Home Improvement & Repair

Grand Potentate

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The old one got washed away in the great flood of 1796, so here's a new one.

Ok, so what can you guys tell me about insulation? Apparently, some large animal was up in the attic taking large shits. There are about 5-7 large piles of shit. So, I want to just pull up the piece of insulation and put down some new shit. The insulation up there is pink and very fiberglassy. Probably 30 years old dating back to when the house was built.
 
you can just repair. how much insulation (inches) do you have up there? 6 inches (R3.2 per inch so R19)? current recommendations for hot climate is R38 or so
 
It can be itchy. Wear gloves and stuff. Isn't there a moisture barrier side with all kinds of printed info on it?
 
You can just cut out the old. Lowe's sells rolls that perforated every few feet for just this reason.
 
Then the insulation is made of cocaine.
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I bought this house new, 10 years ago. It came with two air conditioning systems - one runs the top floor the other the bottom two. The former has run fine without any issues - just needed a gas top-up once. The second .... I’m about to replace the coil in the attic for the fourth time (on parts warranty, but still expensive).

Why does the one system keep crapping out on me? I’ve had a few different people look at it and never got a decent answer
 
I bought this house new, 10 years ago. It came with two air conditioning systems - one runs the top floor the other the bottom two. The former has run fine without any issues - just needed a gas top-up once. The second .... I’m about to replace the coil in the attic for the fourth time (on parts warranty, but still expensive).

Why does the one system keep crapping out on me? I’ve had a few different people look at it and never got a decent answer
ive talked to a LOT of AC guys recently and come to the conclusion that they're basically the doctors of the home industry. they never have a complete answer, never can give guarantees, and always think that theyve got the right answer. you can talk to 5 of them and get 5 different answers. oh and theyre all overpriced.

my best guess would be that youve got some issues with how it was installed originally. what happens to the coil that you need to keep replacing it?
 
The coils keep cracking and leaking (well, I think the first might have rusted).

That sounds about right. Each time they blame the old part but say the new coil will be good. This is the third company I’ve had on the job.

I keep thinking it is an excess of pressure that’s causing them to break. Maybe the coil is too small for the outside compressor unit? Or there’s some restriction after the coil that’s causing pressure to build.
 
ive never even heard of coils breaking much less it be a repeated problem like that. the rust all the time, sure, but to the point that they're brittle?

10 years is really the length of the lifespan of the unit so i suggest you find another few companies with good reviews online to give you estimates on a new system with a fresh install.
 
What’s an average lifespan for a coil supposed to be before they rust and leak?

I’m going to get this one replaced under parts warranty, but next time I’ll bite the bullet and get a whole new system put in. The last repair company said they stopped servicing Lennox and if I didn’t replace it with a better brand they wouldn’t come out anymore.
 
yeah 10 years is about right for heat pumps.
Here the most reliable are Daikon and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
 
What’s an average lifespan for a coil supposed to be before they rust and leak?

I’m going to get this one replaced under parts warranty, but next time I’ll bite the bullet and get a whole new system put in. The last repair company said they stopped servicing Lennox and if I didn’t replace it with a better brand they wouldn’t come out anymore.
ihonestly dont know. any system that has this many issues generally would get replaced in full.

all the companies service their own set of brands, so just because one doesnt do lennox doesnt mean that others wont
 
Thinking about refining this wood fence by slapping on some Tung oil. Any reason not to? Mostly I see people putting varnishes on fences.
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i admit ive never heard of tung oil before today. what's the benefit over just refinishing it with something like minwax?

I’ve used it a lot on furniture (indoor and out) as well as rifle stocks - I’ve just never heard of it used on a fence, which makes me think I’m missing some major disadvantage.

The main advantage it has over using a polymer finish is that you don’t need to sand the old yellowed and peeling stuff off in a year and redo it. It’s a natural oil. When the wood starts to dry out again, you just slap more oil on.
 
