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.

«‹›3 »

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Do "bug catchers" like this actually work against mosquitos? https://www.costco.com/dynatrap-1-acre-insect-and-mosquito-trap.product.100304876.html

I feel like the fact I have to ask should tell me everything I need to know. There are a few people who claim these work, but I've heard that from the "mosquito delete-o" NG stuff 20 years ago, etc. And at least that generated lots of CO2.

I have about an acre of land at my new place that and I would like to keep the patio as habitable as possible. I usually use some chemical treatment, as well as fans and obviously getting rid of any standing or collecting water. Anything that helps would be appreciated.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2020 12:16

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 12:40

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Thanks guys. I usually use the garlic stuff as well, which also has the affect of making the backyard smell like antipasto night!
Someday I'll run my NG out to a fire table and a CO2 bogey elsewhere in my yard so that I can be lazy with both. Defense in depth.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2020 16:11

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

MetaJew posted:

Looking into this a little more, and looking on Garage Journal, I'm wondering if there is a reason not to buy an LED-ready T8 light fixture vs. the integrated LED ceiling lights?

Installation aside, (the T8 fixtures would probably require a junction box at every location vs. the integrated lights being linked together on the surface of the ceiling), would one provide more light than the other or be a better choice?

It looks like the LED-ready T8 fixtures are pretty cheap, but I'm not sure how much each LED tube costs for something fairly bright and in the 4000-5000k range.

I have a buddy who went all-Integrated LED on a new build and is very happy with his. He purchased Lithonia, which can be bought online or through your favorite electrical or lighting supply house.

# ¿ Apr 8, 2020 22:25

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

His Divine Shadow posted:

Time to re-oil the deck, been a couple of years, maybe three since last time. I used my own mix last time and I am using it again

Boiled linseed oil, pine tar, mineral spirits and some pigment for additional coloring, though it gets a pretty nice brown color just as is so entirely optional.

That looks great! As someone whose deck is looking pretty shabby, I'd love to learn more about your application...

# ¿ Jun 4, 2020 19:50

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Well I was going to go into the attic this morning to finish my cable pulling to the top floor but it was 8am and the dew point was already 80. :supaburn:

I guess I�ll just work on the basement or replace my HVAC caps.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2020 15:14

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

H110Hawk posted:

This is true of all electronic gadgets. The only devices I want beeping at me are life safety devices. iPhones are the worst at this with their inability to disable most of their beeping while maintaining a ringer on the phone. Also: Instant pots, instant pot air fryer lids, etc.

Mute should be the default, or if you need an ADA compliant method and initial setup that speaks it out with how to turn it off forever. gently caress beeping.

Agreed. One day at my old house I went ham removing piezo buzzers from the Verizon ONT BBU, Waffle Iron, etc.
much happier after that

# ¿ Jun 9, 2020 01:49

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I had a rental with a nicer Bosch dishwasher that was super quiet, could barely hear it when it was on. When it would finish, it would beep for several seconds, on repeat, every 15 or 30 minutes. You could hear it throughout the house. I can't even imagine how insane that would make me now that we run the drat dishwasher so much with kids.

That rental microwave sounds awful; I would fantasize about drilling and filling with expanding foam everywhere I could until I could finally give it the office space fax machine treatment.

# ¿ Jun 9, 2020 18:42

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

My neighbor just installing an above ground pool without getting any permits or even being compliant with the fence and decking needs sure makes me feel like a fool for waiting for... now 10 weeks while City Hall isn�t reviewing any permits so I can stick frame my freaking basement.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2020 15:09

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

That's a great idea! I'll ask since the office is responsive over email. I don't have my hopes up since the last time I asked them if I could just start and they inspect after phase one (the framing) they said "well you're not supposed to do anything until we've issued the permit".

# ¿ Jun 14, 2020 15:48

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

ntan1 posted:

A city isnt ever going to say you can start construction prior to getting a permit, but they implicitly will allow it if you don't get caught or aren't an arsehole.

Just do everything up to the first inspection and youre fine.

Just to follow up to this I did get approval and picked up my permits today. Which is good since I have a delivery window of this afternoon for all the lumber for my framing

# ¿ Jun 17, 2020 19:13

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Do you think the inspector will let me use the bidet seat as a heat source for my existing bathroom :thunk:

# ¿ Jun 17, 2020 19:22

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

SpartanIvy posted:

Also good luck keeping squirrels out of anywhere with anything short of a flaming moat of gasoline in an empty field.

E:fb

I just want them out of my tomatoes! :bahgawd:

# ¿ Jul 13, 2020 21:19

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Yeah I�m on team rent a wacker packer and then frame them out. Looks like a fun project.

