avoiding injuries
Footballguy
There is a sediment pond behind my property and the sewer from my street drains underground to there. My yard still has a slight slope, so water will still runoff toward the "pond". Otherwise, no.
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Home-owners...What are your current projects? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter wilked
- Start date
A shower wall lining is pealing off. I looked closer and noticed that whoever installed the door only glued it to the lining which is glued to the drywall. Not sure if that is standard, but it explains why the lining is starting to peel away. Which now means the shower door can't be shut.
It was probably the same morons that decided to put the same time on the floor and countertops.
I've done tiling before, but never a shower. Think I'll hire someone just to be safe.
It was probably the same morons that decided to put the same time on the floor and countertops.
I've done tiling before, but never a shower. Think I'll hire someone just to be safe.
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McGarnicle
Footballguy
Huge fan of the Dewalt 20v tools. I've got the brushless drill & driver set, reciprocating saw and my favorite, the leaf blower. Great quality tools and excellent battery life.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
I havent personally, but my next door neighbor complains about his nonstop. It was there when he bought the house. His is pretty huge though. Also a cold climate area.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
pollardsvision
Footballguy
That looks like a great set. Prices on drills/drivers seem to be coming down. That DeWalt set probably would've been $200-250 a couple years ago. I use Hitachi for most of my tools (started with this) and really like them. Mostly, I found a great deal on 3.0 Amp/hour batteries a couple years ago and stocked up, so I'm sort of locked into Hitachi for cordless for a while.
DeWalt's great of course, and I'd think most homeowner/weekend warrior users are going to be happy with pretty much all of the main brands when it comes to drills and impact drivers. DeWalt/Milwaukee/Makita at the top end followed by Ridgid/Hitachi/Kobalt for those looking to spend a little less, then stuff like Ryobi and Porter Cable for those looking to spend even less.
Probably the most important thing to consider when starting in on a line of cordless is what other tools you think you might end up needing. The intro combo kits are all fairly similarly priced (they all want to get you "in"), but the prices and selection really start to differentiate after that. One reason I like Hitachi is that stuff like cordless jig saws and recip saws are pretty cheap ($50-60) where DeWalt/Milwaukee are generally going to be $100-150 or more. Now, the downside with Hitachi is the overall cordless selection lacks a little (but they have most everything I need).
One reason Ryobi and Porter Cable are so popular is that they have a gazillion cordless tools and they are cheap.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
I've got some water coming in the basement. It seems to be pretty clearly a rainwater/gutter/downspout/possible grading issue (all noted in home inspection, just now getting around to it).
I've got a feeling it's going to need to start with new gutters. I love my trees, but my gutters don't. And I like to do a lot of stuff to care for my home myself, but I just don't think I have regular gutter cleaning in me.
I'm about to start getting some quotes on some new gutters, and they need to be K-Guard or something to keep leaves out. I'm not looking forward to hearing numbers, but I think I really only need about 50 feet (just for front of house). Back can wait, I think.
I've got a feeling it's going to need to start with new gutters. I love my trees, but my gutters don't. And I like to do a lot of stuff to care for my home myself, but I just don't think I have regular gutter cleaning in me.
I'm about to start getting some quotes on some new gutters, and they need to be K-Guard or something to keep leaves out. I'm not looking forward to hearing numbers, but I think I really only need about 50 feet (just for front of house). Back can wait, I think.
wilked
Footballguy
Before you go too crazy, are your gutters overflowing? Get a good rain jacket on, wait for a big storm, and go out and observe. Maybe you only need to repain one downspout or horizontal section
new gutters ain’t cheap (depends a little on house but I know mine would be many thousands)
new gutters ain’t cheap (depends a little on house but I know mine would be many thousands)
berndog
Footballguy
Wilked has some good advice on gutters and checking them out in a rainstorm. I had a section that was overflowing and was able to fix that issue by switching from a 3 inch to 4 inch down spout. Also have to see where the downspouts are dumping the water and if extending them would get the water away from your foundation.
I have heard mixed reviews on the leaf guard gutters. If you want to go that route I would price them out versus having someone clean your gutters twice a year and figure out what is most cost effective.
berndog
Footballguy
Don't forget electricity(GFI) so you can run a pump, filtration system otherwise you will have a stagnant mess.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
I cant help you here really. I got a bid without materials for $6,000 for my shower. But mine is 4x6 with an L bend in addition and it is a mosaic floor, and three different mosaic accents on the walls around 12x12 marble. I will shoot a message to a buddy that still works in the industry. I'll let you know what he says.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
glvsav37
Footballguy
there are a lot of different type of leaf guards. Any particular brand of style that work better then others? I'll want to do these by next season. I had a simple screen on my old ones that worked well enough, but I have all new gutters now and would consider upgrading if there was a solid option.
