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kid sinister posted:We actually do have a tools thread here in DIY. They might know best. Oh thanks, I really should have looked better.
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Sep 10, 2016 18:12
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I have a horribly sloped floor in my kitchen. It's probably at least 5 degrees off of horizontal, it's an addition that's probably at least 70 years old. This is surprisingly common in my neighborhood, it seems the old Poles and Irish would just do whatever and ignore the city inspector. As far as my contractor, inspector, and structural engineer have been able to find it hasn't moved in years. We plan to level the floor out eventually, but it's a bit down the list. My contractor, who has renovated a bunch of homes in my neighborhood, thinks it actually hasn't settled - it was possibly built as a roof and whoever put a kitchen and the rest of the house on it didn't bother leveling it out first. The current floor is peel-and-stick vinyl tiles, and we want to replace it with something that sucks less but is still cheap. We're leaning toward roll vinyl, but is there anything else to consider?
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Sep 12, 2016 01:12
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minivanmegafun posted:probably at least 70 years old. This is surprisingly common in my neighborhood, it seems the old Poles and Irish would just do whatever and ignore the city inspector. There were likely no building codes at all at that time, therefore no inspectors. If it's not settling it's a fairly simple thing to level - providing you're already ripping out all of the cabinets on the floor.
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Sep 12, 2016 03:53
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I put up some floating shelves to display some of my and my kid's Lego creations in our basement rumpus room. They don't look quite level, despite having used like a 4 foot bubble level. (I confirmed with a second one.) The bubble is very solidly where it needs to be, but they look a little off and measure differently (nearly an inch!) on the left and right side. 36 inch length shelf. Anyhoo... in order to have the eye of the viewer feel most at ease with the aesthetic, given that they reside near the ceiling a bit... should my primary concern be just making sure that the shelves visually run parallel with the celling? Or are there other tricks to making it look right? (I still haven't exactly figured out why my careful planning and use of bubble level led me so astray...)
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Sep 12, 2016 04:31
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Feenix posted:I put up some floating shelves to display some of my and my kid's Lego creations in our basement rumpus room. They don't look quite level, despite having used like a 4 foot bubble level. (I confirmed with a second one.) The bubble is very solidly where it needs to be, but they look a little off and measure differently (nearly an inch!) on the left and right side. 36 inch length shelf. You're assuming the ceiling is level. You should check that assumption. But yeah, aesthetics-wise you're probably best-off just making the shelves be parallel with the ceiling. Unless you plan to store bowling balls on them or something.
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Sep 12, 2016 04:54
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:You're assuming the ceiling is level. You should check that assumption. Thanks. Yeah it could be the ceiling. The odd thing is that the bubble level read correctly, (2 bubble levels) And when I put something that can roll on it, it's more than happy to roll... Weird.
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Sep 12, 2016 05:00
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Have you considered that the level is bad/got dropped? They can be non-obviously damaged (the capsule with the bubble is no longer parallel to the straight edge of the level)
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Sep 12, 2016 16:16
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I've got a busted garage door opener and I'm not sure if it's something I can replace myself. It's an older model, Craftsman, I think. It uses a chain drive. Are they universal fittings? If I just buy another chain-drive model, can I easily attach it? And that's assuming the motor is the issue...when the door is locked into the drive mechanism, it does nowhere, up or down. The motor turns on, but struggles, so I'm worried that the little latch thingy is "stuck" on the rail and a new motor won't do anything. The door can be opened just fine manually when I pull on that handle to un-latch it from the drive mechanism, so it's nothing inherent to the door or springs, I know that much. It's a single-bay door, so will a 1/2 HP be enough or should I go for a 1 HP, assuming the motor is the issue? DrBouvenstein fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Sep 12, 2016 |
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Sep 12, 2016 17:54
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Knowing nothing about garage door openers, I successfully installed a new one a few weeks ago. Not wanting to deal with old craftsman stuff I would just replace it. The time you spend trying to service it will probably offset any cost savings from just replacing it.
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Sep 12, 2016 18:03
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Motronic posted:There were likely no building codes at all at that time, therefore no inspectors. The first edition of the NEC was published in 1897, and the UBC in 1927, and both were borne from unification of regional standards, so it is likely that a 1940's home had at least some code applied to it (although certainly both the requirements and the enforcement would be pitiful compared to modern standards).
