Home Improvement

Blitz said:

So I just moved into a new condo, and I need a little advice with the world's most horrifying monster - the wasp... This new place has a nice new wrap around balcony and while outside we noticed quite a few wasps. More than normal. We did notice a few small nests. But I am a little paranoid this new place might be susceptible to a constant wasp "influx", maybe because the balcony faces a pretty dense tree line with a river behind it?

Anyone have any recommendations? In past places I've always just checked the surroundings of my places and just sprayed any nests being built down. Anyone have any experiences with wasp decoys or anything else helpful?

Fuck wasps, I'm trying to enjoy this badass balcony.

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Not sure about wasps, specifically, but a mason jar with holes poked in the lid and about 1/2" full of apple cider vinegar in the bottom attracts most insects and kills them (due to not being able to get out). Obviously you'll want to place it as far away as possible from where you'll be spending time on your deck.

Damnit, I just read that entire post in Ron Swanson's voice

Sledge said:

Get this, on the same line as the security system.....there were two OUTDOOR plugs on the back of the house.

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Usually, the reverse is true: someone plugged the security system into the basement/outdoor receptacle circuit, and they shouldn't have. Those have to be GFCI protected, by code. The same with outlets in an unfinished basement. So often you'll see them on the same circuit, protected by the same GFCI.

If the electrical contractor also installed the alarm, then yeah, they should have added an outlet for the alarm. But often what happens is the electricians will wire the house w/o even knowing if there's going to be an alarm system, or they know there is going to be one but they aren't being paid by the contractor to add a circuit for it, and then the alarm contractor comes back after the house is finished and they're forced to plug the alarm in wherever they can find an outlet. We always added at least one outlet at the panel itself, but I'm not sure that's even code. We just did that because it's nice to have.

usually a dedicated circuit for something like that is an extra, and the odds are good that the builder didn't ask the electricians for one when they were bidding/quoting. Or didn't want to pay extra for one later, and the Alarm guys might not care either if they can just find a random outlet to plug into.

The funny thing about this is that I can walk up to most homes and pull your meter without much trouble and kill your entire house, so the GFCI outlet thing is more a nuisance than anything else. Plus, unless the security system is just for show, it should have had a battery backup anyways.

Arative said:

What's the best product to get soap and hard water buildup off a glass shower door without damaging the glass?

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Commonly available, works well enough, can take more than one application. On verticles I staturate a paper towel with it and 'wall paper' over the worst areas to let to park on the surface without draining down the wall. Because it isnt super aggressive (non-damaging) it can take multiple applications to get perfection.

Always always test a small area first with any water spot removers to make sure it doesnt react badly and etch the surface. I have never had a problem with CLR. Even used it on Black Corian counter without a problem.

A5150Ylee said:

Spray the underside with a professional pesticide with residual control. You may need to respray once a year, but it should keep them from building new nests. Something like Termidor SC if you want to just kill everything, or something like Onslaught or Tempo SC Ultra if you need it more pet/child friendly.

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Cheap easy effective pesticide that is kid & pet safe is dilute Borax (boric acid) in water and hook it up to a garden sprayer. Also way cheaper than Roach Powders which are just a more concentrated version of boric acid.

Got a good cut in today. Gonna rain tomorrow and be in the 50s next week so I’m trying to get it to mature and spread out while the weather is still cooperating.

Talenvor said:

Any of you handy with electrical? I want to put in a wall timer switch (Honeywell econoswitch RPLS740B). It requires a 3rd or ‘neutral’ wire. The box is just a jumble of spliced wires and I can’t tell what comes from where. There are 5 sets of wires coming into the box from the wall. There is a neutral wire on the far left switch so I know it’s from somewhere in the box. I need to add the neutral to the far right switch to put the timer there.

It seems like it would be a quick easy job if I knew what I was doing so would rather not pay an electrician if I can help it. House built in 2015 if that helps with wire colors and whatnot, although all the wires coiled up inside appear just white on the outside.

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Erronius

Talenvor said:

There is a neutral wire on the far left switch so I know it’s from somewhere in the box.

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No, I doubt it. It's probably a re-colored white wire (looks bluish to me). I'm guessing that it's a "dead-end" 3way switch with white (blue) and red as the travellers, and switched black wire returning to the other switch. By code if you use the white wire from a 14/3 as a hot wire, you have to 'designate' it as something other than a neutral (usually tape or a marker like a sharpie). If that is just a vanilla 3way switch, having a neutral on it would create a direct short half the time. It's also definitely not kosher to switch neutrals most of the time.

If all 3 insulated conductors trace back to the same 14/3 in the same sheathing & opening in the box, then it is most definitely not a neutral.

The splice in the wirenut to the back left is most likely the neutrals.

It is still kind of hard to see what is going on in that box, even though it's not very full, relatively speaking.

If the switch on the right (the one you want to replace) just controls a light, then the 14/2 cable that is the switch leg will have a black wire tied to the switch, and a white wire tied to a splice with all the neutrals (usually). The other black wire on the switch is probably the hot feeding the switch, and might be tied to another splice (the wirenut pointing at the camera I'm guessing, looks like 4 wires...power into box, power back out of box, and two 'pigtails' from the splice to feed the two single pole switches).

If the neutral splice is 5 wires or so, I hope for your sake that the electrician twisted them together good. If so, you can take the wirenut off, lay the neutral from your new switch together with it, and crank it back down. Otherwise you'll probably struggle. If they aren't twisted together good, then Godspeed, LOL.