Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

«‹›596 »

Enos Cabell: Nov 3, 2004

SubponticatePoster posted:

Accidents happen. I also have a large picture window in my living room but only a 1-story house and the bottom sill is about 2' off the ground. Assuming I was drunk/high/a klutz/tripped over something the wall would probably break most of my fall and I'd just bang my head good and hard. With only a few inches of wall all your momentum is going right into the glass and if it's on a 2nd story that's going to be unpleasant if you make it through. It's not likely to occur, but again: accidents.

I don't have a gate at the top of my stairs either. :clint:

oh drat new page, well here is some pics of the flooring. probably going to be stuck at that point for the next six weeks until that window gets replaced

kitties approve

Enos Cabell fucked around with this message at 22:36 on May 16, 2018

# ? May 16, 2018 22:29

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 12, 2024 13:35

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

A massive window is only a risk if it slides open.
Modem talk, my ～new phone stand～ arrived.

Only registered members can see post attachments!

# ? May 16, 2018 22:32

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

peanut posted:

A massive window is only a risk if it slides open.
Modem talk, my ～new phone stand～ arrived.

Awesome! I actually have 3 or 4 of those that I need to get rid of.

# ? May 16, 2018 23:18

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Heck, half the GIS results are just the iron legs repurposed for end tables. If you also have the beautiful old machines (and if they still work!) you should easily find a buyer.
How did you get 3? ...always upgrading to a slightly prettier one without selling the others?

# ? May 16, 2018 23:35

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

peanut posted:

Heck, half the GIS results are just the iron legs repurposed for end tables. If you also have the beautiful old machines (and if they still work!) you should easily find a buyer.
How did you get 3? ...always upgrading to a slightly prettier one without selling the others?

No, I somehow inherited them. Mom had one from her mother, she bought another at some point, and someone gave her a frame without a machine. I'm thinking of getting that one sandblasted, primed and painted and putting a soapstone slab on it.

# ? May 17, 2018 02:43

Jaded Burnout: Jul 10, 2004

Enos Cabell posted:

I don't have a gate at the top of my stairs either.

Yeah. I'm also a little baffled by the idea that you can trip and go through a double glazed window rather than bounce right off it. It's not like in the movies.

Offices would never put them in on the 65th floor if it was that much of a liability.

Enos Cabell posted:

oh drat new page, well here is some pics of the flooring. probably going to be stuck at that point for the next six weeks until that window gets replaced

kitties approve

Aww

# ? May 17, 2018 06:30

cakesmith handyman: Jul 22, 2007; Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

Pigsfeet on Rye posted:

Awesome! I actually have 3 or 4 of those that I need to get rid of.

You're not in the UK are you?

# ? May 17, 2018 08:43

Obsoletely Fabulous: May 6, 2008; Who are you, and why should I care?

Pigsfeet on Rye posted:

Awesome! I actually have 3 or 4 of those that I need to get rid of.

Are you my mother? She had a thing going for a while where she would by those and old sewing machines at garage sales for like $10-20, repair them, and then sell them.

# ? May 17, 2018 12:07

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

10 bux is ridic these sewing tables own

# ? May 17, 2018 13:10

Pigsfeet on Rye: Oct 22, 2008; I'm meat on the hoof

cakesmith handyman posted:

You're not in the UK are you?

No, I'm in the US / NJ.

Obsoletely Fabulous posted:

Are you my mother? She had a thing going for a while where she would by those and old sewing machines at garage sales for like $10-20, repair them, and then sell them.

I don't believe so. Did your mom get rid of all of hers?

# ? May 17, 2018 17:49

devicenull: May 30, 2007; Grimey Drawer

loquacius posted:

This thread seems like a good place for this question, let me know if it's not. Intensely stupid question incoming from a first-time homeowner.

My wife and I just bought a condo. Closing was yesterday morning; went in last night and ate pizza on the floor etc, good time was had by all. Moving in on June 10th. In the meantime, I have been finally paying attention to stuff like outlet placement. This is my first time owning a home, so I don't really know how a lot of stuff works. I'm getting that putting an outlet into a wall usually costs a couple hundred bucks, no big, drop in the bucket compared to what the place cost to buy, etc. But what's the deal with coax and Ethernet?

Like, ok, so, as I have discovered since the final walkthrough (the first time we'd seen the place without all the sellers' stuff inside), the condo as we have purchased it has coax strung up on the ceiling of the basement and poking up through the floor at a few key points where the sellers had their TVs etc. Seems kind of ghetto, but if it works it works. But, we're cord-cutters, so coax is less important to me than Ethernet. And the place where I want to put my computer desk (which is where our modem and router will go) does not have a coax hookup either in the wall or poking out of the floor.

