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more falafel please posted:So I don't have any pictures at the moment, but I need some advice about siding. My house has a small addition on the back, the corner of which butts up against my electric meter. The previous owners who installed the addition apparently didn't account for siding when they did this, so the siding and flange was blocking the the cover of the meter by an inch or two. I had some electrical problems (which ended up being a problem at the service connection, but that's not the point) which required opening up the meter to test the voltage on the incoming line, so my electrician had to cut the flange with a utility knife to be able to get the cover off the meter. It's a pretty small area and I don't anticipate having to open up the meter frequently, but putting up more flange sounds like a bad idea, as does leaving it uncovered. Would something like Great Stuff work in this spot? It's in a weird little corner at the back of the house, so I don't care how it looks, but it would be easier to cut and reapply if necessary.   
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Sep 30, 2019 22:40
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The “flange” your talking about is called “J channel.” You can get it at Home Depot and cut it with shears. The color won’t match, but it’ll certainly look better than expanding foam. Don’t use that foam exposed to the elements. It gets gross. I haven’t had to disconnect my outer meter in 10 years, so just tucking some J back there sounds like the easiest path.
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Sep 30, 2019 22:52
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totalnewbie posted:Oh yeah, for sure 100% sealing, not structural. I would recommend you buy the window/door frame expanding foam instead of the original formula. It expands less and honestly what that means is you don't end up with foam making GBS threads across your entire work area, it actually goes where you put it and IMO expands just the right amount to be useful.
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Oct 1, 2019 02:51
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tangy yet delightful posted:IMO expands just the right amount to be useful. With expanding foam I've developed a method of "How much do I think I should spray on, OK spray a tenth of that, oh still too much awesome"
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Oct 1, 2019 12:33
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Jaded Burnout posted:With expanding foam I've developed a method of "How much do I think I should spray on, OK spray a tenth of that, oh still too much awesome" The acetone soaked rag is where it's at to help with the screaming as it starts dripping places. I don't know that I have ever made it through a whole can of that stuff.
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Oct 1, 2019 13:03
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My basement's not finished and I don't ever plan to finish it so I'm just going to take this can and go to town. Next question: I hosed up the grout around the tub (between tub and vertical wall). I am a huge idiot. It feels like grout on the surface but when I pulled up a piece, it was stretchy and rubbery. I'm guessing this is epoxy grout? Do they come in small tubes (like silicone caulk)? Is this what I'm even looking for? Should I just use silicone caulk (color wouldn't match  ) or try to find the right color epoxy grout?
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Oct 1, 2019 17:17
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totalnewbie posted:My basement's not finished and I don't ever plan to finish it so I'm just going to take this can and go to town. That's what my dad did in his workshop. Anywhere he saw sand blowing in he would finish off cans he was using elsewhere. The room now maintains temperature a dozen cans in (and a few replaced doors & windows.)
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Oct 1, 2019 17:28
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How about the space just above the cinder block walls and below the floorboards up above? They don't seem to be insulated but they're quite a large space so I think I should just buy insulation. Do they sell uhh.. bricks of insulation?
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Oct 1, 2019 17:42
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totalnewbie posted:How about the space just above the cinder block walls and below the floorboards up above? They don't seem to be insulated but they're quite a large space so I think I should just buy insulation. Do they sell uhh.. bricks of insulation? How many inches are you talking? The can says what it can cover. (Yeah they sell bricks of insulation, but the bricks are 8'x18"x2". Plus a 100 pack of razor blades.) (I don't actually know.)
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Oct 1, 2019 17:46
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mm..10-ish? I wasn't planning on using the spray foam for that. Way too big, I think.
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Oct 1, 2019 17:49
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H110Hawk posted:That's what my dad did in his workshop. Anywhere he saw sand blowing in he would finish off cans he was using elsewhere. The room now maintains temperature a dozen cans in (and a few replaced doors & windows.) They sell spray foam on Tatooine?
