Projects/Home Improvement Thread

[ab2cmiller]

I had to laugh at this. How many people buy a water heater before the old one dies? It's always an emergency, right? lol

LOL yes. Almost nobody replaces a water heater before the old one dies, unless your fan goes out on a 15 year old water heater.

 

[Irish#1]

That is what I was thinking too. However, everyone that I had spoke to has 20+ year old water heaters.

Figured I could get a couple more years out of her.

Prices on everything are climbing. The difference between a new unit now and two years from now might be more than the fan. What ever you save now may be lost if you wait a couple more years.

 

[Wild Bill]

Any HVAC guys on the board? I'm renovating a house and the upstairs has flexible ducts with round 6 inch dampers that are just hideous. I want to replace them with a 10x4 register box and then attach flush mount air registers in the link below.

My concern/question is whether or not this will restrict airflow to an extent that would be problematic. I have done some research but it's hard to get a straight answer and my HVAC guy doesn't even know what the hell these are. Bet if I put them in a case of beer he'd know.

https://ariavent.com/collections/ve...zwLYqKuLFH_PAfHw-bkEvht-cq38W-8oaAng9EALw_wcB

https://i.ibb.co/rvRbr43/vents.jpg

I went ahead and installed these vents without any issue. The larger vent to the left is the exhaust fan, which is really nice too if you aren't interested in an exposed fan.

I would highly recommend them to anyone with ceiling ductwork. Much better than traditional ceiling diffuser and fan below (not a before pic of the bathroom but it was something similar):

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UMmESL6hBSs/T8hMWeGPmTI/AAAAAAAACC8/ooOXWCa0aUY/s1600/ceilingbefore.jpg

 

[Irish#1]

Looks nice.

 

[Irish2155]

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of woodpeckers? Little shits are tearing up the side of my house. A friend of mine said to hang CDs off of my roof with fishing line, but who wants a bunch of CDs hanging off the side of their house?

 

[Irish#1]

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of woodpeckers? Little shits are tearing up the side of my house. A friend of mine said to hang CDs off of my roof with fishing line, but who wants a bunch of CDs hanging off the side of their house?

Here kitty kitty.

 

[ab2cmiller]

Buy an owl

 

[NDRock]

I'm building a house and doing much of it myself. Floor is going to be exposed finished concrete. Anybody have concrete floors in their house? How do you like them? Any advice on the sealing portion.

 

[Wild Bill]

I'm building a house and doing much of it myself. Floor is going to be exposed finished concrete. Anybody have concrete floors in their house? How do you like them? Any advice on the sealing portion.

I don't love the look but that's just my opinion and they are really popular right now.

If I was building, I would have exposed concrete in my basement to avoid potential water damage to another floor and it's just cleaner overall. Never have to worry about what's going between finished floor and concrete. I'm not sure if I would go with a polished look, color and stamp or epoxy. I would probably color and stamp a wood floor look bc I prefer it over concrete. There are some drawbacks to it though. I would definitely run radiant heat through it. Depending on climate it may be worth your time and money to foam insulate underneath it.

Whoever delivers your concrete should have the best products for sealing. Around here it's a place called ozinga. They sold me a product made by surfkoat I used to seal an old exposed aggregate driveway that hasn't been sealed for two decades, at least The stuff was basically magic in a can. I'll try to upload pics of the before and after later.

Mine was tinted and made specifically for aggregate but they have other options as well. The brand is good. I can tell you that much. You may not have certain options based on your states voc laws so I'm not sure you can even get the product. Something you'd have to check on.

I grew up pouring concrete and did quite a bit of decorative concrete but that over 10 years ago. The technology and products are constantly improving. I still talk to a lot of my friends who do it and they do a ton of polished floors now. If you have any questions, let know and I'll ask them.

Good luck!

 

[NEIIrish]

I'm building a house and doing much of it myself. Floor is going to be exposed finished concrete. Anybody have concrete floors in their house? How do you like them? Any advice on the sealing portion.

