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laod posted:I'm looking for insulation options for a traditionally framed floor. I'm thinking batts are my best bet. It seems like my floors move too much for spray foam to be a good option. Anyone insulated their floors and have advice? What access to you have to it? I have full basement access to mine and used the batts that are wrapped in plastic. It was 100x easier to work with as the barrier kept the fiberglass together and off of me/clothing. It was also worth the extra couple cents/ft compared to paper faced batts because you do not have to cover the plastic covered batts.
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Jan 29, 2013 19:10
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:What access to you have to it? I have full basement access to mine and used the batts that are wrapped in plastic. It was 100x easier to work with as the barrier kept the fiberglass together and off of me/clothing. It was also worth the extra couple cents/ft compared to paper faced batts because you do not have to cover the plastic covered batts. I have decent access to it (crawlspace). Did you staple your batts up or use one of the support options?
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Jan 29, 2013 20:52
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laod posted:I have decent access to it (crawlspace). Did you staple your batts up or use one of the support options? Stapled they have a nice little overhang for it. Something similar to what I used.
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Jan 29, 2013 22:31
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I used the little wire things myself.
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Jan 29, 2013 23:21
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stubblyhead posted:I used the little wire things myself. Cut up dry cleaning hangers?
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Jan 30, 2013 01:53
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My basement suddenly smells like cat pee. I rent an old house in Lancaster, PA and there has reportedly always been water in the basement. When it rains water seeps in and small pools form in a few areas of the basement and the dehumidifier runs almost constantly. Over the weekend we got a small amount of snow and it was super cold, so it didn't melt asap. Yesterday however the weather warmed up and we had rain showers most of the day, so the snow melted and there was lots of rain on top of that; therefore, water in the basement. The house is heated by oil and typically the thermostat is set to 67-68, but last evening it was pretty chilly so I bumped the heat up to 70. A short while later (30-45 minutes) I was taking a shower and while in the shower my girlfriend noticed our two cats pawing around at the basement door. Since they usually ignore the door she invested the situation and noticed there was an odor she described as "hot/burning/chemically." She opened the door and the cats sniffed the air, one of them puffed up, and they both went down to investigate, but came right back up. As soon as I was able to investigate, we went down and the entire basement smelled strongly of cat pee. There was water on the floor in all the usual places, but we didn't see any signs the cats peed (they've never peed inside). We can't figure it out. Today we called the land lord and had the furnace checked out and everything was reported to be in good shape. This evening the basement still smells like cat pee, but not nearly as strong. We read some stuff online about furnaces making odors like cat pee, sewer problems can smell like cat pee, mold can smell like cat pee, and cat pee can smell like cat pee. We've lived here since September 2012 and have never noticed any smells from the basement. The smell arrived so suddenly last night and I can't help but think something happened with the heating when I turned up the thermostat, or something funny happened with the sewer line while I was showering. I've looked through the basement quite a bit since we moved in to keep an eye out for mold just because it is so damp, but I haven't seen any signs of it. The moisture in the basement typically seeps in through the block walls or where the block walls meet the basement slab. There aren't any signs of water damage on ceilings/walls anywhere in the house so (and this may be naive of me) I don't suspect mold. We even walked the perimeter very deliberately and looked for any ways a stray cat might be able to get into the basement and pee (there is an old room sealed off that we've never seen into in the basement). The only signs of animal activity in the basement is about 100 walnut shells stashed under an old shelf, but they were there when we moved in. Any ideas?
