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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Nov 14, 2016 15:42:16 GMT -5
I was talking to my in-laws over the weekend and mentioned that we probably would be holding off any work for awhile. And my MIL was all "but WHY?" and then my FIL was like "but I can get you some names! you might as well get some estimates!"
And since part of what we went around about was "well how much will this cost?" "well I don't know, we need to get estimates!" "but if we get estimates, we'll feel obligated!" but my FIL assured me there was no obligation to get a ballpark... what the hell. Might as well.
I'm not holding my breath. But I WOULD like to know what this would actually (roughly) cost, because I can come up with plausible scenarios that swing about $10k... so at least I may know that soon enough.
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Post by nowimnothing on Nov 14, 2016 16:24:58 GMT -5
I was talking to my in-laws over the weekend and mentioned that we probably would be holding off any work for awhile. And my MIL was all "but WHY?" and then my FIL was like "but I can get you some names! you might as well get some estimates!" And since part of what we went around about was "well how much will this cost?" "well I don't know, we need to get estimates!" "but if we get estimates, we'll feel obligated!" but my FIL assured me there was no obligation to get a ballpark... what the hell. Might as well. I'm not holding my breath. But I WOULD like to know what this would actually (roughly) cost, because I can come up with plausible scenarios that swing about $10k... so at least I may know that soon enough. I would be more comfortable doing that with a large company like Lowes or something. I hate to make a small 4-5 person company take the time to give me much more than a very general quote. Though I know people do that all the time and that small companies are used to it, it just feels more like a job interview when I am working with a small company. And I really hate leaving interviewees hanging or worse yet, mysteriously re-post the job a couple of months later.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Nov 14, 2016 16:51:00 GMT -5
I was talking to my in-laws over the weekend and mentioned that we probably would be holding off any work for awhile. And my MIL was all "but WHY?" and then my FIL was like "but I can get you some names! you might as well get some estimates!" And since part of what we went around about was "well how much will this cost?" "well I don't know, we need to get estimates!" "but if we get estimates, we'll feel obligated!" but my FIL assured me there was no obligation to get a ballpark... what the hell. Might as well. I'm not holding my breath. But I WOULD like to know what this would actually (roughly) cost, because I can come up with plausible scenarios that swing about $10k... so at least I may know that soon enough. I would be more comfortable doing that with a large company like Lowes or something. I hate to make a small 4-5 person company take the time to give me much more than a very general quote. Though I know people do that all the time and that small companies are used to it, it just feels more like a job interview when I am working with a small company. And I really hate leaving interviewees hanging or worse yet, mysteriously re-post the job a couple of months later. In this specific case it's a builder my FIL does work with, I think they're decent sized. He had me email the guy pictures and specs so it's a very general quote and I don't feel like I'm wasting too much time
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Post by nowimnothing on Nov 14, 2016 16:57:26 GMT -5
I would be more comfortable doing that with a large company like Lowes or something. I hate to make a small 4-5 person company take the time to give me much more than a very general quote. Though I know people do that all the time and that small companies are used to it, it just feels more like a job interview when I am working with a small company. And I really hate leaving interviewees hanging or worse yet, mysteriously re-post the job a couple of months later. In this specific case it's a builder my FIL does work with, I think they're decent sized. He had me email the guy pictures and specs so it's a very general quote and I don't feel like I'm wasting too much time That is perfectly fair. I did get an electrician friend to give me a quote on a new breaker box last spring then I never called him back because my water main busted and I had to get it fixed. Luckily I have not run into him in a social situation since then
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Nov 15, 2016 10:54:13 GMT -5
In much more minor homeowner woes, we have a five-burner range; the middle one is an oval-shaped burner meant for a griddle. The ring of fire is not working quite right, and the front quarter or so doesn't come on consistently. I cleaned the outside off as best I could, in case the little holes were blocked, but that doesn't seem to be the problem. I probably need to take the burner cover off, don't I?
Overall, it's a great range, but it is a pain to clean.
