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The Berzerker posted:Came home tonight to find that the deadbolt on my front door is broken. By broken, I mean that my key still inserts correctly, but turning the key doesn't do anything. I can't unlock it, or lock it after I manually unlocked it from the other side with the knob. I tried two keys with the same result. How do I fix my lock? I would prefer to fix it rather than replace it, because there is another apartment upstairs who would also need replacement keys, etc. Once you're inside, watch this and take the lock off the door: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEvL89SD3lw. You'll need to check the bolting mechanism to see why the key cylinder isn't moving it. It may be worn down to the point where it doesn't catch any more.
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Mar 21, 2013 03:38
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My girlfriend just bought a condo and in the living room there is a radiator that, while not hideous, she'd like to cover. We were thinking I could build a bench over it to hide it. Would there be a fire hazard or anything if I made the bench from wood, or would there be off-gassing issues if I painted or stained it?
Monocular fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Mar 21, 2013 |
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Mar 21, 2013 04:43
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Bank posted:I have about 75 feet of 8 AWG bare copper wire I pulled from my house. It weighs about 4.5 lbs and apparently the scrap value is worth about $15, but it's in one continuous piece which makes me think it's worth more than that. Is it worth trying to find a buyer or should I just bring it in for scrap value? Scrap it. Reclaimed wire of unknown provenance is pretty much useless to everyone. $4/lb is pretty nice 
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Mar 21, 2013 08:30
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How do you fix water rings on wood furniture? I have a very old curio cabinet, very dark finish. A vase was left on it for a few days and when I picked it up, there was a giant (maybe 8 inches?) circle of white discoloration. I've been looking online and most of the stuff I've read to get it up contradicts each other. Use mayo! Don't use mayo! Use alcohol! Alcohol will damage it further! Checking the links in the OP didn't provide much more info. What gets a water haze or water ring up?
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Mar 21, 2013 14:35
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Monocular posted:My girlfriend just bought a condo and in the living room there is a radiator that, while not hideous, she'd like to cover. We were thinking I could build a bench over it to hide it. Would there be a fire hazard or anything if I made the bench from wood, or would there be off-gassing issues if I painted or stained it? There are many commercial solutions for this, though a bench might not be what you need. As long as you leave enough room between the bench and the radiator for air to circulate, you should have no problems thought.
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Mar 21, 2013 14:39
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Dienes posted:What gets a water haze or water ring up? Restor-a-Finish and 0000 steel wool. Use small amounts of R-A-F with each pass. It is easy to add more to darken the match but impossible to lighten. This is assuming it is stained. If it is Lacquered then you would use 0000 steel wool to remove any bubled/cracked finish and then blend in the new lacquer and use 600 grit sandpaper between coats.
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Mar 21, 2013 14:44
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Monocular posted:My girlfriend just bought a condo and in the living room there is a radiator that, while not hideous, she'd like to cover. We were thinking I could build a bench over it to hide it. Would there be a fire hazard or anything if I made the bench from wood, or would there be off-gassing issues if I painted or stained it? Radiator covers exist. The thing is that they can't block airflow completely.
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Mar 21, 2013 17:11
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Restor-a-Finish and 0000 steel wool. Use small amounts of R-A-F with each pass. It is easy to add more to darken the match but impossible to lighten. This is assuming it is stained. If it is Lacquered then you would use 0000 steel wool to remove any bubled/cracked finish and then blend in the new lacquer and use 600 grit sandpaper between coats. Will try this tomorrow. You're amazing.
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Mar 22, 2013 02:48
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I just moved in to a newly renovated apartment (building is from the late 1700s but was completely gutted in 2011, so the windows and insulation are all new) with a gas forced hot air furnace that is insanely, insanely dry. Right now I'm keeping the heat turned down and running a humidifier, but it's noisy as hell and having a hard time keeping up. What other options do I have?
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Mar 22, 2013 13:00
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thelightguy posted:I just moved in to a newly renovated apartment (building is from the late 1700s but was completely gutted in 2011, so the windows and insulation are all new) with a gas forced hot air furnace that is insanely, insanely dry. Right now I'm keeping the heat turned down and running a humidifier, but it's noisy as hell and having a hard time keeping up. What other options do I have? How big is the apartment? Can you install a whole house humidifier on the furnace? What type of humidifier are you using? An ultrasonic humidifier is about the quietest you can get.
