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Thanks for convincing me to just replace the entire ventilation unit - I got a Panasonic fan that is quiet and still manages 110CFM.  After punching a hole in the ceiling, it made sense why the entire room would rattle. Immediately above the ceiling was a bunch of what looked like crushed brick and rock, which is what my roof is covered in. The old fan was so unbalanced that it would vibrate, and then cause all the pieces of brick to vibrate too. The duct was held on with just duct tape and completely clogged with the roofing material, as well. 
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May 6, 2013 04:15
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cheesetriangles posted:I am considering getting a window AC unit for my lovely little apartment and was wondering how much it might add to my electric bill? How accurate are those estimated cost stickers on the units at stores? Do they assume 24/7 use? Or something a lot less. Would it be as easy to figure out as watts per hour converted to kilowatt hours * cost per kilowatt hour from my utility company? Or would that be wildly off due to various energy saving features where it isn't drawing full power all the time. It depends a lot on your apartment, if it gets tons of sun and has badly insulated windows it'll cost more than a place in the shade with good windows. I'm not sure about the stickers, but I do know they don't assume 24/7 use, at least not constant function 24/7. Assuming it's properly sized, the unit will cycle on and off as the temperature in the apartment fluctuates, to figure out the cost of running a unit, they multiply its energy use by the percentage of time in a hour it runs.
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May 6, 2013 12:33
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If I wanted to buy screens for my outside-facing windows, would I just measure the window from the inside, or the outside as well, and then go to Home Depot and special order them? FWIW, they're Andersen windows. Previous homeowner didn't buy screens for 5 identical windows, no idea why.
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May 6, 2013 15:25
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BoyBlunder posted:If I wanted to buy screens for my outside-facing windows, would I just measure the window from the inside, or the outside as well, and then go to Home Depot and special order them? FWIW, they're Andersen windows. They make screen frame pieces that you just cut to length and attach with corner brackets and install a screen with a spline. I'm not sure what the price difference is between just ordering screens though Something like this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/5-16-in-x-60-in-x-60-in-White-Aluminum-Screen-Frame-Kit-3021678/202091967#.UYfCAGTzZLk
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May 6, 2013 15:47
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My rental house was built in the sixties with lovely single pane windows. My landlord does not want to upgrade/replace these. Anything you can suggest doing to reduce light/heat coming in and a/c going out? I have curtains and blinds on all of them already.
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May 8, 2013 00:27
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nwin posted:My rental house was built in the sixties with lovely single pane windows. My landlord does not want to upgrade/replace these. Anything you can suggest doing to reduce light/heat coming in and a/c going out? There are tint films that will block a good bit of UV and Infrared without blocking a ton of visible light. The extra layer will insulate the glass and cut down on thermal transmission, but it won't completely eliminate it.
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May 8, 2013 01:09
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nwin posted:My rental house was built in the sixties with lovely single pane windows. Awnings, but they cost more than windows and you will lose your security deposit unless you can talk your landlord into going for it.
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May 8, 2013 01:19
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Trying to add a deck on to my house -  I'm struggling a bit with the structure near the door. Does anyone see anything wrong with this? The door is a new addition to the house. The layout is a bit complicated because the building has an overhang design on the west wall where the main body of the deck is. That means no supporting ledger board on that wall. I'm not sure what that means for my ledger board on the door wall, in regards to the overhang area. I'm thinking with this ledger board running long and sitting on the nearby beam, this shouldn't be any issue. The walkway outside of the door is 4' 6" wide and those two concrete piers are just shy of 6' apart, for reference. Everything in that area is built with 2x10s. I'm trying to keep the deck boards perpendicular to the door wall. What I'm mostly concerned about is that I only have two connection points to the ledger board under the door. Even with double shear joist hangers, is this OK to do? I suppose I could also just add more bridging beams, and end up with joists that are about 3' long.
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May 9, 2013 13:54
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nwin posted:My rental house was built in the sixties with lovely single pane windows. My landlord does not want to upgrade/replace these. Anything you can suggest doing to reduce light/heat coming in and a/c going out? Too add to others suggestions, you might like some window screens made with solar screen. I had a neighbor that used it once and it really did cut out a lot of the heat in his apartment. They should have it your local hardware stores too, I just threw in the link as an example.