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Post by Liz n Dick on Nov 15, 2016 10:59:43 GMT -5
The electrician is at the house today to work on our gymgarage. FORWARD PROGRESS! Last week's progress was the roofing, which we were told would take one day, but which took one+ days... the bulk of the work on Tuesday and then about 45 minutes of finishing up all the way on Sunday. There'd been talk of the electrician coming in, or the stairs being installed, but between Tuesday and Sunday literally nothing happened. No one even came by to poke at the project and then leave. Our contractor is adorably adamant that this is an eight-week project, tops. I don't believe him.
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Post by nowimnothing on Nov 15, 2016 13:54:28 GMT -5
In much more minor homeowner woes, we have a five-burner range; the middle one is an oval-shaped burner meant for a griddle. The ring of fire is not working quite right, and the front quarter or so doesn't come on consistently. I cleaned the outside off as best I could, in case the little holes were blocked, but that doesn't seem to be the problem. I probably need to take the burner cover off, don't I? Overall, it's a great range, but it is a pain to clean. Mine just pulls off for easy cleaning. But even after soaking it in a variety of hazardous chemicals my center burner never works right either.
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Post by Liz n Dick on Nov 15, 2016 15:20:06 GMT -5
In much more minor homeowner woes, we have a five-burner range; the middle one is an oval-shaped burner meant for a griddle. The ring of fire is not working quite right, and the front quarter or so doesn't come on consistently. I cleaned the outside off as best I could, in case the little holes were blocked, but that doesn't seem to be the problem. I probably need to take the burner cover off, don't I? Overall, it's a great range, but it is a pain to clean. Mine just pulls off for easy cleaning. But even after soaking it in a variety of hazardous chemicals my center burner never works right either. Yeah, my center burner is the "power burner" with a two-tier monster flame. And it always splutters and poofs and is generally kinda scary, so I never bother using it. But it's also very easy to clean!
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Nov 15, 2016 15:27:40 GMT -5
Mine just pulls off for easy cleaning. But even after soaking it in a variety of hazardous chemicals my center burner never works right either. Yeah, my center burner is the "power burner" with a two-tier monster flame. And it always splutters and poofs and is generally kinda scary, so I never bother using it. But it's also very easy to clean! Oh, the burners lift off, that part is easy enough. It's just that the big oblong O is now looking like a U. It's kind of a weak flame, though, so it's not the best for heavy-duty griddling anyway.
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Trurl
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Post by Trurl on Nov 17, 2016 8:35:28 GMT -5
In much more minor homeowner woes, we have a five-burner range; the middle one is an oval-shaped burner meant for a griddle. The ring of fire is not working quite right, and the front quarter or so doesn't come on consistently. I cleaned the outside off as best I could, in case the little holes were blocked, but that doesn't seem to be the problem. I probably need to take the burner cover off, don't I? Overall, it's a great range, but it is a pain to clean. Maybe a brass brush to go over the holes inside and out?
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Nov 17, 2016 9:16:19 GMT -5
In much more minor homeowner woes, we have a five-burner range; the middle one is an oval-shaped burner meant for a griddle. The ring of fire is not working quite right, and the front quarter or so doesn't come on consistently. I cleaned the outside off as best I could, in case the little holes were blocked, but that doesn't seem to be the problem. I probably need to take the burner cover off, don't I? Overall, it's a great range, but it is a pain to clean. Maybe a brass brush to go over the holes inside and out? I took the burner cover thingie off the other day, and while there's some gunk around the edges, I don't see anything that would prevent the gas/flame from working. I will probably try more thoroughly cleaning/soaking the cover just to make sure the holes are clear, but who knows, the connection could just be a little wonky. Stiff brush is a good idea, too, thanks.
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Trurl
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Post by Trurl on Nov 17, 2016 9:20:18 GMT -5
For the past almost year or so the bearings on our front-loader washing machine have been going and the thing sounded like a jet taking off during the spin cycle, but we nursed it along because we didn't have the money to replace it (it's > 12 years old) and I didn't want to put the time and effort in to fixing a 12+ year old washing machine. But last week one of the supports behind the drum finally broke, so the machine not only made high-speed jet engine noises, it made frightening banging sounds as a broken metal strut was flung around by a five-amp motor.
