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SkunkDuster posted:Maxforce Ant Bait Gel will gently caress up carpenter ants like nothing else. Is that pretty much the same as Terro? I've always had success with Terro and just wiped out a bunch of ... some kind of wood eating ant looking things. They sure loved that Terro for about 2-3 days then the steady stream of ants just dwindled away to nothing.
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Jun 1, 2013 06:27
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wormil posted:Is that pretty much the same as Terro? I've always had success with Terro and just wiped out a bunch of ... some kind of wood eating ant looking things. They sure loved that Terro for about 2-3 days then the steady stream of ants just dwindled away to nothing. Toro is basically borax in honey. It's pretty effective and not all that toxic. I also had good luck with just laundry borax swept under the trim in my basement to take care of silverfish.
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Jun 1, 2013 14:25
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So we just moved into a new house as renters. There is a sunroom built into the back of the house. It's basically a concrete floor, relatively thin walls and glass windows all the way around. The owners have a dehumidifier in there, and instructed us to keep it running. They said that without the dehumidifier, the sunroom gets really damp and any paper product will start to mold (apparently they used to keep books out there but they all molded after a few weeks). The house and garage don't have this humidity problem, just the sunroom. Is there a particular reason for this? Anything that can be done to fix it? The dehumidifier is an ok option, but at times it feels like we are trying to dehumidify the great outdoors. I'd rather just fix the problem than constantly try to suck water out of the air. Thoughts? Edit: Of course, maybe it is impossible to keep a sunroom dry 
polyfractal fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Jun 1, 2013 |
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Jun 1, 2013 16:33
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I'm going to be doing some work on a house that was made sometime in the 70s (I think) over the summer. Some of the work is going to include poo poo like tearing up old vinyl flooring, removing wallpaper, replacing sections of sheet-rock and doors. So, the thing is I'm worried that because the house was built in the 70s that it contains asbestos, perhaps in the flooring or flooring adhesive, or in other places that I might be disturbing during this process. What should I do?
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Jun 1, 2013 17:17
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Sunroom- because this space is enclosed and not on the hvac you will have problems. Easiest solution would likely be cross ventilation (If possible) Alternative turn it into a walk in terrarium. Vinyl flooring- notoriously dangerous. Best to leave in place and floor over if at all possible. Remember with these hazardous materials you are not only exposed when you disturb them but their dust will settle throughout the house exposing your cohabitants further.
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Jun 1, 2013 17:26
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The thing with the flooring is that it in some rooms it has worn to the point of large missing patches anyway (exposing the concrete underneath), so can I still just leave it there? Can I cover it with whatever I want such as wood or carpet or more vinyl?
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Jun 1, 2013 17:35
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:Sunroom- because this space is enclosed and not on the hvac you will have problems. Easiest solution would likely be cross ventilation (If possible) All the windows open and are screened, I'll throw them all open and see if that helps. Thanks
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Jun 1, 2013 17:47
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Gold Dust Gasoline posted:The thing with the flooring is that it in some rooms it has worn to the point of large missing patches anyway (exposing the concrete underneath), so can I still just leave it there? I glued down 1/4" "luan" water-resistant plywood as a clean, smooth surface for new vinyl tiles. I'm not sure if you'd need to take additional moisture precautions with concrete underneath, though.
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Jun 1, 2013 17:57
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Gold Dust Gasoline posted:The thing with the flooring is that it in some rooms it has worn to the point of large missing patches anyway (exposing the concrete underneath), so can I still just leave it there? This becomes a really complex problem at this point. I would recommend calling an asbestos abatement company to get a testing quote. Some examples from my house that probably don't apply yo your situation 1) peel and stick vinyl in basement room covered with 6mm vapor barrier then pergo on top. (This method is explicitly described by pergo) 2) I believe ditra allows for installation over vinyl directly. I overladed with plywood then installed ditra
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Jun 1, 2013 18:00
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Thanks for the advice, I'll call the company Monday and see about getting it checked and removed if that's what it comes to. I also noticed a popcorn ceiling in the kitchen that is pretty suspect too so.
