Home Improvement: I'm fed up beyond belief with plumbers who want $2000 for a water heater replacement. How feasible is it to install one myself (I'm an EE)? |
- I'm fed up beyond belief with plumbers who want $2000 for a water heater replacement. How feasible is it to install one myself (I'm an EE)?
- Save your relationship, get a metric tape measure
- How to safely remove insulation from my attic
- Non-intrusive way to add curtains to a living room window
- What is the proper way to caulk / “finish” baseboard moulding that is up against wood paneling? Pic in comments.
- Stair landing question
- How to stop Woodpeckers?
- New To The Neighborhood and Next Door Neighbor has Dogs That Bark All Damn Day
- Major Asbestos Issue
- WTD: Solar-powered motion-detecting pathway lights recommendations
- Just moved in
- Water heater deep cleaning
- Mortar to water ratio for job that will require me to place stone ledger panels (6”x24”) above a fireplace?
- Smell coming from only one sink in the house
- Is running my HVAC fan all the time in the winter a good way to increase humidity and filter my air?
- New Deck
- Drywall Question
- What is this thing called? The surround for the hoses in the laundry room wall
- Best program or app to model a kitchen renovation?
- I had to keep reattaching my curtain rail to the wall until I realised that my wallpaper was holding up my curtains.
- Flooring question - finishing basement
- Furnace safety question
- Visible Studs/Joists?
- Is it normal for a contractor to have a license under three different names?
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 11:03 AM PST Would I need anything other than:
My last one worked for 33 years without an expansion tank, and I have no PRV. I have a drain in the floor right next to the water heater. Edit: Gas Water heater [link] [comments] |
| Save your relationship, get a metric tape measure Posted: 04 Jan 2021 07:48 PM PST This metric tape measure will save your relationship. Does your significant other want a picture hung EXACTLY in the center? Measure it out and divide by two! Even if you don't know the metric system, it doesn't matter. The units are all in a logical base-10 which is what we all know which makes it easy to do math on. No messing with trying to do math on fractions. It is a lot faster to divide 848 by two, then make a mark at 424....rather than try and and figure out what half of what 71 9/16th is. It gets even worse when you need to divide by 3 or greater. This really reduces the stress (and arguments) when trying to evenly space out objects or calculate distances that involve a lot of math. I don't use it for cutting wood or anything, but it saves me a lot of time when I need to mark out evenly spaced points on something. I had to buy mine off Amazon...nobody seems to carry them anywhere in town. [link] [comments] |
| How to safely remove insulation from my attic Posted: 04 Jan 2021 10:38 AM PST When we bought our house, a mold remediation company recommended we remove all insulation from our attic. We hired a general contractor to do this, and replace with batt insulation. But I went up there recently, I discovered there is a large part of our attic (maybe 20%) that is only accessible by a very narrow gap, which seems to have been untouched by the GC, and is still full of blown-in insulation. We've already spent a ton of money and I'm tired of trying to find good contractors, so I'm hoping to just do this myself. My question is: how can I fully protect myself up there, and how do I properly remove this old insulation? [link] [comments] |
| Non-intrusive way to add curtains to a living room window Posted: 04 Jan 2021 10:24 AM PST i just rented a condo and i just realized that it does not have any type of curtains or blinds included in the lease which is odd, there isnt even any mounts anywhere. here are some pics: https://i.ibb.co/m9GZZpj/c5054357-4.jpg https://i.ibb.co/B3C50k6/c5054357-5.jpg https://i.ibb.co/p45dV34/c5054357-6.jpg https://i.ibb.co/tpFx4NV/c5054357-7.jpg can anyone recommend any non-invasive mounts to add curtains? i will need it to support some weight because i dont want thin curtains where people can still see into the unit, i want to be able to have some privacy. the window has a sliding door located on the and no, i cannt drill or ruin the landlords precious paint and they are too cheap, landlords are in a lot of trouble right now they are losing money lol [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 10:31 AM PST Pic: https://imgur.com/gallery/me608ao This isn't my wall, it's just an example, but my wall is the same except in my case I'm asking about the baseboard moulding. How do I caulk/ "finish" it..? I know if it's drywall then you install the moulding and caulk between the top of the moulding and the wall...but my wood paneling has those little divots between the slats. Do I caulk those full of caulk and then flatten them in the top for aesthetics? Should I just run a thick line or caulk behind the moulding between the moulding and the wall to create the same effect (help keeping bugs, draft, etc out) and call it a day? Thanks folks. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 10:35 AM PST Hello everyone! I just found this subreddit and I'm hoping you may have some advice for me. I recently ripped the carpet up on my stairs and I'm in the process of painting them. I got lucky because all of my stairs and risers are real wood, with the exception of this weird small landing which is plywood. I initially thought I would pull up the plywood and replace it but that is proving to be more difficult than I thought because the trim and everything around it is built on top of it. Here are some photos: https://imgur.com/a/GuvYjaT (PS pretty sure I linked them right but please let me know if the photos aren't showing up, first time using Imgur!) I had a friend who works in construction come look at it and he said he thinks I should sand down the plywood and get it as smooth as possible and then put down a layer of flexible caulk and then paint over it. Would you all agree with that? I was concerned about how it would hold up with being walked on, etc. Thank you so much for any input you have! So cool to see a community helping each other out with home projects! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 08:45 AM PST I've got Woodpeckers pecking the hell out of my cabin. They peck basically anywhere they can perch - above doorframes, window frames, and other random spots. We used some sheet metal to cover one area - but seems crazy to line every problem spot with sheet metal since it's so pervasive. Owl statues aren't working. Thank you! Edit: A lot of people are saying there must be bugs and I'll get that checked out, but woodpeckers also drill holes and hide acorns in there for the winter. [link] [comments] |
| New To The Neighborhood and Next Door Neighbor has Dogs That Bark All Damn Day Posted: 04 Jan 2021 02:12 PM PST Hi! Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but it is my intention to improve my home, or at least my situation, as well as help some dogs who are clearly mistreated. I just moved in to my first home in a new neighborhood and the guy next door has 2 dogs he has tied up in the back yard. We're up in northern US, so it gets COLD here for months. The dogs are kept outside all day and night from what I can tell and they bark at every little sound. They are obviously trained to be guard dogs, but the barking along with the animal cruelty is starting to get to me. One of the dogs also constantly jumps the fence between our houses and then ends up stuck in our yard. Since we just moved here, I don't feel like it's my place to talk to the neighbor about this yet. We haven't said much more than a greeting to each other so far anyway. Has anyone got any suggestions for how to subtly deal with this situation without crossing any lines? Thanks!! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 01:15 PM PST Hi everyone. Ok so I purchased a house a few hours a way from where I live. I knew of asbestos before but it had never crossed my mind during renovations. We had 2 of my relatives live in the house during renovations, removing flooring and taking down a 6 foot wall. I have only visited the site 3 times. One before renovations, one right when the renovations started, but there was no dust, and one recently right when the house is 99% done. I did visit and the floor seemed kind of dusty. I am worried sick and I am fucking terrified that there could be possibility of asbestos in the joint compound of the drywall as well as in the kitchen flooring. I know there was some type of linoleum flooring with zig zag brick patterns due to old pictures of the home. There was vinyl or lvp flooring in the kitchen when I purchased it but idk if they removed the old flooring or covered it up. My dad has been also going to the property to clean and do some other things. I know he wears an N95 mask and gloves but that's all the PPE hes using. I have mentioned asbestos to my parents before but they don't seem phased ONE BIT by it. My mom washes his clothes. I am so fucking worried that he brought asbestos into our homes through his clothes and my mom puts them in the washer and she vacuums the home and now idk if I'm overreacting. I feel like I'm getting contamination OCD and now everything is contaminated with asbestos and I really do not know what to do. I literally feel like I am killing my family. Please give me some advice on what to do. EDIT: here are photos of before and after the flooring: https://imgur.com/gallery/qHEbEVh [link] [comments] |
| WTD: Solar-powered motion-detecting pathway lights recommendations Posted: 04 Jan 2021 12:33 PM PST Do you have solar powered motion detecting pathway lights that you like (I don't want to run wires)? I have a Ring doorbell, but I don't need these things to be smart. I would like them to turn on when they detect motion, and turn off after a few minutes (or until they detect motion again). There are tons of these on Amazon, but hard to weed through them. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 10:23 AM PST Seller was a DIY'er on a budget. There are mistakes and unfinished, rushed details in the master bath. This shower drain gave me pause. There's standing water and no caulk. Should I be worried? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 12:55 PM PST We live in the midwest and the water here is beyond brutal in terms of how hard it is. We are on city water. Our gas water heater had been making popping noises for some time when heating, but they were progressively getting louder. Hearing this large pressurized container pop like that set me on edge. You could hear the popping on the other side of the house if someone took a shower at night. Time to do something about it. First step was to set it to pilot light only and then let it cool down over 24hours. Then I drained it. I removed the relief valve and stuck my usb endoscope camera in to try and get an idea of what was sitting at the bottom of the tank, but between the camera not bending how I needed it to, not emitting enough light and the little bit of steam it wasn't working. Next I opened the drain valve and stuck the camera in there, I found what I was looking for, unfortunately it was pretty bad. It looked like maybe 3" of scale build up. This is where I got stuck. The drain valve opening was about the diameter of a pen, no way I could get a hose in there. I set about trying to remove the drain valve itself but nothing I did would budge it. I was wrenching so hard I was moving and lifting the water heater. Defeated I closed the valve and poured white vinegar in through the pressure relief valve. After sitting for a few hours I flushed it out with multiple flushes and stuck my camera back in see if it made a difference. It didn't. I then remembered a 4 foot cast iron pipe a co-worker had given me as a breaker bar, I fetched it and was able to crack the drain valve loose. With the drain valve removed I used my shop vac and soft flexible tube to get in there. I'm not sure how long I was there vacuuming, but it must of been close to an hour. I couldn't reach every spot in the water heater but I got the vast majority out. I plan to do this again next year to try and get what I missed. I am also in the process of adding a whole house filter to try and cut back on the scale (our toilets get allot of build up on the tank seals and run if not cleaned a few times a year). The water heater still makes a few popping noise when heating, but its so quiet you have to stand next to it to hear the sound. It also feels like the water is much hotter than before even though its at the same setting. Everything went back together with relative ease and no leaks. EDIT: imgur link https://imgur.com/gallery/IOx7lHN [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 08:36 PM PST I'm not sure what the ratio should be. I mixed about 2 lbs with 4.5 oz of water and it seemed to come out thicker than more YouTube videos show. Any video I found shows the mixture becoming practically smooth and it's dripping off the paddle they used to mix... that does not seem like "peanut butter" consistency to me. The mortar I am using is TEC Ultimate 6 plus This was the mortar suggested to me by the guy at the hardware store for my project of placing stone ledger panels on a wall. Even the video they show on how to mix this seems waaaay too soupy for the weight of this stone. Any suggestions? I did place one row of this panel with my thicker mixture and they stuck nicely. Maybe I am overthinking it. Does anyone have experience in this type of mortar? Or have any mortar mixing tips? I can't follow the bag instructions cause I'm working in small batches [link] [comments] |
| Smell coming from only one sink in the house Posted: 04 Jan 2021 06:44 AM PST For the past few months there has been a smell coming from the sink in our master bathroom, and only that sink. It doesn't smell when it's not in use, only when water is flowing. If I pool water in my hand or other container, I can't detect anything directly from the water, so I had the idea that water going down the drain is forcing a smell up and out. For the record, it does drain just fine. To add, a couple years ago I replaced the entire vanity, sink, faucet, p-trap, and cold water supply line and valve. It's difficult to tell if it's limited to the cold water supply because that sink is literally the furthest from the water heater and takes a minute to flush the line. Thanks for any insight! [link] [comments] |
| Is running my HVAC fan all the time in the winter a good way to increase humidity and filter my air? Posted: 04 Jan 2021 11:13 AM PST Fighting an uphill battle against indoor allergens and dry air. Would keeping my HVAC fan on all the time be a good way to address both of these issues? Apologies if this is too off-topic. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 11:17 AM PST Hi all. We're looking at replacing our existing deck with a new one. Below is the payment schedule proposed by one of the contractors. Is this about normal? *25% payment with contracts. *25% payment with the start of work. *25% upon substantial completion of the deck frame. *20% upon substantial completion of decking. *5% payment with completion of all work for this contract [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 09:09 PM PST Hey guys, So i am doing my own drywall for the first time and cut one of my electrical box holes about an inch over on 1 side(bottom side of electrical box). I have watched a few videos on youtube on filling overcut electrical box holes and seen a few guys using Hot Mud. My question is if Durabond would work? Is Durabond and Hot Mud(fast set) the same thing? Thanks [link] [comments] |
| What is this thing called? The surround for the hoses in the laundry room wall Posted: 04 Jan 2021 01:33 PM PST https://i.imgur.com/j22gH1v.jpg What's it called? Want to get a new one. Current one is yellow and unsightly. [link] [comments] |