Question number 1 is, if I want to get a coax hookup in a place where there is not one right now, preferably coming out of a wall outlet thing like a grownup (but I'll settle for the floor-hole if I have to), is that the kind of thing that is covered by my "free installation" when we get the Internet first set up, or would I have to separately hire an electrician to route the cable around through the walls for me? How much would that run?

Question number 2 is, what would be the best way for me to get Internet from our router to where our TV will be set up in another room? I'm probably gonna set up a network switch there so everything that needs Internet can get some, but I need to get some Ethernet cable over there first. Is there an accepted way to set that up, or should I just copy what the sellers did with their coax and run it along the basement ceiling and through holes in the floor?

Alternately, this is the kind of thing I should probably know the answer to, but, what if I bought, like, a second modem and used that with the existing coax hookup as an Internet source for all of the stuff around our TV, while the existing modem handles my computer and the WiFi? Is that a thing that is done? I've certainly never lived in a multiple-modem household but I still thought it was worth asking.

In our current 1BR apartment our TV and my desk are about 5 feet away from each other by necessity so this is a non-issue, but the new place has, like, actual rooms and stuff

Unfinished basement makes this super easy. Pick a central location in your basement (near an outlet!). Put the modem and router there, run ethernet through your house to where ever you want it.

Hardwire (with ethernet) everything you can. You'll be way happier having your computer and TV on a wired connection.

Holes in the floor isn't exactly ideal. If you have access from the basement, it's not too hard to add wall outlets for this stuff. You basically cut a hole in the wall, drill a hole up from the basement, and run the wire between the two.

Toss a low voltage bracket and a keystone plate on the wall, and you'll have a professional looking install.

# ? May 18, 2018 01:49

Obsoletely Fabulous: May 6, 2008; Who are you, and why should I care?

Pigsfeet on Rye posted:

No, I'm in the US / NJ.

I don't believe so. Did your mom get rid of all of hers?

Nope. I believe there are still a couple in her sewing room.

# ? May 18, 2018 02:52

OBAMNA PHONE: Aug 7, 2002

i need to replace the fence on one side of my property and DIY looks like the way to go.

the posts are rotted but the were installed with nice metal brackets into concrete and I think those haven't shifted much so i will reuse them.

is there any real reason to go with screws instead of nails?

# ? May 18, 2018 14:54

loquacius: Oct 21, 2008

devicenull posted:

Unfinished basement makes this super easy. Pick a central location in your basement (near an outlet!). Put the modem and router there, run ethernet through your house to where ever you want it.

Hardwire (with ethernet) everything you can. You'll be way happier having your computer and TV on a wired connection.

Holes in the floor isn't exactly ideal. If you have access from the basement, it's not too hard to add wall outlets for this stuff. You basically cut a hole in the wall, drill a hole up from the basement, and run the wire between the two.

Toss a low voltage bracket and a keystone plate on the wall, and you'll have a professional looking install.

As an update, I just scheduled my Internet installation and they said they will put in the outlet for $35 which seemed like a good enough deal considering this would have been literally the first home-improvement project I have ever done :toot:

I'm probably gonna replace the currently-strung coax cable leading to where we're putting the TV with an Ethernet cable of equal length (since it turns out a set of two MOCA adapters is $150 on Amazon); that seems like a better intro project. Maybe once I get my confidence up a little bit I can replace that floorhole with a real outlet.

BraveUlysses posted:

is there any real reason to go with screws instead of nails?

You can put screws in with a power drill whereas nails require you to use your human arms like a caveman

# ? May 18, 2018 19:37

Jaded Burnout: Jul 10, 2004

loquacius posted:

You can put screws in with a power drill whereas nails require you to use your human arms like a caveman

Allow me to introduce you to both the impact driver and the nail gun.

# ? May 18, 2018 19:46

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

Nail gun is best of both worlds PLUS adds the possibility of penetrating trauma, the manliest of Emergency Department chief complaints.

# ? May 18, 2018 19:47

loquacius: Oct 21, 2008

Ok you got me there, but, if necessary, screws can also be taken OUT with a power drill

# ? May 18, 2018 20:41

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

We just add the next-manliest of Emergency Department visits -- fire -- and burn the posts out around the nails!

# ? May 18, 2018 21:32

Jaded Burnout: Jul 10, 2004

Or get another stronger nail gun

# ? May 18, 2018 21:39

Network42: Oct 23, 2002

Just bought our first house, and it's mostly great, but there are a couple issues I'd like to take care of.

I need to mount our mailbox out by the sidewalk instead of on the porch wall like it currently is. Is there any problem with just buying a masonry drill bit and mounting that mailbox in the picture directly to my retaining wall in that little corner?

The previous homeowner painted the ceiling themselves and didn't bother to remove this trim. Is there something that will take off the paint without making me restain/replace the trim?

