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Painttalk: a couple of fun tips I've picked up from talking to the crusty old guys who run the local California Paints distributor. - Do not be afraid to spend good money on a couple of brushes. My favorite brushes in general are sash brushes which are cut at an angle and make corners way easier. Get an oval one and a standard rectangle profile in at least a 2.5". Plan on spending about $15-20 a brush. - Buy some propylene glycol. One common brand of this is "XIM Latex X-Tender". The paint companies have had to cut way back on the amount of glycol in paint to meet environmental requirements. You will not believe what a difference this stuff makes in terms of paint flow, particularly on trim. - Buy the best quality paint you can afford. I am partial to California but Sherwin Williams is good too. Good paint means better coverage in fewer coats particularly on dark surfaces. It also holds up better and is easier to clean. - Wash the surfaces to be painted, with TSP if you can buy it, TSP substitute if not. Any kind of grease, oil, dirt on the surface is what will cause paint to fail. TSP also deglosses the old surface and allows the new coat to bind better. I loving hate painting, so when I do it I want it to be the first and last time, and I have now painted two houses worth of rooms. I'm now really good at this lovely loving task, and the above tips are the product of dozens of hours of doing it. Could have saved a lot of those hours if I'd known them in advance.
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Aug 3, 2021 03:07
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Cyrano4747 posted:What's the reason for the cutback? Looks like the main culprit isn't actually propylene glycol but ethylene glycol. Found this while googling: in the mid-1980s, Dunn-Edwards replaced ethylene glycol (a toxic solvent widely used in latex paints) with propylene glycol, which performs similarly. Unlike ethylene glycol, however, propylene glycol is non-toxic and is on the FDA’s list of compounds “generally regarded as safe” for use in foods, beverages, cosmetics and medicines. Most paint manufacturers still use ethylene glycol. They are both VOCs but it sounds like ethylene is more so.
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Aug 3, 2021 12:03
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:What’s the best way to fix this? My main goals are to fill said hole and get the door closer back on there while making it not look like poo poo. Although I am willing to make it look not great if cost/difficultly are a prohibiting factor. You can buy pieces of door casing at lumber yards and home centers. Make sure you get the style that includes the slot for the weatherstripping to slot into. I have repaired these before using PT, a table saw, and a oscillating tool but there was less damage that what I see in the photo, maybe a foot or so total. Good luck. This isn't a fun repair no matter which way you attempt it.
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Aug 4, 2021 02:58
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Breakers as a rule cannot be "held on" in a true fault situation. https://www.tpub.com/neets/book3/8k.htm Obviously there are failures, defects, etc. which would be the exception, but they are designed to prevent obvious dumb workarounds to trips.
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Aug 21, 2021 17:29
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Is there a meaningful difference between K type and Purple K type in terms of efficiency? I have a purple K in my garage because I read that they are the best for flammable liquid fires...
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Aug 21, 2021 18:14
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Motronic posted:K is foam, purple K is dry chem. And yes, that's a very good choice for a garage. This is helpful! Thanks for the detailed explanation.
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Aug 21, 2021 21:36
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Doorchat: get a 6' level. It helps tremendously in getting the frame "right". Also use good shims, and plenty of them, along with a good construction screw like a GRK.
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Aug 22, 2021 17:35
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Throwing my hat into the ring for 3M's Bluetooth earpro: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/dc/cbgnawus1817/ These things are the best for either working in the workshop or (more commonly in my case) mowing and trimming the lawn.
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Sep 6, 2021 19:39
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Source4Leko posted:Just gonna stop in to say riding mowers are great to use and awful to own. Hello, fellow mower-owner, I concur. The last time that I mowed the lawn, just before finishing my mower's Honda engine made a terrible, "parts touching when they should not touch" crashing sound and lost power. A quick test shows that one cylinder is registering 0 psi on crank. I am praying it's the valves (repair kit around $115) vs. rings, which realistically is more work than I'll want to put into the engine and means a repower kit to the tune of a grand.
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Sep 19, 2021 00:30
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Sirotan posted:Get a Ridgid shop vac then buy the HEPA filter and bags for it. I did this but technically it doesn't qualify as a HEPA vac unless the drum is sealed. So I bought some 3/8" black rubber weatherstripping and laid a gasket around the drum. Takes more effort to latch but it's close enough to the certified $350 version for me.
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Oct 2, 2021 19:33
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Another thing to keep in mind is that asbestos, as a airborne dust, is very filterable. Since the particles are so sharp and fiberous they tend to be easy to catch in the media, unlike other things like lead dust. So as long as you are using HEPA filters you should be fine.
