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1500 questions
21
votes
5 answers
What are the differences between SDS, SDS Plus, and SDS Max drills?
Basically I had to use a breaker last weekend, it was clear I did not need the “heavy duty” as I did not have 6” of solid concrete, but the descriptions of the other options confused me.
Walker
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21
votes
5 answers
What is the best way to incrementally finish an unfinished basement?
my wife and I are in the process of buying our first house. The house has a 750 square foot unfinished basement (cinderblock walls and concrete floor), and is brand new (rather, it will be brand new when it is finished in a week or two). We don't…
Brendon Dugan
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21
votes
3 answers
How do I feed an ethernet cable through a doorway without damaging the door or wall?
My wife and I recently moved into a new apartment. We've had it for just a few days.
When our internet company came to hook up our landline, I had them hook it into one of our bedrooms and set up my home office.
Now my wife wants to set up her…
Zibbobz
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21
votes
7 answers
How do I remove wallpaper from drywall?
I know there are a lot of different ways to remove wallpaper, ranging from elbow grease to chemicals and steam machines.
What way(s) work(s) best?
Jon Fournier
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21
votes
11 answers
How do you protect solar panels from hail?
Saw another question on solar panels and it reminded me of one big thing that always made me hesitant to consider them.
We get several hail storms each year and having an expensive glass covered(?) panel facing almost straight up seems like it is…
JohnFx
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21
votes
2 answers
What danger/code violation is oversized breakers?
I just got the results of a home inspection where they claim there is mismatched breakers and wires in my electrical panel. Specifically, the range (40A breaker) and heat pump (50A). He claims the wires are 30A.
Assuming this is true, is this a…
kinar
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20
votes
3 answers
What types of home radon mitigation systems have you used, and how well do they work?
What types of home radon mitigation systems have you used, and how well do they work? Do recommended types of mitigation systems vary significantly with varying levels of excess radon? Does climate have any impact on the mitigation system of…
stack
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20
votes
4 answers
Which Kitchen outlets do NOT need GFCI?
I have the 2 circuits in the kitchen with GFCI outlets, but I'm not quite sure which other ones do NOT need GFCI. Other circuits in the kitchen include Microwave, Fridge, and Dishwasher. It makes sense to me to not have the fridge on GFCI though.
rcav8r
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20
votes
4 answers
Why don't programmable thermostats automatically switch between "Cool" and "Heat"?
While I can set my house to be a particular temperature, I still have to manually switch it between "Heat" and "Cool" mode, and this seems to be true of every thermostat (programmable or not) that I've seen. Is there a reason for this?
Adam Robinson
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20
votes
3 answers
Is notching a flange on an I-Joist ever acceptable?
My home builder said that the following notch in a flange on an I-Joist was acceptable, but I've read that you're never supposed to do so. Is that true?
gibbo
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20
votes
17 answers
What is an affordable 2D drafting software for amateurs?
Background: We have about 1500 feet of unfinished basement that I am contemplating finishing off into a "grandma suite". Before getting serious about the project, however, I would like to play around with some layouts.
My first thought was to…
Portman
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20
votes
15 answers
What do you do/ask when hiring a contractor
In a world where every guy with a truck full of tools is a "contractor", how do you weed out the good from the bad?
Tester101
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20
votes
8 answers
Can I backfeed a portable generator into my house's electrical system?
Is there a safe way to power my house using a portable generator? The power rating for the generator is 6kW, and I want to run my electric water heater (4.5kW) and my refrigerator (0.5kW) and possibly a few lights.
The water heater is the main…
Doresoom
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20
votes
6 answers
What should I do to increase the dimming range of LED bulbs?
We started doing most of our homes in LED last year. I am a big dimmer fan and would pretty much put a dimmer on any light switch. One thing that I haven't gotten down is the dimming range of the LED vs what I am used to with the incandescent…
DMoore
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20
votes
2 answers
1lb of cure is worth 10 tons of mold: DIY repair of a poorly sealed window? lots of photos herein
Preface
I live in China. Construction is largely handled by unskilled migrants, and one cannot just call up a specialist contractor to fix a major issue.
Problem
I've got a window that was not properly sealed when the apartment was built, and which…
Drew
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