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Sep 12, 2016 19:39
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Zhentar posted:The first edition of the NEC was published in 1897, and the UBC in 1927, and both were borne from unification of regional standards, so it is likely that a 1940's home had at least some code applied to it (although certainly both the requirements and the enforcement would be pitiful compared to modern standards). The home in question itself was built in 1885; and I imagine Chicago had some semblance of a building code then even if it just was "don't build a tinderbox and burn the place down again, thanks"
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Sep 12, 2016 21:13
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DrBouvenstein posted:I've got a busted garage door opener and I'm not sure if it's something I can replace myself. I'd be willing to bet that the sprocket on top is stripped and needs to be replaced. Get one of the remotes and set up a ladder high enough that you can see on top of the opener. Remove the sprocket guard if there is one. Press the remote and see if the sprocket turns but doesn't grab the chain. If it's a Craftsman, check out https://www.searspartsdirect.com. The model of your opener will be on a sticker on the back of the opener. That site will have all the schematics and part numbers for your opener. Once you got the part number of what you need, Google that too, because I bet you can find a better price somewhere else. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Sep 12, 2016 |
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Sep 12, 2016 22:51
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minivanmegafun posted:The home in question itself was built in 1885; and I imagine Chicago had some semblance of a building code then even if it just was "don't build a tinderbox and burn the place down again, thanks" If it's in Chicago then yes, you did have building codes. My comment on "no building codes at the time" was based on the fact that very few places other than cities had any (adopted, Zhentar - you goddamn well know I used to be a code official so I sure as poo poo know that codes existed). In fact, there are places today in the US that still have no building codes (largely rural unincorporated areas).
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Sep 13, 2016 00:06
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Neighbor has a washer that when draining, backfills the adjacent tub. Both are in the basement and cross the home to the main sewer line via one pipe. Borrowed a friend's 1/4" hand snake and loaned it to him at neighbor's request. Helped him get it started through the tub cleanout and went home. It is now stuck maybe 10' in. He is calling a plumber, but I feel bad he is in a tough spot now. My guess is the option is to try and twist backwards and hope whatever has fouled it gives up, or pull like hell. Any tips?
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Sep 13, 2016 00:54
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DrBouvenstein posted:I've got a busted garage door opener and I'm not sure if it's something I can replace myself. Replacing garage door openers is pretty straightforward. There's nothing terribly scary about it, you don't have to go near the springs at all. It'll come with an entirely new track, so the current one being possibly broken isn't really an issue.
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Sep 13, 2016 00:59
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DrBouvenstein posted:I've got a busted garage door opener and I'm not sure if it's something I can replace myself. I suspect kid sinister is right. When you take the housing off, keep an eye out for a pile of shavings, that's a pretty good giveaway that a gear has been eating itself. It might also be worth looking into the track and travel of the door itself. Mine had a single spring on each side when I bought the house (and the sacrificial nylon gear was already shredded, it was a known issue in the disclosures). The guys who replaced the gear the first time said I should replace the two side springs with a central torsion bar (?) to even it out or else it would just fail again, and it did. It's been just fine ever since I had the side springs replaced with the central torsion bar thing.
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Sep 13, 2016 01:01
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Motronic posted:Have you considered that the level is bad/got dropped? They can be non-obviously damaged (the capsule with the bubble is no longer parallel to the straight edge of the level) I tried 2 levels. One is brand new and one is old. 
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Sep 13, 2016 04:33
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hogmartin posted:I suspect kid sinister is right. When you take the housing off, keep an eye out for a pile of shavings, that's a pretty good giveaway that a gear has been eating itself. I assume replacing the springs is a "call a professional" thing? I've heard stories about those things, not sure of the truth of them. The track and travel seem fine...once I disengaged the door from the opener's chain, it opens and closes just fine and stays in place...requires maybe a little more force than I feel an average garage door should, so I assume that's just the aging springs. I got home late last night, but tonight I'll take a look at the gear to confirm that's the issue. Even if I can get a replacement gear I might just get a new opener since this one is fairly old, loud, slow, and one of the remotes and the door-keypad don't work.
