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Motronic posted:There is a serious counterfeiting problem with those at the moment, exacerbated by amazon's binning system. Not the op, but I’ve started buying a bunch of home goods direct from the distributor or from other websites because I’ve gotten so sick of knock-offs. At this point I’ll eat shipping fees because it’s better than rolling the dice on whether you actually get the thing you paid for.
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Sep 3, 2019 14:49
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Motronic posted:Where did you get the filter? It's a homedepot generic filter, but the complaints online mentioned issues with direct-from-samsung parts as well. The tap water in our area is fine, so I'm not super concerned. My wife is just happy we have a steady flow of ice now.
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Sep 3, 2019 15:18
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:It's a homedepot generic filter, but the complaints online mentioned issues with direct-from-samsung parts as well. The tap water in our area is fine, so I'm not super concerned. My wife is just happy we have a steady flow of ice now. Be careful about what "direct from Samsung" means. Buying from Samsung on Amazon is not the same thing as having them shipped to you from Samsung via Samsun'g web site (what I do because I got a counterfeit from Amazon).
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Sep 3, 2019 15:27
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how do I win the war on house ants
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Sep 3, 2019 20:07
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Bloody posted:how do I win the war on house ants Burning it to the ground is the only way to be absolutely sure.
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Sep 3, 2019 20:19
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Bloody posted:how do I win the war on house ants Terro baits and a week. Anything more aggressive will kill them before they bring the poison back to the nest in your walls.
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Sep 3, 2019 20:29
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Jaded Burnout posted:IMO buy a cheapish fabric 2.5 seater then. If it's not getting a lot of use then resilience isn't so important, and fabric ones do last years of normal daily use. Usually it's the cushion interiors that fail first. I thought fabric couches got smelly and fell apart quickly? That said, if it really is like $10000 to buy a leather couch that isn’t fake/badly made, maybe I’ll just get a fabric couch as a temporary measure while I save up...or maybe just not get one, cause spending thousands of dollars on furniture is moronic. MetaJew posted:I thought they were referring to "synthetic" as in the microfibres/synthetic suedes. At least that's what I was thinking of. The feeling against your skin is generally pretty nice; It doesn't stick to you if you're a sweaty goon; and keeping them clean isn't too tough. Although I don't have children. Food and pet fur, though aren't a huge problem. Hm. If I can ensure that I won’t be getting another couch in 2-3 years, then this might be okay. The Wonder Weapon posted:I said synthetic, but I mostly meant "non-leather." Whether it's one of the microfibres or just a normal fabric, either is likely preferable to fake/discount leather on a timeline longer than a few years. So all the $1200-$1800 leather sofas you see in Jordan’s n poo poo are fake or discount leather? How do I find good sofas aside from estate sales?
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Sep 3, 2019 21:32
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I just buy 3rd party filters to cut out the counterfeiting OEM ones  these Aquacrest ones for the curious
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Sep 3, 2019 21:58
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Pollyanna posted:I thought fabric couches got smelly and fell apart quickly? That said, if it really is like $10000 to buy a leather couch that isn’t fake/badly made, maybe I’ll just get a fabric couch as a temporary measure while I save up...or maybe just not get one, cause spending thousands of dollars on furniture is moronic. You do you, but my mother is the only person in my life I've known to have leather sofas, everyone else has fabric ones, and doesn't have problems with them. You can get cheap and nasty fabric sofas same as you can get cheap and nasty fabric clothes, or you can get hardwearing ones or.. etc. Same as anything else. The more delicate the fabric and the more use it gets the more it'll wear. I've never known a fabric sofa to get noticeably smelly, perhaps that's different with dogs, but if you have dogs that are allowed up then maybe get a cover for it. I owned a two-seater fabric sofa that I bought for I think £300 and it lasted me several years and multiple moves before I abandoned it, but even then all it really needed was some cushion replacements due to losing shape over time. All the fabric parts were still fine. I guess the main benefit of leather is you can wipe it down, with other sofas if people live in particularly funky circumstances then some sort of removable (and thus washable) cover is a good plan. The ikea sofa I have has removable arm sleeves so you can wash them from time to time. Bearing in mind that the arms and the cushions are largely the only bits you contact, and the cushions all have removable covers like a pillowcase. Jaded Burnout fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Sep 3, 2019 |
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Sep 3, 2019 22:07
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Pollyanna posted:I thought fabric couches got smelly and fell apart quickly? That said, if it really is like $10000 to buy a leather couch that isn’t fake/badly made, maybe I’ll just get a fabric couch as a temporary measure while I save up...or maybe just not get one, cause spending thousands of dollars on furniture is moronic. I don't want to overrepresent my knowledge here. You should ask in the interior decorating thread. That said, I'd expect any $1800 or less leather sofa to be bonded, which is crap. I could be wrong though.
