Home Improvement

Hateyou · Jun 24, 2021

Lanx said:
The recepticals are all upside down

That’s actually the correct way they’re designed to go. Most houses have them upside down with the ground on bottom.

Edit: To add more detail, electrical code doesn’t care if it’s up or down oriented as far as I know. I’ve had a few electricians tell me it’s supposed to go up. From reading I’ve done people seem to say up orientation if it’s a metal plate or has metal above it so if something falls on it there isn’t contact with the prongs first. My house is oriented down, unless it’s a receptacle that’s on a wall switch, then they oriented it up. They just did it as a courtesy/reminder of which are on the switch, not because they had to.

Unidin · Jun 24, 2021

Yeah but if you have something that has a larger charger, it goes out the bottom which will run it into the bottom of the light fixture.

Erronius · Jun 24, 2021

AFAIK there's no 'right' way to install a receptacle. We mostly installed them ground-down in residential. The only time I've seen outlets installed ground-up, where it was strictly done, was on commercial jobs where it the specifications called it out.

BrutulTM · Jun 25, 2021

Yeah if the ground is supposed to go up, 99% of the world didn't get the memo.

fris · Jun 25, 2021

Lanx said:
still prepping my move, the last thing i'll do is the electrical, i'm gonna use wagos any rewiring i do in this home.

1. i hate wirenuts, and every other time i opened up a receptical in this house they seemingly fell apart (which is worrysome)
2. if i'm gonna rewire recepticals i'm probably gonna be upgrading the light switches to smart and they all take up the entire space of a 1gange box

theres just no room for 3 or 4 wirenuts anymore

and yes, i made it a point to specifically buy the wago brand and not the chinesium brand cuz only wagos are ul certified.

Bit of a necro but I like the subject

I've replaced almost every light switch in my home with tplink. A few off brands that were on sale via Amazon, which I regret. The buttons have tiny lights and diff brands look a little different.

Wire nuts are a prob, especially with wiring in the south. Often you'll push in a new switch and it'll push a nut off. I find it helpful to do grounds first, jam in then back. Then white neutral, jam in the back. Then black/live. I have one switch plate in the living room with 4 switches, 2 were 3way, required having plates open at 2 other locations and hours of figuring out what wire went where. Take pics before you disconnect if my new rule.

I've seen those clips and haven't been willing to try. The connection surface area for cable nuts is just far superior.

Lanx · Jun 25, 2021

fris said:
Bit of a necro but I like the subject

I've replaced almost every light switch in my home with tplink. A few off brands that were on sale via Amazon, which I regret. The buttons have tiny lights and diff brands look a little different.

Wire nuts are a prob, especially with wiring in the south. Often you'll push in a new switch and it'll push a nut off. I find it helpful to do grounds first, jam in then back. Then white neutral, jam in the back. Then black/live. I have one switch plate in the living room with 4 switches, 2 were 3way, required having plates open at 2 other locations and hours of figuring out what wire went where. Take pics before you disconnect if my new rule.

I've seen those clips and haven't been willing to try. The connection surface area for cable nuts is just far superior.

Same for me, i have 2 offbrand chinese smart switches that "work" but require alot of hand holding working with alexa. These were brought early in 2017ish now i also have exclusively tplink kasa switches and alexa connection is a breeze.

But also wagos make it a breeze to install as well cuz of the smaller form factor

But yes when i rewire the housr and install new smart switches and outlets and such, ill be exclusively wago connections, if my house burns down, then its the germans fault but these are the industry best lever push connections arround.

Lanx · Jun 25, 2021

Ive settled on going with pex a for the plumbing i ll be doing i have pex b crimps fittings and even tubing but i think pex a will be easier to snake it through the walls and pex a is less restrictive than pex b

Idk if i want to do a branch or a manifold or an upenor raceway system to distribute the water

I might not even do that, but i will have to install a dhut off valve lulz theres none at the house only the sidewalk, then from there i have to branch off to a new water sprinkler line and into some kind of whole house filter

Foler · Jun 28, 2021

Looking for input from creative minds...

I'm going to build an outdoor storage rack for kayaks (maybe sup boards and canoes in the future).

My idea is to grab two pressure treated either 4x6 or 6x6 pieces of wood from home Depot. Maybe 12 ft (can't remember what lengths they have) and cement them into post holes I dig in the dirt. I'd like to fit at least 6 kayaks so I need to measure out what actual height I should have coming from above ground and figure out how deep I need to bury them to support.

Maybe a 2x4 cross member on each side of both pieces of wood would help stabilize it.