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Mar 22, 2013 16:04
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:How big is the apartment? 800sqft, and it's an open floorplan. The furnace is accessible, and there is a cold water line running out to the heat exchanger for the AC, but there is no tap in the closet for any accessories, so I'd have to get the landlord involved, if that is even something they'd be willing to do. Right now I'm just using a cheap little vicks branded one that I got from salval so I could sleep at night. This one in particular: http://www.vicks.com/products/humidifiers/v4500-filterfree-humidifier/ I think the ratings on that page say it all. It barely gets the bedroom up to a tolerable humidity, running constantly. This is actually the first house I've lived in that has had forced hot air to the bedrooms, all the previous ones had a small forced hot air furnace to keep the pipes from freezing and then electric baseboard heat or electric radiators in the remaining rooms, so humidity was never a problem. corgski fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Mar 22, 2013 |
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Mar 22, 2013 16:57
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The cheapest things you can do is reduce when the furnace runs, dropping it down to 50 or so when you leave. You could also try making a big pot of pasta or take a shower at night without using the vent. But really, invest in a better humidifier(s) designed for the space you have. Never going to hurt you to ask if the land lord will have some installed. You could offer to pay half the cost (about $350 installed.)
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Mar 22, 2013 18:09
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The Berzerker posted:Came home tonight to find that the deadbolt on my front door is broken. By broken, I mean that my key still inserts correctly, but turning the key doesn't do anything. I can't unlock it, or lock it after I manually unlocked it from the other side with the knob. I tried two keys with the same result. How do I fix my lock? I would prefer to fix it rather than replace it, because there is another apartment upstairs who would also need replacement keys, etc.
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Mar 23, 2013 01:55
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:An ultrasonic humidifier is about the quietest you can get. When I was a kid, my parents had one that was absolutely silent. The only thing it was plugged in for was so it could light up when the float hit "too low". It was a grille-topped tank that held about 10 gallons, shallowly with a large exposure area. It was probably 3'x1.5' and waist-high, on casters so it could be easily refilled, and kept in the second-floor hallway (mostly bedrooms). We had a 10'x10' open-grate coal furnace in the center of the first floor for heating, so it got so dry that I'd wake up with nosebleeds. Farm life.  I miss it.
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Mar 23, 2013 04:59
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thelightguy posted:I just moved in to a newly renovated apartment (building is from the late 1700s but was completely gutted in 2011, so the windows and insulation are all new) with a gas forced hot air furnace that is insanely, insanely dry. Right now I'm keeping the heat turned down and running a humidifier, but it's noisy as hell and having a hard time keeping up. What other options do I have? I wouldn't gently caress around with a whole house humidifier. They promote mold growth and generally don't work very well. Just get an ultrasonic and put it by your head when you sleep. They are nearly silent and you can position it so the mist rains down on your face. I slept in a basement growing up so when I moved out I would get nosebleeds and sinus infections until I started using a misting humidifier. If you are in a fairly small room it should be sufficient to just turn it on (anywhere) and shut the door at night. Just make sure it isn't dripping on something sensitive to water damage. Here is an ultrasonic humidifer on amazon. They can be purchased almost anywhere though and are fairly cheap.
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Mar 24, 2013 01:49
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grover posted:If it's a common brand and still stocked, Lowes/Home Depot (whomever sells that brand) should be able to key a new deadbolt to match your existing keys. Seconding this. I bought four Schlage deadbolts at a big box and took it to a local locksmith. Had all four of them rekeyed to the same key in about 20 minutes for around $15. Schlages are actually really easy to rekey, and can be done by a layperson if you go out and buy a pin kit. Either way, a couple bucks and a few minutes is a worthy investment if it means not having five extra keys on the ring.
