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Some Guy From NY posted:I don't have an answer for your second question, but if you need to cut the rockwool to shape, you must buy some cheap bread knives. They cut rockwool like butter. The best roxul knife for DIY is the husky brand one at home depot, comes with a clip-on plastic belt sheath.
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Nov 2, 2020 00:21
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Use denim! It's awesome!
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Nov 2, 2020 00:35
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I'm worried about the potential for moisture and mold issues, insulation can be a tricky subject and over many years it can go wrong even if you believe you thought of everytihng. It's got a vapor barrier underneath where the insulation would go though so that should help. Still I'd feel most at home with some kind of insulation that wasn't so moisture sensitive as rockwool can be (once it absorbs it, doesn't like to let it go, creates a great home for mold spores and if it lies directly against wood, will compromise it over a longer timeframe). Actually having floor heating near it would help with drying it out though. Here there are alternative insulation materials that can absorb and release moisture without problems and can like directly against wood, can also be used without vapor barriers.
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Nov 2, 2020 07:30
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Some Guy From NY posted:Rockwool is awesome. In 2013 I moved into a brick house that had NO insulation in the walls. And it was directly next to overhead subway tracks in Brooklyn NY. Renovated the whole house, using (Roxul) Rockwool comfortbatt in the walls and rockwool safe'n sound in the floor joists. When you say ”in” the walls, was there a cavity between two courses of brick, or did you batten the wall insulate and then board over the top? I live in a single skin brick house, so no insulation in the walls without internal loss of space, which causes other issues. His Divine Shadow posted:I'm worried about the potential for moisture and mold issues, insulation can be a tricky subject and over many years it can go wrong even if you believe you thought of everytihng. I’ve seen this recommended for old houses, as it avoids damp issues, stops draughts from washing through the insulation & reducing its efficiency. https://www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/post/best-practice-approach-insulating-suspended-timber-floors Probably European specific products mentioned though. wooger fucked around with this message at 11:15 on Nov 2, 2020 |
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Nov 2, 2020 11:05
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wooger posted:When you say ”in” the walls, was there a cavity between two courses of brick, or did you batten the wall insulate and then board over the top? Same scenario as you. The walls didn't even have 2x4 studs. It was originally brick, then like 1x1 boards and then sheetrock. When I renovated the house, I added 2x4 studs which obviously caused internal loss of space, but it had to be done. So the final outcome was; brick, 2x4 studs with rockwool inbetween and then sheetrock. I believe a vapor barrier was placed between the brick and the rockwool. From what I remember too about rockwool is that it is mold resist.
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Nov 3, 2020 02:35
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At least you don't have my issue where they used 1x but then for some reason at the bottom when doing a repair patch they used 2x so for some reason the wall sloped a little. And the Lucky for me it's just basement so I said fuckitim not taking down a wall to fix this bullshit.
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Nov 4, 2020 00:06
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EDIT: Posted in plumbing thread instead. Though if you have any tips about a water heater leak after-hours I'll gladly hear them.
Sir Lemming fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Nov 4, 2020 |
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Nov 4, 2020 01:40
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Some Guy From NY posted:Same scenario as you. The walls didn't even have 2x4 studs. It was originally brick, then like 1x1 boards and then sheetrock. Oh, ouch. Yes, I’ve thought about that as a solution, but ultimately it doesn’t get that cold here, I’m in a terrace, so 1/2 my walls won’t lose as much heat, and I just dont want to give up 4 inches from every external wall right now.
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Nov 4, 2020 18:05
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"let me just pull this old fixture off and see what it's grounded to-nothing, it's grounded to nothing." - me, 2020.
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Nov 6, 2020 22:28
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Deviant posted:"let me just pull this old fixture off and see what it's grounded to-nothing, it's grounded to nothing." Just never touch your light fixtures. Problem solved.
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Nov 7, 2020 01:13
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every time i touch something it gets worse.
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Nov 7, 2020 02:36
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Deviant posted:every time i touch something it gets worse. New thread title?
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Nov 7, 2020 02:38
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Deviant posted:every time i touch something it gets worse. I tried to unclog a slow drain with the "turbo snake" as seen on tv. The old galvanized drain pipe is obviously paper thin at this point and I managed to bust right through the bottom of the p-trap with a tiny flexible wire mini snake thing. I think all the 60 year old galvanized is coming out and PVC is going in. If I hadn't touched it, it might've held on a bit longer!
