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moron izzard posted:Is there an affordable fob system for doors that isn't just arduino diy poo poo? We're looking to add member unlockable entryways to a new makerspace I'm working on (with an access list we can easily add or remove from). The one at our current makerspace was made by an old member, undocumented, no code available, and I'm afraid of the time when it eventually fails. I have these on my house. I use a custom smartapp on SmartThings to manage user codes which makes it easy, but with patience you CAN do it directly from the keypad. It stores something like 250 pin codes natively, but with SmartThings (or ZigBee I’d imagine,) you can use all ~130,000 permutations of six digit codes, plus four and five digit codes.
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Mar 18, 2019 17:04
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I'm remodeling my kitchen and I want to install tile. Unfortunately there's a bouncy section of my floor with nearly an inch and a half of sag that will definitely crack if I install tile over it. So I need to reinforce the floor. Problem is... the existing floor was tested for asbestos and came up very very positive for extremely deadly asbestos, so I can't rip up the existing sheathing to sister the joists underneath. The room directly underneath is the furnace room. the floor overhead has no load or anything, it's just sagged over time from foot traffic, undoubtedly due to undersized joists. Here's what it looks like:  Overall look at the room below. To the left is the block wall going to the garage, the kitchen extends over the garage but the problem section is isolated over this room specifically. The stairs to the upstairs are directly to the right of this room, no load bearing walls or anything in sight (other than the wall with the doorway).  Closer look at the deflection I'm talking about. A basketball will roll very quickly and settle in the middle of the kitchen.  Here's what I'm considering doing. I want to split the span of the joists with a laminated beam, possibly steel beam, that I will slowly jack up over the next couple of weeks (months?), and then secure in place. Is this an acceptable way to even out the floor upstairs? Additionally, if I went forward with this would I need to notch out the cinder block wall on the left to accept the beam or could I just toenail the new beam to the joists above? Only load over this section of floor is a table and chairs, and regular foot traffic. Dolphin fucked around with this message at 00:34 on Mar 20, 2019 |
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Mar 20, 2019 00:31
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So my wife and I started taking down some old as poo poo wallpaper in our dining room and this started happening. The entire house is plaster save this little corner where a small closet was added with drywall. https://imgur.com/a/4hfDlh1 The wallpaper is just taking it down with it. I know there are some products for coating drywall damaged like this. Is the fix (aside from a rip and replace) to coat with one of those products and them do a skim coat of joint compound?
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Mar 20, 2019 00:48
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:So my wife and I started taking down some old as poo poo wallpaper in our dining room and this started happening. The entire house is plaster save this little corner where a small closet was added with drywall. Coating that to get it smooth is going to be *very* fiddly and require tons of time. If it were me, I'd either rip it all down and put new up.
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Mar 20, 2019 00:58
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:So my wife and I started taking down some old as poo poo wallpaper in our dining room and this started happening. The entire house is plaster save this little corner where a small closet was added with drywall. You can skim coat if you have the skills (you don't.....it's hard and unless you do it all the time you just don't.....it's more art than construction) or perhaps throw up some 1/4" drywall to cover rather than go through all of the demo and mess of ripping it out. Then you just have joints and corners to deal with.
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Mar 20, 2019 01:01
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Seconding going over it with 1/4" drywall. Prying off baseboard will seem like heaven after your 1,000th groundhog day watching yet another coat of PVA sucking into that paper.
