Fix It Fast: Start here for DIY help! (You'll know when it's a problem by smell.)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Fix It Fast: Start here for DIY help! (You'll know when it's a problem by smell.)

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melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

edit: disregard. Figured it out!

melon cat fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Dec 6, 2020

# ¿ Dec 6, 2020 05:00

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 20:42

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Any guesses as to what the proper name is for these "triangular braces" shown in this article. But I'm having trouble tracking them down and "triangular braces" isn't yielding any helpful results.

Edit: awesome thanks\/

melon cat fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Dec 13, 2020

# ¿ Dec 13, 2020 19:49

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Harold Fjord posted:

Any quick tips on identifying what piece of my furnace makes a super loud bang noise as it heats up and cools down and ways to reduce the sound? Our new dog is pretty sensitive and it freaks him out every time it happens.

Got a sound sample? Because I'm wondering if it's coming from your furnace unit or the ducting. We had an issue with a loud "thud" that we'd hear every time our furnace turned on and off. Turned out it was the poorly-done ductwork flexing/contracting.

Cute pooch, btw. :3:

# ¿ Jan 10, 2021 23:13

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Sneeing Emu posted:

I posted in the networking thread, and they suggested I use MoCA adapters instead of running new cables, which sounds ideal for this situation. Each room already has a coax terminal, and we don't have cable TV, just internet, so it sounds pretty plug and play friendly, and much less labor and frustration. We'll see how it goes, thanks for the tips!

Make sure that your existing coax cables actually carry a sufficient signal. Get a coax cable tester before you drop $$ on MoCA adapters. I just tried MoCA for my existing coax cable runs but it turns out the original installer used poor quality cable which also degraded with age (it was poorly and violently routed). So while it could carry a signal sufficient for cable television it couldn't pass a proper signal for cable Internet.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Jan 20, 2021

# ¿ Jan 19, 2021 23:15

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Is it worthwhile to buy a FLIR camera for home projects? Asking because I have an old century home with plaster and lathe and I'm doing all sorts of work that requires finding the studs. Stud finders and rare earth magnets haven't been helpful. I know that FLIR cams help find wall studs in drywall but I'm wondering if it will do the same with plaster and lathe.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2021 19:59

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Blakkout posted:

I've had good luck finding studs through my plaster walls using a cheap magnetic stud finder, like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/C-H-Hanson-Magnetic-Stud-Finder-03040/202563186

The idea is that you use the magnet to find the screws or nails that fasten the lathe to the studs, and then you know you've got a stud running that full vertical distance and can measure in 16" increments from there. I prefer this solution to drilling a bunch of exploratory holes myself.

Will try this one out, thanks. I tried to buy some standalone rare earth magnets but they didn't work, but who knows maybe a more "purpose-built" tool like this one will yield better results.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2021 22:25

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

I'm doing a CAT5 cable routing. Old century home. Which means boring holes though wall studs. Problem is I have some skinny rear end studs holding up the plaster and lathe

Would you drill through this with a �" fish bit? Studs appear to be approx �" wide. Which isn't much. According to this source the bored hole should be "not more than 60 percent of the stud width" and the edge of the hole shouldn't be more than 5/8 inch (16 mm) to the edge of the stud. Really thinking that my fish bit's hole might be too large and weaken the stud.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 19:49 on Feb 3, 2021

# ¿ Feb 3, 2021 19:36

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

I was in my attic crawl space and noticed that some snow is blowing into the attic:

Looks like a poorly-installed roof soffit vent is allowing snow to blow in. I'm going to have my roof looked at in the spring, but in the meantime what can I do to: a) dry up this wet area b) Temporarily waterproof it for the next couple of months? I don't want this issue to cause rot issues.

# ¿ Feb 18, 2021 22:03

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

wesleywillis posted:

Suck the poo poo out with a shop vac maybe, and then put a fan on it.
To keep poo poo out, maybe shove some plastic in there.

I have a fan that fits the space but since it's so drat cold I don't think it'll actually dry the area. Any harm in using a space heater?

Tezer posted:

Did you just install the vent last season?

If it's an old vent and there aren't any obvious issues already, just let it ride until you talk to a roofer. It could just be one weird windy storm combined with super light snow. Just keep an eye on it, maybe remove the snow that's already there if you're really dedicated.