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Jun 1, 2013 18:25
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polyfractal posted:There is a sunroom built into the back of the house. Hard to say, pictures would help. A couple options off the top of my head would be to get an HRV(heat recovery ventilator) or a bathroom style exhaust fan, you could have them controlled by a humidistat. Unless you want to be awesome, in which case: XmasGiftFromWife posted:turn it into a walk in terrarium.
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Jun 1, 2013 19:24
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Killing Flies posted:I'm not sure I get what you're thinking. Just to be clear - You have an upstairs area that was probably originally all attic or loft space and someone decided to try and finish it off, but didn't take ventilation into account. So you have this second floor space, and they went and put a window in that leads directly into the unfinished attic space. Now you'd like to take care of the ventilation issue by laying some pvc along the trusses (or do you mean the collars?) and somehow rig up a vent fan? Hey Killing Flies, I'm in a somewhat similar situation and this is both interesting and helpful- thanks.
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Jun 1, 2013 20:05
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My wife wants a fountain in the garden. My understanding is that to do this correctly, I really need an electrician to come and install a buried power cable to the fountain, correct? There seems to be a lot of different advice on the Internet, but I believe that any method other than the above would not be advisable.
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Jun 1, 2013 22:41
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Aggressive pricing posted:Hard to say, pictures would help. A couple options off the top of my head would be to get an HRV(heat recovery ventilator) or a bathroom style exhaust fan, you could have them controlled by a humidistat. Unless you want to be awesome, in which case: Pictures! Inside:  Outside:  
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Jun 1, 2013 23:33
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snickles posted:My wife wants a fountain in the garden. My understanding is that to do this correctly, I really need an electrician to come and install a buried power cable to the fountain, correct? No, you can do this yourself. Depending on your area, you may or may not need a permit. http://www.familyhandyman.com/electrical/outdoor-lighting/how-to-install-outdoor-lighting-and-outlet/step-by-step describes the process for a light/outlet (and has pictures), but your application is almost the same. Just remember - you need to use UF cable (it's gray) for burial. You can't bury NM cable (e.g. Romex).
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Jun 2, 2013 14:28
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snickles posted:My wife wants a fountain in the garden. My understanding is that to do this correctly, I really need an electrician to come and install a buried power cable to the fountain, correct? You might want to also post this in The wiring thread. What exactly does she want? Just a bubbler the size of a bird bath or a koi pond with 7 layer waterfall?
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Jun 2, 2013 16:16
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I need some help with structure in my ongoing whole-home renovation. Uncovering the flooring for the second floor, near the front of the house revealed some issues. There was a bathroom on this floor, and the hack plumbing job, and subsequent past renovation, resulted in multiple joist cuts.   The floor joists run front-to-back, bearing on the inner brick wall. (All structural brick construction house, c.1890) Each joist has a little pocket it fits into, runs about 14' and is supported at a bearing wall in the middle of the house, where a second spliced joist runs from the wall to the next outside brick wall. One header joist (second picture) runs across the last three joists in the first picture, which is for the stairway opening. It is also cut. Here is a diagram:  I know I can sister the cut joists, but there's very little run between the brick and the cuts, so I feel like the sister joists aren't really being supported much at that end. Some of the cuts are farther out, but the first joist at the bottom of the photo for instance is cut only a few inches from the brick, and cut almost all the way through! I will be returning a bathroom to this spot, but won't need anything larger than a 1.5" drain line to pass through any joists. These are true dimensional 2x8's so I know a 2" hole is ok. The solution I'm toying with is using a nearby customer lumber mill to produce full dimension lumber, remove the joists from the brick and replace them. This seems fairly easy for the short runs, but the longer ones I have to pull out of the flooring nails, off the sistered/spliced partner joist at the centre load bearing wall, and support the floor while doing it all. So I'm open to better engineered ideas.
