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Thank you fix it thread (I think it was this thread) for helping me recognize that broken toilet bolts are a thing which needs attention because it can hide water damage. Had a plumber out a few days after I noticed them broken and no hidden damage, yay!
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Jul 12, 2016 14:50
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For the record that's the least shaggy shag carpet I've ever seen. We had shag carpet in our bedrooms growing up and that stuff was LONG. It looked something like this:  I love carpet don't get me wrong, but man shag carpet has to be some of the most difficult stuff to clean on earth, second only to maybe dusting a popcorned ceiling. My house is a mixture of carpet, tile, and some hardwood and I wouldn't have it any other way. Also, that wood looks great! That's EXACTLY the kind of wood that was under my parents carpet (shag and regular), and it sanded/stained/polyed BEAUTIFULLY. Good luck!!
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Jul 12, 2016 15:18
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Stonework question! Sort of. I've got a slate mantel, and the POs covered it in varnish, then faux-wood paint, then green eggshell, then white emulsion, then off-white gloss. I've been taking this accumulated monstrosity off—hot-air gun + scraper for the paint, and methylated spirits with a plastic scrub pad for the varnish. It's slow, but it's working. What I've found is that in places the scrub pad leaves marks. Not huge, and (thanks to years of sanding wood) I've kept it all in the same orientation. It looks slightly like brushed metal, I guess. I'd like to polish that out, though, with a very mild abrasive, and hopefully also make the entire thing a little more lustrous. Does anyone have any suggestions? UK-based, if that makes any difference.
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Jul 12, 2016 18:55
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So, we just got done pouring concrete countertops. They're going to need sanding to get to a nice finish. The place we got the forms from also sold us some sanding discs, however they're complete garbage. I burned through a pad doing a 2 ft square area. What should I be using to sand concrete?
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Jul 14, 2016 00:29
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The answer to both questions is diamond polishing pads. Tool city has a decent selection. http://www.toolocity.com/3-jx-shine-diamond-polishing-pads.aspx
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Jul 14, 2016 03:08
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I just knocked over a lamp that I'm guessing is cast resin; the cross-section of the resulting chip is pure white, with a painted surface. My go-to was Superglue, which didn't work. How can I identify what the lamp is likely to be made of, and what glue will work? The thing took a three-foot fall onto the floor and only lost a chip. It didn't dent.
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Jul 15, 2016 03:26
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Arsenic Lupin posted:I just knocked over a lamp that I'm guessing is cast resin; the cross-section of the resulting chip is pure white, with a painted surface. My go-to was Superglue, which didn't work. How can I identify what the lamp is likely to be made of, and what glue will work? The thing took a three-foot fall onto the floor and only lost a chip. It didn't dent. http://www.thistothat.com/
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Jul 15, 2016 03:36
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Except that cast resin, if it is cast resin, is none of the things listed.
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Jul 15, 2016 04:52
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I'd try a little bit of jb weld.
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Jul 15, 2016 06:30
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The ceramics thread looks to have fallen into archives (last post about two years ago), can anyone give me some quick advice about a DIY project I have in mind? Probably a bit of crossover from the blacksmithing/foundry stuff: I've wanted to make a tandoor oven for some time now, but most of the tutorials I've found online take a pretty cavalier attitude towards safety: galvanised trash cans (possible zinc fumes: the can is supposedly well insulated by vermiculite and never gets very got, but it seems like an unnecessary risk to take) to hold everything, and using terra cotta pots from gardening centres for the inside, which are not food grade and may have lead, cadmium, arsenic, etc in them. Lead is relatively easy to test for, arsenic not so much. A lot of the chemical baddies come from glazes, the jury seems a bit out on unglazed terra cotta. What do you guys think? I picked up an old keg (stainless steel) for $35 that I thought would be a nice substitute for the trash can, but I can't find any suppliers of food grade terra cotta pots of the right size or proportion in Australia (even if I did, I live in a town of ~250k and shipping would likely be killer), so it seems like I'm left with either building my own out of terra cotta clay and firing that inside the keg, or giving up on the idea. If I went the route of making it myself, I couldn't get it fired in a kiln due to size, so I'd have to do it in situ. That tutorial linked above did the same thing, I'd probably copy his methodology of building it on a kiln shelf, then lowering it into the keg with a sheet that gets cut/burned off. I'd lop the top off the keg (would create a lid for the oven out of the same clay as the oven, and get that fired in a kiln somewhere locally), as well as cut a small door at the bottom for tending coals, or inserting a tube for a hair dryer to speed things up if desired. I gather I should leave it to dry for some weeks, then bring up the temperature gradually over a number of hours, once I've added the insulation. Given the smaller size of the keg, I want to try and not go overboard with the insulation so that I'm left with an oven space that's a reasonable size. Would ~5cm likely be enough? I'm not looking to do foundry temps, it'd be more like a pizza oven where temps shouldn't exceed ~450C. Vermiculite is the most common insulator in the tutorials I find online, is there anything else that would make more sense? More for the ceramics people: As far as the clay itself, the most definitive thing I can find is "a mixture of stoneware and earthenware, with grog (finely ground fired clay) for porosity", from a guy who builds them professionally in the USA. I would guess the stoneware clay is only a small bit, as other accounts don't even mention it, and porosity is necessary to help naan adhere to the sides of the oven. It's also suggested to get some sort of fine-grained fibrous material in there that will burn off (wool or other animal hair, cellulose), in place of the more traditional dung. The bonus of living in such a rural area is horse manure is plentiful, but I'd rather skip the stinky stuff. Not sure how much to buy, the tutorial said ~1.3cm thick walls are ideal, and the keg is roughly 33cm in diameter (so 23cm diameter for the oven part if I can get away with 5cm insulation all around), and 45cm high. I'd guess about 25-30kgs of clay? The tutorial I linked used 35kgs, but for a somewhat bigger oven.
