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iddqd posted:Thanks for the responses about my gap between base boards and floor issue. It sounds like caulk will be the cheapest and easiest option for me. I am not handy at all - what type of caulk would I be using? Plumbers caulk. It’s cheap, cleans up easy and doesn’t require a caulk gun. 
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Nov 29, 2018 04:44
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My stupid water heater turned off again. 10 blinks clean flame screen. Apparently there is a screen on the bottom of this thing that keeps the fire on the inside? A week ago I brushed it out but didn't get much dust off of it, and I have a pan so getting a vacuum under the thing is basically impossible. Unit is a cheap whirlpool from 2009. It's fairly loud while running - kinda sounds like some rocks are knocking around in there. I just relit it again with no action so we could have a hot shower this morning then I am going to shut it back down. Any tips or tricks? Is it plumber time?
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Nov 29, 2018 16:52
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10 years is pretty old for a water heater, but maybe try this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uva6yC2Jxbg Also check the gas sediment trap. The fact you're saying it sounds like rocks in there makes me believe it could have sediment in the gas line.
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Nov 30, 2018 14:49
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Wasabi the J posted:10 years is pretty old for a water heater, but maybe try this? Thank you. I certainly don't need to clean my sediment trap, there isn't one.  Pipe comes in from the wall parallel to the unit, 90 degrees to vertical, shutoff valve immediately on the 90, and then flex to the water heater control box. I will give the flame sensor a go. Why does "it sounds like rocks" make you think sediment?
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Dec 2, 2018 01:47
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Because sediment in the gas line would sound like sand and rocks being blown around? You could install a sentiment trap following that guide, and while you have the gas line detached, vacuum sediments from the line going into the burner. I'm betting with those years of use, sediment built up, and is not helping the flow in the burner, because gas is blowing it into the burner holes. Wasabi the J fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Dec 2, 2018 |
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Dec 2, 2018 02:12
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Wasabi the J posted:Because sediment in the gas line would sound like sand and rocks being blown around? Fair enough. I won't be installing a sediment trap personally, so that brings us to a plumber. (I don't feel like discovering what's required to handle gas safely between the outside meter shutoff and the inside water heater valve. It's probably around 50' of pipe.) While I imagine I could it safely, I'm not 100% keen on making a 180 + T between the inside shutoff and the flex. It sounds like the "rocks" are inside the tank more than down at the burner if that changes your opinion, and I should have said that in the original post. That could just be acoustics messing with me though.
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Dec 2, 2018 02:28
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H110Hawk posted:It sounds like the "rocks" are inside the tank more than down at the burner if that changes your opinion, and I should have said that in the original post. That could just be acoustics messing with me though. When is the last time you drained the tank? Never? Okay, it's full or sediment. You can try to drain it, but since you've never done it before chances are good the valve is going to fail.
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Dec 2, 2018 16:04
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Motronic posted:When is the last time you drained the tank? Never? Okay, it's full or sediment. You can try to drain it, but since you've never done it before chances are good the valve is going to fail. A week or two ago but I get the point. I also flushed it out a few times while it was off and verified pressure relief operation. Water flowed freely out of the pipe outside. We didn't drain it the three years we've lived here prior and I seriously doubt it has been drained since installed. I presume that the 1947 structural corrosion galvanized pipes we replaced 2 years ago are the problem there. I was mainly confused by the gas line stuff, didn't realize there was a potential for sediment there too. Now I do. I have a feeling a new water heater is in our near immediate future. It's a centrally located inside cabinet for a normal tall 40gal unit. If we replaced it with a tankless in the same spot would it be safe to use the cabinet for other storage concurrently? Otherwise another 40 gallon unit is going in since it serves us fine. No real room due to setback issues to move it outside sadly.
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Dec 2, 2018 16:26
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Do you have hard water? Even if it drained until it ran clean recently the tank could be quite scaled up, and I've definitely heard scaled up tanks making that noise. A water softener can (eventually) fix that, and will keep any new units from going to poo poo so quickly. As far as being able to use the space freed up with a tankless, remember there are a lot of valves and pipes around those things to make them work. Certainly not "40 gallon hot water heater" worth, but still some. And you'll need to be able to access it for service.
