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Aggressive pricing posted:What loving assholes, is it concentrated in lumps or spread out? I'd try compressed air, an abrasive pad(used lightly, I like the green kitchen ones), or a plastic scraper, but have no actual experience with this, so take that with a large grain of salt. It's spread evenly and looks kind of like sand. Right now, we're using steel wool to scrub everything off, with very slow results. I was thinking of using a belt sander, but that would shred the plastic into bits. I was hoping we could use something with corrosive or loosening properties, but I guess we'll have to do it the hard way.
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Apr 25, 2013 17:59
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I have a paint question as well, though not for house paint. I'm refurbing a set of tool chests and need to know if there are any types of rust-converting paints(primer or all-in-one, doesn't matter to me) that are worthwhile but don't cost a bundle. I know about POR-15, but $32 a pint is a little pricey for what I'm doing here and I have no idea where to get it locally anyways. The corrosion isn't bad, there's just lots of surface discolorations and a single spot on the lid of the top box that's got a few pinholes in it(looks more like acid damage than just plain rust, the metal is generally good aside from the small and mostly-vertical pits confined to a roughly 1" square area) but I was planning on just drilling/grinding out the corroded areas to good metal and then filling it in with some JB-Weld or other type of metal putty. Ideally I'd like to lay down a rust-converting primer and then hit it with the toughest, most solvent-resistant stuff I can find. Can anyone clue me in? Rust-Oleum claims to stop corrosion but after using their stuff to respray a grill leg a few years ago I don't believe a word of it. I think the leg actually got worse after I sanded/cleaned/resprayed with the Rust-Oleum.
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Apr 26, 2013 03:25
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Kilersquirrel posted:Can anyone clue me in? Rust-Oleum claims to stop corrosion but after using their stuff to respray a grill leg a few years ago I don't believe a word of it. I think the leg actually got worse after I sanded/cleaned/resprayed with the Rust-Oleum. It's been years since I used it, but naval jelly worked pretty well for me when I was doing some backyard bodywork on an 83 Celica. Just goop it on there and let it sit for a while (however long the directions say), then scrub it with a wire toothbrush and hose it down.
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Apr 26, 2013 04:15
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Thanks, I might get that to both clean corrosion spots and etch the metal a bit for better adhesion. Any pointers on decent solvent-resistant paints? You can safely assume these toolchests are going to get everything from engine oil to brake fluid on them at one point or another, and probably have the odd sharp/rough object kicking around on top while I'm working on things. I was thinking of doing the top of the large roll-away chest with rubberized auto undercoating to give it some grippiness, but I'm having second thoughts as (funny enough) that stuff seems to have close to zero resistance to petroleum-based fluids and solvents.
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Apr 26, 2013 04:33
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There is also that rust converter. It goes on a milky liquid and turns the metal black and stops rust. I think you need to then paint it, but I have used it at home and when I worked at sea it was a common tool in the war on saltwater.
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Apr 26, 2013 16:10
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Unless you have access to a powder-coating oven, air drying enamel spray paint might be your best bet.
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Apr 26, 2013 19:30
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Yeah, I've come to the conclusion that engine enamel is probably the way to go in this case. (I don't have a clue where a powder-coating place is around here and probably wouldn't want to shell out for it anyways - it's not like I got a Snap-On or something crazy like that) Not the 2000F enamel, but the 500F paint - I think it ought to work pretty well since it does not require baking to set up fully. I still plan on giving it a once-over with my heat gun on "low" and setting it out in the driveway (faces straight south and solid blacktop, it absolutely cooks until about 3 p.m.) to make sure things are hardened up properly though.