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Oct 1, 2019 17:57
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totalnewbie posted:mm..10-ish? I wasn't planning on using the spray foam for that. Way too big, I think. Yeah, I don't think you want canned spray foam for that area (the box sill, I think it's called?) I mean...you COULD do it that way, but it would take a while, be messy, and expensive. You can use sheets of the rigid foam insulation cut to fit, and fill in the gaps with canned spray foam, but the best way, I think, is a professional style foam spray. Like so: 
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Oct 1, 2019 18:34
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So we've assumed for a while that the siding on our house is not great. It used to be a rental and they definitely cheaped out on some stuff. However, today we are replacing a window and finally getting a really good look at what the hell is going on there: It's vinyl on top of Masonite. Just how bad is this? TBH we're honestly kind of panicking, as various things we've heard have led us to believe this will lead to rot and mold and all those other nasty things. But after a recent roof replacement and upcoming window/door replacements, we really don't have the money to replace siding too. EDIT: Here's another picture that may also be important. What you can see here is that in corners, the vinyl isn't, like... capped? Like it seems to just kind of be hanging off a bit. Our thought is that water will get in there and erode the Masonite, whatever condition it's in. (I guess without the Masonite it would still be a problem, maybe even worse, but the problem also probably wouldn't exist if they hadn't done vinyl over Masonite, so...) 
Sir Lemming fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Oct 2, 2019 |
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Oct 1, 2019 18:36
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DrBouvenstein posted:Yeah, I don't think you want canned spray foam for that area (the box sill, I think it's called?) I mean...you COULD do it that way, but it would take a while, be messy, and expensive. You can use sheets of the rigid foam insulation cut to fit, and fill in the gaps with canned spray foam, but the best way, I think, is a professional style foam spray. Yeah, box sill looks like the right term. Like this but not wood framing (and not so deep); it's on cinder block:  I'm mostly just looking for quick and easy, which is why I was hoping to just buy blocks of insulation, stuff 'em up there, and call it a day.
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Oct 1, 2019 18:52
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totalnewbie posted:Yeah, box sill looks like the right term. Yep you can do that. You can also buy a "wool" style insulation that's, well, kinda like thick sheets of wool, which you can stuff in there without having to cut it to size. It's between solid insulation and spray insulation in terms of speed of insulation vs mess.
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Oct 1, 2019 19:17
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Jaded Burnout posted:Yep you can do that. You can also buy a "wool" style insulation that's, well, kinda like thick sheets of wool, which you can stuff in there without having to cut it to size. It's between solid insulation and spray insulation in terms of speed of insulation vs mess. Sounds like Goldilocks to me. Thanks!
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Oct 1, 2019 19:20
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totalnewbie posted:Sounds like Goldilocks to me. Thanks! Just be careful to read the installation warnings, depending on the material the loose nature of it means you can wind up with fibreglass dust all up in your mucus bits.
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Oct 1, 2019 19:25
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Anybody have experience replacing copper plumbing with pex? I've got a short run in my basement (goes to the washer/sink) that will have to be temporarily removed when some foundation work occurs. Thinking about cutting it off myself and then reinstalling pex so that I won't need to call a plumber or do a bunch of soldering. I haven't closed on the house yet so I don't have a ton of specifics yet but would be a less than 10ft run I think, unless I end up moving the washing machine. Seems really straightforward, am I missing some glaringly obvious drawbacks???
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Oct 3, 2019 17:04
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Pex is easy. I would avoid the sharkbite fittings myself for the copper to pex connection but lots of people use them and I haven't heard of any issues yet. As for pex you can either go the crimp ring route or expanding (uponor) route. I've got uponor and haven't had any issues. It has some advantages over crimp ring like being more flexible and bigger inner diameter on fittings, but the downside is the tool costs more for it. Crimp ring is easier to find in stores too. I have to go to plumbing specific stores for uponor stuff. I have a friend of a friend who had a crimp ring break on them and flood their house. I think you're safer from that kind of catastrophic failure with uponor simply because of the physics behind it.
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Oct 3, 2019 18:19
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SpartanIvy posted:I have a friend of a friend who had a crimp ring break on them and flood their house. I think you're safer from that kind of catastrophic failure with uponor simply because of the physics behind it. Well that's not very cool. I think the uponor style is what I've seen demo'd on This Old House a bunch, wonder if I can rent the heat gun thingy for that vs having to buy one...
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Oct 3, 2019 18:59
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Sirotan posted:Anybody have experience replacing copper plumbing with pex? I've got a short run in my basement (goes to the washer/sink) that will have to be temporarily removed when some foundation work occurs. Thinking about cutting it off myself and then reinstalling pex so that I won't need to call a plumber or do a bunch of soldering. I haven't closed on the house yet so I don't have a ton of specifics yet but would be a less than 10ft run I think, unless I end up moving the washing machine. Seems really straightforward, am I missing some glaringly obvious drawbacks??? Do you have speedfit connectors where you live? They connect copper or pex (or both) on the same fitting, and look like this: https://www.johnguest.com/speedfit/product/10-15-22-28mm-size-fittings/equal-elbow/ I found them very easy to use.
