|
there is 100% a way to get it off without dremeling the whole thing off.. there's a set screw in there somewhere to release the cover around it.
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2021 19:59
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:54 |
|
|
tater_salad posted:there is 100% a way to get it off without dremeling the whole thing off.. there's a set screw in there somewhere to release the cover around it. Yeah, I get that, but I sure as gently caress can't find it. I have been all over this loving piece of poo poo fixture and scraped all the loving grime off that I can and if there's a set screw it's some bullshit .05mm thing. I had the loving brilliant idea of "maybe now that I've removed that phillips screw, I can just unscrew the front part) and now it's leaking water continually and I have to shut off water to the entire loving house. gently caress me. gently caress plumbing. EDIT: throwing in the towel on this and calling a contractor. It's too much stress, and I really don't want to be without a working shower all weekend. TooMuchAbstraction fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Feb 19, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2021 20:01
|
|
|
The collar that butts up to the wall is most often just attached with silicone caulk and not actually mechanically secured. I would try to get the collar to move and see if that reveals anything? There's absolutely a way to dismantle it without grinding it to dust, but they do hide them.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2021 20:13
|
|
|
I think you got the set screw out, it just looks like it's corroded to gently caress.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2021 21:25
|
|
|
If it's stuck with mineral buildup maybe some CLR or Limeaway will loosen it up
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2021 23:25
|
|
|
It's moot now, the plumber hulked it out of the wall. Fun fact that he told me: apparently the mixing valves aren't generic, so you need to find compatible packings / fixtures, or else you get to open up the wall to replace the entire valve. Which they can do! For $1200, and they don't do tile work so I'd need to find someone else to close up the hole. As it is I'm paying $600 for the plumber to run around looking for a replacement packing that's compatible. Thanks PO for using some old obscure poo poo. Jesus Christ I just want a shower. And for my dog to stop barking at the plumber and trying to destroy the door between them.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2021 23:58
|
|
|
Yeah, it's annoying that the valves in the wall and the fixture outside aren't hot swappable. Definitely a factor when choosing what to install. Either gotta pick a brand that's gonna last 15 years or pick a brand that has easy replacements available.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 00:54
|
|
|
The plumber worked on this for around 3 hours, I'd say, and here's where things stand:
I appreciate all y'all's help, but with the benefit of hindsight there was no realistic way I was fixing this one myself. Gotta know when to fold them, I guess.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 01:56
|
|
|
we gotta replace a retaining wall on the side of a hill, it's about 22 feet long and 3.5 feet high, made of wood. the contractor we called (sf bay area) wants $10k. is that insane, or am i insane, who is insane in this situation?
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 02:03
|
|
|
mutata posted:Yeah, it's annoying that the valves in the wall and the fixture outside aren't hot swappable. Definitely a factor when choosing what to install. Either gotta pick a brand that's gonna last 15 years or pick a brand that has easy replacements available. I typically buy an extra replacement (something) for situations like that too. Maybe the (something) breaks on a holiday and its broken bad enough hat it doesn't work, or leaks like a motherfucker or something. DELETE CASCADE posted:we gotta replace a retaining wall on the side of a hill, it's about 22 feet long and 3.5 feet high, made of wood. the contractor we called (sf bay area) wants $10k. is that insane, or am i insane, who is insane in this situation? Doesn't sound awful. Did they give you a detailed description of what they plan to do in the quote? Does that include permits etc? Any engineering work involved?
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 02:12
|
|
|
it doesn't look like the work is that complicated, just excavate area, remove existing wall, install the new one. on the quote, it lists $650 for mira drain, and $675-1350 for 3 men, 3-6 hours each. part of the reason we are freaking out is, they originally sent us the quote with just those numbers. we said gently caress yeah that's cheap, here's the check! aaaand they got back to us with "oops looks like we forgot to put the price of the new wall on here". that missing part? $9700. so the bulk of the cost is the wall itself. other details: retaining wall length: 5500+4200, 22', 21' including returns retaining wall height: 3'6, 2'6 (no i don't know why there are two numbers) retaining wall material: pressure treated douglas fir retaining board dimension: (3) / 2 X 12 + (1) / 2 X 8 (2) / 2 X 12 + (1) 2 X 8 is that just how much fuckin wood costs these days?
