Home Improvement

BMitch

10:58

1

Q: How do I install a garden door that's wider than the wall?

I thought I found a great deal on a used garden door and the problem is that the wall is 2 x 4 studs and the garden door is 6" wide! Help! Is there any way possible to increase the width of the wall?

doors

I think they should knock down the side of the house and rebuilt it with 2x6's.

maple_shaft

11:27

Are building codes on topic here?

BMitch

National building codes are on topic (explicitly in the faq) but not local building codes

maple_shaft

@BMitch Thanks... I saw that and posted a question

Tester101

@MatthewPK I think you misunderstood my answer. A 15A receptacle can handle 15A at each outlet, or 15A total. You can't have a 15A receptacle on a single 15/20A circuit, and try to draw 15A from each outlet. The breaker will trip.

@maple_shaft You installed a door that opens up?

Like a garage door?

maple_shaft

@Tester101 No... it is a bathroom door

it used to swing into the bathroom, but the bathroom was tiny, so I made it swing out into the hallway

I am trying to sell the place and somebody mentioned that I might have violated a code

this person is not a contractor, just a very pessimistic person

Tester101

Oh. I was confused "so that it opens up".

maple_shaft

11:43

@Tester101 Sorry... local Pittsburghese slang

I edited the question for clarity

Tester101

@maple_shaft Not sure door swing direction matters in a residential situation. The only problem you might face, is if the potential buyer finds the new direction awkward.

maple_shaft

@Tester101 I found this....

ezhangdoor.com/…

But this seems to apply only to doors at the TOP of a stairway, without a landing, and it is painfully obvious that you shouldn't have a door at the top of a stairway swing inwards

BMitch

outwards?

maple_shaft

@BMitch ?

I am going to draw a rough pic...

BMitch

are you saying it's obvious you shouldn't have it swing inward to the hallway?

because I believe that would be outwards

Tester101

11:55

Most of the codes that deal with doors will likely be focusing on egress, which is not as much of a concern in a residence.

BMitch

inward/outward are typically in respect to the smaller room or inside of the house

Tester101

@BMitch If you are walking up the stairs, and there is a door at the top of the stairs, and no landing in front of the door. The door can not open towards you.

BMitch

So a closet door swings inward into the closet, or outward to the bedroom. A door in a hallway swings inwards into the room, or outward into the hallway.

Tester101

A closet door never swings inward.

BMitch

Even walk in closets?

Tester101

11:58

Um... Maybe, but it seems odd.

BMitch

I've seen that often, gives you more space in the bedroom, no door banging against your furniture

Tester101

If it opened inward, the boogieman would have a more difficult time jumping out at children.

BMitch

@maple_shaft So I'd say: "it is painfully obvious that you shouldn't have a door at the top of a stairway swing outwards"

maple_shaft

Tester101

"can not swing into or over the stairway."

BMitch

12:01

@maple_shaft I'd update your question with the picture, pictures always help

Tester101

@BMitch That only applies to a door that is used to exit/enter the stair case. If the door is for a bathroom (in this case), it has nothing to do with the stairs.

maple_shaft

@BMitch Already ahead of you

The Evil Greebo

There's nothing wrong with that configuration

the door will not knock someone down the stairs

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo You underestimate the tumble-ness of old people

The Evil Greebo

although a RH swing would have been better

BMitch

12:03

that is a RH, you mean a LH

Tester101

Potential buyers may find it awkward, that they have to walk around the door to go down the hall.

The Evil Greebo

@BMitch yeah sorry, forgot, it's the orientation from the far side of the door

BMitch

put your butt on the hinges and swing your arm in the direction of the door

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo @Tester101 I have gotten nothing but compliments... you have to understand my real estate market, 95% of the homes are foreclosures and run down pieces of shit

The Evil Greebo

anyway you know what I mean

@maple_shaft I think you had a negative nellie lookie loo come thru your place

maple_shaft

12:05

@TheEvilGreebo No... just a jealous friend :)

Tester101

A pocket door, is the obvious solution.

The Evil Greebo

@maple_shaft Same thing

;)

@Tester101 I like pocket doors but not for bathrooms

BMitch

@Tester101 pocket doors are good if you can reframe the wall. Much better to do that when building, not as an afterthought.