At a minimum I think you would need to have them either polished or epoxy coated both of which will cost over 3-4 dollars a square foot. At that price you can get nice lvp and install yourself. I thought about polishing my basement as we are finishing it but it’s a wash on cost.

 

[NDBoiler]

I'm building a house and doing much of it myself. Floor is going to be exposed finished concrete. Anybody have concrete floors in their house? How do you like them? Any advice on the sealing portion.

Sounds that will be pretty neat. One other thing to keep in mind depending on where you live, that floor can get very cold in winter. If you do live in a colder climate, you’ll probably want to consider radiant heating in the slab.

 

[NDRock]

Some good info from you guys, thank you. I'm in SE TN so climate is not terribly cold so I'm not going with radiant floor heating. That said, I did put down 2 inches of XPS insulation, then 10 mil plastic, and finally gridded it out with 3/8" rebar. 12 inches on center. Literally nobody does insulation under slabs around here. In fact, I had to drive 50 miles to pick it up as nobody local had any. Rebar is also really never done on the residential side. Building off a slab is less common here than crawl spaces or basements.

The concrete finisher said he would put sealer on the same day as it's poured. I'm going to talk to a local place on Monday as far as what direction to go. Do you usually let the concrete cure before putting on sealer? Worst case scenario, it looks like shit and we go with LVT.

 

[Wild Bill]

Some good info from you guys, thank you. I'm in SE TN so climate is not terribly cold so I'm not going with radiant floor heating. That said, I did put down 2 inches of XPS insulation, then 10 mil plastic, and finally gridded it out with 3/8" rebar. 12 inches on center. Literally nobody does insulation under slabs around here. In fact, I had to drive 50 miles to pick it up as nobody local had any. Rebar is also really never done on the residential side. Building off a slab is less common here than crawl spaces or basements.

The concrete finisher said he would put sealer on the same day as it's poured. I'm going to talk to a local place on Monday as far as what direction to go. Do you usually let the concrete cure before putting on sealer? Worst case scenario, it looks like shit and we go with LVT.

The concrete will not properly dry and cure if you apply sealer immediately after pouring, especially if it's under a roof and you have foam and a vapor barrier underneath it. Again, this stuff is so much more advanced now but I've never heard of this. Ask him what product he's using and research it. Generally, you should wait for all moisture to evaporate and cure before sealing. Concrete will be stronger and color will be more consistent.

If you want a polished look, you'll have to grind it, even if it's new concrete, then vacuum the hell out of it and apply sealer after.

I would avoid walking on it or working inside as much as possible for 30 days. I know it's a lot of time but maybe you can work on exterior in meantime. Obviously you're not driving a car on it or anything but any disturbances before it's cured can cause hairline cracks or peeling. You're using it as a finished product so you want to make sure it's strong.

 

[NDRock]

The concrete will not properly dry and cure if you apply sealer immediately after pouring, especially if it's under a roof and you have foam and a vapor barrier underneath it. Again, this stuff is so much more advanced now but I've never heard of this. Ask him what product he's using and research it. Generally, you should wait for all moisture to evaporate and cure before sealing. Concrete will be stronger and color will be more consistent.

If you want a polished look, you'll have to grind it, even if it's new concrete, then vacuum the hell out of it and apply sealer after.

I would avoid walking on it or working inside as much as possible for 30 days. I know it's a lot of time but maybe you can work on exterior in meantime. Obviously you're not driving a car on it or anything but any disturbances before it's cured can cause hairline cracks or peeling. You're using it as a finished product so you want to make sure it's strong.

Makes sense. I'll probably tell him to skip the sealing part. He is supposed to finish to a smooth finish (power trowel it). I was hoping that sealing it with the correct products would be enough. Didn't realize I needed to grind it as well. Thought that was an either/or deal.

Letting it cure for a month is fine. Myself and a couple other guys are doing the framing so it's on my schedule. You recommend anything to put down during the construction phase? Thought about using the ram board. It looks like it's permeable and will allow it to continue to cure even with it down. How about the 30 days while it's curing? Weather won't be hot so I wasn't sure if keeping it wet or putting plastic down is necessary. Thanks again.