Just moved into this place so I have no idea when it was installed. We did just have a big snowstorm which could explain the snow getting in, but the roofing work we inherited seems a bit... shoddy. Had a leak last year. I ended up scooping the snow out by hand, so all that's left now is a wet patch of structural beams that I'd really like to dry out.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2021 00:30

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

PainterofCrap posted:

That appears to be a roof vent; soffit vents are located along the soffit (the flat underside of where the roof extends past the wall, behind the gutter).

Either the vent is not properly sealed where it interfaces with the roof deck/shingle, or you had some freaky winds blowing snow in. Since it's chunks of actual snow: I vote freaky winds.

Yeah most likely freaky winds. But is there a such thing as a better quality roof vent that can prevent this from occurring? Because I do live in a snowbelt region and we can have windy, snow weather for 4-5 months.

Your tarp + drip pan is a very good idea and should help until I can get an actual roofer to come out and look at it.

quote:

edit: Do not put a space heater in a combustible, hidden, unsupervised space

The only thing of flammable concern is pink fiberglass insulation, which is very close by. I was actually going to use the space heater and literally sit next to it to closely monitor it (I paid too much for this dumb house and don't want to burn this poo poo down). That small crawl space just seems to have very poor air circulation in general, which is why I don't think it'll evaporate very well naturally and am entertaining the idea of running a fan/space heater up there.

As for the brick and shoddy masonry- it's a double-brick century home. No idea if the masonry is original or done at some point later in this house's life. :shrug:

# ¿ Feb 19, 2021 05:50

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

El Mero Mero posted:

lol wtf is happening here everything in that photo looks insane to me

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.

PainterofCrap posted:

Change it out for a turtle or mushroom vent.

Another alternative is to do away with the hole in the roof and install gable vents...not knowing the layout of your roof vs. the exterior elevations, I can't tell if that is feasible.

There should be at least two up there, as far away from each other as possible, to promote air circulation.

I'll take a look to see how many vents already exist. Having a roofing guy come in and hopefully he can propose some solutions that work best for the old homes in our area. Some parts of the crawlspace are inaccessible but the entire crawlspace is a summer project. Need to put in some new insulation and baffles.

Another question while I'm at it: this attic crawlspace has some electrical cables running through it (!!!). I'm in the process of stapling it to the upper side to keep it off the ground but is there some sort of sheathing/insulation that I can add onto it to protect it against leaks and moisture?

melon cat fucked around with this message at 16:20 on Feb 19, 2021

# ¿ Feb 19, 2021 16:03

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

I sincerely hope you don't mean there's bare metal wires in the attic. Assuming you meant romex, it's already sheathed and insulated, that's what the rubber/plastic coating (and the further coatings inside that coating) are for.

You can buy flexible metal conduit to run wiring inside of, but you're supposed to put the conduit on the wire prior to installation. If I recall code correctly, doing this is only a requirement in places where the cable is readily accessible, and an attic doesn't count for that. You're probably fine.

Yes, I meant romex (added a photo to the original post)! Thanks for clarifying that. Chances are I'll add some flexible metal conduit because I'm kinda paranoid like that. That crawlspace gets cold as poo poo during the winter and very hot during the summer.

\/ Cool I can live with that, then. Thanks guys.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Feb 19, 2021

# ¿ Feb 19, 2021 16:21

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

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.

Ask and ye shall receive

Also some antique liquor bottles. :clint:

# ¿ Feb 20, 2021 03:42

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

The Slack Lagoon posted:

Do tankless heaters have a longer lifetime than regular heaters?

From what I know it depends on how well the owner has been maintaining the tankless unit, and how hard local water is. Tankless units need to be flushed out periodically and if you don't keep up with maintenance they can fail quite early in their life cycle.

# ¿ Feb 25, 2021 21:42

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

I need some help re-doing my very, very old home's bathroom ventilation setup. Right now it's a dumb mess and I want to slap whoever did it.

Is this un-insulated flexible white ducting (seems to be some sort of very thin plastic) appropriate to use? Because the way this attic got "finished" I don't have much space to work with and the existing ducting is already quite snug.
Is it okay to have two fans join at a Y-connector like this?

I can put another hole in the roofing if necessary. Getting the whole roof re-shingled this spring so the timing to do so would be perfect.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Mar 3, 2021

# ¿ Mar 3, 2021 21:37

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Tezer posted:

Are you allowed to use the white flex? Yes, usually. Is it a good idea? No, usually. Swap in rigid metal with properly fastened and sealed seams or, given how tight that area is, metal flex would also be an upgrade.

I never 'Y' two fans together, but I think it technically is not forbidden. Bathroom fan ventilation is not as strict as a lot of other ventilation, as there aren't huge safety concerns, just a concern about smelling farts in two bathrooms at the same time.