# ¿ Jul 17, 2020 22:42

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

tetrapyloctomy posted:

So, the ancient door from my basement to my garage has significant frame rot because Wissahickon Schist apparently is more sieve than stone, so any water hitting our patio over the garage percolates down inside the wall above the door.

The local best-pick door replacement people want to install a steel door and frame and are quoting something like $2300 because I guess its a non-standard size. This sounds crazy but, you know, home ownership. Is it a reasonable cost, or should I just chop out the rotted part and screw in a new length of 2�6?

That quote seems ridiculous unless I'm missing something... I just had a custom steel one made for my uncle that was 42x80 with the heaviest grade metal and foam insulation filled. The price was $450 out the door. This was to replace the last one from the '80s that the shop did, it rusted because he never painted it. The frame, which is the original, would be an extra $125 in today's dollars.

Anyway, find a steel fab shop and tell them what you need, it should only take a day or two to fab.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2020 19:09

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I have drywall in my basement, taped, mudded and sanded.

Should I be concerned about the dust on the walls prior to paint? I�ve mopped the floor reasonably clean, but I�ve read everything from �your painter will prime over it, don�t worry� to �yes you want to get that cleaned up, you fool�

Painter comes over in a few days to quote so I thought I�d ask the Internet before. Instincts say clean the whole surface but if it doesn�t matter I�ll save the effort.

# ¿ Oct 5, 2020 12:57

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

HycoCam posted:

Clean you floors, that stuff gets tracked everywhere. If you are epoxying the floors--you'll need to do a lot more work to prep them than just sweeping/mopping.

As for the walls. If it is drywall dust left over from sanding the mud--nope you can and should leave it there. If the walls have been sitting for a long time and have acquired general dust and grime--yep, wash them down with a little bit of TSP.

Yeah the dust is leftover from sanding, otherwise they are clean. So it's helpful to leave there, or is it just neutral? I'm just trying to understand for my education.

I actually already did stain my concrete floors in the basement and had several coats of wax on them. That made the mopping much easier. I'm still pretty sure I'm going to carpet the finished sections though after all is said and done.

# ¿ Oct 5, 2020 15:20

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Doors are hung! :eng99:

I guess I should have specified a tolerance when I told the framer the dimensions. The door is hung really balanced right now but I was going to fill in the void before trying to cover that huge gap with trim pieces, any ideas?

# ¿ Oct 7, 2020 13:40

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

falz posted:

Trim + stuff a bit of insulation in there, should be good.

OSU_Matthew posted:

Window and door foam�spritz a can into the void, cover with trim. Easy peasy, and insulates the wall.

E: on second glance that�s an interior door, right, just nail in some trim.

Thanks guys! I'll put some insulation in there since, while yes there's a door here and all, all the walls and ceiling are insulated for sound since this will be a home office.

# ¿ Oct 7, 2020 15:45

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Deviant posted:

let's talk about light bulbs.

what color temperatures y'all like for bedroom/bathroom/main space?

2700K seems too yellow for my liking.

2700 bedroom
2700 or 3000 main
5000 office and bathroom

# ¿ Oct 7, 2020 18:30

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I installed solid core doors in my basement remodel and holy crap they are so much nicer than hollow core.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2020 03:03

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

After buying a shitton of Honeywell/Jasco Zwave dimmers they + my Lithonia ILED wafers do some really hosed up ringing around 30% and 80-90% brightness. It looks like a rave when I turn everything on.

I guess I�m going to have to throw them out and get Lutron :sigh:

Seriously is there any place I can resell these.

Edit: before I go crazy, are there any additional settings on the Zwave side of things like capping the brightness to 70% or something. I haven�t paired them yet.

Hed fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Oct 18, 2020

# ¿ Oct 18, 2020 02:01

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Update on my Z-wave switches: I had installed a shitton of Honeywell Zwave dimmers in one switch and 3-way config then they caused a techno dance party as my ILED bulbs ramped up.

I replaced with the Leviton equivalents and they are working great. I�m going to move the Honeywells I can�t return to lights upstairs that are different brands I guess.

Also annoying as heck that the 3-way for Honeywell puts the brains to the line side and for Leviton puts it on the load end. Had to rewire each side, but that�s how we do as homeowners.

Good lesson for me to try my light and switch brand together once before I wire up an entire floor.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2020 00:39

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2020/10/f80/dishwasher_finalrule_2020-10-19.pdf

Soon we will be able to buy dishwashers that finish a load before we go to bed again!

# ¿ Oct 28, 2020 03:30

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I just throw my dishes in a Speed Queen on tumble low to dry

# ¿ Oct 28, 2020 13:12

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I don�t mind solid core for refits in my existing house because some of the solid cores are MDF or whatever with veneer and heavier than solid wood equivalents.

