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falz posted:You don't need a land line but do need standard telephone wiring in your house. Nice, bookmarked!
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Apr 25, 2021 14:51
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falz posted:I guess I didn't fully do all outlets, mostly switches. Still have to do power, most of those are on a switch with 3 wires so it's been low on list. looks good, for the picture I would move it a foot or so to the right so that it's centered with respect to the countertop that's coming out. If possible I would then move the phone perhaps to the location marked. I think the color/design of the pendants is fine - it's a shape that you don't have anywhere else which is always good. I'm guessing that's a Kraus faucet? I have the same one in a different color. It adds a bit of industrial to the room which is cool (i.e the exposed rubber tubing). Also what paint is that? I'm sure my guess (blue with green undertone) is wrong edit: attachments seem to not be working atm  actionjackson fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Apr 25, 2021 |
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Apr 25, 2021 15:46
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How does one fix this, dig it out and repour? It's kinda hard to tell from the photo but that cracked section is coming upwards. Note that this is the only portion of both the garage and driveway slab that have any issue at all. It seems like over ~18 years stuff has just grown up under it and cracked it all up. Or something else, I dunno. Also, the damp threshold is because it was just pouring out and that was the last spot to dry, I don't really have water/drainage issues here that I'm aware of.
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Apr 25, 2021 20:33
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I'm curious if they just didn't pour that apron thick enough. Seems like an odd place to crack if it's part of the garage floor slab, which I think it might be? Or maybe that line that looks like it was left from the garage door is actually a pour line and someone already tried to fix this/didn't do it right. But yeah, that's gotta come out. I can get over the impression that it's very thin. Maybe the apron was sloped down when the garage floor was poured and then when that driveway slab was put in they just dropped some crete on there without proper preparation or depth to bring it to match the grade of the driveway? Can you pick some of the pieces out and see what you find?
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Apr 25, 2021 20:41
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eddiewalker posted:You could get one of these to do a home intercom with old phone handsets. Moe's Tavern!
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Apr 25, 2021 20:42
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We put in an offer $110,000 over asking price and are still really worried we won’t win it. On a reasonably-sized house outside of KC. This market, lmao.
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Apr 25, 2021 21:04
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My parents sold their house when they retired 2 years ago, and moved into their little vacation cottage to save some money while they looked for a place to retire to. I think they're going to be stuck in that little cottage for a while.
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Apr 25, 2021 21:51
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Oops wrong home thread
The Slack Lagoon fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Apr 25, 2021 |
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Apr 25, 2021 23:00
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Home Zone: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UAHZAM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_FWRKT4455DCT1VCNNB8E
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Apr 25, 2021 23:37
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MrYenko posted:Home Zone: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UAHZAM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_FWRKT4455DCT1VCNNB8E I have this exact tester and have not tazed my own balls
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Apr 25, 2021 23:50
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The Slack Lagoon posted:I have this exact tester and have not tazed my own balls It’s $20 to make sure you don’t grab a live conductor when you stick your hands in a box. Everyone who owns a house anywhere should have one, and use it any time they do anything more invasive than flicking a wall switch.
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Apr 25, 2021 23:56
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MrYenko posted:It’s $20 to make sure you don’t grab a live conductor when you stick your hands in a box. Everyone who owns a house anywhere should have one, and use it any time they do anything more invasive than flicking a wall switch. This can't be stated enough
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Apr 26, 2021 00:03
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I finished all my decora poo poo, and yeah got a voltage tester. Did 10 switches, including a pair of three-way switches which took a bit to figure out. The worst part is the double plates, where you have to make sure both switches have a) the correct depth to be flush b) both level c) both the correct distance from each other to work well with the wall plate d) both approximately the same height if the screw holes for the two sides aren't in the same positions, it's pretty annoying
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Apr 26, 2021 00:13
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actionjackson posted:The worst part is the double plates, where you have to make sure both switches have I have two quadruple plates and one triple plate to replace with paddle switches and this is why I’ve been dragging my feet for 4 months Plus a couple of the switches are 4-ways
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Apr 26, 2021 00:20
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MrYenko posted:Home Zone: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UAHZAM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_FWRKT4455DCT1VCNNB8E I always post this process when the subject of electrical testers comes up because if you're not taught it, you don't know it: 1) Check tester on "known live" wire/outlet to make sure it lights up (or dings or gently strokes your hair or whatever the hell it does when electricity is present) 2) Use tester to verify that the wire/whatever you want to touch with your grubby dorito-crusted goon hands is de-energized 3) Check the tester AGAIN on a "known live" wire/outlet to make sure it still lights up 4) Fondle wires at will (probably stick to the ones you know are de-energized but hey I'm not your boss or anything) Anything less and you WILL electrocute yourself. This is basic electrical safety; you need to make sure it's properly detecting live wires before using it, and you need to make sure it didn't break sometime during use.