Now normally people would probably go with wood racks at an angle and maybe cover them with a pool noodle or foam. However, money isn't an issue for me and I'm looking to make this as easy to put together as possible. So I'm thinking of just grabbing these racks to use and adding more of them as I add more kayaks to my fleet... If I end up getting a canoe then maybe I can just make one of the racks out of wood if these won't work for the dimensions of a canoe.

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I think it's a solid plan. Now my only concern is shielding the kayaks from the sun and elements. Kayak covers can be very expensive and tedious (have to wait for kayak to dry, put on kayak etc).

So I was thinking of somehow covering it with a tarp. The tarp would need to be angled so that water doesn't pool on it and weigh down on any of the kayaks. To accomplish this I imagine the two 6x6 pieces protruding from the ground would need to be high enough to get an angle where I can sit the top most kayak rack far enough away from the top to get a 45 degree angle for the tarp going from it to the ground and maybe just use stakes to stake the tarp in the ground.

Ok only annoying part is potentially having to manhandle a huge tarp and maybe even get on a ladder every time I want to put the tarp back on. Looking for other creative ideas to shield it from the elements.

For reference this is kind of what I had in mind except cemented into the dirt ground instead of sitting on it and using those sea to summit racks instead of wood.

Any critique of my idea if appreciated and also any creative ideas for shading it from the elements would also be appreciated.

Hateyou · Jun 28, 2021

Foler said:
Looking for input from creative minds...

I'm going to build an outdoor storage rack for kayaks (maybe sup boards and canoes in the future).

My idea is to grab two pressure treated either 4x6 or 6x6 pieces of wood from home Depot. Maybe 12 ft (can't remember what lengths they have) and cement them into post holes I dig in the dirt. I'd like to fit at least 6 kayaks so I need to measure out what actual height I should have coming from above ground and figure out how deep I need to bury them to support.

Maybe a 2x4 cross member on each side of both pieces of wood would help stabilize it.

Now normally people would probably go with wood racks at an angle and maybe cover them with a pool noodle or foam. However, money isn't an issue for me and I'm looking to make this as easy to put together as possible. So I'm thinking of just grabbing these racks to use and adding more of them as I add more kayaks to my fleet... If I end up getting a canoe then maybe I can just make one of the racks out of wood if these won't work for the dimensions of a canoe.

Adventure Gear Launch

Explore Sea to Summit's latest gear collection, including Ultralight Frontier Camp Kitchen gear, Premium Down Sleeping Bags, and Extremely Versatile Sleeping Bag Liners. Join Daygin and Tobias as they push themselves and their gear to the limits in the rugged landscapes of Tasmania—a true test...

seatosummitusa.com

I think it's a solid plan. Now my only concern is shielding the kayaks from the sun and elements. Kayak covers can be very expensive and tedious (have to wait for kayak to dry, put on kayak etc).

So I was thinking of somehow covering it with a tarp. The tarp would need to be angled so that water doesn't pool on it and weigh down on any of the kayaks. To accomplish this I imagine the two 6x6 pieces protruding from the ground would need to be high enough to get an angle where I can sit the top most kayak rack far enough away from the top to get a 45 degree angle for the tarp going from it to the ground and maybe just use stakes to stake the tarp in the ground.

Ok only annoying part is potentially having to manhandle a huge tarp and maybe even get on a ladder every time I want to put the tarp back on. Looking for other creative ideas to shield it from the elements.

For reference this is kind of what I had in mind except cemented into the dirt ground instead of sitting on it and using those sea to summit racks instead of wood.

View attachment 360126

Any critique of my idea if appreciated and also any creative ideas for shading it from the elements would also be appreciated.

If money isn’t an issue just build a roof above the racks for shade. Or a shade canopy. Whatever works.

Foler · Jun 28, 2021

Hateyou said:
If money isn’t an issue just build a roof above the racks for shade. Or a shade canopy. Whatever works.

So I considered building a roof over it but my concern is that it would need to be pretty large to shade the kayaks from the sun in the morning and evening due to the sun's angle. Maybe I'm missing something in that line of thought though.

Hateyou · Jun 28, 2021

Foler said:
So I considered building a roof over it but my concern is that it would need to be pretty large to shade the kayaks from the sun in the morning and evening due to the sun's angle. Maybe I'm missing something in that line of thought though.

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Dandai · Jun 28, 2021

Foler said:
So I considered building a roof over it but my concern is that it would need to be pretty large to shade the kayaks from the sun in the morning and evening due to the sun's angle. Maybe I'm missing something in that line of thought though.

It’s really a matter of when you want to put the effort in. Spread it out? Use a tarp. All up front? Build a roof. With the amount of thunderstorms and rain fall we get, that tarp is going to hold water and fail within a few seasons at best. After a couple years it’s gonna weaken and fray into tatters.

