|
New house question. In the process of buying this home, 1925 built with a number of issues that I'm entirely comfortable with and expected from the onset. That said, I'm a bit worried by this: This appears to be an old iron pipe laid in the front right corner (as you face the house). It is visibly corroded and has a crack/chip at the top; but past that its impossible to tell what's up with it. What should be my recourse? I'm thinking I have a place do a camera inspection of the pipe and go from there. If it needs to be replaced due to cracking - what is the proper name for this type of pipe? I dont think its a sewer pipe, and our inspection called it a storm drain, but all that drains into it is one of the downspouts from the gutters and what looks like the sump pump ejection (the PVC in the photo). If anyone could advise me to next steps and questions to ask / best type of contractor to involve - I'd be quite appreciative.
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 17:43 |
|
|
# ? Jun 3, 2024 13:39 |
|
Walked posted:New house question. In the process of buying this home, 1925 built with a number of issues that I'm entirely comfortable with and expected from the onset. Where does the pipe go? Sounds like it's being used for the correct things, it's tied into in an ugly patch-and-fix way. It's obviously old and metal and probably should be replaced. And contractor with a mini-excavator can do that job in no time, depending on how far the pipe goes. It would likely get replaced with something like schedule 40 PVC, depending on what it might run under and how deep it goes.
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 18:44 |
|
Good to know. The sensors on the ground were working fine, no blinking at all. I'll probably have to re-adjust those switches so it doesn't kill someone. The thermal fault is unsurprising, seeing as how it was already 100+ degrees outside that day and probably higher inside the garage. Thanks all
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 18:45 |
|
Motronic posted:Where does the pipe go? Also check city code. Most will not allow rain water to enter sewer drains. Or you might discover a cistern like i did.
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 18:53 |
|
Motronic posted:Where does the pipe go? No idea at this point; I'll swing over and try to trace it out or at least make a logical guess(we dont take possession for another few weeks). Doesnt appear to go under anything of note (no driveway or paths, trees, etc); but I cant say much beyond that. Should I go my anticipated route an have it camera inspected, or just start getting quotes for replacement?
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 19:06 |
|
Walked posted:Should I go my anticipated route an have it camera inspected, or just start getting quotes for replacement? I don't know that it's worthwhile to have it inspected based on how it looks. If it's not partially collapsed/rotted out now it will be soon enough. And, really......if you can run a hose through it for 15 minutes and have it not back up it's probably good enough for now. Just something to put on your to-do list. Someone with a track hoe and other equipment required to replace that would be in a position to do things like removing old tree stumps, extending/expanding a driveway, bringing in soil for a new garden or landscape beds, etc (if you need and/or are interested in any of those kinds of things). Maybe you can batch up your earth moving jobs and get them all done at once.
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 19:53 |
|
Is there any reason I shouldn't buy this Black and Decker cordless string trimmer for my yard? $150 sounds good to me. The idea of just being able to plug in the battery and go really appeals to me. http://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DECKER-36-Volt-Straight-Shaft-Cordless-String-Trimmer-LST136/203072998#.UhJsQ5Ksh8E I really don't have that much yard. Barely half an acre. And I have maybe ONE side of the yard with a fence and some stuff around the brick garden area.
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 20:17 |
|
I bought one when there was a sale that included 2 extra batteries and I love mine. I have a pretty small yard and can get through trimming my yard a couple times before switching it out. I was skeptical that it would work as well as a gas trimmer, but it has all the power you need.
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 21:30 |
|
Thanks! I was skeptical of a non gas or corded one too!