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Nov 7, 2020 08:48
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Any ideas for why I keep hearing what sounds like a tiny water hammer? The pipes definitely do hammer, especially when the washing machine runs, but even when the house is dead I can go down to the basement and hear a frequent tap/pop/clunk. I swear nothing is running, no toilets, sinks, washers.
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Nov 7, 2020 18:02
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Rexxed posted:I tried to unclog a slow drain with the "turbo snake" as seen on tv. The old galvanized drain pipe is obviously paper thin at this point and I managed to bust right through the bottom of the p-trap with a tiny flexible wire mini snake thing. I think all the 60 year old galvanized is coming out and PVC is going in. If I hadn't touched it, it might've held on a bit longer! Yeah, basically don't touch or inspect anything old or you're in for it. Half the yard dug up right now since we decided to see just what kind of shape the sewer pipe was in with a camera, and, well... At the same time we learned that the water to the house was 1960s highly suspect plastic into 1930s original iron into 1980s galvanized steel.
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Nov 7, 2020 19:38
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Clayton Bigsby posted:Yeah, basically don't touch or inspect anything old or you're in for it. The cause of and solution to all of homeowners problems.
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Nov 7, 2020 19:40
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NomNomNom posted:Any ideas for why I keep hearing what sounds like a tiny water hammer? The pipes definitely do hammer, especially when the washing machine runs, but even when the house is dead I can go down to the basement and hear a frequent tap/pop/clunk. I swear nothing is running, no toilets, sinks, washers. Does your furnace have a condensate pump? Or do you have a sump pump?
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Nov 8, 2020 00:59
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NomNomNom posted:Any ideas for why I keep hearing what sounds like a tiny water hammer? The pipes definitely do hammer, especially when the washing machine runs, but even when the house is dead I can go down to the basement and hear a frequent tap/pop/clunk. I swear nothing is running, no toilets, sinks, washers. Is it just settling and cooling? My 70 yr old bungalow will snap crackle and pop as it cools in the evening after a warm day.
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Nov 8, 2020 02:45
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The Swinemaster posted:Is it just settling and cooling? My 70 yr old bungalow will snap crackle and pop as it cools in the evening after a warm day. Yeah, the water pipes in my house make some interesting tapping and popping noises once the weather starts cooling down.
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Nov 8, 2020 03:57
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me: i'm so glad this place is quieter than my apartment my ceiling: arbitrary rumbling noise
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Nov 8, 2020 04:03
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I remember one winter sitting at home in my rented condo and suddenly hearing a loud POP. Then more and more, turned out the tile in the kitchen was making that noise.  Now my house just makes groans and creaks like a normal house.
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Nov 8, 2020 04:39
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Elder Postsman posted:Yeah, the water pipes in my house make some interesting tapping and popping noises once the weather starts cooling down. You should hear some of the houses here in Sweden. Most houses use a water based heating system where warm-ish (with bigger pipes and radiators maybe up to 45C in the winter, with thinner shittier ones up to 70C) water is used. Traditionally the water was heated with a wood, coal or oil burner. In the past 20-30 years it's become far more common to use air/water heat pumps or geothermal heat pumps. Of course most people opt to have a tank heated by the heat pump instead of a water heater (since it's far more efficient). So you have a radiator system being fed with say 30-35C water during late fall / early winter, and a hot water tank you want to keep at 60-70C. The switch between heating the two is via a electronically controlled three way valve. The problem is that if you are heating the hot water tank and the system switches over to the radiator circuit, for a short period of time you're dumping 60-70C water into the radiator system. As that extra hot water wanders around it causes a lot of expansion and contraction, and the whole house will tap and knock like crazy until it settles down again. Annoying as gently caress. The solution is to install a tank at the start of the radiator circuit that will buffer this hot water and let the temp even out a bit before it goes into the system. But few installers bother with this since it technically works and they're not the ones having to live with it.
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Nov 8, 2020 12:28
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I think I'm just being paranoid but I swear it sounded like the rain last night was between the roof and ceiling sheetrock.
