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I need to soundproof a window. My apartment's A/C unit is right outside my bedroom and it's loving loud. I don't need dead silence but anything would help. My first guess is to use foam. My local foam store has 2" polyurethane...good enough? Also, there's this: http://www.supersoundproofingsales.com/SSP-Foam-Mat-2-thick-by-48-wide-per-foot/productinfo/09-42760-PSA/ Same poo poo with a fancy name or a good idea? Any other ideas welcome too.
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May 31, 2018 02:18
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:I want to build a brick planter, like with mortar and a trowel and all that. From my reading, depending on the size of the planter and your local dirt, you might want to put a concrete footer underneath it. But nothing I've found so far says how wide or thick that footer should be. I assume it's there just to provide a more stable foundation for the bricks than just dirt, so it doesn't need to be especially thick unless you're building a really huge planter. Would 6" wide, 2" thick do it? This is for ~4"-wide bricks, and the planter's not gonna be more than 2 or maybe 3 feet tall. My location does not freeze, soil is clay. My initial thought was that a footer would be unnecessary if your soil is stable and well-compacted but if you're considering going as tall as 3' that's a fair amount of weight to distribute. Pouring a concrete footer still seems like overkill though. If you have or can get extra bricks (people have a hard time giving them away where I'm at, they're pretty easy to get for free), maybe you could lay a course below grade, perpendicular to the courses of the actual planter, to act as a footer of sorts. If the soil is well-tamped I'd think that would suffice.
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May 31, 2018 17:47
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Hm, thanks. And that'd give me practice with the bricklaying where it will be completely invisible. Works for me! Also thanks for the reminder to look for free bricks before I go to the store. I don't really know how tall this thing will get; I'm going to stop when I like how it looks. But yeah, 3' sounds kind of ridiculous now that I think about it.
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May 31, 2018 17:56
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Hm, thanks. And that'd give me practice with the bricklaying where it will be completely invisible. Works for me! Also thanks for the reminder to look for free bricks before I go to the store. I like the idea of making this without a rigid plan and did something similar a couple weekends ago making raised bed planters for a sloped backyard out of old fence boards. It can feel more like a fun project and less like an assignment.
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May 31, 2018 18:35
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Ramrod Hotshot posted:I need to soundproof a window. My apartment's A/C unit is right outside my bedroom and it's loving loud. I don't need dead silence but anything would help. Try weatherstripping first. Air gaps are also noise gaps.
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May 31, 2018 23:31
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I have a (faux?)leather couch I bought almost 10 years ago, and it spent a few years in an unheated storage unit. I got it out about 4 months ago but what was some tiny cracks are now a big cracking mess and pieces are falling off in that area. What do I need to stop the cracks from getting bigger and hopefully patch the section? https://imgur.com/a/jHmwzpO
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Jun 1, 2018 02:32
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Mecha posted:I have a (faux?)leather couch I bought almost 10 years ago, and it spent a few years in an unheated storage unit. I got it out about 4 months ago but what was some tiny cracks are now a big cracking mess and pieces are falling off in that area. It's bonded leather, and once it starts peeling - you can't stop it. It's like a sunburn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqac3brg_Dc
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Jun 1, 2018 02:38
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Bummer, but I suspected something like that. Thanks!
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Jun 1, 2018 07:07
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socketwrencher posted:Not sure I'm getting the lintel above the wall plate concept but how about something like this: The problem I've got is I'm limited to 2.5m from ground to the highest point over all, and a door I've been eyeing up is 2075mm high plus about 30mm for a sill which doesnt leave me a great deal of space for floor and roof structure. My idea is rather than the cumulative depth of Header+Top/wall plate+roof joists is to dual purpose the header as a roof joist;  Edit: I was thinking best to avoid hanging off the lintel, but maybe I should just switch it round and fix the joists to the header.  Edit 2: I think I'm going with this kind of thing.  If anyone is interested in having a look at my sketchup model to see if I've made any glaring errors, let me know. Though note it is in millimetres..... MeKeV fucked around with this message at 15:08 on Jun 1, 2018 |
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Jun 1, 2018 09:30
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MeKeV posted:The problem I've got is I'm limited to 2.5m from ground to the highest point over all, and a door I've been eyeing up is 2075mm high plus about 30mm for a sill which doesnt leave me a great deal of space for floor and roof structure. The last one is the best option, but run all your ceiling joists all the way out your cantilevered roof section like you have the two end joists shown. If you want a solid wall there, add blocking between the joists. Much simpler and stronger construction. Running some 2x6 (or whatever your joists are) blocking perpendicular to the joists in the bays between them every few feet-this keeps the joists from tipping over and ties them all together. To attach the metal roof, either deck the roof with plywood and fasten to that, preferably into the joists, or run battens (I think purlin is actually the term) perpendicular to the joists and screw the roof to that. Since the wall isn't really load-bearing and it's just a shed, you shouldn't need a header over the door. A header's job is to transfer the weight above it around the door opening and back down the studs framing the door-you have no weight above the door, so you don't really need one.You may want to add some perpendicular blocking on the wall with the door if you can to stiffen it up a bit, but plywood sheathing should do that anyway.
