Home Improvement: Am I crazy if I want to replace our range with portable induction cooktops and an in-wall oven? |
- Am I crazy if I want to replace our range with portable induction cooktops and an in-wall oven?
- Tried replacing bathroom lighting fixture. Now it won't turn off. Ever.
- Any suggestions on how to cover a pipe in our yard that sticks up at a 90 degree angle to suck in air for pool jets? Our new lab found it and dug up around it, and has been trying to eat it.
- If you have a high efficiency 'condensing' type boiler, furnace, hot water heater, or other appliance, you should read this
- What's the worst surprise a previous homeowner left for you?
- Is caulking recommended for cracks along the wall? I have an attached photo of the problem area by window.
- Garage is framed directly onto concrete at floor-level. It’s winter, and snow/ice melting off tires is seeping into the sides.
- Issues with building inspector.
- Leveling floor in old house
- Lowe’s for countertops?
- Black sludge in the walls of my condo
- New basketball backboard
- Recessed lighting fixture to replace standard ceiling light?
- Wiring smart switch with 3 black / 1 ground / mess of white
- Custom vs pre-fab cabinet questions
- Firing a contractor
- Vapor barrier for detached garage in PNW?
- Is a 10ft, black 1” steel pipe for closet rod possible...or is that as ridiculous as it sounds?
- GE Dishwasher (GEPDW1860K) not cleaning dishes
- How do I operate this water shut off valve?
- Remount wall mounted TV?
- Removing paint/primer splatters on wood flooring
- I wanted a step, the contractor built a deck. Options?
- Blew a fuse on a GFI receptacle..
| Am I crazy if I want to replace our range with portable induction cooktops and an in-wall oven? Posted: 19 Nov 2020 04:51 PM PST Our KitchenAid induction range is acting up—nonstop beeping and touch control issues—and the fix is likely to be expensive. Ever since I saw the Fabita Ordine concept, I've been smitten with the idea of eliminating the traditional range. I'd add an in-wall oven, fill in the countertop and cabinet space, and install a few dedicated, high-amp outlets to supply two or three portable induction cooktops. I'd love to install the Ordine, but it's Italian and I'm in the US, so that's probably out of the question. Still, I like the idea of a more flexible kitchen. I don't think I've ever used all four burners on our range, even at Thanksgiving. Three tops. Ditching the range would give us a ton of countertop space. Am I actually crazy for wanting to do that or crazy like a fox? [link] [comments] |
| Tried replacing bathroom lighting fixture. Now it won't turn off. Ever. Posted: 19 Nov 2020 03:14 PM PST My wife and I are really bad at this stuff but actually managed to install two fixtures successfully and we're quite proud of ourselves. Our home is 125 years old and we are just getting brave enough to climb up on a ladder. The third fixture is odd. After I removed the old working fixture, I was left with three wires: white, black, and copper. I understand those to be neutral, hot, and ground and my tester agrees. But I'm getting really strange behavior after removing the old bathroom vanity. It's ALWAYS on with or without a fixture installed regardless of what I do at the wall plate. I have to kill the breaker now. What am I missing? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2020 07:13 AM PST This is a rough picture of the pipe. I'm wondering if there's some sort of aerated cover we could get that the dog might not be able to get around, although she's really good at digging large and deep holes, so I don't really know what she wouldn't be able to dig up on it's own. Suggestions? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2020 09:24 PM PST Do you know what material your condensing appliance is vented with? Have you ever thought about it? Me either. Many of these condensing appliances were installed, per the recommendation of their respective manufacturers, with PVC or CPVC flue vents - specifically, solid-core Schedule 40 pipe commonly available at any home improvement or plumbing supply store. It's been the go-to solution as a cheaper alternative to Schedule IV Stainless Steel flues for over a decade now and no one questioned it until recently. Turns out these appliance manufacturers never really checked with with the pipe manufacturers and based their claims of compatibility on just a few years worth of their own data before concluding it as an acceptable material to use as a flue vent. The problem is PVC has a maximum temperature rating of 140F, while CPVC is 200F, and many of these appliances not only operate higher than those temperatures normally, the less efficient the appliance is the higher the temperature of the flue gasses are (eg a 90% efficient boiler operating at 180 may vent at 190+). And an improperly maintained or poorly functioning appliance may have an even greater differential. There are also concerns about the acidity and other characteristics of the condensate which is notorious for destroying most materials it comes in contact with, given enough time. The point is, if you contact any PVC/CPVC manufacturer, they will tell you in no uncertain terms that they do not support this application at all - they recognize the dangers here and don't want anything to do with it. So why is this a big deal and how does it affect you? Eventually, traditional PVC/CPVC will fail and start pumping toxic Carbon Monoxide into your building. It may not happen all at once, but start with a small crack or fracture and only to get worse with time, all the while destroying your structure, causing considerable property damage, and worse. This isn't hypothetical