| Best program or app to model a kitchen renovation? Posted: 04 Jan 2021 12:41 PM PST We are looking to remodel our kitchen fairly extensively. Possibly increase the footprint of the house, take out walls etc. I would like to model the before and possible after in several options. I'm looking for suggestions for an app or Windows app that can help us along here (pay for app is fine). I'd like to mock it up myself then show it to a contractor. I do see many available out there but I'm not quite sure if they cater well to what I am looking for. 5dplanner for example might be to "interior design"? Where Magicplan leans towards a contractor? Thanks for any guidance! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 11:55 AM PST TL;DR: The wall above my sliding door is crumbling away.. We removed the wallpaper and saw that there's a crack going the whole way across the top of the door and it's crumbling away in large chunks. The story goes like this: step 1: buy house step 2: fix curtain rail, tighten screw step 3: curtain rail fell out! use bigger wall plug step 4: curtain rail fell out! fill hole, redrill, put in another wall plug step 5: curtain rail fell out! remove crumbling plaster/mortar, fill hole, redrill, put in another wall plug step 6: curtain rail fell out! ... um ... the wall appears to be falling out as well step 7: remove wallpaper to check what's happening ... step 8: pull on various loose bits ... loose bits fall off and expose more loose bits step 9: realise that entire bit of wall is crumbling and falling away step 10: sell house ... Is the wall crumbling because the mortar was bad when they first made it? The mortar looks like it's porous and wasn't actually stuck to the concrete lintel and bricks behind it. I'm planning to remove all the mortar and plaster and assess it properly. Is this something I should pay someone to do properly? Is there anything else I should be aware of, or get done, to make sure this never happens again? [link] [comments] |
| Flooring question - finishing basement Posted: 04 Jan 2021 10:14 AM PST So I'm going to be finishing half of my basement this year, and the half that I would like to finish (makes most sense for me) has been pre-plumbed by the builder to allow for adding another bathroom. The floor is concrete, and then there are four spots (1 toilet flange, 1 shower drain, so others which I think are meant for a sink). The shower drain has been covered with a 3/4" thick (roughly) board, and caulked around the edges. The flange and other plastic covers are about 1/8 to 12" thick. So obviously my floor is not completely level. I also do not want to build another bathroom, house is 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath already, and I just want to build a rec room/office space. I've looked online and can't seem to find any info about a similar issue. Disclaimer: I'm not a pro, this would be my first major DIY but I want to do the floors, walls and a drop ceiling myself. I've had an idea of building up the subfloor, with a vapor barrier and plywood or OSB, and then cutting out around those. Then I would still want to floor over them, but wondering a few things:
https://imgur.com/a/YGGF0uB here is a link to photos of what I'm talking about. The two photos are probably 10 or so feet apart from each other Thanks for any advice! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 05:17 PM PST I'd like to do some woodworking in my basement. Do I need to worry about sawdust getting into the furnace? Is there a fire risk? It is not clear to me that the basement has any direct exposure to the combustion chamber of the furnace. The furnace (https://imgur.com/a/8sglgD3) is 95% efficient and draws air directly from the outdoors. So maybe it is designed in a way that sawdust and basement air cannot get into the furnace? Thanks for your help! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 04 Jan 2021 03:55 PM PST Not sure if it's a case of a crappy drywall job or something more complicated, but it almost looks as if a few studs and joists are visible in our bedroom. Really only noticeable in low light conditions. Used to be two bedrooms that was turned into one and the the noticeable area in the pic more or less aligns with where the addition starts. Is this just a matter of getting a good drywall person to "float" it out? No signs of cracking. Thanks for the help. [link] [comments] |
| Is it normal for a contractor to have a license under three different names? Posted: 04 Jan 2021 04:54 PM PST Hey all! I'm doing some digging on some contractors we're thinking about hiring for some roofing work. I searched the business name in my state's (Washington) Department of Labor and Industries and 3 results came up with nearly the same business name. **I'll be using fake example names in this post.** 1 of the contractor licenses is licensed under an LLC (connected to a David Jackson), another is licensed under a David Johnson, and the third is licensed under David Jefferson. The contractor who came by gave us a business card for a David Johnson with a valid license number. I thought maybe it was a weird coincidence but when I looked up the Yelp reviews for the business (using the phone number on the business card), the reviews refer to him as David Jefferson. Additionally, when I google the email address on the business card, it's connected to a completely irrelevant business (entertainment/photography related?). I've already decided not to work with this person but am I just being paranoid about feeling sketched out by this? What's possibly going on here? [link] [comments] |
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