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Who here knows sprinkler/irrigation? I need to shut off my front and backyard irrigation for the winter. I've turned off the computer running it, but now I need to shut off the water supply, but what I have doesn't match the youtube videos:
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Nov 4, 2018 23:09
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mutata posted:Who here knows sprinkler/irrigation? I need to shut off my front and backyard irrigation for the winter. I've turned off the computer running it, but now I need to shut off the water supply, but what I have doesn't match the youtube videos: Look for a shutoff valve inside your house for it. You'd also probably want to open that red valve afterwards and let the water out? Note that this wouldn't prevent the lines from bursting, you'd need to have someone come blow out the system (apparently? I've never had inground sprinklers)
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Nov 4, 2018 23:17
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I have a shutoff valve inside, but it shuts off water to the whole house.. And yeah, I know I'm supposed to have it blown out, but ehhhhhh
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Nov 4, 2018 23:27
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mutata posted:I have a shutoff valve inside, but it shuts off water to the whole house.. And yeah, I know I'm supposed to have it blown out, but ehhhhhh There is a shutoff valve for just the irrigation somewhere. You need to find it, or hire someone to do that while they blow out the lines. If you don't blow out the lines it will not work next year. If you don't find that valve and don't blow out the lines it's likely you will have a leak that requires you to turn off the water to your entire house. If you're not interested in maintaining the system have it winterized properly and just don't turn it on again next year. But maintaining it to this level for this year is simply not optional.
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Nov 5, 2018 00:11
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It looks like the shutoff might be in the smaller hole? If you unscrew that black cap, shine a light and see what’s down there. You might need a long pole for that hole. That’s what she said.
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Nov 5, 2018 00:37
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Gee, I wonder why the bedroom is always so cold   I must've straightened, vacuumed, and blown out 50ft of radiator today
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Nov 5, 2018 01:06
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Masonry question: when repointing a fieldstone foundation, how important is the mortar mix's relative compressive strength and water permeability? I've read contractor forum replies which range from "not at all" to " you will literally destroy everything if you don't use 100% authentic historical mortar". The stone is quartz/granite gneiss so I'm not worried about the mortar being harder than the masonry units. That said, what I would be pointing over is quite soft (maybe even portland-free) and I do worry about letting too much moisture build up in the wall. Anybody care to opine? Will I be okay with regular Quickcrete Type S mortar from home depot, or do I need to bust out the scale and start measuring stuff for a custom mix?
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Nov 5, 2018 01:47
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I've largely heard the "don't gently caress up the mortar unless you want to wreck your walls" side of things.
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Nov 5, 2018 02:00
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My basement is mostly sandstone and it's in pretty dire need of repointing. I've done research but haven't started any work. My take is that for stacked stone foundation walls, especially when you have soft stone, you need the old fashioned lime mortar without Portland cement. The stones move (settling, plate tectonics, etc), and the soft lime mortar moves with them and has somewhat of a self-healing ability, and is a sacrificial component - it's padding and filler for the stones rather than glue. Portland cement is super hard and will crack when the stones and ground move, and oftentimes cause softer stone (like my sandstone) to crack or spall or break. Does the same thing to old soft bricks. When I get to repointing, I'll definitely be going out of my way to obtain old fashioned lime mortar. Don't want to take any chances.
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Nov 5, 2018 02:14
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Yeah for sandstone or other soft materials (like oldschool brick) you really don't want the mortar to be stronger than the masonry units. With my foundation materials that's not a concern. I have a brick chimney that I will be using a lime-sand mix on with either no or very little portland to re-do next spring. I really don't want to have to mix a whole basement's worth by hand though and I'm here secretly hoping that someone will tell me it's okay.
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Nov 5, 2018 02:32
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Hi if this is not the right thread for my question could someone point me in the right direction? Wife and I are closing on a house on Friday and it looks like (as far as we know  ) it should all go smoothly. The sellers have been very cool and we have all our finances and paperwork in order. Anyway, I'm looking for recommendations on generators. The house is currently wired for a generator plugin in the garage for a 30A cable. This powers the entire 1st floor, the well pump, heater blower motor and the septic stuff. The house was built in 2004 by the sellers. They had a 7500w generator and would simply wheel it out a few feet away from the house outside the garage and run it as needed. I've never bought a generator before and don't know how best to evaluate them. We don't need it to be a seamless power replacement type, so I'm happy to get one and store it in the garage and wheel it out after the power goes down during a blizzard or something. From the little reading I've done, I like the idea of this being dual fuel ie, propane and gasoline ~7500w setup. The house is oil and fireplace heated and otherwise electric, no gas lines out in our area. Any thoughts, advice, recommendations?