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 02:23
|
|
|
TooMuchAbstraction posted:Gotta know when to fold them, I guess. There is absolutely a point where it makes more sense to solve the problem by throwing money at it, nothing wrong with that. Out of curiosity, what's on the other side of the wall? When I had to fix a leak like this (valve itself was fine, it was one of the loving pipe thread fittings screwed into it) I went in from the back side of the wall so I just had to cut / patch drywall.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 02:29
|
|
|
melon cat posted:Century homes, yo. One of my neighbours opened up a wall for some renovations and found it to be insulated with... pants. Lots and lots of pants. Did they send a pic of the pants? I wanna see the wall pants. Old pants fetch good money, especially old Levi’s, and if they’re old enough condition literally does not matter.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 03:03
|
|
|
IOwnCalculus posted:There is absolutely a point where it makes more sense to solve the problem by throwing money at it, nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately, it's the kitchen on the other side, with its own tile, and a stove in the way. My mythical dream home would definitely have access panels for any major plumbing though, to make this kind of thing easier. DELETE CASCADE posted:it doesn't look like the work is that complicated, just excavate area, remove existing wall, install the new one. on the quote, it lists $650 for mira drain, and $675-1350 for 3 men, 3-6 hours each. part of the reason we are freaking out is, they originally sent us the quote with just those numbers. we said gently caress yeah that's cheap, here's the check! aaaand they got back to us with "oops looks like we forgot to put the price of the new wall on here". that missing part? $9700. so the bulk of the cost is the wall itself. 9-18 hours of labor for $1350 sounds suspiciously cheap to me. I paid $12000 for a concrete slab that was very roughly three man-days of work and only IIRC a couple thousand of that was for the concrete itself. I would hazard that the initial quote was just for removing the old wall or something, and the new quote includes removal plus building the new wall. Or something like that anyway. I want to reiterate that you should make sure your contractor is pulling permits for this work. Do not gently caress around with retaining walls. They hold up a crapton of weight and you don't want that weight shifting unexpectedly.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 03:04
|
|
|
kreeningsons posted:Did they send a pic of the pants? I wanna see the wall pants. Old pants fetch good money, especially old Levi’s, and if they’re old enough condition literally does not matter.  Also some antique liquor bottles. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 03:42
|
|
|
DELETE CASCADE posted:we gotta replace a retaining wall on the side of a hill, it's about 22 feet long and 3.5 feet high, made of wood. the contractor we called (sf bay area) wants $10k. is that insane, or am i insane, who is insane in this situation? Three and half feet tall is a short retaining wall. In our area, you wouldn't need to pull any permits to take the old one down and put up a new one. Permits don't need to be pulled until the wall is over 60". A wall that small should be a max three day job. And you'd only need a third day if you found some horror tearing out the old. Any reason you are going back with wood instead of a stone? 22' x 4'--(start a course below grade) is about 150 versa-lok blocks. Going with the nicer belgard the job would be about $4,500 total in our rural podunk area. But it would be a simple french drain--not the fancy mira drain.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 04:42
|
|
|
this property is on the side of a steep hill in brisbane (if you know the area, you know what i'm talking about). the house is at the bottom of the hill, and the backyard goes up. there's a tree at the top, and i bet the roots of that tree are holding the whole operation together. there are actually several of these wooden retaining walls along the hillside. the one closest to the house is failing, and we're worried that a collapse during a rainstorm could damage the house. the contractor we talked to is legit and will do things the right way, but we didn't realize just how much this would cost. i think my mother in law (the owner of the property) would rather just sell it than pay $10k. you should see all the other problems it has. but it is inexplicably worth over $1 million. welcome to the bay area!