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Jun 2, 2013 18:15
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In our new house we have this faucet on the jaccuzi When the plunger selector is set to "faucet," as in the image, the sprayer head leaks slightly. My sense is that there's some seal or gasket associated with the plunger that needs replacement. My question is can I take the faucet off to find this without doing something worse. Basically the faucet head has one hex setscrew (and the ball on the end of the plunger unscrews). However, I'm not sure where the seal is that makes the water come out the end of the faucet as opposed to around the base, which is what I'm worried about if I just start taking stuff apart. I'd rather have the leak I have now than a non-usable tub because I can't get the faucet back on and sealed. So the simple question is: can I take this faucet off and have a good chance of getting it back together myself? I mean, it's obviously serviceable, I'm just not sure that its idiot-proof going back on.
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Jun 2, 2013 20:46
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Are there any good 4-stroke trimmers? My only experience with one was using my dad's Ryobi one a couple times and it was a tempermental bitch. Can you use them upside down like a 2 stroke? I know this goes against the spirit of the thread and hurts me too but I think it's time to throw my weedeater brand 2 stroke in the trash. I saw a pile of 3 bigger 26cc weedeaters at a gargage sale across the street from me in 2004, they said "oh none of those work, you can take them all for  " I did. A fuel line fabrication, some carb swapping, cutting head swapping = I had a weedeater that lasted almost a decade for $10. Can't get it to do anything now.
Vin BioEthanol fucked around with this message at 21:38 on Jun 2, 2013 |
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Jun 2, 2013 21:35
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Wagonburner posted:Are there any good 4-stroke trimmers? My only experience with one was using my dad's Ryobi one a couple times and it was a tempermental bitch. There's a lawn equipment thread in AI somewhere. Are you just asking for a good trimmer, or are you asking why they're all 2-stroke rather than 4-stroke? The answer to that it's easier to get more power out of a smaller, lighter engine with a 2-stroke. If you're asking why all trimmers suck: they're small engines that spend most of their time revved high with the wrong fuel/oil mix, with small, easily-clogged carbs that spend all winter sitting and getting gummed up.
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Jun 2, 2013 21:45
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eddiewalker posted:There's a lawn equipment thread in AI somewhere. Are you just asking for a good trimmer, or are you asking why they're all 2-stroke rather than 4-stroke? The answer to that it's easier to get more power out of a smaller, lighter engine with a 2-stroke. A good one around $100 anyway. 4 stroke would be good if it's just as easy to get running as a 2 minus the mixing. My dad's ryobi was a bullshit pile that probably made me prejudiced against 4 stroke ones, maybe unjustifiably, but it was my only one to ever use. edit: used to see ones that took a 1lb propane bottle in stores years back but those seem to have disappeared. That would own, avoids lots of bullshit involved in running an engine that small on gasoline. Vin BioEthanol fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Jun 2, 2013 |
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Jun 2, 2013 21:48
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I have a battery powered one, works well enough the 3-4 times a year I get it out.
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Jun 3, 2013 00:05
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mr.belowaverage posted:I need some help with structure in my ongoing whole-home renovation. Uncovering the flooring for the second floor, near the front of the house revealed some issues. There was a bathroom on this floor, and the hack plumbing job, and subsequent past renovation, resulted in multiple joist cuts. I've done a lot of structural work with true dimensional lumber in houses as old and older than yours. It will be a bit of a pain, but your best course of action will be to take all the flooring and ceiling off the lumber, get some lally columns, and replace them one at a time, using the lally columns to support load bearing stuff while you do it. There isn't an easier way, plus you'll get to sleep well knowing that the job was done right and the house will last another 120+ years. The true dimensional lumber isn't prohibitively expensive anyway.