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Nov 5, 2018 12:39
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That Works posted:Hi if this is not the right thread for my question could someone point me in the right direction? https://www.amazon.com/d/RV-Portabl...+fuel+generator That's got a knock off of a Honda motor in it. Some goon who I won't out here works for them in an engineering capacity. I have a gas only one and it works great. I would not choose this for an off the grid/construction site. But for an occasional power outage it's fine. Last time I had to use it I was out of power for 3 days, and it was shut down when we went to sleep and for refueling......and that one time when I hit the hours for an oil change (yes, you should do this if you want your stuff to last). Still running great.
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Nov 5, 2018 16:09
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Motronic posted:https://www.amazon.com/d/RV-Portabl...+fuel+generator Oh cool, that is the one I had already kinda bookmarked as a potential grab.
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Nov 5, 2018 16:13
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Hired_Sellout posted:Masonry question: when repointing a fieldstone foundation, how important is the mortar mix's relative compressive strength and water permeability? I've read contractor forum replies which range from "not at all" to " you will literally destroy everything if you don't use 100% authentic historical mortar". The stone is quartz/granite gneiss so I'm not worried about the mortar being harder than the masonry units. That said, what I would be pointing over is quite soft (maybe even portland-free) and I do worry about letting too much moisture build up in the wall. Anybody care to opine? Will I be okay with regular Quickcrete Type S mortar from home depot, or do I need to bust out the scale and start measuring stuff for a custom mix? Queen Victorian posted:My basement is mostly sandstone and it's in pretty dire need of repointing. I've done research but haven't started any work. My take is that for stacked stone foundation walls, especially when you have soft stone, you need the old fashioned lime mortar without Portland cement. The stones move (settling, plate tectonics, etc), and the soft lime mortar moves with them and has somewhat of a self-healing ability, and is a sacrificial component - it's padding and filler for the stones rather than glue. Portland cement is super hard and will crack when the stones and ground move, and oftentimes cause softer stone (like my sandstone) to crack or spall or break. Does the same thing to old soft bricks. Over here in the UK you see a lot of old stone walls which have been incorrectly re-pointed or repaired with cement mortar over the past 30-40 years and it has hosed the stone up (the cement mortar traps water and causes the stone to disintegrates around the edges). If I had a stone wall (especially in a basement) I would use lime mortar! I built a retaining wall in my garden and did a lime render on it (I wanted to keep it water permeable and it has so far worked well!) and found that one of the big chain builders merchants here actually stock lime too.
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Nov 5, 2018 21:26
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Has anyone done a deep clean of a barn? My work just acquired an old storage barn, and I’m trying to carve out some space for a workbench inside of it. I deal with moderate dust, mold, and hay allergies, and currently the barn is a pretty lovely place to be for more than 20 minutes. I’d like to clean it out, but I don’t even know where to begin on something this size.
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Nov 6, 2018 06:22
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Baronash posted:Has anyone done a deep clean of a barn? My work just acquired an old storage barn, and I’m trying to carve out some space for a workbench inside of it. I deal with moderate dust, mold, and hay allergies, and currently the barn is a pretty lovely place to be for more than 20 minutes. I’d like to clean it out, but I don’t even know where to begin on something this size. I'm no barnspert, that's for sure, but I would assume it's the same as dealing with a deep clean of anything, except more of it. The only issue I'd see is cleaning higher up, at which point you're going to need some sort of access solution like scaffold, a tower, or a lift.
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Nov 6, 2018 12:44
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Baronash posted:Has anyone done a deep clean of a barn? My work just acquired an old storage barn, and I’m trying to carve out some space for a workbench inside of it. I deal with moderate dust, mold, and hay allergies, and currently the barn is a pretty lovely place to be for more than 20 minutes. I’d like to clean it out, but I don’t even know where to begin on something this size. You're going to have to remove the allergens. If it's an active barn used for storing hay you are never going to unless you can seal off workspace. Dirt floor places are inherently dusty though, so even if you go down to the studs and paint the wood with kilz it's not going to be ideal.