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Sep 13, 2016 16:21
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DrBouvenstein posted:I assume replacing the springs is a "call a professional" thing? Depends on the layout. But it's potentially hazardous enough that if you have to ask....... Seriously. Just get a garage door guy. I have a scar across my back from totally unrelated work where I was in the area of a garage door spring that let go while I was on a ladder next to it. I knew it hit me, I just got down off of the ladder while I felt I could figuring if most of my back was removed but in shock and capable of at least doing that. It was super rusty, more than I thoght before going near it, and I assume I touched it. Healed up just fine without intervention, but scared the living poo poo out of me. It could have been a LOT worse if I were in a different position by millimeters.
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Sep 14, 2016 01:43
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DrBouvenstein posted:one of the remotes and the door-keypad don't work. You might just need to re-sync them to the opener. It's pretty easy to do. Gather all your remotes, even the door keypad. I forget the steps for a Craftsman opener, but the instructions are on the label on the back side of the opener. They involve holding down a button on the opener while at the same time pressing the button on the remote. It's also possible to make the opener forget all of the currently synced remotes. Instructions for that are also on the label. If you're trying to sync a remote built into a newer car, get a buddy to help push the button.
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Sep 14, 2016 07:54
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I inspected the opener. It's not the gear, that's in fine shape: It just won't turn/engage. I hit the button and I hear it straining. I realize now I should have taken the chain off or unhooked it somehow to see if the motor can turn with absolutely no load at all, but, well, time makes fools of us all. As to re-syncing the openers, I've tried that, still nothing. One of the remotes I'm guessing is just broken, I've replaced the battery but still nothing. The keypad probably has a loose or broken wire, as I've also replaced its battery. Time to call a garage door guy, I guess...the door itself has a dent, and as said, the springs are getting a little old, so I guess replacing everything is the best way to do it rather than just piece-mail the opener now, the door itself next summer, etc... Edit: Removed the chain, and nothing turns, sounds like maybe some internal gears are slipping and/or grinding. Any recommendations for a new opener? I've been looking at Lowe's and Home Depot the past few days, and the "economical" models (which is all I need since it's a 1-bay, 7-foot door and we don't have new/fancy cars with any built-in garage door opener capability) all have roughly the same ratings. So mostly it comes down to paying ~$20 more for a belt drive or if I think chain is fine. It is an attached garage, and the old one was loud, but it was also failing, apparently, and although the garage is attached, there's no rooms above it, so it wouldn't really be that disruptive. And Genie vs Chamberlain, either of them better than the other, or are they both pretty much ok? I was looking at this one if I was going to go belt driven: http://www.lowes.com/pd/Genie-0-75-Ultra-Quiet-StealthLift-Belt-Drive-Garage-Door-Opener/50426248 Or this one if I was going to go chain: http://www.lowes.com/pd/Chamberlain-0-5-MyQ-Enabled-Premium-Chain-Drive-Garage-Door-Opener/50437760 DrBouvenstein fucked around with this message at 14:24 on Sep 15, 2016 |
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Sep 14, 2016 14:31
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This is pretty much the entirety of the unfinished portion of my basement: Does code allow for me to put batting in the wall there in this utility space? Purely for sound-deadening purposes, as my tv and such are on the opposite side of that wall there. If it matters, that's just a sub panel for the hvac gear, the main panel is elsewhere.
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Sep 15, 2016 04:36
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Are ceiling light fixture boxes fairly universal? I'm in the middle of a whole-house remodel, and the electrical includes basic can lighting throughout most of the house. We're planning on upgrading with some nicer pendant lights/etc and I'm wondering how soon I need to make/communicate our lighting decisions to the GC.
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Sep 15, 2016 15:50
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Recessed lights occupy a lot more space in the overhead cavity compared to a normal fixture. If recessed, they should be rated for insulation contact as well. A normal ceiling fixture is just a bit larger than a normal 2 gang box in my experience. Also, they are octagonal.
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Sep 15, 2016 16:04
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Mr Executive posted:Are ceiling light fixture boxes fairly universal? I'm in the middle of a whole-house remodel, and the electrical includes basic can lighting throughout most of the house. We're planning on upgrading with some nicer pendant lights/etc and I'm wondering how soon I need to make/communicate our lighting decisions to the GC. Tell your GC as soon as you have the idea to not use can lights. They're going to be cranky if they cut a bunch of holes they have to patch. Cranky = mysteriously higher change order price.