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Mar 25, 2013 17:24
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OK nerds, I need help. The traction drive on my 2006 Ariens 9526DLE snowblower is gone. Symptoms: Randomly losing power completely to the drive, usually fixed by messing with the speed selector lever. Eventually, speed selector lever position would not correspond with actual speed. Took the bottom cover off, saw that the friction disc carrier (the thing that slides on the hex shaft, connecting the speed selector fork and friction disc) had poo poo two washers and one bearing ball. Next storm, this was followed by all the bearing balls, and the carrier was now carriers. Fair enough, that explains the speed selector lever not working right. However, while this was still going on, and drive power was not getting to the wheels, I noticed that the friction disc wasn't disengaging from the drive wheel (flywheel looking thing). As in, when the engine was off, the machine was hard to move around because I was spinning up the drive wheel every time I moved around, along with a rasping sound. So after replacing the carrier, hoping this would help, I'm now stuck with no drive, a permanently engaged friction disc, and a bunch of rasping noise when moving the machine around, along with a slack cable from the traction drive handle. It appears there's a return spring that is supposed to tilt the drive disc AWAY from the friction disc when the handle is released. This is still in place, but I can't really even pry the drive disc away from the friction disc (it's on a plate that is hinged at the bottom). Any savants know what I'm talking about/should be looking at next? e: vvv will do, thanks. uwaeve fucked around with this message at 15:53 on Mar 26, 2013 |
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Mar 26, 2013 13:40
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You will have better luck over in AI. I think there is a small engine thread, but try the main small questions thread.
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Mar 26, 2013 14:34
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uwaeve posted:The traction drive on my 2006 Ariens 9526DLE snowblower is gone. The specific thread you'll want in AI http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3302145
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Mar 27, 2013 18:09
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The new place we moved into from 1920 has a bathtub that has been converted to a shower. There is a low window next the tub, and the tile is only two foot up the tub. Running the shower is going to soak the window and the untiled drywall. Any fancy ideas of how to protect the wall/window??
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Mar 30, 2013 03:16
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Associate Christ
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Any reason why you can't just use a shower curtain?
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Mar 30, 2013 03:51
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Kaluza-Klein posted:The new place we moved into from 1920 has a bathtub that has been converted to a shower. There is a low window next the tub, and the tile is only two foot up the tub. Running the shower is going to soak the window and the untiled drywall. Oooh, I had this problem too. I did a curtain rod over the window with a shower curtain. I also attached small suction cups to the bottom and sides of the curtain so it would cling closely.
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Mar 30, 2013 15:00
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Kaluza-Klein posted:The new place we moved into from 1920 has a bathtub that has been converted to a shower. There is a low window next the tub, and the tile is only two foot up the tub. Running the shower is going to soak the window and the untiled drywall. Send a picture if you can. By your description you could cut a piece of poly to fit and caulk around the edges to seal offf the window.
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Mar 30, 2013 15:02
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Send a picture if you can. By your description you could cut a piece of poly to fit and caulk around the edges to seal offf the window. At least in my case, it leaves the drywall vulnerable...
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Mar 30, 2013 15:30
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So my grandparents 30+ year old bathroom ventilation fan needs replaced, i'm having a hell of a time figuring out what the hell the connector is called to distinguish it from more modern ventilation fans that use a regular 2 prong plug for power. This is a pic of the connector i'm trying to identify:  If someone could tell me the name for that connector or when looking at fans how it would describe if it is using that connector and not a 2 prong that would be fantastic.
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Mar 30, 2013 18:42
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The project I'm working on now started as a simple toilet replacement, but things have escalated rather quickly. First, we decided to remove the vinyl tile floor and replace it with ceramic, since it was possibly a bit damaged and ugly to boot. Started tearing it up only to find another layer of either vinyl or possibly linoleum tiles underneath, which is stained, but seems quite securely bonded to the concrete slab underneath. Now, this house was built in 1963, so I'm worried about asbestos in the tile, whether we decide to tear it up as well or tile over(which would require sanding). My dad, who has a number of years experience with DIY projects, is currently at the hardware store looking for some sort of bonding agent to go over the tile so we don't have to sand. Is this at all feasible or are we going to have to hold off and get hazmat supplies? Meaty Ore fucked around with this message at 22:51 on Mar 30, 2013 |
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Mar 30, 2013 22:30
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Meaty Ore posted:The project I'm working on now started as a simple toilet replacement, but things have escalated rather quickly. So it is best if you can leave the 60s vinyl alone (AND DEAR GOD DO NOT SAND IT). You can either lay cement board on top of it, or DITRA can be laid directly on vinyl tile if your subfloor is structurally sound. I have used DITRA on multiple surfaces but never vinyl. If you use DITRA be sure to use latex portland cement underneath.