I’ve used it a lot on furniture (indoor and out) as well as rifle stocks - I’ve just never heard of it used on a fence, which makes me think I’m missing some major disadvantage.

The main advantage it has over using a polymer finish is that you don’t need to sand the old yellowed and peeling stuff off in a year and redo it. It’s a natural oil. When the wood starts to dry out again, you just slap more oil on.
couldn't you just do that with any wood oil? what's the specific benefit for this tang oil over anything else?
 
couldn't you just do that with any wood oil? what's the specific benefit for this tang oil over anything else?

Absolutely. Tung is good stuff and not terribly expensive in bulk cans, but any other wood oil would do the same thing.
 
Absolutely. Tung is good stuff and not terribly expensive in bulk cans, but any other wood oil would do the same thing.
so i suppose the choice is between a natural oil color and a finish like minwax? do you really have to redo them every year?
 
so i suppose the choice is between a natural oil color and a finish like minwax? do you really have to redo them every year?

Ive just let mine fade over the years, but most of my neighbors are painting or refinishing theirs.

My new schedule gives me a day off a week now, so I’m looking for easy home projects that double as exercise and getting outside. Slapping some oil on the fence seemed like it would be high return for minimal effort.
 
Not that much different than using linseed or other oil applications. Doesn’t have to be done yearly. I used tung oil on the exposed beams inside the house after the initial staining for colour.
 
Not that much different than using linseed or other oil applications. Doesn’t have to be done yearly. I used tung oil on the exposed beams inside the house after the initial staining for colour.

Is there any particular oil you’d recommend for fencing?
 
These days suburban fences are pretty shit . Crappy pine palings and pine posts.
Most of us tend to leave them and let them turn grey. Once you start painting you have to redo it every few years.

in the good old bad old days we used to slosh them with sump oil. Free and it worked.
 
These days suburban fences are pretty shit . Crappy pine palings and pine posts.
Most of us tend to leave them and let them turn grey. Once you start painting you have to redo it every few years.

in the good old bad old days we used to slosh them with sump oil. Free and it worked.

Yeh, I don’t know what sort of weird cheap wood this is and what it’s been treated with already. I used some rifle oil in an inconspicuous spot to test and it just lookslike a wet, day grey. I decided just to live with it.
 
I went to the hardware store to get more bags of salt to dump in the home water filter/softener. I saw that some people pay four times as much for a potassium alternative and I can’t figure out why.
 
These days suburban fences are pretty shit . Crappy pine palings and pine posts.
Most of us tend to leave them and let them turn grey. Once you start painting you have to redo it every few years.

in the good old bad old days we used to slosh them with sump oil. Free and it worked.

The Dutch are same, no one, and I mean no one paints their fences. We got a new one about 2 years ago and it's there greying away.
 
The Dutch are same, no one, and I mean no one paints their fences. We got a new one about 2 years ago and it's there greying away.
Creosote got banned. Now you have to use other stuff like Ronseal.

Creosote was good I miss it. I also miss mothballs which are also banned.
 
Creosote got banned. Now you have to use other stuff like Ronseal.

Creosote was good I miss it. I also miss mothballs which are also banned.

Mothballs are still available here. Probably because you need them, along with the vicious mosquitos in the summer you have moths and not forgetting fruit flies and midges in abundance. The price you pay for reclaiming swamp land.
 
Mothballs are still available here. Probably because you need them, along with the vicious mosquitos in the summer you have moths and not forgetting fruit flies and midges in abundance. The price you pay for reclaiming swamp land.
Says on wiki, mothballs containing naphthalene have been banned by the EU(God bless ‘em) since 2008.

I have used those cedar balls once the old-fashioned ones ran out - but they are useless.
 
Says on wiki, mothballs containing naphthalene have been banned by the EU(God bless ‘em) since 2008.

I have used those cedar balls once the old-fashioned ones ran out - but they are useless.

I don't know, we have them here and they're pretty effective and gas from the smell and texture they're petro-chemical.
 

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