The Evil Greebo

True as well - this was old construction being adapted

and i know first hand how much of a PITA it is to hand notch hinge slots to fit perfectly

maple_shaft

@BMitch @TheEvilGreebo Now that I am on the subject... do you know of any quick ways to deal with the doors sticking during the winter time?

They close fine in summer, grab like hell in winter

The Evil Greebo

12:08

run a planer around the door

shave off 1/16" - 1/8" inch all the way around

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo Take it off the hinges first?

pop the pin and all that?

The Evil Greebo

Yes - sorry thought that would be obvious

lay it flat on saw horses outside

draw yourself a straight line on each side to guide you

maple_shaft

C-clamps holding tight... cushion to prevent cracking the door

got ya

The Evil Greebo

and sand it down to finish

maple_shaft

looking for something easier though:(

The Evil Greebo

12:10

is there paint on the door edge?

maple_shaft

yes

The Evil Greebo

sand that off

maple_shaft

white semi gloss

easy to replace

The Evil Greebo

ok don't plane the wood yet

sand off the paint, and hit the edges with a white stain

maple_shaft

Ahhh

My man...

good idea

That paint adds almost 1/16" of an inch... that is honestly all I will probably need

The Evil Greebo

12:13

yep, paint gets thick

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo @Tester101 @BMitch Thanks guys! You are a huge help!

The Evil Greebo

Don't applaud - just send money :D

maple_shaft

depends on how much my house sells for

Two types of buyers... $20-$79k range, poor or can't get credit

$200k+ People with middle class jobs

$80k-$150k Starter homes and young professionals

^^^ Thats me

Young people around here are vastly impoverished

few good buyers in this range

maybe some older people looking to downsize, but thats it

The Evil Greebo

what market?

<-- does amateur level real estate investing

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo North-Eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh

The Evil Greebo

12:19

Ah, my folks are in Ben Avon/Avalon

you along ... what is it... 22?

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo Ahh! I am about 20 minutes away from 22 towards Plum/Murraysville... closer to route 28 though

The Evil Greebo

20?

28 thats it!

maple_shaft

New Kensington

The Evil Greebo

couldn't remember - I grew up in Wheeling - folks moved there after I went to WVU

maple_shaft

About an hour commute from downtown but the taxes are insanely low

The Evil Greebo

12:21

I vaguely know New Kensington - drove up to visit a girl a few times - wasn't paying attention to the town tho :)

maple_shaft

not much to pay attention to

The Evil Greebo

she was in Kitanning - just W of you

I'm in Baltimore now, but I spent Sunday in DC looking at properties obo my cousin and his wife, who are over seas at present....

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo Cool, I was just down there last weekend actually

The Evil Greebo

Town homes in the city there would go for $100 - $150 in pgh... they're in the 550-650 range in DC

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo Yeah... thats why I feel that Pittsburgh is the countries best little secret

a lot of good tech jobs, but the majority of people are old or poor and taxes are so high that it artificially keeps real estate value low...

BMitch

12:23

16

Q: Doors are sticky and noisy when opened?

For some reason, the doors in our house make a very loud "unsticking" sound when you open them. It's almost as if the paint isn't cured, since the sound seems to come from the contact area around the frame, where the door touches the doorframe -- but this house has not been painted in 5 years. ...

doors paint

maple_shaft

... we didn't have quite the bubble problem here when the crisis fell apart, we werent hard hit...

BMitch

From Jeff Atwood himself

The Evil Greebo

nod - My folks have a fantastic place built around 1800 - farmhouse style but oversized - like a farmer got into some money

should be worth $350-$400 easy around here but up there? $180... maybe

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo that sounds about right...

You make less money in Pittsburgh, but with real estate so low, I feel like I have a better standard of living than my friend making 6 figures in Arlington right now

The Evil Greebo

2

maple_shaft

12:26

Dog in all caps rage

The Evil Greebo

in the end (jumping back on real estate) I recommended my cousin & wife buy a place currently being reno'd by these guys: urbizdevelopment.com

we got to see the one in question before it was done, not on market yet

got lucky - the agent was next door looking at a real pig with sloppy lipstick

BMitch

@maple_shaft it isn't cheap over here, I'm just outside the beltway in Fairfax

The Evil Greebo

with advance apologies for the horrible camerawork:

►

look around 6:30 - the master bedroom - LOVE what they did with the attic windows

you can see them (the windows) from outside right at the beginning

wait no you cant

thats in this one

►

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo Wow... thats really nice!