Google said the broken part was called a "spider arm", and it must have corroded through. I figured that few things are so broken that they can't be fixed with some steel strapping and stove bolts, so Monday I got to work. I hauled the washing machine out to the back porch and removed the tub enclosure, but it turns out that the shaft had seized to the bearings so I couldn't get the stainless steel tub out of the enclosure. Not to worry, the internet says - just tap on the shaft end with a hammer (use a block of wood to protect the shaft) and Bob's your uncle. So I threw together a jig so that when I tapped on the shaft, the tub wouldn't be damaged when it popped out.
I then spent a half-hour gently tapping on the shaft, followed by another half-hour of furiously hammering on the shaft, turning lots of scrap lumber into kindling. Exhausted, I broke down and soaked the whole bastard in Liquid Wrench, let it sit, then spent an hour or so wiggling the tub around, seeing if it loosened. Tapped some more. Soaked some more. Wiggled some more. Said "fuck it" and soaked it and let it sit overnight (n.b. - I may have said "fuck it", or words to that effect, more than once).
Tuesday morning, back on the jig, it's still seized solid. Realizing that at this point I won't be able to remove the tub without potentially damaging the bearing mounting, I get an axe and use the butt of it as a sledge and wail on the shaft, more to work out frustration than to actually remove the tub, because I've resigned myself to replacing the whole machine. Then I package everything up and drag the corpse of the machine to a place behind the house where it can wait for the next curbside pickup.
Managed to track down a nice LG front-load washer on sale at sears, and haggled it down. Got my BIL to help schlep it home, got it hooked up - the washing machine actually has an app, how fancy. Now I knew that my old dryer wouldn't stack with the new washer but I was pretty certain I could fab something to hold them together using the mounting brackets from the old machine. But I discovered that my options for that were more limited than I was expecting - right now I have a the dryer on a heavy foam pad on the washer; it deadens any movement of the dryer, I may just anchor it to the wall to prevent it from falling off the washer and leaving it as-is.
So the moral of the story is, fuck washing machines. Fuck their "you have a bad bearing, you'll have to replace the entire tub and enclosure for > $300". Fuck their infinite lack of compatibility. And especial fuck their "let's use cinderblocks to dampen vibration" strategy that means working on them means near constant back pain and swearing.
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Trurl
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Post by Trurl on Nov 17, 2016 9:21:40 GMT -5
Maybe a brass brush to go over the holes inside and out? I took the burner cover thingie off the other day, and while there's some gunk around the edges, I don't see anything that would prevent the gas/flame from working. I will probably try more thoroughly cleaning/soaking the cover just to make sure the holes are clear, but who knows, the connection could just be a little wonky. Stiff brush is a good idea, too, thanks. It doesn't need to be that much of a blockage - just altering the gas flow will substantially affect the flame.
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Trurl
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Post by Trurl on Nov 17, 2016 9:35:20 GMT -5
Maybe a brass brush to go over the holes inside and out? I took the burner cover thingie off the other day, and while there's some gunk around the edges, I don't see anything that would prevent the gas/flame from working. I will probably try more thoroughly cleaning/soaking the cover just to make sure the holes are clear, but who knows, the connection could just be a little wonky. Stiff brush is a good idea, too, thanks. I'm suddenly reminded that when I was a child, one of my tasks was trimming the wicks of the kerosene lamps (because it's a messy job - apparently I was a houseboy at Downton Abbey). If even a single thread of the wick was not trimmed correctly the flame gets all wonky.
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Post by Liz n Dick on Nov 17, 2016 11:48:26 GMT -5
Trurl, I recognize all the words you're using as English, but I don't understand them how they are strung together. You are unimaginable orders of magnitude more handy than I am, sir, and I'm totally fascinated by your washing machine tale of woe (and kerosene lamp experiences???). I recall thoroughly enjoying "The Martian" because it was a couple of hours of watching very competent people do creatively competent things, and I feel like the saga of the washing machine was like a very tiny version of the same. (Yeah, that's right -- I liken being able to fix your own washing machine with being able to survive on Mars.)
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Post by Dr. Rumak on Nov 17, 2016 12:34:15 GMT -5
Well, I was hoping that when our roof was being replaced, we could extend the vent system into the addition, so that it was on central air. But the air conditioning guy says there isn't enough room between the ceiling and the roof for that to happen.
