|
TheNinjaScotsman posted:Wood laminate flooring in a bathroom and laundry room: yea or nay? That's an awful lot of moisture. I'd get the tile that looks kind of woody at Lowes. I have the dark tile like that in my basement and it is great.
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2015 13:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 7, 2024 09:44 |
|
|
The back corner of my house has a downspout that ends at the foundation at the bottom of a grade. Even if I extended it out, it seems like the grade would just bring it back to the foundation. Would the best solution to this to dig out a drain away from the house? Like a French drain?
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2015 22:41
|
|
|
TheNinjaScotsman posted:Wood laminate flooring in a bathroom and laundry room: yea or nay? Virigoth posted:That's an awful lot of moisture. I'd get the tile that looks kind of woody at Lowes. I have the dark tile like that in my basement and it is great. I'd go even further and say "wood laminate never". It wears poorly and starts to look ratty in a short time. If you have standing water on those floors for more than an hour or two, you've probably warped or discolored it already. Both of those spaces are likely candidates for accidental standing water.
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2015 23:39
|
|
|
I have a glass single pane sliding patio door that's roughly 4 feet by 6 feet. Are window films (http://amzn.com/B00GONBA7O) worth using to try and retain heat inside the house?
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 01:23
|
|
|
Is there a kind of adhesive tape that is very stretchy and can conform to irregular surfaces? I'm trying to seal the corners and tops of my metal building but the corrugated pattern of the roof and siding makes it difficult. Something like DuPont flexwrap but maybe less intense and not as wide http://www.dupont.com/products-and-...d-flashing.html
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 04:05
|
|
|
dwoloz posted:Is there a kind of adhesive tape that is very stretchy and can conform to irregular surfaces? I'm trying to seal the corners and tops of my metal building but the corrugated pattern of the roof and siding makes it difficult. Something like DuPont flexwrap but maybe less intense and not as wide http://www.dupont.com/products-and-...d-flashing.html Unless there are really way too large openings I think you are looking for what we generally call "caulk." If not, what are we talking about here? Because if caulk won't fill it it probably need to be fixed or flashed.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 04:45
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Because if caulk won't fill it it probably need to be fixed or flashed. Whoa, ease up on the misogyny!
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 04:47
|
|
|
beepsandboops posted:The back corner of my house has a downspout that ends at the foundation at the bottom of a grade. Even if I extended it out, it seems like the grade would just bring it back to the foundation. How far away from that downspout is a proper downhill slope? Also, did Stupid Newbie/Garbage Dick avatars change to Bonzi Buddy?
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 07:39
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:Also, did Stupid Newbie/Garbage Dick avatars change to Bonzi Buddy? Looks like it. I'm assuming they cycle the default avatar every once in awhile in an attempt to come up with something so irritating people will pay to get rid of it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 15:50
|
|
|
This isn't so much DIY as how do I convince my apartment management to take a look at and fix this annoyance. I recently moved into a second story apartment and there's a bunch of air conditioning units sitting on concrete slabs right next to the first floor wall. Whenever the black one in the picture turns on, the motor vibration is being transmitted through the lines and wall somehow and it's this really annoying loud hum that I can hear in the wall right next to my computer desk. What are my options? I reported it to them about a week ago and they said they'd take a look at it but nothing's been done so far. I went down to take a look right now and there happened to be a guy down there who said if I tried to move it I'd desolder the joints or something. Edit: I can feel it in the floor too. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 18:28
|
|
|
Just shift it. It's not bolted down, and the copper tubing is going to be that 1/4" poo poo that yeah, it'll crumple super easily, but if you're only moving it an inch to make it not touch the wall, it'll probably be fine. And if it breaks, hey, then someone'll have to fix it! Do it in the dark of night when nobody's around, just in case. It'll probably vibrate back to resting against the wall, though, so this may become a game you play once every month or two.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 18:34
|
|
|
Is it touching the side of the building right there? It looks it's moved itself on the pad as it's not centered. You may be able to just go down there and move it by hand. I'd pull it away from the buidling a bit
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 18:35
|
|
|
Yeah, those things are light and when it was installed, it was undoubtedly centered on the pad, but the vibrations OP is feeling are what caused it to jiggle out of position. Without fixing it in place somehow, it's just going to jiggle back up against the wall eventually, but maybe he'll get a few weeks of respite. Underlying issue is probably two-fold: the pad isn't level, and the fan is off-balance.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 18:51
|
|
|
Ambaire posted:This isn't so much DIY as how do I convince my apartment management to take a look at and fix this annoyance. I recently moved into a second story apartment and there's a bunch of air conditioning units sitting on concrete slabs right next to the first floor wall. Whenever the black one in the picture turns on, the motor vibration is being transmitted through the lines and wall somehow and it's this really annoying loud hum that I can hear in the wall right next to my computer desk. What are my options? I reported it to them about a week ago and they said they'd take a look at it but nothing's been done so far. I went down to take a look right now and there happened to be a guy down there who said if I tried to move it I'd desolder the joints or something. Can you just wedge a piece of foam in there so it adsorbs most of the vibration?