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Mar 20, 2019 01:42
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I'm trying to replace a 32" wide door in the basement with a window, because the previous owners installed an 84" wide sliding glass door 4 feet away from it. The door is basically halving the basement wall, so I've decided to replace said door with a window so I can install some cabinetry and make a half-assed laundry room. When I peeled off the interior trim around the door to see what I'm working with, it looks like the builders put doubled-up 2x12" as the rim joist holding the first floor floor joists directly on the cement. Beneath that are the door frame joists, which appear to be there to mount the door at best. I don't see a real king/jack stud setup as it looks like they literally cut a 2 x 12 in half lengthwise to mount the upper part of the door frame behind the brick veneer.   Because of this, I'm guessing that this isn't a structural joist setup and that I should be okay to proceed with tearing the joists from the wall. The reason I want to get rid of them is because the previous owner wanted to install a horribly lovely storm door, and did so by tearing out huge chunks of the existing frame to mount the hinges:  I'm half-assing this, not quarter-assing it, thank you. Can anyone tell me if this appears to be a (badly designed) structural joist setup, and if I should be building a ceiling support framework around it? If so, I'll definitely be doing that, but I'd like to avoid wasting the wood if I can.
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Mar 20, 2019 02:02
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PainterofCrap posted:Seconding going over it with 1/4" drywall. This sounds a good idea. The trim on this little addition doesn’t match the rest of the house anyways.
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Mar 20, 2019 02:59
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Ripoff posted:I'm trying to replace a 32" wide door in the basement with a window, because the previous owners installed an 84" wide sliding glass door 4 feet away from it. The door is basically halving the basement wall, so I've decided to replace said door with a window so I can install some cabinetry and make a half-assed laundry room.(...) The way it is now is not the worst thing; the sillplate (sitting on the brick) is not being asked to do a ridiculous amount of loading for such a narrow span - and it does not appear to have developed a bow (yet). But Since you're going to build it up as a wall & put a window in: I would rip out all of the wood from the floor to the plate, install a proper double or triple (standing) header under the sill plate, and knock in at least one or two 2x6 or 2x8 (or whatever maximum width you can stuff in there) studs as jackposts against the masonry on either side to support the header. Then no one has to worry about those two floor joists for a century or so. (edit) hell, that's not even a sillplate...that looks like at least three 2x4s standing on edge & banded together. If it is, then forget everything I just suggested - that's never gonna sag. The only framing you'll have to consider is just enough shimming necessary to fit in an off-the-shelf window unit PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Mar 20, 2019 |
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Mar 20, 2019 03:10
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I've just bought an apartment, in relatively good nick but I need to replace the carpet that is on the floor + repaint the walls. Thinking of going with engineered walnut on the floor - any good suggestions for resources where I can try out colour schemes to see what goes?
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Mar 20, 2019 04:19
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PainterofCrap posted:(edit) hell, that's not even a sillplate...that looks like at least three 2x4s standing on edge & banded together. Great news, thanks! It does look to be two 2 x 12’s stacked up, and a 2 x 4 bolted on underneath to act as a joist hanger, so I’ll just replace the craptacular wood framing the door and go forth with impunity*. Watch me mess up my house somehow.
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Mar 20, 2019 13:16
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Dolphin posted:I'm remodeling my kitchen and I want to install tile. Unfortunately there's a bouncy section of my floor with nearly an inch and a half of sag that will definitely crack if I install tile over it. So I need to reinforce the floor. Problem is... the existing floor was tested for asbestos and came up very very positive for extremely deadly asbestos, so I can't rip up the existing sheathing to sister the joists underneath. This is a bit more than a Fix it Fast question. The beam sounds like a good idea, and I've seen similar things done on past episodes of This Old House. The issue is going to be how much structural load the beam is actually going to be taking and how it distributes that load down to foundation. I would bring in a structural engineer to have a look at the situation if it were me.
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Mar 20, 2019 15:43
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PremiumSupport posted:This is a bit more than a Fix it Fast question. The beam sounds like a good idea, and I've seen similar things done on past episodes of This Old House. The issue is going to be how much structural load the beam is actually going to be taking and how it distributes that load down to foundation. I would bring in a structural engineer to have a look at the situation if it were me. Was gonna post exactly this. If you're adding a structural component, I think an engineer needs to sign off on it, and it's hard to say whether they would allow hanging off the existing wall headers. They may require columns and footers because of the span. I probably shouldn't say this... But as a second option... You could do what many homeowners do in this situation and add a 4x6 and some jack posts. Having that under a new tile floor would be less than ideal but you could correct the sag with them.