I live in the North East, Long Island NY, and we have lots of large maple and oak type leaves but the things that really kill me are the long, pine needles and those GD pollen strings in the spring that are just freakin everywhere and clump together when they get wet. Its tough to keep them out of anything.
belljr
Footballguy
Copeman
Footballguy
Might want something to move the water around so you don't get boat loads of mosquitos.
glvsav37
Footballguy
get ready, its an expense.
the dot along will do some things, but to really automate the house you'll have to get a "hub" that the dot and other 'smart items' talk to. Then add things like smart switches or smart lightbulbs, auto thermostats, cameras, doorbell camera, smart outlets, smart garage door opener...I could go on.
Form my system, we went with the Samsung Smarthings hub. It seemed to work with most devices and we have a Samsung TV which will one day have home automation integration. I so far only have the dot and a few lights, switches and our Sonos system hooked up to it. Will be adding more items as BF and post-christmasy sales happen. It is a chore as you have to do some basic programing work to set up "instances" and "triggers' for the echo to recognize.
Van Dyman
Footballguy
WINDOW HELP....ANYONE?
We've had some pretty ridiculous electricity bills in winter, at least by TN standards. The house isn't very old (2006). My wife is convinced we need to replace our home's windows, at least in two corner rooms where the temperature discrepancy is greatest.
The current windows are vinyl, clear (not low-E glazed), double-pane windows and with intact seals (no condensation between the panes).
I'm not necessarily on board with replacement windows. They'd leave less glass area (slightly reduced visibility) and I'd have to remove or redo the blinds.
So, maybe I could replace just the insulated glass units (IGUs) instead. New IGUs would have a low-E glaze and contain heavier gas (argon or krypton) to further reduce heat transfer. Of course, if the current frames have an air infiltration problem, replacing just the IGUs won't address that...but I'm not sure how to determine if they have an air infiltration issue or not.
What say ye?
Hawkeye21
Footballguy
I'm first going to start with Dots in a couple rooms. Then I think I'll try out some lights. May possibly move onto the thermostats but I have three in the house so that will be costly.
glvsav37
Footballguy
you'll still most likely need a hub when you start adding items. Look for starter kits, they usually come with the hub and 2-3 accessories...lights, switches, etc. I know the samsung has a starter kit with a good mix of items. Or check out eBay, many people buy the stater kits and if they have a hub already, sell the unused hubs there.
Its fun, don't get me wrong, just gotta add things slowly (at least for us). We just finishing renovating 2 big rooms and we are replacing everything with smart switches (at least 3 per room) so it will be fun to fully automate them.
Johnny Rock
Footballguy
I’m JAG but if the windows aren’t “bad” and they’re the same ones as in the ok rooms, then maybe something else needs to be addressed? My vote would be insulation.
Osaurus
Footballguy
. Was thinking the same thing. If your house is that new, something else is going on IMO.
SWC
Bromigo
thats a classy move by you brohan nicely done take that to the good on ya bank bromigo
Fat Nick
Footballguy
I use a Vera home automation controller. I've been using it since ~2011 when we bought our house. The earlier versions used only Z-wave, but now the new ones can use most interfaces. There is a native Echo/Alexa skill for it now as well. I've got many of my lights integrated, as well as my home alarm, thermostats, and door locks. I can basically name my various devices, and then tell Alexa what to do.
"Alexa, set the upstairs thermostat to 70."
"Alexa, turn the basement playroom light on"
"Alexa, dim the living room lamp to 50%"
Works great. As some have noted, the devices can get pricey fast. I went with Z-wave because I liked the Leviton Vizia switches. They're almost $60 a piece new. I have about 12-13 of them now...usually buying them off E-bay for about half that retail price. They look and act just like regular switches, except they can be controlled via the controller. Between switches, lamp modules, locks, thermostats, alarm interfaces, and some other DIY hacked items, I'm probably close to $1,000 in now, but Echo Dots have been real game changers as my wife never liked to use the phone app to do stuff. Now even my 3-year old yells at Alexa to turn things on and off.
McGarnicle
Footballguy
Burning stumps.
Catch the fever.
Catch the fever.
berndog
Footballguy
How seasoned do the stumps need to be?
I had a few trees cut down about a month ago and a stump burning could be just what the doctor ordered for Thanksgiving.