# ? May 19, 2018 20:29

Jaded Burnout: Jul 10, 2004

Network42 posted:

Is there any problem with just buying a masonry drill bit and mounting that mailbox in the picture directly to my retaining wall in that little corner?

Nope.

Network42 posted:

The previous homeowner painted the ceiling themselves and didn't bother to remove this trim. Is there something that will take off the paint without making me restain/replace the trim?

Veeery delicate application of a solvent, perhaps? It might also be water-based paint!

# ? May 19, 2018 20:33

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

Network42 posted:

I need to mount our mailbox out by the sidewalk instead of on the porch wall like it currently is. Is there any problem with just buying a masonry drill bit and mounting that mailbox in the picture directly to my retaining wall in that little corner?

Just make sure you read up on the ordinances regarding mailbox height, etc.

# ? May 19, 2018 20:59

Sir Lemming: Jan 27, 2009; It's a piece of JUNK!

What's the deal with crawlspace vents? I heard at some point that they should be closed in the winter (so pipes don't freeze) and opened in the summer to like, keep the air from getting too humid or something. But I'm having second thoughts about that during this particularly muggy stretch of weather. Well, "second thoughts" and/or a minor panic attack because I feel like the house is more humid than it should be and I'm worried I permanently ruined the crawlspace or something. (I opened the vents a few weeks ago.) I'm starting to read a lot of articles that say crawlspace vents were required by building codes but new science is determining that they're garbage and should be sealed off. Of course, those articles usually end with an ad for crawlspace-sealing services, so it's hard to tell who to trust.

EDIT: Should really mention that I live in North Carolina. Eastern, but not really eastern where it floods all the time. I also have central HVAC (as does just about everyone here) with ducts that run through the crawlspace.

Sir Lemming fucked around with this message at 01:25 on May 20, 2018

# ? May 20, 2018 01:20

Hubis: May 18, 2003; Boy, I wish we had one of those doomsday machines...

Network42 posted:

Just bought our first house, and it's mostly great, but there are a couple issues I'd like to take care of.

I need to mount our mailbox out by the sidewalk instead of on the porch wall like it currently is. Is there any problem with just buying a masonry drill bit and mounting that mailbox in the picture directly to my retaining wall in that little corner?

The previous homeowner painted the ceiling themselves and didn't bother to remove this trim. Is there something that will take off the paint without making me restain/replace the trim?

Mailbox: my only concern would be making sure you aren't putting it somewhere that will channel water when it rains.

Trim: honestly scraping/sanding/restaining might be the easiest option.

# ? May 20, 2018 01:54

Tiny Timbs: Sep 6, 2008

Seems like it might be as easy as scoring it along the edge and using a scraper to take it off.

# ? May 20, 2018 01:55

tangy yet delightful: Sep 13, 2005

Sir Lemming posted:

What's the deal with crawlspace vents? I heard at some point that they should be closed in the winter (so pipes don't freeze) and opened in the summer to like, keep the air from getting too humid or something. But I'm having second thoughts about that during this particularly muggy stretch of weather. Well, "second thoughts" and/or a minor panic attack because I feel like the house is more humid than it should be and I'm worried I permanently ruined the crawlspace or something. (I opened the vents a few weeks ago.) I'm starting to read a lot of articles that say crawlspace vents were required by building codes but new science is determining that they're garbage and should be sealed off. Of course, those articles usually end with an ad for crawlspace-sealing services, so it's hard to tell who to trust.

EDIT: Should really mention that I live in North Carolina. Eastern, but not really eastern where it floods all the time. I also have central HVAC (as does just about everyone here) with ducts that run through the crawlspace.

I installed auto open/close vents at my parents house maybe 5 years ago and they work great. They work via some temperature sensing mechanical magic.

Now I haven't read into anything about crawlspace vents in new construction but from home inspectors I gather that they are important to be functional in existing older homes.

# ? May 20, 2018 02:07

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

New builds here have a layer of plastic grids directly between the foundation and the house frame. It's just a 1cm gap (shielded by an external rain guard) but it seems to allow enough airflow without exposing the crawlspace to flooding or animals.
https://www.ismart-blog.com/foundation-work11/

# ? May 20, 2018 02:14

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

Sir Lemming posted:

What's the deal with crawlspace vents? I heard at some point that they should be closed in the winter (so pipes don't freeze) and opened in the summer to like, keep the air from getting too humid or something. But I'm having second thoughts about that during this particularly muggy stretch of weather. Well, "second thoughts" and/or a minor panic attack because I feel like the house is more humid than it should be and I'm worried I permanently ruined the crawlspace or something. (I opened the vents a few weeks ago.) I'm starting to read a lot of articles that say crawlspace vents were required by building codes but new science is determining that they're garbage and should be sealed off. Of course, those articles usually end with an ad for crawlspace-sealing services, so it's hard to tell who to trust.