either, there are already instances of this happening as early as 2008 where a family of four died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning in Aspen, CO from a failed PVC flue vent. I have personally experienced this in my own home which is what led me down this rabbit trail to begin with, and have since learned that the Consumer Product Protection Association reported an 11% increase in unintentional CO poisoning deaths in 2014 up from the average reported from 2012-13, and of that, heating system failures were responsible for the largest percentage (39%) of those deaths, citing embrittlement, material degradation, or vent separation. In 2011 a man named Ron George, who was a chairman on the International Residential Plumbing & Mechanical Code Committee, wrote an article titled Is PVC an acceptable vent material for flue gases? only to have the industry lobby group, AHRI, write a return article in defense of PVC (I am unable to locate this article). In 2014 Ron wrote another article titled PVC flue pipe failure, wherein he details another case he personally inspected where a woman suffered permanent debilitating brain damage as a result of a PVC flue vent failure in her home. She suffered for years before they found the cause of the issue and a carbon monoxide detector installed in the home never went off. And still the industry kept using it. Now, there are upcoming code changes in the US that will no longer allow traditional PVC/CPVC in condensing flue vent applications (UL1738), and Canada has had similar rules in place for awhile now (ULC S636). The problem is, this doesn't help anyone who already has this type of system in place. As far as I've seen there is not much knowledge on this topic within the HVAC or Plumbing industries (despite that even the AHRI has been recommending its use since 2019), and appliance manufacturers seem content to carry on without saying a word to anyone. It seems like they're planning on all this just going away, but (pure conjecture on my part here) what happens when all these systems out in the field start failing? How many people may die and how long can we trust these pipes? That last question is currently unknown but in the 2011 article I linked above, Ron says the school's system had been installed for over 10 years. I also mentioned above I had also experienced these issues in my own home - my system has been installed for a little over 8 years and was already showing signs of failure; the exterior surfaces of the flue vent pipe (right) was noticeably turning brown throughout the entire pipe run compared to the fresh air intake pipe (left), and after removing sections you could see more discoloring, bubbling, and lesions across all interior surfaces of the vent pipe, and surprisingly even the very end of the 30' run that likely never experienced 140F+ temperatures showed evidence of failure and cracking. Just to give you an idea of how fragile and brittle PVC gets after this exposure: I accidently dropped one of the removed vent sections on a carpeted floor, and the pipe literally cracked in half - conversely I can throw sections from the fresh air side onto concrete and it won't break at all. So in conclusion if you have a condensing appliance that is vented with PVC or CPVC, you should, at a minimum, have it inspected, preferably with a camera scope, but ideally replace it with either Stainless Steel, S636 (Canada), or UL1738 (USA) piping in the long run. If you are considering having a condensing appliance installed in your building, ask about these piping systems and insist that your installer become familiar with and follow the new flue venting requirements. [link] [comments] |
| What's the worst surprise a previous homeowner left for you? Posted: 19 Nov 2020 09:45 PM PST I was replacing a few outlets around my sink with GFCI a couple days ago, and found a straight booby trap left by a previous diy-er. I pulled the plate off, and used my voltage tester to find the breaker to turn off the power. Finally found the breaker and went back up to disassemble. I pulled out the outlet, it brushes the side of the box and I get fucking jolted. I was so confused, but I soon found out what I'd missed This guy had run 14/3 romex to this outlet, and run one hot wire to the top plug, and the other hot to the bottom. At the panel, these two hot lines were run to 2 separate breakers. WTF? Is there any reason to do even do that? This outlet was not controlling any major appliances. This is one of 10,000 other things I've found, but this is definitely the angriest I've been at them ha. Any other good stories? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2020 02:37 PM PST The edges along the entire window have cracked. Is caulking what is used to fix this? Thank you for any suggestions. https://imgur.com/gallery/zFNNVoo [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2020 08:51 PM PST Should I be trying to block that water from seeping under the wood frame? I initially thought I'd buy a couple caulk tubes and run lines between the wood and concrete, but there must be a better way. [link] [comments] |