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May 9, 2013 23:46
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My crotchety old neighbor has offered me a gigantic 225 AC-only Miller stick welder from 1981 for $100. I have it sitting on my side porch now to test, but I have a NEMA 10-30 receptacle for my dryer, and the welder has a NEMA 10-50 plug. He said I could just switch the plug heads around but I thought that I would, uh, make sure I'm not going to gently caress anything up in my house or the welder by doing that. This would be the first welder I own, is it stupid to get an AC stick? Should I pass and just get a little mig or tig? This would mostly be for artistic welding purposes or in the support of starting up my knife making again. The start of putting together a very basic metal shop. 
I like turtles fucked around with this message at 22:24 on May 11, 2013 |
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May 11, 2013 21:32
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The plate on the front of that says it has a 45.5 amp draw, which means that you'll just trip the breaker if you try to plug it into the 30 amp circuit for your dryer. So it's not that you'd damage anything so much as I doubt it'd work. Basically you'd need a new circuit installed for it, which might not cost too much depending on how close to your panel you would want it. You would use 6/2 WG and a 50 amp breaker for this. Another option would be to remove your stove and plug it in there. Your kitchen already has a vent hood and work benches (countertops, pssshh, who needs those). Just keep a fire extinguisher handy or your sink full of water and you're good to go. As a plus you get to do all your cooking on the grill from now on; making this, clearly, the manliest option.
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May 12, 2013 01:32
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Digging around online showed that it wasn't an unfeasible thing, so I swapped out the plug and it works fine for ~120a output which is just fine for the 3/32 7018 sticks my neighbor gave me to screw around with. I'll decide if I get this when I get back from a house hunting trip next week, I guess. If the new place has a shop area I'll consider doing it. I burned through a stick to practice on an old leaf spring I have. I need a lot of practice making decent welds, of course, but the price is right on this, that's for sure. I like turtles fucked around with this message at 02:09 on May 12, 2013 |
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May 12, 2013 01:59
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Is there a thread about solar/other renewable energy (both on and off the grid) in this subforum? It is something I'm thinking about and running numbers on as part of a long term plan. I poked around a bit and didn't see one. I have a good foundation in electricity and electronics, but I do have some questions that are specific to off-grid or mostly off-grid living.
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May 12, 2013 21:57
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Powdered Toast Man posted:Is there a thread about solar/other renewable energy (both on and off the grid) in this subforum? It is something I'm thinking about and running numbers on as part of a long term plan. I poked around a bit and didn't see one. I have a good foundation in electricity and electronics, but I do have some questions that are specific to off-grid or mostly off-grid living. There was a thread in a/t where a solar installed talked about systems. I can't find it right now.
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May 12, 2013 23:14
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Well, once I get my poo poo together, maybe I'll just make a thread!  I enjoy sharing my knowledge when I've worked to get it. Might need to find an alternative-energy focused forum somewhere...
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May 13, 2013 03:59
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Zyme posted:I guess since we are taking about pretty basic stuff...I hope you aren't painting with the stupid "W" shape they show in the beginner videos. Roll in columns, like this guy: http://www.jackpauhl.com/how-to-roll-walls/ This is an oldie, but a response to a question about painting that I had. I've now painted our 2100 sqft house we are moving into and this was oddly enough the best tip. I have always done the W thing and tried this one this project and I painted a hell of a lot faster and it looks better than any other painting I've done before. So from my experience as a novice painter, here are my tips: 1. Paint in columns, reloading each column. 2. Don't get cheap on paint and try to squeeze out every drop or it will look like poo poo and take twice as long 3. Learn to edge with a brush. I got pretty decent at edging ceilings by the 2nd small room, huge timesaver (and cost saver, painter tape is expensive). I taped baseboard throughout the project. 4. Clean up drips and things IMMEDIATELY. Don't wait to come back to it after you finish a wall or cutting in. 5. Wrap your poo poo up when you take a break or overnight. I wrapped rollers in plastic and put aluminum foil over my pans/small bucket. For those of you that haven't gotten the 5 gallon buckets of paint so haven't dealt with them, do not fear. They are a slightly more economical method and you'll have enough consistently colored paint to finish most jobs. The hardest part was figuring out how to mix the poo poo. The most effective way I found was to pickup a second 5 gallon bucket and pour the paint from bucket to bucket, I did so 5 or 6 times. This seemed to get everything fairly consistently mixed. I had a strainer thing as well, but that was...messy and a bitch to clean so I stopped using it after a couple of mixes. I think I went through ~13 gallons of paint on this job including cut in, painting and some touch up work.