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 20:00
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:How far away from that downspout is a proper downhill slope? It's also right at a walkway down the side of the house, otherwise I would just extend the downspout out.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 21:17
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Unless there are really way too large openings I think you are looking for what we generally call "caulk." Its difficult to do with caulk alone (although I have experimented with spray foaming the voids and caulking the rest). Heres what it looks like at the roof ridge:  and the wall (just an example of the corrugations, I need to do the corners and eaves): 
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 21:37
|
|
|
beepsandboops posted:Nothing close. Most of the property is pretty flat, except for the part where the downspout is, which is inexplicably downhill from everything. Dig a path under the walkway, run some perforated pipe away out into the yard and dig a dry well.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 21:46
|
|
|
dwoloz posted:Its difficult to do with caulk alone (although I have experimented with spray foaming the voids and caulking the rest). Heres what it looks like at the roof ridge: All of these problems have proven fixes. Corrugated buildings aren't new. Ridge flashing for the top. http://m.homedepot.com/p/Metal-Sales-14-in-Universal-Ridge-Flashing-in-Burnished-Slate-4202349/204256688 Foam closure strip for everything else. http://m.homedepot.com/p/Metal-Sales-Classic-Rib-Outside-Closure-Glued-6451699/204289073 http://m.homedepot.com/p/Metal-Sale..._-204289085-_-N
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 21:46
|
|
|
I need to buy a new shower head/hose/unit thinger... one of these: to replace a kind of worn out one. Is the distance between the screws for affixing it to the wall standardised, or will it vary between brands?
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 21:51
|
|
|
eddiewalker posted:All of these problems have proven fixes. Corrugated buildings aren't new. There is ridge flashing obviously; it would leak otherwise (you can even see it in the right at the skylight). I'm trying to stop air though. The foam closure strips are manufacturer specific typically as the profiles are different. No idea who manufactured these panels. The Metal Sales looks close though, may work. Mine has more of a flat top to the corrugation dwoloz fucked around with this message at 23:01 on Nov 12, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2015 22:57
|
|
|
mirthdefect posted:I need to buy a new shower head/hose/unit thinger... one of these: Probably not. Look at your existing sprayer for a maker's mark and get the same brand.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 01:03
|
|
|
Some old wood fencing in my yard is falling apart. It is the 8' x 6' panels with the pickets 2-3/4" wide. Is this a common size for fence panels? HD and Lowes don't seem to carry it. The posts seem fine, just the panels are failing.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 02:22
|
|
|
Post a picture of your fence.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 02:44
|
|
|
I need to crawl through my attic someday before I get busy with kid number 2, I just suck at spelunking. I am also a little paranoid about the fact that I have 2x4 trusses instead of rafters, I assume they can handle my 250lb rear end but random people on google seem to suggest otherwise. As an added bonus, my attic entry is in my garage, and as soon as I climb the ladder, there is a big rear end plywood wall blocking off the attic section of the garage from the rest of the house. There is access, but I would have to slither under a low hanging 1x4, wtf did they do this before? Is this the new "our construction is so cheap we cant trust Joe Homeowner to not crash through the ceiling so stay the gently caress out unless you REALLY want up there"? And how do I deal with all the blown in insulation that is conveniently covering up all the  TL;DR My attic access sucks. . . how do I handle blown in insulation that is covering my 2x4 trusses, and will the trusses support my 250lbs + whatever crap I bring up?
