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1500 questions
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votes
6 answers

Tips for keeping a ladder steady when it is leaning against a sloped roof

I cannot come up with a reliable way to keep the ladder steady when it's leaning against the shed roof. I need to paint the trim two storeys up. When the right side of the ladder touches the roof edge at the point indicated by the arrow in the…
mr blint
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8 answers

Is it possible to replace just the antique locks or will I need to get whole new doors?

In the house I bought the doors are old but ok. However, the handle & locks are very old and we prefer to replace them. I am referring to the doors for the rooms inside the house. Now the question is, is it possible to replace just the handle and…
gyuunyuu
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How do I consistently drive drywall screws to the correct depth?

Is there a special technique or tool for consistently placing drywall screws correctly? I'm using a standard Dewalt DWD115K (with no auto-stop mechanism) so I'm usually paranoid of going too deep with screws... which results in stopping the screw…
Mike B
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8 answers

Are curtains effective for keeping the room warm?

I live in a rented apartment and I am trying to find solutions to keep the heat in. The apartment has several big windows (the 'living room' has one wall that is 80% windows) and I have to run the heat a lot to keep it warm inside. Do curtains…
Kate Plany
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8 answers

How do I place electrical conduit under a creek?

Short version: I need to run 4" PVC electrical conduit under a 4' wide creek where the water is usually 1-4" deep. Code in this area requires cable in conduit to be 18" deep. I do want to keep it that deep or, if I can manage it, maybe 24" deep so…
Tango
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13
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10 answers

Should I let pressure treated lumber dry before building with it?

I bought some treated 2x4s from Lowes, and they were fairly wet and heavy. I went ahead and built a firewood rack, but screwing into it releases a lot of water. It got me thinking, is it better to let the wood dry out a while before building with…
TheSean
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13
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9 answers

How do I remove a drill bit that is stuck due to an overtightened chuck?

I recently bought a Bosch PSB 500 RE power drill and already I kinda screwed up the machine. The chuck is keyless, consisting of two parts which I'll refer to as the head and the base. You would hold the base and rotate the head relative to the…
Moataz Elmasry
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3 answers

How can I add valves to supply lines when the lines are soldered to the faucet?

I am trying to replace an old faucet that my 3 yo child is unable to use because of its design. I'm new to plumbing but actively reading. I haven't seen these supply lines w/o valves before. This looks like the pipes are going straight into the…
eszed
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13
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9 answers

Is it possible to dangerously short a U.S. power outlet with multimeter probe?

I was recently told that the common 120V electric receptacles (non-GFCI) found in North American homes can be extremely dangerous to measure using a multimeter. FYI, this came up while I was checking proper connectivity of the wiring directly using…
Travis
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2 answers

Is my p-trap installed correctly?

I just moved into a new house and am having a problem where the sink takes longer than normal to drain. Also, while using the shower, there is a gurgling from the sink. I tried some drain cleaner, but these were supposed to be newly installed lines.…
Jon Moore
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3 answers

Bang sound and breaker has tripped, anything else to check?

Today I heard a moderately loud "bang" sound whilst in the house, similar to someone dropping a heavy book, and the upstairs sockets all lost power (sockets has its own breaker). I noticed that the breaker had tripped (not the RCD) and after…
SomeoneLostPower
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13
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3 answers

Did I Make a Major Framing Mistake?

I am an absolute ameteur trying to frame my basement remodeling project by myself and I've learned a lot since the start of this project, but I am worried the parts I didn't know are going to come back to haunt me now. When I first started this…
senfo
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2 answers

Is it safe to use Category 1 80,000BTU furnace with 2 inch PVC exhaust?

A contractor just finished installation of new HVAC system with a category 1 furnace (model: GMES800805CNAA). He originally used a reducer to connect 4 inch exhaust to a 2 inch PVC pipe. He claimed that he has done so in the past and it worked well.…
Dimi
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6 answers

How do I temporarily fix the hole in a porcelain sink?

How do I temporarily fix this hole in sink? I need it to hold at least for a few days.
Michael Ver
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Contractor work caused a water leak in the house - UK

I’m renovating a kitchen, together with small hallway and a cloak room toilet. I hired a company to do all the work although I now realise I don’t have a formal contract with them, only with their sister company for supply and installation of…
kacpr
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