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Mar 30, 2013 22:59
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katkillad2 posted:So my grandparents 30+ year old bathroom ventilation fan needs replaced, i'm having a hell of a time figuring out what the hell the connector is called to distinguish it from more modern ventilation fans that use a regular 2 prong plug for power. It just looks like a three-prong automotive connector. If you can identify how it's hooked up, you might just be able to splice a modern connector on there.
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Mar 30, 2013 23:45
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katkillad2 posted:So my grandparents 30+ year old bathroom ventilation fan needs replaced, i'm having a hell of a time figuring out what the hell the connector is called to distinguish it from more modern ventilation fans that use a regular 2 prong plug for power. looks like a Molex connector to me... Kinda hard to tell since that's an illustration not a photo.\ Molex: 
iForge fucked around with this message at 06:26 on Mar 31, 2013 |
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Mar 31, 2013 06:23
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katkillad2 posted:So my grandparents 30+ year old bathroom ventilation fan needs replaced, i'm having a hell of a time figuring out what the hell the connector is called to distinguish it from more modern ventilation fans that use a regular 2 prong plug for power. I'm not sure what that plug is called, but I'm also not sure why you are trying to identify what it is. Are you replacing a bathroom vent fan that vents through (hopefully) a duct of some kind through the attic to the outside or something? If so, why wouldn't you just replace the entire fan and hard wire it into the existing wires? I just did this and while it wasn't much fun, it wasn't too bad. It seems like you might have just unplugged the fan from the box-like "housing" above, which will be hardwired to the switch. I guess you might be able to theoretically replace just the fan, but it might be hard to find one that matches since it is so old.
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Mar 31, 2013 17:55
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Zyme posted:I'm not sure what that plug is called, but I'm also not sure why you are trying to identify what it is. Are you replacing a bathroom vent fan that vents through (hopefully) a duct of some kind through the attic to the outside or something? If so, why wouldn't you just replace the entire fan and hard wire it into the existing wires? I just did this and while it wasn't much fun, it wasn't too bad. It seems like you might have just unplugged the fan from the box-like "housing" above, which will be hardwired to the switch. I guess you might be able to theoretically replace just the fan, but it might be hard to find one that matches since it is so old. Yes, the engine burnt out in the bathroom celing fan. It does have a vent that I assume vents into the attic. The issue is that I have zero electrical/soldering experience and while i'm sure i'm more than capabable of learning to make this replacement my initial thought was it would probably just be easier to find a motor and/or a housing to replace this one with. The issue I ran into is that modern bathroom ventilation fans use a 2 prong plug and expect that you have a GFCI outlet... which unless it's hiding behind the housing i'm going to assume it's not there considering this is a 30+ year old house and why I was just trying to find a motor with the right connector to swap. Ideally this is exactly what I need if I were to replace the whole thing, it's even the right dimensions and everything: http://www.amazon.com/Broan-671-Cei...oom+ceiling+fan I'm going the lazy route first and going to try to shoehorn this in: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001XZ047U/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It says it's for a hood fan for a kitchen, but it appears to be more powerful than the fan that was in the bathroom.
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Apr 1, 2013 00:47
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Home Depot has a basic ventilation fan in store for $13. Most people that need to replace just the motor end up buying this and then just using the guts since it's bizarrely cheaper. Not the best fan in the world but for a small bathroom it's certainly all you need (50cfm)
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Apr 1, 2013 01:27
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I have a quick question hopefully someone can answer: How do I know a good company to go with to buy shades/blinds for the windows in my house? I just got an amazonlocal email with a deal for "$300 worth of blinds from 3 day blinds for $99" but after doing 2 seconds of googling it seems they are a poo poo company who does subpar work. I've never had to buy before, and I have no idea where to even begin other than obviously measuring the window space. We don't need them installed, just need to know how to go about buying them without getting ripped off.
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Apr 1, 2013 23:03
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mrfreeze posted:I have a quick question hopefully someone can answer: How do I know a good company to go with to buy shades/blinds for the windows in my house? I just got an amazonlocal email with a deal for "$300 worth of blinds from 3 day blinds for $99" but after doing 2 seconds of googling it seems they are a poo poo company who does subpar work. I've never had to buy before, and I have no idea where to even begin other than obviously measuring the window space. We don't need them installed, just need to know how to go about buying them without getting ripped off. I just buy the $4 ones from Home Depot. They work just fine as long as your window is something approaching a normal size.
