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.)

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

melon cat posted:

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.

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

# ¿ Feb 19, 2021 07:22

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 17:00

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

I've been upgrading light switches at my place and it's been quite simple and straightforward...until I got to this one...i opened the box behind the single pole switch and idk...it looks like this maybe should be a two pole box? Is that right?

Is there any way to wire this together with a single pole? From what I can tell the PO just skipped the top right and bottom left and straight wired the top left to the bottom right, which is why this particular switch never did anything.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2021 02:20

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

http://imgur.com/a/fitTl4X

Sure, here you go

# ¿ Mar 20, 2021 02:35

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Elviscat posted:

Okay, it looks like bottom left is a "traveler" for a three way switch, is there another location with a switch that doesn't work or a blank cover? A lot of homeowners try to wire up 3-ways and don't know what they're doing.

You're saying top right and bottom left weren't connected at all, right?

That looks like a 4-square box, so if you wanted two switches in there a little excavating and mud work would get you there.

Or a double-stack switch.

What do you want this switch to do? Do you want to switch the outdoor lights, bed outlets, or bed+outdoor?

Do you want to try and restore 3-way functionality?

Any of these are possible.

The traveller doesn't seem to connect to anything else, all of the other outlets and switches are working with it disconnected.

Yeah those two had no live wires and weren't connected. I think I'd really just like it to switch the outdoor lights - and i want the bed outlet to be constant.

El Mero Mero fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Mar 20, 2021

# ¿ Mar 20, 2021 03:26

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Actually it looks like the bottom left ??? in there goes to another switch for the outdoor lights. Leaving that disconnected is leaving that switch non-functional now.

# ¿ Mar 20, 2021 04:07

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

So we've got aluminum-sided french doors on our patio and as we've been coming into spring I've noticed that they're making loud popping noises as it starts to get dark and cool off. Some nights it's a pretty dramatic cracking sound that can even wake us up.

I think they may be doing this because they're expanding/contracting in the heat. Is there anything to be done to dampen/limit this? Or is it otherwise even repairable?

# ¿ Mar 27, 2021 08:44

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Corla Plankun posted:

Is there any material I could build some raised garden beds out of that wouldn't be bitten by the "everything is sold out/marked-up" pandemic supply issues?

I was planning on just buying some lumber and making boxes this spring but I feel kinda bad about contributing to the problem when people need lumber for more serious projects. I briefly considered hay bales but it looks like I should've started that a month ago if I am looking to get things planted in the next month or so.

I made mine this past fall from a single old solid-core door I had lying around. You could maybe find some of those at a salvage yard for cheap. Not sure if that would be cheaper than the corresponding salvage wood though.

Just be careful to paint/seal/line it if it's very old just in case there's lead paint.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2021 22:49

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

ROJO posted:

The Al clad wood slider in our master bedroom was doing that this past fall, primarily at night also when things cooled off (that part of the house gets direct afternoon sun). I assumed it was just the expansion/contraction of the framing it was tied into driving stress into jambs and their attachment points, and something slipping/letting go all at once. It was probably 5 years since we installed that door and this was the first year we had this issue, and it was LOUD - definitely a creak that would wake you up - much louder than normal house creaking with movement. It is resolved now, but you don't want to hear the solution....

Obviously, we didn't underpin and lift the house because of a creaking door, but it stopped making noise now that everything is level again. I'm not sure what you could do, other than re-hang the doors to reset the stress between the jambs and the framing.

hooboy. Yeah I sure do hope that's not what's happening. Thanks for the nightmare fuel though. How did you end up diagnosing that issue?

# ¿ Mar 29, 2021 05:56

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Fyi, an electrician you hire may not want to spend time fishing to create a second box if there's a stud anywhere between the current box and the new one. They'll likely want to open the wall to do it if there's not access elsewhere.

There are some hot water bidets that just tie into your sink. If all you're looking for is hot water that might be an option also.

# ¿ Apr 28, 2021 05:19

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Churchill posted:

Hah, well I've always thought it looked like poo poo but didn't realise it was THAT bad. It's been like that since I moved in about five years ago, it's in a part of the flat that you don't really see but I'm about to sell so I thought I might as well fix it. I live in Sweden so exposed wiring is fine.

Edit: also that is conduit, but like a flexible plastic tube thing

Yeah it's pretty hilariously bad. I've got so many questions about how and what that wiring is doing.

If i were to approach this without first fixing the wiring i think what I'd do clean out the holes and chisel them a bit cleaner, get a split conduit to go over the existing wire, build a small form with cardboard that sits on the inside of the hole, and then carefully pack it with some gravel-mix concrete.

Once that's all set you can try to match paint over the whole thing.

# ¿ May 5, 2021 03:30

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

That reminds me, when the PO at my place got painters they were huge slobs and spattered paint on the redwood beams in spots - is there a good way to get dried paint off of natural wood without damaging it?

