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Faustian Bargain posted:I am about 80% done replacing the flooring in my house with vinyl plank, and I made it to the laundry room. Took out the washer and dryer and the big plastic pan under the washer. There's a threaded pipe coming up out the floor to (I assume) catch overflow in the pan and let it drain, but I was pretty surprised to find that it's just a hole into the crawlspace. Is this normal? I guess it comes down to where you'd prefer water to overflow to, down there or around the floor? I don't live in a region with crawl spaces, are they just dirt and it would soak in / drain?
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 18:58 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 08:40 |
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Nevets posted:Getting shielded Cat6 is supposed to help with this and isn't that much more expensive. The foil is a bit on a pain in the rear end though. Not to be pedantic but do you mean mesh? It's my understanding that "shielded" refers to a mesh sleeve around the whole bundle of pairs, and "foil" refers to foil wraps around each pair. Do you get shielded cable with an overall foil wrap? Or cables with just per-pair foil wraps? I've never worked with Cat 6, just 7a which has both.
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 19:04 |
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Had my toilets backup last week despite not not flushing or putting any significant amount of solid waste down the drain. $400 and a plumber later. We found some tree roots had broken into the sewer main not too far from the city connection. So, I'm either going to have to hire a plumber to dig it out and replace it and probably charge me $1,000 or try digging it out myself and replacing it. It doesn't seem like too difficult of a job to replace it. Does anyone have experience or advice on how to do this? Do you want to pack gravel around or below the pipe? Is there anything to try and prevent roots from breaking into it again?
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 19:46 |
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falz posted:I guess it comes down to where you'd prefer water to overflow to, down there or around the floor?
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 19:50 |
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Jaded Burnout posted:Not to be pedantic but do you mean mesh? It's my understanding that "shielded" refers to a mesh sleeve around the whole bundle of pairs, and "foil" refers to foil wraps around each pair. The Cat6a I bought almost 2 years ago had both: https://www.amazon.com/SolidLink-1000ft-Listed-Conductor-Ethernet/dp/B06ZY5ZCZG/ The mesh wasn't too annoying, but peeling back & cutting the stiff foil on each pair was tedious and left lots of nice little prickly spots. I'm still glad I used that instead of Cat5e but it took more than twice as long to terminate each run.
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 20:10 |
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Chimp_On_Stilts posted:Am I overreacting? Is this a situation where I, someone who mediocre on the handyness scale, should DIY and save a couple thousand dollars? Or is this in fact something where a professional really is necessary? Yes, Usually there is an allowance in the center of beams for approximately 20-35% of the beam being cut. 1-2 wires is going to be even less and almost certain OK, since patch cables are very small. Only thing to make sure is to cross ethernet perpendicular to electrical wire, and be good at fishing.
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 20:33 |
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Nevets posted:The Cat6a I bought almost 2 years ago had both: Huh. Mine was the same, SFTP, but rated 7a. Maybe yours had lower quality copper or something? So it couldn't be rated 7a? Or maybe we have literally the same stuff. I agree the foil is annoying though I got good quality snips and it presented no problem there, but I found punching down the earthed keystone jacks to be very annoying. I've still got a couple dozen to do but I'm procrastinating because it sucks. It also makes the cables much stiffer (especially since I'm dealing with solid core) which makes terminating them on brick walls very difficult as you always have to run the cable into the box from the top and then do a 90º turn.
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 20:46 |
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MetaJew posted:Had my toilets backup last week despite not not flushing or putting any significant amount of solid waste down the drain. It’s very sweet that you think such a thing will only cost you a grand, though I guess it might be that cheap if it’s pretty close to the surface. If they have to bring in a digger and go down 6-8’, you’re probably looking at a much heftier price tag between equipment rentals, added insurance for trench work, and a bigger crew required to execute it. A similar issue close to where my sewer pipe exited my house cost me nearly $20k and involved a 10’ deep pit in my front yard. The best way to reduce the chances of roots getting in again is to remove any trees along the path of your sewer line, if there are any, but that can only do so much, given how root systems work.