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Post by Powerthirteen on Nov 17, 2016 16:29:18 GMT -5
Trurl , I recognize all the words you're using as English, but I don't understand them how they are strung together. You are unimaginable orders of magnitude more handy than I am, sir, and I'm totally fascinated by your washing machine tale of woe (and kerosene lamp experiences???). I recall thoroughly enjoying "The Martian" because it was a couple of hours of watching very competent people do creatively competent things, and I feel like the saga of the washing machine was like a very tiny version of the same. (Yeah, that's right -- I liken being able to fix your own washing machine with being able to survive on Mars.) My grandfather was great at fixing washing machines and other appliances. It was like having a miracle worker available 24/7.
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Post by Floyd D Barber on Nov 17, 2016 20:23:40 GMT -5
My parents built their house in 1957, and over the next few years they stocked it with new appliances. Most of those appliances were still working when I graduated high school. Some time in the 1980's appliances started dying. Within 18 months they had replaced the freezer, refrigerator, stove, oven, washer, drier, water heater, and furnace. That first set of appliances lasted around 20-25 years. Their replacements lasted anywhere from about 2 - 7 years. Durability has not improved overall since then. The biggest problem with trying to repair appliances made today is that they are pretty much designed to be unrepairable. I think this trend started with substituting "permanent" bearings in things instead of bearings that can be lubricated as needed. Of course, that happened partly because people rarely bothered to oil the damn bearings. Seriously, if you want a washer or drier that can be repaired, go to some estate auctions, and look for one of those Maytag's from the 50's, 60's and early 70's. It's kind of amazing how many of those are still chugging away in basements around the country, and they often sell dirt cheap. Over the last 20 years or so, since I bought my own place, I have bought several, usually for anywhere from a dollar to $20. I gave a couple away, sold one or two for a few bucks, and have had as many as 3 washers and 3 driers when I had the warehouse. On these older units it's possible to replace bearings, repair control units, replace the heating elements on a lot of driers, and so on. It isn't always practical to do this after your machine dies, but if you have a little extra room in the garage, or basement, or somewhere, watch for a deal, buy it, and keep it in reserve. My mom bought a new washing machine a few years before she passed away. She hated it. I inherited it with the farmhouse. I hate it. My girlfriend hates it. Fortunately, we have a big walk-in basement, so I brought an ancient Maytag I got somewhere at an auction over from my old place. As soon as I work up the courage to try to uncouple the hoses from the new washer, I'm going to swap it out with the old one (they had extremely hard well water for decades, before we got city water. It has corroded all the pipes and fittings. The last time I tried to replace a washer hose for Mom, every connection crumbled, and I ended up replacing about 20 feet of the pipes feeding the washer. I may wait until I start the great re-plumbing project.) I do something similar with hand tools. I have gathered enough old tools at auctions and flea markets that I have sets of good (mostly old american made, such as craftsman) tools for the house, shop, and each vehicle. Even the Craftsman tools of today seem to be junk compared to the ones from 40 or 50 years ago.
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Gumbercules
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Post by Gumbercules on Nov 21, 2016 14:23:24 GMT -5
If you're a fan of peeling labels off of bottles/cans, you are going to LOVE removing wallpaper.
I worked through some shit yesterday.
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moimoi
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Post by moimoi on Nov 28, 2016 16:36:42 GMT -5
Not sure who all may benefit, but I just scored the Ecobee programmable thermostat I've been eyeing for more than a year for $99! www.comedmarketplace.com/collections/cyber-mondayI went with the Ecobee because I figure it's less popular and therefore less likely to get hacked than the Nest. Also it has sensors you can put in different rooms, so I can keep the basement toasty for potential tenants.
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Post by ganews on Nov 28, 2016 20:36:42 GMT -5
I wish I could keep my basement toasty. Being in a split-level, our basement is eternally five to ten degrees F cooler than the upstairs. It's a fine thing for summer, and will be even finer with the Christmas present I just bought for Wifemate (a digital projector and a cool antique projection screen) to compliment living room #2. The only way to stay down there for an extended time in winter is with many piles of blankets, assuming you're a cold-blooded creature like us.