The Evil Greebo

yeah i was really impressed with the quality of work

my video doesn't show the half of it

much of the trim was already in - the miters were perfect

the tile work was very attentive to detail

perfectly lined up, etc.

maple_shaft

12:35

@TheEvilGreebo Thats something that I feel sucks about the market here compared to there, you can sink 10-30k of reno into an older property, make it nice, and turn a profit

The Evil Greebo

hard to accomplish in old houses - tho I suspect they helped themselves by redoing the shower stall perfectly square

maple_shaft

you cant do that here

The Evil Greebo

that is true

maple_shaft

That is why so many older houses are run down, because they know that they will never see that money again if they make it nice

I made that mistake

I sunk about $30k into my house, bought it at the peak of the market in 07 for $103k, I will be lucky to walk away with $115k after commissions and closing

and most of the work I did myself, would have been far more expensive if I hired contractors

The Evil Greebo

yeah you have to be able to do it cheaply

and to reuse what you have

unless you want to go landlord then you can get some more money back in rent but that has its own headaches (speaking from personal experience)

maple_shaft

12:43

@TheEvilGreebo Well there wasn't much for me to reuse... the house used to hold foster children that destroyed nearly everything

they chiseled into the hardwood with a knife... shame

had to carpet over it

The Evil Greebo

sad

hate to see an old floor destroyed

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo The guy who used to own it, did horrible electrical things

too

The Evil Greebo

shocking!

Home Improvement Stack Exchange Blog: Romancing the Floor – Saving and Restoring Old Hardwood

The Evil Greebo on October 13, 2011

Some years ago, after our finished (not by me) basement flooded for the third time, and we decided that the carpet posed too much of a health risk to spend serious time down there until we redid it (a project that’s still not finished, FYI), we decided to convert the 3rd bedroom in our house to an office.

This project involved a lot of learning experiences for me, but one of the best was learning the value of the phrase, “old but good”.

A little history. House was built in 1940. We are the third owners, if I remember correctly – fourth at the most. At one point, the ho …

maple_shaft

gouging a channel through plasterwall, running unshielded 16 guage aluminum wire across, patch over it

Thank god it was connected to a GFI, I would have been like Ernest in Ernest Goes to Jail

believe it or not, GFI outlets are not a waste of money... they are actually a good idea! :)

The Evil Greebo

@maple_shaft I fail to see the problem with that technique

;)

maple_shaft

12:48

@TheEvilGreebo he didn't either obviously, or the exposed hot wire, without a wire nut in the attic, that the home inspector conveniently ignored

Karl Katzke

14:01

@TheEvilGreebo @maple_shaft Huh, I went to elementary school in McCandless Township

Actually, I guess it was Allison Park, technically

The Evil Greebo

@KarlKatzke where's that

Karl Katzke

@TheEvilGreebo Just north of Pittsburgh

The Evil Greebo

ah, don't know it

@maple_shaft is the Pittsburger - I'm from Wheeling

Karl Katzke

Ah, I'd seen your conversation about pittsburgh when I scrolled up.

Matthew PK

14:31

@Tester101 No, I understood your answer. Forget the breakers, I was asking solely about the receptacle.

maple_shaft

@KarlKatzke Neat! You still live there?

Karl Katzke

@maple_shaft Nope. I'm in Texas now, probably moving back to the Pacific NW with my girlfriend in another year or two.

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo @Tester101 @BMitch In case you are interested...

> R311.5.4 Landings for stairways. There shall be a floor or
landing at the top and bottom of each stairway.
Exception: Afloor or landing is not required at the top of
an interior flight of stairs, including stairs in an enclosed I
garage, provided a door does not swing over the stairs.
A flight of stairs shall not have a vertical rise larger than
12 feet (3658 mm) between floor levels or landings.
The width of each landing shall not be less than the width
of the stairway served. Every landing shall have a minimum

Karl Katzke

I get around. :-P

The Evil Greebo

Your door does not swing over the stairs

maple_shaft

14:40

@KarlKatzke One of the problems with Pittsburgh is that we are all so secluded in our little boroughs and neighborhoods. I think I may have gone to Allison Park once in my life

and I only live an hour away from there

The Evil Greebo

"There shall be a floor or
landing at the top and bottom of each stairway. '

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo Right... so I guess I am golden!