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 22:40 |
|
Killing Flies posted:Motronic's got the right answer here, but alternatively - Does this door also make use of the obstruction detection sensors? Because if so maybe something was blocking them which has since been moved. Don't want to insult your intelligence or anything, but it happens. Oh god yes it does. I had a tiny leaf hanging from the bottom of my door by a strand of spiderweb. I'm ashamed of how long it took me to realize the problem.
|
# ? Aug 19, 2013 22:50 |
|
Insane Totoro posted:Is there any reason I shouldn't buy this Black and Decker cordless string trimmer for my yard? $150 sounds good to me. The idea of just being able to plug in the battery and go really appeals to me. I have one of their non Lithium ones, its the $80 version, the two batteries I have will allow me to do a very thorough weed wack around the house, fence line and edge the sidewalks. Like cordless drills, its one of those things you just can't imagine going back to the old version (I mean gas for the trimmer), unless you have a huge job to do. Really convenient, works perfectly for 90% or more of the jobs I have needed it to do. My yard is 3/8ths of an acre, on a corner, so a lot of sidewalk, garden bed outfront and the back of the lot line is fenced. I usually get through everyone on 1 battery, but have occasionally needed the second one. ntd fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Aug 20, 2013 |
# ? Aug 20, 2013 12:58 |
|
Walked posted:New house question. In the process of buying this home, 1925 built with a number of issues that I'm entirely comfortable with and expected from the onset. Chances are the iron pipe goes either to a drywell or into a storm drain (which is different from a sewer in most areas.) Where I live, it's perfectly acceptable to have runoff from the downspouts or sumps go into the storm drains, so long as you're not ejecting water off your property. After all, it's all rainwater anyway, and it whole lot cleaner than the gunk coming off the roads. The sewer is another story, since that all goes to a treatment facility. If it's a drywell or storm drain, the result is pretty much the same - that pipe flows into a cistern, which is really only a problem is the cistern fills up or the pipe is backing up. Being iron, it's going to corrode eventually, so replacing it will mean digging it all up and putting in polyethelyne instead. Depending on where you live, this might be a big job. The pipe is going to be buried below the frost line, which will depend on your area. Here, the frost line is too deep, which is why you aren't likely to see a rig like that around here - it wouldn't last a winter. In warmer areas, like NE or PA, you'll be at about <1' down. Not a big job, but not what I'd consider critical considering you're bound to have way more important things to do right away.
|
# ? Aug 20, 2013 18:41 |
|
Killing Flies posted:Chances are the iron pipe goes either to a drywell or into a storm drain (which is different from a sewer in most areas.) Where I live, it's perfectly acceptable to have runoff from the downspouts or sumps go into the storm drains, so long as you're not ejecting water off your property. After all, it's all rainwater anyway, and it whole lot cleaner than the gunk coming off the roads. The sewer is another story, since that all goes to a treatment facility. This was extremely helpful thank you! I'm in DC for the record if that helps give you an idea. I've got a guy coming out to camera the pipe and review it (as its a 1925 house, who knows how bad it is). It's a small property, so I presume it cant go THAT far (or it goes under a neighbor's property..). Either way; is a storm drain an item I can deal with personally (as its not connecting into the sewer system) or will I need to hire a contractor to deal with this? Not upset either way; just want to know what I've got coming down the line.
|
# ? Aug 20, 2013 19:32 |
|
ntd posted:I have one of their non Lithium ones, its the $80 version, the two batteries I have will allow me to do a very thorough weed wack around the house, fence line and edge the sidewalks. Like cordless drills, its one of those things you just can't imagine going back to the old version (I mean gas for the trimmer), unless you have a huge job to do. Really convenient, works perfectly for 90% or more of the jobs I have needed it to do. My yard is 3/8ths of an acre, on a corner, so a lot of sidewalk, garden bed outfront and the back of the lot line is fenced. I usually get through everyone on 1 battery, but have occasionally needed the second one. Does this one or the one quoted have the power that a gas one does; same apply for heavy brush? I guess I'm thinking back to years ago when I had a corded one that sounded like a kazoo or something and I don't remember it being that strong.
|
# ? Aug 20, 2013 19:41 |
|
Anyone have experience with metal vs shingle roofing? It's about time for a new roof. Metal appeals to me, several houses in the neighborhood have gone to metal and I like the look plus I'm thinking of a lighter color than the typical dark grey/black to help reflect away sunlight and keep the house cooler.
|
# ? Aug 20, 2013 20:36 |
|
I have a gas dryer and as such don't use my 240v dryer hookup that's on an outside wall. Can I put 2x 120v 15a outlets outside on that wall and get 2 circuits? What do I need to do to make it legal/meet code? The 120v outlets on the outside probably would be a foot or less away vertically/horizontally from the one inside.
