The Home Improvement Thread

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

I don't think he can do it himself, last time I looked the city didn't allow work on the supply side of the main breaker under a homeowner's permit.

I'm 99% sure that's correct, as only a master electrician can pull a permit for that. I haven't seen somewhere specifically state it but really you don't want a homeowner installing a meter base as well as your service conductors either way. I also would encourage having the electrician do the grounding work as well as that's ultimately the most important part of any electrical system.

[Fuzz]

Oh ya, for sure. I'll be getting an electrician to do the real work. The city guy even reminded me of that! I wouldn't tackle it. I will be putting the conduit in though, so I wanted to make sure it was big enough. I'll probably go with 1 1/2", as 2" is double the price, so if I don't need that big, I won't. I was mostly curious about the wire gauge for cost.

Another question, the line to the house will be about 2 feet roughly below the roof line of the garage at the closest point. Ideally I could build the garage first, under that line and have the swap done after the framing/roof is done. Is this dangerous, or are those lines insulated and if we bump them accidentally it won't be an issue? I won't take the risk if it is sketchy, but if not it would be easier to do this way and save me figuring out how to install the new panel with no building to mount it to.

[Fuzz]

This is what he mentioned:

The service work installed on the garage shall be completed by a certified electrical contractor under permit. The conduit and sub feed to the house could be done on either a home owners permit or you can have the contractor complete the work.

I will have an electrician install the garage panel and re-connect the main panel.

[llwhiteoutll]

I'd go with 2" personally, it's a minimal cost to make pulling the cable in a lot easier.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Oh ya, for sure. I'll be getting an electrician to do the real work. The city guy even reminded me of that! I wouldn't tackle it. I will be putting the conduit in though, so I wanted to make sure it was big enough. I'll probably go with 1 1/2", as 2" is double the price, so if I don't need that big, I won't. I was mostly curious about the wire gauge for cost.

Another question, the line to the house will be about 2 feet roughly below the roof line of the garage at the closest point. Ideally I could build the garage first, under that line and have the swap done after the framing/roof is done. Is this dangerous, or are those lines insulated and if we bump them accidentally it won't be an issue? I won't take the risk if it is sketchy, but if not it would be easier to do this way and save me figuring out how to install the new panel with no building to mount it to.

That's honestly closer than I would feel comfortable getting if I wasn't considered qualified. I would have to see the cable first but more than likely the hot conductors are insulated but the neutral is exposed, I'm not 100% on this. At the end of the day though it's your life and safety and if there's a nick in the wire and you hit it, there's no breaker protecting you from the secondary of the utility transformer. Here's the occupational limits of approach:

https://work.alberta.ca/SearchAARC/876.html

If you want to talk about this further, you can send me a PM and maybe a phone call would be easier.

[Fuzz]

Ah, ok....they all look insulated but you make a good point about it being nicked.

My neighbour is the electrician I was probably going to use, maybe I'll see if he has any options to make this work.

[Fuzz]

I measured it last night, it will be about 2.5' from the closest point. It goes upwards fairly quickly and away from the garage after that. I think we may build the garage and if necessary leave the trusses off that corner, it is a hip roof so it will only be one corner. Then the rest of the garage will be enclosed enough to get the meter moved at that point. Then the closest we will get will be more than 5 feetish.

[PaperBagger'14]

I feel more comfortable knowing that. Make sure though that if the ladders you're using are made of metal that you keep them as far away as possible. It doesn't sound like there will be an issue, but do be very cautious.

[Fuzz]

Ya, if at any point it looks like we have to do something sketchy I'll just work on closing in the end we need to transfer power. The build will probably be 2 weekends, so I'll have the weekdays in between to get the electrical switched.

[photon]

I hate toilets. Multiple problems with toilets with them leaking into the bowl despite replacing the flapper multiple times (even getting a plumber to replace the flapper), or a low profile toilet where I can't seem to find a replacement flapper that works (it either closes too early, or stays open, also despite getting a plumber to replace).

So I'm thinking of converting them to dual flush toilets, maybe replacing everything will make them better. Anyone have any success with kits that convert a toilet to dual flush?

https://www.lowes.ca/toilet-repair-k..._g1471257.html

Or are they just a gimmick that makes things even worse?

[surferguy]

anybody ever converted a gas furnace to a propane furnace?

Ive got an old one and my father suggested I do this for my workshop.

Everlast do you have any opinions on this?

[jeffh]

Surferguy, from what I can recall, the essential thing you'll need to have done is change the orifice size of the gas burner. For switching from natural gas to propane, you'll need to decrease the size of the orifice, as propane burns hotter per volume. I believe a knowledgeable gasfitter should be able tell you the proper size you'll need, and even get it for you, but getting the part may be difficult. If you were to go from natural gas to propane, I think they can just drill-out the orifice to a larger diameter. Hope this helps.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by photon

I hate toilets. Multiple problems with toilets with them leaking into the bowl despite replacing the flapper multiple times (even getting a plumber to replace the flapper), or a low profile toilet where I can't seem to find a replacement flapper that works (it either closes too early, or stays open, also despite getting a plumber to replace).

