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Found 2 earwigs in my shower this past week. Should I just light the whole thing on fire now?
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Jul 12, 2018 20:58
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| # ? May 9, 2024 12:08 |
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Sepist posted:Found 2 earwigs in my shower this past week. Should I just light the whole thing on fire now? Ill send you some ants that'll take care of those earwigs for you.
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Jul 12, 2018 21:05
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I killed off the ants when I first moved in, I think the power vacuum I created caused the earwigs to become the local annoying insect
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Jul 12, 2018 21:08
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Sepist posted:I killed off the ants when I first moved in, I think the power vacuum I created caused the earwigs to become the local annoying insect My friend let me tell you about spiders
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Jul 12, 2018 21:23
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Jul 12, 2018 21:33
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SpartanIvy posted:Ill send you some ants that'll take care of those earwigs for you. I got some anteaters that will take of those ants for you later.
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Jul 12, 2018 21:38
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Let me tell you about the mason bees slowly eating the mortar in my brick house.
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Jul 12, 2018 23:09
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Struensee posted:Let me tell you about the mason bees slowly eating the mortar in my brick house. How slowly?
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Jul 12, 2018 23:16
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At least they're solitary bees and super cute 
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Jul 12, 2018 23:19
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Struensee posted:Let me tell you about the mason bees slowly eating the mortar in my brick house. I've heard of carpenter bees, but what the gently caress is a mason bee? Are the bees learning every trade? What's next, plumber bees burrowing into my water lines?
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Jul 12, 2018 23:47
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As long as you don't have electrician bees, you're fine.
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Jul 13, 2018 00:09
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lwoodio posted:I've heard of carpenter bees, but what the gently caress is a mason bee? Are the bees learning every trade? What's next, plumber bees burrowing into my water lines? Nah, you're thinking mason as profession but you should be thinking mason as global conspiracy. Templar bees, illuminati bees, yakuza bees, etc
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Jul 13, 2018 00:19
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I think the ants ate through my caulk. Bastards.
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Jul 13, 2018 01:37
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Homeownership: Ants ate my caulk
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Jul 13, 2018 03:17
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Homeownership: Can you get PTSD from a house?
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Jul 13, 2018 03:35
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Ask at the hospital while you get your caulk fixed
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Jul 13, 2018 03:57
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skipdogg posted:Just google "<your town> independent insurance agent" and call one with good reviews. Glad you dropped in with the DoMyOwn link, I'll just also add that they have some really good "How To" guides there as well which are worth checking if you've got a problem like this. Click the "Learn" link in the right of the menu (they're easy to miss). For example, they have a whole "identify/inspect/treat/prevent" guide just for carpenter ants: https://www.domyown.com/carpenter-ants-identification-guide-a-464.html
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Jul 13, 2018 04:08
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On tonights episode of This loving House: The PO did something else wrong. They had at some point installed a new tank-to-seat gasket on the toilet but instead of tightening the whole tank down like you're supposed to they used wing nuts and hand tightened it, which isn't good enough. The tank was leaning back because of it and causing some humidity damage to the wall. Also if you rocked the tank a little it would leak at the gasket. I went ahead and replaced all the seals and rebuilt it while I was at it. Used proper nuts and got it tightened down enough to keep it from moving but (hopefully) not enough to crack the porcelain. However, the leaking/moisture is not enough to be my ant moisture mystery source.
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Jul 14, 2018 01:15
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If I have a toilet that seems to not flush powerfully enough (like, sometimes just a couple sheets of toilet paper don’t clear, but most of the time it works) should this be a plumber issue, a replace the toilet issue, or a water pressure issue?
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Jul 14, 2018 22:16
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Anya posted:If I have a toilet that seems to not flush powerfully enough (like, sometimes just a couple sheets of toilet paper don’t clear, but most of the time it works) should this be a plumber issue, a replace the toilet issue, or a water pressure issue? Probably a toilet issue, possibly a waste pipe issue. Has the toilet historically worked well and then suddenly stopped working as well? Did it stop working well over time? First thing I would check is that the top tank is filling up as far as it needs to. It could be you don't have enough water being stored for flushing.