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Nov 8, 2020 15:16
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Work continues in fits and starts due to Vermont weather. This week it went from 9" of snow, to mud season as the snow melted, to summer with 70+F temps. The biggest delays and worry stemmed from getting the concrete poured before the snow and ice freeze everything over for good. Since I last posted, they have been aggressively moving forward with framing and sheathing. We went up in late October and got to actually stand in our bedroom window and see the view and understand what we're dealing with. It was ace. The big issue was that they needed to get the concrete patio frost walls poured so they can backfill and do some rough excavation so they can drive their heavy lifter around the house. This will be essential for lifting the colossal roof trusses. Despite not having the patio frost walls poured they soldiered on with framing the first floor, then starting the second floor, putting a roof on the garage and now hoisting the large laminated posts that will support the important south wall. Fast forward to this week and the concrete is poured, the board-formed concrete looks freaking awesome, and they finished the excavation and backfill over the weekend. This week I suspect that all of the tall walls get finished and the roof trusses get installed and the entire roof is sheathed. They have a few days of sunny warm weather and they plan on really making hay. I'm all for it. Concrete is done until spring. No news yet on the windows being manufactured in Germany yet. They should be in fabrication but COVID is spiking everywhere so I am still worried. Supply lines are getting worse but we have the lumber, sheathing, insulation and hopefully are further up the queue because we started before this bullshit hit. I have had a chainsaw on backorder for 2 months and I hear there is a months-long queue for tractors too. loving virus... I put a lot more posts up on the blog if anyone ones photo dumps and excruciating detail. Here is a post with elevations of the exterior and a slightly out-of-date version of the floor plans. House info There is a picture of our large trusses (had to be trucked in on two trucks!) in this post. http://www.vtwoods.life/2020/2020-10-26-garage-progress Oh and I talked to the owner of the local cable company and he said their plan is to install fiber internet next June/July on our road so hopefully that's settled and will actually happen.
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Nov 8, 2020 16:26
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Looking at getting a Google Nest in my new home and was wondering if "Farsight" is worth almost $150. There is the cheaper Nest Thermostat E for $179 CAD and then the Nest 3rd gen for $329.
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Nov 8, 2020 17:10
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Vintersorg posted:Looking at getting a Google Nest in my new home and was wondering if "Farsight" is worth almost $150. There is the cheaper Nest Thermostat E for $179 CAD and then the Nest 3rd gen for $329. i like it. it turns my thermostat into a night light when i walk out looking for a snack. i also got a price break because i bought nest protect units with it fwiw.
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Nov 8, 2020 18:00
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Steve French posted:Not totally sure if there's a better thread for this, but hopefully this at least gets me started. Wanted to circle back on this in case anyone else ends up in a similar situation. We ended up buying the larger blower, the Honda 1332, based on recommendations from others in the area and it wasn’t that much more expensive. Had our first snow today, and while I probably didn’t need to do anything (only 5 inches or so, and even less on the driveway which must have been relatively warm when it came down overnight, and the sun is pretty strong), I did want to try it out and get the hang of using it. I think it’ll be fine for doing the whole driveway in a reasonable time; I just did the shaded part behind the garage today and the main deck. For what it’s worth, I had no problem getting it up there on a ramp on the wide and gentle steps.  
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Nov 8, 2020 23:17
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he1ixx posted:Work continues in fits and starts due to Vermont weather. This week it went from 9" of snow, to mud season as the snow melted, to summer with 70+F temps. #vermont Though it's not complete, you didn't say that it all froze solid after. Great to hear you're making progress!
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Nov 9, 2020 01:11
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NomNomNom posted:Any ideas for why I keep hearing what sounds like a tiny water hammer? The pipes definitely do hammer, especially when the washing machine runs, but even when the house is dead I can go down to the basement and hear a frequent tap/pop/clunk. I swear nothing is running, no toilets, sinks, washers. I've had toilets that either through evaporation or a very slow leak had the water level in the tank drop enough that every few hours they would draw water for a couple seconds. Fridges will cycle out stale water every once in a while too.
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Nov 9, 2020 02:07
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Deviant posted:i like it. it turns my thermostat into a night light when i walk out looking for a snack. I've always thought that mains smoke detectors should have a low light sensor and a basic 0.5W white LED on them.
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Nov 9, 2020 02:30
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Nevets posted:I've had toilets that either through evaporation or a very slow leak had the water level in the tank drop enough that every few hours they would draw water for a couple seconds. That's not evaporation, and unless the water is ending up on your floor the flapper valve is bad. That's not even what I'd consider a slow leak. That's just a broken toilet. The kind of thing that can waste hundreds of gallons of water a month.
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Nov 9, 2020 03:32
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Maybe his tank doesn't have a lid and has a heater pointed straight at it, didn't think of that did you.