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Dec 2, 2018 20:48
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Motronic posted:Do you have hard water? Even if it drained until it ran clean recently the tank could be quite scaled up, and I've definitely heard scaled up tanks making that noise. A water softener can (eventually) fix that, and will keep any new units from going to poo poo so quickly. https://www.thecarycompany.com/55-gallon-drum-of-clr-pro-calcium-lime-rust-remover-37wcld I assume the process is to drain it, remove the anode rod, pump it full, and wait for it to dissolve through the bottom of the tank onto the drip pan?  quote:
Yeah thinking about it like using a broom closet sort of thing. Easy to remove and would get some stuff we currently store on the wall into a closet. I really don't understand how their current setup came to be. There is a ~24x18" cabinet below the water heater, then the usual 40 gallon heater cabinet above that. 2 doors, they are the same depth. Currently the bottom cabinet is basically unusable, so if it's possible to bash it out and make it into one closet that would add more space than just swapping a 40gal to a tankless.
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Dec 2, 2018 21:02
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H110Hawk posted:https://www.thecarycompany.com/55-gallon-drum-of-clr-pro-calcium-lime-rust-remover-37wcld lol, go for it. H110Hawk posted:Yeah thinking about it like using a broom closet sort of thing. Easy to remove and would get some stuff we currently store on the wall into a closet. I really don't understand how their current setup came to be. There is a ~24x18" cabinet below the water heater, then the usual 40 gallon heater cabinet above that. 2 doors, they are the same depth. Currently the bottom cabinet is basically unusable, so if it's possible to bash it out and make it into one closet that would add more space than just swapping a 40gal to a tankless. Yeah, that sounds worth it.
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Dec 2, 2018 21:27
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I had a new roof put on a couple of months ago. I had never looked in the attic until now (Christmas decorations) and I noticed there is saw dust and chips of plywood coating everything in my attic from where the thousands of roofers nails came through the plywood. Should this be a big deal? I vacuumed a around the pilot light from the HVAC but just want to make sure it's not a big hazard. Seems like a real messy way to do things.
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Dec 3, 2018 04:04
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How loving old could the potentially gas pack heater or .......whatever be up there that you have a standing pilot light? Chances are near 100% you don't. And attics are messy and dusty. It's just about scale and I'm not clear on how bad this is, but I can't imagine it's beyond the norm just from having a roof put on.
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Dec 3, 2018 04:14
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Motronic posted:How loving old could the potentially gas pack heater or .......whatever be up there that you have a standing pilot light? Yeah it was just wood chips everywhere from the plywood and poo poo. Like... A lot. When I dropped the ladder it came pouring down. I wasn't immediately alarmed in a danger sort of way... But I do use my attic and it's a ridiculous amount of stuff to clean up. So it was more of a question of "is there something I might not be thinking of." And yes I have a standing pilot light. House was built in 1985. That's why I cleaned up near it. I mean it's obviously covered but I was just being over protective.
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Dec 3, 2018 05:59
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I have been draining my steam furnace of the water it uses every couple of weeks per the recommendation of my service company. I forgot to ask them though - should I drain it until the water comes out clear? I can fill about 3-4gals of this murky brown water and it never gets clear. Maybe the previous owners never drained the water and it'll get clear eventually?
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Dec 3, 2018 11:57
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BonoMan posted:And yes I have a standing pilot light. House was built in 1985. That's why I cleaned up near it. I mean it's obviously covered but I was just being over protective. The most incredible thing about this situation is that you have a 33 year old gas pack that still works. I'd start budgeting for a new one.
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Dec 3, 2018 16:15
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I thought about posting this in the home ownership thread, but this seems more appropriate. We have an old house, and the entry hallway has original/old textured wallpaper - it has a pattern/relief on it. The problem is that over the years it has taken some minor damage. Some of this isn't noticeable, but there are a handful of places where there is about an inch or so of damage right about eye level that I would really like to do something about. Unfortunately, all my searching for fixing wallpaper assumes that you have some spare paper - which I don't - or are about how to copy a section of existing pattern, which isn't helpful for a textured paper. Anyone have any ideas how to deal with this? My ideas so far: 1/ Find a less-noticeable place on a wall to remove some paper for a patch (behind a door at ground level, etc) but that relies on being able to actually cleanly remove a portion of ancient wallpaper, which is pretty iffy; 2/ Use something like silicone to make a mould of the pattern, trim the damaged area to a square or similar clean edge and cast a replacement section in resin or plaster. This seems pretty fiddly but more possible (I at least have experience in moulds and casting) and doesn't entail further damaging the wall.