McGarnicle
Footballguy
wilked
Footballguy
You can rent an IR camera at Home Depot, or you can buy one for fairly cheap. Scan the areas (need high temp differential between inside and outside) and figure out where the cold spots are. You can see if you are missing insulation, etc.
Also, do the 'candle' test (or incense test) around the window, looking for air intrusion blowing the smoke or flame. That can point you to where you need to sure it up
Fat Nick
Footballguy
Even those little IR non-contact thermometers can help. No camera needed. I used one to shoot a wall in the bedroom over our garage and easily found 3 stud-gaps in the wall where the insulation had fallen down. Just shoot every 16" or so and look for changes in temp. Fixing it was a different story as the back side of the wall was basically in the eaves, but it was pretty easy to use that to figure out where it was missing. I think it cost $14 on Amazon.wilked said:
avoiding injuries
Footballguy
pollardsvision
Footballguy
I haven't noticed them overflowing, though I really haven't paid close enough attention.
I suspect the current issue is that the downspouts and runoffs are clogged and/or cracked. The downspouts run to some system that is underground. The end of the runoff is cracked and beaten up, so I can imagine the #### I can't see is in terrible shape. The leak in the basement is right where the 2 front downspouts go underground.
The simple short-term fix would seem to be cutting the downspouts and rerouting with the ugly black tubes. I'm fine with doing that. Even fine with running it all above ground so it's easier to inspect/maintain.
I'm getting some quotes in the next couple of days for new gutters (K-Guard and some other company some other type of leaf guard). If I can fit it into budget, I'm open to it even if not absolutely necessary just yet. Long-term, I'd just like to keep all the crap out of the gutters. Also, the current ones are just generally in bad shape. Beat up and rusted (the amount of rust on the outside could be age, but also I'm guessing maybe a sign of some overflow).
I'm hoping it would be a manageable cost. I'm really only interested in the front gutters and that's only about 50 feet of gutters plus 4 downspouts. We'll see.
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msommer
Footballguy
Fixing the pipes will not be easier in terms of labor but possibly cheaper and definitely more in the variety of things you can do yourself.
See if you can spot any blockages in the vertical bit underground. That may well be where the stoppage is. But the real solutions could very well be to rent a bobcat and run new pipes.
You may also want to dig the foundation free where the water is coming in. It is possible that there is a weakened area from the water. That happened to me in my old house. Previous owners had not properly fixed the foundation where the gas pipe went through and the foundation was almost hollowed out straight through.
Once discovered it was a pretty straight forward and easy fix. Didn't cost much either.
The problem could be either of those or a combination. If so, fixing the gutters will not help
Fat Nick
Footballguy
Take a look at the picture on AMAZON and you'll see what I mean. It's a little gun. It shoots a laser dot on the wall, and you pull the trigger, and the display gives you the temperature of where that dot was. Don't get me wrong, it's not nearly as useful or quick as an IR camera, but it costs like 10% as much.
glvsav37
Footballguy
@pollardsvision what about digging up the underground unit that the pipes are tied into? Is it close to where you are having the problem? Its possible the blockage is in there, or at the connections and once that is clear it will work as normal again?
We have a dry well that a few down spouts are tied into. Our's is not that deep, so i can get to it easily if needed. While you are at it, you may want to replace the pipes that go directly underground with these catch alls right under the downspout. This way you can easily see if the problem/clog is below ground or in the gutter system—If water is backing up in the catch all, then its the underground system. If no water is coming out of the downspout, then its in the gutter.
With these you can take the cover off and snake out the underground pipes, and the cover will keep a lot of the junk from the gutters out as it is. Vs a completely closed system.
We have a dry well that a few down spouts are tied into. Our's is not that deep, so i can get to it easily if needed. While you are at it, you may want to replace the pipes that go directly underground with these catch alls right under the downspout. This way you can easily see if the problem/clog is below ground or in the gutter system—If water is backing up in the catch all, then its the underground system. If no water is coming out of the downspout, then its in the gutter.
With these you can take the cover off and snake out the underground pipes, and the cover will keep a lot of the junk from the gutters out as it is. Vs a completely closed system.
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Mr. Ected
Footballguy
Apologize if these are Hondas, but figured it was better to ask here than start a thread.
Couple toilet-related questions.
1) I have one toilet where the flush is "soft." You know when you try to flush and you have to press down quite a ways or it doesn't always work? I have tried moving the chain to a point on the handle arm where it was shorter, but I am still having those issues. Do I need to replace the handle and arm, or the flapper?