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Apr 26, 2013 20:44
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I've decided I want to build bookshelf since I need another but other than a rough idea I'm not sure how it's going to work. In the past I've built cheap bookcases from Walmart or Target, so that's what I'm planning my idea for it on. I'd be buying another one of those but I'm pretty sure they don't come in the size to fit the space I need it for; which is roughly 2'4" high and 4'9" across. Here's a rough diagram of my plan done in mspaint:  Red = bracket locations. I'd put one in the front and one in back in each bracket location. So I'm thinking I'd just hit up Lowes and grab some boards and screw them together with the brackets after varnishing them. Is this idea sound? And what type of wood should I be using for the backboard? The cheap ones come with an almost cardboard like wood piece.
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Apr 26, 2013 22:10
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I have hard water blockage somewhere leading up to my shower. Having removed the shower head and stuck a coat hanger back in there, I was unable to reach or remove the blockage. Short of ripping out walls and pipes, is there something else I can do to clear the pipes? I know you can rent pressure systems to blow the pipes clear, but this is a really old house and I think I would end up causing more problems in the long run that way. What about feeding in some CLR via tube and funnel? Tai-Pan fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Apr 26, 2013 |
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Apr 26, 2013 23:07
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Try renting a snake from Home Depot or Lowes
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Apr 26, 2013 23:36
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Evil Vin posted:Bookcase Redesigned this:  Think I'm going to go with this for the back: Plytanium 1/4 x 4 x 8 Pine Sanded Plywood And get 3 planks of this and cut them up for everything else: 1 x 2 x 8 Kiln-Dried Poplar Board I may also forgo brackets, and just put about 3 screws in each area. And I'm using this as my guide atm: http://www.ehow.com/how_4849064_build-basic-bookcase.html
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Apr 27, 2013 01:09
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Evil Vin posted:Redesigned this: TOH posted:Strength Comparison: The amount of weight a 3-foot 1x12 shelf can hold without sagging more than ¼ inch: Your shelves are too long with only end support. You need a spine, and likely one in the front also. Take a look at A TOH bookcase project. I think this might ground your design a bit. I would also check out Tommy Mac for some seriously beautiful projects and great instruction.
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Apr 27, 2013 01:27
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So, uh, for anybody else who's kind of a newbie at refinishing things, read the MSDS for your paint stripper BEFORE buying it or starting and make sure you buy gloves that can handle what's in it. I learned a little lesson today on just how wrong everybody was who ever told me "nothing gets through nitrile gloves, they're good for anything." And I'm kind of pissed off at Home Depot for selling a product containing an unadvertised-on-bottle but seriously powerful solvent, but no PPE gear that can stand up to it.
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Apr 27, 2013 02:29
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Kilersquirrel posted:So, uh, for anybody else who's kind of a newbie at refinishing things, read the MSDS for your paint stripper BEFORE buying it or starting and make sure you buy gloves that can handle what's in it. I learned a little lesson today on just how wrong everybody was who ever told me "nothing gets through nitrile gloves, they're good for anything." Use safe for human strippers like soy gel.
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Apr 27, 2013 04:31
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Your shelves are too long with only end support. You need a spine, and likely one in the front also. Thanks for warning me. I can't quite find information about bookcase spines is there someplace I should look? My quick scanning of the thus old house link didn't seem to mention it. (And Googling bookcase spines gets me spine bookcases) At the moment really all I want is something I can throw books, quickly and cheaply. That's why I'm going with such a boring design. Plus the other bookcases in the room look like:  Like this is my perfect bookshelf: http://mobile.walmart.com/m/phoenix;jsessionid=B8055E5867BB02BAB6BD21B1CB1D5806#ip/Bush-Universal-Bookcase-30/17648085 But it's an inch or two too high to fit under the window I need it to fit.
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Apr 27, 2013 07:09
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Evil Vin posted:Like this is my perfect bookshelf: http://mobile.walmart.com/m/phoenix;jsessionid=B8055E5867BB02BAB6BD21B1CB1D5806#ip/Bush-Universal-Bookcase-30/17648085 I don't like to discourage someone making something from scratch but you could easily cut down the sides & foot board of that bookshelf by an inch or two before you assemble it.
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Apr 27, 2013 09:42
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Evil Vin, google "sagulator", it will help you calculate shelf span and materials.