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Sep 3, 2019 22:30
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I bought a matching reclining sofa & recliner for my new house about a year ago https://www.besthfstl.com/item/everlasting-reclining-sofa/685450215 for $1600. I had trouble finding one that wasn't leather or microfiber, and a recliner that didn't rock/swivel, but got lucky at the third furniture store with a salesman who actually new his poo poo and didn't try and upsell me. My mother loved her leather couch but she hardly ever used it, now my brother has it. I don't like them, they make a ton of noise went you move around, and you have to be careful around them with anything remotely sharp like keys, usb plugs, bent denim rivets, belt buckles, etc.
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Sep 3, 2019 23:20
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I can't really agree with the other comments, referring to my post on the previous page. Bonded leather has held up fine for us for over 10 year and will probably last 10 more years easily. Having leather sofas has been really good for us, we have cats and found the sofas work excellently with having cats. Leather even the bonded stuff we got seems quite resistant to scratching and any marks that do happen mostly just add to the patina of the sofa and can be retouched. This sofa has lived through one cat and the current two ones we got are young and they run and play straight over them with their claws out, like the other cat also used to when she was younger. The sofas still look fine, can't really see any scratches and the ones we do see don't bother us, that's the good thing, they can take damage and still look fine. His Divine Shadow fucked around with this message at 07:02 on Sep 4, 2019 |
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Sep 4, 2019 07:00
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Motronic posted:Terro baits and a week. What will work better than Terro is Fipronil. Also known as Termidor or Taurus SC. However note that this is very toxic and will kill a lot of other insects too, so this is not to be sprayed inside your house (crawl space is fine).
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Sep 4, 2019 07:22
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ntan1 posted:What will work better than Terro is Fipronil. Also known as Termidor or Taurus SC. I have a feeling Motronic is referring to the liquid-based ant traps with the little plastic feeder: https://www.amazon.com/TERRO-T300B-2-Pack-Liquid-Baits/dp/B00E4GACB8 These are just borax and sugar water, but are so drat effective, because the ants show up like it's a frat party with free beer, and then bring the poisonous syrup back to the colony. You can obviously make your own version of these with a container, laundry borax, and honey/molasses/sugar water. For the broad insecticides, I'm more of a bifenthrin guy myself (cheaper).
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Sep 4, 2019 12:33
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B-Nasty posted:I have a feeling Motronic is referring to the liquid-based ant traps with the little plastic feeder: https://www.amazon.com/TERRO-T300B-2-Pack-Liquid-Baits/dp/B00E4GACB8 Exactly that. You can chug it and it's not going to hurt you - the LD50 is like GALLONS for a human. The stuff simply works for ants and you don't have to worry about spraying neurotoxins in your house. It's not clear to me that Fipronil works "better" - go back to what I said about not getting drug into walls/to the nest. And I've re-certed my pesticide license so I can buy whatever the hell I want.
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Sep 4, 2019 14:16
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Motronic posted:It's not clear to me that Fipronil works "better" - go back to what I said about not getting drug into walls/to the nest. And I've re-certed my pesticide license so I can buy whatever the hell I want. 
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Sep 4, 2019 14:56
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Pollyanna posted:I thought fabric couches got smelly and fell apart quickly? That said, if it really is like $10000 to buy a leather couch that isn’t fake/badly made, maybe I’ll just get a fabric couch as a temporary measure while I save up...or maybe just not get one, cause spending thousands of dollars on furniture is moronic. If you're looking at getting a new one, I got a sofa from Camerich who also sell in the US. It's excellent, very comfortable and looks good, and a big 3 seat fabric one is £2k. https://camerich.co.uk/range/sofas/crescent/deep-three-seat-sofa/ https://camerichusa.com/products/sofas/
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Sep 4, 2019 21:22
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We've been in our new home for a couple months and I need to do something with this area between the sidewalk and the patio. It fills up with weeds and trees and is a pain. I like the idea of just filling it in with stones, but the sidewalk dips in the middle there so I don't know if I'd need a small retaining wall to keep the stone from spilling out. Also, I'm not the biggest plant guy, but I think it might look kind of weird to just have a bed of rocks without at least a couple small plants in there. Looking for recommendations/advice in general for what to do with this.