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Jun 1, 2018 23:33
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Just moved to a new apartment, and I've noticed there's anywhere from a 1cm to 2cm gap between the floor and the baseboard on one side of the bedroom wall. Is just a silicon caulk okay to fill this in with? Follow-up question, would the same caulk work for a few spots around the tub? Or is that a different caulk, in which case would it work around the baseboard? Thanks!
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Jun 2, 2018 20:36
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Johnny Truant posted:Just moved to a new apartment, and I've noticed there's anywhere from a 1cm to 2cm gap between the floor and the baseboard on one side of the bedroom wall. Is just a silicon caulk okay to fill this in with? Silicone caulk makes any surface it touches basically unpaintable, so it’s rarely the right choice for places that aren’t constantly wet. Even the kinds that claim to be paintable can be problematic. “Painters caulk” is what you want. It’s cheap, super easy to work with, and cleans up easy with a wet finger or rag. That said, 1-2cm is a huge gap for any caulk. You might need to put down some quarter-round trim, then caulk that. Maybe not something to do in a rental apartment? Silicone caulk IS the right choice for a bathroom, so you’re going to need two separate products. eddiewalker fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Jun 2, 2018 |
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Jun 2, 2018 20:54
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eddiewalker posted:Silicone caulk makes any surface it touches basically unpaintable, so it’s rarely the right choice for places that aren’t constantly wet. Even the kinds that claim to be paintable can be problematic. Awesome, thanks for the advice! Yeah I was debating the caulking of the baseboard, think I may just call maintenance on that one. While we're renting we're about to live here for minimum 2, hopefully 3 years so I don't mind putting a little bit of elbow grease into the place.
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Jun 2, 2018 22:50
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What's a good option for removable bolts into concrete? I'm going to bolt my manual tire changer to the garage concrete slab. I've used lag shields like https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-8-in-x-1-3-4-in-Zinc-Alloy-Short-Lag-Shields-15-Pack-803602/204273401 but they don't seem to last many install/removal cycles. Best luck I had was epoxying them in place. Other options I've seen are sleeve anchors but they appear to be either permanent installations or leave an inch or three of metal sticking up.
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Jun 3, 2018 18:10
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Skier posted:What's a good option for removable bolts into concrete? I'm going to bolt my manual tire changer to the garage concrete slab. I've used lag shields like https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-8-in-x-1-3-4-in-Zinc-Alloy-Short-Lag-Shields-15-Pack-803602/204273401 but they don't seem to last many install/removal cycles. Best luck I had was epoxying them in place. AvE was repping these for bolting down movable equipment. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Red-Head-3-8-in-x-1-5-8-in-Steel-Drop-In-Anchors-50-Pack-01891/100154222 The reviews seem positive except for the complaints about Home Depot policy and having to buy a setting tool.
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Jun 3, 2018 18:50
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Turned on the hot water in my shower, it comes out as a trickle. It was fine yesterday, not fine today. Checked the crawlspace- ain't leaking in the wall where the pipes feed into the shower-combo thing. Checked the basement, no leaks coming from above. Hot water is fine out of every other place. I'm guessing the stem connecting the shower knob to the valve broke? How much of a pain would that be to fix?