So I'm thinking of converting them to dual flush toilets, maybe replacing everything will make them better. Anyone have any success with kits that convert a toilet to dual flush?

https://www.lowes.ca/toilet-repair-k..._g1471257.html

Or are they just a gimmick that makes things even worse?

I've seen these kits go as low as $15 FYI so that specific one is a ripoff. I also understand that they're a PITA to install because you gotta disassemble the bowl from the seat to change the seal between them.
You're probably better off buying an entire new toilet w/ dual flush mechanism built in.

Benefits:
-brand new throne to sit on
-can get one with the soft close seats
-save water from no leakage + dual flush is probably using less L/flush
-can choose heights i.e. chair height if you want
-I got elongated bowls because they're comfier, personal opinion.

Replacing the entire thing isn't even something you need a plumber to do really, about 90min for me doing it myself. It's just awkwardly heavy to do it alone, but also tough to find friends that wanna deal with this ####, pun intended.

[Bankai]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

That's right about my time frame as well. How are you digging your post holes? I hear that is by far the worst part. There's a guy on kijiji that will do it for $10 a post hole + a $25 dollar site fee. Seems cheap compared to spending a couple hours digging.

I looked at how much concrete it would fill for the sonotubes and it's roughly 5-7 bags of concrete per hole?

How'd your deck turn out?

Just finished mine yesterday and I am now going to be staining it in the next couple days! Very excited as its the first deck I've built completely by myself.

Spoiler!

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by Bankai

How'd your deck turn out?

Just finished mine yesterday and I am now going to be staining it in the next couple days! Very excited as its the first deck I've built completely by myself.

Dang that's a nice deck and a nice backyard you have. I am just putting on the railings and the stairs hopefully this coming week. I'll take a picture when I get home. BTW are you located in ambleside? And again, great job on the deck man!

But I do have a question for all. I at first was going to build a 10'x12' deck but during building we pushed it out to a 12'x12' deck. We used 3 screw piles that went down ~4' spaced 4-5' apart. We used 2 2x8 as beams and ran 2x8 joists spaced 16" OC. My problem is that there's a bit of a bounce. I tried doing blocking between the joists but that didn't help much.

From what I read it is due to the long span of the 2x8 joists. And according to the city of Edmonton's code, the max span is 11' 7" where I'm right about a 11'. I'm thinking of adding another set of beams at 5', but can I use deck blocks for these?

https://www.edmonton.ca/documents/PD...on_handout.pdf

According to this it seems I can run a 24x24" patio slab and a deck block on top? I tried contacting the edmonton permit office but for decks under 6' they don't touch the foundation so they were not particularly helpful.

Would anyone run another set of 2 2x8 beams ontop of deck blocks? I'm just worried about frost heave.

Thanks!

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Bankai

How'd your deck turn out?

Just finished mine yesterday and I am now going to be staining it in the next couple days! Very excited as its the first deck I've built completely by myself.

Spoiler!

Nice. You might want to hold off on staining it though. I've always been told that the deck/wood should sit for a couple seasons before stain is applied otherwise it doesn't soak in properly/effectively. Maybe that is wrong information though?

[Bankai]

Thanks! Yes you are correct I am in Ambleside. I guess the shot of Signature tower in the background and some of the currents shops gave it away. Are you also in Ambleside?

For your questions, from my experience on this deck I don't think it's necessary to add. My deck spans roughly 11.5' x 16' and the 11.5' sections are held by 2x8 joists and there is not much movement at all.

The frame had some movement prior to adding the skirt and deck boards, however once the added weight was put on it seems very sturdy.

Just my opinion in this regard though.

[wooohooo]

Spoiler!

These are the pics I took of the deck. Just need to figure out a better way to do the stairs. I'm thinking of building my own stringers instead of the precut ones as the run is too steep.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

These are the pics I took of the deck. Just need to figure out a better way to do the stairs. I'm thinking of building my own stringers instead of the precut ones as the run is too steep.

I've never understood how they can sell those pre-cut stringers. Every single buyer in town would have to have the same deck to grade height, and only the height they've set (per # of risers).

Same with those stair railing kits. Once your rise and run changes, the angle changes and they don't have a chance of working.

[OMG!WTF!]

I think stairs are supposed to always be the same rise to run ratio and size, otherwise you'd be tripping all over the place. We get used to walking up and down stairs that are basically standard sizes and angles so when they're different you really notice. When you make your own you can fudge a bit by making the landing an inch or two up or down. But the stringers should more or less be the same.