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RizieN posted:
You've got a high efficiency one now, so unless it has a real problem it's fine. If it only has a single stage burner you could up-grade to a double or multiple but as it stands A LOT of people are paying 3 times as much for gas because their furnace is a complete piece of poo poo compared to yours.
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Jan 4, 2013 16:35
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We've got an HVAC problem. I don't need a solution, I need to know how to find a solution given that I keep getting different answers. In October we purchased a 1969, 2178 sq ft side-by-side trilevel in southern Wisconsin, illustrated in this very simplified schematic:  The furnace was past its lifespan, so we had a new furnace installed by the seller prior to closing: Lennox, 3 ton, 90 thousand BTU gas furnace with LP conversion kit. After closing, we found that one side of the house stays very cold (blue/purple spray is the cold vents, red spray the warm). We've had estimates from three different highly-rated HVAC companies, who have all given us COMPLETELY different opinions of what's wrong: 1. Ducts on the cold side are in a crawl space, and so need to be insulated. They are also terribly installed (too many curves) causing poor airflow. Furnace is great, but need to add a dual zoning with 2nd thermostat to heat each side independently. 2. Ducts on the cold side are installed fine and do not need to be insulated because they're in a "partly conditioned" area, but dual zoning needs to be installed requiring some new ductwork right at the furnace. Furnace is a good machine for this house on single zoning but not appropriate for dual zoning, and would need to be replaced. 3. Ducts are installed fine, the problem is with the furnace which is cycling too much. House is not appropriate for dual zoning because of how open it is, just go with a volume damper to reduce heatflow to the warmer part of the house. What the hell? Do we just keep getting additional quotes till we get a tiebreaker?
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Jan 4, 2013 20:52
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I want to make a novena/saint type candle as a gift. I have some artwork in Photoshop and am wondering the best way to apply it to a glass candleholder. I figured I could print it, glue it on, then maybe paint over it with some kind of varnish/clear nail polish/acrylic medium? Is there some kind of fairly easy glass applique technique I should know about? I guess a lot of actual saint candles are just glued on paper, but I'd like something that looks nice and is durable.
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Jan 4, 2013 22:07
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alucinor posted:Furnace stuff Where I live(Ontario) any duct run through a crawspace must be insulated. If you live in a place with warmer winters it may not be in the code. If the air coming out of the cold vent is has the same rate of air flow as the warm ones, your problem is insulation. If the air flow is slower, it's the result of poor installation or a blockage. If the problem is your furnace short cycling, you're lucky. It's incredibly easy to fix, thermostats have something called a heat anticipator that shuts off a furnace before the thermostat has warmed up. If your's is set too high then your furnace will shut off before the entire house has warmed up. Google your thermostat and you should be able to find instructions on how to adjust the anticipator. Dual zoning seems like a drastic solution, you have many more(and cheaper) options that could solve it or at least reduce the problem. 1. Insulate the duct 2. Check the windows in the cold part of the house, you may be losing heat through them 3. Move the thermostat 4. Increase your fan speed and reduce air flow(by partially closing vents) to the warm part of your house 5. Reset the anticipator
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Jan 4, 2013 23:04
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Being an old tri-level you probably have air leaks galore, I would fix those first. Watch Holmes on Homes, he encounters this exact problem a lot and you can see how he troubleshoots.
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Jan 5, 2013 00:15
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wormil posted:Being an old tri-level you probably have air leaks galore, I would fix those first. Yeah, when they sized your new furnace they should have done a heat loss analysis of your house, which should include a report on the condition and R value of your walls and windows, it ought to be worth taking a look at. Replaceing old windows or sealing them with butyl rubber(on the outside) will make a signifigant difference in your heat loss.