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 18:04
|
|
|
Crotch Fruit posted:As an added bonus, my attic entry is in my garage, and as soon as I climb the ladder, there is a big rear end plywood wall blocking off the attic section of the garage from the rest of the house. There is access, but I would have to slither under a low hanging 1x4, wtf did they do this before? Captain Cool fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Nov 13, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 20:03
|
|
|
OSB falls pretty far short of being a suitable firebreak material. That's just a standard technique for overframing dormers. I don't really know the details of it, but I gather the labor savings outweigh the cost of one or two extra sheets of sheathing. That lateral bracing may not be necessary after the roof was sheathed, if it's attached to a top chord. It kind of looks like it's attached to a web, but that's doesn't look like a spot you'd normally have a web... do you have a picture from a different angle? That is a pretty lovely placement of the attic access, though.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 21:04
|
|
|
Captain Cool posted:Modern code requires a firebreak between the attic and the garage in a situation like that, but a big opening kind of defeats that purpose. I can't tell what all of the angles are in that picture, but is it possible that your house had a hip roof that was extended when the garage was added on? That would be my call. The roof surrounded the house itself, then the roof for the garage was built as an addition, on top of the existing roof. If your roof was built like that, then I don't think that your attic access is in your garage. Look around inside again, including all your closets. There must be some other way up there. Since the garage attic was closed off from the rest of the house, the builders added another access just for it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 21:12
|
|
|
How do I cover rust for contact with carpet? I have a 70s metal desk with file cabinets for legs. At our last apartment, our cats peed on the side of it, peeling the paint and rusting it at the bottom. Do I need to do anything besides sand that spot down and paint it with a rattle can? Rustoleum?
|
|
#
?
Nov 13, 2015 22:23
|
|
|
kid sinister posted:That would be my call. The roof surrounded the house itself, then the roof for the garage was built as an addition, on top of the existing roof. You may be right, but with at little as we can tell from that picture it could be a shear wall. Lots of super light-and-chep construction make up for their 2x4edness with that type of thing.
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2015 03:50
|
|
|
I can search my house for a mystery closet access (highly unlikely) and I can attempt to take a better picture tomorrow. If it helps any, have a picture of my roofline, red line represents the approximate bottom edge of a big OSB slab (firebreak?), red circle is approximate location where I took the picture. To get a better picture, I would need to crawl deeper into the attic over the garage, which is nothing but 2x4 truss and drywall. House and garage were made in 2005 in a cookie cutter development with the associated cheap rear end building techniques that involves. On the one hand, it would make sense if the ply is there simply because that is the angle of the rest of the roof, but considering it's a penny pinching housing development I would expect them to realize they could save a few $$ by not sheathing a bunch of square feet that will never see shingles. Examined all closets, there is no other attic access unless it's in the back of a mysterious wardrobe somewhere. . . Not Wolverine fucked around with this message at 18:46 on Nov 14, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2015 05:38
|
|
|
chef posted:Actually the local MLS board dictates what you can and can't say in a listing. Around here realtors say whatever the hell they want. Has a floor? Bedroom! (But they'll add 'May be non confirming' in the notes) I'm wondering if the tax assessor is ever going to catch up on the house I just bought. County says it's a 700 sq. ft. home with an unfinished basement. It's actually a 2-flat, and the city's records agree with that - it's legal to rent as two apartments (not that I plan to do that). Lower unit has 8.5' ceilings, upper is 9'-10'. As far as I can tell this discrepancy has probably existed for close to a century. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2015 17:30
|
|
|