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Sep 15, 2016 16:33
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There are currently no ceilings anywhere and the electrician isn't coming in for a few weeks so I have some time. The hard part is that my GC isn't the greatest at email communication, so we're trying not to overwhelm him with all sorts of questions/etc that get lost in the shuffle. We just finalized some other parts of the plan, so we'll probably try to tackle the lighting details in the next week or two. On a related note, not accounting for the price of the actual light fixture itself (which we were always planning on buying), would installation of a can light be cheaper or more expensive than a pendant/etc? I'm just wondering if the price is going to go up or down depending on how many can vs non-can lights we ultimately end up with.
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Sep 15, 2016 18:49
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Mr Executive posted:There are currently no ceilings anywhere and the electrician isn't coming in for a few weeks so I have some time. The hard part is that my GC isn't the greatest at email communication, so we're trying not to overwhelm him with all sorts of questions/etc that get lost in the shuffle. We just finalized some other parts of the plan, so we'll probably try to tackle the lighting details in the next week or two.
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Sep 15, 2016 22:24
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Mr Executive posted:The hard part is that my GC isn't the greatest at email communication There's this thing called paper. You need to use it. It's a similar documentation system of record as email and provides similar capabilities for both parties to reference back to. And you can actually physically exchange it so there is no question about deliverability and who didn't get what.
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Sep 16, 2016 02:12
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Mr Executive posted:
You should also look at putting ceiling fans in as many rooms as you can, or at least braced ceiling fan boxes so you can easily add fans later. Ceiling fans are super efficient (on the order of 60 watts on high, which is the same as an incandescent light bulb) and they really make a room much more comfortable with air movement, even if you already have central air and whatnot, plus they can substantially cut down on your heating and cooling bills. Since you're running electrical, see if you can do 12-3 wiring as well, so you can put the fan and light on separate switches. Also I'd size up wiring, eg use 12 gauge wiring for a fifteen amp circuit instead of 14 gauge to reduce voltage drop. And if you're redoing your distribution panel as well, get one with plenty of extra slots so you have room to expand later and add extra circuits. And I'm sure it's code and will be done anyways, but I believe it's worth the expense to add in combined AFCI/GFCI breakers in the panel, because it protects the circuit from arc faults (eg frayed lamp cord shorting and setting stuff on fire) and ground faults (when electricity travels to ground through you).
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Sep 16, 2016 03:09
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Motronic posted:There's this thing called paper. You need to use it. It's a similar documentation system of record as email and provides similar capabilities for both parties to reference back to. And you can actually physically exchange it so there is no question about deliverability and who didn't get what. Yeah, not really looking for a new pen pal. The issue isn't with the means of communication. English is not his first language, so there is a natural communication barrier. Regardless of whether I'm sending an email or we're passing notes back and forth, it's more effective to break things up into manageable pieces. When it comes to actual plans (floorplans, kitchen layout, etc..) we always provide him with hard copies. OSU_Matthew posted:LED cans are like ten bucks apiece, and we've got five in our kitchen, just as a sample pricing Can lighting was written into our bid for a lot of the house, but we've always planned on putting a ceiling fan in (probably) every bedroom and the living room. I'm totally on board the ceiling fan train. All that other electrical stuff is kinda over my head, but I know the electrical panel was all redone fairly recently with a lot of extra room to expand. I am going to be very specific in the light/fan switch situation too. I hate how this goddamn apartment I'm in has 5 different switch plates that control 3 can lights and 2 pendant lights. Mr Executive fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Sep 16, 2016 |
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Sep 16, 2016 03:29
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Also I would disagree with going all out on afci, because if it wasn't there to begin with your house can be wired in a way that can produce nuisance trips (due to a shared neutral). I was all for it at first but after I thought about how little I knew about which wires were going where and connected to what I decided not using it was more prudent.
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Sep 16, 2016 16:14
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Mr Executive posted:Yeah, not really looking for a new pen pal. So it's not that he "isn't the greatest at email communication", it's that you hired a GC who you don't share a common language in which you are both fluent. Wow....that's an interesting choice.
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Sep 16, 2016 17:28
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Motronic posted:So it's not that he "isn't the greatest at email communication", it's that you hired a GC who you don't share a common language in which you are both fluent. Wow....that's an interesting choice. Aren't you in LA? Haven't you heard of the great deals you can get on dubiously licensed barely speaks a common language contractors you can get to do major home renovations? A coworker of mine recently had his home take a year to complete, 9 months to get them to do it once, and 3 months to get them to fix all of the stupid punch list items, and I'm sure there will be another year or so of hiring people to now do it right.