The ducting should be insulated to help prevent condensation inside of the ducting. However, given that I don't see any insulation in your picture... that's not really a concern (the knee wall space you took a photo of will usually be at a high enough temperature to control condensation because there is no insulation to prevent heat migrating from adjacent rooms into the knee wall space).

Get another roof cap installed would be smart if you're replacing the roof anyways. Might as well fix the issue, even if it's minor.

I'll likely TRY to cram in insulated ducting but if it can't fit will go with the metal flex as you suggested. Thanks for the pointers.

But re: heat migrating from adjacent rooms into the knee space- pretty sure this house does have this problem. As I was discussing with the roofer who is doing the work: century home attics don't "breathe" as well as current-era builds do. It gets hot as hell in the knee wall during the summer. Obviously not a great thing but apparently that's how houses were built at that time. Is there any way to vent out the knee wall space to let breathe better?

H110Hawk posted:

Is there anything preventing "backflow" from one bathroom to the other if only 1 fan is on?

Nothing whatsoever.

Follow-up question: is there a such thing as bathroom exhaust fans that terminate through their TOP side instead of through the side? Because it would make this job a whole lot easier.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Mar 3, 2021

# ¿ Mar 3, 2021 22:34

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Elviscat posted:

Oh man, all those low points are gonna be nasty as hell with mildew.

All the good fans exhaust out the side, if you slap a rigid metal 90 on there pointing up, that should help.

If you use a y, make sure there's a check valve of some sort to prevent back flowing through one fan with another.

When you run your new ducting, avoid having low spots that can collect moisture.

Oh no worries about the mildew- I just detached the old vinyl ducting from the exhaust fan unit and it turns out it was never properly attached to begin with.

Whichever dumb gently caress installed it just put the round vinyl duct onto the square hole half assedly slapped a bunch of duct tape onto it and left for the day. This thing has been venting into the attic knee wall since it was installed. Awesome.

Surprisingly it's not a nasty moldy mess up there. No choice but to rip this unit out and startnover. Might even have to saw off part of the floorboards and slightly relocate the exhaust vent, but, whatever.

H110Hawk posted:

Any reason not to turn the whole unit 180 degrees and shoot it straight out of the wall?

Maybe! Problem is though that I'd have to bore a large opening through the double brick and that side of the house is a lot higher than I'm comfortable working. And for some reason it's almost impossible to find a local contractor who's willing to do an exterior exhaust vent opening. It's an annoying job that they can't charge a whole lot of money for. And this knee wall space is cramped enough to make most contractors look at it then nope out.

Tezer posted:

You probably don't have room to do anything else than what Elviscat is suggesting, but this will trigger the over-pressure sensor in a lot of the nicer bath fans. So if you end up replacing your bath fan with one that has adjustable speeds, it may think it has to ramp the speed up to compensate because the elbow installed right on the fan tricks it into thinking it has a back pressure issue. I made this mistake on the first house I built. It turns out there is a reason the Panasonic install guide says to only change direction after 2-4 feet of straight ducting.

You're right on with the space issue. I might be able to free up an extra foot worth of space surrounding the exhaust fan unit but not much more. Which is a drat shame because I was hoping to replace the unit with one of those fancy Panasonic ones.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Mar 4, 2021

# ¿ Mar 4, 2021 00:34

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

What's the best way to seamlessly join two pieces of flexible metal ducting? Obviously I can't crimp them the way I can with rigid ducting.

I did buy the pictured duct connector but I don't like how it goes on the INSIDE of each adjoining piece of ducting then is clamped down from the outside. Or is less-than-airtight connectors just one of the trade-offs of not using rigid ducting and something I'll have to live with?

Also- what's the verdict on tension clamps versus worm clamps when working flexible metal ducting?

Thanks for all of your help with my attic ducting questions by the way. Really hoping to get this all done before it warms up significantly otherwise I'll be baking to death working in the knee wall

# ¿ Mar 5, 2021 17:41

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Taking down cabinetry isn't "difficult" but you will need to have someone fairly strong (1-2 people) who can catch them as they get unfastened from the wall. Cabinetry is heavy as poo poo especially since that entire row looks like it's one solid piece. Remove/disconnect that undermounted lighting to make it easier and safer, and also get protective covering for your granite countertops so they don't get damaged if the cabinetry falls during removal. I don't think they're nailed to the ceiling as nails alone wouldn't hold secure something so heavy to a ceiling.