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Oct 3, 2019 19:55
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Sirotan posted:Well that's not very cool. I think the uponor style is what I've seen demo'd on This Old House a bunch, wonder if I can rent the heat gun thingy for that vs having to buy one... Not a heat gun. Just a big expander. Check pawnshops in your area for the Milwaukee one, it's the best. I got mine with all the bits and 2 batteries for like $300 out the door. E: I see some on the FB marketplace for $200 now! SpartanIvy fucked around with this message at 20:49 on Oct 3, 2019 |
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Oct 3, 2019 20:46
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Is this the major appliance thread? Are they all poo poo now? Shopping for refrigerators and made the mistake of reading reviews. DOOM. DOOM. Cabinets. Any of the internet cabineteers not poo poo? Is IKEA ok for what it is?
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Oct 4, 2019 01:33
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PCjr sidecar posted:Is this the major appliance thread? Are they all poo poo now? Shopping for refrigerators and made the mistake of reading reviews. DOOM. DOOM. I'm pretty sure our kitchen is IKEA. It's poo poo. The drawers come right past their bump stops. Ask me about having a knife drawer on the floor suddenly and without warning. Everything is poo poo, but I think I hear the most horror stories about Samsung. I bought an LG.
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Oct 4, 2019 02:05
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SpartanIvy posted:Pex is easy. I would avoid the sharkbite fittings myself for the copper to pex connection but lots of people use them and I haven't heard of any issues yet. Just want to add that there are crimp and clamp rings. I used the steel clamp rings on my shower and it was super easy. I actually had to redo a part and cut the rings off, it was hard as hell to just get the compressed pex off of the barb.
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Oct 4, 2019 02:58
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I've had two Samsungs and two LGs and both Samsungs poo poo the bed in less than 4 or 5 years. Like unrepairable cooling system poo poo the bed. The LGs I haven't owned that long because one we just got and the other was 3 years old when I sold it with the previous house so I don't know about longevity but in general I think they're laid out better and have better icemakers.
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Oct 4, 2019 03:16
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PCjr sidecar posted:Is this the major appliance thread? Are they all poo poo now? Shopping for refrigerators and made the mistake of reading reviews. DOOM. DOOM. I need to buy a built in microwave and install my range hood, but caninet-wise, I'm quite happy with the Ikea kitchen. All of the hardware (hinges, dampers, etc) are made by Blum and other well known brands. If you buy one, getvitnduring the kitchen sale that happens twice a year. You'll get 15% back on a gift card that you can put towards more purchases, countertop, etc. http://imgur.com/a/iwtgH4O
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Oct 4, 2019 03:18
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I have a LG fridge, a GE microwave, a Bosch dishwasher, and a Jenn-Air stove. Other than replacing the magnatron on the microwave and having to swap the mother board on the LG fridge because of a redesign, I haven't had any issues with any of them so maybe I'm lucky?
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Oct 4, 2019 12:27
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:Just want to add that there are crimp and clamp rings. I personally trust and like the stainless clamps (Oetiker) over the crimp rings. There's no need for the 'go/no-go' gauge check on every fitting, and it's easier to get into tight spaces. The clamps also can be removed and fittings reused, though I'd only do that with brass ones (it's worth paying the extra $1/fitting to avoid the plastic ones anyway.) Those Oetiker-style clamps have been used for decades in automotive and beverage applications, and they are clearly a strong mechanical connection.
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Oct 4, 2019 15:00
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Sir Lemming posted:So we've assumed for a while that the siding on our house is not great. It used to be a rental and they definitely cheaped out on some stuff. However, today we are replacing a window and finally getting a really good look at what the hell is going on there: Sorry for shamelessly bumping this, but we're really struggling to figure out if we need to get something done about this. If we do, it would make sense to try to coordinate it with the window replacement that we're doing soon. Vinyl siding over Masonite: catastrophic, or just not ideal?
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Oct 4, 2019 15:33
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So this is not an informed opinion but I'll spout off and maybe it's useful or maybe someone corrects me. Google tells me Masonite is bad because it breaks down easily from the elements (water) and then is useless. If the masonite you can touch still feels solid then it is probably ok to leave it in place but you should get some siding contractors out who can properly flash your entire house (perhaps the window installers can do this or know someone since they deal with flashing) so water doesn't continue to get behind your vinyl siding.