# ¿ Oct 31, 2020 16:01

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

You can't leave a splice in the ceiling, but you could re-terminate / re-run your cable so that there are none aside from your new boxes. Depending on how it was wired and daisy-chained, you could get lucky and only have to tear out the drywall between those joist bays and where the lights continue down towards the sink.

Where's the switch for these lights?

# ¿ Nov 18, 2020 16:26

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Clayton Bigsby posted:

Ring mains, positive ground cars, Lucas electronics, the list goes on

But seriously, conduits are great. For instance when I switched to LED lights I had a couple of dimmers that caused some problems, and needed to switch them out. The new ones required both a positive and negative wire. The existing one just had two wires, the positive in, and the positive out to the light. Took a couple of minutes to just throw another wire in there. Didn't even have to rip out any drywall!

In our case you'd generally not be able to run a single new wire either, because even though it would obviously work the individual conductors aren't certified, the NM package is itself.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2020 21:18

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I like to use mesh tape and something like No Coat for corners. But I�m a hobbyist who just takes forever to fix what PO stuff I find because I�m crazy about it being better than what I found.

# ¿ Dec 2, 2020 16:13

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I really don�t understand how someone built a house where all the three way switches are actually �both switches must be in correct position to turn light on�. Apprentice�s first job?

Or how the PO let this go on for 15 years. Only 2 or 3 more to go.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2020 14:36

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Boy I can't wait to get the PO stink out of the basement... just like the outside there are at least 3 different screw heads used on the same types of projects... I just pulled out a vanity that featured square 1, square 2 and T15 screws all into various different parts.

I mean I don't care for Phillips either but jfc pick a family!

# ¿ Dec 13, 2020 20:59

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Motronic posted:

We literally have a specialized "slim jim" on every goddamn fire truck to pull the release on garage doors with zero damage. It's how we get into housese with automatic alarm systems when no one is home or reachable without breaking poo poo. It's why I leave the "man door" from my attached garage unlocked when we're away and the alarm is armed.

You want a "garage door" that is reasonably secure? (and I mean takes enough time and makes enough noise to be a deterrent) Look at the steel rollup doors with slide locks that are on every last storage place you've ever seen.

How do you guys determine if the house has an automatic alarm system?

# ¿ Dec 21, 2020 05:54

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

L0cke17 posted:

Ok, dumb insulation question:

I got a quote from a company to do more blown in insulation in my attic. I forget the exact r value they said it could get to, but basically if they bump it over a certain amount I can get a pretty large rebate from the city that almost pays for the whole cost of installation.

The question I have is they said they would just blow insulation over the current stuff up there, not remove what�s there and restart. Is that a good idea? Does insulation ever go bad really? Would there be any concerns with doing it their way?

In all my experience things like can lights and air vents and fan boxes and attic access were all installed poorly or now leak. Typically they will suck all the insulation up (assuming it�s blown) and crawl around and build sealed boxes around these touch points, then blow it back on.

If yours are all well insulated and there are no signs of wet or compacted insulation then sure you could just pile it on. If you don�t know then I would say you will probably want things sealed up first.

# ¿ Dec 30, 2020 17:49

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

The Home Zone: Hooks: Check �em Out.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2021 00:31

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Speaking of high end refrigeration: Has anyone installed True refrigerators for residential? I see them all the time in food service or under the bar.

They are manufactured (or assembled) pretty close to me and seem like a good company to I�m curious if anyone has experience.

# ¿ Jan 21, 2021 21:20

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I don�t know how engineering licensure works up there but down in the states (my states, at least) the AHJ better have a good freaking (documented) reason to try to override my stamp.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2021 04:16

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Kind of related... what do you think provides the most sticker shock for new builds compared to what people have in their heads ?

For example I was amazed when I first shopped for faucets and plumbing fixtures how $TEXAS nice ones are. Almost an order of magnitude more than what I expected.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2021 22:42

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Solid core doors are fun when your wife tries to push one closed with her foot and ends up spinning around off balance instead since it�s got 4x the inertia of the hollow doors in your house :newlol:

# ¿ Feb 25, 2021 22:21

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I need squirrels to stop digging up my wife�s pansies. I guess they like the fresh potting soil and I don�t have enough time and .22 pellets to get em all

# ¿ Mar 22, 2021 00:15

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

Uh.. geotechnical issues? I haven�t really heard of that in the Midwest. In Florida I�ve heard of plenty on the beach that got filled in during hurricanes

. Luckily I have a dredger.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2021 21:00

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 12:40

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

If you�re looking at Subzero also consider True. They look pretty good.

# ¿ Apr 3, 2021 23:57

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

«‹›3 »