Home Improvement: PSA: Just because your house isn't knob and tube doesn't mean its safe |
- PSA: Just because your house isn't knob and tube doesn't mean its safe
- If every plumber I've ever met says never to use Draino and that it only makes things worse, then why does it exist?
- Rough day at work.. so I came hope and started ripping tile off the wall. Turns out it was MUCH easier to just cut the wall and rip it off. Though now what?
- Plumber broke our toilet. Am I being unreasonable?
- Would you rather have 36” wide fridge and 30” oven, or vice versa?
- Gas Company moved meter, immediately caused a leak.
- Advice: how to tell a contractor you are unhappy?
- Fence Etiquette
- Does anyone have experience painting a floor tile ? Wanted to know what type of paint you used? I see porch & patio and also concrete & garage paint. I’m wondering which one is best?
- Had to replace a portion of my foundation. Fun in the crawl space!
- How hard is it to replace a dishwasher?
- Does the corner of the my house not meet the floor
- APARTMENT Urine smell under kitchen sink cabinet. Help!
- How to fill in a mortise space?
- Renovators did not tape up HVAC ducts during plaster demolition. There was a huge pile of plaster in the ducts. What is reasonable to demand as far as cleaning up ?
- LG app says to replace fridge filters. Based on usage or time?
- Kitchen sink repair
- Remodel can advice
- Window ice build-up is causing water damage, what can I do?
- Does a comprehensive guide for 1st time homeowners exist?
- LG double oven install - aluminum or copper?
- [UPDATE] Broken Sewer Line
- How to get rid of the weird bugs on my ceiling?
- Grout cracked away under kitchen backsplash
| PSA: Just because your house isn't knob and tube doesn't mean its safe Posted: 27 Nov 2020 09:01 AM PST I purchased a house constructed in 1952 a few months ago. Its a gorgeous house with a huge lot and privacy for the area. Its worth the work. I noticed a lot of cloth braided 1st gen romex during the walk through, some newer romex, and a lot of ungrounded outlets. I knew what I was taking on. Fast forward nine months, I'm starting to tear down the dated/worn out tongue and groove pine board on the first floor. I've been paying attention to the electrical layout over our time in the house and i've begun the process of a rewire. I'm shocked with what I'm finding. The good: The majority of the wire in the wall is actually very intact, non-crispy, bendable, and unfrayed. Its a solid product. The bad: No wire nuts to be found. My entire house uses crimp connections and electrical tape to hold things in place/prevent energization of junction boxes. Sometimes crimps cover up comically short sections of wire with crispy electrical tape holding everything else together. Since there is no ground, there's no way my circuit breaker would trip if my hot touched a metal JB. More fun: In the first room I've done so far there is a section of wire which was obviously cut too short. No problem in 1952: Just splice it together in the wall with electrical tape. Insanity: Found an outlet with romex which was cut too short, and had electrical tape "pigtailing" wire to the outlet terminals. I can't wait to see what else I find in this house. Honestly, all off this bad stuff is probably fine when they did it, but electrical tape does not hold up over seventy years. While a AFCI/GFCI breaker---the go to easy fix for this stuff---brings things up to code, I'm happy I'm taking the hard route on this one to make the place safer. There is just too much stuff held together with tape which could pop apart at any moment and which would make a GFCI a very temporary fix. Its not a glamourous project, but hopefully future homeowners appreciate it. TL:DR: First gen romex isn't that much better than knob and tube. Some fun images: https://imgur.com/a/ulKkYdn [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2020 07:23 PM PST |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2020 04:41 PM PST So after a rough day I decided to see how hard it would be to start ripping the ugly tile off our bathroom walls. Well, I ended up finding it easier to cut the drywall and rip that off. pictures The problem? Well I literally have no idea what's next. We hadn't planned to tackle this until Jan. The moral of the story is don't start demo without a plan. [link] [comments] |
| Plumber broke our toilet. Am I being unreasonable? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 12:44 PM PST We recently had a small leak from the seal behind our toilet which involved the plumber removing the toilet, replacing the seal and pushing it back into place.. however in doing so he managed to crack the toilet in two down the front. He also managed to snap off one of the bolts attaching the toilet to the floor. As to whether this was his "fault" or not I don't have the expertise to know however it has now been broken for 4 days and we are without an upstairs toilet. We have yet to receive any pricing on replacement or anything of that nature.. just that he is doing his best to find a replacement. To me this seems unacceptable and what was a tiny fix is now going to cost us hundreds with no offer to do the job at cost or anything - what do you guys think? And is this something if I sort my own toilet out I can likely push into place and safely secure myself? I see this as being really unacceptable service whoever I am not sure if I am being unreasonable. [link] [comments] |