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Jan 5, 2013 14:58
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Aggressive pricing posted:Yeah, when they sized your new furnace they should have done a heat loss analysis of your house, which should include a report on the condition and R value of your walls and windows, it ought to be worth taking a look at. Replaceing old windows or sealing them with butyl rubber(on the outside) will make a signifigant difference in your heat loss. The design documents used by most professional engineers cost a shitton of money and aren't available online, but US Government has an equivalent set of specs for government facilities that's freely available if you want to run the calcs yourself. It's pretty easy to set up an excel spreadsheet. 12000btu/hr=1ton btw. General Design Guide: http://www.wbdg.org/resources/hvac.php Calculations are covered here: http://wbdg.org/ccb/DOD/UFC/ufc_3_410_02n.pdf grover fucked around with this message at 15:13 on Jan 5, 2013 |
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Jan 5, 2013 15:07
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grover posted:Yeah, that doesn't happen. Yeah, I know. But I'm not going to lower my expectations because my field is full of worthless idiots who don't know how to do an incredibly simple job. Also we're required by law to carry the design documents with us. There is no excuse. Aggressive pricing fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Jan 5, 2013 |
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Jan 5, 2013 15:31
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I am moving into a house where I have free reign on anything I want to do. I have my own drill and toolbox - you guys are going to be a great resource. I've been lurking for years and really love a lot of the projects you do! The first project is storage for our DVDs. There is an alcove beside the fireplace where I want to put shelves from top to bottom, at DVD height. I could go with Fast Track shelving, but it's so drat ugly and then the DVDs don't sit flush against the wall and I would like a more elegant solution. Any suggestions?
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Jan 5, 2013 18:19
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Mofette posted:I am moving into a house where I have free reign on anything I want to do. I have my own drill and toolbox - you guys are going to be a great resource. I've been lurking for years and really love a lot of the projects you do!
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Jan 5, 2013 18:39
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grover posted:Build a shelf that inserts into the alcove; should be a really easy woodworking project. Oh yes, I could do indeed. Then I could also wallpaper the backs of the bookshelf and give it more depth. What lumber would you use? The flooring is black(ish) wood and so is the wallpaper on the chimney breast.
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Jan 5, 2013 18:51
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Aggressive pricing posted:You've got a high efficiency one now, so unless it has a real problem it's fine. If it only has a single stage burner you could up-grade to a double or multiple but as it stands A LOT of people are paying 3 times as much for gas because their furnace is a complete piece of poo poo compared to yours. I feel like I'm paying way more in gas charges than I should be, I don't exactly like it hot, and I normally have the house set at 65°, sometimes 70° when my wife complains or is sick. What would the multiple or double stage burner accomplish?
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Jan 5, 2013 20:44
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Mofette posted:Oh yes, I could do indeed. Then I could also wallpaper the backs of the bookshelf and give it more depth.
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Jan 5, 2013 21:03
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RizieN posted:I feel like I'm paying way more in gas charges than I should be, I don't exactly like it hot, and I normally have the house set at 65°, sometimes 70° when my wife complains or is sick. What would the multiple or double stage burner accomplish? They have more precise control over tempature swings. Single stage burners are either on or off, doubles are off, half on, or on, and multiples turn on as much as they need to.
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Jan 5, 2013 21:15
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Mofette posted:I am moving into a house where I have free reign on anything I want to do. I have my own drill and toolbox - you guys are going to be a great resource. I've been lurking for years and really love a lot of the projects you do! I agree with Grover although poplar might be more attractive as it's a somewhat generic hardwood and will vaguely match whatever you have. Pine is so distinctive and stained pine usually looks like rear end; painted would be fine though.
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Jan 5, 2013 22:05
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RizieN posted:I feel like I'm paying way more in gas charges than I should be, I don't exactly like it hot, and I normally have the house set at 65°, sometimes 70° when my wife complains or is sick. I live in an old 1910s craftsman and installed a HE furnace when we moved in. I found leaving the fan on 100% of the time helped to keep the house a constant temperature without 'hot spots' and 'chilly corners.' I went around in the basement wrapping the duct joins in metal tape and sealing corners/squared pieces. Also the rooms where I have replaced windows stay warmer, and insulating the attic also made a large difference. If you do need to add insulation, call around. I found out it was 1/4 of the cost for me to hire someone to insulate the attic compared to me going to lowes/menards/home depot and doing the job.
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Jan 5, 2013 22:12
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What part of a microwave would make a whining sound?
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Jan 6, 2013 01:18
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Shame Boner posted:What part of a microwave would make a whining sound?
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Jan 6, 2013 01:28
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Shame Boner posted:What part of a microwave would make a whining sound? Does it have a rotating tray?
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Jan 6, 2013 15:29
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Does it have a rotating tray? Yes, but I haven't noticed any odd movement or sticking of the tray. The sound is sparsely intermittent, so I thought "fan" initially as well.
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Jan 6, 2013 18:12
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Hello guys, I am trying to mount some stuff on a concrete wall and I was wondering how strong are the fasteners that I am using. I got some "sleeve anchor" fasteners from this manufacturer : http://www.syw-ind.com/sleeve.htm They claim that their smallest fastener has a Z Tensile strength of 2.0kN and Q Shear strength of 1.9kN. Does that mean that each bolt could safely support 1.9 kN of weight?