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Apr 27, 2013 14:55
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Cakefool posted:I don't like to discourage someone making something from scratch but you could easily cut down the sides & foot board of that bookshelf by an inch or two before you assemble it. It's also quite a bit more than I'd like to spend. wormil posted:Evil Vin, google "sagulator", it will help you calculate shelf span and materials. Thanks for this. I'm going to cut down the width by about foot now so it won't sag as much.
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Apr 27, 2013 19:00
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Evil Vin posted:It's also quite a bit more than I'd like to spend. Didn't think of that.
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Apr 27, 2013 22:46
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horriblePencilist posted:It's spread evenly and looks kind of like sand. Right now, we're using steel wool to scrub everything off, with very slow results. I was thinking of using a belt sander, but that would shred the plastic into bits. I was hoping we could use something with corrosive or loosening properties, but I guess we'll have to do it the hard way.
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Apr 27, 2013 23:24
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Tai-Pan posted:I have hard water blockage somewhere leading up to my shower. Turn off the water, pull out the cartridge, clean it, check for bad rubber gaskets/O-rings. Is this a 1, 2 or 3 handle shower?
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Apr 28, 2013 03:27
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Evil Vin posted:Thanks for this. I'm going to cut down the width by about foot now so it won't sag as much. Looks like you can go with the full 55" span if your edging strip is at least 2.5" wide although that would mean you probably need to add a few inches to the overall height.
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Apr 28, 2013 04:03
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wormil posted:Looks like you can go with the full 55" span if your edging strip is at least 2.5" wide although that would mean you probably need to add a few inches to the overall height. Thanks. I'm going to read up on things and compare notes with someone I know that builds things from time to time since I won't actually be able to work on it until next week or three weeks from now if don't get to it next week.
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Apr 28, 2013 04:17
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kid sinister posted:Turn off the water, pull out the cartridge, clean it, check for bad rubber gaskets/O-rings. Is this a 1, 2 or 3 handle shower? Did this and it fixed it. I did not think the cartridges were the problem since the issue popped up simultaneously (only hot or cold should have low flow, not both) but I guess it was just random bad luck.
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Apr 28, 2013 19:03
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It's time to start putting in the window ACs again. Before I put them in this year, I want to clean them up, especially since they seem to have little bits of mold in the interior styrofoam. I've heard that I can hire someone to clean them, but a quick search online only shows people offering flood repairs, etc. I just don't have the time to do it myself. Is this a thing? Can I hire someone to clean my window AC units, or is this something that is only really applicable for forced air AC units, etc? If so, is this something that an HVAC company does, etc?
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Apr 29, 2013 01:30
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Volmarias posted:Is this a thing? Can I hire someone to clean my window AC units, or is this something that is only really applicable for forced air AC units, etc? If so, is this something that an HVAC company does, etc? Yeah, but when it's $80 just to have a guy ring the doorbell having someone show up to clean those is a bit of a waste. Here's a link: http://www.ehow.com/how_2171236_properly-clean-window-air-conditioner.html You can use a 1:1 mix of vinegar and water instead of the cleaning solution.
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Apr 29, 2013 14:38
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Not sure if this is better suited for the plumbing thread, but I'll try here first. I have a Buderis Natural Gas Boiler in my basement that was installed into my existing forced water heating system in late 2011. Since it was installed it occasionally goes into lockout mode. It's happened maybe 6 times since it was put in, but it's really annoying. Using the reset instructions on the door works every time, though I notice that if I turn the power back on to it before letting the gas sit on for a few seconds, it immediately locks out again. Any idea what I can check to stop this?
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Apr 29, 2013 17:22
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Dragyn posted:
What does it use as a flame sensor and has it shown a lock-out code?