# ¿ Jun 6, 2021 16:21

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Mahatma-Squid posted:

I need some advice regarding water proofing of a shower, in the last year we've had extensive renovations done of our house including a 2nd storey addition with a couple of bedrooms and an ensuite bathroom. The shower has been tiled from floor to about 30cm away from the ceiling cornice, and today I noticed the top edge of the tiles hasn't been sealed and there's a 2-3mm gap around the top edge (about a 100cm x 140cm area I'm estimating) of the tiles.

I'm assuming this is something that 100% should have been done, and want to know if it's sufficient to just do a bead of wet area silicon around the top edge. We have been using the bathroom for about 2 and a half months now, and although the edge is out of the way of any direct water splashing behind it there may have been some condensation that ran behind the tiles. I did see that water proofing was applied to the walls before the tiles were installed, and if it's relevant we live in a warm, humid climate but we've had pretty cool, dry weather recently. My plan is to not use the bathroom for a few days to try to let it dry as much as possible and then seal with a wet area silicon. Does this sound like an okay solution, or would I need to determine if there's any moisture behind the tiles already or something similar?

We will also notify the builders of the problem, so that there's a record of it in case there's more issues down the line, but they've been poo poo to deal with and it has taken ages for them to get around to fixing other defects so in this case if it's a simple fix I would rather just do it myself.

You should make sure to get some of the anti-fungal/mold silicon, but yes - that's exactly what you should do. If you're worried about whether something's already taken hold inside you can spray the gap down with mold/mildew killer first, let that dry and then apply the silicon.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2021 01:25

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Fix It Fast: I am still trying to attach this loving ceiling fan.

# ¿ Dec 11, 2021 09:47

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Any suggestions for sink reglazing? The coating has been coming off like crazy on my old cast iron sink. I've thought about replacing it, but it's old and likely not a standard size (it has huge 5 foot apron footprint). I kinda fear that if I replaced it it would pull the thread and necessitate also changing up the countertops.

(that discoloration is coming out today - cleaning day!)

# ¿ Dec 12, 2021 20:07

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Tezer posted:

Here is a company that sells replica drainboard sinks. I had them recommended to me once, but have not purchased from them.
https://nbidbs.com/product-category/mid-century/

Oh this is great, i didn't even know what the style of sink was called. That gives me hope I can just get a replacement to fit into the same space.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2021 23:10

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Thanatosian posted:

These would be rooftop porches, like designed to be used as patio space. Does that make a difference?

yeah that's a big difference. A space designed to hold people would also be able to bear some planters without issue. Herb and garden planters are fine to put on porches (rooftop or otherwise), just secure them so that they don't fall down on to people below if there's an accident. Sometimes HOA's have rules around porch gardens because of this.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2021 22:09

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Woodsy Owl posted:

We are in the Pacific Northwest. Our home has a crawl space, and there is a crawl space fan that seems to circulate air from the outside through the crawl space. It's about to get mighty cold (-8 Celsius) and we will be out of town for the Christmas weekend. I am concerned with our pipes freezing while we are away.

I can't find any information on if crawlspace fans stop running once they hit a certain temperature, and if so, what that temperature is.

A couple questions. How likely is it that our pipes would freeze in the crawlspace? This house was built in 2019, and I'm not sure if it is all plastic pipes or what.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated

While you're out of town slow trickle the furthest faucet in the house from where water enters the house.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2021 08:22

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Seems like oiling/waxing the nails and board edges would also do the trick in that case.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2022 21:11

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Speaking of floor joists/subfloors, I've been under the house this weekend and noticed about a 4-5" part of a single board under the corner of a bathtub had completely rotted out. The surrounding joists/boards were all fine.

I think this is old damage as the first thing I did was re-grout/re-seal/re-caulk the bathroom when we moved in and nothing down there looked recently damp whatsoever.

What's the best approach for fixing/replacing that rotted out portion? Or would I even need to?

# ¿ Jan 16, 2022 21:41

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

PainterofCrap posted:

Confirm that the tub is sitting on the floor joists and that whatever is gone wasn't under a hard point (foot, pedestal, you should see something that looks like the tub was sitting on it).

In most metal tubs (cast or stamped), the part of the tub that actually holds water is not sitting on anything. Resin/fiberglass tubs do sit on the sub

If that is the case you really don't need to do anything. It's a plus to have the plumbing exposed.

Yeah it's an old metal tub and nothing with any weight was sitting above that point. I'll just leave it then. My favorite type of problem.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2022 01:32

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

OwlFancier posted:

Hello new forum I have a question.

I have a friend with a yard and in her yard she has the remains of an old concrete foundation for what used to be a kind of lean-to shed. The foundation is flat and level, but the paving and the rest of the yard are not, and there is a very rough edge to this foundation where the paving falls below its level.

