Project Update Thursday - 2013/01/24 – Conversation in Home Improvement

BMitch

Jan 24, 2013 19:59

Welcome to Project Update Thursday

Might as well start 2 minutes early since everyone is ready :)

wax eagle

well, my last week and weekend gave me a new priority 1 project, extend sump pump outlets...

BMitch

from where, to where?

Steven

I finally bought myself an impact driver, but I probably should have test driven some screws first.. first screw I drove right through a metal track

Aaron

3

Q: How do I test the functionality of a sump pump?

There is a sump pump in the basement, in a basin, with a power cord going into it, and a pipe going out of it. How can I test the various kinds of functionality of this setup? I can put a bucket of water into the sump and see if the pump starts - I suppose that tests the float switch, etc. How...

sump-pump

speaking of sump pumps

I never really got a great answer on this, or maybe I don't understand exactly what one is supposed to drain

does it only drain water that appears in the basement (so that the whole basement should be sloped towards the sump)? or does it drain water under the foundation that gets to the lowest point?

Steven

under the foundation, though some people tie other drains into them

like its not meant to pump out water that leaks on the surface of the basement..

lsiunsuex

Jan 24, 2013 20:04

my house it drains the water under the basement floor and obviously if there is water in the basement - but, if theres water in the basement, thats usually a sign something is wrong with the sump pump

Aaron

Right, that's what I thought, under the foundation

So, how do I make sure the 'water paths' under the foundation are clear to the sump?

lsiunsuex

snake them

Aaron

i.e, where can I pour water (beside the sump itself) to make sure that the system functions as designed?

lsiunsuex

look for a floor drain in the basement floor - or - you could pour water into the sump pump hole to make sure the sump pump works

Steven

I think he's asking how does he confirm that when its actually needed that water will flow into the put

pit

BMitch

Jan 24, 2013 20:07

take a rain dance class, or have the fire dept stop by and hose the place down (you may need to light your siding on fire first).

lsiunsuex

pouring water into the pit should trigger the pump - that'll tell you if it works or not - if your concerned with pipes under the floor that carry water into the pit are clear, you'll need to snake them or get a plumbers scope

Jay Bazuzi

If you light your neighbor's roof, they might still hose down your place to prevent the fire from spreading. This way, you avoid damaging your own house.

2

BMitch

instead of testing drainage around the foundation, I'd look for signs of past water damage, discolored wood trim or framing, etc

Steven

I think its "path of least resistance" - if there is a pit that water can easily collect in, it will collect in the pit instead of say coming up through the concrete floor

Chris Cudmore

On a completely unrelated topic, I just got a "My program won't compile. Java must be broken" complaint.

BMitch

Jan 24, 2013 20:10

If there's no water damage, and the sump works, then you should be ok, unless you're talking about new construction

Aaron

@Steven Yes, that's what I'm trying to figure out

BMitch

@ChrisCudmore VTC OT

Aaron

The basement walls are cinderblock mostly

Steven

well if you mean full of security holes, yes java must be broken

BMitch

@Aaron do you have a perimeter drain inside or outside?

Aaron

Jan 24, 2013 20:13

I'm not sure what that is

wax eagle

@BMitch sorry got a call. Currently the one that performs most of the work only protrudes from the foundation about 8 or so inches, thinking I'll give it another couple feet. The one that seldom gets used barely protrudes at all.

the 8" was enough at one point for it to hit the downslope of my hard, but now it's gotten to where it can pool up next to the foundation, thinking about running it out a bit and then into some perforated drainage pipe

BMitch

@waxeagle ah, a self employing sump pump, perforated drain sounds like a good idea to me, water the flower beds.

@Aaron Are there openings on the side of the sump pit where water can drain into it?

Aaron

I will investigate

BMitch

If so, the one way to be sure is to have a plumber visit and scope the drain lines, verifying they haven't collapsed or become blocked

Chris Cudmore

@BMitch Or, use this as an opportunity to convince the wife that you NEED to buy a scope RIGHT NOW!