| Would you rather have 36” wide fridge and 30” oven, or vice versa? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 07:06 PM PST I am planning a kitchen remodel (and really had my heart set on a double 48" oven/range!) but as I mess around with plans I'm realizing things will be tight. I need to decide between a 36" fridge (basically standard size) and a 30" oven, or a smaller fridge (30" wide) and a roomier 36" oven with 6 burners. Obvious answer is go with the bigger fridge but one thing to consider is I can always stick an extra old fridge/freezer in my garage but I can't put an oven out there! Any thoughts from experienced kitchen remodelers? We are a family of 4 and our fridge always does seem to be packed. [link] [comments] |
| Gas Company moved meter, immediately caused a leak. Posted: 27 Nov 2020 01:50 PM PST Hello, our gas company or a contractor of theirs moved the gas meter outside our house a few feet to the right of where it was for some reason. So, this entailed them installing longer piping from the underground mains to the meter and installing shorter pipes from the meter to the house inlet. Immediately we noticed a gas leak smell and called them back out. Some gas company rep had us shut off all gas valves to our appliances, turned off the gas at the meter, and then did a test at the meter and said there was a leak on our side of the meter so it's our responsibility to pay for it to be fixed and permitted by the city before they can turn the gas back on. If they're telling the truth, then I think it's the pipe from the meter to the house inlet that they were messing with right before the leak started. So, if what's on our side of the meter is our problem, why did they send people out to mess with our side of the meter and how do we get compensated for calling another plumber to fix things they're now refusing to touch after they already touched them and broke them? [link] [comments] |
| Advice: how to tell a contractor you are unhappy? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 04:08 PM PST Id love experienced handymen and contractors to tell me how they feel about receiving criticism. I had a painter complete work in my bathroom. He skim coated the walls where he pulled off cabinets. It was a perfect job. But there were plenty of other sections where he simply ran a roller over the walls. There were old paint layers and bumps and globs of old paint. All of the imperfections show. He also didn't strip old cracked paint off the window trim so now it looks like there's just a thick layer of paint trying to hide old damage. He said he didn't like clients breathing down his neck while he worked. So when I saw him skim coat some sections, I stayed out of his way for the rest of the job. Now he wants to get paid and I don't know what to do. He can't redo the job without uninstalling my bath fixtures and radiator. It's no small job. How do I point out my dissatisfaction in a way that's honest but won't make him feel angry or defensive? ETA: what should a client expect from a paint job? Is stripping old paint and/or skimming supposed to be specified? Did I really need to specifically point out that I wanted these things corrected? after pics ETA part 2: appreciate the replies. I did suspect that I could have been more clear about my expectations. And he's actually been amenable to fixing certain things. But I'm still sour about him including paint in the price and using old paint in my basement lol. I guess I'll call it a wash. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2020 06:02 AM PST Last winter a section of the rotted privacy fence between my house and neighbors on one side blew down in a storm. Fence predated both me and neighbors living here, on property line, could not find who it belonged to but neighbors thought it was theirs. I'd previously spoken with them about the fence needing repair and offered to share costs. They kept delaying doing anything due to finances. They did eventually take down the remaining rotted fence. Meanwhile I'm seeing into their messy backyard plus their dogs are cute and friendly but crapping in my yard on occasion. About two months ago I got quotes and had a replacement fence put in on that side of the house. New fence was moved back a bit so it's on my property plus I had a better quality fence put in than was there before. Neighbors thanked me, all seemed well. Here's the issue they're now upset about. Apparently I did not follow fence etiquette. I told them when and what was being done and got their verbal approval. Fence company asked which way to put finished side of fence. Fence that fell down had smooth side facing me and it was a replacement so I told them to put smooth side facing me. We all have wooden privacy fences in our little backyards on the street and have mixtures of fences facing one way or another in the same yard. Neighbors are now saying that since new fence is mine I should have had smooth side built facing them. This is an urban area in Virginia and I'm not sure what to do here. Trying to be a good neighbor here and honestly didn't think this would be an issue. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2020 05:42 PM PST |
