Home Improvement
- Thread starter Picasso3
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Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!
Go here and give us your nominations!Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!
Lanx
<Prior Amod>
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i mean i can detail my car so i won't be slanging shit all over, i've obviously learned not to slang polish, by slanging it all over my garage, lulz, once you learn...Lanx is fucking tripping me out right now. Im imagining someone with a fucking buffer in the kitchen, slinging fucking compound all over the fucking place.
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Airgap outlets for the sump pump so the interior pipes don't back up and freeze.
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If you need me, I'll be over here adding that to the LONG list of reasons I don't live where it snows a lot.
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Even before that I prefer proper grading and drainage so your basement doesn't flood.
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lol I have never lived anywhere where basements were really common. I have no idea what you mean, like the yard doesn't grade away from the house so water stands?
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If the grading around the house isn't right the house will collect water, rather than shed water away from it. This is also true for houses built on slabs. I've had to correct grading on slab houses because ground water was seeping in through the concrete. It's really important, and most everyone who buys a house has no idea what to look for.
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Hmm I have been in construction long enough I never ever ever wanted a new house. I'd buy fixer uppers and do the work myself. That said, any property I was looking at I'd wait for a rainy day and ride out to see what the ponding water situation was like for the same reason.
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Our basement doesn't flood. Nor does water seep in through the walls. But we get water underneath our basement slab. I live in an area with clay very close to the topsoil. Miniature lakes in your yard if you get a heavy rain, that sort of thing.
I've had a sump pump installed and these last few weeks it's been getting a lot of work. But the only other thing I can think of is digging up all of the french drains and putting new ones in. This will likely mean demolishing the deck as well. Not ready to pull the trigger on that expensive piece of work...if ever.
I suspect the water under the slab is the reason I'm getting white powder under my tiles in the basement, but I haven't gotten any good explanations on that one either despite the multiple people I had come out and look at the problem. The sump pump was what eventually came of all of that.
I've had a sump pump installed and these last few weeks it's been getting a lot of work. But the only other thing I can think of is digging up all of the french drains and putting new ones in. This will likely mean demolishing the deck as well. Not ready to pull the trigger on that expensive piece of work...if ever.
I suspect the water under the slab is the reason I'm getting white powder under my tiles in the basement, but I haven't gotten any good explanations on that one either despite the multiple people I had come out and look at the problem. The sump pump was what eventually came of all of that.
Sounds like efflorescence. Pretty standard if you have wetness up against concrete.
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Yep, I've considered that too. If it is that, do I need to be worried about it directly? At the moment, it's causing bulging and cracking under some tiles from the early 70's, don't really care about them(the tiles).
Ultimately it means you have bad moisture control in the soil which will lead to the decay of the concrete, but maybe not over the timescale of your lifespan. I've got some in my crawlspace because the previous owners installed sprinklers too close to the foundation. Not a major problem in my case, if it took 50 years to ruin some tiles in yours you're probably fine.
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Intrinsic
Person of Whiteness
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So the banister (?) at the top of our stairs that extends out 12" on to the landing is pulling away from the wall. The circled spots are where, I'm pretty sure, the supporting nails are to hold it in. I can somewhat seem them in the gap with a flashlight anyways.
Is there a proper way to address this? Or just drill new holes and put new anchors in, fill the holes and repaint everything?
Had to play with the contrast and brightness to even slightly pick up where the current anchors are. Easier to see in person.
Is there a proper way to address this? Or just drill new holes and put new anchors in, fill the holes and repaint everything?
Had to play with the contrast and brightness to even slightly pick up where the current anchors are. Easier to see in person.
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Looks to me like the banister is fine, but that piece of trim is pulling away. Give it a few good knocks with a hammer and add a few countersunk screws, making sure to hit the stud. Then just cover the screw heads with caulk, sand it smooth, and touch up the paint.
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I'm in the process of collecting quotes to re-insulate my attic. All the contractors are pitching me a radiant barrier retrofit, and my research is returning tons of conflicting information. Anyone have experience with this? I'm leaning towards, "Not exactly a scam, but not worth the money." I'm in Los Angeles so July-Sept is 90's-100's F and part of my roof is direct south-facing sun. Attic will probably be 12-in fiberglass battens.
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lurker
Vyemm Raider
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Not exactly sure what it is they are selling but in my attic, I bought some very heavy-duty reinforced aluminum foil that I stapled to the rafters. It took a bunch of this foil to go from the attic floor to the attic peak and along the length of the roof. I did what I would consider a very good professional job. The foil itself was not particularly expensive. I had the compressor and staple gun. I think I spent less than $200 nine years ago. Is that what they are selling?
IMHO, the job was worth every bit of $200, and not much more. I don't think it really did much. What did make some difference in the summer was installing a powerful gable end fan with a thermostat.