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May 14, 2013 19:54
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ntd posted:For those of you that haven't gotten the 5 gallon buckets of paint so haven't dealt with them, do not fear. They are a slightly more economical method and you'll have enough consistently colored paint to finish most jobs. The hardest part was figuring out how to mix the poo poo. The most effective way I found was to pickup a second 5 gallon bucket and pour the paint from bucket to bucket, I did so 5 or 6 times. This seemed to get everything fairly consistently mixed. I had a strainer thing as well, but that was...messy and a bitch to clean so I stopped using it after a couple of mixes. From when I was a cadet at sea, I am pretty sure that mixing via the pour from bucket to bucket method is called boxing paint. It was on my oral exams.
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May 14, 2013 22:45
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ntd posted:5. Wrap your poo poo up when you take a break or overnight. I wrapped rollers in plastic and put aluminum foil over my pans/small bucket. This is good advice. One of the biggest pains in the rear end about painting is the cleanup, so do what you can to make it easier. This is maybe more applicable to smaller jobs than doing an entire room, but I like to use one of those hand-held paint containers. Since cleaning out the brushes already sucks (any tips on this, btw?), I don't want to compound it by needing to clean out the container as well. They make disposable plastic inserts for just that purpose, but I find a gallon size food storage bag (plain old baggie, not a ziplock or anything) and a rubber band to hold it in place works just as well. Any leftovers can be poured back into the bucket when you're done. If you do this a lot though it's probably wise to invest in some filters to keep the crud out next time around. They make conical paper filters with a nylon mesh as opposed to the jumbo ones for 5-gallon buckets which work pretty well.
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May 14, 2013 23:14
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I think this is the best place for this question: I'm looking to makes something similar to this:  My apartment was built in 1959 in SoCal. I took off an electrical outlet cover to look at the wall material and I can't really tell what it is. It fits pretty tight to the box itself but appears to be very dry/sandy/crumbly. I was thinking plaster but I don't see any lathe materials. I don't see any paper covering that would lead it to looking like drywall. What kind of walls does it sound like I have and how can I attach this to the wall? Molly bolts?
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May 15, 2013 02:13
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sellouts posted:What kind of walls does it sound like I have and how can I attach this to the wall? Molly bolts? By age alone it is plaster unless someone did a major remodel. For your hanging cabinet useSnaptoggles. Also check out YHL to get you started on designing the unit.
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May 15, 2013 02:37
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ntd posted:The hardest part was figuring out how to mix the poo poo. The most effective way I found was to pickup a second 5 gallon bucket and pour the paint from bucket to bucket, I did so 5 or 6 times. There's a drill attachment that's basically a giant cake mixer, it's pretty good for this.
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May 15, 2013 06:43
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Aggressive pricing posted:There's a drill attachment that's basically a giant cake mixer, it's pretty good for this. I only have an underpowered battery powered drill, so I didn't try this but have heard that. Honestly I can't imagine anything being faster than dumping from bucket to bucket, really only took 1 or 2 minutes. The downside is needing a clean bucket though . I imagine the drill is a lot more efficient for people that paint a lot since they won't need to invest time in keeping a bucket clean
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May 15, 2013 13:14
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ntd posted:I only have an underpowered battery powered drill, so I didn't try this but have heard that. Honestly I can't imagine anything being faster than dumping from bucket to bucket, really only took 1 or 2 minutes. The downside is needing a clean bucket though Painters always have an extra bucket or two. Drywall guys, likewise. That drill attachment honestly sounds like someone just screwing around with a power drill. If you just let it run, it just spins stuff to the outside like a centrifuge. So you do short bursts of the trigger, half-in, all-in, wiggle around. So imagine a six-year-old with a power drill, and that's what it sounds like from a room over. The pro painters also use the "pour paint into big bucket" method. When one of their 5-gallons is half-empty, they fill it from the next bucket down. As they're going from one end of a building to another, any inconsistencies in paint mix are blended smoothly. I have no doubt they they could go from black to white along a 200' hallway and nobody would notice unless standing at one end. Pros also throw away all consumables at the end of a day. At even cheap hourly rates, brushes and rollers cost less than trying to clean them. When $10 is noteworthy in the scope of total project cost, and you value your time at less than $8.75/hr, you may have a different choice. Note specifically that every paint guy has a 3/4" and 1.5" cut-in brush that he treats better than his car, and is always immaculately clean.