Also, getting good subs around here is tough. Or at least those that are familiar with any new technology/techniques that have come out in the past 20 years. Why I will be doing much of it myself.

*I'm a little behind on this because going with a polished concrete floor is a very recent request from the wife.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

I don't love the look but that's just my opinion and they are really popular right now.

If I was building, I would have exposed concrete in my basement to avoid potential water damage to another floor and it's just cleaner overall. Never have to worry about what's going between finished floor and concrete. I'm not sure if I would go with a polished look, color and stamp or epoxy. I would probably color and stamp a wood floor look bc I prefer it over concrete. There are some drawbacks to it though. I would definitely run radiant heat through it. Depending on climate it may be worth your time and money to foam insulate underneath it.

Whoever delivers your concrete should have the best products for sealing. Around here it's a place called ozinga. They sold me a product made by surfkoat I used to seal an old exposed aggregate driveway that hasn't been sealed for two decades, at least The stuff was basically magic in a can. I'll try to upload pics of the before and after later.

Mine was tinted and made specifically for aggregate but they have other options as well. The brand is good. I can tell you that much. You may not have certain options based on your states voc laws so I'm not sure you can even get the product. Something you'd have to check on.

I grew up pouring concrete and did quite a bit of decorative concrete but that over 10 years ago. The technology and products are constantly improving. I still talk to a lot of my friends who do it and they do a ton of polished floors now. If you have any questions, let know and I'll ask them.

Good luck!

You end up using that LVL?

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

Some good info from you guys, thank you. I'm in SE TN so climate is not terribly cold so I'm not going with radiant floor heating. That said, I did put down 2 inches of XPS insulation, then 10 mil plastic, and finally gridded it out with 3/8" rebar. 12 inches on center. Literally nobody does insulation under slabs around here. In fact, I had to drive 50 miles to pick it up as nobody local had any. Rebar is also really never done on the residential side. Building off a slab is less common here than crawl spaces or basements.

The concrete finisher said he would put sealer on the same day as it's poured. I'm going to talk to a local place on Monday as far as what direction to go. Do you usually let the concrete cure before putting on sealer? Worst case scenario, it looks like shit and we go with LVT.

What’s driving the rebar size? 3/8” rebar for a residential slab is hefty. Is it a 4or 6” slab? I normally only specify 4x4 or 6x6 welded wire mesh unless it’s got heavy moving loads or storage applications.

 

[NDRock]

What’s driving the rebar size? 3/8” rebar for a residential slab is hefty. Is it a 4or 6” slab? I normally only specify 4x4 or 6x6 welded wire mesh unless it’s got heavy moving loads or storage applications.

Agree that the rebar is overkill in that there won't be any heavy loads on the concrete (at least the interior of the house). I was going to go with the mesh but read quite a bit how if the installers don't do a good job of lifting it up during the pour, it tends to just sit on the ground and is useless. I figured the rebar gridded out and sitting on chairs would avoid that issue.

Slab ended up being around 5". I've got a shop, carport and some other projects I'll be doing on the property, where I'll be pouring concrete, so any feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

[Wild Bill]

Makes sense. I'll probably tell him to skip the sealing part. He is supposed to finish to a smooth finish (power trowel it). I was hoping that sealing it with the correct products would be enough. Didn't realize I needed to grind it as well. Thought that was an either/or deal.

Letting it cure for a month is fine. Myself and a couple other guys are doing the framing so it's on my schedule. You recommend anything to put down during the construction phase? Thought about using the ram board. It looks like it's permeable and will allow it to continue to cure even with it down. How about the 30 days while it's curing? Weather won't be hot so I wasn't sure if keeping it wet or putting plastic down is necessary. Thanks again.

Also, getting good subs around here is tough. Or at least those that are familiar with any new technology/techniques that have come out in the past 20 years. Why I will be doing much of it myself.

*I'm a little behind on this because going with a polished concrete floor is a very recent request from the wife.

It'll be porous before it's sealed so you may want to cover it but that'll make it difficult to clean and work. Grinding before sealing will remove stains so you should be good with moderate precautions, ie Ram board.

