My AC has been freezing up a couple times over the past few days. I obviously changed the filter and tried to vacuum the radiator component as well as I could, but the problem is still recurring. I tried to vacuum the coils themselves, but it’s installed in a way that makes them hard to access. Anyways, as I was trying to get at them, I noticed that, when the fan is on, it’s very apparent that air is primarily blowing around the coils/radiator. In other words, there’s like a donut of fast-moving air between the radiator and the outside of the unit. Is that normal, or is it a clue that there’s an excessive amount of dust, or maybe I melted ice that I can’t see that’s blocking the airflow.
Obviously I need to have a professional take a look, but I’d like to put that off a bit if possible…
Seriously. My sliding glass door to the backyard is giving me trouble (not locking properly) and I’m like ‘welp guess I’m going to have to hire someone since I’ll never figure this out.’ Luckily my wife’s friend seems to have diagnosed the problem over the phone and I think it’s just replacing the lock mechanism, which I can probably handle. Still gotta deal with my daughter’s wheelbarrow toy, though.
Anyone have an opinion about swapping out a water tank as a dyi project? My gf will get slaughtered if she farms this out and since I’m moderately handy with an excellent set of tools, was considering it.
Gas or electric? Worst case with the latter is things get wet, while the former includes the potential for explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning. In either case you’ll probably need to know how to sweat copper.
Here’s the frame part of the lock that I took off, you can see that the inner surface has been damaged. Maybe that gives you a better idea of what’s going on? Also the door’s alignment has clearly changed throughout the week - for a couple of days our child-proofing lock that is stuck to the glass was catching but now it’s gliding smoothly again.
Probably could but don’t. I’ve renovated a house before including rewiring and plumbing the whole thing, and there’s no way I’m fucking with gas. No its not hard but you make the wrong mistake and stuff literally blows up.
At the very least put the new one in place and call in someone to connect it.
Is “water tank” the same as “water heater”? Or just a holding tank? Anyway, I just replaced mine and all attachments were on flexible hoses (although the water attachment was more like a “flexible” hose - it cracked and I had to replace it). No sweating anything though.
I moved the water heater years ago from inside to outside and that did involve new gas pipes and sweating copper. Sweating copper is a skill I had to learn more or less, but if it’s not done right you’ll find out right away and redo it. I really can’t imagine causing an explosion doing the gas, but I guess it’s possible. It’s not hard to tell when gas is leaking. But, of course, if you think you might blow something up, get a professional.
Rewiring an electric seems more likely to cause a fire than doing gas to me. You can connect electrical wires badly, have them work perfectly well for a while, and then cause a fire when a bad connection later builds up resistance, gets hotter and hotter, and causes a fire.
Are these any help? I don’t see any holes for adjustment unless they are different than the screen door ones. It’s a solid glass sliding door with a metal frame. Our COVID friends are over and kids are playing around the door so having trouble getting pictures without them in it.
Maybe I’m doing a bad job but it’s definitely a little more open towards the top when the bottom is closed. Assuming that is the problem what can I do about it?
Well i was going to embarrass myself by asking which way to turn the screws but I messed with them a bit and it’s now locking a lot more easily, so thanks! I need to double check that it glides the whole way smoothly but I suspect that was the main issue. My wife was impressed with how easily I handled it but I probably should’ve been able to figure it out on my own, as realigning my screen door is one of the tasks I’ve actually mastered in the past.
Question about some exterior chimney work. I had some interior work on the chimney completed this past winter which cost about $5k. I had posted the quote a couple years back, likely on the old version of this thread in 2+2 forum, and everybody thought it was a very good price. They did a good job, came in at the quoted price, and the chimney drafts properly now.
Now I just got a quote from them for exterior chimney work including crown seal, flash seal, water proofing, minor tuck pointing, and demoing out 2 damaged bricks to replace with new bricks. Total cost = $2075. $1025 is labor for 2 workers for a half day each.
Does that seem reasonable? I had received a quote a couple of years ago for $875 total, including labor. The labor at that time was quoted for $200. However, touch pointing and demoing the 2 damaged bricks wasn’t necessary at that time, so it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. And maybe this extra stuff requires more skilled labor.
If it seems fair I’m inclined to proceed with this company without pursuing additional quotes. I’m not looking for lowest possible price - just a fair price.
Yeah it seems like they are quoting for labor in each line item, and then a separate line item for total labor. Example, they have demoing out the bricks and replacing with new bricks listed as $250. That has to include labor as I don’t believe two bricks and some mortar costs $250.
Ok - thanks. Guess I need to get another quote or two. Too bad as they were very professional with the other job. Came on the exact day, which had been scheduled over two months in advance, and finished in almost the exact time they said they would. Almost everything else I have done on the house I’m constantly fighting with people who don’t show up, etc.
It could well be smart for them to basically have the policy that they don’t do any jobs < $2k or something like that. Unless you’re on your own w/o employees it’s pretty hard not to lose money if you’re running around doing little jobs.
They came out one time and got a squirrels nest (and like 7 live squirrels) out of there and put a cap on it for about $400. But maybe their policy is changing. Or maybe my lawn was looking too good the other day when they came to quote so they figure I have money. (It is looking damn fine now that I have time to deal with it due to working from home 100% of time.)