Does anyone here know about hanging heavy fixtures on old masonry? I'll be helping a local gym replace some broken mirrors (red = the broken mirrors, white = the new, replacement mirrors). Sometimes, people fly into the mirrors during a training session, then the mirrors sacrifice themselves to the MMA gods. But, the masonry is old- around 100 years. What type of mirror clamps and masonry screws would be best for this type of brick/mortar? Better yet- does old mortar like this merit any special treatment/fixtures? Because the new mirrors are super heavy.  A closer look:  OSU_Matthew posted:23,000 views in 17 hours??!! melon cat fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Nov 14, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2015 19:31
|
|
|
beepsandboops posted:The back corner of my house has a downspout that ends at the foundation at the bottom of a grade. Even if I extended it out, it seems like the grade would just bring it back to the foundation. Crotch Fruit posted:I can search my house for a mystery closet access (highly unlikely) and I can attempt to take a better picture tomorrow. If it helps any, have a picture of my roofline, red line represents the approximate bottom edge of a big OSB slab (firebreak?), red circle is approximate location where I took the picture. To get a better picture, I would need to crawl deeper into the attic over the garage, which is nothing but 2x4 truss and drywall. House and garage were made in 2005 in a cookie cutter development with the associated cheap rear end building techniques that involves. On the one hand, it would make sense if the ply is there simply because that is the angle of the rest of the roof, but considering it's a penny pinching housing development I would expect them to realize they could save a few $$ by not sheathing a bunch of square feet that will never see shingles. http://www.amazon.com/GoolRC-Camera...06PGHFJTBPA13KC
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2015 20:28
|
|
|
GWBBQ posted:Buy something like this and run it around in the attic to double check for another entrance then use it to harass your kids and pets for the next 5 years. There's a foot or so of loose fill cellulose that's going to get in the way of that...
|
|
#
?
Nov 14, 2015 22:14
|
|
|
dwoloz posted:Its difficult to do with caulk alone (although I have experimented with spray foaming the voids and caulking the rest). Heres what it looks like at the roof ridge: Metal tape is what you are looking for. http://www.lowes.com/pd_225506-98-3382_0__?productId=3961815 Alternately :Peel and Seal http://www.lowes.com/pd_154017-81326-PS625___?Ntt=peel+and+seal&UserSearch=peel+and+seal&productId=1018733 Peel and Seal is what we use on cooler and Freezer construction at work. Probably overkill for you.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 01:28
|
|
|
First, a picture taken standing on my ladder looking over the garage section, just shows off the style of construction best: I then crawled/walked a few feet over the garage and turned around to take a shot of the view towards the house and the mystery plywood obstruction wall. Dead center is a piece of drywall, it felt either heavy or maybe nailed down, I didn't want to to gently caress with it since I was leaning out about a food over the ladder space etc. I'm 99% certain that when I had the attic ladder installed, the "handy many" (er, paid JAFHO) said something about nailing the piece of drywall he cut out up there because  I think the next shot best illustrates what kind of access I have, having the ladder pivot point right at a joint in the truss kinda sucks for mobility. . .  Last I have a couple pictures of me attempting to hold the phone out into the access area to show as much of the attic I can see.   I have no light what so ever in my attic, and there is a giant mystery gently caress-off wall of OSB (with a bonus reminder of the awesome handy work from the ladder installer. . .) that I would have to slither under to gain access. I think the gap between the OSB and ceiling is probably at least 2 or 3 feet, the crappy part is I don't want to crawl that low in a foot of insulation, and I'm quite certain that 1x4 is probably loaded with nails ready to take a piece out of my backside. Is this a sign that if I crawl under that OSB wall my house will collapse under my own weight? What other possible reason (besides laziness) would the builder have for adding this feature? I think my main concern is that I am just paranoid about weight, and I doubt I should be. Wichita currently use 0IRC 2012 (what code was used when house was built in 2005? is the load capacity any different from then to know?), this is probably an accessible (the home came with a a hatch in the garage) but uninhabitable attic space which would need to support a live load of 20lb psf. But does the wall mean the rest of the house is uninhabitable attic space without access with a live load of 10lb psf? Should I even be concerned at all about my weight on the trusses? I think I am just more confused by my google searching which came up with all kinds of people saying "you weigh more than 10pounds per square foot!" or stating that the shingles and insulation take up all 