Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

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toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

stupid puma posted:

That's one area where I'll farm out the work. It's pretty nice to have a company come in and spread whatever needs to be spread at strategic points throughout the year. Just find the "greenest" company you can so you avoid destroying your area's groundwater as much as possible. The organic stuff doesn't work quite as well as the toxic stuff but at least you can sleep a little easier knowing that you aren't tracking poison into your house, esp if you have pets and/or children.

I did it myself one year and it was a huge hassle. $30/application 6 times per summer is well worth it IMO. Plus the guys I have are lawn whisperers and are mixing in various amounts of nitrogen, potash, etc. depending on conditions.

Organic is actually higher in environmental toxicity due to its lower efficacy leading to both more applications and more product used compared to the "toxic stuff."

# ¿ Jun 3, 2016 22:09

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 19:21

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

peanut posted:

Why do American houses have so many baths/showers?!

Safety Dance posted:

We enjoy not being filthy.

We enjoy listening to other people in the bathroom.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2016 19:26

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

peanut posted:

It's not ugly, it's "striking" and a "mood-setter."
Big cleaning tomorrow, inspection next week, move in... September 11th?!

# ¿ Sep 1, 2016 13:07

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

tetrapyloctomy posted:

Our entry doors have, in addition to the single-cylinder lockset coupled to the knob/latch, double-cylinder double deadbolt locks all keyed the same. They are, however, getting increasingly finicky -- one stopped working entirely and isn't currently on the door (it goes to a patio on top of the garage), one works from the outside only if you wiggle the door around, and one is starting to get more difficult if you don't wiggle they key a bit. So I'd like to replace them all. We generally use the single-cylinder lock on the front door when we're in the house and this when we're out, and there are sidelights in all areas that would allow someone to smash a window and open a single-cylinder lock, hence keeping the double-cylinder setup.

... but for the life of me, I can't find a reasonably-priced, reasonably sturdy lock that comes keyed as a matched set. (In fact, the only one I can find where I can just click "keyed alike" is a super-expensive Mul-T Lock that makes zero sense in this application since someone would simply take a sledgehammer to the door itself and knock out the flimsy wood lattice in between the twelve glass panels on the door itself.) Should I just call a locksmith for new locks and/or cylinders?

Do you have access to the kwikset quick match locks?
They come with a magic pin that lets you re-key them to any key you have.

Deadbolt

Doorknob

# ¿ Apr 5, 2019 18:28

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Jaded Burnout posted:

Mine's also lumpy but I think that's on account of compression from a century of indiscriminate use.

My lawns all lumpy and clay, so the drainage is super hosed.

I've got 2 swales and a few french drains, and i still have places with standing water next to the house when it rains. It does drain over the next day or so, but bleh.

Basically, the sidewalks are lower than the dirt (over time) and well, that's where the water goes.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2019 16:38

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

I installed a storm door last evening.

I still need to install the handle/latch hardware, but need to pick up a chisel on my way home.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2019 13:20

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Put up some storage space...

And with the approval of the lady friend, I've installed this into the living room for the next few months...

# ¿ Aug 9, 2019 00:01

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

https://cheappegboard.com/

# ¿ Aug 9, 2019 00:59

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

You mean the pressboard pegboard that self disassembles in six months for $20. Sure I guess.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2019 11:57

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Reik posted:

We've been in our new home for a couple months and I need to do something with this area between the sidewalk and the patio. It fills up with weeds and trees and is a pain. I like the idea of just filling it in with stones, but the sidewalk dips in the middle there so I don't know if I'd need a small retaining wall to keep the stone from spilling out. Also, I'm not the biggest plant guy, but I think it might look kind of weird to just have a bed of rocks without at least a couple small plants in there. Looking for recommendations/advice in general for what to do with this.

Make it a giant raised bed.

I had a similar space on the side of my house and now it's great for herbs and tomatoes and peppers.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2019 19:03

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

durrneez posted:

Cross posted from the Florida LAN thread:

Is anyone a real estate lawyer or have one to recommend? I co-own some property near Tampa, Florida and am having some issues with it.