I believe the only two ways to get the polished look is to grind and seal or polish. Polishing is labor intensive and more expensive and I think grinding/sealing leaves a better finish bc color is more consistent. I'd go with grind and seal.

I'm not really sure when you should get this done but I would assume as soon as possible to avoid staining it during construction. It'll be easier for them to work if it's completely open and you don't want to get everything dusty.

I just epoxied my garage with a buddy I used to work with and we used a commercial grinder and vacuum. It really helps limit the dust but it's still something to consider. If you do it, make sure you hire someone with experience. If they show up with a 5 gallon wet dry vacuum, get them out. The key with any sort of concrete topcoat is the bond, which is why you grind and vacuum thoroughly (grinding will level and remove stains too). Vacuuming sucks so a lot of guys don't do it thoroughly. That and most homeowners won't see failures until years later so they take the money and run.

 

[Wild Bill]

You end up using that LVL?

Not yet. Decided to wait until after winter to excavate. I actually just had the plans drawn up. Still in the first phase but we're going to put island in middle of the 30 foot run and tie in a load bearing wall that'll support two 15 foot beams. It's not a completely open room but I don't think a small 3 foot wall will be a huge issue aesthetically. I'll just trim it out nice and tie it in with kitchen cabinets. It'll be thousands to get it flush and really no point.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

Agree that the rebar is overkill in that there won't be any heavy loads on the concrete (at least the interior of the house). I was going to go with the mesh but read quite a bit how if the installers don't do a good job of lifting it up during the pour, it tends to just sit on the ground and is useless. I figured the rebar gridded out and sitting on chairs would avoid that issue.

Slab ended up being around 5". I've got a shop, carport and some other projects I'll be doing on the property, where I'll be pouring concrete, so any feedback is greatly appreciated.

I agree the mesh can sag if not supported well. I’ve seen contractors physically lift the mesh while the concrete was being poured lol. In any case the mesh can be supported the same way rebar can and with greater spacing. It will save you a good bit of money using mesh. Even with outside slabs and carports a 6” slab with mesh is fine. Take the time to set up the support chairs and ditch the rebar.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

Not yet. Decided to wait until after winter to excavate. I actually just had the plans drawn up. Still in the first phase but we're going to put island in middle of the 30 foot run and tie in a load bearing wall that'll support two 15 foot beams. It's not a completely open room but I don't think a small 3 foot wall will be a huge issue aesthetically. I'll just trim it out nice and tie it in with kitchen cabinets. It'll be thousands to get it flush and really no point.

Sounds good. I’d recommend the LVL over traditional lumber. A 3-ply 2x unit is nowhere near as strong as a 3ply LVL. Especially if you are spanning 15 ft.

I’ve been designing a lot of multistory wood structures over podium buildings lately and LVLs are being specified like candy. Architects want lots of open long span spaces and we need to transfer loads above down to the concrete and LVLs are our go to.

 

[Irish#1]

Escaped a major disaster last Monday. Came home and found the wife had turned down the heat to about 62. She noticed an electrical smell, but couldn't find anything. She turned it down so the fan wasn't running and filling the house. I checked the furnace and didn't see or find anything. I bumped the thermostat back to 68 and after about ten minutes the smell was intense and we lost power. Went to the garage and found the quick disconnect smoking and glowing. Called 911. Fortunately it was contained to the disconnect box, but we need a new service panel as the problem fried the breaker and damaged part of the buss bar. The odor from the electrical burn was everywhere. Had to have a couple of air scrubbers and a hydroxyl machine running for about 5 days along with cleaning the duct work. Glad this didn't happen while we were asleep or away.

 

[Trait Expectations]

Escaped a major disaster last Monday. Came home and found the wife had turned down the heat to about 62. She noticed an electrical smell, but couldn't find anything. She turned it down so the fan wasn't running and filling the house. I checked the furnace and didn't see or find anything. I bumped the thermostat back to 68 and after about ten minutes the smell was intense and we lost power. Went to the garage and found the quick disconnect smoking and glowing. Called 911. Fortunately it was contained to the disconnect box, but we need a new service panel as the problem fried the breaker and damaged part of the buss bar. The odor from the electrical burn was everywhere. Had to have a couple of air scrubbers and a hydroxyl machine running for about 5 days along with cleaning the duct work. Glad this didn't happen while we were asleep or away.