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Sep 6, 2019 18:52
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Reik posted:We've been in our new home for a couple months and I need to do something with this area between the sidewalk and the patio. It fills up with weeds and trees and is a pain. I like the idea of just filling it in with stones, but the sidewalk dips in the middle there so I don't know if I'd need a small retaining wall to keep the stone from spilling out. Also, I'm not the biggest plant guy, but I think it might look kind of weird to just have a bed of rocks without at least a couple small plants in there. Looking for recommendations/advice in general for what to do with this. Make it a giant raised bed. I had a similar space on the side of my house and now it's great for herbs and tomatoes and peppers. 
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Sep 6, 2019 19:03
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Reik posted:We've been in our new home for a couple months and I need to do something with this area between the sidewalk and the patio. It fills up with weeds and trees and is a pain. I like the idea of just filling it in with stones, but the sidewalk dips in the middle there so I don't know if I'd need a small retaining wall to keep the stone from spilling out. Also, I'm not the biggest plant guy, but I think it might look kind of weird to just have a bed of rocks without at least a couple small plants in there. Looking for recommendations/advice in general for what to do with this. Will your climate support English ivy? Edit: we have a similar space, and it loving sucked in heavy rain because all water dumps into that area and has nowhere to go except "through the stone foundation walls and into a basement without a floor drain." We had to excavate down to the base and waterproof, then add exterior French drains. Nine grand later ... tetrapyloctomy fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Sep 6, 2019 |
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Sep 6, 2019 19:08
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Reik posted:We've been in our new home for a couple months and I need to do something with this area between the sidewalk and the patio. It fills up with weeds and trees and is a pain. I like the idea of just filling it in with stones, but the sidewalk dips in the middle there so I don't know if I'd need a small retaining wall to keep the stone from spilling out. Also, I'm not the biggest plant guy, but I think it might look kind of weird to just have a bed of rocks without at least a couple small plants in there. Looking for recommendations/advice in general for what to do with this. I would do whatever color rock you like and put some planters on top, like barrels or ceramic. I like the height of containers vs putting stuff in the ground, plus it adds another decorative element. If you want privacy you can plant some arbor vitae or other tall skinny trees in them to block the view.
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Sep 6, 2019 19:12
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I don't trust my ability to not kill herbs, tomatoes, or ivy, so the planter idea is probably more in my wheelhouse. If I'm understand the process correctly, I'll need to: 1. Scoop out all the plant material and get a roughly level bed. 2. Make a mostly level trench for the wall bricks. 3. Put down a weed mat and pour some sand in to the trench. 4. Put the bricks in, leveling them with a rubber mallet. 5. Put the second layer of bricks on top of them, using landscape adhesive. 6. Pour a bottom layer of gravel over the weed mat. 7. Put bigger rocks over the gravel. Am I missing anything important? This is my first time attempting anything landscape-y. I wonder if I'll need to do anything to prevent weeds from growing between the retaining wall and sidewalk? Reik fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Sep 6, 2019 |
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Sep 6, 2019 19:49
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Good god why would you actively encourage planting ivy
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Sep 6, 2019 22:01
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Ivy's fine. Just plant some strawberries and dill, too.
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Sep 6, 2019 22:08
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toplitzin posted:Make it a giant raised bed. high five for the exact same raised bed design i made myself 
Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Sep 6, 2019 |
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Sep 6, 2019 22:09
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tetrapyloctomy posted:Will your climate support English ivy? do not do this
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Sep 7, 2019 03:34
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Bloody posted:Good god why would you actively encourage planting ivy Ivy is certainly pretty but my first thought when I saw that suggestion was "say goodbye to your brickwork".
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Sep 7, 2019 09:54
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Ivy's fine. Ivy is not fine, you will full of regret and considering a flamethrower to end it in a few years. I bought a house a couple of months ago and spent a week removing it from 1/2 of the front face.
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Sep 7, 2019 10:54
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Has anyone installed a wood burning stove in a modern building? The place I am buying is fitted "for but not with" one with a chimney already in place. It's a new building up in the mountains and I think will have very few air leaks. Do they need an air intake? Or is it OK just letting them consume the room air? I would have thought this is a very mature technology but there seems to be no consensus from my Googling.