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 04:53
|
|
|
Wood these days does seem to be getting expensive with the plague and all that. I've heard of people around my area driving hours to find a half dozen boards because the local places are out and they want to finish their deck projects. Is it worth 8000? Don't know, but its probably more expensive than normal. Without having the quote in front of me, there is probably also things like disposal of old materials, landscape restoration, possibly equipment rentals. Some miscellaneous stuff in there, a mark up for the materials, unless the contractor is your home boy from way back, you're not likely getting the materials at cost. It will have to be bought and picked up or delivered to the site. There will be taxes on the materials, taxes on equipment rentals, taxes on labour etc.... All the little and big things add up. If you say the contractor is legit and will do things right, then the quote is probably a fair one. Contractors that are truly good, and legit cost real money because they actually do it right and will stand behind their work. I don't know what the market is like in your particular area, but that price doesn't seem to toss any red flags to me. There may not be any engineering involved or permits needed but legit work costs a legit price. Based on the quote you were given, if you look up the material cost, how much could you do the job for yourself? Like whats the price for X number of 2x8, X number of 2x12, What about the drain materials etc...
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 05:30
|
|
|
melon cat posted:Ask and ye shall receive drat those are incredible and well preserved for what they are. The cut and construction make me think turn of the century but the snap closure makes me think a few decades later, 1920s or 30s maybe, but doesn’t preclude them being older. Those would make a collector’s day and I’d offer to buy em if I was still flipping clothing!
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 06:55
|
|
|
HycoCam posted:The bay area might be a big factor in your costs. In the bay area, most jurisdictions require a permit for walls that are retaining 4' or more of soil, which includes the height of the footing (for a conventionally footed wall, which modular block walls are), so after the footing and the half buried first brick, you're over 4'. Modular block wall engineering done by the manufacturer also generally only accounts for level backfill. As a result, you'd likely need to install geogrid reinforcement, which would mean excavating a lot more slope than installing a drilled pier wall. Mira drain is not fancy. It's a run of the mill drain panel and will cost less than a rock curtain subdrain since there's no disposal of soil or import of gravel. All that said, as an engineer who works on retaining walls in the bay area, $10k sounds pretty light for a retaining wall with sloping backfill in the bay area. When I make some assumptions about the work, I'm seeing material costs of at least $3,500 (including disposal and delivery fees) before any sort of markup, which the contractor will certainly have (this covers things like time spent ordering and managing delivery of product, accounts payable, other company overhead, etc). Construction labor in the bay area (for a licensed, bonded company) is very expensive these days. Anyone who wants to work in construction right now in the bay area can find a job (and can likely find a second job offer willing to pay more). If my company was to do this work, the work would definitely cost more than $10k. I can see a couple of potential cost issues. The first is that the project is kind of on the small side. If there is good enough access for us to use an excavator large enough for a dangle drill, there are a lot of minimum costs associated with that (mobilization, day use rates, etc), and you wouldn't get the most bang for your buck out of the equipment. If access wasn't good enough for something that size, we'd be looking at hand excavating the hillside as necessary to install a new wall and using man portable drilling equipment to install new pier holes, which get terrible production compared to a track mounted drill rig (not as heavy, takes comparatively forever to move from one hole to the next, etc). The good news, however, is unless the slope in the yard is steeper than 1:1 (h:v), the retaining wall is only holding up a wedge of soil and not the entire hillside. If the wall failed, you'd likely lose some yard space until the slope reached a stable configuration (probably close to a 2:1 slope) and you'd have erosion problems until the exposed soil was covered or starts to get natural vegetation growing on it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 07:46
|
|
|
DELETE CASCADE posted:this property is on the side of a steep hill in brisbane (if you know the area, you know what i'm talking about). the house is at the bottom of the hill, and the backyard goes up. there's a tree at the top, and i bet the roots of that tree are holding the whole operation together. there are actually several of these wooden retaining walls along the hillside. the one closest to the house is failing, and we're worried that a collapse during a rainstorm could damage the house. the contractor we talked to is legit and will do things the right way, but we didn't realize just how much this would cost. i think my mother in law (the owner of the property) would rather just sell it than pay $10k. you should see all the other problems it has. but it is inexplicably worth over $1 million. welcome to the bay area!