Vin BioEthanol fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Aug 21, 2013 |
# ? Aug 21, 2013 00:33 |
|
Wagonburner posted:I have a gas dryer and as such don't use my 240v dryer hookup that's on an outside wall. 240V should be 12-4 or 10-4 gauge (one black, 1-red, 1-white, and 1-ground). In 240, the black & the red are each 110-V lines. You need to trace it back to the breaker panel and remove the double-throw 220V breaker and replace it with a single 110V breaker. Run the black wire to it. Take the red wire that's left behind, snip off the exposed copper, bend it over on itself and tape it off. Then, go to the 220V receptacle, remove it, replace it with an outdoor-rated junction box & run the wires into it. Take the red wire and bend/tape it off, leaving the one hot (black), one common (white), and one ground (bare). Voila, you now have a 110V line. if by "outside wall" you mean outdoors, you either want to GFI the first receptacle, or install a GFI breaker in the box. You might want to leave as much of the red as possible in case you ever decide to change it back to 240V. No, you cannot legally make two circuits out of it without running a separate 12-3 for it. You can, however, put a number of receptacles on that circuit...if it's 10-gauge (and depending on the breaker you install) you can put several, running 12-2 in conduit between them. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Aug 21, 2013 |
# ? Aug 21, 2013 02:03 |
|
So if I can't have two circuits, can I have one 110v and keep the 220 dryer outlet active without replacing the breaker? And yes it is going outdoors. I would use a gfci. But could I put a gfci outlet outside? Or does the gfci outlet need to be inside with a normal outlet outside chained off of it?
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 16:20 |
|
Air Conditioning Update You may remember I was having a dickens of a time with my vintage carrier. It was the condenser fan motor. It had apparently failed in a way that was not easily detectable with the usual quick checks (shorts to ground, continuity in the windings). I ended up pulling the old fan out of the circuit to see if the compressor was dead and drawing so much current that the fan wouldn't start, but the compressor fired up each time the thermostat called for cooling. Then I disconnected the compressor and did the same thing with the fan and it was still having trouble getting going. Got a replacement motor from Grainger, and things appear to be functioning normally. I already had one false start with the cap "fix" but hopefully this was actually the problem. Fingers Crossed.
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 16:57 |
|
wormil posted:Anyone have experience with metal vs shingle roofing? It's about time for a new roof. Metal appeals to me, several houses in the neighborhood have gone to metal and I like the look plus I'm thinking of a lighter color than the typical dark grey/black to help reflect away sunlight and keep the house cooler. I'm in the same boat and have pretty much made up my mind on metal. Supposedly more energy efficient and longer lasting, and there's enough variety to find a good look for most any house.
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 17:15 |
|
I forget what thread it was in (this one?) but people were saying to avoid it if you live in an area that gets heavy hail.
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 17:16 |
|
The Dave posted:I forget what thread it was in (this one?) but people were saying to avoid it if you live in an area that gets heavy hail. Big hail will dent a metal roof, but it shouldn't make it leak unless it's freakishly huge. And there are metal shingles that will hide dents with a textured look.
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 17:41 |
|
High Lord Elbow posted:I'm in the same boat and have pretty much made up my mind on metal. Talked to a metal roofing company, the aluminum is supposed to be energy efficient, has a lifetime warranty, and save ~20% on cooling costs but it is also more expensive. That is probably beyond what I can afford but I'll be getting a quote next week. We have an old unused chimney and the guy offered to remove it for free, I got the impression they would rather take it down than flash around it.
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 18:50 |
|
Rebuilding the roof around our chimney was more of a pain than taking the chimney down, and the roof part wasn't even all that difficult. It was actually a good bit of fun too (the chimney).