That boxy ceiling protrusion is the trim moulding (at least I think that's what you're referring to). It might detach easily from the cabinetry, but it might not.

Also consider calling Habitat for Humanity and ask them if they are accepting cabinetry donations. We once had their team come by and they took down the cabinets and gave us a tax receipt for our donation. But that does depend on how "nice" they deem your cabinets to be, and yours do look pretty dated.

Toebone posted:

I'd use that connector, wrap the joint with foil tape, then tighten the clamps.

Will do that. And will def use foil tape. The existing ducting fell apart because, you guessed it, previous owner used "duct tape".

melon cat fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Mar 7, 2021

# ¿ Mar 6, 2021 23:54

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Had a roof leak last season that caused paint bubbling and peeling in my bathroom ceiling. Tried peeling off the entire ceiling's layer of paint but couldn't, so I've decided to throw wainscotting on the ceiling (it would match the bathroom walls, which have 3 foot high wainscotting). Decided against repainting because the peel seems to creep outward slowly, which will gently caress up any repaint efforts.

Do I need to paint on a layer of mildew-resistant primer BEFORE I throw on the wainscotting? Just wondering if exposed plaster is susceptible to mold or something since it is a humid bathroom.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 19:08 on Mar 18, 2021

# ¿ Mar 18, 2021 19:02

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

HycoCam posted:

Do you own or rent?

We own so unfortunately this is my problem to deal with. :bang:

It isn't crumbly. But who knows maybe the plaster is peeling off the lath due to the water damage and I just can't see it.

I know exactly the direction the joists run- the attic knee wall is right above it so I can get on top of the ceiling. But there's no way that I can easily cut out a section without compromising most of the ceiling since it's made out of plaster and lathe. If I cut out a section of it wouldn't it make more sense to just gut the entire ceiling's plaster and replace it with drywall?

melon cat fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Mar 19, 2021

# ¿ Mar 19, 2021 02:30

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

PainterofCrap posted:

Slam up a layer of 3/8" drywall over what's there. Thta's what I did to remedy the flaking paint all over the plaster ceiling.

I thought of doing that very same thing but it'll cover part of my shower tiling where it meets the ceiling:

Which could make future tile replacement annoying. I wouldn't give a poo poo if I didn't plan on owning this house for very long but I'd like to save future-melon cat a few headaches if I ever decide to remodel the bathroom.

corgski posted:

You�re correct to be concerned, you need to find a mason who works with older foundations and knows how to match the hardness and permeability of the original mortar.

Old foundations are designed to dry to the inside and any waterproofing material applied to the interior, including hydraulic cement, will cause foundation damage.

Definitely this. I live in a city full of old century homes and it's pretty difficult to find a masonry professional who actually knows how to properly work with old bricks and foundations, but it's worth the trouble to track them down. Lots of horror stories of incompetent guys just applying quick and dirty (and also very wrong) masonry techniques on the older houses. We passed up on a house that had shale shingles/tiling because we were warned by our home inspector that there's like... 1 maybe 2 local companies in our city that might know how to work with the stuff.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Mar 19, 2021

# ¿ Mar 19, 2021 04:11

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

PainterofCrap posted:

Put up cove molding and nail it vertically at the tile. Dot caulk on the tile face to secure it to the wall before you nail.

Hey that could work. What's the secret to hammering nails in ceramic tile without cracking the tile?

\/ That would make a lot more sense. Looks like I'm drywallin' this summer.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Mar 19, 2021

# ¿ Mar 19, 2021 14:13

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

RE: throwing a slab of drywall onto a small bathroom ceiling. Is it a bad idea to cut a larger piece of drywall into small pieces for ease of installation? Asking because my bathroom too drat small to fit drywall lift. And due to COVID I can't utilize any slave labor from friends.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2021 19:13

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Is it usually possible to remove a bath vent fan from the front end without cutting out a larger hole in the drywall? Asking because I need to replace this fan and its ducting. But the duct connector (at least that's what I think is stuck) is making it impossible to wiggle out. And I have no access from behind the wall as the space is tiny and super awkward.

Normally I'd just cut out a big hole and relocate the unit but this is a finished attic with not much room for flexibility.

I don't even know how the original installer got this in to begin with.

Edit: On second thought it might be this longer plate that's causing the issue. jfc

melon cat fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Apr 4, 2021

# ¿ Apr 4, 2021 17:41

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

H110Hawk posted:

They probably didn't give any fucks about cutting drywall, or there wasn't any there when they installed it. You should start cutting a nice easy to patch piece.