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 07:54
|
|
|
Xenix posted:In the bay area, most jurisdictions require a permit for walls that are retaining 4' or more of soil, which includes the height of the footing (for a conventionally footed wall, which modular block walls are), so after the footing and the half buried first brick, you're over 4'. Modular block wall engineering done by the manufacturer also generally only accounts for level backfill. As a result, you'd likely need to install geogrid reinforcement, which would mean excavating a lot more slope than installing a drilled pier wall. Mira drain is not fancy. It's a run of the mill drain panel and will cost less than a rock curtain subdrain since there's no disposal of soil or import of gravel. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 08:07
|
|
|
Sure, you could absolutely build a geogrid reinforced wall. I'm just saying that in the bay area, that type of wall would almost certainly need a permit, since bottom of footing to top of wall is going to be more than 4 feet and that there's sloping backfill, which also means paying for engineering. Just the block would run you $1,400 in the bay area if you bought it yourself. I don't see how anyone could get a licensed contractor here to do it for anywhere near your $4,500 estimate.
Xenix fucked around with this message at 09:09 on Feb 20, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 09:03
|
|
|
Late night posting...but, I was agreeing with you. Apples and oranges. Our walls tend be on the decorative side and if for some reason they fail its an angry phone call and a 1/2 day restacking. (Owners doing stupid things with pickups tends to be the failure point.) None of the extremes you see out west. If there was a risk of the wall failing and taking out a house--it would be more than $4,500. Just looking at the equipment you need to use--getting that stuff on site with an operator is never cheap.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 17:38
|
|
|
Ah. Walls here tend to be for extending usable yard space, since it's at a premium. And labor in the bay is ridiculously expensive due to extremely high demand for skilled laborers.
|
|
#
?
Feb 20, 2021 20:58
|
|
|
I've started removing the wallpaper in our 12x10 guest bedroom, and two of the walls seem to have been replaced by the previous owner. It looks like they never sealed the gyprock because it's all coming off with the wallpaper and it's a bit of a disaster. The other two walls have three layers of wallpaper over a very seventies shade of green paint. Considering the amount of work it's going to take getting the paper off the newer walls, would it be worth just tearing it off and hiring someone to redo the drywall? We'd have to reseal it anyways... The tape over the seams is coming up too. I'm pissed they did such a lovely job but they're very old
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2021 17:59
|
|
|
Requesting a moment of humoring a dumb question while I fight with my landlord to get poo poo fixed here. My heat in my apartment is not great, nor is it helped by imperfect insulation. All that said, I've tracked down another problem - a poorly mounted vent that's leaking a lot of the hot air my "furnace" (Apollo HydroHeat, it's basically a hot water radiator inside a forced air unit) generates into the mechanical closet instead of sending it up the vent. Which is probably why my "hot air vents" are putting out 72 F air to try and maintain 70 F, and why it's constantly running. From looking it over, it looks like one side isn't all the way down, and the air that leaks is coming from that corner and shooting straight out.  The corner that's leaking is directly behind the "cold return" pipe.
 Most of an overall view, minus the floor.
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2021 19:31
|
|
|
I'm exploring the idea of covering my old knockdown/textured plaster walls with 1/4" drywall. The walls are painted of course-I presume that means skim coating over the texture isn't really an option, and even if it was, it would keep cracking in all the same places, right? Is the process basically the same as new work drywall? Would I just screw into studs as normal, or is there an adhesive I would use instead of/in addition to that? Mud over the texture so the new drywall doesn't sound hollow or something? I think my studs are 16" OC, but small chance they are 24"OC if that matters. The plaster is over rock lath not wood lath, and I have yet to find a studfinder that can find a stud through that. I would be doing the ceilings too, and also probably redoing most of the trim as well. Is the price of drywall currently nuts like most building materials or is $10-12/sheet pretty normal?