The Evil Greebo

I'm glad that they pointed that out - I was planning to build a stairway that ended with open space

maple_shaft

lol

Karl Katzke

@maple_shaft shrug The communities are so nice, there's little need to leave. That's not much of a negative in my mind. If my girlfriend wasn't in Houston, I would rarely leave College Station.

maple_shaft

14:42

@KarlKatzke Houston is a shit hole

forgive my french

Karl Katzke

@maple_shaft 200% agreed

College Station is rather nice. She's only in H-tyne for her work.

maple_shaft

I could drive through such opulence and friendliness, then two streets down is gang violence, drugs, and SCARY

It is almost as bad as Miami

the gap between well off and off well

Karl Katzke

Yeah, it's not getting any better either. And the police just shrug when someone gets robbed ... my car sitting in the driveway has gotten tossed like five times.

Chris Cudmore

@maple_shaft Good God! You can buy a house for 100k? Where?

You don't even get bungalows in Toronto for $450k

Karl Katzke

Rural Texas, easily.

With a decent sized lot.

Chris Cudmore

14:53

I think I've just figured out my retirement plan.

Karl Katzke

My house (1600 sq ft ranch on 10,000 sq ft lot) was $115.

Chris Cudmore

Sell for 1 mil, and move to Texas.

1800 sq ft was 600k in 2009. and we got a bargain.

Karl Katzke

Yeah, my parents house is like that in California

Chris Cudmore

Could have flipped on closing for 650+

How about New York? How far out does the Manhattan price bump reach?

In Toronto, it's about 1:15 drive from the City.

New York could be as ugly as 2 hours.

Karl Katzke

Dunno, haven't lived up there in a while.k

wax eagle

14:58

@ChrisCudmore Rural N. GA got 3400 sq ft on an acre and a half for <150 :)

Chris Cudmore

Yup. Definately retiring in the south.

Of course, the economics will all be different in 20 years.

Karl Katzke

Yeah, that's very true. But rural areas will probably always be cheap. The next few generations don't seem to be that interested in owning things ... would rather have those townhomes and condos with access to public transit and be able to focus on careers.

wax eagle

@KarlKatzke yep, I'm a rare bird in my generation.

Karl Katzke

How old are ya, Wax?

wax eagle

@KarlKatzke 27 Friday :)

Karl Katzke

15:03

yeah, you're my little sister's age. I'm 32.

The only reason she owns a place is because my dad comes up and works on it.

Me? I'd rather own it down to knowing where every last nail, shingle, and water pipe is run.

wax eagle

@KarlKatzke we rented for the first 4+ years of our marriage and were happy to do it (still fairly rural though) then our current home basically fell into our laps this year. We weren't necessarily going for super rural, but it was one of the easier ways to get a loan and we love living in the mountains

Matthew PK

@KarlKatzke Nah, they think they own things but, in reality, will spend their lives servicing the debt they accumulated

And then those who did not encumber themselves will pay for it all anyhow.

wax eagle

@MatthewPK the fact that a year of college is higher than the annual salary most graduates can expect to make is a good place to start :(

Karl Katzke

@MatthewPK Are you talking about those of us who bought homes, or are you talking about the younger generation that would prefer condos so that they can focus on careers or other interests?

@waxeagle Yeah, my girlfriend is renting in Houston ... but we're the type that would rather make a place our own, and we can't do that with a rental.

Chris Cudmore

@MatthewPK That's why we're stick an extra 1000 a month on the mortgage while rates are still low.

Matthew PK

15:07

@KarlKatzke I'm talking about those who finance everything

Karl Katzke

@MatthewPK I don't think we were talking about that all in here...

Chris Cudmore

Nope. We went with over 25% down, and accelerated payments.

Matthew PK

@KarlKatzke You brought up "owning things" and I bent... I'm in a swing state, after all :D

Chris Cudmore

There are various predictions on the market. Best case is flat for 5 years, worst is 20% drop. I'm guaranteeing that we stay above water no matter what happens.

Karl Katzke

@MatthewPK Yeah, I bought my house with $8k from the gubmint and a FHA loan ... but I bought a foreclosure at about $10k below market and am halfway to bringing it up to "new spec home" status and should walk away with $40k in the bank from it.

Chris Cudmore

15:10

Plus, I've put in hardwood, a bathroom and basement.