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May 15, 2013 21:54
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Removing popcorn ceiling texture: is it more trouble than it's worth? Carpet is being replaced, so I'm not worried about mess, and I can't see any big seams showing through the texture, but the guy at Home Depot said it was a project I'd soon regret starting.
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May 15, 2013 21:57
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eddiewalker posted:Removing popcorn ceiling texture: is it more trouble than it's worth? Some of the older ones contains asbestos I believe. That's part of the reason I want mine gone. That, and the obvious mold I had. As far as I can tell, it's no longer doing it since I got a dehumidifer for the bathroom.
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May 15, 2013 23:53
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The house was built in 76 so I think I'm clear of asbestos concerns. The wall edges look like my biggest problem, but I guess that's nothing that crown molding couldn't fix.
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May 15, 2013 23:58
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I'm renting a house from the sixties with a roof that is 15-20 years old. Anyways, it's been leaking and the landlord (aka cheap bastard) finally decided to fix it. I figured they would take off all the old shingles and install new ones, but instead they have these mats of shingles that they are just placing on top of the old ones. (They do appear to have tar and a nail gun going) Anyone ever heard of that before? I tried to talk to the installer and it sounded like it was because the age of the house and if he did it my way it would come out really warped/wavy? Edit: I should have googled first. Apparently it's cheaper to do it this way but might not last as long. That's how cheap bastard thinks though:short term all day every day. I imagine this house will end up getting bulldozed instead of renovated at some point. nwin fucked around with this message at 00:07 on May 16, 2013 |
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May 16, 2013 00:02
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Are you talking about 3-tab shingles like this?  That's what most houses have, and its not uncommon to have a second layer installed rather than stripping the whole thing down to plywood.
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May 16, 2013 00:37
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eddiewalker posted:Removing popcorn ceiling texture: is it more trouble than it's worth? I did this to every room in a ~1000 sq ft home. It was not fun, but if you are willing to make a mess, it is certainly doable. Just make sure you get it nice and wet and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. It should fall off in lovely smooth sheets. If you are having to scrape it you haven't made it wet enough. Get one of those water/weed killer mister things that you hand pump to build pressure. Very handy. I hired a painter to finish the edges because we were not doing molding and making a nice edge is apparently beyond my skill level.
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May 16, 2013 01:57
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nwin posted:I'm renting a house from the sixties with a roof that is 15-20 years old. eddiewalker's not wrong in that it's common to have a second layer thrown up, but I would still keep an eye on this area. Patching in shingles like this requires a bit more planning and thought than a lot of people are willing to give. Tar or no, if the shingles aren't woven into the surrounding area, it's just a matter of time before it peels up and water has a route right into the attic. I don't know the landlord or the installers, but if it were my stuff sitting under that roof, I'd keep checking it and take some steps at the first sign that moisture was getting through.
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May 16, 2013 14:17
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Killing Flies posted:eddiewalker's not wrong in that it's common to have a second layer thrown up, but I would still keep an eye on this area. Patching in shingles like this requires a bit more planning and thought than a lot of people are willing to give. Tar or no, if the shingles aren't woven into the surrounding area, it's just a matter of time before it peels up and water has a route right into the attic. I don't know the landlord or the installers, but if it were my stuff sitting under that roof, I'd keep checking it and take some steps at the first sign that moisture was getting through. Oh absolutely. I'm going to be checking up on it because there's nothing more I would love than to tell my landlord that due to him cheaping out, he now needs to spend more money.