EDIT: Should really mention that I live in North Carolina. Eastern, but not really eastern where it floods all the time. I also have central HVAC (as does just about everyone here) with ducts that run through the crawlspace.

Just buy a dehumidifer with a pump and run it continuously.

# ? May 20, 2018 12:55

Sir Lemming: Jan 27, 2009; It's a piece of JUNK!

I mean, I can easily just close them again. There's no known moisture problem with the house. Just trying to do whatever's best.

One good side effect of this frantic research is that I realized we forgot to change the AC return filters about a month or two ago. Apparently my reminder was only set to last until January instead of forever. So I'll change those out today.

Sir Lemming fucked around with this message at 14:23 on May 20, 2018

# ? May 20, 2018 14:19

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

Huh. So it looks like the house next door is listed under pre-foreclosure online. There are four houses in a row on land that was split up for three lots in 1925 -- approximately two, two, and four acres respectively. Later on someone carved out a one acre corner of that last plot for another home.

code:

    __________________________________________________________________________________________
<===__________________________________________________________________________________________===>
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |                    |                    |
      |                    |                    |____________________|                    |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      |                    |                    |                                         |
      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm the second from the left, and that one-acre lot is the one that looks like it might be up for foreclosure soon. It's awfully mercenary, but I'm considering doing some research into it.

# ? May 20, 2018 19:02

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

If you can afford to buy that house and put family or renters there, go for it. Is the owner currently living there?

# ? May 20, 2018 22:33

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

tetrapyloctomy posted:

Huh. So it looks like the house next door is listed under pre-foreclosure online. There are four houses in a row on land that was split up for three lots in 1925 -- approximately two, two, and four acres respectively. Later on someone carved out a one acre corner of that last plot for another home.

I'm the second from the left, and that one-acre lot is the one that looks like it might be up for foreclosure soon. It's awfully mercenary, but I'm considering doing some research into it.

If you can afford it and want to buy it a short sale is easier on everyone than a foreclosure. Talk to a real estate attorney about it.

# ? May 20, 2018 23:12

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

peanut posted:

If you can afford to buy that house and put family or renters there, go for it. Is the owner currently living there?

He is. I only see him occasionally despite having lived here for ... wow, five years next month. I feel badly for the guy, he seems alright. Looks like he bought it for $125k about thirty years ago, which makes me wonder how far behind he possibly could be. Maybe medical bills or something.

# ? May 21, 2018 00:33

peanut: Sep 9, 2007

Buy it and rent it to him at a very friendly rate?

# ? May 21, 2018 02:33

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

peanut posted:

Buy it and rent it to him at a very friendly rate?

I was considering this. A lot would depend on how it's been mortgaged out, what issues the house has (I am going to guess "many"), etc. I'll have to see if I can talk to him.

# ? May 21, 2018 10:50

cakesmith handyman: Jul 22, 2007; Pip-Pip old chap! Last one in is a rotten egg what what.

I must be a terrible person before my first thought was to buy it and flatten it for a bigger lot

# ? May 21, 2018 11:23

Jaded Burnout: Jul 10, 2004

cakesmith handyman posted:

I must be a terrible person before my first thought was to buy it and flatten it for a bigger lot

Mine too, or join them together.

I've had people ask whether that's what I did with my house because the numbering skips one for some reason.

# ? May 21, 2018 11:46

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Jaded Burnout posted:

Mine too, or join them together.

I've had people ask whether that's what I did with my house because the numbering skips one for some reason.

You mean redevelop into 8/12 houses. It's what we'd do in Seattle.

# ? May 21, 2018 13:55

tetrapyloctomy: Feb 18, 2003; Okay -- you talk WAY too fast.; Nap Ghost

cakesmith handyman posted:

I must be a terrible person before my first thought was to buy it and flatten it for a bigger lot

I've wanted that lot for a while even if I did end up just using it to make my lot bigger, but I don't want the guy to get kicked out of his house for it to happen.

Hughlander posted:

You mean redevelop into 8/12 houses. It's what we'd do in Seattle.

Also, I don't want this next door.

# ? May 21, 2018 14:24

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 12, 2024 13:35

H110Hawk: Dec 28, 2006

tetrapyloctomy posted:

I've wanted that lot for a while even if I did end up just using it to make my lot bigger, but I don't want the guy to get kicked out of his house for it to happen.

Also, I don't want this next door.

Remember that renting it to him suddenly you are responsible for all of the maintenance this person has neglected over the last 30 years.

# ? May 21, 2018 14:28

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

«‹›596 »