Matthew PK

@ChrisCudmore Real Estate? In the US, at least, it's currently a very heavily manipulated market and pricing is unreliable. The premise of "flat" market is interesting because of artificial supply manipulations.

There's money to be made and money to be lost... c'est la vie

Chris Cudmore

This is Toronto. It's the magnet for every immigrant, and a lot of single family homes.

But, there's no new homes being built. only 800 sq ft. condos.

Matthew PK

It's Alberta's fault, I've heard ;-)

Chris Cudmore

But, prices are at the limit of affordability now. (based on an income multiplier analysis)

High dollar doesn't help ontario much.

maple_shaft

@ChrisCudmore I live in south western PA, only an hour from Pittsburgh, I am currently building a 2,250sq ft 2 story colonial for only $210k

land cost me $21k

Chris Cudmore

15:13

That's about what it costs to build here.

maple_shaft

its the land thats expensive

Karl Katzke

Yeah, I bought on an under-developed side of a college town that's now rapidly getting developed and has either new, poorly built homes going for $150 or my house which is just as nice on a larger lot and can probably go for $140.

Chris Cudmore

But the land will be 3-4 hundred k depending on location.

The Evil Greebo

dirt cheap land, building costs about average

Chris Cudmore

We were looking at a knock down for 500k on an 80 ft wide lot.

The Evil Greebo

15:13

21k for land ain't expensive :)

Matthew PK

Around here tract homes were running up to $300/sqft into the boom, I just closed on one in June at $80/sqft

Chris Cudmore

But we couldn't swing that, and building, and renting for a year.

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo The lot kind of sucked, I had to put about 5k to trench and put french drains in so water flows away from structure, and 2k to remove woods so I will have a nice back yard .49 acres

The Evil Greebo

worth it not to have water issues though

maple_shaft

Plus side? I have shit loads of firewood now

Chris Cudmore

15:15

Time to go paint the utility room. My wife will kill me if I waste a vacation day to talk with you guys.

Karl Katzke

@maple_shaft That's common around here too...

We have some really weird clay soils that will sink and compress strangely over time.

Matthew PK

Around here our soil is mostly rocks and clay

Water will dry right up or it will sit around forever... just depends on where you are

Karl Katzke

Yeah, we get toad choker t-storms that flood some houses regularly because they've sunk into the middle of their lots.

Only solution there is what you've done ... trench around the perimeter for french drain, then give the water somewhere to go. We don't have basements.

Matthew PK

I'm in a 20-year flood zone

Karl Katzke

Ouch

Matthew PK

15:24

and in the early 2000's they poured thousands of tons of aggregates over a wetland and built tract homes

Karl Katzke

Oh man

Matthew PK

well, not me personally... my house is not in the flood plane.

Karl Katzke

My GF is a flood plane engineer

Matthew PK

yeah, my wife is a rangeland ecologist

Karl Katzke

Talking about floodplanes and what different idiot developers are doing is dinner-table conversation fo rus

Matthew PK

15:25

she always sighs at the soil treatments in these new developments

maple_shaft

@KarlKatzke The only problem now is that since it runs downhill from the side of the lot, the only place for the water to go is my back yard... soggy back yard

Matthew PK

they just built a huge bridge here, in fact it's the largest single-arch concrete bridge in the world

they built it with gubmit stimulus money that "had to be spent"... and when all the local soil scientists told them the site was not suitable

Karl Katzke

@maple_shaft We had a problem like that in a backyard in Philly ... we planted a couple of corkscrew maples and they cleared out any water in no time.

Matthew PK

they hired geo-engineers from another country to tell them it was ok

maple_shaft

@KarlKatzke sounds like I may have a question for landscaping.se

Karl Katzke

15:27

@maple_shaft Heh. Yep. My mom did the planning on that one, she's the master gardener in the family.

wax eagle

Gardening and Landscaping

The Evil Greebo

16:34

-2

A: What is the proper way to clean a paintbrush and metal pan with KleanStrip paint thinner?