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Apr 29, 2013 17:42
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I am building a paver patio, with a paved size of 5 1/3' x 8 2/3'. I'm in the san francisco bay area, working in a small sideyard in a condo complex. The soil is hard-packed, red clay. I just want to check my steps here: 0. Mark shape. 1. Excavate to a depth of 6" 2. Compact and level sub-base 3. Place weed barrier 4. Add paver base 3"-4" 5. Compact and level base. 6. Add paver sand 1" 7. Place pavers 8. Place and secure paver edging 9. Add sand to fill gaps Do these steps cover the basics? 2 additional questions: 1. Is hand tamping a reasonable approach for the compacting? The expense is one consideration, but for most of the time I'll be working alone, and renting and maneuvering a 200lbs plate compactor out of my car, through the condo complex, through my apartment and into the yard is daunting me. If so, any hand-tamping tips? 2. Is it important to have a slight grade for water run-off? If so, does the grade exist on the sub-base/base/sand/pavers? Do they all slant (slightly)?
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Apr 29, 2013 21:54
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It's always something, y'all. Our tankless electric water heater isn't holding temp. We have it set at 125, but if you turn on any water, hot or cold, it dips WAY down to sub-80f, then slowly builds back up. This makes showers kind of horrible. What's wrong with it? Father-in-law thinks we need to up the temp to 145, I'd rather not. I'm not supposed to take a shower hotter than 110f for another five months, anyway.
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Apr 30, 2013 01:49
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It sounds like you have the process down, although when I did a 650 sq. ft. patio in our backyard, I put the weed barrier on top of the limestone base rather than underneath. Since it compacted almost as hard as concrete, I wasn't afraid of weeds getting through it.bisonbison posted:2 additional questions: Rent or buy a hand tamper; a plate compactor or jumping jack is overkill for such a small area. Learn to listen for the way the sound changes when you tamp level ground. It's kind of difficult to explain, but provided you're tamping consistently, the sound will change from the usual "crunch" to almost a "slap" when the ground underneath is flat. A grade is important for directing water away from a structure, and the rule is 1" for every 8'. I would start by grading your paver base then double check grade on your pavers, adjusting as necessary.
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Apr 30, 2013 14:53
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Tourette Meltdown posted:It's always something, y'all. Our tankless electric water heater isn't holding temp. We have it set at 125, but if you turn on any water, hot or cold, it dips WAY down to sub-80f, then slowly builds back up. This makes showers kind of horrible. What's wrong with it? Father-in-law thinks we need to up the temp to 145, I'd rather not. I'm not supposed to take a shower hotter than 110f for another five months, anyway. Tankless heaters don't hold temp, that's pretty much the point. The cold water is the water in the pipes between the heater and the faucet/showerhead, it gets warmer as the coils in the heater warm up and is hot when the heater and pipes are hot. When people have ones that work almost instantly it's because the heater is really close to the faucet. There's no point in raising the temp on the heater and if you put it up too high you run the risk of scalding someone. If your father-in-law isn't actually qualified to work on these don't let him touch it. Depending on your local code, his suggestion may be illegal.
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May 1, 2013 01:10
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Tourette Meltdown posted:It's always something, y'all. Our tankless electric water heater isn't holding temp. We have it set at 125, but if you turn on any water, hot or cold, it dips WAY down to sub-80f, then slowly builds back up. This makes showers kind of horrible. What's wrong with it? Father-in-law thinks we need to up the temp to 145, I'd rather not. I'm not supposed to take a shower hotter than 110f for another five months, anyway. Make sure to flush/drain the unit. They have condensing coils and if water builds up they shut off as a safety measure.
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May 1, 2013 02:15
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I have a question about plumbing in apartment buildings. I've got a friend who moved into an apartment building and there is a problem with the hot water where it will be a few degrees below what it should be minimum (at least 43C) during most of the day. He's been told that it's because people have (against rules) put in-suite washing machines and dishwashers in to their suites hooked up to sinks. Allegedly, the water from the washers/dishwashers can drain back into the plumbing and I guess cool the hot water down or something? This is assuming they let the washer sit a while for the water to cool down I guess. Sounds like cold water from the machines can supposedly get drained back into the hot water or something? I know jackshit about plumbing but it sounds kind of feasible because he says that sometimes the water pressure drops as well, and when it happens he'll go stand outside the units that he knows have washers and can hear them running. Then when the pressure is back to normal he goes outside their unit and doesn't hear it running anymore. The building also has about four 60 gallon hot water tanks for ~25 units. I'm just looking for a general idea of whether or not this is bullshit.