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Jan 30, 2013 01:57
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I have smelled an odor that was similar to, but not, cat pee in wet basements when freshwater meets up with certain types of bacteria and starts to go fetid (I spend a LOT of time in wet basements as part of my job). That having been said I doubt the cats would respond as yours did to an odor like cat urine...so you likely are smelling gen-u-ine cat pee. It might have been old, (prior owners or renters with cats) and the groundwater reactivated it. Old dried piss spots have no odor unless you're right on top of them, but dampness will really set it off. It might be flowing in from outside, though chances are it would get filtered out travelling through the earth. Do you have a porch with a crawlspace attached to the front or rear of the house? Outdoor/feral cats will hole up under porches for the winter. If you have a porch: is the crawlspace connected to the basement? Feral cats are excellent at hiding...although, if you had them, your cats would likely have reacted to them already, especially at night when they would probably tangle (at least vocally) at the basement door. Are you in Lancaster proper, or in the outskirts? After re-reading your post: wipe down the outside of the furnace with damp paper towels and smell them. Somebody mighta sprayed on it, or somehow, piss got on the flue line...which will stink mightily until it burns off. Although, if it was one of yours, they wouldn't give a fight response like that: the innocent one would go check it & give a Flehman response (sniff hard, pull back, and, briefly, make an odd face with the tongue slightly protruding and mouth slightly open) and the guilty one would act like nothing's amiss. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 03:43 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 03:35
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We live just north of the city. I can see route 30 from the house and be down town in a 5 minute drive. We actually live in the only house in a business park (Greenfield if you're savvy to the area.) There is significant wild life activity here. From the house we regularly see a skunk, an opossum, and have seen two cats (probably strays due to no other houses/apartments nearby). We do have a crawl space on both ends of the house and surveying those with a flashlight hasn't revealed anything obvious. There is a crawl space under the side porch that we haven't looked at. I'll take a look tomorrow in day light. The smell has almost entirely dissipated as of ten minutes ago. After seeing your edits: One cat got spooked, puffed, ran away for a minute, returned and went down a few steps while sniffing. Then the other showed up and was sniffing everything and the air. After a minute or so they both went into the basement sniffing everything as much as possible. That only lasted a minute or so and they both came out of the basement. Wildtortilla fucked around with this message at 03:48 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 03:44
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Hmm...that might be another critter, then...If you think firing up the house heat & the odor are connected, my wild-rear end guess would be that someone at some point got in and sprayed on your furnace and piss got on a part that gets hot. Possibly during the summer. It would eventually burn off. You cat's response is a dead giveaway that it was another cat. Easiest way to check for interlopers is to shake out baking soda or flour in an area of the floor near where the crawlspace entrances to the basement area, and leave a bowl of cat food in the middle of it. You'll get paw prints. If it's not cats, my vote goes to raccoons. Those bastards can get in anywhere, although they'd probably leave crap on the floor as well. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 03:54 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 03:48
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We've been running the furnace since mid October I feel like it would have to be a recent spraying. We're going to keep the door closed in case we have a new visitor to the basement. I'll wipe the furnace tomorrow and also pick up a bag of flour and give that a whirl. Also there was a pile of poop in the basement when we moved in. I couldn't ID it.
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Jan 30, 2013 03:58
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Cut up dry cleaning hangers? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOILKHmZBwc Similar gauge wire though. They have it back with the insulation at the Lowe's near me, it's a few dollars for a box of 50 I think.
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Jan 30, 2013 08:39
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Wildtortilla posted:We've been running the furnace since mid October I feel like it would have to be a recent spraying. We're going to keep the door closed in case we have a new visitor to the basement. I'll wipe the furnace tomorrow and also pick up a bag of flour and give that a whirl. As mentioned cats/others sometimes mark exteriors/windows letting the stink in. What ever the source youshould get an enzymatic cleaner like natures miracle and use it to wipe down the unit and also add liberally to standing water.
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Jan 30, 2013 15:42
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King of the Cows posted:Anyone know of a source of 1/4" PEX fittings? Lots of places sell 1/4" PEX tubing but I can't seem to find any fittings. It's been awhile, and I may be wrong, but you may want to try a Camping World if you have one close by. I think 1/4" pex is what they use in RV's.
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Jan 30, 2013 16:05
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Hu Fa Ted posted:It's been awhile, and I may be wrong, but you may want to try a Camping World if you have one close by. I think 1/4" pex is what they use in RV's. Thanks, but I can't seem to find anything like what I need on their web site. Maybe I should explain what my situation is and someone can make a suggestion: I remodeled my kitchen, and as part of the remodel, we moved the sink from one wall to another. We hired a plumber to do the rough plumbing work, as it involved moving the drain and supply about 10 feet and I didn't want to deal with that. As part of the work he did, he also ran 1/4" PEX line for the icemaker. Well, to make a long story short, he did really lovely work that didn't meet code and we had to call the company back to re-do it. We finished the rest of the remodel ourselves. But now I'm stuck with 1/4" PEX that I can't seem to find connections for. I want to connect one end of it to my refrigerator's icemaker, obviously. Under the sink, I've got one of these, to which I want to connect the other end of the PEX line. Clearly, the plumber had some way to make the connection, but there is no way in hell I'm calling him again and I don't want to re-run the line with plastic tubing - for the simple reason that the walls are closed up, the cabinets are installed and it'd be a pain in the rear end.