Legal Questions: Stop Talking Online and Ask An Attorney In Your Area

# ¿ Sep 11, 2019 17:37

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Where's the line between lic/bonded handymen jobs and being your own/getting a GC for a job?

Example: I need to replace my bathroom fan and unfuck the ceiling. (It looks like a contractor stepped on the fan while reparing the attic trusses in the pre-closing window. Only found it on final walkthru closing day so its not a "hey fix this too you sellers").

I know a new fan would just be a straight electrician install, but replace and re-drywall is that better handled by a general handyman (lic. insured etc) or getting an electrician to do the fan and then a sheetrock guy for the ceiling?

I'm going to redo the bathroom eventually, but i'd rather get this fixed sooner than a whole reno.

Side note: this fan is plugged into a socket behind that shroud. it's not hard wired in.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2019 20:06

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

The fan looks about as old as the house (60s), and the outlet is controlled by a switch.
I already bought a new/more modern fan as well.

I'm also fat and have lovely attic stairs, so i don't want this to be babbys first DIY adventure. I'm viewing this house as a repair training house, but am building up slowly in both skill and confidence.
I've done some shelving work, some ceiling mounted things, and so on.
I've installed a storm door, got plans to redo the floor in one room, replace the sub-floor and redo the floor in another, and eventually do a full reno on the bathroom.

I've got a feeling this fan isn't right or the hole is allowing a good amount of heat exchange with the attic space, because if i leave the door to the bathroom closed, it will be noticeably warmer and more humid than the rest of the house by the time i come home from work.

toplitzin fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Sep 11, 2019

# ¿ Sep 11, 2019 20:52

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Insulation is fresh. That was one of the first things I did after closing was to get new insulation blown in.
Helps 100% with the HVAC and my bills are right where I expect.

The bathroom is a center of house cave, so no windows or other points of entry.

Note, we dont really use the master shower since its so small and no ventilation in there.

# ¿ Sep 11, 2019 21:43

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Got a warm dimmer switch.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2019 02:17

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Newish construction, running a mix of dimmable led/incandescent in a chandelier.

We grabbed the flir since it was hot af to the touch a couple times.

That was after about an hour running at full brightness.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2019 13:11

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Turns out my roof has a hole for the bathroom fan, but the fuckers didn't actually hook it up so my fan is blowing into the insulation.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2019 13:38

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

My farts are trapped.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2019 15:01

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Admiral Joeslop posted:

I'm looking to get a new top load washer for the basement. I've replaced the water inlet valve twice now and the cold water (on Cold Rinse cycle only) trickles out instead of flowing. Cold water works fine on other settings but all of the settings have a cold rinse cycle. We can run cold water on another setting to fill it up then switch back to cold rinse but I hate babysitting a washer like that. Googling the numbers now says it was probably made in January 1996 so I'm amazed it has lasted this long.

Anyway, what are the good brands nowadays? Preferably $500 or less, top load.

SpeedQueen
SpeedQueen
SpeedQueen

# ¿ Oct 16, 2019 17:54

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Having my attic re-insulated was surprisingly $reasonable.
They even included a new insulated box around the attic stairs.

# ¿ Oct 21, 2019 17:01

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

MetaJew posted:

Don't make the mistake I did with my satin floor poly where I forgot to stir/shake the jug before applying it and now two rooms in my house have glossy floors and the rest of the house has saying floors.

I hate talking floors. It makes hiding the bodies so much harder.

# ¿ Nov 17, 2019 22:10

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Chimp_On_Stilts posted:

I want to wire my home with CAT6 ethernet. Currently, there is no ethernet wiring at all (everything uses wifi).

I'm pretty sure I'm going to pay a professional to do this, but unsurprisingly that will cost literally 10x what it would cost to DIY.

