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Haha, the one SpartanIvy linked is the total knockoff of the Hansgrohe showerhead I linked.
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Mar 4, 2021 04:57
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ntan1 posted:https://www.build.com/hansgrohe-28519/s148891?uid=56601 Without a doubt. Make sure you get a version of the raindance that is 2.5 GPM, because the "water efficient" showers suck. Are the expensive showerheads worth it? We're planning to upgrade ours but have always used rental-spec showerheads. Like a bunch of review sites seem to fuckin love this thing but $$$$ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZP97B...5ebda6906f0ac04
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Mar 4, 2021 05:06
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It's really about build quality/plumbing internals than anything. Basically, $40-60 is what you get for actual real metal instead of plastic, and in the grand scheme of a remodel and the fact that you have to use one every day, it's sort of nice.
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Mar 4, 2021 05:11
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I think we spent $15 on our showerhead at target. It sprays water out of the seam on the handle now, more when you turn the dial to the restricted modes, I'm amazed it's lasted this long. It was a "gently caress it I need a taller showerhead and this is $15" purchase when we moved in, 5 years later it still isn't broken. It's this one: https://www.target.com/p/ecoflow-hand-held-shower-head-4-mode-chrome-waterpik/-/A-14164891#lnk=sametab
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Mar 4, 2021 05:29
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shirts and skins posted:Are the expensive showerheads worth it? We're planning to upgrade ours but have always used rental-spec showerheads. I work with Hansgrohe (partnered distributor). They back their poo poo well in my experience, and we rarely ever have anyone come back with issues. Your call how much peace of mind and longer time between replacements matters to you.
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Mar 4, 2021 05:32
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We have a handle showerhead that has a magnetic attachment (Moen Magnetix?) to the shower arm and as a Short Person it has been a huge quality of life improvement to be able to put it back up easily, no tiptoes.
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Mar 4, 2021 08:20
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I don't know much about fixing stuff so this might be an obvious thing, but I recently got a house in a very icy area. After falling over a few times I got some ice-spikes for my boots and they have been excellent. On the downside, and in hindsight this should have been obvious, now things have thawed out I see I have stabbed the wooden deck outside my front door approximately 10,000 times over the course of the winter. The stabs are about 5 mm deep. What should I do? My guesses are: 1) Just slap some varnish over it. 2) Get some kind of wood filler paste, put it in the affected area, then varnish over it. 3) Sand the area down, maybe add a layer of wood filler to make up the height difference (? I dunno if filler can be used as a layer rather than just filling small holes), then varnish over the area. It feels like these are ordered by likely effectiveness, but also by needed effort and I'm not sure how much difference each option would make. Or perhaps I am completely wrong and I should be doing something entirely different?
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Mar 5, 2021 13:08
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I've got an 1830s greek revival house, with original windows. To keep the windows open you need to prop up the sash with something; I'm planning on getting some 1" dowls and cutting 1-foot lengths to keep near each window. Any other, perhaps more elegant, ideas that I should consider?
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Mar 5, 2021 13:16
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Nicer dowels? You might also attach a rotating arm to the bottom of each sash that could be deployed when opened.
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Mar 5, 2021 14:32
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I have a central vacuum system. It's disused, in disrepair, and I didn't really like it when it was better kept. Is it worth it to try and repurpose the existing system into something else? Right now I'm thinking of attaching an air filter in place of the vacuum, but I don't actually know anything about HVAC. This might actually be too weak to do anything meaningful. Alternatively, I could attach a heat pump to the other side for some mild cooling / heating, but then I'd have to worry about insulating the tubes. Worst comes to worse, I could use it to hold ethernet cables. Seems like a large endeavor to go though the walls and remove all the tubes.
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Mar 5, 2021 15:36
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It's not going to be useful for either of those things most likely. Certainly not the first one.
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Mar 5, 2021 15:45
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Serenade posted:I have a central vacuum system. It's disused, in disrepair, and I didn't really like it when it was better kept. Is it worth it to try and repurpose the existing system into something else? Serious question: Why don't you like it? Those things are typically the best vacuum money can buy.
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Mar 5, 2021 15:51
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Motronic posted:It's not going to be useful for either of those things most likely. Certainly not the first one. That's a shame, but makes sense. Lot of air to move and filter for a single device. H110Hawk posted:Serious question: Why don't you like it? Those things are typically the best vacuum money can buy. It's noisy though the entire house, has mediocre suction, and the vacuum part is clumsy and awkward to use. However, you asking that does make me think I dismissed the system too quickly. If the parts are from the 80s or 90s and then poorly maintained for 20+ years, that could be fixable. I know for a fact the previous owners never snaked the vacuum tubes.