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Sep 16, 2016 17:40
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   Could use some roofing advice / sanity checking. I've got a roughly 200 sqft flat seam metal roof that needs replaced over a sun porch so we can get under it to fix some leak / wood rot issues. It's got an inset gutter (that I'd like to keep) that'll add some custom fabrication work to the job. Both of the two roofing contractors I've talked to (lost contact with one) suggested a standing seam copper roof with a soldered in box gutter, which given the other build materials in the house seems like a good choice to me... buuuut, after getting the quote... daaamn that's expensive. Is this a reasonable price for the work? $13k for 200 sqft roof even with the custom work seems... high. Copper quote: 1. Remove roofing material on low slope section on left side of the house. 2. Inspect roof decking and replace on a time and material basis if needed. Customer will be notified of any additional work needed at an extra charge. 3. Install ice-guard membrane over exposed roof decking. 4. Install 16oz copper drip edge. 5. Install 16oz copper box gutter liner. 6. Install 16oz standing seam copper roofing. 7. Install 16oz copper counter flashing. 8. Install two (2) 16oz copper downspouts. Total price: $12,975.00 Non-copper EPDM alternative quote: 17. Remove roofing material on low slope section on left side of the house. 18. Inspect roof decking and replace on a time and material basis if needed. Customer will be notified of any additional work needed at an extra charge. 19. Install 16oz copper drip edge. 20. Install EPDM box gutter liner. 21. Install EPDM membrane roofing. 22. Install 16oz copper counter flashing. 23. Install two (2) 16oz copper downspouts. Total price: $7,455.00
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Sep 16, 2016 18:05
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Put down the lube, guys. I'm not getting scammed. This guy has a legitimate business and comes with tons of trustworthy recommendations. It just happens that he was born in Belgium and hasn't become 100% fluent after living here 10 years.
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Sep 16, 2016 22:16
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Bozart posted:Also I would disagree with going all out on afci, because if it wasn't there to begin with your house can be wired in a way that can produce nuisance trips (due to a shared neutral). Oh, yeah, I should have been clearer, I'd only get afci/gfci breakers for certain circuits, such as your bedrooms and living room. Stuff like the fridge should be on its own circuit with a plain old breaker to prevent a nuisance trip from ruining your food, and end point receptacle gfcis are (to me) more convenient in wet rooms like the kitchen/bathroom since you're liable to trip them and it's a quick/easy reset without having to go find the breaker panel. I might have misunderstood the original post as well, it sounded like they were redoing the entire electrical system.
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Sep 16, 2016 23:25
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OSU_Matthew posted:Oh, yeah, I should have been clearer, I'd only get afci/gfci breakers for certain circuits, such as your bedrooms and living room. Stuff like the fridge should be on its own circuit with a plain old breaker to prevent a nuisance trip from ruining your food, and end point receptacle gfcis are (to me) more convenient in wet rooms like the kitchen/bathroom since you're liable to trip them and it's a quick/easy reset without having to go find the breaker panel. I might have misunderstood the original post as well, it sounded like they were redoing the entire electrical system. I was under the impression the fridge should be on a circuit shared with something else (usually lighting?). That way, if the breaker trips you definitely notice.
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Sep 17, 2016 02:29
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devicenull posted:I was under the impression the fridge should be on a circuit shared with something else (usually lighting?). That way, if the breaker trips you definitely notice. It is typically on its own circuit.
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Sep 17, 2016 03:48
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My bedroom in a house I rent is kind of odd. It's one very small room attached to a larger room. The very small room is where I have my bed and couple dressers, all I use this room is to sleep in. The larger room is where I have my study and more storage. The small room does not have a door on it, probably because it's a strange size and a custom door that would match the others would be expensive. So I'm cool just hanging a tapestry to close it off. I'm wondering what might be the best way to hang *door* tapestry
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Sep 18, 2016 13:09
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never happy posted:I'm wondering what might be the best way to hang *door* tapestry Get a compression rod, like for a shower curtain, and hang it off of that, maybe?
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Sep 18, 2016 15:21
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