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Oct 2, 2021 20:47
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Seen a lot of furnace woes in the past few pages. I had my oil burner forced hot water furnace crack a casting two years ago in January. Limped through the rest of the heating season with the help of JB Weld and priced out a propane case replacement. 3 quotes from 8k to 18k. Learned a few things in the process
After install I had my oil distributor come out and run an efficiency test on the system to make sure the burner was tuned properly. They were super impressed in the work and only had one or two suggestions prior to inspection by my local fire department. Passed without any issues. This is not a project you want to tackle on a whim but it is doable if you are comfortable learning as you go. There are some fantastically helpful people on the HeatingHelp.com forums who are happy to answer any questions you might have and frankly even the installation manual for the furnace was enough to get the job done.
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Oct 23, 2021 17:52
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Upgrade posted:Also - and this is not a project anytime this year, or next year, but maybe in the next 5 years - what's a rough estimate to sand and refinish 1500 sqft of wood floor? Its 110 year old heart of pine. $15, $20k? Both times that i have purchased a home, I had the floors sanded and polyurethaned before moving in. I don't think I've paid over about 3k either time and the square footage was around yours. When selecting a contractor make drat sure you ask for references that you can talk to. Ask whether they had any issues with sanding swirl marks or the poly not sticking. Like any coating job this is all about the prep work, and you don't want to be staring at a swirl mark in a hallway where you see it every morning.... Also insist on 2 coats at minimum, 3 preferably. Oil based, the good stuff that is bad for you if you are dumb enough to hang around for the 3 days a decent initial cure will take.
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Nov 25, 2021 04:04
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I'd like to throw out some hard-learned advice to AHH F/UGH regarding the drywall and renovation in general. It's way harder to try and patch stuff like drywall / hardwoods molding up than just tear it all out and start new. The whole "cut out the bottom 24" of drywall and tie in? Yeahhhhh I'd just tear it all out, put up blue board and get a plasterer out there to put down veneer. The blue board is real easy for anyone to put up and the veneer holds up better than drywall. This will also give you easy access to the insulation /electrical so you can resolve issues now rather than going digging later. Your time is worth money and if there is one thing that sucks it's doin work over or undoing it because it seemed easier at the time. The old adage of "buy once cry once" holds true for home renovations as well as for tools.
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Dec 3, 2021 18:06
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Medullah posted:I moved into this house about 3 years ago, and only lost power a couple times. Unfortunately, I've lost power for an extended amount of time a couple times in the last few months. First off, I'm going to assume that since you've been in this house for three years that it's been established that plug is not live. Otherwise someone may have died already. Second, nothing about what you pictured as it relates to the plug is anything close to code. Do not touch it until you've had an electrician out to install, at minimum, a generator lockout. Transfer switch preferable. This whole setup reeks of weekend warrior dangerous hack poo poo. Don't do anything until you've had an electrician look at it it and keep everyone away from that plug. Edit: to further clarify - I believe that what you've got here is a plug that had been wired into the panel directly via a double breaker. Might be the one at the very bottom. This is hideously dangerous both to you and to electrical workers - you, because there is nothing preventing that breaker from being turned on and energizing that plug and them trying to fix downed wires that are assumed not to be live. Google "generator backfeed" if you want to know more. skybolt_1 fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Dec 12, 2021 |
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Dec 12, 2021 19:23
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Shroomie posted:If anyone is interested in the continuation of the poop garden saga In awe of the idiocy of this lad. Absolute dullard. Seriously Shroomie, if you have any close neighbors they must have Covid and lost their sense of smell. You are really lucky you didn't get the health department called. Start planning on a system replacement (or don't, and we can read about the cholera epidemic in the news).
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Jan 8, 2022 18:57
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Late to ApplianceChat but I want to throw my vote in for Speed Queen, the brand you've never heard of. No, the units do not connect to WiFi. No, they do not have a bunch of intelligent wash cycles. No, they do not sing happy tunes when they are done. They clean and dry clothes. They do this incredibly well and with no complaint. I've probably put around 800-1000 loads through them since I bought them new (lots of laundry with three young kids). They have never given me any trouble whatsoever and for the $1300 I spent for the pair I'm very happy. Meanwhile my mother, who lives alone and does a load of laundry maybe every two weeks paid like $2400 for an Electrolux stackable, and has had something like 4 repair visits in two years, and the dryer still doesn't work properly, despite two control board replacements. But the Electrolux does sing a happy tune to let you know your clothes are dry.