| Issues with building inspector. Posted: 19 Nov 2020 04:54 PM PST So some background info, we have been renovating a home built in 1908. We have a permit pulled with the city specifying all the work to be completed. Were having an issue with insulating the second story to meet code. We have placed numerous calls, and sent many emails on the matter to the code officer and building inspector. We did get the building inspector to come out to look at a fence we put up, and was able to have them look. Said they would get back to us, over a month later they sent me a vague email, in which I followed up and no reply. The issue is some of the ceiling we can only realistically get to an r value of r-28, when code is calling for a minimum of r-30. We can not get an answer from the city and we have been on hold with the project for months. What should we do in this case? Just do the insulation to r-28 and hope for the best? Any suggestions? We really are trying to have a good relationship with the inspector, but we aren't even able to get in contact with them. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2020 05:04 PM PST Pac NW home, about 105 years old. My question has to do with leveling. After a century, the floors are as much as five inches off from wall to wall. As long as I'm doing this work, I might as well try to get it as level as possible. Also, a few years ago we did some foundation work that likely will stop much further movement. Should I rip up the fir floor, then install plywood decking at a level somehow (with furring strips?)? Or should I install the new plywood decking and use a self-leveling product? Also, would it be better to rip up the fir floor, or just install a thinner decking on top? Thanks - [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2020 11:13 AM PST Is it a horrible idea to get countertops from Lowe's? Edit: Y'all! Thank you so much for all the advice and input. I read every single one - meant a lot. The sales tax was not something I even thought about and saved a lot. We got quartz for 20% off and it just dropped the price a lot - still ain't cheap though at all. On top of it, my wife was eager to just get it done. Taking the risk - I'll give y'all an update if I just dug my own grave. [link] [comments] |
| Black sludge in the walls of my condo Posted: 19 Nov 2020 09:14 AM PST So I purchased a condo back in August and repainted it. When I took off a couple of the old phone jacks, I noticed a black substance - tacky but not exactly sticky, difficult to clean off your hands and with no odor (so definitely not roofing tar). Then a month later, our carpet installers found the same thing on the carpet tack strips. I emailed our condo manager to find out what it is, but (of course) it's gone nowhere. Anyone have any idea what I'm dealing with? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2020 10:18 PM PST I got one of those 3 or 4 inch pipes cemented in with a old ass basketball huffy backboard. I looked around online and wasn't able to find any backboards that would mount to the pole or to the kind of tri pod thing mounted to the pool. Any pointers? [link] [comments] |
| Recessed lighting fixture to replace standard ceiling light? Posted: 19 Nov 2020 08:04 PM PST Awhile ago I saw a fixture from the orange box store that replaces a standard ceiling light with a recessed light. Essentially it fit right into the junction box(?) in the ceiling where the original ceiling light is connected. I seem to have trouble finding a similar product. Can anyone assist? [link] [comments] |
| Wiring smart switch with 3 black / 1 ground / mess of white Posted: 19 Nov 2020 12:00 PM PST Bought this switch to work as a smart dimmer for an overhead light fixture. I pulled the existing switch out and disconnected it (without marking any of the wires, of course), but cannot figure out how to wire in this new switch. The diagram calls for 1 line, 1 load, 1 neutral and 1 ground, but all I have are 3 blacks and 1 ground, with a bunch of whites that weren't attached to the original switch. We've played with it a bit and managed to get the light on, but the switch won't work to power it off. Assuming the switch works properly, and isn't broken, how do I wire this thing? Images including diagram, and current wires: I've managed not to fry myself so far, but I'd like to not burn my house down as well. A functioning dimmer switch would be a plus. Any help is welcome. [link] [comments] |
| Custom vs pre-fab cabinet questions Posted: 19 Nov 2020 07:53 PM PST Our 40's era home has a decently sized kitchen but everything is flush against the walls of the rectangular room. We'd like to add an L-shaped counter top to add counter space, cabinets below, and a breakfast bar. This would sit against a blank portion of wall. Nothing has to be removed from or installed on any wall - it would be totally free-floating. I've seen base cabinets at local hardware stores, and know counter tops can be made to order. Is there any reason I should use a custom cabinet shop instead? Would they just buy the same base cabinet units and double the price to slap them together, or are custom cabinets significantly better than pre-fab units? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2020 10:01 PM PST This is a follow up to this post a few months ago - https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/ivt73d/when_to_pull_the_plug_on_a_contractor/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf They finally did get back with me and the siding finally came in. They showed up while I was away at work and were done before I came back. Great news, right? Wrong. They were supposed to replace siding on the whole north side of the house. They only did the top 1/3 (the actual damaged portion at least). The insurance company authorized and paid for the whole side to be replaced though. I tried to communicate that to the contractor but he was playing obtuse. He then said he'd swing by to collect payment - the full amount authorized by the insurance. I said no. I told him that only 1/3 of the job was done and I'm pretty sure the insurance wouldn't Be too thrilled nor was I. I sent him documentation. I was polite yet firm. This was all over email. He flew off in a pissy rage. Basically whining about how there is a shortage, he fronted the costs himself, how dare I not respond to his texts right away and instead send an email (this from the guy who didn't communicate for months). That was the final straw, so I've decided to fire him. I have yet to pay him a cent, so I'm willing to pay for the 1/3 he did and no more. So that leaves me with a few questions -