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Mar 5, 2021 16:29
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H110Hawk posted:Serious question: Why don't you like it? Those things are typically the best vacuum money can buy. The one house I had with one, it was the worst vacuum I've ever used. Worse even than the cheapo $20 vacuums from Walmart. The hose was more awkward to move from room to room than a traditional vacuum as well.
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Mar 5, 2021 16:45
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Serenade posted:It's noisy though the entire house, has mediocre suction, and the vacuum part is clumsy and awkward to use. LLSix posted:The one house I had with one, it was the worst vacuum I've ever used. Worse even than the cheapo $20 vacuums from Walmart. This is basically the opposite experience I had with one, except the hose being awkward - that is true. Though our hose was long enough to reach through our ranch style house with only 2 changes. There is a high chance though that 30 years of improvements means that modern $100 Shark's with a HEPA filter built in make it entirely obsolete. After the initial cleanings sucking up several canisters of dust and cat hair it kept the air in the house noticeably cleaner. Around 2/3 of the house was thick carpet, and a good vacuum sucks a shocking amount out compared to a crappy one. (As an adult I've also realized my parents let the house be filthy. Thanks for the lifetime of respiratory issues.) If you have a 2 story house it seems way easier to drag the hose along to me. Suction shouldn't be mediocre though, that makes me think you have a leak in your system, a filter somewhere in dire need of cleaning, or the motor itself is simply worn out. Ours would grab a penny from an inch away on hard surfaces. It was fun to do, as it just got caught in the little trap at the hookup in the closet/wall. If you have mostly hard surfaces you should also have a non-motor head which is as light as a modern vacuum because it's literally just the hose - no wires. As an elementary school kid the motor head was a pain in the butt, but the tile cleaner was cake.
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Mar 5, 2021 20:11
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Toebone posted:I've got an 1830s greek revival house, with original windows. To keep the windows open you need to prop up the sash with something; I'm planning on getting some 1" dowls and cutting 1-foot lengths to keep near each window. Any other, perhaps more elegant, ideas that I should consider? Are they typical double-hung windows? Without pics my guess is that they’re supposed to be hung with counterweights but that some idiot may have cut and disposed of the cords. If you look up at the top inside of the window frame, do you see a pulley or signs of hardware and a hole there? Here’s a shot of one my old (but not THAT old) windows (that still has the cord but is still painted shut because  ): If you remove the stops you can take out the lower sash and open up the access plate (a removable block of wood in the bottom insides of the frame). Might be hard to see if it’s been painted a bunch. If you open this you will possibly/hopefully find the counterweights and old cord. You can get new cord (or chain) and re-hang the sash. It’s not terribly difficult and there’s plenty of YouTube instruction (how we learned to do it). Hopefully you won’t need new hardware, but if you do, you can get what you need from https://houseofantiquehardware.com. Here’s a diagram:  Now, if it’s NOT a hung sash, you could probably remedy it by tightening/shimming the stop so it keeps the sash up by tension (rather than counterweighting). It’ll make it slightly more difficult to operate because it’ll be tighter, but also less drafty. An additional option is to get those $5 pop-in adjustable-width screens that fit in the opening. It’ll do double duty of holding the sash up (if either above solutions don’t work out) and providing a screen (if you don’t already have an exterior fitted screen on the window or something). Not the prettiest but I love them.
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Mar 5, 2021 22:16
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Has anybody had serious termite treatment done lately? I've got a quote here for ~2200 for baits outside and crawlspace trenching. That feels high, but not insane. House is ~1800sqf. 2 story.
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Mar 5, 2021 22:23
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Captain Organ posted:Has anybody had serious termite treatment done lately? I've got a quote here for ~2200 for baits outside and crawlspace trenching. That feels high, but not insane. House is ~1800sqf. 2 story. Short of drenching everything around you in chlordane, trenching/drenching with the current not-chlordane is the right way to prevent termites. The bait stations are good for monitoring, but I wouldn’t trust them alone. If it’s a replacement bond then that’s the pest control company’s problem though (and yours when you have to get half your house torn open for 3 months to fix the damage) I know at least around here, Terminix has started getting sued for millions and millions of dollars and is actually starting to do their poo poo right (and probably raise their prices too since they have to actually do the thing they were paid to do now). Always worth getting multiple quotes too, but pay attention to if it retreatment only or also repair/replace and what methods they are using.
