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dwoloz posted:Do be aware that if the house is older than the late 70s, there could be lead paint and sanding should not be done and scraping should be done only carefully with a drop cloth collecting the chips poo poo. I don't know if the paint has ever been removed from there, so I'm not sure if there is lead or not. I'll probably try scraping (and collecting the bits) instead of sanding. Hell I might just call someone to come out and get rid of it. Stupid textures
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Mar 15, 2011 00:52
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jackpot posted:Now that things are starting to grow in I'm just now noticing that my front lawn is complete poo poo, it's about 90% clover and 10% grass. I don't think this is a great time of year to be planting grass, but if I were to try are there any methods or kinds of grass that would be best? That depends on your climate and how much sun vs. shade your lawn gets, among other things. You want to wait until spring before seeding grass. They need warmer temperatures to sprout. If you throw down seed now, there's a good chance of birds eating it and rain/show washing it away before it does get warm enough.
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Mar 15, 2011 03:44
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kid sinister posted:That depends on your climate and how much sun vs. shade your lawn gets, among other things. LTBS posted:poo poo. I don't know if the paint has ever been removed from there, so I'm not sure if there is lead or not. I'll probably try scraping (and collecting the bits) instead of sanding. I don't know how accurate they are, but lead paint test kits start at about $13, I'd think about buying one, just to be sure.
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Mar 15, 2011 14:50
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