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Nov 6, 2018 15:25
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Baronash posted:Has anyone done a deep clean of a barn? My work just acquired an old storage barn, and I’m trying to carve out some space for a workbench inside of it. I deal with moderate dust, mold, and hay allergies, and currently the barn is a pretty lovely place to be for more than 20 minutes. I’d like to clean it out, but I don’t even know where to begin on something this size. Barn are covered in dust everywhere. Pressure washing, etc is going to be the only reasonable solution, and it's going to come right back if it has dirt floors or is used for barn things like hay or straw. The standard "clean room in a barn" thing around here is to literally build a room inside the barn, potentially with an entryway from the outside if it's really filthy/you need the room really clean. We did this for a lab in a circa 1700s barn that was being used for "collection" (racehorse spunk).
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Nov 6, 2018 15:55
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My shower faucets been leaking a bit while turned off. Through the spout so no risk of damage, just wasting water. It seems like I need to replace the handle/valce faucet (whatever you wanna call it). Is this something I need a plumber for, or will it replace easily like a typical sink faucet? 
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Nov 9, 2018 20:06
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keep it down up there! posted:My shower faucets been leaking a bit while turned off. Through the spout so no risk of damage, just wasting water. Find the brand name and/or model on your valve, or match it up online. Could be very easy, could be moderately difficult depending. A lot of them have a drop in cartridge these days and they're pretty simple.
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Nov 9, 2018 20:32
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keep it down up there! posted:My shower faucets been leaking a bit while turned off. Through the spout so no risk of damage, just wasting water. You can try it yourself, but be prepared to call a plumber. We attempted this not too long ago and for whatever reason it was extremely difficult to separate some part of the faucet from the pipe (wish I could be more specific but I have Dad brain). The pipe did not entirely survive our attempt. So it was plumber time. So I guess in other words don't tempt fate by doing it at like 6pm on a Sunday, which is when plumbing issues always end up happening
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Nov 9, 2018 21:05
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Sir Lemming posted:So I guess in other words don't tempt fate by doing it at like 6pm on a Sunday, which is when plumbing issues always end up happening Fact.
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Nov 9, 2018 21:54
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It seems like the cartridge needs replacing, so I'm gonna be bold and do that at 9PM on a Friday. Here goes nothing!
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Nov 10, 2018 02:10
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keep it down up there! posted:It seems like the cartridge needs replacing, so I'm gonna be bold and do that at 9PM on a Friday. Here goes nothing! Get the puller.
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Nov 10, 2018 02:36
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It went well! If anyone cares. However I'm an idiot and removed the face plate thinking I had to, so I had to recaulk that in the end.
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Nov 10, 2018 19:55
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keep it down up there! posted:It went well! If anyone cares. In the realm of "things that could go wrong" you done good. Congrats. You are now a more qualified plumber than most handymen you'll find on craigslist.
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Nov 12, 2018 02:21
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I'm excited about our expanded underwear/socks storage!  My 3-year-old has officially graduated from diapers and needed her own drawer. Husbando needed higher drawers because he's blind to anything lower than his beltline. When we first started dating, I lolled at keeping underwear in the bathroom. Now that we're living with the bathroom downstairs and our closet upstairs, I understand.  (Clear white drawers were sold out so I went full stupid!!!!) peanut fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Nov 13, 2018 |
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Nov 13, 2018 23:49
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Fallom posted:Does anybody know how to identify a baseboard end cap? I'm only missing one in the entire house and it drives me a little crazy. There's no maker's mark on the inside. e: Nevermind, I now realize I am looking at a baseboard heater. vOv Hubis fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Nov 14, 2018 |
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Nov 14, 2018 19:29
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Attire Irony posted:Hi DIY, So, the joys of living in small town Canada. Three quotes on refinishing: one for $10/sqft, one for $8/ sqft, and one guy that says trying to refinish 1/2” wood is an expensive way to make a ruined floor. I only paid 180 for the house, so spending $5600+ tax (~6300 Canada lol) is a bit wacky. That’s more than I’d spend on a bathroom redo So gently caress me, I guess. Is it this expensive in the rest of the world??