BMitch

Jan 24, 2013 20:17

and then start a side job scoping plumbing lines

pro tips from a plumber: sh*t flows downhill, and don't bite your nails.

Steven

@ChrisCudmore the scopes plumbers use are surprisingly expensive!

lsiunsuex

sh*t can also flow up hill if theres enough of it

BMitch

in that case, don't wipe your nose

Chris Cudmore

Milwaukee makes one for 299, with 3 and 8ft cables.

I don't know how long it will last, but it's not prohibitive.

BMitch

@MatthewPK any PUT worthy details on your wiring project?

Aaron

Jan 24, 2013 20:24

I actually have the 8ft one already

Chris Cudmore

See if you can buy a cable extension.

It says it'll take up to 30 ft.

Steven

@ChrisCudmore you can't put those down sewers.. they are for looking in walls (running cable). they are way to rigid for pushing through pipes

Aaron

Steven

tried looking a couple feet into a sectionof clay pipe with one of those (not that particular brand but very similar) and all I did was scratch the lens to the point it was no longer usable

BMitch

The plumbing ones are usually 20+ feet long, and the high end ones include a locator device at the end so you can find where in the yard you need to dig

lsiunsuex

Jan 24, 2013 20:26

Chris Cudmore

Also convenient for amateur proctology.

Steven

lsiunsuex

or this

BMitch

Buy one on ebay for $5k: ebay.com/itm/General-Pipe-Cleaners-C-GP-E-Gen-Eye-Pod-Package-/…

lsiunsuex

was gonna say $534 on ebay ebay.com/itm/…

BMitch

Jan 24, 2013 20:33

mid-range for $1.5k: ebay.com/itm/…

A plumbing company will have the high end one, which is why they don't have one on each truck.

wax eagle

or amazon.com/Cable-Waterproof-Pipeline-Inspection-Camera/dp/… ...

BMitch

and the 512 Sonde on the high end one means you can get a Sonde locator to find it: amazon.com/Schonstedt-XT-512-Sonde-Locator-soft/dp/B001DESY3C/…

Jay Bazuzi

My friend gave me an air compressor a year ago, and I recently got it out to make sense of it.

It has a bunch of fittings that are rusty, and I think they're not all compatible.

Maybe I should dump them and start over?

wax eagle

@JayBazuzi fittings are pretty cheap....

Jay Bazuzi

There are like 5 types of fittings. Does it matter which type I go with?

wax eagle

Jan 24, 2013 20:49

@JayBazuzi what are you doing with the compressor?

Jay Bazuzi

I don't know yet. :-)

I will blow out my hoses before freezing weather.

I may rent a nailer when I put on my cement siding, but otherwise I'm not really intereted in air nailers.

Steven

connect the compressor and a water supply with a Y fitting and make your own snow making machine!

wax eagle

something like amazon.com/Ampro-A1460-Piece-Accessory-Milton/dp/B003YL4CHY/… gives you a bunch of quick connects to connect up whatever and a basic hand lever for air opening, it's slightly more tools than what my compressor shiped with

really just more quick connects

Jay Bazuzi

I saw that on Amazon. Some of the reviews were pretty bad, though.

wax eagle

people seem to have very strong opinions about compressors and fittings...

Jay Bazuzi

Jan 24, 2013 20:59

It's a makita mac5200

Chris Cudmore

@waxeagle Well, They're WRONG!

Jay Bazuzi

besides making snow, what else should I do with a compressor?

wax eagle

@JayBazuzi fill your tires...repair calipers...