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2021 20:10
|
|
|
I have plain rectangular painted molding over hardwood. There is a gap that varies from about 1/16” to 1/8”. Previously I filled the gap using DAP painters latex caulk masking with blue tape. The results were so so - over a couple of years it started to crack and separate and looked messy. Is there a better way to accomplish this without resorting to quarter round or some other additional material? Different caulk or technique? Or is this just what will happen and I should expect to redo it every 3 years? 
|
|
#
?
Feb 21, 2021 21:10
|
|
|
SkyeAuroline posted:Requesting a moment of humoring a dumb question while I fight with my landlord to get poo poo fixed here. My heat in my apartment is not great, nor is it helped by imperfect insulation. All that said, I've tracked down another problem - a poorly mounted vent that's leaking a lot of the hot air my "furnace" (Apollo HydroHeat, it's basically a hot water radiator inside a forced air unit) generates into the mechanical closet instead of sending it up the vent. Which is probably why my "hot air vents" are putting out 72 F air to try and maintain 70 F, and why it's constantly running. From looking it over, it looks like one side isn't all the way down, and the air that leaks is coming from that corner and shooting straight out. The little bit of air leaking around the Air handler and your ducts is not going to make that much difference. tater_salad fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Feb 22, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2021 20:51
|
|
|
tater_salad posted:not an HVAC guy but What's your Climate? I'm not sure what the expected temperature differential is on this unit but you need to remember you're taking water that is ~140-180 degrees (depending on how it's set) and blowing 70degree air over it. A typical Forced air natural gas furnace is going to takes air and run it through the heat exchanger that runs at ~350-450F the air coming out of it it somewhere in the 150F range by the time it reaches your desired zone it's probably got a 20°F temp differential. Your issue is your heat exchanger is nowhere near that kind of temperature. It's probably way colder than you're use to, and you're using hot water and an air handler to try and heat your house/apartment (not a boiler heater). which is just not a very great way to do it. Midwest, lake effect hell. I'm well aware it's not a great way to do it... but I don't get to replace my apartment's heat. Surprise. Hot water has been jacked up too so gently caress knows if that's working. Maintenance calls just result in them leaving a "we were here" door hanger, saying nothing, looking at nothing, and closing tickets without even touching the equipment with issues. Good to know it's not the leak, at least.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2021 21:04
|
|
|
SkyeAuroline posted:Requesting a moment of humoring a dumb question while I fight with my landlord to get poo poo fixed here. My heat in my apartment is not great, nor is it helped by imperfect insulation. All that said, I've tracked down another problem - a poorly mounted vent that's leaking a lot of the hot air my "furnace" (Apollo HydroHeat, it's basically a hot water radiator inside a forced air unit) generates into the mechanical closet instead of sending it up the vent. Which is probably why my "hot air vents" are putting out 72 F air to try and maintain 70 F, and why it's constantly running. From looking it over, it looks like one side isn't all the way down, and the air that leaks is coming from that corner and shooting straight out. I've never seen one of these before. There is a plumbing thread you might want to post this in: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3131944 I'm guessing the problem has a couple of causes. One you haven't picked up on yet is water temperature - the temperature on the water heater should be set high so it can transfer as much heat as possible to the forced air system. This means that the domestic hot water service leg should have a tempering valve to bring the water temperature back down for safety. If that valve doesn't exist and you aren't scalding yourself constantly, this means the tank is set too low for heating purposes (but don't raise it without a tempering valve installed). So take a look and see if you can find a valve that feeds your domestic fixtures that is fed by both the water tank (hot) and municipal water (cold) to output tempered water. If that valve doesn't exist you've discovered another issue beyond the ducting.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2021 21:15
|
|
|
Tezer posted:I've never seen one of these before. There is a plumbing thread you might want to post this in: I'll take a look when I'm home tonight. Hot water has definitely been an issue in general, my shower only gets even lukewarm about 80% through the temperature turn (which is an improvement over the original 0%... god I regret this move). Might be even more of an explanation. Of course, still have the bloody glass door to deal with, but that's a whole other issue.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2021 21:25
|
|
|
fankey posted:I have plain rectangular painted molding over hardwood. There is a gap that varies from about 1/16” to 1/8”. Previously I filled the gap using DAP painters latex caulk masking with blue tape. The results were so so - over a couple of years it started to crack and separate and looked messy. Don't look at the floor, everyone's is like that. Wood expands and contracts with the seasons, you aren't going to be able to secure it to the floor.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2021 21:31
|
|
|
fankey posted:I have plain rectangular painted molding over hardwood. There is a gap that varies from about 1/16” to 1/8”. Previously I filled the gap using DAP painters latex caulk masking with blue tape. The results were so so - over a couple of years it started to crack and separate and looked messy. That's literally what quarter round (more often shoe molding) is for. Caulk will never look good because the floor is constantly expanding/contracting through the seasons.