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Dec 3, 2018 17:18
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Maybe hang some pictures / mirrors over the torn spots? I don't think anything you try and patch it with is going to come out matching the original close enough to look nice. Definitely don't try and remove any of it unless you are ready to remove all of it and a good chunk of the (plaster, I assume?) wall behind it.
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Dec 3, 2018 17:56
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Motronic posted:The most incredible thing about this situation is that you have a 33 year old gas pack that still works. I'd start budgeting for a new one. Ha! This is the very first thing we thought of when moving in. "Well lets just go ahead and plan to replace this any day now."
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Dec 3, 2018 18:22
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Personally I'd demolish a wall and reframe it to make what I had in mind from scratch before I ever worked on removing wallpaper again. That or burn the house down.
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Dec 3, 2018 21:09
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tactlessbastard posted:Personally I'd demolish a wall and reframe it to make what I had in mind from scratch before I ever worked on removing wallpaper again.
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Dec 4, 2018 03:47
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Motronic posted:The most incredible thing about this situation is that you have a 33 year old gas pack that still works. I'd start budgeting for a new one. And install a few CO detectors.
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Dec 4, 2018 05:43
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PainterofCrap posted:And install a few CO detectors. Indeed. In my experience the "survivors" typically end up getting junked after someone finally realizes it's got a cracked exchanger (and has been spewing CO into the house) and there are no replacement parts available. In fact, I've got a nearly identical situation in the house I just bought, but it's an oil furnace. And you're drat skippy I put a combo smoke/co on the ceiling right next to it. Just want to make it through this heating season and I'm going to bury a big rear end propane tank and replace it with a gas pack (and get rid of the rusty fuel oil tank sitting in my basement). I will also take that opportunity and physical size reduction to add a humidifier and hepa filter. Motronic fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Dec 4, 2018 |
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Dec 4, 2018 19:32
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PainterofCrap posted:And install a few CO detectors. I have a Nest Protect in the hallway directly below it.
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Dec 5, 2018 04:30
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So I'm tearing out an old basement bathroom vanity. I go to turn off the water supply and the hot water doesn't have a shut off valve. There isn't a shutoff anywhere back to water heater, so I just turned off water to the whole house in order to remove this vanity. Is there some sort of plug/cap I can get at home depot that I can install until I can get a plumber here to install a proper shut off?
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Dec 5, 2018 20:51
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Mr Executive posted:So I'm tearing out an old basement bathroom vanity. I go to turn off the water supply and the hot water doesn't have a shut off valve. There isn't a shutoff anywhere back to water heater, so I just turned off water to the whole house in order to remove this vanity. Is there some sort of plug/cap I can get at home depot that I can install until I can get a plumber here to install a proper shut off? Perfect application for Sharkbite: https://www.homedepot.com/p/SharkBite-1-2-in-Brass-Push-to-Connect-End-Stop-U514LFA/202270531 Before you pop it on, you may want to make sure there's enough pipe sticking out for the plumber to be able to cut the sharkbite off and still have enough left to work with. They are technically removable, but he may not want to mess with it.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:04
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Mr Executive posted:So I'm tearing out an old basement bathroom vanity. I go to turn off the water supply and the hot water doesn't have a shut off valve. There isn't a shutoff anywhere back to water heater, so I just turned off water to the whole house in order to remove this vanity. Is there some sort of plug/cap I can get at home depot that I can install until I can get a plumber here to install a proper shut off? Pics of the current situation? Typical copper pipe sink or toilet shut offs are just compression fittings —wrench on, no soldering required. They’re not difficult, so your “temporary” solution may as well be a permanent one.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:08
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I gave up on the compression fittings on my remodel. Maybe I'm retarded but I cleaned the pipe well and they still leaked.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:11
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It kinda looks like this, but imagine the valve knob is just sheered off along the red line. I was hoping there was just a cap of some sorts I could screw onto where hose to the faucet is connected.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:13
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Oh yeah...absolutely. But why? Just go get another valve and some teflon tape and replace it. No need for a plumber. You could theoretically find the repair parts of the existing valve but it's likely a false economy.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:15
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angryrobots posted:I gave up on the compression fittings on my remodel. Maybe I'm retarded but I cleaned the pipe well and they still leaked. The only times I've had issues with push-on fittings was when I didn't square the ends off well (because I was using a hacksaw under a sink and my cuts were crooked).