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Jul 15, 2016 06:53
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Arsenic Lupin posted:I just knocked over a lamp that I'm guessing is cast resin; the cross-section of the resulting chip is pure white, with a painted surface. My go-to was Superglue, which didn't work. How can I identify what the lamp is likely to be made of, and what glue will work? The thing took a three-foot fall onto the floor and only lost a chip. It didn't dent. Try E6000. It's our go-to when we want 2 things to be 1 thing.
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Jul 15, 2016 15:31
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kid sinister posted:Depends. How damaged are your floors? They go down until the damage is gone. Sorry I forgot to respond to this. I know it's annoying when somebody asks for help, you answer, and then you never hear from the person again. I also apologize in advance to this thread for the inevitable boatload of questions I'm going to be asking over the next few months. Anyway, the floors are in pretty good condition. There aren't any huge scratches/gouges or anything. The majority of damage on these 60 year old floors was probabaly done in the last two weeks by falling (or stepping on fallen) plaster (yes, we layed down plastic and used carpet strips for padding, but that poo poo goes flying everywhere sometimes). The refinishing will mostly just be sanding out some light surface scratches and bringing everything back to the same color so it can be stained uniformly (there is sun bleaching in the living room where rugs sat for 20+ years and the floors in the bedrooms were stained a darker color before they were covered in carpet probably 30+ years ago). I was thinking that fixing the squeaky floors from above and filling with putty before refinishing would be best so that the putty would be sanded perfectly smooth and stained to match the wood. Doing it afterwards seems like a bit more hassle to make sure the holes aren't obvious.
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Jul 15, 2016 15:33
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I replaced the motor in a KitchenAid mixer some years ago and packed in fresh grease. It turns out that grease was The Devil. It separated and the runnier stuff got into the motor compartment. I am looking at a minimum of replacing the brushes because they are gummed in the stuff. I am wondering if the motor itself is salvageable. It's covered in dried on, sticky grease. I don't really expect this will be a big deal with all the copper, so I suspect it is okay. I am wondering what I might be able to do about it. In particular, I have to completely clean off the commutator as it has a nice sticky layer of grease on it in particular. I'm hoping my 20-quart Hobart isn't as gunked up as the KitchenAid. I haven't use it at all, and the same grease is now dripping down the orbital shaft. Fortunately, that motor practically levitates inside the housing, which is good, because I can hardly take it apart as easily to clean it.
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Jul 17, 2016 21:40
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:I replaced the motor in a KitchenAid mixer some years ago and packed in fresh grease. It turns out that grease was The Devil. It separated and the runnier stuff got into the motor compartment. I am looking at a minimum of replacing the brushes because they are gummed in the stuff. I am wondering if the motor itself is salvageable. It's covered in dried on, sticky grease. I don't really expect this will be a big deal with all the copper, so I suspect it is okay. I am wondering what I might be able to do about it. In particular, I have to completely clean off the commutator as it has a nice sticky layer of grease on it in particular. You're looking for CRC QD Electrical Cleaner or similar. Everything ought to be fine once it's cleaned up.
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Jul 18, 2016 00:22
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So I picked up a FLIR thermal camera off craigslist the other day, and I noticed a few things I wasn't sure about. GFCI outlets register as warm, unlike regular outlets... That's normal, right? Same deal with the whole house surge protector I installed in my electrical distribution panel, that shows up as glowing warm against a cool background. Is that normal as well?