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Gumbercules
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Post by Gumbercules on Nov 29, 2016 7:33:34 GMT -5
In taking down the wallpaper in my hallway, I found some deteriorating plaster. So, I have a question for you. This plaster is at a corner, but on the other wall it's a door frame. So, it goes from plaster on one wall to wood. How would you go about repairing that? I thought there was a thin strip of wall, so I could use mesh tape to form a structure and then apply spackle to that, but I can't do that here. It's not massive damage, but the edges are crumbling. Also that entire section was never properly secured, so I'll be screwing that to the lath behind it.
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Post by nowimnothing on Nov 29, 2016 9:08:04 GMT -5
In taking down the wallpaper in my hallway, I found some deteriorating plaster. So, I have a question for you. This plaster is at a corner, but on the other wall it's a door frame. So, it goes from plaster on one wall to wood. How would you go about repairing that? I thought there was a thin strip of wall, so I could use mesh tape to form a structure and then apply spackle to that, but I can't do that here. It's not massive damage, but the edges are crumbling. Also that entire section was never properly secured, so I'll be screwing that to the lath behind it. Is the plaster thick enough that you could put a strip of 1/4" drywall on top of the lathe and have it fairly even in depth? I did that in a few spots in my house. The dry wall is always thicker so you can tell it was patched, but it is a lot less work than your other alternative* which is trying to trying to chip the plaster back to a stud and then removing the lathe and putting in a larger piece of 1/2". *Which has never worked for me as I can never stop the plaster from crumbling at the right spot. I have heard people tell me that you cannot patch plaster with drywall and mud due to differences in their expansion and contraction rates, but if you use mesh tape I think you will be ok. I have some patches over 10 years old with no cracks. I had about 5 layers of wallpaper on top of plaster in most rooms of my house when we moved in. I stripped it all down to the bare plaster which had never even been painted. I did have a few sections like you in corners where it seemed the only thing holding the plaster together was the wallpaper. At first I was determined to get it all off and start fresh, but after all the work (plaster and drywall patches, crown molding to hide imperfections) I started just leaving bits of wallpaper and just put a skim coat over it before painting. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably go that route more often. The results were often better than what I ended up with where I took it all off.
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Gumbercules
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Post by Gumbercules on Nov 29, 2016 10:21:39 GMT -5
In taking down the wallpaper in my hallway, I found some deteriorating plaster. So, I have a question for you. This plaster is at a corner, but on the other wall it's a door frame. So, it goes from plaster on one wall to wood. How would you go about repairing that? I thought there was a thin strip of wall, so I could use mesh tape to form a structure and then apply spackle to that, but I can't do that here. It's not massive damage, but the edges are crumbling. Also that entire section was never properly secured, so I'll be screwing that to the lath behind it. Is the plaster thick enough that you could put a strip of 1/4" drywall on top of the lathe and have it fairly even in depth? I did that in a few spots in my house. The dry wall is always thicker so you can tell it was patched, but it is a lot less work than your other alternative* which is trying to trying to chip the plaster back to a stud and then removing the lathe and putting in a larger piece of 1/2". *Which has never worked for me as I can never stop the plaster from crumbling at the right spot. I have heard people tell me that you cannot patch plaster with drywall and mud due to differences in their expansion and contraction rates, but if you use mesh tape I think you will be ok. I have some patches over 10 years old with no cracks. I had about 5 layers of wallpaper on top of plaster in most rooms of my house when we moved in. I stripped it all down to the bare plaster which had never even been painted. I did have a few sections like you in corners where it seemed the only thing holding the plaster together was the wallpaper. At first I was determined to get it all off and start fresh, but after all the work (plaster and drywall patches, crown molding to hide imperfections) I started just leaving bits of wallpaper and just put a skim coat over it before painting. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably go that route more often. The results were often better than what I ended up with where I took it all off. Good lord that's a lot of work you've done. Unfortunately it's not thick enough for me to follow your suggestion. This is a small section of wall. It's between my basement door and my back door, probably 2 ft across at most. So it might be easier to replace that piece of wall altogether. As mentioned before, that piece isn't really secured well to begin with, and my coworkers think when putting in the drywall screws, it's just going to crumble the existing plaster and make things worse anyway. We'll see how it goes. Someone recommended I pull off the molding, so that I can properly work with a corner, then reattach the molding. My main concern is damaging the molding, though, since I'd have to get it custom built if I screw it up. I'm going to try the tape, leaving it unattached to the molding. I'll see how it looks, and if it's not terrible looking, it's so far in a corner of a not-well-lit hallway that I don't really care anyway.