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Mar 20, 2019 16:23
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I recently purchased one of those aquapaw dog washing accessories as my old one wasn't working so great. The first one I got looks like it had been a return from a previous buyer. Packaging was already opened, but it had all the parts. Hooked it up and it immediately started leaking. This was a piece of plastic T pipe and it looked like there was a hairline fracture in it. Exchanged it, hooked up the new one, everything was cool. Used it once, and while the switch/valve feels kind of weak and cheap, it mostly works. As of last week, I started noticing more leaking between this adapter and the shower head. I didn't want to over tighten as I always heard that plumbing fittings should be hand tight, but I went back over everything, put new thread tape back on the fixtures and re-assembled again. No leaks for about a day, and now rather than a relatively slow dribbling leak, I have some very fine spray coming out from between the head and adapter. If I push the shower head back against the adapter, the leak stops (or at least is not as bad), but that's hardly a fix. I'm no genius, but I've installed other adapters like this and never had a problem like this before. I'm just going to remove the adapter when I get home, but I'm wondering a few things. First, could it just be the adapter is junk? As I stated, this thing feels kind of flimsy and very light. Another part of the reason I don't want to over tighten is I feel like this thing will just explode into pieces if I go too tight. If that is the case, I think I'd rather find a metal piece of plumbing to fit my need a bit better, but I'm not sure the right term to search for. It's a T-shaped piece of pipe with a valve that controls the flow of the water between either one outlet or the other.  . The back end screws onto the shower pipe, the shower head screws onto the front, and the quick connector for the hose connects to the bottom. Does something like this exist in the wild made of better stuff?
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Mar 20, 2019 21:32
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Would a handheld shower head work? It replaces the entire shower head of course, but I have one and have never had problems with leaking. And it works fine for washing my dog.
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Mar 20, 2019 21:39
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TheBananaKing posted:I'm very confused by this statement... Are you thinking of a wet/dry vac? A sump pump sits in a large hole in the slab and pumps out water before it rises to the level at which it would come up through the floor. Well I guess I reveal my idiocy...I thought a sump pump sat at the level of the basement floor and pumped the water out as it got to/above the floor...I realize know how stupid that is and obviously getting rid of the water BEFORE it gets into the basement is s much better option.
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Mar 21, 2019 00:38
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DrBouvenstein posted:Well I guess I reveal my idiocy...I thought a sump pump sat at the level of the basement floor and pumped the water out as it got to/above the floor...I realize know how stupid that is and obviously getting rid of the water BEFORE it gets into the basement is s much better option. That's more or less one of those honest misunderstandings of something you probably haven't thought a great deal about before. I take it that means you don't have one sitting in a hole in your basement, then? Hope the leak hasn't gotten any worse. I'm not sure what the cost might be to get one installed but if your yard is sloped properly and you don't think you have drainage issues in general, it's probably worth looking into.
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Mar 21, 2019 02:20
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Our 17-year-old refrigerator no longer freezes ice on the bottom half of the freezer (ice still freezes on the top half). Anything worth trying before replacing it?
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Mar 21, 2019 18:49
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Huxley posted:Our 17-year-old refrigerator no longer freezes ice on the bottom half of the freezer (ice still freezes on the top half). No. Unless you're in serious financial straights a new fridge will likely cost you less over its useful life including the capital outlay.
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Mar 21, 2019 19:05
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Would a handheld shower head work? It replaces the entire shower head of course, but I have one and have never had problems with leaking. And it works fine for washing my dog. Probably. It's just the whole sunk cost thing. EDIT: Found what I needed. A 3-way diverter and I'm back in business CzarChasm fucked around with this message at 03:58 on Mar 24, 2019 |
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Mar 21, 2019 21:51
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Huxley posted:Our 17-year-old refrigerator no longer freezes ice on the bottom half of the freezer (ice still freezes on the top half). Door seals. If it's more than that replace it.