| Had to replace a portion of my foundation. Fun in the crawl space! Posted: 27 Nov 2020 11:01 AM PST There was some previous interest in a post talking about replacing a part of my foundation and jacking onto it. Now that the first turkey sandwich is down, I took advantage of the down time to share it. Let me state that I did understand there were foundation issues when I bought the house. I had one area which was inaccessible for inspection. Turns out this was the worst of it when I busted through a concrete cellar wall to get back in there. I had my phone with me and the first pic in the album below reveals the horror. The one side where the floor joists bore on the foundation was ready to collapse. The pictures show the steps taken, and if there's any missing details I'll happily supply them. After consulting with my master carpenter friend, I decided to incorporate squash blocking and a rim joist to solidify the framing around the new foundation. This part of the house was from 1910 and the method of deck framing can lead to settling even with solid footings. I had both problems. Getting the stem wall formed and poured to the specific correct alignment and height was the most challenging part. I ended up about an 1/8" high, which ended up being the 1/8" that my house REALLY didn't want to raise up any more. I'm leaving out photos of the jacking, because I kind of went cowboy and just cranked it up with two 20 ton bottle jacks. It was dangerous and I would recommend screw jacks on steel plates. I was cutting corners to get it done and out of my hair. I had figured $20,000 for unknown foundation issues when I purchased. I was lucky to have a lot of excess lumber to work with, but out of pocket was only ~$850 (and many many hours labor). Probably another $200 to repair the cracked interior walls. I'm an ICBO certified reinforced concrete inspector and have worked as geotech soils inspector, so I know everything now is solid, level, and not going anywhere for a long time. [link] [comments] |
| How hard is it to replace a dishwasher? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 07:25 PM PST So every major appliance I've every bought has been "installed" by the delivery guys. I usually buy from Lowes. Today I was shopping for a dishwasher and they said I needed the professional installation. I don't think they were trying to jack up the price, it's Lowe's, they don't get commission. My question is if I already have a dishwasher, do I really need it professionally installed? Thanks in advance for your insight. [link] [comments] |
| Does the corner of the my house not meet the floor Posted: 27 Nov 2020 08:49 PM PST I was digging up my house and replacing the subfloor. I am a little confused as to what I'm seeing. It looks like dirt, and a row of incomplete bricks that don't go all the way over or up, and then drywall. Is the Drywall my neighbor's home? Should I be concerned? [link] [comments] |
| APARTMENT Urine smell under kitchen sink cabinet. Help! Posted: 27 Nov 2020 05:58 PM PST I just had the complex replace the base boards of all the cabinets in the kitchen (some looks damp) and I know the previous tenant had dogs. I thought YES they got rid of the urine smell.... until I opened the cabinet under the sink and it hit me HARD. There is no wet or damp stain on the wood there... but holy crap it REEKS of animal urine. What can it be? I am on the 3rd floor on this apartment and my previous apartment on the 4th floor had 0 smells coming from within. There were fruit flies before we moved in but its been 3 days and have no seen one since treatment. What can the smell be? It really smells JUST like dog urine. [link] [comments] |
| How to fill in a mortise space? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 04:03 PM PST I'm rehabbing my front door hardware, and there's an old hole in the door for a mortise lock (the current lock is not mortise). If I wanted to fill in this space before installing a new handle/lock, how would I do it? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2020 08:20 PM PST This was during demo of 90 year old plaster walls. I'm pretty sure lead is an issue. The ducts and furnace are below the house in a crawlspace. I came in near the begininng of the demo and noticed the vents were not covered so politely asked them to do it. I left, and came back and noticed they just taped a piece of paper over it---but only put the tape at the top so it covered it like a flap which is not sufficient. One vent they covered as described above, but were demoing the wall it was in, and took off the angle duct that came up and out the wall. I came in to check and noticed they just left the duct as a hole in the floor (this was after asking them to keep the ducts covered). They were demolishing the ceiling above it and just letting plaster fall down into the hole. The dust control on the job was just generally poor, and a fine white dust ended up all over the house. I'm thinking that if it was that fine it probably went all the way through the ducts and possibly into the furnace. The owner says that he will go underneath the house, detach the ducts, and clean them, but I have two issues with this. They are not HVAC experts and I do not trust them to reinstall the ducts properly. And the dust was so fine, I suspect some may have went down into the furnace itself considering how much debris they let fall into the ducts. Would it be unreasonable to ask them to pay a professional to clean the ducts? [link] [comments] |