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Jan 30, 2013 17:11
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You might have better luck in the plumbing thread, poo poo rolls downhill.
EvilMayo fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 17:49
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Odd question- I have a health card that has a crack forming across it. What kind of glue is best to keep it intact? Gorilla Glue is usually my go-to sticky stuff, but it expands quite a bit. What kind of glue stays invisible, but bonds really well? I tried Weldbond, but it didn't work very well (it just peeled off immediately after).
melon cat fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Jan 30, 2013 |
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Jan 30, 2013 18:23
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melon cat posted:Odd question- I have a health card that has a crack forming across it. What kind of glue is best to keep it intact? Gorilla Glue is usually my go-to sticky stuff, but it expands quite a bit. What kind of glue stays invisible, but bonds really well? I tried Weldbond, but it didn't work very well (it just peeled off immediately after). Can you take it somewhere to get laminated?
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Jan 30, 2013 18:33
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pseudonordic posted:Can you take it somewhere to get laminated? They'll have to pry my grandfathered health card out of my cold, dead hands.
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Jan 30, 2013 18:41
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:You might have better luck in the plumbing thread, poo poo rolls downhill. Thanks, I'll give it a shot.
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Jan 30, 2013 18:52
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melon cat posted:Unfortunately not. Getting it laminated voids the health card (it has a magnetic strip on the back). I'd prefer not to get it replaced as the newer cards must be renewed every year. Pretty sure you would still be able to read the magnetic strip even through lamination.
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Jan 30, 2013 19:21
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melon cat posted:Odd question- I have a health card that has a crack forming across it. What kind of glue is best to keep it intact? Gorilla Glue is usually my go-to sticky stuff, but it expands quite a bit. What kind of glue stays invisible, but bonds really well? I tried Weldbond, but it didn't work very well (it just peeled off immediately after). Is it plastic? If it is, try a hobby glue, like Testors or something similar.
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Jan 30, 2013 22:30
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melon cat posted:Odd question- I have a health card that has a crack forming across it. What kind of glue is best to keep it intact? Gorilla Glue is usually my go-to sticky stuff, but it expands quite a bit. What kind of glue stays invisible, but bonds really well? I tried Weldbond, but it didn't work very well (it just peeled off immediately after). Question: why haven't you called the health company to order a replacement?
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Jan 31, 2013 05:33
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You could just laminate the front.melon cat posted:I'd prefer not to get it replaced as the newer cards must be renewed every year. kid sinister posted:Question: why haven't you called the health company to order a replacement?
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Jan 31, 2013 06:41
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I am not entirely sure if this is the right thread/forum for this question but as it's about a hobby of mine, here goes! I'm getting into Hama/Perler bead modelling and recently decided to try making something 3D, using this kind of method (picture similar to mine but not identical):  The problem I'm having is that I heated the beads for a little too long so the side that's melted has gone a bit flat, as they usually do. Normally this isn't a problem, but given that I'm trying to slot beads into bead-sized gaps and now both the gaps are smaller AND the beads are wider! I really don't wish to start again so I was wondering if anyone could advise me on how to file/wear down the beads best so that they clip together nicely? I don't really have any files or sandpaper or anything like that because I've never really done anything DIY-ish at home, so if I need to pick something up at the hardware store let me know what! Thanks.
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Feb 1, 2013 11:01
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Try sandpaper first. You can get it at any hardware or hobby store. Getting the insides of the joint teeth to go together nicely will be a bitch, simply because of their number.