I can't tell from that angle, how wide is the gap between the the pavers and the foundation?

Regardless of the solution, the first thing to do is gently pull out all of the loose bits and sweep it out.

A few Ideas:

Pack the gap with sand, stamp it, and then fit and pack decorative medium sized stones or flat decorative pavers into it. Then sweep and pack paver sand into the joints.
Build a former that sits against the foundation, and fill it piece by piece with concrete until the foundation is a wall. Let that set. Tamp a gravel bed into the gap, Maybe make a form for the lower half of the gap. Pour a large amount of concrete into the gap and trowel it smooth, following the angle of the descending pavers and running it into the foundation. It will look weird, not match and may be a different kind of hazard (weirdly sloped concrete is hard to walk on).
Fill it with soil and turn it into a garden bed with a nice tight cover crop that can be stepped on.
Insert a railing alongside the path. You'd need to dig a hole for the posts and cement them in place. You can still fill the hole with dirt or sand+pavers for extra safety/aesthetics.

I think the garden bed would be best imo, with concrete being the worst.

El Mero Mero fucked around with this message at 08:02 on Jun 22, 2022

# ¿ Jun 22, 2022 07:57

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Chillyrabbit posted:

Thanks for the alternate solution, never even thought of that as first thought is burying downspout drainage won't work in Canada due to freeze and thaw, but then there are guides on modifications to make it work. Looks like I need to do more research.

First problem is a double row of paving stones that would be in the way of digging it, and then the grade of the lawn being towards the front of the house meaning I might have to move like at least 5 paving stones I think or probably the whole bunch because if I'm moving some of them I should fix my stupid secondary suite entrance step (circled in red)

Still a fence post in my lawn is a little stupid but it is easy, and am I truly a homeowner if I don't pass on whacky DIY "fixes" to the next buyer?

what a weird rear end gutter downspout. You should get rid of that. Are you saying the low point is the inside corner or the middle of the gutter where the current drain is?

If not, I'd just cap and remove the existing drain and put a rain chain on the corner (and maybe channel drainage at the bottom of the chain).

If your gutter angles are so hosed up that water pools in the middle of the channel or in the inside corner you should just fix that angle (raise the inside corner slightly.) This would be easier than installing a drain-stand to show off your weird gutter.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2022 07:23

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

I've got a one inch thick plate of steel that's 16" long that i need to take an inch off of. Would a regular angle grinder do the trick or would that be an exercise in futility?

# ¿ Nov 12, 2022 03:31

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Leperflesh posted:

lol no, you need a proper cutting tool like a metal saw or a cutting torch. I mean you could totally do it with an angle grinder, eventually, but I gotta ask how many days you have to work on this and also you're gonna want to look for bulk packs of those cutting disks and also you're probably gonna explode a few so wear lots of PPE

haha okay yeah I thought as much. I found a fireback for my fireplace but it's barely too big. Yeah, okay I'll call some metal shops.

# ¿ Nov 12, 2022 05:27

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

GWBBQ posted:

To test tap water for lead, are Safe Home and/or Watersafe at-home kits decently reliable and reputable, or is it a waste of money to do anything other than send a sample to a certified lab?

check your local water provider's website first. My utility pays for free lead tests from certified labs.

# ¿ Mar 13, 2023 06:20

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Soliciting some ideas on how to approach this project. I have an old stone wall that runs one side of our property. It's a bit low for my taste and I want to build up a trellis or a vine wire about a foot above the wall. Handily, the original wall was built with iron pipes running through it that terminate in these pipe caps. There's a cap that pops up about 1" about every 6 feet I could attach something to.

I'm trying to think through the best way to securely mount either a trellis, or a series of posts against those pipe caps. Any ideas or suggestions?

# ¿ Jul 10, 2023 01:06

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Cosmik Debris posted:

What is the diameter of the pipes? It's kinda hard to tell from the picture.

I would think you could try removing the caps and buy some female-female couplers and screw them on, then add more pipe above it.

That may be why they're there, honestly.

Anyway it's low impact so I'd start there and see how sturdy it is and then reassess.

This was my initial idea, but they seem super seized. You�re right though. I�m gonna hit them with some liquid wrench and a bit more leverage than I initially tried.

The pipes are 1� with end caps. The end caps are probably about 1.5-2� in diameter.

# ¿ Jul 10, 2023 15:08

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

okay crappy construction time. The loving Gary PO installed the hood range at our place with flexible dryer ducting. He also drilled the hole for the outside vent like this:

Which is 4" and offset at a cruel angle. I haven't hit up my local home despot yet, but I'm not even sure I'll be able to find rigid ducting that can make this bend.

Do I really need to make a new exterior hole for this?

# ¿ Sep 19, 2023 00:37

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 17:00

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Jenkl posted:

Edit: no laser

good job it's fixed now

# ¿ Oct 1, 2023 22:57

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.)