If it says "made with Mineral Spirits" its safe to dispose of however. This means its made from all-natural minerals; I usually just dump it out on the lawn to get it away from the house.

that answer needs to be downvoted into oblivion

maple_shaft

I've always had the vague impression it was fire safety which drove door swings. I know external doors, particularly commercial, must swing out (and have crash bars) so people can escape. Internal doors always seem to swing IN toward the room, and I've assumed it was related. In any case, fire safety might be another code section to check. — Scivitri 36 mins ago

Anybody have thoughts on this? I looked through the codes and didn't see anything explicitly called out.

there was a blanket vague statement though...

> (2) A construction code official may deny the issuance of a certificate of occupancy if the official deems that a building is unsafe because of inadequate means of egress, inadequate lighting and ventilation, fire hazards or other dangers to human life or to public welfare.

Tester101

@maple_shaft most of the fire safety stuff isn't so concerned with residential. The only things you'll likely find are egress issues (wide enough doors, large enough windows, etc.).

The Evil Greebo

Exterior doors must open out for fire safety but residential interior doors? Who says the fire's not in the room you're in?

Most residential fire code is about preventing spreading to adjacent structures

Tester101

@TheEvilGreebo Residential interior doors should swing both ways.

maple_shaft

@TheEvilGreebo I see...

well..

The Evil Greebo

16:43

@Tester101 You won't find many that doo

most residential interior doors have door stops

Tester101

I'm just saying, then no matter where the fire is, you'll always be able to escape.

maple_shaft

> ... means of egress requirements pertaining to minimum number of exits, maximum travel distances to exits, means of egress illumination, minimum egress widths and heights for exit doors, exit stairs, exit ramps and exit corridors requirements under the “International Building Code”.

I can't find any information on exit corridor requirements

if it was anywhere then it would be there

Tester101

@maple_shaft Again, even most of that stuff does not matter in residential.

Karl Katzke

I dunno, @Tester101, that was the root of my friend's decision when he became bisexual, but it seems like he ends up in more situations where he's flaming these days.

/me cues up "wackity sax"

Tester101

Nobody will come in and yell at you for putting your couch in front of your door, but in a commercial scenario you'll get sited for a violation if you do it.

The Evil Greebo

16:46

@KarlKatzke i had a gay college roommate who started out claiming to be very discrete

and ended up wearing fuscia pants (however you spell it)

Karl Katzke

Fuschia pants happen. Not much you can do about it.

2

The Evil Greebo

that was just the tip of the iceberg

our dorm room looked like battle of the sexes because he had posters of nearly nude guys on his side so I felt compelled to get competing posters of nearly nude women

if we were driving, and someone said "go straight at the intersection" or some such, he, without fail, would chime in, "No, go gaily forward!"

<-- killed the chat, didn't he...

Tester101

No problem @TheEvilGreebo, we'll just trudge gaily on.

2

The Evil Greebo

@Tester101 Stand proud! Come out of that closet!

After you finish hanging the rail properly that is

Tester101

@TheEvilGreebo I can't. I don't know which way the door opens.

The Evil Greebo

16:57

@Tester101 It opens up

heheheh

Tester101

And it's dark in here.

wax eagle

17:11

@Tester101 so turn the light on :P

Tester101

@Aaron Nice ladder review.

@waxeagle No lights in a closet.

The Evil Greebo

@Tester101 can be

where do you live, a cave?

wax eagle

@Tester101 all of my closets have lights :P

Tester101

Closet is too small, any light placement would be a code violation.

wax eagle

my bedroom closet would be exceptionally useless without a light as it's a walkin

maple_shaft

17:13

I feel like you guys are making fun of me .... :(

The Evil Greebo

Tester101

@maple_shaft We're not making fun of you, we're making fun of doors that swing both ways.

The Evil Greebo

Put those in your closet

@Tester101 And Tester101 swinging both ways

Tester101

@TheEvilGreebo Hey, I'm not the one with half nude men on my wall.

The Evil Greebo

@Tester101 I wasn't either! That was Henry's wall!

MY dorm wall had boobs and battleships!

Tester101

17:19

Why did this question get so many down votes?

-4

Q: How can I fix an incorrectly wired replacement ceiling fan speed control switch?

The pull chain pulled/broke out of fan switch, causing the fan to be on at medium speed unless the power supply to the fan is shut off with wall switch. Light works normally. I replaced the fan switch with an exact duplicate replacement part/switch. I wired it exactly as the one being rep...

electrical ceiling-fan

I've seen worse questions.

Aaron

-4 is a bit strong

Tester101

I was even tempted to leave the original title "Ceiling fan NO WORKIE!"

