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  • Originally posted by JF_Gophers View Post

    We have the whole house filter now. So don't really need anything else.

    The reno to get a walk in wasn't that expensive surprisingly. Maybe 10k.
    10 k to do th shower or the whole bathroom? Kitchens and bathrooms are expensive

    I swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell.

    Maine Hockey Love it or Leave it

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    • Originally posted by walrus View Post
      10 k to do th shower or the whole bathroom? Kitchens and bathrooms are expensive
      To remove a tub and build a new shower.
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      • I so very sincerely hate having plaster walls. Lousy 1950s technology.

        My wife had me hang something in our bedroom today after having just done a minor remodel of the bathroom (new lights, new towel bars, etc.). I genuinely hate dealing with plaster on lathes. For as many drawbacks as Sheetrock may have, it’s way better than the alternative.
        "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." George Orwell, 1984

        "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume." Boromir

        "Good news! We have a delivery." Professor Farnsworth

        Comment


        • Originally posted by St. Clown View Post
          I so very sincerely hate having plaster walls. Lousy 1950s technology.

          My wife had me hang something in our bedroom today after having just done a minor remodel of the bathroom (new lights, new towel bars, etc.). I genuinely hate dealing with plaster on lathes. For as many drawbacks as Sheetrock may have, it’s way better than the alternative.
          Yeah hanging stuff on them stinks.
          I gotta little bit of smoke and a whole lotta wine...

          Comment


          • In my personal experience, plaster is better for hanging or patching until you have to replace a large area, like a wall or ceiling. That said, hanging can be more challenging if you need to anchor into studs, simply because the lumber is often very old (and sometimes oak) and hard as hell.
            Last edited by burd; 12-31-2022, 06:16 AM.

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            • The slats suck too. Depending on how pointy your anchor is you may need to get creative when installing it.
              I gotta little bit of smoke and a whole lotta wine...

              Comment


              • Originally posted by Swansong View Post
                The slats suck too. Depending on how pointy your anchor is you may need to get creative when installing it.
                The kicker to slats is that at some point, they started making these plaster backing boards that replaced wooden slats, and then the installers had to plaster over those backing boards for the finishing coats. Those plaster backing boards are what eventually led to development of the gypsum/Sheetrock walls used in homes since the mid-60s. I think I have those plaster backing boards because I never meet the change in resistance you get when drilling into wood.
                "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." George Orwell, 1984

                "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume." Boromir

                "Good news! We have a delivery." Professor Farnsworth

                Comment


                • Jesus. The new GFCI outlets are expensive. We're replacing all of the outlets and switches in our house to something more modern looking and that means code upgrades. The garage doesn't have GFCI, I'm confident the basement laundry and bathroom don't have it (why, I have no ****in clue).

                  Even multipacks of 15A are like $15-20 each.
                  Code:
                  As of 9/21/10:         As of 9/13/10:
                  College Hockey 6       College Football 0
                  BTHC 4                 WCHA FC:  1
                  Originally posted by SanTropez
                  May your paint thinner run dry and the fleas of a thousand camels infest your dead deer.
                  Originally posted by bigblue_dl
                  I don't even know how to classify magic vagina smoke babies..
                  Originally posted by Kepler
                  When the giraffes start building radio telescopes they can join too.
                  He's probably going to be a superstar but that man has more baggage than North West

                  Comment


                  • Ok electricians, I think I know the answer to these questions, but I'm curious.

                    Mid-90s house. Looks like some (all? TBD) of the light switches are not grounded. All of the ground wires from the romex are nutted together, so outlets and the lights appear to be grounded. But nothing is grounding the actual switches. All switches are in plastic JBs, so they're not grounded via the JB. This looks to be original to construction so it had to have passed inspection.

                    1. Was this indeed standard practice?
                    2. Is this generally safe? Or should I open up all the switches and ground them ASAP?
                    3. Is it required by code now? I assume so.

                    (Notes: we're replacing all of the outlets and switches, so I'll eventually get around to it. All of the actually outlets appear to be grounded, but I'll be inspecting and testing every one of them as we replace them.)
                    Code:
                    As of 9/21/10:         As of 9/13/10:
                    College Hockey 6       College Football 0
                    BTHC 4                 WCHA FC:  1
                    Originally posted by SanTropez
                    May your paint thinner run dry and the fleas of a thousand camels infest your dead deer.
                    Originally posted by bigblue_dl
                    I don't even know how to classify magic vagina smoke babies..
                    Originally posted by Kepler
                    When the giraffes start building radio telescopes they can join too.
                    He's probably going to be a superstar but that man has more baggage than North West

                    Comment


                    • Not an electrician, but I can say that old building codes are still applicable unless major construction/renovation projects take place. Then, the new building code must be met.

                      My house was built in the 80s, and the electrical panel configuration is original to the house. Building inspector during the sale noted that per modern code, it shouldn't be where it is, but it's fine as long as we don't remodel.