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Feb 1, 2013 15:17
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kid sinister posted:Try sandpaper first. You can get it at any hardware or hobby store. Getting the insides of the joint teeth to go together nicely will be a bitch, simply because of their number. This is where mine differs. I did far fewer teeth; they're in sets of 3 rather than 1, so there are 2-3 'teeth' on each edge rather than 7-8. I will grab some sandpaper and give it a go.
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Feb 1, 2013 15:20
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My parents recently replaced their TV which has an issue with powering up. It works fine while on but if it goes into standby or loses power it just may not power back on and you have to reset it by unplugging it for 15m and try again. They took it to a repair shop which only temporarily fixed it. Some googling leads me to think its something with the capacitors or the powerboard itself but I don't think its worth spending money to replace it on a 4 year old TV. But since it works I want to use it as a second monitor. If I leave my computer on its great but it goes into standby 30m after I turn the computer off and there isn't an option to change it. Aside from leaving my computer on all the time is there a way I can trick the TV into thinking it still has a signal and doesn't go into standby? It has antenna, VGA, HDMI, Svideo, and component inputs. I assume they would all take power from something anyway so I am just hoping for some quirk or clever fix.
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Feb 1, 2013 23:22
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CampingCarl posted:My parents recently replaced their TV which has an issue with powering up. It works fine while on but if it goes into standby or loses power it just may not power back on and you have to reset it by unplugging it for 15m and try again. They took it to a repair shop which only temporarily fixed it. Some googling leads me to think its something with the capacitors or the powerboard itself but I don't think its worth spending money to replace it on a 4 year old TV. If it's a Samsung panel and powersupply (Mitsubishis are notorious for this), it has to do with one of the power supply rails drifting due to component aging. You have two options to fix this: 1) new powersupply or replace your electrolytics and magnetics; 2) install a firmware patch downloadable from the vendor website that opens up the self-check parameter.
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Feb 2, 2013 03:07
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Tim Thomas posted:If it's a Samsung panel and powersupply (Mitsubishis are notorious for this), it has to do with one of the power supply rails drifting due to component aging. You have two options to fix this: 1) new powersupply or replace your electrolytics and magnetics; 2) install a firmware patch downloadable from the vendor website that opens up the self-check parameter.
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Feb 2, 2013 17:11
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Looking for suggestions on helping to insulate my attic. Since its gotten decently chilly lately (teens-20s), our heat pump has been running almost nonstop upstairs. I went into the attic today and snapped a pic. Some insulation on the floor, a vapor barrier? of some kind under the roof and a bunch of light leaking in around where the roof meets the side of the house mostly. Also these two windows are completely open outside of a screen.  Whats the best way to seal in the windows? Just screw some plywood to it and caulk around? A lot of the light leaking in, it looks like I can just caulk but there are some bigger areas that you wouldn't be able to. Something like great stuff? Screw some wood and caulk around that? Should I put more insulation down on the floor?
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Feb 2, 2013 22:20
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streetlamp posted:Looking for suggestions on helping to insulate my attic. Since its gotten decently chilly lately (teens-20s), our heat pump has been running almost nonstop upstairs. Attics need to be ventilated, or else moisture will build up and cost mold/mildew and all sorts of nastiness. Airflow is supposed to come up through the eaves, and then out through vents either in the roof or through gable vents. There are code requirements on how many open ventilation space you need in an attic- those windows might be functioning as gable vents. You can put more insulation on the floor, but you'd be well served to run some heat-loss calcs and see where you're actually losing your heat. If you're only losing 15% of your heat through the ceiling, adding 50% more insulation in the attic will only reduce your heating bills appx 5%. Then you'd have to weigh the cost of more insulation vs how long it would take to pay that back in energy savings.
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Feb 2, 2013 22:28
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Wow, nice information. Lots of stuff I didn't know. I see our electrical company offers energy evaluations, would they offer heat-loss calcs? I was semi aware about attic ventilation but it never occurred to me those windows might be functioning as such. Another issue is there are quite a few old hornets nests up there and it would seem easy enough for all sorts of critters to get into that attic through some of these holes. Should I run some sort of mesh around the eaves? e: Also the reason I started looking into these sorts of things was our January kWh was 3347 which seems pretty up there compared to averages around here. But its a old house (1910s) and heat pumps just aren't really the most efficient things in heating season I hear. streetlamp fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Feb 2, 2013 |
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Feb 2, 2013 23:34
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Thanks for the tips on getting a good glue to fix my card. A different issue- how do I remove this pop-up style plug from my bathtub? I've tried searching online, and most of the videos and resources I've seen involve mechanisms that simply twist off. But mine doesn't seem to want to do that.  And yes, I know that it's scummy and gross-looking. Which is why I want to remove it so I can clean it.