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Apr 1, 2013 23:19
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Any suggestions on a good temporary adhesive? I'm thinking more along the lines of the poo poo they use in magazine inserts rather than post-it notes. I seem to remember that rubber cement can be used this way if you let it dry after brushing it on; is that correct? Should I try that, or is there something else that might be better?
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Apr 2, 2013 01:48
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stubblyhead posted:Any suggestions on a good temporary adhesive? I'm thinking more along the lines of the poo poo they use in magazine inserts rather than post-it notes. I seem to remember that rubber cement can be used this way if you let it dry after brushing it on; is that correct? Should I try that, or is there something else that might be better?
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Apr 2, 2013 03:34
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I've been doing some research on adding insulation to my attic and do not want to gently caress up moisture retention. The one area that I am a bit confused on is where I have two walls, one our master bath where we installed radiant floor heat, and one a bedroom. Both of these have walls facing the attic space above our garage. Those walls have batt insulation, but no real vapor barrier on the garage side of the drywall that I can see. The garage trusses aren't insulated, nor is the garage attic exterior framing, all of which is normal as far as I can tell. Now, on the questions. If I wanted to increase insulation on those two walls, the paper on the batt insulation is currently actiing as a halfass vapor barrier as far as I can tell. This would rule out the 2" insulated sheathing foam boards from a big box, right? Is my only option some roll insulation without a vapor barrier / retarder stapled to the wall studs? That's the direction I'm leaning, but just wanted to see if anyone else had thoughts. Thanks!
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Apr 2, 2013 13:16
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Send a picture if you can. By your description you could cut a piece of poly to fit and caulk around the edges to seal offf the window. I am slow...  We've put a shower curtain directly up against the wall with the window using a standard rod. We cut it so it just hangs past the window. That, combined with a regular shower curtain in front, makes for a decent shower. My concern is that it does nothing to cover the drywall on the left or right end, and I can't really see a pleasant way to do that. For now, we've been wiping off the walls after a shower.
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Apr 2, 2013 14:34
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jackyl posted:I've been doing some research on adding insulation to my attic and do not want to gently caress up moisture retention. The one area that I am a bit confused on is where I have two walls, one our master bath where we installed radiant floor heat, and one a bedroom. Both of these have walls facing the attic space above our garage. Those walls have batt insulation, but no real vapor barrier on the garage side of the drywall that I can see. The garage trusses aren't insulated, nor is the garage attic exterior framing, all of which is normal as far as I can tell. I really depends on your native climate and what you currently have installed. I can only speak to my experience in the northern US, and I'll just assume this isn't the old batt with the asphalt saturated facing... If I'm following your descriptions correctly (and I'm really having trouble picturing this for some reason) then rigid foam might still be an option. Truly, the best option would probably be to put out the faced batt and go with sprayed in foam or unfaced batt covered in rigid. If that's not an option, then you might be able to get away with just covering it in rigid. Faced batt has a permeability of 1, which is the bare minimum to be considered a vapor barrier. In my climate, the two can be safely used together on top of each other, provided that they're on the warm side and there isn't already an outstanding moisture problem. For example, you're doing it in a damp basement or the attic space has terrible ventilation. It sounds to me like you're doing this on the cold side, though. If this is the case, the paper backing meeting the rigid will at best promote mold and at worst soak the batt (if you're in a climate similar to mine.) If I were you, I'd run a test. Get some 6 mil plastic sheeting and some seaming tape and seal the plastic over a stud bay and see if it fogs up after a day or two. If it doesn't, I'd go with the rigid. Lay it in there, use seaming tape on the edges, and use some minimal expanding foam on the gaps. If it does, then I'd pull the batt out and start over. If that's too much work then the non-faced batt is probably your best bet, but I can't say for sure it won't cause moisture problems.
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Apr 2, 2013 16:06
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iForge posted:3m and Elmers make restickable glue sticks that work similar to post-it note glue, but I can't attest to their usefulness for you as you never told us what you are gluing. I'm not sure it would have mattered if I did, considering you ignored what I said about post-it notes. But in the event it does, ceramic or hard plastic to wood.
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Apr 2, 2013 16:17
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