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May 1, 2013 02:57
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Gringo Heisenberg posted:Allegedly, the water from the washers/dishwashers can drain back into the plumbing and I guess cool the hot water down or something? This is assuming they let the washer sit a while for the water to cool down I guess. Sounds like cold water from the machines can supposedly get drained back into the hot water or something? If this is an explanation someone gave you, then it's pure-D bullshit. Water coming out of your pipes (and into appliances) is pressurized. Going down the drain, it's not; it's going out and into the sewer (and, hopefully, a water-treatment plant). There is NO WAY it can re-enter the demand (pressure) side & get re-used. What they mean about people adding washing machines or dishwashers to their units is that they are water hogs, particularly hot-water hogs, so that when you don't have enough hot-water generation for the demand in your building even without such appliances drawing off supply, such as Gringo Heisenberg posted:The building also has about four 60 gallon hot water tanks for ~25 units. You will have a hot-water supply issue. Each unit should have at least a 30-gallon heater. You'd need something like eight to ten 100-gallon units to keep up with 25-units.
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May 1, 2013 03:07
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The only other issue is that apparently they've always had 4 60 gallon hot water tanks and it's only recently been a problem, but I'm doubting it because even to me that sounded like too little. I mean poo poo, single family houses have 40 gallon water tanks. Thanks for the advice, I'm siding with it being bullshit now. e: I just used this site http://www.hotwatersizing.com/ApplicationData/Apartment.aspx and plugged in 30 x 1 bath units and their recommendations were either a 100 USG heater or 2 60 USG heaters as far as I can interpret their recommendations. http://www.hotwatersizing.com/Results.aspx This still seems low, what gives? Is it because it's commercial heaters or something? Gringo Heisenberg fucked around with this message at 03:28 on May 1, 2013 |
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May 1, 2013 03:14
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If the building owners went high-end, those AO Smith units might do the trick. 245GPH recovery rate at 100-degrees? Sure. Most likely, though, they'd be buying the cheapass stuff the rest of us get, like a bunch of these 4-gallon beauties from Lowe's , with a 36-GPH recovery rate at 90-degrees. Even the standard 100-gallon gas unit comes in at 193-GHP at 90-degrees, and it's over $5500.
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May 1, 2013 03:57
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Welp, considering everything I've heard points to it being a cheap household one, I guess that settles it. Thanks a bunch.
Gringo Heisenberg fucked around with this message at 05:36 on May 1, 2013 |
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May 1, 2013 05:32
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Make sure to flush/drain the unit. They have condensing coils and if water builds up they shut off as a safety measure. Do electric units have condensing coils? I'm not too familiar with them, but I can't imagine what they'd be condensing, electrical heat is already super efficient.
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May 1, 2013 12:52
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This is a really stupid question... I have painted homes built/renovated in late 70s, 2006, and 2013. Every single one of these I have scratched paint off of the slotted screws when removing outlet covers. How on earth do electricians get these installed without scratching them up? I'm using an appropriately sized screwdriver that doesn't have a super thin blade or anything and I have scratched at least some paint off of about 50% of the white screws when removing them. Also, is it worth the time to go back and "fix" outlets connected with the backstab wiring and connect them to the screw terminals? I don't know if it is well founded, but to me the backstab connections seem to be the lazy electrician's method and in no way preferred over the screw terminals. All of the outlets in my new house are backstabbed...the outlets are all Leviton in case the quality of these things differs among brands
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May 1, 2013 13:39
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