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Jun 3, 2018 23:57
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:Turned on the hot water in my shower, it comes out as a trickle. It was fine yesterday, not fine today. Checked the crawlspace- ain't leaking in the wall where the pipes feed into the shower-combo thing. Checked the basement, no leaks coming from above. Hot water is fine out of every other place. I'm guessing the stem connecting the shower knob to the valve broke? Depends on your setup and mechanical aptitude, but pretty much all common shower/tub faucets can be rebuilt, probably with hand tools and replacement parts from Home Depot. Pictures would help if you want more direction.
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Jun 4, 2018 02:18
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eddiewalker posted:Depends on your setup and mechanical aptitude, but pretty much all common shower/tub faucets can be rebuilt, probably with hand tools and replacement parts from Home Depot. It's a standard bath/shower combo thing with three knobs on it. I haven't ever fooled around with them before, so I don't have any of the terminology or knowledge. I look at plumbing the same way my elderly relatives probably look at computers.
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Jun 4, 2018 02:51
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eddiewalker posted:AvE was repping these for bolting down movable equipment. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Red-Head-3-8-in-x-1-5-8-in-Steel-Drop-In-Anchors-50-Pack-01891/100154222 Thanks, I'll check those out!
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Jun 4, 2018 05:52
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:It's a standard bath/shower combo thing with three knobs on it. I haven't ever fooled around with them before, so I don't have any of the terminology or knowledge. I look at plumbing the same way my elderly relatives probably look at computers. Own or rent? And can you turn off the water going to the shower or do you have to turn off the water for the whole house?
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Jun 4, 2018 05:58
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:The last one is the best option, but run all your ceiling joists all the way out your cantilevered roof section like you have the two end joists shown. If you want a solid wall there, add blocking between the joists. Much simpler and stronger construction. Running some 2x6 (or whatever your joists are) blocking perpendicular to the joists in the bays between them every few feet-this keeps the joists from tipping over and ties them all together. To attach the metal roof, either deck the roof with plywood and fasten to that, preferably into the joists, or run battens (I think purlin is actually the term) perpendicular to the joists and screw the roof to that. Since the wall isn't really load-bearing and it's just a shed, you shouldn't need a header over the door. A header's job is to transfer the weight above it around the door opening and back down the studs framing the door-you have no weight above the door, so you don't really need one.You may want to add some perpendicular blocking on the wall with the door if you can to stiffen it up a bit, but plywood sheathing should do that anyway. Will running the ceiling joists right through not be too much weight on the opening (4' 5") with just the double top plate over the door (2x4s)? Or does tying all the roof deck members together spread the load out enough.
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Jun 4, 2018 12:12
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Hello there and thanks in advance for ideas. I have made a guitar and used a potentiometer/DPDT switch combination. The problem is that the neck of the pot is too short, and I can't screw it to the surface of the guitar. Picture attached. I have made a quickfix by gluing stuff to the back of the pot, so it's held against the cover of the circuit compartment, and added some little pieces of wood so it doesn't dance around. Picture included.  What is the nicest, most professional-looking way I can go around fixing this problem? I could sand the inside part of the wood so that the potentiometer would stick out a little more, but I prefer to avoid that, because I am afraid the wood would break. Is a sleeve a good solution? Ideally I would find a sleeve I could attach/glue to the hole so the potentiometer really stays in place but I can unscrew it if I need to. The head you see sticking out is 6mm across and the hole is slightly bigger. Thanks in advance! Dawncloack fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Jun 4, 2018 |
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Jun 4, 2018 20:37
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Dawncloack posted:Thanks in advance! A threaded insert would work here. Find the thread pitch (they're standard sized, so M8x1.0 or 3/8-24 or something like that). You can then press the insert into the body, making sure you have a firm backing surface to avoid cracking, then you just spin the pot back into the insert and re-solder everything. Make sure you have a jam nut on the pot so you can lock the pot to the insert, otherwise it will eventually spin out. You could also use loctite or peen the threads of the insert to lock it in.
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Jun 4, 2018 21:01
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Dawncloack posted:Hello there and thanks in advance for ideas. Switch to a pot with a longer neck?
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Jun 4, 2018 21:16
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MeKeV posted:Will running the ceiling joists right through not be too much weight on the opening (4' 5") with just the double top plate over the door (2x4s)? Or does tying all the roof deck members together spread the load out enough.