BrutulTM · Jun 28, 2021

If you build an enclosure like this....

...and face it south you will be amazed how much protection it gives. It's almost as good as being in a fully enclosed shed. My old house had a little lean-to like this on the south side of the shed and there was a roll of toilet paper in the back of it that went through at least 8 Montana winters and never even got wet despite the fact that the lean-to was only about 8-10 feet deep. This one is for bicycles obviously but you could do something very similar for your kayaks. Of course it's going to go away if you have a hurricane, but I think that's true of whatever you would build.

Lanx · Jun 28, 2021

$350 will get you a metal rack on wheels

Foler · Jun 29, 2021

Hateyou said:
Arrow Carports Enclosure Kit for Galvanized Steel Carport, Fabric Carport Wall Panels, 12' x 20' x 7' - Walmart.com

Buy Arrow Carports Enclosure Kit for Galvanized Steel Carport, Fabric Carport Wall Panels, 12' x 20' x 7' at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

View attachment 360128

Abba Patio 10 ft. x 20 ft. x 9.1 ft. Beige Roof Steel Carport HDGP36PEB - The Home Depot

Stash a great and smart look to your home with this Abba Patio Beige Roof Steel Carport.

www.homedepot.com

BrutulTM said:
If you build an enclosure like this....

View attachment 360131
...and face it south you will be amazed how much protection it gives. It's almost as good as being in a fully enclosed shed. My old house had a little lean-to like this on the south side of the shed and there was a roll of toilet paper in the back of it that went through at least 8 Montana winters and never even got wet despite the fact that the lean-to was only about 8-10 feet deep. This one is for bicycles obviously but you could do something very similar for your kayaks. Of course it's going to go away if you have a hurricane, but I think that's true of whatever you would build.

Yeah these are good but remember I'm in Florida. That shit would be a hazard in hurricane winds. I'm sure I could make it so the siding could just be screwed off if/when a hurricane hits.

I'm kinda leaning towards my initial idea for right now and then exploring the roof/siding recommendations you guys have given once I have more free time.

Lanx said:
$350 will get you a metal rack on wheels
View attachment 360202

It's gotta be outside..

Hateyou · Jun 29, 2021

Foler said:
Yeah these are good but remember I'm in Florida. That shit would be a hazard in hurricane winds. I'm sure I could make it so the siding could just be screwed off if/when a hurricane hits.

I'm kinda leaning towards my initial idea for right now and then exploring the roof/siding recommendations you guys have given once I have more free time.

It's gotta be outside..

Any kind of structure you go with is going to be a hazard in a hurricane unless it’s like cinder block/hurricane proof isn’t it? Even a simple rack is going to go flying.

Foler · Jun 29, 2021

Hateyou said:
Any kind of structure you go with is going to be a hazard in a hurricane unless it’s like cinder block/hurricane proof isn’t it? Even a simple rack is going to go flying.

I think if it's just two large pressure treated pieces protruding from the ground with two cross members and low profile premade racks (sea to summit ones) that it wouldn't have enough surface area to be hazardous on high winds.

Now adding an entire sheet metal side would change that. If it's just four screws to take off a sheet metal side and roof then I think it should be fine.

Deebo · Jun 29, 2021

Any suggestions for a strong closet solution for hanging clothes? I have a wall that's all closet, around 16ft long. They had the wire shelve system with the thin metal arm supports. We managed to collapse it once, and I reinforced it all and made sure I hit every stud I could and the fucking thing gave out again, specifically the metal support arms. I have 2 rows in it, and want to keep the 2 rows.

Hateyou · Jun 29, 2021

Deebo said:
Any suggestions for a strong closet solution for hanging clothes? I have a wall that's all closet, around 16ft long. They had the wire shelve system with the thin metal arm supports. We managed to collapse it once, and I reinforced it all and made sure I hit every stud I could and the fucking thing gave out again, specifically the metal support arms. I have 2 rows in it, and want to keep the 2 rows.

Are they not attached to the studs? Collapsing wire shelves with just clothes is kind of crazy, they hold a ton of weight if installed properly. I use them in the garage and store heavy ass tools on them.

Deebo · Jun 29, 2021

Hateyou said:
Are they not attached to the studs? Collapsing wire shelves with just clothes is kind of crazy, they hold a ton of weight if installed properly. I use them in the garage and store heavy ass tools on them.

The hardware was attached to the studs, that all stayed in the studs, the arms are what failed. My fiancé has a fuck ton of clothes.

Those are what failed. They stayed in the wall as I have them screwed into the studs, im not using the nails they come with.

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