The Home Improvement Thread

[81MC]

There was a someone on the radio talking about this program, who had something interesting insight along the lines of:
No fossil fuel using systems are eligible.
Your evaluation is only reimbursed if you proceed.

His point was essentially that for most Albertans, a high efficiency NG furnace was both more economical and more environmentally sound, but would not be eligible. He was warning NG against people getting the evaluation with the expectation of reimbursement only to find out they had less than ideal options.

Not sure if that’s clear in the guidance or not, just FYI.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

What's the best paint for the foundation of your house?

Any masonry paint do the trick or is there something I should be looking for?

[I_H8_Crawford]

Looking for help... Have a deadbolt lock that looks like this: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MMJ8BT7QoohBxeXh8

New deadbolt I bought has a locking mechanism like this: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ngQEyoyCYGtZTZE78

I am oiler level bad with a chisel, and the screws for the new deadbolt won't fit through the existing screw holes... Any way to make it work?

[Fuzz]

Have you opened it up to see if you can re-use the current deadbolt, and just swap the rest of it?

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

Looking for help... Have a deadbolt lock that looks like this: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MMJ8BT7QoohBxeXh8

New deadbolt I bought has a locking mechanism like this: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ngQEyoyCYGtZTZE78

I am oiler level bad with a chisel, and the screws for the new deadbolt won't fit through the existing screw holes... Any way to make it work?

Did it come with a ring to swap out? The ones I did had the square face plate like that but also with a ring like your current deadbolt. I just had to use a flathead screwdriver to pop the plate off, then slide the ring on.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Have you opened it up to see if you can re-use the current deadbolt, and just swap the rest of it?

That's exactly what I tried but the screws for the new deadbolt are too big for the locking mechanism

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Did it come with a ring to swap out? The ones I did had the square face plate like that but also with a ring like your current deadbolt. I just had to use a flathead screwdriver to pop the plate off, then slide the ring on.

I will double check but I am 99% sure it didn't come with a ring

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

Looking for help... Have a deadbolt lock that looks like this: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MMJ8BT7QoohBxeXh8

New deadbolt I bought has a locking mechanism like this: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ngQEyoyCYGtZTZE78

I am oiler level bad with a chisel, and the screws for the new deadbolt won't fit through the existing screw holes... Any way to make it work?

I bought that exact same Ultraloq deadbolt and ran into the same issue. What I did was re-use the cylinder of the old deadbolt. I think I had to shave some metal off of the Ultraloq pin with a dremel so that it would fit through the other cylinder, but after doing that it's worked great

[psyang]

We had a few windows replaced, and now find three of our blinds are about 1/4" too wide. Anyone know a good place that can cut blinds?

[Nufy]

Wife wants to replace this.

Looks like stone attached to the wall with mortar / cement etc...

Thoughts on the best way to remove and preserve the stones and hearth in case there is interest to re-use ?

[speede5]

Those shouldn’t be too hard to peel off depending on the substrate. Are they stuck to drywall or is there cement board underneath. Use a thin prybar and start peeling. The hard part will be cleaning the backside if you want to reuse. If it’s mortar it will just chip off. If it’s glue you’ll have a lot of scraping but heat or chemicals will help.

[Wormius]

I think I’d also number them, and then take a picture again, just in case there is some desire to use them for a similar purpose.

[Nufy]

I'm gonna have a go with a cold chisel and see what happens.
Not worried about the backing as I want to inspect the chimney anyways.

I am ok with replacing of needed.

[Madman]

Why not just cut the drywall at the edge and then take it all down? My hope would be more stones come off with drywall chunks and likely less mess to clean. Depending on what you're replacing it with, you'll end up replacing the drywall/backing anyway.

[Nufy]

It was a mesh on top of the regular drywall and lots of mortar.

Came off in pieces with little damage to the drywall at all.

Will do a quick repair and get it ready for the new stone finish.

[Madman]

Regular drywall?

I'd replace that with fireboard for sure if it was my house.

[Nufy]

Looks like regular drywall. Build was in 1979 so yeah...will probably replace with cement board / manufacturers recommendation.

This stuff right ?

https://www.lowes.ca/product/backer-...-x-5-ft-503916

[Shazam]

Just so you know, cement board is extremely heavy even though it says "25% lighter!" and you need to make sure you have the proper PPE if you're cutting it (the dust it makes is very, very, very bad for your lungs).

[Fuzz]

Take a look at diamondback board. I used it for my tile. Not sure on fire resistance, but way easier to work with than cement board.

[Calgary14]

Nufy, be sure to post pics of the finished product when done