The work would involve:

1) Drilling hole from garage down into the crawlspace below the house
2) Running CAT6 into and across the crawlspace to 4 separate termination points
3) Drilling 4 more holes from the living quarters into the crawlspace (one hole for each termination point)
4) Runing the cables through those holes
5) Terminating the cables in nice lookin' faceplates & jacks

Nearly all of this I am confident I can do. However, getting from the living quarters into the crawlspace has me perplexed - especially from the garageinto the crawlspace. From the garage, I can see that that a beam (not joist) lies between the garage and the crawlspace. Drilling a hole through this beam to run the cable sets off my "don't do this, you're gonna gently caress up something structurally important" mental alarm.

There's normal household outlets in the garage, but I don't know how those were run to where they terminate in the garage wall. Also, the hookup to the city power grid runs into the garage from a telephone poll then - somehow - goes into the rest of the house. Even if I knew how it was run, I think I'm supposed to keep high and low voltage lines separate so I don't think I can follow those lines / use those holes anyway.

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?

As I stated, right now I'm pretty sure I'm gonna hire a local electrical company - they already gave me a bid. I'm simply here to see if I am being overly cautious.

You are over thinking this.
Doing a crawl space/basement run is super easy mode.

# ¿ Nov 25, 2019 13:04

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

I had a contractor in to replace a bathroom fan and paint the ceiling.

Dude sucked at drywall, so the contacting company sent their professional drywall crew out (comped as they normally have like a $400 job minimum).

They went above and beyond and did some drywall patching on the walls by mistake.

Now my whole bathroom is getting repainted.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2019 15:23

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Basement swimming pools are the best.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2019 14:21

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Japan gets all the cool poo poo.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2020 00:09

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

We did a thing today.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2020 00:20

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Yup, 1/4 round is in and so is a rug.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2020 01:55

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

With rug and quarter round

# ¿ Jan 19, 2020 17:43

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

It's a cheap Gibson for loving off in Rocksmith.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2020 21:03

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

We installed the cheapest floor material and its our first install job.

Trust me, there's a reason the rug is there already.

# ¿ Jan 21, 2020 18:52

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Nevets posted:

Was that click-lock style planks or something else?

Tongue and groove style backing/padding attached laminate. Where you have to keep the whole row at just the right angle until the last board is in, then rotate the whole row into place.

It was an 11*10' room for under $150. I didn't have high expectations of easy/good for finish. We took the Adam Savage approach of do it once cheap as possible to see how it goes, and next room we do we'll get higher quality click lock style instead.

# ¿ Jan 21, 2020 19:33

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Yeah, this was the sub $1/sqft stuff.

Will definitely get better stuff next time.

# ¿ Jan 21, 2020 22:38

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

falz posted:

Did you use a block and mallet to knock them together during install? Literally impossible to do that properly without that imo.

The tool less pieces actually assembled better, but yes, there was plenty of percussive assembly.

Again, I'm not mad at it, it was literally the cheapest floor with padding to find out what kind of effort it takes.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2020 00:49

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Thanks to all the Covid related WFH, I decided to build a thing over a 3 day weekend.

First things first, lets get some contrast in the room:

That's better.

Lumber products, Assemble!

Look ma, no legs!

A little stain and danish oil later....

Tadaa!

# ¿ Jun 26, 2020 21:49

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

actionjackson posted:

why is there a rug on top of the carpet

you can just get a mat for the chair

I can tell you it's 100% not because I dripped stain on the carpet.

# ¿ Jun 27, 2020 03:14

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

If you want the smooth top surface why not make the frame next to the hole, fill/set, then flip it over into the hole and unmold smooth side up?

# ¿ Jul 18, 2020 02:07

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Did someone say paint testing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4RPaoU47jo

# ¿ Jul 24, 2020 22:29

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

LG with the linear compressor.

I got a rebranded one (Kenmore) before Sears poo poo the bed.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2020 00:01

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Bioshuffle posted:

Have electric lawn mowers caught up to gas powered ones yet? I'd like a good self-propelled electric mower that could do my front and back yard (about 5000 sq ft) in one session.

The E-Go will do .25 acre on a charge.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2020 01:11

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 19:21

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

If your going through all the trouble of digging out your basement, you may as well put in a pool and hot tub.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2020 12:11

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

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