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Jan 6, 2013 19:56
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ZeroConnection posted:Hello guys, I am trying to mount some stuff on a concrete wall and I was wondering how strong are the fasteners that I am using.
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Jan 6, 2013 20:31
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Any recommendations for a great garage light? Winter season now means that I only have a few hours of daylight while I work on my car, but I've never bought one of these lights before. What should I be looking for in a portable garage light? Any good brands? Cordless, or corded? I was considering this DEWALT DC527 18-Volt Fluorescent Area Light..
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Jan 6, 2013 22:18
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Buy a corded light on a tripod, 2 if you can stretch to it. For handheld led is fine, buy 2 to have one on charge while the other is in use. All this is only if you can't wire in fixed lights.
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Jan 6, 2013 22:27
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melon cat posted:Any recommendations for a great garage light? Winter season now means that I only have a few hours of daylight while I work on my car, but I've never bought one of these lights before. What should I be looking for in a portable garage light? Any good brands? Cordless, or corded? I was considering this DEWALT DC527 18-Volt Fluorescent Area Light.. if you're using it for mostly car work, I would recommend one of these style that clamps to the sides of the hood and illuminates pretty evenly over the whole engine bay. http://www.amazon.com/ATD-Tools-80050-30-Watt-Underhood/dp/B002J8RTF0/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1357508372&sr=1-1
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Jan 6, 2013 22:42
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drat, that's a lot of money for a light. I've had great luck with ones like this for a whole lot cheaper: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Clip-Lamp-Black/19398779
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Jan 6, 2013 23:09
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A lightbulb burnt out in my bathroom and all this time I figured it was fluorescent lights because of the plexiglass style panelling that was covering the lights. I took the plexiglass off and found out it's only two CFL bulbs instead of the tube style lighting I originally thought. When I took the plexiglass out, it allows a LOT more light and the bathroom looks better as a result. Would there be any harm in keeping the plexiglass removed? The one thing I can think of is it fogs up a good bit in the bathroom when we take a shower...I'm imagining moisture would be bad for this? However, I've been in houses before where the bulbs were exposed, so I'm not really sure. I've included a picture with one side of the plexiglass removed so you all can get an idea of what I'm talking about. It doesn't look like there's a way to put a glass dome on the existing fixture...I'd have to replace the whole light fixture which I don't really feel like doing as I'm only renting the house and don't want to put any more cash into it then I already have. Would it be ok to keep these bulbs exposed without the plexiglass shield? edit: Photo uploaded sideways...but you still get the idea.
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Jan 7, 2013 17:06
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nwin posted:A lightbulb burnt out in my bathroom and all this time I figured it was fluorescent lights because of the plexiglass style panelling that was covering the lights. I took the plexiglass off and found out it's only two CFL bulbs instead of the tube style lighting I originally thought. When I took the plexiglass out, it allows a LOT more light and the bathroom looks better as a result.
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Jan 7, 2013 17:18
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nwin posted:When I took the plexiglass out, it allows a LOT more light and the bathroom looks better as a result. What wattage are the bulbs?
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Jan 7, 2013 19:33
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:What wattage are the bulbs? 23 or 26 watt...100 watt equivalent.
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Jan 7, 2013 20:23
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Fiance and I just tore apart a leaking drain, this is where the leak is. Should there be an o-ring here, and would adding one likely solve our leak?
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Jan 7, 2013 21:37
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Faerunner posted:Fiance and I just tore apart a leaking drain, this is where the leak is. Should there be an o-ring here, and would adding one likely solve our leak? That's just a PVC drain. Their "O-rings" are beveled edges surrounding one piece. Anyway I can't tell from the picture what the problem is. Could we get a better one please? Check the nut first. Is it cracked?