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 21:04 |
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stabbington posted:It’s very sweet that you think such a thing will only cost you a grand, though I guess it might be that cheap if it’s pretty close to the surface. If they have to bring in a digger and go down 6-8’, you’re probably looking at a much heftier price tag between equipment rentals, added insurance for trench work, and a bigger crew required to execute it. A similar issue close to where my sewer pipe exited my house cost me nearly $20k and involved a 10’ deep pit in my front yard. The best way to reduce the chances of roots getting in again is to remove any trees along the path of your sewer line, if there are any, but that can only do so much, given how root systems work. The plumber had a locating tool that paired with the camera. He claimed it was approximately 2ft 8in below the surface. So if that's all, it's honestly not too deep. I don't know how long of a section will need to be replaced, of course, but I'm sure it will be at least a few feet plus possibly replacing or adding another cleanout. This is in central Texas, so my soil is pretty rocky. But obviously the sewer drain was already installed once so there should be some sort of trench of soil and not much in the way other than roots. The tree in question is at least as old as the house-- so almost 30 years and quite tall. I'm not about to ask the neighbor to cut it down. I saw some things online about copper sulfate being used to kill roots. Is that something you would sprinkle in the soil around the pipe? I don't want to kill the tree, but if there was an option to discourage root growth that seems like a good idea.
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 21:26 |
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MetaJew posted:The plumber had a locating tool that paired with the camera. He claimed it was approximately 2ft 8in below the surface. So if that's all, it's honestly not too deep. I don't know how long of a section will need to be replaced, of course, but I'm sure it will be at least a few feet plus possibly replacing or adding another cleanout. A pickaxe and a lot of back strength will get you a trench. It will take a long time. The Root-X stuff you flush down the toilet. It just makes the tree not like your pipes as it is then toxic inside.
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 22:06 |
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Around here root intrusion into sewer pipes is just kind of a known variable, when I had my sewer scoped pre-sale the plumber recommended I have them come out every 12 months to run their root grinder doohickey through the pipe. Is your pipe actually broken somewhere from the roots or were they just coming in in-between the pipe segments (if its a clay pipe)?
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 22:39 |
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Sirotan posted:Around here root intrusion into sewer pipes is just kind of a known variable, when I had my sewer scoped pre-sale the plumber recommended I have them come out every 12 months to run their root grinder doohickey through the pipe. Is your pipe actually broken somewhere from the roots or were they just coming in in-between the pipe segments (if its a clay pipe)? I believe they're coming through at one of the joints, but the pipe is PVC so that would suggest that the glue/sealant wasn't well applied or the pipe is cracked, right? Here are two photos I took before and after the guy used his auger. Sorry for the crappy quality.
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 23:16 |
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Yeah roots are common here too and root-x has completely killed our need for seasonal cleanings.
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 23:24 |
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Sirotan posted:$1075 to prune one tree and remove a hideous and massive dead tree stump that has voids filled with cement. Hell yeah home ownership rules. lol rip
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# ? Nov 25, 2019 23:51 |
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ntan1 posted:Only thing to make sure is to cross ethernet perpendicular to electrical wire, and be good at fishing. I had to do this last weekend doing the runs from my basement wall rack up to where I’m gonna have another switch on the second floor, I was annoyed I had to break that rule. There is literally only one path from the basement to the attic without punching outside and running conduit up the back wall. Part of said path is unfortunately about a 4x4 space where some romex is. Thankfully the cat6 I ran is mostly for backup purposes, I also ran 2xOM4 for the main uplink. J-hooks are temporary until I can get some surface mount raceway installed to protect the cables. devmd01 fucked around with this message at 00:33 on Nov 26, 2019 |
# ? Nov 26, 2019 00:30 |
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Sirotan posted:$1075 to prune one tree and remove a hideous and massive dead tree stump that has voids filled with cement. Hell yeah home ownership rules. The cement thing used to be fairly common; there were several trees in my neighborhood that had had cavities filled with it. I had to have a storm-damaged tree removed a bunch of years ago, and the crew found cement in the base and couldn't remove the stump because of it. The crew leader told me that it is really dangerous if a worker hits cement while using a chainsaw. That may explain all or part of the excessive cost that they quoted you. Since I live in a humid area, I ended up having them leave the cement-filled stump in place to rot naturally., and I just went out and scored the surface and crowbarred away chunks of the stump from time to time, until it was all gone and the cement could be hauled away. It took a couple of years, but that way nobody got hurt from a kicking chainsaw. TofuDiva fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Nov 26, 2019 |
# ? Nov 26, 2019 00:39 |
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Ah yeah the stump is actually massive (like 10' tall and 8-10' in circumference), the bulk of the cost is actually to prune the maple tree. It seems pretty reasonable to me. Unfortunately the previous owner appears to have tried the "let it rot away on its own for a couple years" strategy for the last 10+ with little success, it's now bug-eaten and covered with poison ivy and just generally all-around hideous.