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Nov 20, 2018 03:09
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Attire Irony posted:So, the joys of living in small town Canada. Three quotes on refinishing: one for $10/sqft, one for $8/ sqft, and one guy that says trying to refinish 1/2” wood is an expensive way to make a ruined floor. Try this? http://www.amerrymom.com/2016/07/restoring-hardwood-floors-under-carpet/
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Nov 20, 2018 03:15
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Ugh. I'm going to take a nice steamy shower because this congestion is the worst. Alternatively the water heater has a 10-blink error code "clean burner screen." Thankfully I noticed in time that we both got warm, if very abbreviated, showers. Edit: Well I haven't blown up the house yet. Turned off the gas, let the pilot go out, cleaned some dust out from under the tank, tested the pressure relief valve, drained it out (nothing much seemed to come out other than water), flushed it out, filled it, and re-lit the pilot. It fired up a moment later and I haven't died yet. I re-tested our monoxide detector just to make sure. H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Nov 20, 2018 |
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Nov 20, 2018 16:43
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Question about rebuilding a porch. Here's what's wrong:    The right side of the porch has multiple problems. 1. The plywood top has rotted through 2. I thought the posts were pressure treated lumber but they also appear to be rotting. 3. The old retaining wall/footing has deteriorated over time. Consequently, the porch is sagging on that side and the porch roof is drooping. The bottom post that should be supporting that corner is actually a centimetre or so off the ground, so that section of the roof is just hanging. Not sure how long it was like this before we moved in but I'm worried about the wood being warped. Anyway. The other posts above and below are in comparatively good condition and the wood framing underneath seems solid, including at the ledger board. Unfortunately, the top posts are sitting on top of the plywood rather than running straight through to the footings beneath. So it looks like the main problems are the rotted plywood and the decayed footing. A contractor quoted $38,000 to 'do it right'* but I'd really rather not put a quarter of the current value of the house into a porch reno. What I'm thinking is I can use 2x6s staked to the lawn to brace the roof near the other posts. Next, pour a temporary cement footer at the bottom of the sagging post to support a bottle jack and slowly jack up that corner until the roof is level again. Then, with the roof braced by the jack and the 2x6s, I can slowly remove the posts, remove the plywood decking, replace all the plywood with a new topper, put in new posts up top, pour a permanent footer, and then replace the rotted post down below. All this with the goal of repairing the porch without disassembling the porch roof or the framing underneath. The retaining wall isn't retaining poo poo atm, there's lots of empty space behind it, so I'm less concerned about rebuilding that as part of this fix. Whether I do or not, I don't think it will impact the porch. Pouring concrete is a bitch in this town, both because of a lack of vendors and because of the weather. So what colossal mistake or oversight have I made? * Contractor's quote was for a full rebuild of the porch (sans roof, which he believed is salvageable): new concrete retaining wall all around the porch perimeter underneath to seal it and make a nice storage area, new concrete stairs down the side, all new framing underneath with a plywood and vinyl topper. It might be worth it if I knew I'd live in this house for the rest of my life, but from a resale perspective, it'd be a massive loss versus a more straightforward fix. just another fucked around with this message at 05:18 on Nov 21, 2018 |
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Nov 21, 2018 05:12
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Once you pop you just can't stop (finding extended rot and leakage through every corner of porch, foundation and maybe the whole first floor.)
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Nov 21, 2018 11:39
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just another posted:
The contractor is right. No part of that aside from the roof looks salvageable. As soon as you start disassembling you're going to find a lot more problems and end up having to demo the whole thing. So you may as well start out knowing that.
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Nov 21, 2018 16:25
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Motronic posted:The contractor is right. No part of that aside from the roof looks salvageable.  peanut posted:Once you pop you just can't stop (finding extended rot and leakage through every corner of porch, foundation and maybe the whole first floor.) In terms of bracing the roof, does that make sense or is there a better way I haven't found/thought of?
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Nov 21, 2018 17:21
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I need to know what’s through that door.
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Nov 21, 2018 17:24
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Jealous Cow posted:I need to know what’s through that door. It's the other side of this. 
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Nov 21, 2018 17:45
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I'm a hipster artist weirdo, so I'm looking at wiring up some LED tube lights to hang in my workspace for some artsy lighting. Any idea on how difficult it would be to direct-wire 3 or 4 of them to a plug? Or is there a product that already does this? I googled around but Google just wants to give me listicles about the top 10 ways fluorescent tube lighting is making you sick.
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Nov 21, 2018 18:11
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just another posted:In terms of bracing the roof, does that make sense or is there a better way I haven't found/thought of? It depends on the soil, the weather, how long it's going to be like that, the construction of the roof itself........ They will need to be attached to the roof structure very well and in a structurally appropriate place after the roofing structure has been thoroughly inspected and found to be sufficient. With the condition that place appears to be in I would not suggest doing this yourself with nothing more than internet advice.
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Nov 21, 2018 19:33
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ugh just enable me please
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Nov 21, 2018 20:59
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