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Jan 7, 2013 23:24
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Well we cleaned up the mating surfaces and put it back together with our fingers crossed and it's holding without leaking now. Which is great. Unfortunately it would appear that the leak in the pipe was the only thing draining the sink (It doesn't have a faucet, it's just a freestanding laundry sink in the basement, so it's pretty much never used) and... crap. Now we have a couple gallons of water in the sink because he had to pour in as much as he could find a bucket to hold once it was clear it wasn't going to leak and it's barely going down. Maybe it's time to just call a plumber. The leak isn't between the sink and the floor...  Edit: Slow leak at floor level. Great. And the washing machine is now draining onto the floor. Faerunner fucked around with this message at 02:46 on Jan 8, 2013 |
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Jan 8, 2013 02:07
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I have an issue with my entry way door and I'm not sure what to do about it. When the door opens or closes, the far edge hits the frame. It looks to have about 1/8" space when the door is shut. This is a metal clad door with spring hinges, so I can't shave it down or easily adjust hinges. The picture has approximate dimensions at each corner. I thought about trying to shim the bottom hinge, but I think it would make the top of the door hit the frame. Any suggestions?
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Jan 8, 2013 02:44
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I had the same issue with multiple doors in my house. When doors are installed, at least one of the screws is supposed to be replaced with a longer screw (like 3"), but no one ever does it. This is to tie the frame of the door to the framing of the house. Over time, the shorter screws slip a bit, and you get the issue that you have now. Try replacing the screws that hold the top hinge to the frame with longer screws. When you screw the screw in, you probably won't notice any difference until you close the door.
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Jan 8, 2013 14:22
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Faerunner posted:Well we cleaned up the mating surfaces and put it back together with our fingers crossed and it's holding without leaking now. Which is great. Unfortunately it would appear that the leak in the pipe was the only thing draining the sink (It doesn't have a faucet, it's just a freestanding laundry sink in the basement, so it's pretty much never used) and... crap. Now we have a couple gallons of water in the sink because he had to pour in as much as he could find a bucket to hold once it was clear it wasn't going to leak and it's barely going down. How finished is this area? Do you have east access to all of the plumbing? Set up a quick siphon to drain the sink back into the 5 gallon bucket. This sounds like this could be a clogged or non-existent vent. Pull up the washing machine drain hose and look down the drain (in wall) with a flash light. Try pouring water down the drain pipe (use the hose from your wash-machine) and see if it fills up quickly or drains. If it seems clogged, depending on your set up you could try to get the clog with a coat hanger or other improvised device. Or you could try a product like draino, in both the sink and the washer.
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Jan 8, 2013 16:02
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emanonii posted:I had the same issue with multiple doors in my house. When doors are installed, at least one of the screws is supposed to be replaced with a longer screw (like 3"), but no one ever does it. This is to tie the frame of the door to the framing of the house. Over time, the shorter screws slip a bit, and you get the issue that you have now. Try replacing the screws that hold the top hinge to the frame with longer screws. When you screw the screw in, you probably won't notice any difference until you close the door. ^^^^ This, unless you have an older house in which case you're pretty well screwed. My front door works perfect in the winter but goes wonky in the summer. The house was built ???? but it has a build date of 1919 associated with it which is the first year they started officially keeping records for home sites in this county.
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Jan 8, 2013 20:03
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emanonii posted:I had the same issue with multiple doors in my house. When doors are installed, at least one of the screws is supposed to be replaced with a longer screw (like 3"), but no one ever does it. This is to tie the frame of the door to the framing of the house. Over time, the shorter screws slip a bit, and you get the issue that you have now. Try replacing the screws that hold the top hinge to the frame with longer screws. When you screw the screw in, you probably won't notice any difference until you close the door. Well, I finally bought some screws and gave this a shot......worked like a charm! I didn't even notice a difference, but it no longer hits. Hopefully it stays that way. Many thanks.
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Jan 11, 2013 02:16
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Ok I'm not sure if this is the best thread for this but here goes. I got this siphon coffee pot for Christmas (coffee nerd). I like it, except it has this golden flowery design all over it. It's made of two brackets of polished porcelain or ceramic and the design is separately added, (you can feel it slightly with your finger). I'm wondering if there is any way I can remove this so it's just plain black. I tried scraping it at it with a utility knife which did nothing. I took some 100 grit sandpaper to a small section and it removed it but scuffed up the finish over all (you can kind of see this at the top of the pic). I'm guessing if it can be removed, the whole piece would have to be totally buffed out and refinished which I would be fine with. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the best way to do this is? I could sand the entire thing down, but what is the best way to bring it back to a polished shiny black? Any advice appreciated. Not a big deal overall, but it's something I don't mind playing around with or if I screw it up a little bit. 
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Jan 12, 2013 02:28
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I have the same coffee pot and I'm pretty sure there's a layer of glaze over it, so it's probably not worth the effort to remove. The pot is a great way to go OCD/mad scientist on your coffee, though.
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Jan 12, 2013 04:51
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