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Jun 5, 2018 01:24
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Quick plumbing question. A roundabout explanation to get to the small question: Our garbage disposal hasn't been draining properly and I decided to take the pipes off and take a look. Turns out the disposal drain is, man I don' t know, beyond repair. Like it's corroded/collapsed/disgustingly bad shape. We never use the disposal anyway and are just wanting to get rid of it. It's really old and I'm guessing hadn't been cleaned in 20 years (I cleaned out the adjoining pipes and almost passed out). Well one thing led to another and it looks like all the pipes need replacing. They're just in bad shape and the metal slip nut over the sink drain was broken and the slightest movement broke it further off. What a poo poo hole. I bought a replacement kit from Lowes but upon looking at the pipe that goes through the wall with a light... oh my god. It was clogged nearly 100%. I'm just going to call a plumber to come clear out the pipes and remove the old disposal (it's installed in there pretty good) and install the new pipes and just do it for me. I've been at it for 2 hours and it's loving disgusting. I'm done. SO my question is this: I know the P Trap is important to keep fumes from coming in. So I just reinstalled the P Trap and put some water in it and am leaving it like that for the night. That should be safe right? When I first disconnected the old trap I briefly smelled the fumes but they went away within a few seconds.
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Jun 6, 2018 04:25
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That will be totally fine, as a tip for next time you could also stuff the pipe with rags or duct tape a ziploc bag over the hole. All you are doing is creating an air barrier to trap the sewer gases (which is what the water in the P-Trap does).
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Jun 6, 2018 06:16
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HycoCam posted:Own or rent? And can you turn off the water going to the shower or do you have to turn off the water for the whole house? A little late with the response, I know, but we took care of the problem. There was a screw in the line. No idea how it got there. Thanks anyways.
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Jun 6, 2018 14:12
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:A little late with the response, I know, but we took care of the problem. There was a screw in the line. No idea how it got there. Thanks anyways. Literally in the pipe? That's a new one.
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Jun 6, 2018 14:24
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Not sure what the situation was here, but I've lost track of how many screws and nails I've seen in water lines. And the neat thing is, they normally don't leak right away, at least not a lot. Sometimes it's just a super slow drip or spray for weeks or months that saturates the wall cavity, leading to rot and mold. Sometimes, it holds tight for years before the screw finally rusts away and you get a huge leak behind the wall for no apparent reason. My advice to everyone: Don't hang a picture or anything else above the toilet, particularly in an apartment with another apartment upstairs. Older construction frequently ran one supply line for both floors. Or you might just hit the drain pipe for the bathroom above, leading to grosser problems.
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Jun 6, 2018 14:31
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tangy yet delightful posted:That will be totally fine, as a tip for next time you could also stuff the pipe with rags or duct tape a ziploc bag over the hole. All you are doing is creating an air barrier to trap the sewer gases (which is what the water in the P-Trap does). I actually put a zip loc bag on top of it too! Oh, bet you can't guess what I did this morning in my groggy state? Like an idiot last night I was all "oh I don't need to shut the water line to the faucet off... I'll totally just put a sticky on my faucet not too use it. Well I didn't do that and went to rinse a spoon and got a nice mini-flood. I mean the water was only on for 2 seconds so it wasn't a lot of water, but yeesh I'm an idiot. And if you want to know what cleaning out the disposal after what had to have been 2 decades of disgusting use... it was essentially this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0BUeNLxjwA
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Jun 6, 2018 15:15
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Oh man, and I honestly almost posted "hey you should tell any people who live with you not to use the water if you have left it on" but then was like nah that's not needed 
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Jun 6, 2018 16:23
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tangy yet delightful posted:Oh man, and I honestly almost posted "hey you should tell any people who live with you not to use the water if you have left it on" but then was like nah that's not needed My uncles were working on finishing out an unfinished basement. Steve told Louis, alright, time to start wiring in these sockets, go flip the breaker, so Louis went up to the garage, did so, and came back to the basement. They discuss for several minutes their plan of action, and then Steve settles in and starts to do the electrical work and promptly shocks the poo poo out of himself. He yells at Louis for turning off the wrong goddamn breaker, Louis yells back he did no such thing and then comes over to prove it and manages to shock himself, too. Louis goes back up the garage and finds all the breakers turned on and thinks Jesus, I've got to stop day drinking, and turns the breaker off and goes back into the basement. Louis and Steve argue for a few minutes more about the initial gently caress up, Louis convinces Steve that he's got it right now, and Steve resumes electrical work and promptly shocks himself again. At this point the fists are coming up and the yelling recommences which gets loud enough for my aunt, who neither one knew had come home comes running down the stairs to tell them 1) to knock it off, whatever they're arguing about because 2) something keeps tripping the breaker and she is trying to run a load through the dryer. Anyway long story short don't do electrical work without a multimeter.