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Jul 14, 2018 22:23
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Anya posted:If I have a toilet that seems to not flush powerfully enough (like, sometimes just a couple sheets of toilet paper don’t clear, but most of the time it works) should this be a plumber issue, a replace the toilet issue, or a water pressure issue? My toilet is doing this as well, I keep meaning to fix it. Water pressure is only relevant to tank refill time, not bowl flush. Gravity and a siphon effect does that. (Assumuing a bog standard toilet.) Replacing/fixing/tuning the guts of a toilet tank is a great first time plumbing job as the stakes are low. Make sure your water turn off works freely and easily first. Those parts do wear over time and are easy to replace in a normal toilet. Even if you own exactly 0 of the tools needed you're out <$50 including the new guts. You'll need whatever screwing bits you need (open your tank and look, probably a screwdriver, pliers, or some kind of socket.), youtube, and maybe a sponge. Note the make of your toilet before you go to the hardware store. (American Standard, Kohler, whatever.) Look carefully at the "jets" in your bowl around the rim, if they're clogged up it could be causing this. You can scrape em out with a clothes hanger or similar. You'll know because you will see a pattern of how it "should" look, then a couple that aren't shooting out water. If the bowl is filling up with water that is refusing to drain out, it's somewhere between the exit in the bowl and the sewer. You can test this with a bucket of water, dump it into the bowl when it gets to the high water mark of a flush. If it moves out quickly you're probably fine. That is where I personally call a plumber, because I don't want to deal with the flange/wax seal that keeps the poop in the pipes. Standard warning: There is such a thing as too tight when it comes to porcelain. Gud'n'tight means new toilet. Finger tighten things then give em a little snugging with your hand tools. If there are rubber gaskets on anything you take off go ahead and replace them now. Dry everything with a regular towel, then throw down some paper towels to help look for leaks. Remember water in the tank is "clean" (but I wouldn't drink it), so leaks aren't super gross. H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Jul 14, 2018 |
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Jul 14, 2018 23:10
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Next time I do home renovations I'm just going to loving pay someone to do it. I have come to accept that there is a huge disconnect between what I am capable of doing and what I actually have the motivation and energy to do.
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Jul 15, 2018 14:06
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:Next time I do home renovations I'm just going to loving pay someone to do it. I was nearing my breaking point yesterday with a vent line for my bath fan, I try to remember the money I save doing it myself allows me to do the fun things. Although this morning I’m wondering if a two week vacation is worth the work of 3-4 weekends. (It is)
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Jul 15, 2018 14:17
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Its been like two months since I started renovating my bathroom, it's extremely slow going since I barely get anything done unless I got a friend or my mom over here to keep me motivated. Plus I've been sick for the last week or so.
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Jul 15, 2018 14:20
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:Its been like two months since I started renovating my bathroom, it's extremely slow going since I barely get anything done unless I got a friend or my mom over here to keep me motivated. Plus I've been sick for the last week or so. As long as it’s not your only bathroom there’s no shame in letting it sit while motivation builds back up. You can always lie to guests about when you started on it too. My coworker, who is a contractor, took over 6 months for a bathroom. I did mine in about three weeks since it was my only bathroom. That was a goddamn pressure cooker of stress. I’m currently moving my laundry from the first to second floor, my main deadline is getting the washer hooked up before I run out of clean underwear. I have two pairs left, and a friend is helping me move them upstairs today, all the hookups are done. Edit: I was so stressed out I’m nearly crying at commercials. Fortunately I have a trip to see my family this weekend, which will help level me back out.
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Jul 15, 2018 14:28
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Oh it's absolutely my only bathroom. I have a usable toilet and shower and not much else. And no door, currently.
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Jul 15, 2018 14:41
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1 bathroom homeowners unite!  I like the pressure, personally. It's easy to put things off indefinitely otherwise.
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Jul 15, 2018 15:31
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Leperflesh posted:Nah, you're thinking mason as profession but you should be thinking mason as global conspiracy. Are carpenter bees part of the global conspiracy to ruin rock 'n' roll?
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Jul 15, 2018 17:36
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You really have to watch out for Cobbler bees. They're hard to boot once they get a foot hold.