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Apr 10, 2022 23:44
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I have a gravel parking pad that I build about two years back so that I could park a small utility trailer on to keep my main driveway clear. It is built on a hill on the side of my garage, with about 10 yards of 3/4" gravel retained by a 6x6 landscape timber wall. Since I built it, I bought a 16' fishing boat on a small trailer, which weighs around 1200 lbs total. Because I never anticipated storing larger stuff on the pad, I neglected to add a direct access to my driveway such that I could back up a car to push / pull trailers on and off of it, so I have had to move them by hand, which is barely doable with the boat trailer. When I went to pull the boat trailer off this year I discovered that the wheels had worked their way into the gravel about 1-2 inches. Getting the trailer out involved digging out the gravel in front of the wheels and keeping the whole thing moving once I got it going, which was backbreaking. When I poured the gravel at first, I rented a plate compactor and compacted layers as they went in, trying to prevent this exact issue, but it clearly didn't work. Is there any way that I could stabilize the gravel so that it would be more resistant to wheels digging in without completely ruining the ability of the gravel to drain?
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May 18, 2022 15:39
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.Z. posted:The water pooling concern is that is that I would spray those gaps from time to time with my handheld shower when cleaning. So I'm concerned that I would have pushed water into the empty space due to that. Home was built I think 2016. Though I don't think shower really saw normal use till 2018. The area on the floor beneath the shower hasn't shown any signs of water damage. This is a classic "don't fix what ain't broke" situation. Don't spray those gaps anymore and consider adding the caulking, but tearing into it trying to find water-that-isn't-causing-damage is a fools errand.
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Oct 26, 2022 00:18
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vs Dinosaurs posted:That post taught me something, which is that the outlet under the sink is indeed controlled by a switch - it doesn't have any effect on the dishwasher itself though. Going to do some more local dishwasher troubleshooting that I found on YouTube knowing that it is potentially just an isolated dishwasher issue and not that outlet as well. A question: have you validated that there is actually no power running to the dishwasher, i.e., using a multimeter / voltage detector / etc? Simply losing power for no apparently reason is, in my experience, vanishingly rare and usually a sign of other, terrifying issues squirreled away in junction boxes.
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Nov 3, 2022 22:14
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vs Dinosaurs posted:There are three wires coming out of the wall and into the dishwasher. I hit one of the wires which had an exposed copper portion with my multimeter and it read 3 amps, so power is getting to it. I suppose this means call out a tech or get a new dishwasher? Hmm. I would retry this test following the instructions here: https://www.masseyenergyco.com/how-to-use-a-multimeter-to-test-voltage-of-live-wires/ You want to use the V~ setting which is AC voltage. You should put the black (COM) lead onto the bare ground wire or white neutral, and the red (mAVΩ) to the black hot wire. If you get a reading of around 115-120 volts, it is a safe bet that the problem exists within the dishwasher. What model DW is this?
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Nov 3, 2022 23:31
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:The wires were slipping out of place inside of the orange plastic caps. I re-did the braiding inside to get a good connection and it never gave me another issue! Throwing this out here only because I have had a similar issue which was compounded by extremely limited working space: https://www.wago.com/us/lp-221 These things are pricey but they work insanely well particularly for things like stranded wire connections in tiny spaces.
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Nov 3, 2022 23:37
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vs Dinosaurs posted:This is the model: https://www.geappliances.com/applia...AyAAEgJYlPD_BwE Some quick googling indicates that there might be a power supply board in this unit which can crap out. https://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums/threads/ge-gdt695sgj2ww-dishwasher-no-power.66582 If you are willing to do some digging and buy parts you can probably repair this yourself.
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Nov 4, 2022 01:22
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Abyss posted:We weren't required to get a permit, neither of the companies we talked to for estimates discussed permits with us. The company that did the lead paint test was the most lax about the result, just a casual, "don't eat the paint." I'll probably just start shop vac'ing the lawn and go from there. We intend to cover up the affected soil with artificial turf or rubber tiles eventually. We have texts between us talking about the chips and thought their lead safe procedures would mitigate that and their response was "we tried but can't get them all." I've sent that and some other pictures to the EPA for an official complaint, but who knows what will come of it. We did a ton of research and reached out to a lot of people. Of the EPA two contractors for this work in my area, I felt like one was giving me a "don't waste my time' quote and the other was high but reasonable. Disappointing that this is the result, but we'll learn from our mistakes. Is there a specific reason that you are worried about these lead particles? Young children, a vegetable garden, etc? If not, I hate to be "that guy" but this is really not something I would lose a ton of sleep over. Lead is bad, yes, but generally it is worse on the interior of a dwelling, is actively being "shed" through either degraded paint or demolition, and there are high-risk individuals (i.e., small children) who are present. There are a lot of home ownership things that I worry about but some leaded paint chips in the soil outside is very, very far down the list. I'm not trying to be cavalier to your situation, but while lead Is A Bad Thing, like asbestos, the specific situation should be taken into account.