2) I have a teen-aged boy that is constantly clogging their toilet. He does it to others, but sometimes he will clog his a couple times a week; even to the point where I have had to call a plumber out to unclog it. He claims that he doesn't use a ton of TP, but who knows. Is this something that could just be related to the toilet, and replacing it might help? Or do I just need to send him for intense training on how to properly take a dump?
If I did need to replace, does anyone have any ball-park figures on what that would cost?
Couple toilet-related questions.
1) I have one toilet where the flush is "soft." You know when you try to flush and you have to press down quite a ways or it doesn't always work? I have tried moving the chain to a point on the handle arm where it was shorter, but I am still having those issues. Do I need to replace the handle and arm, or the flapper?
2) I have a teen-aged boy that is constantly clogging their toilet. He does it to others, but sometimes he will clog his a couple times a week; even to the point where I have had to call a plumber out to unclog it. He claims that he doesn't use a ton of TP, but who knows. Is this something that could just be related to the toilet, and replacing it might help? Or do I just need to send him for intense training on how to properly take a dump?
If I did need to replace, does anyone have any ball-park figures on what that would cost?
berndog
Footballguy
My kids were constantly plugging a toilet and I replaced it with a newer model. Previously the plunger never left the bathroom and now I have no idea where it is. I spent ~$200 on a toilet and put it in myself. Probably a couple hours by the time you're all said and done but not a difficult project. No idea what a plumber would charge to install one.Apologize if these are Hondas, but figured it was better to ask here than start a thread.
Couple toilet-related questions.
2) I have a teen-aged boy that is constantly clogging their toilet. He does it to others, but sometimes he will clog his a couple times a week; even to the point where I have had to call a plumber out to unclog it. He claims that he doesn't use a ton of TP, but who knows. Is this something that could just be related to the toilet, and replacing it might help? Or do I just need to send him for intense training on how to properly take a dump?
Mr. Ected
Footballguy
East Coast Bias
Footballguy
I replaced all three of mine a page or two ago. Toilets have two bolts. Very easy.They don't look that hard, but removing the old one is what I am fearing!!
Mr. Ected
Footballguy
I'll go back and look. It's not the bolts, it's the bilge!!!I replaced all three of mine a page or two ago. Toilets have two bolts. Very easy.They don't look that hard, but removing the old one is what I am fearing!!
wilked
Footballguy
Get a Toto Drake and you'll not have another clogThey don't look that hard, but removing the old one is what I am fearing!!
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
1. Do you have the float high enough so there is enough water in there?Mr. Ected said:Apologize if these are Hondas, but figured it was better to ask here than start a thread.
Couple toilet-related questions.
1) I have one toilet where the flush is "soft." You know when you try to flush and you have to press down quite a ways or it doesn't always work? I have tried moving the chain to a point on the handle arm where it was shorter, but I am still having those issues. Do I need to replace the handle and arm, or the flapper?
2) I have a teen-aged boy that is constantly clogging their toilet. He does it to others, but sometimes he will clog his a couple times a week; even to the point where I have had to call a plumber out to unclog it. He claims that he doesn't use a ton of TP, but who knows. Is this something that could just be related to the toilet, and replacing it might help? Or do I just need to send him for intense training on how to properly take a dump?
If I did need to replace, does anyone have any ball-park figures on what that would cost?
2. Fiber
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Once I get new gutters, I'm going to dig up/replace the drainage pipes.
Even if the gutters aren't the immediate problem, I'm going to replace anyway. Long-term those old crappy, worn out gutters just aren't going to work. I got some quotes from the K Guard guy. To do the entire house in K Guard will run $2250, to do front of house only in K Guard will be $1500, and front-only with a mesh filtering type of gutter will be $1000. Right now, I'm leaning towards the $1500 option. Back of house gutters just don't matter much, and I think the extra $500 for K Guard makes sense. I think they'd do a better job with the pine needles, and the lifetime no clog guarantee is nice (it says it right on the box!). Mesh filter gutters seem like they'd still need some maintenance as the filters get gunked up.
Anyway, I think I'd feel better starting with the gutters. Get nice ones that'll collect all that water and go from there.
msommer
Footballguy
If your current gutters are crap, then change them. But IMHO that's unrelated to the water issue.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
I went ahead and ordered some solid black tubing and downspout adapters. I agree that, even though the gutters are crap, water is likely getting down the downspouts and into those buried pipes. The water coming into the basement seems to localized for that not to be the case. I'll go ahead hook up the pipe to the downspouts and run it away. It can't hurt, and it can be reused when the new gutters are installed (which likely won't be for another couple of months and I'm sure one big snow storm).
wilked
Footballguy
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