The Evil Greebo

dunno, didn't vote on it

read the revisions

now i know

look at version 1 and you'll understand the -4

BMitch

@Tester101 The edit helps, the original question was pretty bad

The Evil Greebo

@Tester101 Why are you asking - you did the edit!

BMitch

17:23

I don't blame people that give a -1 for inappropriate usage of caps.

Aaron

So did the new red blog tag (taking the place of chat) on the site stop happening?

BMitch

And since the person complained about the first comment, but ignored my request for more details and photo and to cleanup the question himself, I'm leaving my -1.

Tester101

BMitch

@Aaron I haven't noticed it in a long time, ever since we got the bulletin board

Tester101

@Aaron It goes in the Community Bulletin now.

Aaron

17:25

Ahhh

BMitch

@Tester101 I also use a -1 as my version of a close vote (question is incomplete and of extremely low quality) until the community casts a few close votes of their own.

Tester101

@BMitch Fair enough.

Seems like the user may have abandoned ship, after the first comment and x number of down votes.

wax eagle

@Tester101 he was kinda snippy in the comments too...that can be a factor

Chris Cudmore

Why is it that I can't even prime a small room without a trip to Lowes?

And what's the soonest I can paint primed raw drywall?

The Evil Greebo

@ChrisCudmore about an hour

IME

if its not humid

Chris Cudmore

17:32

Good.

The Evil Greebo

i look for it to be dry to the touch

Chris Cudmore

No, it's 25 degrees and sunny today.

Tester101

@ChrisCudmore When you touch the wall, and your hand doesn't have primer on it.

The Evil Greebo

o

i'm out early, got errands to run

Tester101

Wow that's cold.

Chris Cudmore

17:33

What if my hand already has primer on it?

Celcius.

Tester101

@ChrisCudmore Then you should wash your hands, and be more careful next time you paint.

@Aaron How sturdy does the ladder feel when it's fully extended? I'm thinking about getting a new ladder, and you've got me considering getting one of those.

Aaron

It feels as sturdy as the ground that you have it in, to be honest

Tester101

So not as bouncy as a traditional extension ladder?

Aaron

17:58

Well

This thing is pretty solid and it has the flared base and top edges

Chris Cudmore

18:39

First coat up.

I think I'll get away with one.

The Evil Greebo

diy.stackexchange.com/a/18602/3525

got deleted before the asker even may have gotten a chance to see the comment saying they should ask a question

wax eagle

@TheEvilGreebo 1. they get notified if a mod deleted it, 2. they can see their own deleted answers :)

The Evil Greebo

ok

wax eagle

it's worse when a mod deletes a question real quick, because they can't see their own deleted questions :(

BMitch

@TheEvilGreebo shucks, comments on deleted answers can't be upvoted, @NiallC. covered that one perfectly.

Niall C.

19:12

@bmitch Abuse your mod powers to undelete, upvote my comment, then delete again!

BMitch

hahaha

Aaron

(no, this is not my car, just an article I came across and I'm curious)

What do you think the license plate tag says?

BMitch

I love voice mail messages that end with a long "how do I end this thing" because they were trying to add me into a conference call.

@Aaron WMZ-95U according to the ticket

Aaron

19:28

Yeah, but what do you think the picture says?

BMitch

(I've never understood why license plates are blurred out on TV, it's public information shown on a public street.)

@Aaron Looks pretty close to that, are they saying it's wrong?

Aaron

The long story is the person had their car out of state at the time the picture was taken

I'm not sure if the data error is in the tagging of the plate -> name (i.e, that is my name, but WMZ-95U isn't my plate), or picture -> plate (I don't think it says WMZ-95U either)

It sounds like they are claiming it is the latter

BMitch

There's a third possibility, two people were given the same license plate by accident

Aaron

Also true

BMitch

I was listening to a Herding Code podcast where that happened to one of them, DMV had issued the same plate# to a rental car company and renters were running toll booths and parking illegally.

The Evil Greebo

19:39

Looks like k WMZ-55U to me

or 85U

wax eagle

@TheEvilGreebo could be an S too

(or is S prohibited)

Karl Katzke

20:52

My face when I saw that poor guy in RI's roof: 3.bp.blogspot.com/-HktnVRx4KEY/UCSOeLuiKeI/AAAAAAAAJpI/…

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