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Jan 5, 2023 23:03
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H110Hawk posted:Which is great if you live in the house in perpetuity. Don't poison the soil and then just hope no child ever goes and plays in the now-finely-ground-lead-paint-dirt. Or the kid helps you dig a vegetable garden (breathing the dust) and then eats the veggies. I don't disagree that this is preferable and I think that the advice given to contact the city is solid, but by the same token, it seems like more harm could ultimately be done with a huge project to remove the soil (which could further spread contamination). Plus, the source hasn't been fully remediated... I think the shop vac option is also a good idea, along with pursuit of the contractor.
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Jan 6, 2023 02:00
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vs Dinosaurs posted:The water pressure from the hot side seemed ample, but the cold side filled the bucket significantly faster - bout twice as fast. I cleaned out the filters which did have a good amount of gunk on them, but there was no notable difference. Maybe I just try twisting the release valve on the cold side so it isn't fully open to attempt to match the flow of the hot side? It may be worth trying to trace back the hot water line all the way to the heater, and seeing if there are any partially closed valves that are restricting flow. It could be as simple as a quarter turn ball valve that got bumped. Might also be a piece of -something- lodged in the hot water valve for the washer, but that seems unlikely.
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Jan 16, 2023 15:10
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nwin posted:My basement windows definitely leak air and I’m curious the best way to fix it since the window is surrounded by concrete. I have similar windows in my basement. What i did was go and buy the thinnest Frost King adhesive foam tape (example: https://www.frostking.com/products/weatherstripping/epdm-rubber-weatherseal-10-year-guarantee), pop out the window, and run that tape around the lip that the window presses against. I have to open one of those windows annually to run an air compressor hose out to blow out my sprinklers, so I really didn't think gluing it shut made sense.
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Jan 17, 2023 21:00
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Canine Blues Arooo posted:Update on Insurance/Roof situation: This has nothing to do with the insurance situation but I will throw it out there anyway: insist that your roofing contractor quote out 100% ice and water shielding across the entire roof deck. It's one of those things that people don't do or cut because it adds a couple hundred to the job, but it is basically an entire second roof under the shingles. Every nail is sealed watertight. All your shingles could get blown off and your roof would still be watertight. Cheap insurance IMO.
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Jan 24, 2023 01:24
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Residency Evil posted:Does anyone have strong options regarding a general home/auto tool/socket set? My old craftsman one got stolen. One of the biggest selling points for Craftsman was the fact that they were the poor man's Snap-On or Mac - you break any of their hand tools, you bring it to the store and give it to them, you get a brand new one off the shelf for $0 without any hassle. Husky (and to a lesser extend Kobalt at Lowes) have moved into that space with the forever no-questions-asked warranty replacement. If that is something you feel is important, I would go with either Husky or Kobalt depending on which store is closer to you. I have several iterations of the Husky sets and they are all extremely nice. This would be a close match to that Dewalt set: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Mechanics-Tool-Set-149-Piece-H149MTS/308802590 If that isn't important, the Dewalt is fine, so are Tekton sets you can get on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-8-Inch-12-Point-Ratchet-47-Piece/dp/B07RFNPPYC/
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Jan 31, 2023 19:18
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BaseballPCHiker posted:My old porcelain bathtub has a bunch of chips coming off from the middle of the tub. I'm immediately concerned about my kid eating one, and long term concerned about any potential water leakage. Anyone know how big a deal this is? Looks like there are some patch type solutions one can do to cover and mitigate this. It can look ugly, a non slip mat is going over it. Not hazardous; it's effectively glass (which I still wouldn't want my kid eating) but it isn't toxic. Any of the two-part epoxy patch kids i.e. something like this https://www.amazon.com/Repair-Acrylic-Porcelain-Fiberglass-Countertop/dp/B07X35ZJYQ/ are fine if you don't care about color matching it exactly. There is effectively zero chance of long term water leakage, there is between 1/8" and 1/4" cast iron under the porcelain and that would have to rust out completely in order to leak water. If you want it to look really nice sans non-slip mat there are porcelain specialists who can come out and do a full coat over the entire tub. These will typically look good for between 2-5 years or so depending on how you treat them. No idea of the cost but it was something my parents did once or twice to our tub when I was a kid and it looked pretty nice. I think they can also do a non-slip additive to the bottom so you don't need the mats.