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Mar 5, 2021 22:38
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Is that a repair/replacement bond or a retreatment bond? Are you in an area with Formosan termites like the SE US? That does seem a bit high, but not hugely. How much is the annual renewal? I couldn't tell you based on the quote but I suspect probably retreatment, no on the formosan. Annual renewal is 215. This outfit is a big regional franchise (black diamond) and I got ahold of them based on the recommendation of a realtor around here who is sort of the go to guy for finding good tradespeople around here (rural Kentucky, but not so rural I cant get more quotes). The inspector said what I think they ought to have, full trenching around the inside of the foundation (there are already mud tunnels) and piers, bait stations outside. This house had a running battle with water and termites long before we got ahold of it, and the inspector didn't do as thorough a job as he ought to have.
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Mar 5, 2021 22:54
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I have begun removing my existing fence in preparation for installing vinyl.   This is really hard. Worked all day by myself, got about 12 posts out. Luckily I have some bros coming over tomorrow to give me a hand.
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Mar 6, 2021 00:51
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NomNomNom posted:I have begun removing my existing fence in preparation for installing vinyl. Next time saw them off flush to the ground and put the new ones in offset.  Be the previous owner you always dreamed of being! (I know this pre-digs your holes.) Looks like you're making awesome progress!
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Mar 6, 2021 01:03
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Captain Organ posted:I couldn't tell you based on the quote but I suspect probably retreatment, no on the formosan. Annual renewal is 215. This outfit is a big regional franchise (black diamond) and I got ahold of them based on the recommendation of a realtor around here who is sort of the go to guy for finding good tradespeople around here (rural Kentucky, but not so rural I cant get more quotes). The inspector said what I think they ought to have, full trenching around the inside of the foundation (there are already mud tunnels) and piers, bait stations outside. This house had a running battle with water and termites long before we got ahold of it, and the inspector didn't do as thorough a job as he ought to have. Did you already buy the house with existing termite damage? If not, don't buy it, if so,  termite house buddy. If there is existing damage, it is most likely going to be a retreatment only contract unless you repair ALL the existing damage and basically remove all evidence there were ever termites there. I think the outside perimeter of the foundation should be trenched and poisoned as well, at least that is what they do around here. Make sure they remove the existing mud tunnels so you can easily spot new problems. The good news is regular termites are not nearly so destructive as the formosan ones we have here and being on a crawl space makes inspection much easier. Make sure you do get it inspected annually.
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Mar 6, 2021 01:20
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H110Hawk posted:Next time saw them off flush to the ground and put the new ones in offset. You have no idea how tempted I am. Some of these things have a pancake of concrete around them, like 18" diameter but only 3-4 inches deep. Who does that?!?
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Mar 6, 2021 01:40
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Captain Organ posted:I couldn't tell you based on the quote but I suspect probably retreatment, no on the formosan. Annual renewal is 215. This outfit is a big regional franchise (black diamond) and I got ahold of them based on the recommendation of a realtor around here who is sort of the go to guy for finding good tradespeople around here (rural Kentucky, but not so rural I cant get more quotes). The inspector said what I think they ought to have, full trenching around the inside of the foundation (there are already mud tunnels) and piers, bait stations outside. This house had a running battle with water and termites long before we got ahold of it, and the inspector didn't do as thorough a job as he ought to have. I am a few miles northeast of Owensboro. I had a quote from Action a few years back that was roughly half that but the house had a basement and no active mud tunnels. I have seen the black diamond billboards. Only posting here to tell you don’t put it off. I am about to tear down a 2500 sq ft beautiful old farm house that I own outright because the previous owner pocketed the money his mom gave him to treat it. It took 5 years for the carpet to become the only thing keeping me from falling into the basement.
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Mar 6, 2021 01:56
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Serenade posted:I have a central vacuum system. It's disused, in disrepair, and I didn't really like it when it was better kept. Is it worth it to try and repurpose the existing system into something else? Turn it into a pneumatic tube mail system.
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Mar 6, 2021 03:58
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So our contractor removed our probably asbestos containing roof and replaced it.... I visited the house last week and this is how I found our attic. We suspected all of those grey panels contain asbestos and they're just all strewn about broken apart Since then, the contractor has cleaned it up but I'm afraid that he probably did it in an unsafe manner and possibly contaminated the rest of the house. How hosed am I? EDIT: Sorry, images had to be removed as I noticed something possibly identifying Fragrag fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Mar 6, 2021 |
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Mar 6, 2021 11:44
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Did you have it tested? Did your contractor know you suspected it contained asbestos? Siding and roofing are generally ok unless you disturb them, which happened here. Your supposed to wet it down and bag it up. I don’t think your contractor treated it like asbestos which means its either not asbestos or you need a lawyer.