Did a bit more poking around and it seems like the culprit is this longer piece of metal that makes it impossible to "wiggle" the fan unit out:

Just as shown in this picture. Not the duct connector. Looks like we are cutting. Wanna slap the guy who did this.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2021 18:17

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Elviscat posted:

I think you can get to screws that attach that bar if you completely disassemble that fan.

If not, you can insert a reciprocating saw blade at the edges of the housing, sever the mounting bracket and not have to do any drywall repair.

That's not a bad idea, but upon disassembling it I discovered that it's mostly rivets that hold the unit together. I'm hesitant to insert a reciprocating saw since there is romex wire in there somewhere and I just don't know where.

Also the duct boot doesn't even point downward like it logically should. It goes upward, curls around, then goes back downward into the kneewall. So whichever dumb gently caress installed this literally cut the drywall to size, fit the bath fan unit, then lifted the fan + drywall onto the ceiling at once. Zero room for maneuverability. I don't even have any room the push the vent out and slide it down and out behind the wall. :psyduck:

Thinking I'll just I'll just cut out that entire section of drywall. Will be a pain in the rear end but if that bath vent breaks down at some point I'll end up having to do all this anyway

melon cat fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Apr 5, 2021

# ¿ Apr 5, 2021 20:20

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

I have this very old exterior wood door:

Problem is the inner panel is popping out and separating from the outer panel. Likely due to decades of contraction and expansion. So now there's a gap alllll the way around the perimeter of the inner panel, letting in drafts and causing lots of leakage.

What can I do to fix this? Remove the "stile" trim, and add some sort of caulking/glue, then re-nail the trim back onto the door?

melon cat fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Apr 28, 2021

# ¿ Apr 28, 2021 02:54

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

This seems odd to me...the panel ought to be big enough that no amount of contraction/expansion would allow it to leave a gap around any of the edges. Or that's what I would think, anyway. Can you move the panel around within the frame? Like, open the door, press on the panel from both sides with your hands, and try to slide or lift it within the frame. If you can, one possibility might be to try to glue or tack nail it in a position where there's no gap.

I see what you're saying, and the panel pushes in and out (as in, back and forth), but not freely within the frame. I think the trim is the only thing holding it in and preventing it from popping out completely. I was thinking of prying off the trim to get a better look but it seems to be glued down with an adhesive and will definitely get destroyed no matter how careful I try to be. Fuckin' old wood, man

melon cat fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Apr 28, 2021

# ¿ Apr 28, 2021 16:04

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

I recently got a Panasonic "Whisper Thin" bath fan. Expected a standard 4-inch ducting but got this:

What the heck kind of ducting am I supposed to use with this? Instructions leaflet that it comes with is unhelpful.

# ¿ May 1, 2021 22:35

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Rexxed posted:

According to this manual you squeeze a 4" duct to fit (pg 8):
http://pdf.lowes.com/installationguides/885170317888_install.pdf

Haha. Wow. Looks like you're right. That's the worst design and won't work at all with my 4" semi-rigid ducting. Looks like I'll be returning this. I mean I could get the 4" oval to 3 inch reducer, but then I'd have to re-adapt 3" to 4" at the roof vent exit.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 22:59 on May 1, 2021

# ¿ May 1, 2021 22:57

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

I'm putting cove moulding onto a bathroom ceiling. Do I really need a finish nailer for this sort of thing, or can I just buy some finishing nails and hammer in by hand? I've never been any good at trim installation and I'm thinking that it might be because I'm nailing in by hand and I could never get a good, flush trim.

Also- have current gen lithium ion finish nailers finally improved to the point where they can nail just as good as pneumatic nailers?

melon cat fucked around with this message at 19:54 on May 3, 2021

# ¿ May 3, 2021 19:12

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Insulation question. There is this wall cavity (more like ceiling) in my finished attic where bath vent ducting will be snaked through. It had pink panther insulation that I got rid of since it was old and full of wooden splinters and nails due to a recent roof re-shingling.

What kind of insulation material is best for this? I live in Ontario Canada so very cold winters with very hot summers. Just refill with pink panther?

# ¿ May 12, 2021 00:25

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

H110Hawk posted:

I'm pretty sure the best thing to have done is leave it filled with wood splinters and nails but in place and functional. Remember it used to be made out of glass splinters. If it's a cavity you have to fill now cellulose is the only answer without ripping out all the drywall or whatever encloses it.

