The Home Improvement Thread

[Weitz]

Anyone have a reasonably priced plumber to do a small job for me? I can't seem to get it done myself.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Ahuch

I feel you on this. When realtors talk up finished basements, I think to myself I wish I could find one that was untouched. Lol.

We had an electrician do our basement with our help and wiring diagram. We had planned on putting in lights on the steps down to the basement and on the same circuit also added two extra plugins - one in the crawl space and the other in the furnace room. The switch shares the same plate as the ceiling lights. So last week had a holy crap moment when the central vac decided not to work. After a bit of head scratching I figured "someone" had flicked the forgotten unused switch plus the vac was plugged into the respective socket... hence power got turned off. So yeah... even when doing ones own basement it's easy to forget exactly how something is set up!

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by 81MC

There’s a myriad of polyurethanes/varnishes/top coats out there, but if you want to keep it looking as is today make sure you use a waterborne product. I’m a fan of General Finishes, available at Lee Valley, Black Forest etx. https://generalfinishes.com/compare-all-topcoats

Oil products will provide some amber, and it will increase overtime.

Thanks. I tested out some clear tung oil on a piece and it’s a little darker than I’d like.

But yeah, my goal is just to keep it looking like today and be easy to clean if it gets splashed or something.

[MoneyGuy]

We bought an American Standard toilet. I love the soft-close lid but this is, pardon the pun, the crappiest toilet ever. It takes two flushes for liquids and several flushes to get rid of solids.

My wife wants a new toilet for Christmas. I’m contacting the company to tell them how poorly designed their product is. I’ll use Twitter because I have lots of followers who will see it.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

We bought an American Standard toilet. I love the soft-close lid but this is, pardon the pun, the crappiest toilet ever. It takes two flushes for liquids and several flushes to get rid of solids.

My wife wants a new toilet for Christmas. I’m contacting the company to tell them how poorly designed their product is. I’ll use Twitter because I have lots of followers who will see it.

Did you adjust the amount of water it uses?

Check this guide.

https://amarcoplumbing.com/toilet-do...h-all-the-way/

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Did you adjust the amount of water it uses?

Check this guide.

https://amarcoplumbing.com/toilet-do...h-all-the-way/

No thanks, I'd rather go straight to social media.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

We bought an American Standard toilet. I love the soft-close lid but this is, pardon the pun, the crappiest toilet ever. It takes two flushes for liquids and several flushes to get rid of solids.

My wife wants a new toilet for Christmas. I’m contacting the company to tell them how poorly designed their product is. I’ll use Twitter because I have lots of followers who will see it.

The American Standard toilet I was dealing with only filled the tank like 1/4 and called it "low flush". You had to hold the lever down for a full like 3-4 seconds to flush anything. It was so stupid and you couldn't tweak it any higher.

I replaced the components so that the tank fills to 3/4 and it's a lot better overall.

[speede5]

I have the Champion 4 and its the best toilet I've ever had. I bought our first one when the kids were young and I was sick of them plugging it with excess toilet paper and whatever else a toddler drops in there. Never had to pull it once to retrieve a hot wheels. lol

I bought another last year and swear by the model. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD0x34e-V9U

[CroFlames]

Do you really want all that #### going down your drains though? (no pun intended).

Almost rather it gets clogged at the toilet rather than under the 4" concrete slab in the basement.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Did you adjust the amount of water it uses?

Check this guide.

https://amarcoplumbing.com/toilet-do...h-all-the-way/

Yes, a few times. It’s a terrible toilet. We’ve tried holding the handle down, too. Nothing makes it work properly.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Sliver

No thanks, I'd rather go straight to social media.

Check the reply above. Don’t assume.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Yes, a few times. It’s a terrible toilet. We’ve tried holding the handle down, too. Nothing makes it work properly.

Err, I am no toilet expert, but that doesn't seem like something that would work.

You kind of want the tank to fill, so the toilet flushes.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Err, I am no toilet expert, but that doesn't seem like something that would work.

You kind of want the tank to fill, so the toilet flushes.

Some toilets the flapper closes pre-maturely, so you don't get a full flush. One of mine is like that, but I now just use it as dual flush. Quick push for a single, quick push, pause, then unleash flush number 2 for a, uh #2. Works great if you time it right.

[Wormius]

I just have those dual flush toilets from Costco, and can't complain. With the bidet, I only have to do the mini flush, regardless of the business performed.

I am pretty sure that makes me some kind of an eco-warrior - except for the unnecessary heating of the seat... and the light...

[monkeyman]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

We bought an American Standard toilet. I love the soft-close lid but this is, pardon the pun, the crappiest toilet ever. It takes two flushes for liquids and several flushes to get rid of solids.

My wife wants a new toilet for Christmas. I’m contacting the company to tell them how poorly designed their product is. I’ll use Twitter because I have lots of followers who will see it.

Haha!

[GoinAllTheWay]

Doesn't really belong in this thread but does anyone know of a good place to take a chainsaw?

I bought a Husqvarna chainsaw this past summer and it's been a massive piece of crap from day 1. Takes a good 10 minutes to get it started and when you let off the throttle it stalls almost immediately.

It's not the fuel, it's not the sparkplug. I'm wondering if the carb just needs an adjustment.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I just have those dual flush toilets from Costco, and can't complain. With the bidet, I only have to do the mini flush, regardless of the business performed.

I am pretty sure that makes me some kind of an eco-warrior - except for the unnecessary heating of the seat... and the light...

Does using the bidet counter the water use from a single flush?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Does using the bidet counter the water use from a single flush?

Excellent question.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Do you really want all that #### going down your drains though? (no pun intended).

Almost rather it gets clogged at the toilet rather than under the 4" concrete slab in the basement.

No, but that house was on an acreage with a septic tank and all new 4" heading into it so the odd hotwheel or mcdonalds toy would just sit in the bottom on the black side and cause no issues.


Tampons on the other hand, those always manage to get into the grey side and clog up a septic pump real quick.

[dobbles]

Wanted to start here with you guys before going to Google. I have a couple of ceiling fans in my new house that are multispeed controlled by a knob on the wall. Neither of them will run on the low settings as if they aren't getting quite enough power.

My question is how exactly this all works? I have only ever dealt with fans that had a simple on/off switch and then had the pull chains to control the speed. With this knob setup, is it varying the current sent through the wire to achieve the different speeds? If I were to try and switch over to just an on/off switch would I just be stuck at the default speed?

Seriously, any info you guys give is appreciated. I was not raised to be handy, so everything is a learning experience for me.