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Sep 7, 2019 11:26
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knox_harrington posted:Has anyone installed a wood burning stove in a modern building? The place I am buying is fitted "for but not with" one with a chimney already in place. It's a new building up in the mountains and I think will have very few air leaks. Yes they need makeup air. But in a modern building/stove that's going to be accomplished as a function of the chimney (triple wall pipe, the outer gap being used for makeup air).
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Sep 7, 2019 17:01
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Mind blown. I wonder if that technology has reached Valais yet, it's pretty backward here in some respects.
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Sep 8, 2019 00:31
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Cute gravel for the sidewalk gap. Sure rocks will roll onto the sidewalk, just shuffle em back. (Then fill it with gnomes and spinny pinwheels)
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Sep 8, 2019 00:32
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knox_harrington posted:Mind blown. I wonder if that technology has reached Valais yet, it's pretty backward here in some respects. It's reached the EU for sure, so the parts are available. I can't imagine it would be against code, if any exists. This is decades old "technology".
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Sep 8, 2019 00:57
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Ivy's fine. It's fine if you live in England and are willing to put in the work for it to not destroy your house. Everywhere else it's an invasive plague that will absolutely ruin your house, yard, and any remnants of native ecology
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Sep 8, 2019 17:47
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Never heard of chimneys like that myself, don't think they are common here, but most houses are designed with fireplaces in mind anyway. Wouldn't want to be without one if power fails a longer time in winter. A google shows they do exist though.
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Sep 8, 2019 17:52
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Considering another round of home improvement projects for the next year or two. Here's what I'm interested in deciding: 1.) Should I replace the vertical blinds in front of my living room's sliding door? If so, with what? The blinds remind me of apartment life, but I don't know what the classy thing to do with a sliding door would be. 2.) Should I get rid of the ceiling fan in my living room and instead install a light fixture over my dining room table? I was thinking of maybe something rectangular like this. 3.) When I do eventually have to replace my appliances (they're all 10+ years old), should I stick with black or go stainless (or split the difference and go black stainless)? I know I don't like white appliances, but otherwise I don't really have a preference. 4.) Is it possible to install some kind of range hood over my oven, given that I already have a microwave there? 5.) Leaving my cabinets as they are, what would look good in terms of countertop materials and colors in my galley kitchen? Would a backsplash look good on either side, or is there too little wall space to bother? Here's a picture album of my living room (slash-dining-room-slash-office) and kitchen as they are from a variety of angles: https://imgur.com/a/aajktes I'd love advice from folks here on any of these questions. Thank you!
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Sep 8, 2019 21:05
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1.) You could put in some floor length curtains, but unless you also want to replace the window blinds with matching ones I'd leave it be. 2.) Personally I like ceiling fans, but if you never use it as a fan you might as well. Make sure to stash it in your basement and put it back up before you sell, though. Not all ceiling fixtures are strong enough to take one so show off that yours can. 3.) I think a neutral or lighter color would go better with the white cabinets and blue walls, so stainless. 4.) Does your existing microwave not have a down facing exhaust fan? 5.) I don't think the backsplash would be all that noticable in your kitchen, between the upper cabinets, tight spaces, and single light source I think they'd get lost in the shadows.
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Sep 8, 2019 22:32
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Ceiling fans are ugly but quite good at what they do. If you've got central air you can skip them, but if you live somewhere that gets warm days at all, and don't have ac, you'll regret removing them. It's my understanding that over-stove microwave vents are worthless, or worse than worthless, so consider that before you swap the microwave for double duty. Beyond that, I'm not sure how you'd have the physical space for a true hood and also a microwave without needing a step ladder to reach.
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Sep 9, 2019 00:37
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Is the microwave on an exterior wall? If so, the over the range microwaves can be configured to exhaust to the outside. My brother added an exhaust vent on the exterior of his house, and he has a brick veneer, so it is possible.
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Sep 9, 2019 00:46
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The Wonder Weapon posted:If you've got central air you can skip them, I find them quite useful even with central AC. It's quite a bit cheaper to run them than AC on those intermediate days and I'd always rather have my windows open than recycled air. Definitely a personal preference thing, but it's definitely a thing. The Wonder Weapon posted:It's my understanding that over-stove microwave vents are worthless, or worse than worthless, so consider that before you swap the microwave for double duty. Beyond that, I'm not sure how you'd have the physical space for a true hood and also a microwave without needing a step ladder to reach. They are like any other consumer range hoods - nearly useless if you recirc, okay if you vent to the outside. Every one I've put in has the option to vent outside (it's just a blocking plate) if you have the outside vent already.
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Sep 9, 2019 00:59
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