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Jul 18, 2016 04:27
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Totally normal.
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Jul 18, 2016 05:35
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Zhentar posted:Totally normal. Yep. Both have internal electronics, whereas a regular outlet with nothing plugged into it is an open circuit. No electricity flow, no heat.
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Jul 18, 2016 05:54
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Warm as in a couple of degrees? Fine. 25+ more than regular? Somethings wrong. Luckily you now have the tool to determine that.
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Jul 18, 2016 09:36
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Cool! Thanks for the reassurance! I just wanted to make sure I didn't screw up while putting in all that stuff
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Jul 18, 2016 12:01
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I have a room with visible drywall seams that has spray on texture over it that I want to refinish with a knockdown texture. I was planning on applying more mud over the seams and feathering to take care of the seams but I'm not sure what to do about the existing texture. Should I sand down what is there and then skim coat it or could I get away with a light skim coat then spray texture on and knockdown from there?
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Jul 18, 2016 15:07
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Super 3 posted:I have a room with visible drywall seams that has spray on texture over it that I want to refinish with a knockdown texture. I was planning on applying more mud over the seams and feathering to take care of the seams but I'm not sure what to do about the existing texture. How visible? Does the tape need to be redone?
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Jul 18, 2016 16:37
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I just moved into a new (49 year old) home. I just have a quick question about the basement. It's unfinished, and has a partition separating the utility half from the other half. I have two little boys and would love an additional 450 square feet of play area, but don't have the funds or time to fully finish it now. So I'm looking into intermediate options which won't interfere with or complicate later finishing. I would like to throw down some floor material so it isn't just concrete. Possibly soft play tiles of some sort. However, I expect some degree of dampness and/or vapor permeating the concrete, and my previous experience with workout mats in my basement included water accumulation on the underside. There are flooring materials I could lay down to try and deal with the moisture issue (dri-core) but my assumption is that doing so without first framing the walls at least would be asking for trouble later. Any suggestions? Should I just throw down some rugs? My long term plan is incrementally going through finishing, so if I could "do" the floor in a manner which is consistent with that goal it would be helpful, but I realize its somewhat backwards in order.
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Jul 18, 2016 17:21
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kid sinister posted:How visible? Does the tape need to be redone? Might be hard to see but... https://dl2.pushbulletusercontent.com/MWqdLnTgk0nY0iWxTUlhDiIzAKwEmkgy/IMG_1261.JPG
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Jul 18, 2016 18:29
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I have a one car garage that is extra deep. The garage door and opener are garbage. I want to install drywall in the garage and replace the door/opener. I also want to cut a new door in the back of the garage and install a second garage door/opener (to make it easier to get bikes/tools/lawn equipment out). How much am I looking at for labor here? I can probably take down the existing door/opener/rails myselft, but a big bonus would be not dying when I gently caress up something and the spring snaps. I'll need to hire someone to cut/frame the new door opening, hang/tape/mud drywall, and install both doors/openers. I'm currently in the process of ironing out details for a big remodeling job with a general contractor. As an option on his bid, he said he can cut out the new door (including siding stuff on exterior) and install a garage door/opener (that I would provide) for $1500. This sounds fairly reasonable to me, but I don't poo poo about any of this stuff.
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Jul 18, 2016 18:54
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Super 3 posted:Might be hard to see but... Yeah you need to retape. If you cover that up, it's just going to show again in a few years. Do that first before considering any texturing. Mr Executive posted:I have a one car garage that is extra deep. The garage door and opener are garbage. I want to install drywall in the garage and replace the door/opener. I also want to cut a new door in the back of the garage and install a second garage door/opener (to make it easier to get bikes/tools/lawn equipment out). How much am I looking at for labor here? What's wrong with the existing door? You might be able to get away with reusing the track. You don't happen to have a HOA, do you? They might not like you changing things on the front of your house. Is there anything there where you want to put in the new door? Any electric/pipes/utilities in the wall or on the outside? Is there any landscaping outside that would need to be removed? Do you need a concrete step or ramp outside? kid sinister fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Jul 18, 2016 |
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Jul 18, 2016 20:10
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I have a 10 year old gas dryer that came with my house. It started taking forever to dry things, so I disassembled the exhaust plumbing, and brushed out all of the lint. There wasn't that much lint, but it did improve the performance a little. Are there any other things I can check? What breaks on a gas dryer, anyway? (this is the first one I've owned, I've only worked on electric dryers before)
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Jul 18, 2016 20:23
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I've been using a carpet cleaner that I've discovered has not been vacuuming up the solution as well as it should; when I had reason to take up the carpet in the hall closet, I discovered spots of thin caked-on mold on the floorboards. I've been trying to hand-sand this away, and while it's working, it's going to take an eternity to finish. I've never used a power sander before. Should I consider one here? If so, what kind, and any tips? Or is this project way out of a beginner's league? (The finish doesn't have to be perfect; these aren't super-high-quality floors.)