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Mar 6, 2021 13:37
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rdb posted:Did you have it tested? Did your contractor know you suspected it contained asbestos? Siding and roofing are generally ok unless you disturb them, which happened here. Your supposed to wet it down and bag it up. The invoice and cost estimates from them explicitly state that it was removing and disposing asbestos so even if it wasn't tested positive, it was considered positive Fragrag fucked around with this message at 14:31 on Mar 6, 2021 |
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Mar 6, 2021 14:17
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Fragrag posted:So our contractor removed our probably asbestos containing roof and replaced it.... You should probably get it tested asap and call a lawyer. It's a lot of money to fix an asbestos fuckup.
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Mar 6, 2021 16:12
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So I got fiber internet which is awesome, but the installer (Bell) seemingly did this by just pounding a hole into my utility room as pictured. It's about a foot and a half off of the ground on the outside of the house so I'm not too worried about flooding but yesterday was -15C here and the whole utility room was freezing from a draft through the hole. For now I've stuffed a bunch of heavy foam I had lying around for makeshit insulation but does anyone have a suggestion on the proper way to seal that up? 
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Mar 6, 2021 16:44
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Calk or great stuff foam
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Mar 6, 2021 17:10
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tater_salad posted:Calk or great stuff foam This. If you've never used great stuff, be warned that it expands quite a bit and is annoying to clean off stuff until it's cured. After that you can cut it with a sharp blade just like other foam though.
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Mar 6, 2021 17:15
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SpartanIvy posted:You should probably get it tested asap and call a lawyer. It's a lot of money to fix an asbestos fuckup. Great. I've collected some samples and I'm going to send it to a lab, but I don't expect any results till next week. I've already contacted some companies for some estimates. For now I've sealed the attic off and I've instructed the contractor to not enter the attic in any case. A bit e/n but my partner doesn't think it's too big of a deal and doesn't want to push it any further. She already thinks I'm overreacting to this and would rather that we clean it up ourselves rather than bring in an external company.
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Mar 6, 2021 17:27
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tater_salad posted:Calk or great stuff foam Excellent thanks! I love caulk
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Mar 6, 2021 17:31
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For a very small amount of asbestos Id roll the dice but if it's been broken up and scattered through your attic and onto the insulation and HVAC equipment I'd be concerned and pissed. Especially if you store stuff up there that's now also covered in that poo poo.
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Mar 6, 2021 17:34
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Fragrag posted:Great. I've collected some samples and I'm going to send it to a lab, but I don't expect any results till next week. I've already contacted some companies for some estimates. For now I've sealed the attic off and I've instructed the contractor to not enter the attic in any case. This is a claim on their insurance. Where is your city inspector? No permit? It said asbestos and they didn't air seal their work? This is literally why asbestos is illegal now - and think how many known carcinogens we let people still use in their lives.
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Mar 6, 2021 17:38
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Yeah, this is 100% on your contractor. gently caress dealing with it yourself.
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Mar 6, 2021 17:39
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SpartanIvy posted:For a very small amount of asbestos Id roll the dice but if it's been broken up and scattered through your attic and onto the insulation and HVAC equipment I'd be concerned and pissed. Especially if you store stuff up there that's now also covered in that poo poo. Luckily the attic is empty aside some inherited wooden furniture which I think I'll throw the contents away appropriately and then thoroughly clean the furniture itself. There is no insulation on the floor. They did install insulation PIR panels on the ceiling because we were too late in telling them not to do it but I'll let the external company take care of that if needed. Thanks, I've been feeling like Chicken Little the past week, and rather incredulous that no one seems to be taking it seriously. Heck, my father-in-law was boasting how he took it upon himself to dispose of the asbestos panels for us without any protection. 
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Mar 6, 2021 17:44
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Fragrag posted:Luckily the attic is empty aside some inherited wooden furniture which I think I'll throw the contents away appropriately and then thoroughly clean the furniture itself. There is no insulation on the floor. They did install insulation PIR panels on the ceiling because we were too late in telling them not to do it but I'll let the external company take care of that if needed. Is your attic air sealed from the house? No? Guess where all that dust is now. You should be calling serve pro, I personally would go to a hotel.
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Mar 6, 2021 17:46
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Even without it causing lung cancer (which may get overstaed for non-smokers who get exposed once), you can't just bag it up and throw it in the dumpster. Dealing with it is expensive, and if your contractor managed to get asbestos dust all over your house, its going to cost a lot to remediate. Edit, also, if your contractor deals with asbestos this way, he is putting his workers at massive risk. Aggressive asbestos removal standards are less there to protect the owner and more to protect the workers from multiple, ongoing exposure. If I take down an asbestos wrapped furnace duct without adequate dust control one time, its not a massive issue. If an HVAC guy does it a couple times a week, it's a massive issue. stealie72 fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Mar 6, 2021 |
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Mar 6, 2021 17:48
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