The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

[joecct]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Gets better.

We've been smelling a gawd awful sewer odor in the basement since we moved in. The odor comes and goes but is pronounced after we run the dishwasher or clothes washer.

Called the plumber. You won't believe it.

A $&$%=&^ vent pipe was never fully connected to the drain pipe. How the house passed the building inspector in 1999 or our home inspector is beyond me.

$125 later - all is fixed.

Sent a picture to our real estate agent. Should send one to the old owners. Waiting guidance from the RE Agent.

 

[burd]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Gets better.

We've been smelling a gawd awful sewer odor in the basement since we moved in. The odor comes and goes but is pronounced after we run the dishwasher or clothes washer.

Called the plumber. You won't believe it.

A $&$%=&^ vent pipe was never fully connected to the drain pipe. How the house passed the building inspector in 1999 or our home inspector is beyond me.

$125 later - all is fixed.

Sent a picture to our real estate agent. Should send one to the old owners. Waiting guidance from the RE Agent.

Like the closet supports, it has homeowner written all over it. You're fortunate it's only $125, I guess.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

So the range hood in my kitchen has what appear to be charcoal filters. However, I’m not entirely sure how to tell if it actually is charcoal. How can I tell if it’s just a sort of black mesh inside or it’s charcoal?

Relatedly, the manufacturer no longer makes replacements. Is there a standard size or spec? Do they even make generic types that would fit as replacements? A quick search of Home Depot and amazon don’t immediately give me an idea if they would work.

I know this seems simple but range hoods are pretty important to make sure you don’t burn your house down in a grease fire.

 

[walrus]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

So the range hood in my kitchen has what appear to be charcoal filters. However, I’m not entirely sure how to tell if it actually is charcoal. How can I tell if it’s just a sort of black mesh inside or it’s charcoal?

Relatedly, the manufacturer no longer makes replacements. Is there a standard size or spec? Do they even make generic types that would fit as replacements? A quick search of Home Depot and amazon don’t immediately give me an idea if they would work.

I know this seems simple but range hoods are pretty important to make sure you don’t burn your house down in a grease fire.

Never heard of a charcoal filter in a range hood. Take them out and see?

 

[BassAle]

Never heard of a charcoal filter in a range hood. Take them out and see?

Mine has charcoal filters

You see them most often when the hood doesn’t vent outside and instead they just draw the air through a filter (mine only requires installation of the filters if it’s not setup to vent outside)

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Never heard of a charcoal filter in a range hood. Take them out and see?

Yeah, I’ll probably have to do that. I just don’t want to screw them up if I can’t get replacements.

Either way, I’ll need to get more eventually because they wear out and I’d rather not get a new hood. Because the fan and the assembly are in excellent condition. There’s still a mirror finish on the stainless interior. So the filters are doing an amazing job.

 

[walrus]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Mine has charcoal filters

You see them most often when the hood doesn’t vent outside and instead they just draw the air through a filter (mine only requires installation of the filters if it’s not setup to vent outside)

Why would you have a vent that doesn't go outside? I can see a charcoal filter getting rid of smell but what happens to moisture from water boiling or...... I guess you could have some kind of drain or condensate pump

 

[burd]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Why would you have a vent that doesn't go outside? I can see a charcoal filter getting rid of smell but what happens to moisture from water boiling or...... I guess you could have some kind of drain or condensate pump

A surprising number of kitchens have unvented range hoods, walrus. Just like lot of homes have missing or noncompliant waste water vents. Homeowners do the work and cut costs.

 

[BassAle]

Why would you have a vent that doesn't go outside? I can see a charcoal filter getting rid of smell but what happens to moisture from water boiling or...... I guess you could have some kind of drain or condensate pump

When they’re setup this way all they do is pull the air through a charcoal filter and back into the kitchen. My hood came with a conversion kit you could install that would redirect the air back out by the ceiling rather than into a duct to vent outside.

I’m not convinced it’s a big deal either way because I hardly ever even turn mine on unless I’m cooking something that’s smoking and may set off my smoke alarm.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Why would you have a vent that doesn't go outside? I can see a charcoal filter getting rid of smell but what happens to moisture from water boiling or...... I guess you could have some kind of drain or condensate pump

Electric-powered ranges are not required to be vented out of the house. So range hoods just disperse the smoke throughout the kitchen. I didn't realized how much it'd annoy me when I bought the house in 2005.

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Electric-powered ranges are not required to be vented out of the house. So range hoods just disperse the smoke throughout the kitchen.

The house I rented in Sommerville MA had one of these. The smoke from the range contains tiny grease particles that can get through the filter and when they vent they coat the ceiling and walls. You can't see it but you can feel it as almost a faint lacquer finish. When the dusk sunlight hits it a certain way it looks like the wall is made of greasy glass.

What I'm trying to convey here is it's f-cking gross. It's possible that a reason Ma-ssholes are so repellent is they are coated with that stuff.