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Jun 6, 2018 16:53
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tactlessbastard posted:My uncles were working on finishing out an unfinished basement. Steve told Louis, alright, time to start wiring in these sockets, go flip the breaker, so Louis went up to the garage, did so, and came back to the basement. They discuss for several minutes their plan of action, and then Steve settles in and starts to do the electrical work and promptly shocks the poo poo out of himself. He yells at Louis for turning off the wrong goddamn breaker, Louis yells back he did no such thing and then comes over to prove it and manages to shock himself, too. Ha this kind of reminds me of my AC going out last year. It's after hours on a Friday and luckily a friend of a friend is gonna come by and check it. It's Mississippi in the summer... you need an AC. Well the guy flips the outside breaker and then figures its the capacitor gone bad (it had) and changes it out. While changing it out the thing arcs like a mofo and almost kills him. He's dumbfounded. Checks outside breaker... it's definitely set to off. Well he gets a stick and pushes the actual panel open. Not the door, but removes the whole plate. The loving breaker had been BYPASSED AND WIRED TO THE INTERIOR BREAKER BOX. And then, instead of removing the box because it's code to have one, they just covered it back up. God my previous homeowners were loving poo poo.
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Jun 6, 2018 17:06
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tactlessbastard posted:My uncles were working on finishing out an unfinished basement. Steve told Louis, alright, time to start wiring in these sockets, go flip the breaker, so Louis went up to the garage, did so, and came back to the basement. They discuss for several minutes their plan of action, and then Steve settles in and starts to do the electrical work and promptly shocks the poo poo out of himself. He yells at Louis for turning off the wrong goddamn breaker, Louis yells back he did no such thing and then comes over to prove it and manages to shock himself, too. That had to be a gas dryer. Electric ones are on their own circuits, you're not supposed to share them.
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Jun 6, 2018 17:06
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BonoMan posted:Ha this kind of reminds me of my AC going out last year. It's after hours on a Friday and luckily a friend of a friend is gonna come by and check it. It's Mississippi in the summer... you need an AC. I had shut off the breaker for the living room lights because I was replacing a bad black box in a ceiling fan light fixture that had been making a horrible buzzing noise. I was about an hour into it when my wife comes along and says, hey, the a/c isn't coming on. So, I poke around with the thermostat for a few minutes and then call out the A/C guy, he pokes around for a while before declaring, hey, there's no power to your blower, you need to call an electrician. I pay him and go back in to look up an electrician and then have a sudden brainwave about what else might be on that ceiling fan circuit 
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Jun 6, 2018 17:18
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Another stupid plumbing question, because I live in a house with unending problems: What would cause a very faint sound like running water to come from a line under a sink? My first thought was "leak", but I don't see anything. Felt the lines, didn't feel anything. Went down into the basement and I didn't see any water coming from above, but it is a little wet down there because of the heavy rain so it is kinda hard to gauge on that front. It's a standard bathroom sink set on a cabinet with a line for hot, and a line for cold. The sound is so faint that you can't hear it if there's any ambient noise in the house, but "sounds like water going... somewhere" is an ominous thing, no matter the volume. I should have had the plumber investigate when he was here, but it was 7AM and I was barely awake. 
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Jun 7, 2018 04:39
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:Another stupid plumbing question, because I live in a house with unending problems: Are you sure it's under the sink? Take a look at your toilet tank.
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Jun 7, 2018 06:37
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Shemp the Stooge posted:Are you sure it's under the sink? Take a look at your toilet tank. And also.....does this place have a recirc pump for hot water?
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Jun 8, 2018 03:31
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Shemp the Stooge posted:Are you sure it's under the sink? Take a look at your toilet tank. After having gotten down on my hands and knees, putting my head near the toilet line, and the sink lines... I think it might be both.  Motronic posted:And also.....does this place have a recirc pump for hot water? I don't think so.
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Jun 8, 2018 05:09
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