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Feb 3, 2013 19:43
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Trying to get some advice on CO/LEL detectors for the house. I'm pretty sure the alarms we have in my house are just smoke detectors-it's a rental. Anyways, everything is run off electricity in the house ( appliances), except the water heater and the furnace is run off natural gas. What kind of detector should I need? I was thinking a CO detector, but I'm not so sure anymore since I thought that was more for fireplaces.
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Feb 3, 2013 20:03
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Weird question, but does anyone of you know where one can get nylon bristles? I want to try and make some brush tips and I'm googling my brains out to find a place to get this kind of material. But I end up with some companies in india or china that require minimum orders of 1000kg and the like. And I don't even know if that kind of nylon works for my purposes. Are there different kinds of nylon? And most importantly: does anyone know where I can get some, preferably in Europe?
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Feb 3, 2013 22:10
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Otaku Alpha Male posted:Weird question, but does anyone of you know where one can get nylon bristles? I want to try and make some brush tips and I'm googling my brains out to find a place to get this kind of material. But I end up with some companies in india or china that require minimum orders of 1000kg and the like. And I don't even know if that kind of nylon works for my purposes. Are there different kinds of nylon? And most importantly: does anyone know where I can get some, preferably in Europe? Try sewing shops for nylon thread. You could also try nylon fishing line.
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Feb 4, 2013 02:22
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The screen door to my front entrance has a rounded portion on top and with a ripped screen, a broken glass pane in the middle, and a metal bottom panel. I went to a local glass, window and door specialist to get a quote on getting the screen and glass replaced. The sales person gave me a speech about what a difficult hassle it is to replace them and I would be better off getting the whole door replaced. He quoted me $1500 to $1700. The is no way in hell I am spending that much when I only need the screen and glass replaced. I got the feeling that if this was a car mechanic shop, he would be telling me I have to buy a whole new car because I have a flat tire. I only need a pane of glass and a portion of screening, each of them aproximately 26 inches on each side. What Options do I have?
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Feb 4, 2013 22:10
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Nerdfest X posted:The screen door to my front entrance has a rounded portion on top and with a ripped screen, a broken glass pane in the middle, and a metal bottom panel. I went to a local glass, window and door specialist to get a quote on getting the screen and glass replaced. The sales person gave me a speech about what a difficult hassle it is to replace them and I would be better off getting the whole door replaced. He quoted me $1500 to $1700. The is no way in hell I am spending that much when I only need the screen and glass replaced. I got the feeling that if this was a car mechanic shop, he would be telling me I have to buy a whole new car because I have a flat tire. I only need a pane of glass and a portion of screening, each of them aproximately 26 inches on each side. The screen is easy to do yourself. Get a roll of screen, a package of spline and a spline tool, should be under $20 total. There are lots of youtube tutorials. Ace hardware replaces screen for about $40 on a door-size piece, and they might do glass too. eddiewalker fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Feb 5, 2013 |
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Feb 5, 2013 00:19
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eddiewalker posted:The screen is easy to do yourself. Get a roll of screen, a package of spline and a spline tool, should be under $20 total. There are lots of youtube tutorials. Thanks for the tip, youtube makes it seem really easy to do and cheap. I am going to make sure to go back to that door/window shop once I get it fixed for a chat
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Feb 5, 2013 01:20
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Nerdfest X posted:Thanks for the tip, youtube makes it seem really easy to do and cheap. Definitely do the screen yourself...it's an easy project since you can pull the spline out and redo if you see that you messed something up. I got the kit that came with screen, spline and a tool...I think it was about $10. I'm from a bit of a redneck family, but you could always get some plexiglass to replace the round glass, it is a hell of a lot easier to work with and looks okay.
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Feb 5, 2013 02:29
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