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Nov 29, 2016 10:28:55 GMT -5
Not sure who all may benefit, but I just scored the Ecobee programmable thermostat I've been eyeing for more than a year for $99! www.comedmarketplace.com/collections/cyber-mondayI went with the Ecobee because I figure it's less popular and therefore less likely to get hacked than the Nest. Also it has sensors you can put in different rooms, so I can keep the basement toasty for potential tenants. I'm jealous, the cheapest I've seen the sensor pack here with recent deals is $224. I'm probably going to wait til next spring to get one either way as my heat does ok but the option to have the AC run based on the upstairs sensor would be amazing. Also need to see about maybe running an extra vent which will be a giant pain in the ass heh... Speaking of heating and cooling I spent most of sunday under the converted porch part of my living room putting up extra insulation panels to protect the big beams not really covered by whoever did the spray foaming earlier. The crawlspace was of course perfectly in between comfortable using the driver laying down and using it sitting up so getting leverage to get screws into giant 100+ year old beams was super super fun. It's three days later and my back and shoulders are still aching. Hopefully my front half of the living room is a bit less chilly this year as a result.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Nov 29, 2016 11:50:57 GMT -5
In the ongoing saga of our floors and/or kitchen... The builder guy got back to me and wants to do taller, more functional cabinets, nicer floors, quartz counters etc. Which yes is ultimately want we want ... but apparently we're talking around $30k to do that, which ... is way more than we want to spend at this point. So I tell this all to my husband and mention that yeah, doing it individually would likely be cheaper (even total) because the tradesguys who do one thing cost less than the guys who do all of them... and he says well, maybe we can just do the floors. I feel like I'm being teased here, so I told him we'll talk again more seriously in January
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Post by nowimnothing on Nov 29, 2016 13:06:50 GMT -5
Is the plaster thick enough that you could put a strip of 1/4" drywall on top of the lathe and have it fairly even in depth? I did that in a few spots in my house. The dry wall is always thicker so you can tell it was patched, but it is a lot less work than your other alternative* which is trying to trying to chip the plaster back to a stud and then removing the lathe and putting in a larger piece of 1/2". *Which has never worked for me as I can never stop the plaster from crumbling at the right spot. I have heard people tell me that you cannot patch plaster with drywall and mud due to differences in their expansion and contraction rates, but if you use mesh tape I think you will be ok. I have some patches over 10 years old with no cracks. I had about 5 layers of wallpaper on top of plaster in most rooms of my house when we moved in. I stripped it all down to the bare plaster which had never even been painted. I did have a few sections like you in corners where it seemed the only thing holding the plaster together was the wallpaper. At first I was determined to get it all off and start fresh, but after all the work (plaster and drywall patches, crown molding to hide imperfections) I started just leaving bits of wallpaper and just put a skim coat over it before painting. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably go that route more often. The results were often better than what I ended up with where I took it all off. Good lord that's a lot of work you've done. Unfortunately it's not thick enough for me to follow your suggestion. This is a small section of wall. It's between my basement door and my back door, probably 2 ft across at most. So it might be easier to replace that piece of wall altogether. As mentioned before, that piece isn't really secured well to begin with, and my coworkers think when putting in the drywall screws, it's just going to crumble the existing plaster and make things worse anyway. We'll see how it goes. Someone recommended I pull off the molding, so that I can properly work with a corner, then reattach the molding. My main concern is damaging the molding, though, since I'd have to get it custom built if I screw it up. I'm going to try the tape, leaving it unattached to the molding. I'll see how it looks, and if it's not terrible looking, it's so far in a corner of a not-well-lit hallway that I don't really care anyway. One tip for working with mesh tape across a gap of more than 1 inch or so: work in small sections and let it dry, otherwise the tape will sag under the weight of the mud and/or the mud will droop between the spaces in the mesh leaving a lot of sanding to do.