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Nov 9, 2020 13:18
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I hate leaves...specifically, I hate my NEIGHBOR'S leaves getting in my yard. My front yard has all on one single tree, a 25' or so paper birch, maybe 15' wide at the widest part. Yet I filled 6 leaf/yard waste bags I filled ( AFTER running them through a leaf chopper, so...close to 10-12 bags if unchopped) and it sure as gently caress wasn't just birch leaves. Somehow, the weird wind patterns put so many God-drat leaves on my lawn. Maple, elm, oak, etc... And I can't figure out why. Why my lawn and not the neighbors to the left or right of me? There's no fence, corner., ;large tree, or anything else really that should have had 80% of them stop on my lawn, but based on what I saw this season, that's what happened. The houses next to me certainly had more leaves then their small trees produced, but not nearly to the extent mine did. What gets me are the oak leaves. Here is my neighborhood, I highlighted where I am, and, to my knowledge, the nearest oak tree (I go on lots of walks, pretty familiar with when I walk over acorns on the sidewalk)  I haven't measure it, but close to 200 yards if I had to guess. The trees between my and the neighbor on the left are just cedar, so they drop some needles, but not a lot and they all pretty much stay in my driveway anyway. The maple leaves are from a couple maples trees across the street and kitty-corner to me, from what I can see. Almost everything else nearby is birch or elm.
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Nov 9, 2020 14:28
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I measure my life by two time periods: one before and one after owning a riding mower with a sweeper.
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Nov 9, 2020 14:37
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NomNomNom posted:Any ideas for why I keep hearing what sounds like a tiny water hammer? The pipes definitely do hammer, especially when the washing machine runs, but even when the house is dead I can go down to the basement and hear a frequent tap/pop/clunk. I swear nothing is running, no toilets, sinks, washers. Sounds like you could use a water hammer arrestor! That would help mitigate the hammering and damage of your pipes. It basically adds compressible air capacity to your lines to absorb the shock of valves opening and closing suddenly. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xoLmVFAFjn4
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Nov 9, 2020 14:43
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The Dave posted:I measure my life by two time periods: one before and one after owning a riding mower with a sweeper. I don't have enough lawn to justify a riding mower, nor do I have anywhere to store it. I am considering just a handheld leaf vacuum/shredder of some kind in the future, though, but aren't those pricey, too? I have a leaf blower, but just battery powered so runs out of juice quickly, and it's not good for the front yard because the amount of leaves, how high they pile up, and there's no good place to blow them "too." I can try to just shove them right up against the side of my house, but they'd scatter off to the side into the driveway and neighbors' yards. The backyard gets maybe the same amount of leaves, but it's mostly from my silver maple, a little from a neighbor's sugar maple. And it's fenced in, so easy to use the leaf blower to push them all into 1 corner without them scattering all over the place.
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Nov 9, 2020 16:15
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DrBouvenstein posted:I don't have enough lawn to justify a riding mower, nor do I have anywhere to store it. I’m no lawn care expert and I’m not sure how much volume we’re talking here in a relative sense, but I found my mulching push mower to be pretty drat magical at dealing with my aspen leaves. Much better than the leaf blower.
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Nov 9, 2020 16:24
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Steve French posted:I’m no lawn care expert and I’m not sure how much volume we’re talking here in a relative sense, but I found my mulching push mower to be pretty drat magical at dealing with my aspen leaves. Much better than the leaf blower. Same... I just mulch right back into the lawn with my battery powered mower and it’s excellent. Plus it’s real good for the lawn from what I understand. I also collected the first batch or two of leaves for my compost bin... it was getting too nitrogen heavy and needed the carbon to balance out.
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Nov 9, 2020 17:03
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DrBouvenstein posted:I don't have enough lawn to justify a riding mower, nor do I have anywhere to store it. Filled 14 leaf bags yesterday, 8 last weekend, and I've still got two trees with leaves so I'll probably be at it again later this week. A hard barrier really isn't required for blowing leaves around, just make several manageable piles and then pick them up from there. Get an electric blower and a 100' extension cord and make your life easier. Besides lawn care this weekend I also made progress on fixing up my front door. This door is (as best I can tell) original to my house so ~80 years old. I counted 6 different layers of paint. The mortise lock was also filled at some point in the past. I still need to replace some of the glass bead trim and one of the lights before I can paint it. I would have loved to find a place that could have stripped off all the paint in a dip tank, but instead I spent 6 hours and got it to this state:    (fancy hinges now installed)
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Nov 9, 2020 17:16
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I have a repurposed FIBC bulk bag with one side cut open that I lay down to blow or rake into and drag to dump at the curb for collection; a tarp would work too. loving maples.
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Nov 9, 2020 17:25
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