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Mar 23, 2019 22:30
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Amana ngd4600yq0 gas dryer. The automatic dry cycle has been leaving stuff damp lately, and today I noticed it doesn't appear to be heating at all. Timed dry cycle heats up perfectly, dries perfectly. Would I be correct in assuming the problem is the internal bias thermostat? How would I go about testing the part? Google seems to suggest I want continuity between the two large prongs, but I'm getting mixed answers about how many ohms I should get between the two small ones.
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Mar 25, 2019 03:22
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Slugworth posted:Amana ngd4600yq0 gas dryer. The automatic dry cycle has been leaving stuff damp lately, and today I noticed it doesn't appear to be heating at all. Timed dry cycle heats up perfectly, dries perfectly. Would I be correct in assuming the problem is the internal bias thermostat? How would I go about testing the part? Google seems to suggest I want continuity between the two large prongs, but I'm getting mixed answers about how many ohms I should get between the two small ones. The thing about thermostats like that is that they're thermistors. Their resistivity changes with their temperature. Still, getting any measure across them indicates that it hasn't burnt out. It could also be that the contacts inside that selector switch are wearing out.
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Mar 25, 2019 19:11
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kid sinister posted:The thing about thermostats like that is that they're thermistors. Their resistivity changes with their temperature. Still, getting any measure across them indicates that it hasn't burnt out. The cycle selector switch/timer dial would be my suspect part as well. If the burner control contacts are dirty or worn out for a particular cycle's range on the dial, the burner won't fire. For most dryers it's a $30-$60 part and easily replaceable if you're at all handy.
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Mar 25, 2019 20:05
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https://www.etsy.com/listing/201959...0hoCB4wQAvD_BwE So for a novice dunce like me who gets nervous about anything beyond put a single nail in the wall to mount something... I have a fairly heavy-ish hockey stick mount (link above) that has two screws that need to be put into rawl plugs (presumably in a stud wall). What's the simplest way to approach this so I can't gently caress it up and end up making 10 drill holes in the wall because it won't line up? My brain says to hold the mount against the wall and X the two screw points with a pencil when it's level, then put down and drill at those points, put in the rawl plugs and screw it on. I wish it was like a TV mount where it gives you some leeway in the screw holes!
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Mar 25, 2019 20:33
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EL BROMANCE posted:https://www.etsy.com/listing/201959...0hoCB4wQAvD_BwE Get a sheet of tracing paper, put it on the bottom of your mount and use a level to align everything. Draw circles where the holes should go, and draw a rough outline of the device. Now, tape the tracing paper to the wall. Use your level to make it level, adjust as necessary, get it all just right. Then drill through the paper into the wall. Once mounted, tear the paper off from behind the device. This is also how to hang pictures/art/etc. Don't be afraid of 20 holes in your wall. Spackle is dead simple to use. Grab a thing of premade stuff that changes color as it dries ($5-10) + scraper ($1), glob too much in there, and use your scraper to make it blend into the wall. Your first one will suck. Your 3rd one won't. Once it's dry dab on some primer and paint.
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Mar 25, 2019 20:44
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Thanks! Didn't know about that approach so have learnt something already.
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Mar 25, 2019 21:30
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PremiumSupport posted:The cycle selector switch/timer dial would be my suspect part as well. If the burner control contacts are dirty or worn out for a particular cycle's range on the dial, the burner won't fire. For most dryers it's a $30-$60 part and easily replaceable if you're at all handy. Thanks for the help though guys.
