The Home Improvement Thread

[jwslam]

It's not a miracle cure per above... but definitely noticable difference.
Shower glass used to be intolerable scummy in about 3 weeks. Sitting around 2 months now and it definitely still gets scummy but not as quickly/severely.

[Fuzz]

If you want a clean shower and tiles in Calgary, I switched to vinegar and palmolive dish soap(probably any would do). I mix about 1/2 cup per litre of vinegar in a spray bottle. It took a few months to really work through the layers, but it is the best cleaner I've found. You barely have to scrub. Wet everything with water, spray the hell out of it, wait 15 minutes, and wipe. If it is like mine, it may take a month or 2 to really notice the results. But I haven't had the soap scum/calcium buildup issue since using it.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

1/2 cup per litre

This is so Canadian it hurts lol.

That said, cleaning the shower is my most loathed task, and I appreciate the tip.

For clarity, are you saying ~125mL of Palmolive added to 1L of vinegar?

Do other dish soap work as well, or needs to be Palmolive?

I always feel guilty about dumping half a bottle of scrubbing bubbles down the drain, and it's not great for the calcium anyway, so this sounds great!

[Fuzz]

It's really just a rough measurement, I tend to fill my bottle 3/4 of the way with vinegar, then squeeze a bunch of soap in. I'm not scientific about it. Maybe it's closer to a cup(250ml!)... If you do it soap first, it foams like crazy as you pour the vinegar. I doubt the soap matters, I found a recipe online. I get the 4 litre jugs of palmolive from Costco, so that's what I use.


This one says 50/50 with Dawn, but I found more vinegar was better.


https://saraheverafter.com/the-best-...-scum-remover/

[justkidding]

The best thing you can do for a clean shower is switch to body wash. No soap scum.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by justkidding

The best thing you can do for a clean shower is switch to body wash. No soap scum.

I love my Pears soap. The smell is amazing.

I see they have body wash now, but it isn’t quite the same.

[Hockeyguy15]

Anyone have a smart/electric lock? Looking at this one but the people saying there are issues in cold weather are making me second guess it.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/sch...aaa/1000150272

[Titan2]

Originally Posted by photon

Any recommendations for a carpet cleaning company in Calgary? I got one but they haven't returned my call.

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Anyone have a smart/electric lock? Looking at this one but the people saying there are issues in cold weather are making me second guess it.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/sch...aaa/1000150272

Don't know about that specific model but I have had one on my house for 15 years. Never an issue until the battery runs out.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Anyone have a smart/electric lock? Looking at this one but the people saying there are issues in cold weather are making me second guess it.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/sch...aaa/1000150272

We have had it for a few years with no problems in winter. That particular model is supposed to work better in winter, and has really good battery life.

I don’t like the manual unlocking method with it though.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Anyone have a smart/electric lock? Looking at this one but the people saying there are issues in cold weather are making me second guess it.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/sch...aaa/1000150272

We have that lock on 4 of our doors and rarely have any issues. The only one that gives us any issues is the detached garage door when the weather gets to around -20 for a few days. I think something freezes up/shrinks and doesn't engage properly and the lock just spins freely. If I hear the interior of the garage it keeps working properly so if you are using it on a household door it should be fine.

[Fuzz]

I've got this one, never had a problem. It's on my peasant style unheated shed, as well, and has no issues in the cold.


https://www.schlage.com/en/home/prod...CENFFFLAT.html

[photon]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Anyone have a smart/electric lock? Looking at this one but the people saying there are issues in cold weather are making me second guess it.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/sch...aaa/1000150272

I've got that on a rental and it's been fine for years. Though as Wormius says the manual lock on it is annoyingly fiddly.

[81MC]

Anyone worked with Hush City or similar sound engineering solution providers? Or have any actual real world experience with soundproofing an existing room?

