marjorie posted:

E: okay also I'll pose a home ownership question here. I have a light switch that I'm 99% certain is intended to turn on a particular overhead light (as in, there's really nothing else it could do and there's no other switch that turns on that light), but nothing happens when I turn it on. Replaced the light bulb, but still no luck. Any other things I can try with minimal electrical knowledge\ability, or do I need to call someone?

marjorie posted:

Sweet, I probably have a multimeter somewhere in my boxes from college. I guess my question is whether there are solvable things I could do myself (again, with the understanding I'm not very handy) depending on what I find out. I guess if the issue is with a wire right at the switch or fixture, or if it's something at the fixture itself maybe I could do it? It's a plain old threaded base fixture - PO had a CFL bulb in there, but I replaced it with an LED bulb, neither worked (it hasn't worked since I moved in).

raggedphoto posted:

Our house has new windows and blown-in insulation so I am sure we are having CO2 issues as well.

Here are two of the rooms that we removed 4-5 layers of wallpaper, skim-coated, sanded and primed! I was great to remove all the rosin paper and see the floors we just refinished again.

Epitope posted:

Learning on the fly felt easier than finding someone though.

Good-Natured Filth posted:

Has anyone successfully kept stray / outdoor cats out of their yard? What tips do you have?

There are 2 stray cats from a nearby farm and my neighbor's outdoor cat that love to use my yard as a litter box. I took our bird feeders down this summer, as the cats had successfully caught 2 birds in a week, and it was cruel to the birds to keep the feeders up. I figured that's why the cats kept coming, but even with the feeders down, the cats are still here. I find new piles of crap every week at this point.

I make sure to clean the piles up as soon as I see them, and I've tried a few different sprays to get rid of the scent and to discourage them from coming back. But nothing seems to work.

Outside of capturing them and bringing to a shelter (where they'll likely be killed), any solutions from you all?

redreader posted:

Well, nothing went wrong, but the last time I asked someone 'are you bonded/insured', he said 'yes' but I have no way of knowing if he was or not. How do you actually check? I saw him on angie's list which I thought meant he was legit.

Motronic posted:

This is not even remotely universal in the US.

In a municipality that does not have the concept of contractor registration where they verify minimum liability insurance, etc the correct answer is above.

StormDrain posted:

Omg I causually look out at the equipment and see that my cat is out there.

Guy Axlerod posted:

Does anyone else get builder's remorse? Cousin of buyer's remorse? Like why did I start this project? Now I have to finish it. Or why did I open this up and reveal this concealed bullshit?

moana posted:

I housesat once for a family I tutored for., and they had glued up pictures of the pope inside of all of their kitchen cabinets. It was super weird to be going for some Raisin Bran and then suddenly bam! Surprise pope!

I wonder if they switched out the pictures when the pope changed.

bergeoisie posted:

An accidentally bumped knife on the counter finally put an end to our long dying batch-feed disposal.

I've always found the batch-feed disposal horrifying so I'm curious about replacing it with a normal one. I assume our Gary had it installed because they didn't have a convenient switch to hook a continuous feed disposal up to. I don't want to do a full remodel of that area of the house, so I'm curious if it's feasible to just hook up a switch under the sink? Is this question too specific to the layout of that area of the house? Is it just not worth the hassle of trying to coordinate between an electrician and a plumber for this?

RIP batchy and the Shun paring knife you took with you.

GlyphGryph posted:

I'm sure I won't have to worry about any surprise disasters on that front for at least a few years.

Hadlock posted:

My wife goes through about $100 worth of my chargers a year, break even is pretty quick

Definitely getting them for the kitchen table and dining room, I use those about half the day depending on where the sun is and temperature of the house

Beef Of Ages posted:

Nothing like waking up to cold air coming out of the HVAC vents because the furnace isn't running when it's 11 degrees out.

mr.belowaverage posted:

This please. I can’t see that you ever posted pics of the original problem either.

GlyphGryph posted:

I feel like I may have figured out part of the drainage problem.



Far to the right is where it comes from the sink. To the left is where it drains.

I am pretty sure stuff doesnt drain up so easily, right? That the drain pipe is supposed to go *down* or be horizontal for pretty much the entire way?

I also feel like cutting entirely through those crossbeams like they did probably isnt good either

edit: followup on the crossbeams: one cut through all the way, two cut through more than halfway, three more with big chunks taken out of them. Two crossbeams also appear to be supported only by loose bricks and what looks like an old fence post that was jammed under one of them.

Hmm... I think I am going to stop thinking about this now, otherwise I might start to worry about what thay might mean for the houses structural stability.

Edit 2: Ugh, now I'm bleeding and covered in sewage. This morning's home repairs are not going well, I think I'm going to take a break.

Nybble posted:

BonoMan posted:

I'm stunned lovesac is that expensive now. Didn't they used to be basically As Seen on TV Quality? I know they were appearing on my deal a day sites (woot/meh) for a while and then had a resurgence.

$4k is hell no territory for those.

We have an Ethan Allen couch that we got used for $250 (originally $2500) and while it is great quality. It is heavy. Unreasonably heavy. Like you can no poo poo injure yourself moving it. It's not a sectional or sleeper. Feels like it's made with the remnants of a dying star it's so heavy.

steckles posted:

My parents stayed in that house waaaay too long and when we finally decided to move them out, it was somehow being reclaimed by the sea despite being in the middle of dry land.

Verman posted:

lol. Im designing a shed for my yard and I'm looking at these for the door option. They're expensive. Not quite anderson front door expensive but they're not cheap.

Struensee posted:

Jesus Christ.

George H.W. oval office posted:

The world is dying

Shifty Pony posted:

*throws instructions into shredder* "I'm not taking advice from a cartoon man!"

SpartanIvy posted:

Wayfair also sent bed bug infested items to customers. I will never order from them.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/judge-says-consumers-cant-sue-over-alleged-bedbugs-in-wayfair-headboard-2019-06-12

quote:

Gorny said he told Wayfair about the bedbugs in a satisfaction survey and the retailer sent him a 10% off coupon on future orders, plus an apology