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Jan 31, 2023 19:23
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Awesome to hear thank you! When that day comes, do not make the mistake I did and think "gee, a cast iron tub costs like $700 and it's heavy and i don't want to move that in, I'll just pick up this nice Sterling Vikrell (acrylic) tub instead! It comes in three pieces! I can move it in myself! There will be barely anything to tile!" What a dumb move that was and I rue it every goddamn day when I go into the bathroom, see the cracks (that Sterling fixed twice) on the apron, see the huge ugly spaces where the tub fits together that collect hair and soap and gross poo poo, etc. And I followed the directions to a T and the tub still cracked in like 5 places. Buy the cast iron tub, thank me later.
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Jan 31, 2023 20:47
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Motronic posted:You just have to open them up and scrape out the really poor quality grease and casting swarf left in there from manufacturing, clean and re pack with good grease. What grease do you use for this? I have been using Stens "00" grease which I think is the modern equivalent of "corn head" grease i.e. a sort of slurry type stuff that flows even when cold. I have had decent luck with it but curious what you're using.
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Feb 1, 2023 20:22
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Blindeye posted:I had a few people near me recommend a good roofer. With our frequent wind storms I had spent 1000 dollars to fix lost shingles so I bit the bullet and got a good quote. Wouldn't worry too much as it looks like the underlayment is down. Underlayment will serve to divert a very large amount of water off the roof and whatever gets through will evaporate.
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Feb 5, 2023 17:14
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:Need some help friends. That box is the automatic feedwater valve that tops up your boiler as it loses water out the vents. You can continue running the boiler but it will eventually get low enough to trigger the low water shutoff sensor which will lock out your burner and stop it from dry-firing the unit. I'd say you probably have 24-48 hours of runtime depending on a bunch of different factors.
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Mar 4, 2023 14:57
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:Thanks, exactly what I needed. "Not tankless" is really the sum total of my recommendation. They are really only indicated for specific limited scenarios yet people love to install them then have extremely predictable complaints ("it takes too long to get hot / its so noisy / it failed after 6 years because of my water chemistry"). The best way IMO to find out what the best one is would be to call your local Franklin / Ferguson / FW Webb supply house on like a Wednesday afternoon when they aren't busy and ask the counter guys which brands / models they see the fewest warranty claims on since they will be handling those claims on behalf of the manufacturer (taking the dud units back and exchanging for new).
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Mar 4, 2023 19:50
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nwin posted:Interior paint question. You can probably avoid sanding by doing a pre-wash with trisodium phosphate (tsp) or a phosphate free substitute which will degloss the surface and give the new paint something to grab onto. I have done this in two houses worth of painting jobs and never had an adhesion failure. I don't think you need to worry about a primer.
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Mar 5, 2023 13:30
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nwin posted:Thanks! Seems like this should work for my needs…that’s way better than sanding and priming. I’ve got tomorrow off work so I planned to paint it then anyways. Ideally you want something that will degrease as well as degloss, i.e. one of these: https://www.lowes.com/pd/TSP-Deck-Cleaner/3014065 https://www.lowes.com/pd/TSP-PF-16-oz-Deck-Cleaner/3033736 Dont ask me why they are calling this "deck cleaner" but it's the stuff I've always used. Edit: this goes 110% for kitchens and adjacent rooms because of all the airborne cooking grease particles.
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Mar 5, 2023 14:38
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nwin posted:Hmm, we just painted it a week ago and it was prepped well before then. Think the degreaser is really necessary? My bad - missed the fact it was only painted a week ago. You're good with the deglosser.
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Mar 5, 2023 15:57
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nwin posted:My air filter is a stupidly unavailable size of 30x30x1. There are no deals to be found in that size. Not the super high MERV but 4+ for 6.99 and once you get above $50 shipping is free I believe: https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-30-in-x-30-in-x-1-in-Allergen-Plus-Pleated-Air-Filter-FPR-7-HDX1P7-013030/315174448
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Mar 26, 2023 16:21
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This stuff came recommended by a local arborist for killing stumps / brush ends / etc. I have used it about 3-4 times and it has worked great: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tordon-rtu-1-qt
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Apr 7, 2023 19:51
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