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Jul 18, 2016 20:26
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Squashy Nipples posted:I have a 10 year old gas dryer that came with my house. It started taking forever to dry things, so I disassembled the exhaust plumbing, and brushed out all of the lint. There wasn't that much lint, but it did improve the performance a little. Did you check the vent outside? Is it clogged? Also, is it even getting hot? Try running your dryer for 5 minutes, then stopping it and putting your hand inside the drum. Does it get hot? Does the drum spin? Eh, the parts they have in common with electric dryers can break too, usually belts, buttons and door switches. The only thing different is how they generate heat and that you can't use indoor dryer vents with them. Blenheim posted:I've been using a carpet cleaner that I've discovered has not been vacuuming up the solution as well as it should; when I had reason to take up the carpet in the hall closet, I discovered spots of thin caked-on mold on the floorboards. I've been trying to hand-sand this away, and while it's working, it's going to take an eternity to finish. Hold on a second. Do you have a respirator? Also, what is causing the mold in the first place? Do you have a leak?
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Jul 18, 2016 20:40
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kid sinister posted:Did you check the vent outside? Is it clogged? Also, is it even getting hot? Try running your dryer for 5 minutes, then stopping it and putting your hand inside the drum. Does it get hot? Does the drum spin? Yeah, I cleaned the whole thing, from the outside to the drum (the place where the hose connects to the machine often collects balls of lint). Nothing was blocked. Drum spins, gets hot, but I guess not hot enough? It's working now, but it takes much longer then it used to.
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Jul 18, 2016 20:50
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kid sinister posted:Hold on a second. Do you have a respirator? Also, what is causing the mold in the first place? Do you have a leak? Yeah, I have a respirator. And it's definitely the carpet cleaner that caused the mold; I'm the only person in the house, the mold is present only in a thin layer on the top side of the floorboards, there are no leaks or other sources of moisture, and there's nowhere else it could have come from.
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Jul 18, 2016 21:26
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Squashy Nipples posted:Yeah, I cleaned the whole thing, from the outside to the drum (the place where the hose connects to the machine often collects balls of lint). Nothing was blocked. Have you taken the back off the dryer and cleaned out vent by the blower wheel? And I assume that you're cleaning out the lint each time? Blenheim posted:Yeah, I have a respirator. And it's definitely the carpet cleaner that caused the mold; I'm the only person in the house, the mold is present only in a thin layer on the top side of the floorboards, there are no leaks or other sources of moisture, and there's nowhere else it could have come from. How big an area are we talking here? You might be able to get away with a palm sander. Also, look into chemical solutions once you're done sanding.
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Jul 18, 2016 21:50
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kid sinister posted:What's wrong with the existing door? You might be able to get away with reusing the track. You don't happen to have a HOA, do you? They might not like you changing things on the front of your house. The existing opener is super loud and like 20 years old. It also ripped the metal bracket thing off the door itself. Basically, the top panel of the door is destroyed and the opener is barely attached. This is part of a larger gut job on a mid 50s house, so we're ok with replacing the doors/tracks/openers. No, we don't have an HOA or any rules really restricting what we do. I haven't looked closely, but I'm 98% sure there is no electrical or other utilities on the wall that would need to be cut out. There is some minor landscaping that I would remove before this part of the project begins. No concrete step should be needed as that back garage door will ultimately open up to a paver/stamped concrete patio in the backyard.
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Jul 19, 2016 15:28
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Is there an herbicide that will kill just tree sprouts and leave grass alone? I'm thinking like 2-4D or whatever. I have like a million tiny oak trees under an oak tree where I didn't clean up acorns last year. Alternately, I can just continue to mow them and I assume they will eventually run out of stored energy and decompose?
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Jul 19, 2016 16:49
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My garage door opener has an external wired trigger that uses a keyed switch which was not included when I got my house. I'd like to replace it with a keypad but thinking about it I'm not sure how these actually work that they can't be hotwired or something similar. I suppose the lock is drilled into the frame so prying that out would probably be a bit harder but a plastic housing with the wire run into the back strikes me as much simpler. Do I need to replace the opener entirely to be compatible with an included keypad? Is wireless a better option for retrofitting something?