SpartanIvy fucked around with this message at 18:36 on Jul 15, 2018 |
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Jul 15, 2018 18:12
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Found out the main entry point of roaches. They are coming from behind the oven. I pulled the thing out partially and shone some light down there, and it looked like the PO's contractors didn't caulk up the space around the gas pipes, so there's a hole there that leads into the walls. I put some roach gel under the oven for now, but last night I left some food on the oven after cooking it and about an hour later (before bedtime) I found one of them crawling around the pot trying to get inside. What's the best way to handle this? Should I pull the oven out completely and go in there to caulk up the wall? Or should I call a pest expert and do a more thorough inspection/treatment? Someone once told me that every house has roaches living inside walls and stuff, and sealing things up properly is the best way to make sure you never see them. But I don't know how true that is - if there is some sort of infestation then I feel like it could be a huge problem later.
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Jul 15, 2018 18:36
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The source of roach food is inside your home. Seal access and they will gradually move out as they run out of things to eat. I'd start with pulling out the oven and using some expandable foam or similar to fill the gaps around the gas line. That said, doing both things is an option. If there's access to the crawlspace etc. then a good exterminator should be able to more or less eliminate the roaches regardless.
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Jul 15, 2018 19:14
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Leperflesh posted:The source of roach food is inside your home. Seal access and they will gradually move out as they run out of things to eat. I'd start with pulling out the oven and using some expandable foam or similar to fill the gaps around the gas line. There is also space behind the cabinets, between the back of the cabinets and the wall. Does that also need to be sealed somehow?
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Jul 15, 2018 19:16
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Is it a place a roach can get from within the walls to within your kitchen? If so, yes. But it doesn't sound like it if it's just normal wall back there. When you seal the big hole around the gas lines you might be trapping some roaches in your kitchen in places like behind those cabinets, so it's a good idea to put some traps out anyway.
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Jul 15, 2018 19:19
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I have also come to the realization that I also have roaches, although I wouldn't say it's a problem quite yet. I've found 3 dead ones in the 2 months I've owned the house. All in the living room. I hope they're coming in from outside and dying from contacting my pesticides around the exterior, but they're the small German cockroach type so chances are they are living in/under the house. I've already put some generic borax+sugar baits in the crawlspace, but those were applied haphazardly as a general, low effort preventative measure. My next steps (once the rest of my poisons come in, is to get back down into the crawlspace, apply "insect dust" liberally, fix the insulation on the AC coolant line which is causing condensation to build up on the line, and put down some more organized baits. I'm also putting in some quarter round along the edges of the kitchen cabinets to seal up some big seams, and I'll caulk up some holes around pipes and wires like you are too. My cabinets are "custom made" in that off-the-shelf cabinets didn't exist when they were put in, and the floor of the lower cabinets is scraps of the hardwood flooring. I'm debating trying to pop a few planks up to see what's hiding under them, but It would be an ordeal to do so.
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Jul 15, 2018 19:39
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Leperflesh posted:Is it a place a roach can get from within the walls to within your kitchen? If so, yes. But it doesn't sound like it if it's just normal wall back there. When you seal the big hole around the gas lines you might be trapping some roaches in your kitchen in places like behind those cabinets, so it's a good idea to put some traps out anyway. Well, I went nuts.  
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Jul 15, 2018 21:08
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I love expanding foam.
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Jul 15, 2018 21:11
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Of course that’s just the back of the oven. If the PO’s contractors did an equally shoddy job with the wall behind the dishwasher then I’m hosed.
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Jul 15, 2018 21:40
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enraged_camel posted:Of course that’s just the back of the oven. If the PO’s contractors did an equally shoddy job with the wall behind the dishwasher then I’m hosed. Search your heart. You know the truth.
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Jul 16, 2018 08:18
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SpartanIvy posted:Probably a toilet issue, possibly a waste pipe issue. Has the toilet historically worked well and then suddenly stopped working as well? Did it stop working well over time? It historically works, but I've plunged a lot more in the last 10 months than I have in the last 10 years. Previous owners did a full bathroom remodel about 4 months before we bought, so I don't know if that may have caused these issues or not. When I hit the flusher knob, sometimes you have to really hold it down to make sure everything flushes, and sometimes it feels like it's a short refill of the upper tank. Thanks for the advice and for the person that suggested the carcobirum or whatever the mold killer was? Basement smells perfect and no mold issues.
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Jul 16, 2018 16:10
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Mourne posted:Search your heart. You know the truth. How hard is it to pull out dishwashers? I assume it's harder than pulling out ovens.
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Jul 16, 2018 16:14
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