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Dec 5, 2018 21:16
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angryrobots posted:I gave up on the compression fittings on my remodel. Maybe I'm retarded but I cleaned the pipe well and they still leaked. Cleaned like, with emery paper or a wire brush until shiny? I’ve never had any trouble with regular Brasscraft compression fittings. I tried Sharkbite shutoffs, but I didn’t like how the whole fitting could spin freely. They didn’t leak, I just didn’t like that the knob wouldn’t stay put.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:18
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eddiewalker posted:Cleaned like, with emery paper or a wire brush until shiny? I’ve never had any trouble with regular Brasscraft compression fittings. Yeah, emery paper. Nice square cuts, I bought Lenox tight spot tubing cutters. I forget the brand, but whatever Lowe's sells. Sharkbite replacements worked fine, knock on wood. I don't like the spinning either, but I took it over leaking.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:35
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Motronic posted:Oh yeah...absolutely. But why? Just go get another valve and some teflon tape and replace it. No need for a plumber. Yeah, I was totally overthinking it. I chose that picture because the knob/hose looked like mine (I wasn't at the house at the time), but I thought the valve was actually soldered onto the supply pipe. Turns out the valve was indeed threaded, so I threw on a new one last night and everything's good. Thanks
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Dec 6, 2018 19:38
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 So my filthy renters just notified me the linoleum is peeling back from the edge of the shower. Apparently a dangling piece of caulk didn’t seem like a big deal and they didn’t say anything. What’s the best way to deal with with this. I was going to recaulk the fiberglass but I’m not sure what to do with the linoleum. Cut out a piece, dry the wood and lay down a new section?
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Dec 6, 2018 23:19
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LingcodKilla posted:So my filthy renters just notified me the linoleum is peeling back from the edge of the shower. Apparently a dangling piece of caulk didn’t seem like a big deal and they didn’t say anything. What’s the best way to deal with with this. I was going to recaulk the fiberglass but I’m not sure what to do with the linoleum. Cut out a piece, dry the wood and lay down a new section? There's no telling what needs to be done to fix that properly until the linoleum gets pulled up and the floor inspected. I could be fine, it could need subfloor replacement, it could need subfloor + structural repair.
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Dec 6, 2018 23:43
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Crap. The wood is firm to the touch at least. I’ll see if I can get someone in.
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Dec 6, 2018 23:55
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LingcodKilla posted:Crap. The wood is firm to the touch at least. I’ll see if I can get someone in. If the wood is dry and firm and shows no signs of rot or mold you could have the perfect scenario where simply replacing the poo poo protecting it is the correct answer.
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Dec 6, 2018 23:57
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Hi, I'm a DIY newb and have never done anything electrical. I recently started a kitchen remodel and finally got to attack the strange tumor on the wall that's been driving me crazy for years. Turns out there's an old doorbell back there that somebody slapped a lump of mud on. I'd like to remove the doorbell and put a drywall patch there. How do I safely disconnect the wires? I used one of those no contact voltage tester thingies (the yellow thing in the pic, I also have that other voltage tester) and it lit up like a Christmas tree near the doorbell's wires, but it also seems ultra sensitive and would randomly light up as I walked around the kitchen. Do I just turn off the power to the kitchen and cut everything and then, I don't know, cap them off or something? Thanks very much!  
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Dec 7, 2018 00:21
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artsy fartsy posted:Hi, I'm a DIY newb and have never done anything electrical. Doorbells are usually less than 20v AC. It’s not especially dangerous on the upstairs-end but being careful is always a good idea. The whole doorbell system is probably powered off of a transformer beside your electrical panel like this that takes “big power” and converts it to “little power”  It’s likely piggy backing off of a breaker. If you trace the black wire from that transformer to the side of a breaker, you’ll know which one to flip off to kill the doorbell. Then you can either just tape off the wires up in your wall or snip them off at the output of that transformer. You don’t seem like your comfortable around the breaker box, but if you know someone who is, disconnecting the transformer entirely is really easy.
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Dec 7, 2018 01:07
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