Problem is that I tossed the old pink panther stuff when I originally pulled it out. That stuff immediately made my skin all itchy and irritated so I garbage-bagged it immediately. Never really liked handling that stuff.

AmbassadorofSodomy posted:

I don't know the brand name but I think that some kind of poo poo like Rockwool is the new hotness.
Its supposed to be better than the pink stuff. And I think they make it right down the road from you in Milton.

Thanks for reminding me about that stuff. I don't know if it's any "better' or safer to handle than pink panther but it is available locally, so I'll likely go for it. My entire knee wall is a mess off falling-apart-pink panther so I'll just get a big pack of Rockwool and replace what I can. Any tips for attaching it to angled roofing? If I was working with vertical walls I'd just jam it in between the studs but gravity hates angled studs/joists.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 15:59 on May 12, 2021

# ¿ May 12, 2021 15:43

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

H110Hawk posted:

I'm with you on fiberglass being garbage but I am saying next time don't remove it unless there is a problem. Unless it's moldy/mildewy it's fine.

Recycled denim insulation is the current hotness. No currently known health hazards. It's not the cheapest.

Can you post a wide angle shot of what you're doing because it's hard to guage what's going on from one seemingly cavity shot. I feel like there is something missing here in terms of vapor barrier or similar.

Sure here's a pic:

As you can see there's a pile of fallen pink panther in the back. Previous owner "secured" up each piece of insulation to the barnboard roof using the old shingle nails protruding through. Like a Pink Panther crucifixion allll the way around the kneewall. So when the roofers reshingled my roof it all sloughed off. There has to be a better way of securing the new insulation to the angled ceiling.

And yes I'm aware that there are no baffles. Well, there are but they're poorly placed and not doing anything for the house. But these old houses don't exactly breathe the way newer ones do so I'm open to any suggestions on how to properly insulate.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 01:30 on May 13, 2021

# ¿ May 13, 2021 01:18

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Back with a bath fan ducting question.

I replaced the lovely old vinyl ducting with rigid galvanized. But there's a slight air leak where the straight 4" ducting connects to the adjustable elbow ducting.

I added a second layer of foil tape, but no dice. The two pieces are connected nice and tight, but the leak still persists. Straight ducting is crimped and goes into the elbow, as it should. Any tips for fixing this leak? I've heard about ducting mastic but wasn't sure if it works or is appropriate for this.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 04:01 on May 25, 2021

# ¿ May 25, 2021 03:40

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Hed posted:

What did you use to make those beautiful annotations?

Paint.NET! It's better than MS Paint but loads easier to use than Adobe Photoshop. It has a "line" tool that has a lot of customization options for color, thickness, dotted lines, arrowheads, etc.

devicenull posted:

The joints on the elbow that rotate are generally not air tight. Are you sure t's not leaking from there and just blowing up the side of the straight ducting?

Oh I didn't know that. It COULD be blowing up the side of the straight ducting. Hard to tell since there's foil tape there.

Hed posted:

Yes, more turns of tape around the joint and feathered out is also my vote.

This got me thinking- am I using a lovely tape? I've heard that a good way to tell if your foil tape is "good quality" is by how easy it is to peel from the wax paper backing. And mine is really difficult to peel back from the wax paper.

# ¿ May 25, 2021 23:34

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

I have a mess of romex in my attic kneewall. Total rat's nest.

Is there any harm in replacing these junction boxes with PVC outdoor junction boxes? Thinking of doing this when I clean up the wiring layout (thinking of fastening them it to the studs to keep them off the floor) because we had a roof leak last year and the leaked water dripped into the knee wall. And I'd strongly prefer not having my house burn down due to electrical fire should another leak occur.

# ¿ May 31, 2021 18:31

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Small engine repair question.

I have an old Toro snowblower. Really old. I'm replacing its wheels since it's difficult as poo poo to maneuver since its old wheels have seized to the axle.

I keep hearing that the way to separate the wheel from the axle is: heat, quench, sledge.

I know how to heat (hit with MAPP torch til cherry red hot). I know how to sledge... sort of. But how do I quench.

# ¿ Jun 16, 2021 21:28

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 20:42

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Any guesses as to what kind of clamps #5 are in the diagram below?

lovely picture, I know.

Context: I'm trying to repair a very old snow blower's pull starter and most of its parts are discontinued. But I'm pretty sure that I've seen those clamps on other appliances. I just have no idea what they're called.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Jun 22, 2021

# ¿ Jun 22, 2021 20:02

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Fix It Fast: Start here for DIY help! (You'll know when it's a problem by smell.)

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