The Home Improvement Thread

[wwkayaker]

I want to upgrade the lighting in a garage to something more efficient. The garage isn’t heated and can get pretty chilly. Currently, there are two 48” fluorescent fixtures with two bulbs each. I’ve read that I can bypass the ballast and go with led tubes or replace with newer fixtures. Any advice? Thanks.

[timun]

You can get LED 'tubes' that replace the fluorescents without any modification.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by timun

You can get LED 'tubes' that replace the fluorescents without any modification.

The ones I'm seeing you need to bypass the ballast. Are there some you don't need to do that with?

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by wwkayaker

I want to upgrade the lighting in a garage to something more efficient. The garage isn’t heated and can get pretty chilly. Currently, there are two 48” fluorescent fixtures with two bulbs each. I’ve read that I can bypass the ballast and go with led tubes or replace with newer fixtures. Any advice? Thanks.

I swapped out my fluorescent fixtures for LEDs and it was really easy and cheaper than buy LED tubes. I bought these from Home Depot on sale for $20. https://www.homedepot.ca/product/com...ght/1001057178

[timun]

Originally Posted by Sliver

The ones I'm seeing you need to bypass the ballast. Are there some you don't need to do that with?

E.g.: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/phi...0k-/1000837301

Designed to use the ballast and fit right in place.

Really though, ideally I think one should just rip the whole thing out and replace it. Ballasts tend to be the least reliable parts of fluorescent fixtures. Just my opinion.

[wwkayaker]

I was looking at something like these:

https://www.amazon.ca/Sunco-Lighting...394028&sr=8-11

I like the home depot product too.

[speede5]

i took out all the flourescent fixtures and went with standard sockets, first i had halogen bulbs but they didn't last long. LED options are insane now, I have regualar A19 led bulbs and its great, I want to try a few like these though,

https://www.ebay.ca/i/223699611000?c...CABEgIUV_D_BwE

[Fuzz]

^ Those don't say anything about meeting safety standards. I'd be wary.


I got 4 of these:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



and that was mostly enough light for a 22x32 garage. I added these over the work bench:


https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


An 8 pack of those double Sunco's would probably be overkill.

[Wormius]

Got quotes $50/linear foot for new fence (labour, removal of old fence, materials). Is this reasonable for a standard backyard fence?

[You Need a Thneed]

Saturday project, the kids wanted a swing set:

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

^ Those don't say anything about meeting safety standards. I'd be wary.


I got 4 of these:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



and that was mostly enough light for a 22x32 garage. I added these over the work bench:


https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


An 8 pack of those double Sunco's would probably be overkill.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have 4 of those Sunco's in my garage. I paid around $30-40 each time. I had the electrician replace 2x 8 foot fluorescent lights which weren't bright enough and flickered. It's a perfect amount of light for my slightly over sized double garage. 8 of those Fluorescent lights would definitely be blinding. In theory you could kinda DIY these. They are corded lights so as long as you have an outlet on your garage ceiling, you can install them yourself.

I bought those Sunco's to also replace in the ceiling fluorescent lights in my basement. It was the 8 foot fluorescent lights again, so I couldn't just buy a tube replacement and bypass the ballast. I think they work far better than the old fluorescent lights.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have these installed at my parents place. Two of them work quite well. About equal to half of the light in my garage. I haven't see anything that concerns me yet. I guess it's safer to install these in a detached garage if one is truly paranoid, but they do work quite well.

[TheIronMaiden]

I am looking for some Asbestos abatement advice/recommendations. My house has Asbestos boards as a covering for the foundation wall insulation. Fortunately, there is non in the house. Does anyone have experience working with any of Calgary's Asbestos remediation companies? How much should I expect for this to cost? Am I right to assume that I have no business suiting up and trying to do it myself?

[gasman]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

I am looking for some Asbestos abatement advice/recommendations. My house has Asbestos boards as a covering for the foundation wall insulation. Fortunately, there is non in the house. Does anyone have experience working with any of Calgary's Asbestos remediation companies? How much should I expect for this to cost? Am I right to assume that I have no business suiting up and trying to do it myself?

I did a kitchen reno and found asbestos in the underlayment under linoleum floor that was tiled over. I did the abatement myself. Bought a respirator with the proper cartridges, and tyvek coveralls. It all came up in large chunks with very little dust.

It all depends on the medium, if it is fryable, meaning will create any dust, get a professional. if you can remove it in chunks, then I would do it myself.

I also don't believe that a one time exposure by the average Joe, especially if you are a non smoker, will have any real long term impacts. You have to evaluate your own risk level.

Depending on the level of contamination you can budget between 10-50k.

[speede5]

If you decide to do it yourself I would also try and get it as wet as possible. This helps keeps the dust down. It may make it messier to remove and might make it break up more on removal, but if it's the type of panels I'm thinking of it shouldn't be an issue.

Also when you take it to the dump they may have an asbestos area, and they will probably charge you extra, but If you just chuck it in the pile you are passing the problem on to the equipment operators, and workers.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by gasman

I did a kitchen reno and found asbestos in the underlayment under linoleum floor that was tiled over. I did the abatement myself. Bought a respirator with the proper cartridges, and tyvek coveralls. It all came up in large chunks with very little dust.

It all depends on the medium, if it is fryable, meaning will create any dust, get a professional. if you can remove it in chunks, then I would do it myself.

I also don't believe that a one time exposure by the average Joe, especially if you are a non smoker, will have any real long term impacts. You have to evaluate your own risk level.

Depending on the level of contamination you can budget between 10-50k.

Access to proper PPE is a large part of my consideration when thinking hiring pros is the way to go. That said, the Asbestos board is very easily accessible, and should not fill more than 4 or 5 garbage bags all said. Another concern would be getting a permit to take it to the dump? how does that work?

[You Need a Thneed]

If you can remove the asbestos board without it breaking (breaking creates dust), and wear the proper mask, I would have no issues doing it myself.

Touching asbestos isn’t an issue, it’s an issue when it gets in your lungs. And even then, it’s only long term exposure, combined with other factors such as smoking, that’s really worrisome.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Saturday project, the kids wanted a swing set

DIY or kit?

[Bonded]

Spoilered the photos due to their size but has anyone worked much with concrete? Had a new window installed and it required some concrete removal. How hard do you think it would be to do myself and would I just need to flatten out the dirt surface and fill it in? 4 ft by 2.5 feet at the widest.

Spoiler!

[Fuzz]

Yes, it's easy enough to mix up and poor in. You will need something by your deck joist to contain it. It will rack at the joint at the other side, just the way it goes. If you want a smooth finish you can get it with a magnesium trowel, but they are more expensive. Otherwise just use a steel one. Oh, I'd take a 2x4 or something and try to compress the earth a bit first, so it doesn't slump after.


You could also just fill it with gravel or decorative stone.

[speede5]

Nothing a couple bags of redimix wont fix.