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 19:57 |
|
Walked posted:This was extremely helpful thank you! If it's a storm drain, then chances are you won't be able to tackle it yourself, but not because it's too complicated. In most areas, storm drains are part of a municipal system, and so are maintained by the city/town/village. If that's the case for you, you'll need to call them up and let them know what's going on and ask them what they'd like you to do. This is true in my area, and the last time I contacted them they told me I could do it myself. It would also be good to contact them to make sure it's still ok to send your water that way. They might have had a rule change in the years between when that iron pipe was buried and today. If your municipality says you need a licensed contractor to do the work, then that doesn't stop you from doing most of it yourself, since the majority of the work will be on your own property. Excavate the old pipe and lay in the new, and just hire a contractor to do the final hook up if you need to. That's your choice, though. A contractor with access to light excavation equipment can have it all dug up in an hour. You and a friend and a couple of shovels might take you a day. That's the real work here. Everything else is just a little bit of plumbing.
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 20:21 |
|
wormil posted:Talked to a metal roofing company, the aluminum is supposed to be energy efficient, has a lifetime warranty, and save ~20% on cooling costs but it is also more expensive. That is probably beyond what I can afford but I'll be getting a quote next week. We have an old unused chimney and the guy offered to remove it for free, I got the impression they would rather take it down than flash around it. Yeah, that's exactly why they offered to take it down. A lot of places with a leak-free guarantee will actually void that out if you have a chimney on there. This is especially true with metal roofing since it's not as easy to cut on-site and it's less forgiving than asphalt shingles. Anyway, I was just going to chime in and say that if you do let them take it down, make sure they do it right. A lot of these guys taking these things down for free basically just take a sledgehammer to the thing and leave a big hole and a ton of broken bricks in the attic space, which can ruin the ceiling underneath and give vermin an express highway all over the house.
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 20:27 |
|
Killing Flies posted:If it's a storm drain, then chances are you won't be able to tackle it yourself, but not because it's too complicated. In most areas, storm drains are part of a municipal system, and so are maintained by the city/town/village. If that's the case for you, you'll need to call them up and let them know what's going on and ask them what they'd like you to do. This is true in my area, and the last time I contacted them they told me I could do it myself. It would also be good to contact them to make sure it's still ok to send your water that way. They might have had a rule change in the years between when that iron pipe was buried and today. I had it camera'd today; and it almost immediately terminates into black corrugated pipe underground. It's not crushed or anything, but the connection doesnt look solid and is close to the house. The corrugated tubing ends up terminating elsewhere on the same property too - which is good as far as I'm concerned. I'm pretty sure that means as long as I have the utility lines marked I can replace with schedule 40 PVC on my own without worrying about a licensed contractor, right?
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 20:27 |
|
Walked posted:I had it camera'd today; and it almost immediately terminates into black corrugated pipe underground. It's not crushed or anything, but the connection doesnt look solid and is close to the house. The corrugated tubing ends up terminating elsewhere on the same property too - which is good as far as I'm concerned. Of course. You're allowed to dig up your own yard whenever you want to. But if the iron goes into black corrugated tubing, then that's polyethylene. Probably looks like this? Which is just fine for this purpose. So, if the end of the tubing just kind of ends, then that means that the tubing there is a weeping system. Water comes off the roof and out of the sump, goes into the tube. The tube has little holes in it that let the water distribute around the yard and back into the dirt, and everyone's happy. Sounds like it isn't broken, so no need to fix it. The only things you should really be considering is adding in a drywell where the tubing terminates, to catch any overflow from heavy storms, and dressing up where those connections are made to the iron pipe. That's good news. It'll be a lot less digging. I would dig up the iron pipe and make a better connection with some schd40 PVC about 4' from the house's foundation, and bring that back toward the house. You want to keep it at least that far away so that if it leaks, then the sump isn't just pumping out water, then it leaks back into the sump so it pumps it out again, etc. You want to get the water away and keep it there. Rather than having both the sump and the downspout going into the same pipe, I'd also put a Y in and have them each running in separately. A fair amount of sediment can come in through the downspout and sump sometimes, so you need to consider what's going to happen if the system clogs up. Putting in the Y and using 4" pipe will help, but I'd also consider putting in an underground vale box and some cleanouts in the stream as well. That way, if you need to get to it later for maintenance, you don't need to dig. All just suggestions. It's your place, do what you want with it.