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Jun 3, 2013 02:06
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mr.belowaverage posted:I need some help with structure in my ongoing whole-home renovation. Uncovering the flooring for the second floor, near the front of the house revealed some issues. There was a bathroom on this floor, and the hack plumbing job, and subsequent past renovation, resulted in multiple joist cuts. I am not an engineer, so I'd defer to any that weigh in, but I have inspected thousands of homes and worked on quite a few. Your situation is not unusual in Philadelphia. Although it looks alarming, I've seen any number of houses where renovators, etc didn't do anything at all to framing cut as bad, or worse, than yours. They used to build homes like ships, and unless you are seeing splits developing, the framing is VERY stout. You could go ahead & replace them all, but except for the stair header (which should not be too difficult to replace into the pocket), sistering would appear to more than make up for that situation. For the stair header I would rip down an oversized (6-1/4") board and use cleats to support the perpendicular joists. Were it my home, for the remainder I would sister all of it to beef it up & at least level it. After that at least 3/4" plywood (plus underlayment) if you're going back with vinyl, and 2-layers of plywood plus one of Wonderboard if you're going to tile. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Jun 3, 2013 |
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Jun 3, 2013 02:09
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polyfractal posted:Man, I wish we could turn it into a terrarium. But just being renters, I'd be afraid of causing damage with the humidity and having displeased owners when they move back in. Since your renting, your first move should be to talk to the owners, the dehumidifier may be the way they want to deal with it, if they even know about the problem. It seems like you could solve it by cracking a window or two for air flow, any reason why you'd prefer not to? Leaving a door or window open to the house could help too. It's like a closed jar sitting in the sun, you need to punch some holes in the lid. All real solutions involve actually altering the room, so give the owners a heads up. I'd suggest they get an exhaust fan controled by a humidistat or put in a couple air grates.
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Jun 3, 2013 16:01
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Aggressive pricing posted:Since your renting, your first move should be to talk to the owners, the dehumidifier may be the way they want to deal with it, if they even know about the problem. It seems like you could solve it by cracking a window or two for air flow, any reason why you'd prefer not to? Leaving a door or window open to the house could help too. It's like a closed jar sitting in the sun, you need to punch some holes in the lid. All real solutions involve actually altering the room, so give the owners a heads up. I'd suggest they get an exhaust fan controled by a humidistat or put in a couple air grates. They specifically said not to leave the windows open because they said it made the humidity/condensation problem worse (which I thought was odd, but didn't know enough to really say for certain). The dehumidifier is their solution to the problem. I'll have a chat with them about an exhaust fan + humidistat. That seems like a superior method than just running a dehumidifier all the time. Thanks!
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Jun 3, 2013 21:19
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Holy crap man. Burn the place down, collect the insurance. Nothing in those pics looks like fun.
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Jun 3, 2013 21:50
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uwaeve posted:In our new house we have this faucet on the jaccuzi The leak is probably coming for a failing gasket on the diverter valve. Taking it apart to fix will probably not be a big deal. Just remember the unbreakable rule about working around tubs - Always make sure the drain is covered before you start taking things apart, or a critical and impossible to replace part will fall down the drain. You'll need to either take it apart and inspect it or check out the manufacturer for the proper parts. On that model, the diverter valve is probably nothing more than a rubber stopper that closes over the hose that leads to the sprayer. You push it down, and it blocks off the hose. You pull up, and it blocks off the faucet. It should be a quick fix. The problem, as you've pointed out, it getting it apart to begin with. There's also a chance that you don't need new parts. Valves of that type are sometimes meant to be adjustable. The stem may be threaded to accommodate this, and over time the stopper may have jogged up a little bit from use. If that's the case, a couple turns in the right direction may solve this. Basically, I wouldn't be afraid of taking it apart too much. Just don't force anything or you might snap something off. If you're worried about not getting it back together correctly, take pictures as you work. Then again, it's a faucet, and there usually isn't too much to them. Also, get yourself from plumbers putty and create a steal around the base of the faucet when you reseat it so it's water tight.