This has sucked. I don't need this stress right now so any advice would be great. [link] [comments] |
| Vapor barrier for detached garage in PNW? Posted: 19 Nov 2020 04:02 PM PST My detached 2 car garage is used as a workshop and now that winter is here I need to insulate. I bought some faced bats to insulate the walls and I also plan to use the same to insulate the roof (not the ceiling. I want to slide items in the ceiling beams for storage and plan to keep it open). For the roof I will use the 'wavy boards' under the insulation to keep air flowing to the vents at the top of my walls. I have read so many "DO THIS!" "DON'T DO THAT!" posts about vapor barriers. Considering my PNW climate, and my use of my detached garage, do I need to put plastic wrapping over my faced insulation? Or is faced insulation enough of a vapor retarder for my scenario? Long term, I plan to put up sheet rock on the walls, but I will leave the roof unfinished with faced insulation (so I can use my ceiling as a surface for quick storage). So, Is my faced insulation enough or should I use un-faced insulation and a plastic vapor barrier? [link] [comments] |
| Is a 10ft, black 1” steel pipe for closet rod possible...or is that as ridiculous as it sounds? Posted: 19 Nov 2020 06:07 PM PST In a perfect world, I would have a 10ft pipe stretching the length of my closet for my clothes. Since there are no studs there (of course), Ill likely have the horizontal pipe connected to two vertical pipes stretching from the floor to the ceiling. However, the idea scares me because I know my clothes have some serious weight. I won't go into detail but it's at least 500lbs+ (don't argue this, I've weighed my clothes in bunches before for shits and giggles). Does anyone know how much a 10ft 1" steel pipe can hold? Or 5ft for that matter? Does anyone have personal experience using 5ft+ steel pipes for closet rods? Any suggestions on support would be great, I don't want to screw this up. Winter is here, it's big black jacket season, and I need help. [link] [comments] |
| GE Dishwasher (GEPDW1860K) not cleaning dishes Posted: 19 Nov 2020 04:34 PM PST not sure what to do here. cleaned filter, tried to take off the spray arm but wasn't able to. not sure what the issue could be... [link] [comments] |
| How do I operate this water shut off valve? Posted: 19 Nov 2020 08:12 AM PST Trying to shut off the water supply for the outdoor faucet. This is all I've got to work with. I'm used to there being a knob or handle, so I'm not sure what I need to do to turn it off. Any help is appreciated! https://imgur.com/gallery/1iGFNI6 [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 19 Nov 2020 05:09 PM PST I mounted a tv into the studs above our fireplace and after we added a mantle a year later, I wish the tv was a few inches higher. If I take the mount out of the studs and drill new holes in the same studs 2-3 inches higher, will it compromise the integrity of the studs? Will it compromise the stability of the wall mount? Any tips or things I should know? [link] [comments] |
| Removing paint/primer splatters on wood flooring Posted: 19 Nov 2020 08:48 PM PST Hey guys, just wondering how to remove latex paint/primer splatters on wood floorings. Any products that'll make it easier?? I've been on my knees scraping them off with a putty knife but it's taking forever. Thank you in advance! 🥰 [link] [comments] |
| I wanted a step, the contractor built a deck. Options? Posted: 19 Nov 2020 03:13 PM PST I had a contractor add a door to my garage (actually converting window to door). The proposal also had them building "one pressure treated step" on the exterior. Today, I asked for a change order before they started and asked them to build a landing instead (from the pics you can see the already awkward area I have where there are two existing steps coming out of a side room). We talked it through a bit and I thought I was clear that I wanted it to function like a step, but I certainly didn't explicitly ask to split the rise. Instead, they essentially built a landing that is almost even with the door threshold. This leaves me with about a 12'' (edit: originally wrote 12') drop to the ground. Clearly not a functional step down. See pics here: https://imgur.com/a/JUfzH2C (their work is the newer looking landing; the existing work is those two older steps and stringer) I plan on mentioning this to the project manager, but I'm willing to own this since I could have communicated more clearly. Leaving aside responsibility, if I wanted to personally correct this, I'd like to know what you think may work best. I'm a DIY-er with growing skills, but would definitely be watching some YouTube videos to tackle this. Here are a few ways I may correct this:
This is a corner of the house where aesthetics really doesn't matter, it's a side entry into my garage. Thanks for any feedback. [link] [comments] |
| Blew a fuse on a GFI receptacle.. Posted: 19 Nov 2020 08:04 PM PST I'm green as it gets when it comes to electrical so please forgive my ignorance, but I didnt think this could happen. I used kettle and toaster at the same time and the GFI popped. No biggie I thought. But now I can't get the GFI reset. Changed fuses and it still won't work. Is it possible that I killed the receptacle? [link] [comments] |
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