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 22:04 |
|
Killing Flies posted:Yeah, that's exactly why they offered to take it down. A lot of places with a leak-free guarantee will actually void that out if you have a chimney on there. This is especially true with metal roofing since it's not as easy to cut on-site and it's less forgiving than asphalt shingles. Anyway, I was just going to chime in and say that if you do let them take it down, make sure they do it right. A lot of these guys taking these things down for free basically just take a sledgehammer to the thing and leave a big hole and a ton of broken bricks in the attic space, which can ruin the ceiling underneath and give vermin an express highway all over the house. He said the would cut it off and patch up to 100 sqft at no extra charge. I definitely want to seal the chimney itself to keep critters out but am not sure on how to do that. My first inclination is to stuff insulation in there and cover with plywood but I'm not sure that's good enough.
|
# ? Aug 21, 2013 22:19 |
|
Qwijib0 posted:Air Conditioning Update I missed it last night but I was coming to say this anyway. There are three parts here. Contactor, cap, motor. If you're SURE one is good, and you've replaced the other, why not look at the third before replacing the other one twice more. Motors don't ever "sound funny" and never "spin to a halt" unless they fail. When you said that, I rushed through the thread to tell you to get a new fan motor before you burn up your compressor. Note that you can also get two individual caps; there's nothing magic about those dual caps. One is for the compressor, one is for the fan. Note also that your original caps are probably OK, and it was the motor dying this whole time.
|
# ? Aug 22, 2013 01:03 |
|
Killing Flies posted:Of course. You're allowed to dig up your own yard whenever you want to. But if the iron goes into black corrugated tubing, then that's polyethylene. Probably looks like this? Which is just fine for this purpose. So, if the end of the tubing just kind of ends, then that means that the tubing there is a weeping system. Water comes off the roof and out of the sump, goes into the tube. The tube has little holes in it that let the water distribute around the yard and back into the dirt, and everyone's happy. Sounds like it isn't broken, so no need to fix it. The only things you should really be considering is adding in a drywell where the tubing terminates, to catch any overflow from heavy storms, and dressing up where those connections are made to the iron pipe. That's good news. It'll be a lot less digging. Yup - all valid. My only issue is the iron pipe connects to the black pipe with a not so good hookup VERY close to the house. So between the corrugated pipe seeping quite close to the foundation and the iron pipe probably spilling a good bit before the transition leaves me wanting to correct it ASAP (as there is some evidence of moisture concerns around the tubing) It's not too deep or long so I'm thinking about ripping it out and doing it a bit nicer. I'm also worried about the slope of the corrugated tube as it had pockets of standing water in various places. I'm sure I'm over thinking it though. Edit: btw thanks for the comments / thoughts - quite appreciated!
|
# ? Aug 22, 2013 01:05 |
|
babyeatingpsychopath posted:I missed it last night but I was coming to say this anyway. Heh, I was so blinded by my desire to replace only the cheapest part that I _really_ wanted that to be the fix, rather than logically looking at bits I could test independently and eliminating them. The motor passing basic checks just fed this desire :p Comically, the motor I replaced wasn't OEM, and the name plate on it required a larger cap than the one that was in the condenser so I don't know how it ran well enough for enough years to rust the blades to the shaft (side note, PB blaster is awesome). I was able to dig up the original spec sheet on carrier's website and so I matched the replacement to the as-shipped requirements rather than a drop-in based on what was there.
|
# ? Aug 22, 2013 03:04 |
|
I bought a used Frigidaire side-by-side refrigerator from the long-standing local appliance store earlier this year. Having some issues with it now and the appliance store appears to have mysteriously gone out of business in the midst of troubleshooting it. I have the freezer on the lowest setting, and the refrigerator side turned off, and it's freezing water on the top shelf of the refrigerator side. The freezer on its lowest setting is approximately 10-12 degrees, while the refrigerator side is approximately 36 degrees (cheap thermometers though, not sure how much I trust them). The filter for the ice maker started leaking on me and the entire top shelf on the refrigerator side is a frozen sheet of ice. The appliance store replaced the baffle between the two sides thinking that would solve the problem with it freezing things. Didn't help anything, and in the past week it appears they've closed up shop. They mentioned something about a "cold control" if the baffle didn't fix it. How in depth is replacing a cold control for someone with no manual or experience working on appliances? Along with that is there any good way to trace down the source of my leaky water filter? It's not a steady stream but over the course of 24 hours it will pretty well be running in the floor. It's an Electoluxe Frigidaire Model No FRS6LR5EB6. I also can't get the water spout in the door to work. Turns out the hose coming out the bottom of the door for it doesn't go anywhere. I have extra hose and the fittings to connect them. Where do I tie that in at?