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May 16, 2013 18:38
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We have a simple carport (two posts and a roof...) and it looks like the front post is sinking a bit, so I assume either the post is rotting underground or the ground itself sank a bit. I'm assuming we'll have to prop the roof up somehow and swap the post out. How much of a pain in the rear end is it to fix? How expensive do you think it might be (# of hours estimated, basically. The replacement post itself probably isn't that expensive) to hire someone to do it just so we don't accidentally drop the carport roof on the ground? House was built in 73 I think, so I'm assuming the post is that old.
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May 16, 2013 19:17
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What is the post made out of? Is it set into the concrete slab of the driveway, or in dirt? Or is it set in a concrete footing? What is the carport roof constructed of? Wood framing? Aluminum prefab? How tall is the post? If you can, post a photo. In general terms, it isn't that difficult to put up a temporary jack-post to support the corner while replacing the bad post. You should be able to do it in anywhere from six hours to a weekend, depending on the level of complexity of the carport and the post installation as well as your experience level...as well as tools available to you.
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May 17, 2013 02:45
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Mercury Ballistic posted:Tennis ball cans Worked absolutely perfectly. NAIA championship is in town this week, stopped by the tennis center, picking up garbage bags full of them tomorrow. Thanks so much!
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May 17, 2013 02:50
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PainterofCrap posted:What is the post made out of? I think the post is just pressure treated wood with paint on it, so it would just be a matter of buying the same size/length of post (probably the kind that is the most waterproof...). The back post is set into a raised concrete pillar thing, but the front one goes into the gravel next to the driveway pavement so it's not up out of the ground at all. The drainpipe also dumps next to it so it's likely all the water seeps down and the wood isn't protected from it there. I'm pretty sure the carport is all wood. It's a peaked roof and continuous with the house. I don't think the post is complicated, but our experience level is roughly zero and we'd probably have to buy appropriate tools.
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May 17, 2013 07:21
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Installing a laminate floor and in the process found that the vertical molding (maybe the whole frame) surrounding one of the door frames on the perimeter of the room is metal/aluminum. Wondering if anyone had encountered this before, and had any idea how to cutout a sufficient gap for the laminate planks to slide under. The molding is continuous with the door frame enough that it seems like I can't just lop off a piece from the bottom like it were wood. If any of the terminology sounds confused here it's because I pickup a hammer maybe twice a year and don't in general have the faintest idea what I'm doing.
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May 17, 2013 08:03
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Tagra posted:I think the post is just pressure treated wood with paint on it, so it would just be a matter of buying the same size/length of post (probably the kind that is the most waterproof...). The back post is set into a raised concrete pillar thing, but the front one goes into the gravel next to the driveway pavement so it's not up out of the ground at all. The drainpipe also dumps next to it so it's likely all the water seeps down and the wood isn't protected from it there. I'm pretty sure the carport is all wood. It's a peaked roof and continuous with the house. I'd put up a temp post, dig the old one out and pour a concrete footer for a new post.
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May 17, 2013 12:15
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Hoping for a quick answer. I'm installing a new dishwasher and I can't stop the brass elbow (not compression fitting) from leaking. I tried 2 wraps of teflon tape, no wraps, 4 wraps, hand tight + 1/4 turn, as tight as I can get it, no matter what it still leaks pretty bad. I'm going to look for some pipe dope while waiting, maybe that'll work.
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May 17, 2013 23:27
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wormil posted:Hoping for a quick answer. I'm installing a new dishwasher and I can't stop the brass elbow (not compression fitting) from leaking. I tried 2 wraps of teflon tape, no wraps, 4 wraps, hand tight + 1/4 turn, as tight as I can get it, no matter what it still leaks pretty bad. 3/8" compression to 3/4" hose fitting elbow? Leaking from which end? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 23:40 on May 17, 2013 |
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May 17, 2013 23:38
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kid sinister posted:3/8" compression to 3/4" hose fitting elbow? Leaking from which end? Supply line, 3/8 to 3/8. The compression side is fine, the other side of the elbow leaks. I bought some pipe dope and it's been about 5 minutes with no leaks... keeping fingers crossed. Edit: just as I posted it dripped. Well I bought another elbow, guess I'll give it a try. It looks similar to this one. 
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May 18, 2013 01:16
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