10lbs of the allowed load in attic so don't even think about going up there. . . In the end, I think my best solution to get Ethernet in my house would be to run some conduit outside. My floor plan is below but mirrored east/west, and thank god my ceiling is not vaulted. Below the kitchen, laundry room and bedroom 3 my basement is unfinished, my office (getting drywall Monday morning. . .) is below the entry and master bathroom. It would be quite easy for me to run ethernet outside to the two smaller upstairs bedrooms, getting an ethernet line to the master bedroom unfortunately would require either a haphazard job done tomorrow, and the ceiling was just insulated yesterday making that job twice as fun! I guess I can eventually run a really long loop outside, or just deal with wifi in the master bedroom. I am also extremely tempted to grab and yank all of AT&Ts phone lines (Cat 5, demarkated at bath tub in second room, don't have access to the wall) and put ethernet jacks on. The only lovely part about that is if I try to sell the house in the future saying I would probably have to hook up all the phone lines again to get the old people to bite. At this point, I think the only ethernet runs I still want in the attic would be a couple lines going to either end of the living/dining room so that I could put in some Ubiquity wifi extenders to drowned out my neighbor's wifi. Is there anything special I need to know about running ethernet in a conduit outside my house? I think if I use a 1/2" metal tube and tuck in up at the seam between the concrete and the siding it might not look like crap.  Also, on an unrelated note, the cable company chose to pull all 7 coax lines to their box outside the bath tub in the second bathroom. I don't have access to that section of wall, and I don't want to let the cable company demarcate all of my coax terminals inside of their box. The last time the installer came out, I got a bill for $10 per outlet "installation fee" to replace a big rear end splitter, which the tech never tested, because he knew the cable company installed the low quality splitter, and it was now junk. . . I want to give them one piece of but ugly coax sticking precariously outside of my house so I can say demarcate here or gently caress off, I would happily troubleshoot any and all the splitters on my own because I don't want to play their game again.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 04:48
|
|
|
Crotch Fruit posted:. I am also extremely tempted to grab and yank all of AT&Ts phone lines (Cat 5, demarkated at bath tub in second room, don't have access to the wall) and put ethernet jacks on. The only lovely part about that is if I try to sell the house in the future saying I would probably have to hook up all the phone lines again to get the old people to bite. They make universal keystones which will take both ethernet and phone cords. Use those, then you have the best of both worlds.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 07:11
|
|
|
Ah, it's a raised heel truss, that's why it looked weird (that's a good thing, it allows more room for insulation). I'm pretty sure that 1x4 was just temporary bracing holding the trusses in place before the sheathing was attached (you can see the permanent bracing attached to the center webs. It's probably okay to cut it (disclaimer: I am not an engineer, some bracing is important, I deny any liability should your roof collapse in a strong breeze, etc.). The OSB is there either because it made framing the gable easier, or because it adds shear strength to the trusses. I can 100% guarantee you that it is not there because they wanted to add a small inconvenience to deter people from crawling around the attic. The bottom chord generally should be able to support your weight. There are just two catches: If there's any defect/damage causing the chord to be weak, you won't be able to see it through the insulation, and even if it can support your weight it still might flex enough to crack the drywall finish below.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 07:23
|
|
|
Crotch Fruit posted:
Why can't you access their box? Never had a problem getting in that or the telco.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 15:37
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 7, 2024 09:44 |
|
|
XmasGiftFromWife posted:Why can't you access their box? Never had a problem getting in that or the telco. From inside the house, it's a few feet back over a finished section of ceiling. From outside, it is strictly a cable and/or phone company security tag with the threat of bad things if the tag is broken. Half of the reason I paid the extra $70 for a cheap rear end splitter last time is because "someone" (hint, PO had u-verse with the coax fed into their box) broke the security tag. Seriously, gently caress telecom companies.
|
|
#
?
Nov 15, 2015 17:00
|
|