Jay Bazuzi

repair calipers!?

please explain

wax eagle

@JayBazuzi the instructions for rebuilding my honda civic's brake calipers involve using the compressor to gently blow out the piston and then using 30psi to blow out the cylinder. from there you replace o rings and put it back together :)

haven't done it yet, but that's actually why I bought my compressor

Jay Bazuzi

Jan 24, 2013 21:01

ahh, brake calipers. I was imagining the measuring tools!

wax eagle

@JayBazuzi not that I know of

I tried to use my compressor to blow lint out of my dryer, but I need a rigid extension of some kind...just the standard air gun isn't any use

BMitch

@JayBazuzi brad nailer for trim work, blowing out computer parts, re-pressurize the expansion tank on the plumbing system, and, as mentioned, tires

also, blow off the coils on the refrigerator

Jay Bazuzi

It might be a good blog post.

wax eagle

@BMitch ooh I should put that on my list of things to do.

painting

BMitch

for the dryer, I prefer sucking with the shopvac, and I also have the shopvac when blowing the coils on the refrigerator

wax eagle

Jan 24, 2013 21:07

@BMitch maybe I should try taht instead, I have one of those now too :)

Jay Bazuzi

There are lots of articles & videos on picking a compressor, but not much on fittings and uses.

BMitch

In construction, it's usually for the nail guns, critical for any finish nailing

and I'm sure there are a hundred uses for them in auto repair

Jay Bazuzi

Probably nice for putting on snow tires, but there's not much call for those here.

Steven

filling up inflatable pool toys

bugging your cat/dog with

Jay Bazuzi

I pumped up the tire on my boat trailer with a bike pump once. That was a lot of work.

Next time, I jacked the trailer up off the ground first, then pumped the tire. Much easier.

But with a compressor, I'd put the work in to hauling that heavy machine over to the trailer. :-)

BMitch

Jan 24, 2013 21:12

Or you can go all mythbusters and build a cannon

Steven

potato launcher!

Jay Bazuzi

For SCUBA!

Aaron

most of the use of my pancapke compressor is for car tires

it is so much faster than the little 12V ones

BMitch

@JayBazuzi huh, never been scuba diving, are the tanks filled with straight air using a standard car tire nozzle?

Jay Bazuzi

No, I think they are filled with special mixtures.

Steven

Jan 24, 2013 21:17

yes definitely special mixtures - depends on depth, etc.

Aaron

yes, straight air - after making sure that the air intake is sufficently far enough away from any pollution-producing machines

wax eagle

@BMitch pretty sure they have to take the water vapor out

among other things

Aaron

for normal rec diving

it's like "aviation oxygen", they just charge more for the product

BMitch

I figured they would be higher in O2, water vapor makes sense

Jay Bazuzi

I'm thinking of using SCUBA just around the house, for cleaner breathing.

It's the new organic.

BMitch

Jan 24, 2013 21:18

lol

Steven

still using a bucket with sand for a toilet? :P

Jay Bazuzi

sawdust. :-)

Steven

right how silly of me

Jay Bazuzi

And it's awesome.

BMitch

I think Jay needs a sub panel for the air compressor

:)

Steven

Jan 24, 2013 21:20

lol

Jay Bazuzi

ooooh

gonna chop some firewood, back later.

Steven

speaking of stereotypes, I wonder how oscilatingcretin's murder room is going..

BMitch

he's been coming up with some good advice:

Try putting some hot water in the tub. — oscilatingcretin yesterday

Steven

at least it wasn't 'try putting a warm body in the tub'

gotta run, have a good one everybody

wax eagle

@BMitch how is that still open?

BMitch

Jan 24, 2013 21:34

it's a terrible question, but it hasn't received a single close vote

wax eagle

@BMitch I just gave it a poor man's close vote..

BMitch

what it really needs is some clarification, and for that I'll give the benefit of a day or so before closing it as NARQ.

wax eagle

@BMitch better to close it early and reopen when clarified

BMitch

@waxeagle wasn't there something about questions with no answers and no up votes getting automatically cleaned up?

wax eagle

@BMitch yeah, 30 days IIRC

BMitch

Jan 24, 2013 21:43

/me wipes hands, my work here is done. :)

ok, you guilt tripped me into mod hammering them.

alright, since we started early, I'm going to end early....

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Project Update Thursday - 2013/01/24

Home Improvement

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