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Oct 4, 2019 16:28
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It would be great if we could get someone to like, honestly assess just how bad it is. It's so hard to know. We have been getting quotes from various window & siding guys, and several of them had pretty low opinions of the workmanship. They believed that the few newish windows in the house (vinyl instead of wood) likely had to be replaced because of rot beneath the siding. Also, our neighbor and a guy down the street who does siding both said they remember observing when the vinyl was being put on, and they felt like the guys who did it didn't know what they were doing. I felt a little better when I googled and found out that apparently, vinyl over Masonite isn't some totally unheard-of technique, it sounds like it happened a lot after there was a class-action lawsuit about Masonite. But we still have suspicions that it was done incorrectly.
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Oct 4, 2019 16:45
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Sir Lemming posted:It would be great if we could get someone to like, honestly assess just how bad it is. It's so hard to know. We have been getting quotes from various window & siding guys, and several of them had pretty low opinions of the workmanship. They believed that the few newish windows in the house (vinyl instead of wood) likely had to be replaced because of rot beneath the siding. Also, our neighbor and a guy down the street who does siding both said they remember observing when the vinyl was being put on, and they felt like the guys who did it didn't know what they were doing. It sounds like you're in a place where you don't think it's rotten *now*, but can't afford to replace it to prevent it going rotten *later*, so how do you feel about doing a bunch of bodge jobs to patch it all up until you have enough money? There's a bunch of flashing products that are relatively easy to apply, if somewhat ugly.
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Oct 4, 2019 17:19
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Jaded Burnout posted:It sounds like you're in a place where you don't think it's rotten *now*, but can't afford to replace it to prevent it going rotten *later*, so how do you feel about doing a bunch of bodge jobs to patch it all up until you have enough money? There's a bunch of flashing products that are relatively easy to apply, if somewhat ugly. I realize I'm kind of like a dog that caught the car right now, but honestly I have no idea if there's rot, just suspicion because of the aforementioned shoddy workmanship in certain areas. So a little bit of patching is a possible avenue. I don't suppose there's really any easy way to check? Aside from pulling off my least favorite piece of vinyl to see what's going on? I guess I should also explain that we've been considering re-siding for a while, but putting it off for obvious reasons. Then we decided we really need our windows replaced, and since most window places also do siding we started asking about that. Meanwhile, we were replacing one window that actually was broken and needed immediate replacement, which was when we saw the Masonite. Which then got us to look a little closer and we noticed the horrible flashing or lack thereof.
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Oct 4, 2019 17:45
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Sir Lemming posted:I don't suppose there's really any easy way to check? Aside from pulling off my least favorite piece of vinyl to see what's going on? There are moisture meters, but I'm not really sure under what circumstances they're useful or not, I've never used one. You can get endoscope cameras fairly cheaply, might do it? Pulling off a bit of siding is unfortunately only going to show you what's happening in that specific spot.
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Oct 4, 2019 18:42
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I think some goons have talked about using IR cameras to look for moisture so maybe that could work?
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Oct 4, 2019 19:18
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Thanks for the opinions re appliances. Samsung was in my strong no list anyway. Had settled on a LG but it was too big to get into my kitchen even with door off.
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Oct 4, 2019 20:47
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Sir Lemming posted:It would be great if we could get someone to like, honestly assess just how bad it is. It's so hard to know. Just a thought - I wonder if a professional home inspector could give you that assessment? The kind of person you hire when you're looking to buy a place, and they tell you all of the things without having a stake in fixing them. When I was looking to buy, my home inspector was spot-on in the issues that he saw that I never would have known were problems, and things that I thought were problems that turned out to be non-issues.
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Oct 7, 2019 15:15
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TofuDiva posted:Just a thought - I wonder if a professional home inspector could give you that assessment? The kind of person you hire when you're looking to buy a place, and they tell you all of the things without having a stake in fixing them. When I was looking to buy, my home inspector was spot-on in the issues that he saw that I never would have known were problems, and things that I thought were problems that turned out to be non-issues. Every inspector is different. There are some inspectors that rely on agents for referrals and then they DO have a stake in getting the house sold (and thus minimizing issues). That's not to say they're all shady, but they're certainly not all good. I also once had an inspector who basically admitted to me that he had just started the job and I distinctly got the impression that he was still learning a LOT. But he came alone, without a trainer. That didn't inspire a lot of confidence in him. Fortunately, I didn't end up getting that house anyway - it was gorgeous but greatly overpriced.
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Oct 7, 2019 17:42
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totalnewbie posted:Every inspector is different. Yep that would matter. I've always hired my own so that the realtor would have no part in it. In case it helps, Consumer Reports did an article on how to choose a good home inspector.
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Oct 7, 2019 19:33
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