                      He did have to note for the sellers to swap some outlets to GCFI (safety/fire concerns like that supercedes the right to use the old code book).
                      “Demolish the bridges behind you… then there is no choice but to build again.”

                      Live Radio from 100.3

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by dxmnkd316 View Post
                        Ok electricians, I think I know the answer to these questions, but I'm curious.

                        Mid-90s house. Looks like some (all? TBD) of the light switches are not grounded. All of the ground wires from the romex are nutted together, so outlets and the lights appear to be grounded. But nothing is grounding the actual switches. All switches are in plastic JBs, so they're not grounded via the JB. This looks to be original to construction so it had to have passed inspection.

                        1. Was this indeed standard practice?
                        2. Is this generally safe? Or should I open up all the switches and ground them ASAP?
                        3. Is it required by code now? I assume so.

                        (Notes: we're replacing all of the outlets and switches, so I'll eventually get around to it. All of the actually outlets appear to be grounded, but I'll be inspecting and testing every one of them as we replace them.)
                        Based on some minor work we had done last week, code now says it has to be a two-prong outlet if there's no real ground; fake grounding so you can have it be three-prong is not up to code.

                        Cornell '04, Stanford '06


                        KDR

                        Rover Frenchy, Classic! Great post.
                        iwh30 I wish I could be as smart as you. I really do you are the man
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                        DisplacedCornellian Hahaha. Thread over. Frenchy wins.

                        Test to see if I can add this.

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                        • Friend on FB talked to a master electrician. He said 1999 was the last year you could have it not grounded. 2000 NEC changed that.

                          Now it's touch it, bring it up to code.

                          And I'm not concerned about the outlets in general. Home inspection said they were all grounded. One had reversed polarity but it's not a super huge concern IIRC.

                          The big concern for me is AFCIs. When those come down in price, I'd like to swap everything in the breaker panel.
                          Code:
                          As of 9/21/10:         As of 9/13/10:
                          College Hockey 6       College Football 0
                          BTHC 4                 WCHA FC:  1
                          Originally posted by SanTropez
                          May your paint thinner run dry and the fleas of a thousand camels infest your dead deer.
                          Originally posted by bigblue_dl
                          I don't even know how to classify magic vagina smoke babies..
                          Originally posted by Kepler
                          When the giraffes start building radio telescopes they can join too.
                          He's probably going to be a superstar but that man has more baggage than North West

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by dxmnkd316 View Post
                            Friend on FB talked to a master electrician. He said 1999 was the last year you could have it not grounded. 2000 NEC changed that.

                            Now it's touch it, bring it up to code.

                            And I'm not concerned about the outlets in general. Home inspection said they were all grounded. One had reversed polarity but it's not a super huge concern IIRC.

                            The big concern for me is AFCIs. When those come down in price, I'd like to swap everything in the breaker panel.
                            I think you might like to have a copy of the current Black and Decker code book.

                            Black and Decker Codes for Homeowners 5th Edition: Current with 2021-2023 Codes - Electrical • Plumbing • Construction • Mechanical (Black & Decker Complete Photo Guide) https://a.co/d/c1cnC8o

                            i don’t know if that link is good or not. It’s supposed to go to the book’s Amazon page.


                            "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." George Orwell, 1984

                            "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume." Boromir

                            "Good news! We have a delivery." Professor Farnsworth

                            Comment


                            • Cool. Never heard of that before. Looks to be a good resource. Might pick one up for like $15 on kindle.

                              I dig through the NEC several times a year for work, but it's a massive PITA to find everything that applies to a specific thing (like how to wire a light switch) unless it's incredibly specific like "how far to intrinsically safe wiring can non-IS wiring be?" It's just too big of a reference to digest unless you're in it a lot.
                              Code:
                              As of 9/21/10:         As of 9/13/10:
                              College Hockey 6       College Football 0
                              BTHC 4                 WCHA FC:  1
                              Originally posted by SanTropez
                              May your paint thinner run dry and the fleas of a thousand camels infest your dead deer.
                              Originally posted by bigblue_dl
                              I don't even know how to classify magic vagina smoke babies..
                              Originally posted by Kepler
                              When the giraffes start building radio telescopes they can join too.
                              He's probably going to be a superstar but that man has more baggage than North West

                              Comment


                              • 2 wire receptacles can be replaced with GFCIs, they have to be marked that they have no ground. Switches have to be grounded assuming the yoke is metal. This has been code before some of you were born. I wouldn't ignore a recept that has reversed polarity, it is a concern.

                                I wouldn't put much stock in what a home inspector says. Who hired them? that will tell who they are looking out for. The ones I've dealt knew diddly squat. If you want to become one go to the NACHI site and take a test, its certainly not hard to pass. https://www.nachi.org/cpi-requirements.htm

                                I've done tons of intrinsically safe electrical , its never mixed with other electrical in my experience. I have AC wiring right next to IS wiring but the wiring methods are different. Not sure how IS wiring pertains to a house but I'm sure you deal with it in manufacturing assuming chemicals that might go boom .
                                I swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell.

                                Maine Hockey Love it or Leave it

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