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Jun 3, 2013 22:17
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I just bought a window AC that I'm trying desperately to install before the yearly NYC heat wave gets bad again, but I don't have a goddamned clue how to do it. My apartment windows are all metal, and the frames have a metal lip across the sill that ranges from 1-2 inches tall depending on the window. I also bought an AC support brace at my landlord's recommendation, but found there's nowhere for me to screw it in - it's all stone/concrete and metal. I've seen various recommendations online to support the AC with wood, but they all seem to relate to a storm window frame and not this situation. It seems as though it's not possible to safely have a window AC in windows like mine, but that can't be true, can it?
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Jun 4, 2013 00:31
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fartzilla posted:I just bought a window AC that I'm trying desperately to install before the yearly NYC heat wave gets bad again, but I don't have a goddamned clue how to do it. Can you post a picture?
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Jun 4, 2013 01:06
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PainterofCrap posted:Can you post a picture? Sure. Here's the window I want to use, with a lip about 1 inch tall:  Here's one with a taller lip, about 2 inches. The metal window pane already has holes drilled for an AC, so I guess someone else figured out how to do it before me: 
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Jun 4, 2013 01:31
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Sandwich the bottom lip in wood: Sit a piece of 2x4 on the masonry outside the window; secure it with a thin piece of wire bent over the sill so it doesn't fall out during installation/removal and bean someone. Put another piece of cut-down scrap on the inside ledge so that the unit sits on the wood only; the closer you can get to the height of the lip, the better. Be sure the unit angles slightly downward to the outside so the condensate water drains out rather than in. The window bottom bed may support it as well, in which case you could take a piece of lumber slightly thicker than the height of the lip at the edge. You just want to keep the unit from sitting on the edge, and spread the weight around. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Jun 4, 2013 |
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Jun 4, 2013 01:52
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Cross-posted from the AI tractor thread, not sure if this works here as well: Does anyone know anything about lawn tractors? Is there a better forum to ask in? I'm looking at getting a Simplicity Regent or Broadmoor tractor, and I know nothing about them other than I have a simplicity shop within 10 minutes from my house, and they're incredibly popular around here due to the fact that Simplicity was based in Wisconsin, so parts are everywhere, and easy to come by. Here are a couple I'm looking at: The guy wants $550 for this one. He says that its "gear driven" (vs. automatic?), I dont know what that means:  Same guy wants $450 for this one, which is automatic:  Another guy wants $550 for this Regent. Looks really nice too:  I also have a line on a snowblower attachment for a regent, are those pretty cross-compatible along the regent line? Would it fit on the broadmoors?
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Jun 5, 2013 15:03
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Thanks Killing Flies for your awesome page 185 effortpost on carpeting. I'm closing on a house next week, and the carpets need some help. The owner had renters living there for the last 4 years. They didn't have animals, and weren't particularly hard on the carpets as far as renters go, but they exist somewhere on the spectrum between "owner who vacuums twice a week/model tenant" and "low effort slobs." The kitchen, dining room, and hallway are all a faux-wood pergo, which are totally fine except for one warped spot right by the kitchen sink. C'est la vie. At some point, I'd like to (SOMEDAY BUT NOT NOW) replace all the pergo'd areas (and probably 80% of the carpeted areas) with big ceramic tile. I live in the American Southwest and want to feel like a colonial gentleman. The areas outlined in black are carpeted. A portion of the living room, the bedrooms, and the walk-in closet in the master bedroom. I could probably buy new carpet and pay a pro to come install it for less than the cost of materials alone for tile. But I'd like to go even cheaper, with remnants. I think I'm a good candidate for finding remnants to carpet with because: 1. The bedrooms are pretty simple, and only one is a funny shape. If I luck out, I may not even have to do any seams in a couple of them. 2. I don't need the carpets to be a consistent style or color between rooms, so I have a lot of flexibility there. 3. No long hallways or stairs. 4. Single level, and I'm pretty sure I'll be installing onto concrete. So, what about carpet tools? I am moving from an apartment, and have zero tools to apply towards carpeting (except maybe a boxcutter). It's going to wipe out any potential cost savings from paying regular price for carpeting with a cheap pro install if I have to buy $400 in tools that I probably won't use again. I'm especially concerned about the really specialized tools, like a power stretcher, knee kicker, and the tools for joining seams (if necessary). Some of those can be rented from Home Depot. Can that be done for a cost effective price? Should I buy some used professional quality tools on craiglist and resell them when I'm done? What say you? Am I on the right track here?