| LG app says to replace fridge filters. Based on usage or time? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 04:07 PM PST Got our new fridge in late May. It's been 6 months and now the app says to replace both the water and air filters. Are these notifications actually based on your usage or am I just going to get notifications every 6 months no matter how much its used? And if I was to ignore these messages, how much longer do you suppose is safer without changing them right away? To give an idea about how much we use, we mostly use the water to fill up our 3 liter cat water fountain once a week, a 4 qt pitcher with a drink mix, and maybe about 2 cups of ice a day at most. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2020 06:16 PM PST My parents have a metal kitchen sink under mounted to granite countertop. Whatever was used to mount the sink to the granite failed, casing the sink to detach and my dad has tried to fix it but it broke again tonight. It's currently still useable but I don't want him to drop a sink full of water everywhere while doing dishes or whatever. I suggested a silicone based caulk but if other people have any other suggestions I'm all ears. Thanks in advance [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2020 06:14 PM PST Hello, I would like to add 4 or 5" remodel can lighting in two bedrooms with a shallow attic above. The selection at the big 3 box stores (Menards, lowes, HD) is a bit over whelming. Any advice on the best quality units out there? Also, is there any issues with laying the Romeo Wiring on top of the rolled insulation? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Window ice build-up is causing water damage, what can I do? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 06:14 PM PST Short of sealing the windows up I'm not sure what I can do, the windows are pretty old and I don't have the money for the newer "fancy" ones. Our wood burning stove melts a lot of the ice on the windows and I think that's the main issue but the ice is on the inside as well if it's cold enough. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have very bad asthma and we've started to develop mildew and it's effecting me. [link] [comments] |
| Does a comprehensive guide for 1st time homeowners exist? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 04:57 PM PST Should have the keys to our first home in 3 weeks. Built in 70's with mostly original systems (HVAC, furnace, Zinsco electric panel (!!) etc. I'm feeling overwhelmed thinking about everything that we need to know in terms of basic understanding of how each system works, what problems to look out for, basic fixes, general maintenance needed and what frequency, and so on. Does such a book/guide exist for new homeowners? [link] [comments] |
| LG double oven install - aluminum or copper? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 06:00 PM PST I'm installing a lg double oven (LWD3063ST) and I'm not sure if it's aluminum wire or tin coated copper. My dad thinks it's aluminum but from my understanding that's not common these days for new appliances. I can't find it anywhere in the installation guide. Anyone have any insight? I'm connecting it to a 8 gauge copper wire. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2020 08:23 AM PST Hey all! I wanted to post an update to my original post from a few months ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/irbpok/sewer_line_broken_beneath_kitchen/ So the engineers determined the foundation issues were caused by the leak. Insurance is covering foundation repair, leak repair (except cost of pipe), and tile work. I would recommend anyone experiencing a similar situation to reach out to your insurance company and exhaust all avenues with them before determining any cost is up to you to cover. Overall the insurance company was decent to work with but wouldn't claim responsibility to something unless we brought it to their attention. Luckily so far it's all working out and if any new home owners going through something similar stumble across my posts and want to reach out about my experience please do!! Have a great weekend! [link] [comments] |
| How to get rid of the weird bugs on my ceiling? Posted: 27 Nov 2020 09:08 AM PST I live in an apartment in a rather old (thing 1880s) building with a wooden main structure in Germany. Today I saw four of these things crawling on my ceiling: http://imgur.com/gallery/IZIHs5P I removed them before my dear wife started screaming, but also before I could take any pictures. Then I checked the base of the ceiling lamp and the smoke detector and found more. All I could see are gone now, but I'm not sure if that means anything. What are they? And how can I get rid of them if they return? [link] [comments] |
| Grout cracked away under kitchen backsplash Posted: 27 Nov 2020 10:30 AM PST Hello! We bought our house last year and the previous owner had installed a backsplash and grouted the bottom that connects to the granite counter. The grout on the bottom has cracked away over time and I'm wondering the most efficient way to fill this divide. Can some well placed caulk do the trick? Would more grout do the same again? The backslash very slightly moves when pressed so it most likely was not installed well. Thanks in advance. [link] [comments] |
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