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Apr 26, 2021 01:27
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DaveSauce posted:Anything less and you WILL electrocute yourself. This is basic electrical safety; you need to make sure it's properly detecting live wires before using it, and you need to make sure it didn't break sometime during use. My Fluke still makes me jump when it (in my pocket) alerts that it's turning off from inactivity. I'm still checking that that thing is actually on before I use it on something that I really really need to be off.
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Apr 26, 2021 01:32
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Motronic posted:I'm curious if they just didn't pour that apron thick enough. Seems like an odd place to crack if it's part of the garage floor slab, which I think it might be? Or maybe that line that looks like it was left from the garage door is actually a pour line and someone already tried to fix this/didn't do it right. Thanks. I'm not there at the moment but some of those pieces are hand loose, I pulled one out and it couldn't have been more than 1.5", 2" thick max. I think it was dirt under that, I'll go digging around to be sure. Sounds like it'll have to be hammered out and dug to a proper depth.
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Apr 26, 2021 05:41
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A voltage tester was one of the very first things we bought upon taking possession of our house. We have one of these, a Betamax-esque losing format of American electrical outlets, in our foyer:  ...and we learned that it's live and functioning correctly. We just don't have anything to plug into it and also haven't had a pressing need to update it.
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Apr 26, 2021 05:50
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Queen Victorian posted:A voltage tester was one of the very first things we bought upon taking possession of our house. Someone unplugged the telescope? Gunna need a real long hanger or something to reach the cord now I'm sure.
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Apr 26, 2021 13:07
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I have paint from the original owners that says "door and trim" so I touched up the trim, and the door frame, and it matches, but then I tried touching up the door itself and it's too white! Maybe the "door" part of "door and trim" just means the door frame? If so I'm going to have to figure out how to match the door, as there's no way I'm going to repaint the whole thing. I guess I could take the door to the HVAC room (same paint), and take a little sample off the back of it and match it. The doors aren't close enough to the window to get enough natural light where color match stuff will work. Alternatively my interior designer probably has one of those SW things that you put up to the surface and matches, which are pretty cool.
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Apr 26, 2021 14:58
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Queen Victorian posted:A voltage tester was one of the very first things we bought upon taking possession of our house. I am absolutely the kind of person who would track down a plug and then have the one lamp that uses it.
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Apr 26, 2021 15:04
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Infinotize posted:Thanks. I'm not there at the moment but some of those pieces are hand loose, I pulled one out and it couldn't have been more than 1.5", 2" thick max. I think it was dirt under that, I'll go digging around to be sure. Sounds like it'll have to be hammered out and dug to a proper depth. 1.5"/2" all the way out at the end of a slab like that seems like much too little for a garage to me. There's probably no rebar/wire-mesh in there either based on how it's cracked, which it's gonna need. I'd need to see it to suggest if it should be tied in with the garage slab or not.
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Apr 26, 2021 15:41
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In addition to a non-contact tester, I picked up one of these when we bought our new place. Our home inspector had one in hand when doing his thing, and it looked useful to have one laying around.
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Apr 26, 2021 15:47
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My inspector recommended a contact voltage tester as well for our older home. He said it can be good for detecting messed up ground situations - touch one lead to the live plug and another to the screw on the plate or the box itself.
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Apr 26, 2021 15:53
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The Science Goy posted:In addition to a non-contact tester, I picked up one of these when we bought our new place. Our home inspector had one in hand when doing his thing, and it looked useful to have one laying around. I recommend going a step further and picking up a combo unit with a breakerfinder as well. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QNMCVWP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It's great when you need to find which breaker controls an outlet. Plus you can pretend it's a phaser
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Apr 26, 2021 16:01
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Seriously?!? At least it’s an easy fix and we wanted to replace them with rubbed oil bronze fixtures anyways but cmon. 
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Apr 26, 2021 16:29
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Phil Moscowitz posted:I love the phone. Part of me nostalgically wants to put an old phone somewhere in my house...but I don’t have a landline. I have this old Socotel one that was in my French grandparents’ home office: I'm still on DSL because there are no good options for high speed internet in my neighborhood, and years ago I bought an Automatic Electric AE80, which is a big chunk of a phone with bells so loud that even at the lowest volume they're still a bit startling. It came upgraded for RJ11 and the sound quality is excellent. The phone will definitely outlast me. TRIVIA: When the U.S. made its first area codes they wanted them to be quick to dial for people in the most heavily populated areas, so that's why 212 and 213 went to N.Y. and L.A.: because they could be dialed quickly on a rotary phone. Big loser? Alaska, with 907.