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Jun 5, 2013 18:12
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Wife came back from the allergist and due to the kid's allergies they suggested we remove all of the carpet on the second level (first is already all hardwood). So I'm looking at about 1000 square feet that I'm going to be doing myself. From what I'm reading I'm leaning toward nailed down engineered wood with a decent sound barrier. Anyone have any advice on the subject for someone who's never done it before?
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Jun 5, 2013 21:26
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Daggerpants posted:Wife came back from the allergist and due to the kid's allergies they suggested we remove all of the carpet on the second level (first is already all hardwood). So I'm looking at about 1000 square feet that I'm going to be doing myself. From what I'm reading I'm leaning toward nailed down engineered wood with a decent sound barrier. Anyone have any advice on the subject for someone who's never done it before? How old is the house? How flat is the floor? If you're tearing up all the carpet up there, now is the time to go after any squeaks.
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Jun 6, 2013 00:28
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kid sinister posted:How old is the house? How flat is the floor? If you're tearing up all the carpet up there, now is the time to go after any squeaks. The house was built in 08 and the floors are flat as they were the day it was built for what thats worth. I plan on testing out the entire area for squeaks and addressing them with screws.
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Jun 6, 2013 02:28
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Is there an easy way to remove several layers of paint from a whole pile of door hinges? I'm painting my house and the last owner painted over all the hinges when they did the doors. I think it looks sloppy so I want to remove them, dump them in a bucket of some horrible chemical, and pull out shiny like-new metal...or at least save myself a lot of unnecessary scraping. There are at least 2 layers of paint, maybe more. The top layer is water based, don't know about the rest. And yes, I'm too cheap to buy new hinges.
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Jun 6, 2013 11:58
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Daggerpants posted:Wife came back from the allergist and due to the kid's allergies they suggested we remove all of the carpet on the second level (first is already all hardwood). So I'm looking at about 1000 square feet that I'm going to be doing myself. From what I'm reading I'm leaning toward nailed down engineered wood with a decent sound barrier. Anyone have any advice on the subject for someone who's never done it before? It really is as easy as it looks. I did 1000 sq. ft in a previous house by myself (was also my first time). It took me 6 and 1/2 days working 12 hours/day just so you know what you are in for. After the first day, it gets really mind numbing. Some tips that I learned: - make sure the first row is straight. The rest of the floor follows this line. - buy an air compressor, and maybe the nail gun/staple gun. For the price of renting a compressor, you can get a get a combo deal that has the compressor, trim gun, and another gun or two. - get an oscillating saw to cut the trim on door jambs. Depending on how many doorways you have, using a jamb saw gets old quick. - if you are planning on reusing the baseboard and shoe molding, label each piece as you take them off so you know where they go when you reinstall them. - I got my flooring from Lumber Liquidators, and they had a really good price. The flooring also came with directions and tips for installation. - buy good underlayment - it really does make a big difference. The stuff I used almost looked like carpet padding. - when you are tired or frustrated, stop. The little mistake you make won't seem like a big deal until you have the floor done. The imperfection/mistake will stick out like a sore thumb. - every box has pieces that aren't as nice as the others. Save those pieces for closets or hidden areas. good luck!
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Jun 6, 2013 15:42
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Pogo the Clown posted:Is there an easy way to remove several layers of paint from a whole pile of door hinges? I did this to restore antique hinges. Bought a paint stripper (non caustic ones are safer) then put all the parts in to a tub full of the stuff (easier than painting it on and more effective). The caustic stuff will work more quickly but the safer stuff should take about a day
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Jun 6, 2013 16:43
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