|
|
#
?
Feb 22, 2021 21:45
|
|
|
SkyeAuroline posted:
Yes. Tape it up!
|
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2021 00:32
|
|
|
SkyeAuroline posted:Requesting a moment of humoring a dumb question while I fight with my landlord to get poo poo fixed here. My heat in my apartment is not great, nor is it helped by imperfect insulation. All that said, I've tracked down another problem - a poorly mounted vent that's leaking a lot of the hot air my "furnace" (Apollo HydroHeat, it's basically a hot water radiator inside a forced air unit) generates into the mechanical closet instead of sending it up the vent. Which is probably why my "hot air vents" are putting out 72 F air to try and maintain 70 F, and why it's constantly running. From looking it over, it looks like one side isn't all the way down, and the air that leaks is coming from that corner and shooting straight out. Just curious, have *you* ever replaced the filter in that? Those filter access screws look pristine, I'd be surprised if that cover has ever been removed. Honestly your time is probably going to be better spent looking up the tenant right laws where you live. They're probably obligated to provide you with hot water at X temperature, and getting that fixed will probably help your heat issues. We had some hot water issues at one of our apartments, we started documenting water temperatures at different times of day, and finally got the problem fixed when we called up management and said we're going to the health department tomorrow. Management supervisor came out that day and the issue was mysteriously fixed immediately. Their installation doesn't appear to match what the manufacturer suggests, so talking to code enforcement to see if they pulled permits would be an option as well. devicenull fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Feb 23, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2021 01:25
|
|
|
devicenull posted:Just curious, have *you* ever replaced the filter in that? Those filter access screws look pristine, I'd be surprised if that cover has ever been removed. The actual filter is outside of the unit entirely, it's one of those wall accessible ones and it was just changed about two weeks ago. I'll look into that manufacturer info and see what I can figure. Fortunately, while I may be short on tools, the one thing I'm not lacking is an IR thermometer after the last time temperatures were an issue with a landlord. Pretty sure those work on water... edit: haha NOPE this is nowhere even close to manufacturer specifications, gently caress. SkyeAuroline fucked around with this message at 02:24 on Feb 23, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2021 01:33
|
|
|
The bedroom window in my apartment came with cheap blinds that are no longer in great condition. I want to install some curtains and am a little overwhelmed by options as far as curtain rods and brackets. Any pointers on how to select the appropriate hardware would be greatly appreciated.
|
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2021 07:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:54 |
|
|
Farmer Crack-rear end posted:The bedroom window in my apartment came with cheap blinds that are no longer in great condition. I want to install some curtains and am a little overwhelmed by options as far as curtain rods and brackets. Any pointers on how to select the appropriate hardware would be greatly appreciated. Buy whatever is cheap. Lowes house brand is fine.
|
|
#
?
Feb 23, 2021 08:05
|
|