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Apr 26, 2021 16:34
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SpartanIvy posted:I recommend going a step further and picking up a combo unit with a breakerfinder as well. whaaaaaaat  That's brilliant, we just discovered a mislabeled breaker so I wanted to check them all, but understandably was not looking forward to the task. Forty bucks well spent for the peace of mind and for the reduction of cursing next time I need to kill power somewhere.
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Apr 26, 2021 16:36
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SpartanIvy posted:I recommend going a step further and picking up a combo unit with a breakerfinder as well. Holy. Crap. I had no idea these had gotten down into this price range. ORDERED. Thank you!
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Apr 26, 2021 16:55
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Regardless of anything else in that kitchen, please replace those soft white bulbs with some bright whites, maybe in the 4-5K range? Edit: At least for the under-counter and overhead light (which is might already be it's off in the pic, so can't tell.) The pendants I suppose can stay a soft white for some less harsh evening lighting over the "breakfast counter", as it were.
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Apr 26, 2021 17:00
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:I found an old one at a thrift store and just hung it on a wall in my office. I've got this in my basement and I'm not sure it's worth the $2/mo to get it working again, but it's also kinda neat. 
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Apr 26, 2021 17:41
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All this chat reminded me of how regular wire tracers suddenly got relabeled as "robot mower boundary wire break locator" and sold with a 100-200% markup. You want a regular wire tracer? That's like $20 here. You want the Husqvarna Automower Break Tracer that somehow looks 110% identical? Yeah, fifty bucks.
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Apr 26, 2021 19:16
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thank god my local hardware store referred me to a guy who said he could stop by tomorrow and analyze the paint on my door with one of those fancy tools https://www.sherwin-williams.com/painting-contractors/products/colorsnap-match otherwise I'd probably have to paint the door.. which would lead to painting the trim to match... which would lead to painting the other doors... ugh this guy said I could just pay him whatever I felt like!
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Apr 26, 2021 22:05
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actionjackson posted:thank god my local hardware store referred me to a guy who said he could stop by tomorrow and analyze the paint on my door with one of those fancy tools I'd be curious how that works out. I replaced by boob light with a ceiling fan I stole from my living room (where I have new fan) and have this loving thing.  And I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what paint color this is. I assumed it was some sort of behr as that's what the other paint in the house was, but nothing matches. nm fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Apr 26, 2021 |
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Apr 26, 2021 22:15
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actionjackson posted:I finished all my decora poo poo, and yeah got a voltage tester. Did 10 switches, including a pair of three-way switches which took a bit to figure out. The worst part is the double plates, where you have to make sure both switches have I'm midway through this (30 switches, 40 outlets done so far, far too many to go) and you're right, centering the multiple outlet plates are the worst. That and just working with 40-year-old thick AF copper wire that doesn't bend well. I also had to learn the 4-way setup and I'll explicitly state it for anyone else: A 3-way (2 switch) setup is 2 3-way switches with a traveler. A 4-way (3 switch) setup is NOT 3 4-way switches. It is 2 3-way switches and 1 4-way switch with two travelers. Man, I should have bought one of those breaker finders. I almost bought one but some reviews scared me off.
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Apr 26, 2021 22:16
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I have some windows that let in direct sunlight onto my bookshelves for a few hours a day now that the tree in the front yard is gone, and I'm thinking about getting some UV film professionally installed. Is there a specific amount that's "good enough" for protecting books and other objects inside the home from fading, and is there any other practical information I should know?
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Apr 26, 2021 22:28
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nm posted:I'd be curious how that works out. I replaced by boob light with a ceiling fan I stole from my living room (where I have new fan) and have this loving thing. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Portfolio-...cB&gclsrc=aw.ds
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Apr 26, 2021 22:29
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yeah definitely do the medallion, especially if you don't know what the white ceiling paint is. If you do want to match it, you could try removing a piece and bringing it to a paint store, but I have no idea how well that works with ceilings.
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Apr 26, 2021 22:41
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If you don't know the exact brand and code for paint, the best results will be to paint the whole thing from a known paint source. I'll be interested in seeing how the fancy pants paint scanner man's result matches up.
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Apr 26, 2021 22:42
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Because wood is too expensive to buy I decided to buy a bunch of lights and mud and paint to redo a room instead of building the new barn. I'm in the final stretch after about a month. 2 hours of taping (90 yards of tape) and 2.5 hours of cutting in today. At least painting the field should be easy. 
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Apr 26, 2021 22:42
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