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# ? Nov 26, 2019 01:10 |
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Oh wow that IS massive. Mine was only a couple of feet high and maybe 5-6 feet in circumference, so letting nature take its course was a workable solution.
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# ? Nov 26, 2019 01:20 |
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MetaJew posted:Had my toilets backup last week despite not not flushing or putting any significant amount of solid waste down the drain. I remember sand was the thing that we put below and above our sewer main as we dug it down. It was important that we used sand and not gravel, it can damage the pipe over time because of sharp edges. I went with a bucket and shovel and laid out sand under the pipe to make sure there were no voids under it that could compromise support. Then the pipe was filled over with a layer of sand, then gravel.
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# ? Nov 26, 2019 13:36 |
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Sirotan posted:Ah yeah the stump is actually massive (like 10' tall and 8-10' in circumference), the bulk of the cost is actually to prune the maple tree. It seems pretty reasonable to me. Unfortunately the previous owner appears to have tried the "let it rot away on its own for a couple years" strategy for the last 10+ with little success, it's now bug-eaten and covered with poison ivy and just generally all-around hideous. Is it far enough away from your house to fill it with fire and let it slowly burn away?
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# ? Nov 26, 2019 23:11 |
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cakesmith handyman posted:Is it far enough away from your house to fill it with fire and let it slowly burn away? That's more like a cut it down to ground level problem. It's no going away in your lifetime at 10' tall. If you want it gone slow after it's at ground level you can drill it out and put in some rotting agents, faster is drill it out and drop diesel or waste oil and then burn it out, or faster yet is to rent a stump grinder for half a day. No matter which way you go you will need soil to back fill.
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# ? Nov 27, 2019 02:03 |
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cakesmith handyman posted:Is it far enough away from your house to fill it with fire and let it slowly burn away? That was my first thought but sadly no, it's probably 6' from the house. I'll try to get a photo of it tomorrow when it's not pitch black out to illustrate it's hideousness.
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# ? Nov 27, 2019 03:14 |
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Sirotan posted:That was my first thought but sadly no, it's probably 6' from the house. I'll try to get a photo of it tomorrow when it's not pitch black out to illustrate it's hideousness. That's close enough to use it as a support for an addition! Turn those lemons into lemonade and build a kickass combination extra bedroom/treefort. It's already half concrete pillar anyway.
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# ? Nov 27, 2019 17:32 |
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Sirotan posted:That was my first thought but sadly no, it's probably 6' from the house. I'll try to get a photo of it tomorrow when it's not pitch black out to illustrate it's hideousness. Alternatively, I don't know what part of the world you're in, but just in case - there's a legit amazing artist named Andrew Mallon in NoVa who chainsaws the heck out of stumps and turns them into things like this: It's pretty wonderful to walk around and see these in people's yards and gardens.
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# ? Nov 27, 2019 21:02 |
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Ok here it is. It's huge and gross. You can clearly see one of the concrete plugs on the front there, there's at least two more: And here is how close it is to the house: Carving out into a totem was my second thought but I think it's probably too rotten at this point. Edit: and yes I know that downspout is janky af, previous owners didn't even have it hooked up so all that water was going directly into the basement. It's current situation is an improvement! Sirotan fucked around with this message at 23:30 on Nov 27, 2019 |
# ? Nov 27, 2019 23:28 |
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Ah, I see the problem, you're living on a film set. Look around for someone in a headset holding sides for a Conjuring sequel or Poltergeist remake.
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# ? Nov 27, 2019 23:55 |
Sirotan posted:Ok here it is. It's huge and gross. You can clearly see one of the concrete plugs on the front there, there's at least two more: You need a priest.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 00:10 |
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Soo... I got myself a little log cabin in the countryside. It has electricity but running water equals me running to the well and back. It was already dark when I went there for the first time, but I heated up the sauna and got some water from the well for washing. Next day I went to get some more water and there was a dead rat floating in the well. Looked like it had been there for some time. Great. I'm glad that I brought tap water for drinking... Also while the log cabin is in great shape, I now also own an older small wooden house next to it, which came as a freebie and is a complete disaster area. Well, not complete, as it seems to be pretty dry inside, but it rests on 8 concrete pillars which have tilted in various directions (worst ones to 45 degrees). I kinda want to take an off-road jack or something and try to make it a little more level... but even if I can do that, it's going to be temporary as that kind of foundation needs to be much deeper or frost heave is going to throw it out of whack, as is the case here...