Scary stuff. Any idea what caused it? That shouldn't happen. How old were the electrics? The furnace? Home?

 

[irishff1014]

Escaped a major disaster last Monday. Came home and found the wife had turned down the heat to about 62. She noticed an electrical smell, but couldn't find anything. She turned it down so the fan wasn't running and filling the house. I checked the furnace and didn't see or find anything. I bumped the thermostat back to 68 and after about ten minutes the smell was intense and we lost power. Went to the garage and found the quick disconnect smoking and glowing. Called 911. Fortunately it was contained to the disconnect box, but we need a new service panel as the problem fried the breaker and damaged part of the buss bar. The odor from the electrical burn was everywhere. Had to have a couple of air scrubbers and a hydroxyl machine running for about 5 days along with cleaning the duct work. Glad this didn't happen while we were asleep or away.

Shew you all were lucky. Sorry this happened. I assume homeowners covers all the repairs and cleaning efforts?

 

[NDRock]

From what I've been told the biggest culprit on something like that is a loose neutral wire (may not be the case in this scenario). Been to tons of those. When people are home, it usually turns out like yours. Make sure your smoke detectors are working. Almost every fire fatality I've been to did not have working smoke detectors. Smell is terrible. Glad you guys are ok.

 

[irishff1014]

From what I've been told the biggest culprit on something like that is a loose neutral wire (may not be the case in this scenario). Been to tons of those. When people are home, it usually turns out like yours. Make sure your smoke detectors are working. Almost every fire fatality I've been to did not have working smoke detectors. Smell is terrible. Glad you guys are ok.

Are you in the FD?

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

Escaped a major disaster last Monday. Came home and found the wife had turned down the heat to about 62. She noticed an electrical smell, but couldn't find anything. She turned it down so the fan wasn't running and filling the house. I checked the furnace and didn't see or find anything. I bumped the thermostat back to 68 and after about ten minutes the smell was intense and we lost power. Went to the garage and found the quick disconnect smoking and glowing. Called 911. Fortunately it was contained to the disconnect box, but we need a new service panel as the problem fried the breaker and damaged part of the buss bar. The odor from the electrical burn was everywhere. Had to have a couple of air scrubbers and a hydroxyl machine running for about 5 days along with cleaning the duct work. Glad this didn't happen while we were asleep or away.

Sorry to hear this. Glad it didn’t turn out worse

 

[Irish#1]

Thanks guys. Insurance should pick up all but the deductible,

We built the house in '88 and the furnace is less than a year old. The feed from the service panel to that disconnect box is a large cable (combination of aluminum and copper). It's one run on a 100 amp circuit. I was told aluminum contracts and expands more than copper and the connection may have become a little loose over time and began arcing. Could have been the neutral, but to melted to know for sure. I thought it was illegal to use aluminum, but apparently not. HVAC guy and electricians said now everyone runs two 60amp copper circuits. The rest of the house is copper and when they do the panel, I'm going to have them replace that run with two copper runs.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

Thanks guys. Insurance should pick up all but the deductible,

We built the house in '88 and the furnace is less than a year old. The feed from the service panel to that disconnect box is a large cable (combination of aluminum and copper). It's one run on a 100 amp circuit. I was told aluminum contracts and expands more than copper and the connection may have become a little loose over time and began arcing. Could have been the neutral, but to melted to know for sure. I thought it was illegal to use aluminum, but apparently not. HVAC guy and electricians said now everyone runs two 60amp copper circuits. The rest of the house is copper and when they do the panel, I'm going to have them replace that run with two copper runs.

Glad everyone in your house is OK after the incident and you are wise by making sure the new higher amp wiring is copper. The aluminum will get very hot as the amperage increases.

 

[NDRock]

Are you in the FD?

Yeah. 20 years. Been a good run so far.