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Jul 19, 2016 21:29
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Raymn posted:My garage door opener has an external wired trigger that uses a keyed switch which was not included when I got my house. I'd like to replace it with a keypad but thinking about it I'm not sure how these actually work that they can't be hotwired or something similar. I suppose the lock is drilled into the frame so prying that out would probably be a bit harder but a plastic housing with the wire run into the back strikes me as much simpler. Do I need to replace the opener entirely to be compatible with an included keypad? Is wireless a better option for retrofitting something? It's a just simple relay to open/close the door. If you take apart the keyed switch you'll probably just find 2 wires going to the opener, touch the wires together and it'll open. You should be able to easily find a keypad that will work with that. e: this one's only $22 and even works with RFID key fobs. https://www.amazon.com/Single-Digit...ypad+door+relay (there are a lot on amazon) CheddarGoblin fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Jul 19, 2016 |
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Jul 19, 2016 21:41
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Raymn posted:My garage door opener has an external wired trigger that uses a keyed switch which was not included when I got my house. I'd like to replace it with a keypad but thinking about it I'm not sure how these actually work that they can't be hotwired or something similar. I suppose the lock is drilled into the frame so prying that out would probably be a bit harder but a plastic housing with the wire run into the back strikes me as much simpler. Do I need to replace the opener entirely to be compatible with an included keypad? Is wireless a better option for retrofitting something? Most garage door opener keypads are wireless. It's actually more secure and weatherproof than wired. They work just like a remote in your car: you pair them with your opener and they need batteries every few years. Just think of putting in the code as the keypad "pushing the button". At most, you might have to order one from your opener's manufacturer. If you go this route, disconnect the wires from the old keyed switch up at the opener. Wired switches work by touching the wires together. Disconnecting them prevents anyone from fishing those wires out and opening your door. Oh, and you'll probably want to seal up the hole from the old one. Use caulk if it isn't too big. Still, if you manage to get that keyed switch out, I bet you could take it to a locksmith and get a key made for it. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Jul 19, 2016 |
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Jul 19, 2016 22:36
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n.. posted:It's a just simple relay to open/close the door. If you take apart the keyed switch you'll probably just find 2 wires going to the opener, touch the wires together and it'll open. You should be able to easily find a keypad that will work with that. Yeah, the touch two wires and it opens is what I'm concerned about. I can't imagine prying off the keypad and getting at those two wires is too terribly difficult. kid sinister posted:Most garage door opener keypads are wireless. It's actually more secure and weatherproof than wired. They work just like a remote in your car: you pair them with your opener and they need batteries every few years. Just think of putting in the code as the keypad "pushing the button". At most, you might have to order one from your opener's manufacturer. If you go this route, disconnect the wires from the old keyed switch up at the opener. Wired switches work by touching the wires together. Disconnecting them prevents anyone from fishing those wires out and opening your door. Oh, and you'll probably want to seal up the hole from the old one. Use caulk if it isn't too big. Do you mean the handheld ones that you would have in your car? That isn't what I'm looking to do. I want something mounted like n.. linked so I can open it from outside without having to go into the house. I didn't think about trying to reuse the switch though. I'll take a look and see if I can get it out without destroying it. Edit: Now that I think about it, maybe you're suggesting what I'm looking for but saying they work wirelessly similarly to what you would keep in your car? Teabag Dome Scandal fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Jul 19, 2016 |
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Jul 19, 2016 22:55
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Raymn posted:Yeah, the touch two wires and it opens is what I'm concerned about. I can't imagine prying off the keypad and getting at those two wires is too terribly difficult. That's probably the hard way to break in anyway... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMz1tXBVT1s
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Jul 19, 2016 23:08
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Raymn posted:Do you mean the handheld ones that you would have in your car? That isn't what I'm looking to do. I want something mounted like n.. linked so I can open it from outside without having to go into the house. I didn't think about trying to reuse the switch though. I'll take a look and see if I can get it out without destroying it. http://www.geniecompany.com/garage-door-openers/programming_accessories.aspx You screw it to the wall, it has a 10-key pad, a 9V battery, and a lovely cover that likes to come off. You press "program" on your opener motor, press a handful of buttons as described in the instructions, then it's paired.
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Jul 19, 2016 23:22
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H110Hawk posted:http://www.geniecompany.com/garage-door-openers/programming_accessories.aspx Yeah, looks like something like that should work! Thanks friends!
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Jul 20, 2016 00:10
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