|
# ? Aug 22, 2013 16:34 |
|
Maniaman posted:I bought a used Frigidaire side-by-side refrigerator from the long-standing local appliance store earlier this year. Having some issues with it now and the appliance store appears to have mysteriously gone out of business in the midst of troubleshooting it. Shooting from the hip: Your supply line for the ice maker is the most likely source of the leak. Are your vents completely unblocked on both the freezer and fridge? Don't turn one to max and one to off. You are making the fridge angry. Set them both to center wait 24 hours, then make gradual adjustments. All your connection diagrams can be found here: http://www.frigidaire.com/Owner-Center/Product-Support--Manuals/?productCode=FRS6LR5EB6
|
# ? Aug 22, 2013 16:49 |
|
They started out both halfway, and it was like having dual freezers. I gradually kept dropping them and ended up with the freezer halfway between 0 and 1 (as low as it will go without shutting off completely) and the refrigerator side completely off. I'll check the manuals out and see about getting the water hooked up to the spout on the door. For the leak, it drips from the filter inside the refrigerator, goes over the top shelf, and runs to the bottom and will eventually end up on the floor. Vents are clear of obstruction
|
# ? Aug 22, 2013 22:02 |
|
Wagonburner posted:So if I can't have two circuits, can I have one 110v and keep the 220 dryer outlet active without replacing the breaker? You might be able to have 2 separate circuits. Is that 220V circuit a 3 or 4 wire circuit? How many prongs does that dryer outlet have? As for GFCI outlet placement, you can put GFCI outlets outdoors, but current code requires weather and tamper resistant ones now along with an in-use cover for most outdoor locations. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Aug 22, 2013 |
# ? Aug 22, 2013 23:36 |
|
Maniaman posted:They started out both halfway, and it was like having dual freezers. I gradually kept dropping them and ended up with the freezer halfway between 0 and 1 (as low as it will go without shutting off completely) and the refrigerator side completely off. I'll check the manuals out and see about getting the water hooked up to the spout on the door. Is the fridge/freeze empty? Throw a bag of rice and some jugs full if water if not. Fridge needs the cold items to regulate temperature. Is it the long cylinder filter? Is the oring intact? E:beer to fill fridge and hungry man xxxxl dinners in freeze.
|
# ? Aug 23, 2013 00:14 |
|
kid sinister posted:You might be able to have 2 separate circuits. Is that 220V circuit a 3 or 4 wire circuit? How many prongs does that dryer outlet have? just 3.
|
# ? Aug 23, 2013 00:34 |
|
Wagonburner posted:just 3. Sorry, no double circuits then. Code allows for a shared neutral between 2 circuits if their breakers are tied together, but 3 prong dryer circuits don't have a dedicated neutral. You can repurpose it to a single circuit most likely. At the dryer outlet, what color wires to you have, including underneath any tape? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Aug 23, 2013 |
# ? Aug 23, 2013 01:05 |
|
|
# ? Jun 3, 2024 13:39 |
|
kid sinister posted:Sorry, no double circuits then. Code allows for a shared neutral between 2 circuits if their breakers are tied together, but 3 prong dryer circuits don't have a dedicated neutral. You can repurpose it to a single circuit most likely. At the dryer outlet, what color wires to you have, including underneath any tape? I can't get back there easily to look now. Main thing I want is to leave dryer outlet intact/same breaker in case we get an electric dryer, 2 circuits is a secondary want. Can a single 110v be put in leaving everything intact?
|
# ? Aug 23, 2013 01:31 |