<img src="https://a3-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/109/5089b98f0aa2480e38ad472b74aa6446/300x300.jpg" height="300">

 

[Transplanted Tiger Fan]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Question for those with interior decorating knowledge/expertise, good taste, or even those who fake it... is it considered to be a faux pas to have wood grains running in opposing directions (orthogonal to one-another) in adjacent rooms with dissimilar wood “types”?

Here’s the situation... we have eliminated all carpeting from one level of the house. In the living area and hallway, hardwood lied underneath in good-enough condition to refinish (completed, and looks great!). In the bedrooms (which come-off the hallway), 9x9 tile... bad 9x9 tile. I am in the process of laying a “locking/floating floor” in the bedrooms. The overlay has a wood grain pattern, but completely different color and width of the hardwood in the hallway.

I started to lay it with the grain orthogonal to the grain pattern in the hallway. However I stepped-back and wondered... should this be installed with the grain running parallel to the hallway grain, or does it really matter? I just would hate to get it all down, and have an “awww, nuts” moment.

Sincerely, the decorating-challenged,
~TTF

 

[burd]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Question for those with interior decorating knowledge/expertise, good taste, or even those who fake it... is it considered to be a faux pas to have wood grains running in opposing directions (orthogonal to one-another) in adjacent rooms with dissimilar wood “types”?

Here’s the situation... we have eliminated all carpeting from one level of the house. In the living area and hallway, hardwood lied underneath in good-enough condition to refinish (completed, and looks great!). In the bedrooms (which come-off the hallway), 9x9 tile... bad 9x9 tile. I am in the process of laying a “locking/floating floor” in the bedrooms. The overlay has a wood grain pattern, but completely different color and width of the hardwood in the hallway.

I started to lay it with the grain orthogonal to the grain pattern in the hallway. However I stepped-back and wondered... should this be installed with the grain running parallel to the hallway grain, or does it really matter? I just would hate to get it all down, and have an “awww, nuts” moment.

Sincerely, the decorating-challenged,
~TTF

I've installed wood floors for others and for myself. As for appearance: if you and yours like it, you're golden, so long as this house isn't a flip job. Even then, if the materials are of good quality, I don't think you should worry about wood species or which way the grain runs. You'll never satisfy others. Some people don't like any unpainted wood at all in their home, and most disagree on what wood and stain they like if they do have wood. It's yours; build it for you. And enjoy the effort.

 

[Kepler]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Question for those with interior decorating knowledge/expertise, good taste, or even those who fake it... is it considered to be a faux pas to have wood grains running in opposing directions (orthogonal to one-another) in adjacent rooms with dissimilar wood “types”?

When you say orthogonal do you mean x/z axis (floor and wall)? Or simply perpendicular flooring?

The former sounds horrific.

The latter... well, if they're wall-separated it won't matter. If you can see them meet then I can imagine it being fine (even attractive) if they are diagonal from the walls but if you're talking about a "railroad crossing" then that doesn't sound too good. Typically when you do that you lay a threshold piece to set them off from each other. It's really case-by-case -- if they met along a long border it is worse because it makes the grain too abrupt. You risk it looking cheap.

Obviously the finer and lighter the grain the less of a problem it is.

You should also consider the light on each type. Bright light against a lighter wood vs darker lighting against a dark wood will accentuate the difference and tend to wipe out the lighter type's grain (think lens flare).

This has been Old Retired Set Designer Minute.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Putting this here because I don't know who else to ask:

My apartment complex sprayed for bed bugs. The bugs left some nasty stains on the walls and baseboards, and I'm not sure how to clean these stains. Any advice? I read something about soapy water, but I'm not sure.

 

[joecct]

Putting this here because I don't know who else to ask:

My apartment complex sprayed for bed bugs. The bugs left some nasty stains on the walls and baseboards, and I'm not sure how to clean these stains. Any advice? I read something about soapy water, but I'm not sure.

HCl or H2SO4?

Wear protection.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

HCl or H2SO4?

Wear protection.

Either way, I'm hoping to get the stains off the wall myself, before I have to pay for the apartment office to do it for me.

 

[burd]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

Either way, I'm hoping to get the stains off the wall myself, before I have to pay for the apartment office to do it for me.

I'm too ignorant to know what joe identified, but there are a lot of auto products that are very effective at removing bug stain. I'm guessing some are safe with latex paint. And they are probably more accessible and cheaper than whatever Sherwin Williams has.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

I'm too ignorant to know what joe identified, but there are a lot of auto products that are very effective at removing bug stain. I'm guessing some are safe with latex paint. And they are probably more accessible and cheaper than whatever Sherwin Williams has.

Can you elaborate on that? I need ideas.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Re: The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

there are a lot of auto products that are very effective at removing bug stain. I'm guessing some are safe with latex paint.

Most Bug & Tar removers (if that's what you're referring to) contain petroleum distillates that would likely ruin latex paint.