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Mar 25, 2019 23:20
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Slugworth posted:Well, I'm impressed by you both. Assuming I'm doing things correctly, the thermostat appears to be working properly. So I pulled all the wires off the timer and started testing for continuity according to the little chart that I found inside the dryer, and I'm not getting it at one of the combinations I'm supposed to be. Which wouldn't be so bad if the timer was 30 to 60 dollars. Unfortunately for whatever dumb reason, mine costs 137, which feels like more than I wanna spend on a dryer we've been sort of wanting to replace for awhile anyway. Could you just do... Timed dry?
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Mar 25, 2019 23:21
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H110Hawk posted:Could you just do... Timed dry? I did actually find the part after posting for 85 bucks though, so I might be back in the fight.
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Mar 25, 2019 23:35
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Slugworth posted:Haha, yeah, sounds like a simple solution, but for whatever reason there is no timed low heat setting, and the girlfriend's clothes will all apparently disintegrate or violently shrink at high heat. Wow, I was about to call shenanigans but sure enough in the manual there is a single-dial option where the only way to get low heat is with that automatic setting. What a lovely dryer. Life lesson apparently, always get one where the magic is separate from the temperature control. I've never seen that before, but I guess I've only ever used a dozen or so in my life. (I dry everything on low.)
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Mar 26, 2019 00:26
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Speaking of dryers, mine stopped drying this past weekend. Dug into it to find out, in addition to the heating element going bad, that the genius who last worked on it bypassed the thermal cutoff and the high side thermostat. We've owned this dryer for ~12 years, but bought it used.  At least they're all replaced and working now.
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Mar 26, 2019 00:54
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While we are on dryer chat.. I have an Amana NED4600YQ1 electric dryer where the auto dry function stopped working as well. The timer advances on auto dry, but it barely gets warm at all in auto mode. Works 100% on timed dry though. Any ideas? I can't find anything conclusive Googling.. most mentions are about the timer not advancing on my model, but mine does.
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Mar 26, 2019 03:11
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I hang dry most of my shirts as I got sick of liking the size in store only for it to shrink several(!!) inches or trying to buy upsized and then rolling the shrinking dice. Dryers are fickle beasts at best.
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Mar 26, 2019 03:52
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stevewm posted:While we are on dryer chat.. I have an Amana NED4600YQ1 electric dryer where the auto dry function stopped working as well.
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Mar 26, 2019 12:11
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Slugworth posted:My timer also advances, so literally the exact same problem as me. I'll let you know in a few days how my timer replacement goes. I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out it's the exact same part. The circuit from the timer dial doesn't care what form of heat the dryer uses, it just controls it.
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Mar 26, 2019 14:32
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Heeyyyyy so due to my own stupidity I screwed in this screw to the drywall without an anchor because I was in a hurry and thought it was a stud. It sunk into the wall and it's in just tight enough that my magnetic screwdriver won't hold onto it enough to pull it back out. I want to pull it out, put an anchor in and then do it right but for the life of me I can't get it out. Any recommendations? 
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Mar 26, 2019 15:01
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Medullah posted:Heeyyyyy so due to my own stupidity I screwed in this screw to the drywall without an anchor because I was in a hurry and thought it was a stud. It sunk into the wall and it's in just tight enough that my magnetic screwdriver won't hold onto it enough to pull it back out. I want to pull it out, put an anchor in and then do it right but for the life of me I can't get it out. Any recommendations? Depending on how long the screw is, can you just push it further into the wall so it falls into the wall cavity?
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Mar 26, 2019 15:06
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Is it spinning freely and so you can't back it out? I think your only two options are to push it through and thereby make the hole a little larger, or try to grab the head with some pliers and thereby make the hole a lot larger. Alternatively, patch & paint over it and screw into somewhere else.
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Mar 26, 2019 15:10
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emanonii posted:Depending on how long the screw is, can you just push it further into the wall so it falls into the wall cavity? Hmmmm yeah that will probably work, I didn't want to keep pushing it for that reason, but I guess there's really no harm done in letting it fall in.
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Mar 26, 2019 15:13
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