There’s a ton of regurgitated info out there, a lot of it rather bunk according to the real audio engineers. I’ll probably do MLV between two sheets of 5/8 drywall, but with the old build of the house and the unique basement construction, I’d love to know if that’s a lost cause.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I've got this one, never had a problem. It's on my peasant style unheated shed, as well, and has no issues in the cold.


https://www.schlage.com/en/home/prod...CENFFFLAT.html

I just installed this exact unit on my door about a month ago and while I fell it had a bit more industrial look to it, it is the best keyless unit I've ever had.

I have had a couple Weisers and they were good, but the battery performance was bad enough in winter that you were better off with a new set every fall.

I also have this one on my shop https://ca.weiserlock.com/en/product...9GED23000-002/ and it has a contacts so you can jump it with a 9v, so does the Schlage, so that issue is becoming a thing of the past. As long as you keep a 9v handy, we all have one in our pocket right? I don't recommend it though, I find it takes 10-20 sec from when you touch it to start entering your code and when it starts recognizing you are trying to press the numbers. It Lights up but wont beep as you try to enter the code. It's really annoying as you stand there tapping away waiting for a beep.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Anyone worked with Hush City or similar sound engineering solution providers? Or have any actual real world experience with soundproofing an existing room?

There’s a ton of regurgitated info out there, a lot of it rather bunk according to the real audio engineers. I’ll probably do MLV between two sheets of 5/8 drywall, but with the old build of the house and the unique basement construction, I’d love to know if that’s a lost cause.

To what level of soundproofing are you looking to achieve?

Thicker drywall helps, sound bar helps, sound insulation helps, double layer drywall helps

[MrCallahan]

So, I'm toying with the idea of running Ethernet through the whole house (Yes, everything is wireless these days! but I like hardwired, and also want to install in-wall AP's).

My basement is suited, the ceiling is completely drywalled and covered, so I can't easily run Ethernet within the walls.

A previous owner has installed coax cables in multiple rooms, and all that cabling is run externally, so I want to piggy back off those runs using outdoor Ethernet cable.

Problem is, I want to run all these cables into the basement storage room (separate from the suite), and to access it from outdoors would require drilling through concrete. Is this a bad idea? I'm wondering if I can get someone to drill and install a conduit into the basement. Any major concerns I should be thinking of here? insulation issues w/ conduit introducing more cold air into the basement? code issues? something I'm clearly missing that would make this a bad idea?

Follow up question assuming this isn't a terrible idea...anyone recommend any contractors/business they've worked with to do this work?

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by MrCallahan

So, I'm toying with the idea of running Ethernet through the whole house (Yes, everything is wireless these days! but I like hardwired, and also want to install in-wall AP's).

My basement is suited, the ceiling is completely drywalled and covered, so I can't easily run Ethernet within the walls.

A previous owner has installed coax cables in multiple rooms, and all that cabling is run externally, so I want to piggy back off those runs using outdoor Ethernet cable.

Problem is, I want to run all these cables into the basement storage room (separate from the suite), and to access it from outdoors would require drilling through concrete. Is this a bad idea? I'm wondering if I can get someone to drill and install a conduit into the basement. Any major concerns I should be thinking of here? insulation issues w/ conduit introducing more cold air into the basement? code issues? something I'm clearly missing that would make this a bad idea?

Follow up question assuming this isn't a terrible idea...anyone recommend any contractors/business they've worked with to do this work?

Cutting some drywall and patching is a much better idea than drilling through the foundation wall and trying to patch that up.

[speede5]

I don't know exactly what you are trying to do but if you run a conduit through the wall for cables all you really have to do is stuff it with Duxseal after and you won't have to worry about air/moisture ingress. It's what you use on the conduit for the main electrical service.

[Shazam]

Could just go with MoCA adapters.

But any decent electric guy can wire it up for ya. It's easy for them.

[chedder]

Anyone know what code is for roofing? Is the stick down rubbery stuff along the edges and valleys code and/or preferred? Or is it just the tyvek type stuff under the shingles?