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Post by Liz n Dick on Nov 30, 2016 12:42:37 GMT -5
I wish I could keep my basement toasty. Being in a split-level, our basement is eternally five to ten degrees F cooler than the upstairs. It's a fine thing for summer, and will be even finer with the Christmas present I just bought for Wifemate (a digital projector and a cool antique projection screen) to compliment living room #2. The only way to stay down there for an extended time in winter is with many piles of blankets, assuming you're a cold-blooded creature like us. My house is a split-level as well, and Boomer's bedroom is a mother-in-law suite in the walk-out part of the basement. So it's frigid year-round, where it's naturally chilly in the wintertime and blustery-cold in the summer from how hard we have to run the AC to cool the upstairs rooms. The interesting thing, though, was when our power was out for a week after Hurricane Sandy. The weather got unseasonably cold immediately after the storm (we got a snowy nor'easter in the first week of November immediately on the tail of the hurricane), and our indoor temps plummeted to the point of being almost unlivable. Yet strangely... Boomer's room was cozy and snug; the basement was easily 10-15 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. So, no -- it doesn't stay as warm when the furnace is running, but if you're without a furnace that basement dug-out quality is totally a great insulator!
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Trurl
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Post by Trurl on Dec 3, 2016 19:11:12 GMT -5
In taking down the wallpaper in my hallway, I found some deteriorating plaster. So, I have a question for you. This plaster is at a corner, but on the other wall it's a door frame. So, it goes from plaster on one wall to wood. How would you go about repairing that? I thought there was a thin strip of wall, so I could use mesh tape to form a structure and then apply spackle to that, but I can't do that here. It's not massive damage, but the edges are crumbling. Also that entire section was never properly secured, so I'll be screwing that to the lath behind it. The oldschool plaster-and-lath technique has a bottom layer called a brown coat that's coarse and full of hair - that layer squooshes between the laths and forms "keys" holding the plaster layer to the lath, then when it's cured you do a skim coat over it. I've done this to repair the countless holes in the walls here; you can do the brown coat with plain drywall mud (and I have, with smaller holes maybe a few inches across), though note that the drying-type mud isn't as strong as curing-type, if it's in a bit of the wall that might get bumped or a place where the plaster cracks frequently. Plain curing type plaster without hair and crap would be fine for larger holes. And I wouldn't worry too much about different expansion rates - the lath should be keeping everything as a piece. Getting an even brown coat layer is a pain-in-the-ass, but practising on smaller holes is a good place to start. Getting a smooth skim coat is an art that I haven't achieved, I always get to "good enough" and sand it (a palm sander with a shopvac nozzle ducttaped to it makes the job go faster, but will kill the sander pretty quickly. But they're cheap).
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Trurl
Shoutbox Elitist
Posts: 7,471
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Post by Trurl on Dec 3, 2016 19:16:38 GMT -5
In taking down the wallpaper in my hallway, I found some deteriorating plaster. So, I have a question for you. This plaster is at a corner, but on the other wall it's a door frame. So, it goes from plaster on one wall to wood. How would you go about repairing that? I thought there was a thin strip of wall, so I could use mesh tape to form a structure and then apply spackle to that, but I can't do that here. It's not massive damage, but the edges are crumbling. Also that entire section was never properly secured, so I'll be screwing that to the lath behind it. Is the plaster thick enough that you could put a strip of 1/4" drywall on top of the lathe and have it fairly even in depth? I did that in a few spots in my house. The dry wall is always thicker so you can tell it was patched, but it is a lot less work than your other alternative* which is trying to trying to chip the plaster back to a stud and then removing the lathe and putting in a larger piece of 1/2". *Which has never worked for me as I can never stop the plaster from crumbling at the right spot. I have heard people tell me that you cannot patch plaster with drywall and mud due to differences in their expansion and contraction rates, but if you use mesh tape I think you will be ok. I have some patches over 10 years old with no cracks. I had about 5 layers of wallpaper on top of plaster in most rooms of my house when we moved in. I stripped it all down to the bare plaster which had never even been painted. I did have a few sections like you in corners where it seemed the only thing holding the plaster together was the wallpaper. At first I was determined to get it all off and start fresh, but after all the work (plaster and drywall patches, crown molding to hide imperfections) I started just leaving bits of wallpaper and just put a skim coat over it before painting. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably go that route more often. The results were often better than what I ended up with where I took it all off. Where would we be without moulding? I've seriously thought about saying "fuck it" and putting wainscotting everywhere .
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