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 00:14 |
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Sirotan posted:Ok here it is. It's huge and gross. You can clearly see one of the concrete plugs on the front there, there's at least two more: How rotten is it if you go poke it with something metal? Do you have any friends with a truck that's definitely not compensating for something or a diesel car and a snatch strap/chain/winch? It kinda looks like you could make that thing at least smaller with some tension and a chainsaw or axe.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 00:21 |
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TofuDiva posted:Alternatively, I don't know what part of the world you're in, but just in case - there's a legit amazing artist named Andrew Mallon in NoVa who chainsaws the heck out of stumps and turns them into things like this: These are incredible, and I want that wizard's tower in my yard right now.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 00:46 |
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His Divine Shadow posted:I remember sand was the thing that we put below and above our sewer main as we dug it down. It was important that we used sand and not gravel, it can damage the pipe over time because of sharp edges. I went with a bucket and shovel and laid out sand under the pipe to make sure there were no voids under it that could compromise support. Then the pipe was filled over with a layer of sand, then gravel. I went and bought a trenching shovel and started digging. drat this sucks. I got about 2 ft down before the sun had gotten too low and I couldn't see what I was doing. I still haven't hit the sewer line yet. I was told it was 2'8" down, but the soil is so full of chunks of limestone that digging is slow work. Maybe I will just hire this out, and suck up the expense. I was half planning on digging out the trench enough to then call a plumber to do the patch/repair and save a little on labor.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 01:08 |
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MetaJew posted:I went and bought a trenching shovel and started digging. drat this sucks. I got about 2 ft down before the sun had gotten too low and I couldn't see what I was doing. I still haven't hit the sewer line yet. I was told it was 2'8" down, but the soil is so full of chunks of limestone that digging is slow work. Pickaxe can help you here, but it is back breaking labor. If you want to try and save money you could try day labor but the odds of them not making the problem worse are very low.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 01:15 |
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Yeah its waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too huge for me to ask a non-pro to deal with, and I really don't want someone losing half a face when their chainsaw snaps back after hitting some hidden chunk of concrete. But also there would be no way to get a vehicle back there to try to rip it out without destroying a fence or my lawn.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 01:43 |
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Sirotan posted:Yeah its waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too huge for me to ask a non-pro to deal with, and I really don't want someone losing half a face when their chainsaw snaps back after hitting some hidden chunk of concrete. But also there would be no way to get a vehicle back there to try to rip it out without destroying a fence or my lawn. Try the power of small efforts: each day, take an axe and whack it good, 5 times. After a year, it should be greatly reduced.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 01:57 |
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cyberbug posted:Soo... I got myself a little log cabin in the countryside. It has electricity but running water equals me running to the well and back. It was already dark when I went there for the first time, but I heated up the sauna and got some water from the well for washing. Next day I went to get some more water and there was a dead rat floating in the well. Looked like it had been there for some time. Great. I'm glad that I brought tap water for drinking... Post pics of your new disaster. I'm sure we can come up with assistance on shoring it up temporarily while making groverhaus jokes. (for real based on this it's gonna involve sonotubes and quickcrete) Motronic fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Nov 28, 2019 |
# ? Nov 28, 2019 06:35 |
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Sirotan posted:Yeah its waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too huge for me to ask a non-pro to deal with, and I really don't want someone losing half a face when their chainsaw snaps back after hitting some hidden chunk of concrete. But also there would be no way to get a vehicle back there to try to rip it out without destroying a fence or my lawn. Temporary fence and lawn destruction is the price to remove this curse.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 09:20 |
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Sirotan posted:Ok here it is. It's huge and gross. You can clearly see one of the concrete plugs on the front there, there's at least two more: Fire.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 10:14 |
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MetaJew posted:I went and bought a trenching shovel and started digging. drat this sucks. I got about 2 ft down before the sun had gotten too low and I couldn't see what I was doing. I still haven't hit the sewer line yet. I was told it was 2'8" down, but the soil is so full of chunks of limestone that digging is slow work. I would never even consider digging mine up. But mine is over 7 feet deep and lol at finnish soil, it's more rocks than dirt.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 11:34 |
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Pigsfeet on Rye posted:Try the power of small efforts: each day, take an axe and whack it good, 5 times. After a year, it should be greatly reduced. Make a sign and advertise your new therapy stump, 5 whacks a dollar.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 11:44 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 08:40 |
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Make sure to have a plan for when you release Hexxus.
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# ? Nov 28, 2019 16:30 |