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    Can pressure washing cause hair line cracks on walls?

    What about the possibility of there having already been some hairline cracks and water getting shot into the cracks, thus getting into the wall and making more cracks? Is that possible? Thanks.
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    Can pressure washing cause hair line cracks on walls?

    I had some pressure washing done to the outside walls of my house and now I see lots of hairline cracks that were absolutely not there before. I don’t know what caused them, though I just know they were not there before the pressure washing. Is it possible the pressure washing did it? Thanks...
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    Advice for backyard staircase - concrete VS. gravel?

    There is nothing left of the stairs at this point, the metal railing in the photo is also now gone. The debris removal company took out the railroad ties today. So now it is a slope of dirt going down the hill. I have stones in the ground leading to the staircase and now I'm thinking of somehow...
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    IMG_6591

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  5. IMG_6516

    IMG_6516

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    Advice for backyard staircase - concrete VS. gravel?

    I’m just now getting back to this thread. I’ve been dealing with other more pressing problems at my house. 1.) So, these ties are possibly 20-30 years old and are really dry. They may even have termites since they are so dry. I’ve been told by three debris removal companies that they are toxic...
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    Advice for backyard staircase - concrete VS. gravel?

    I'm not sure if the ties were real used railroad ties or treated ties. They were in the backyard when I bought the house about 8 yrs ago and I do not know when they were installed. Here is a photo of what they look like, and the stairs that I am trying to figure out the best way to rebuild...
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    Advice for backyard staircase - concrete VS. gravel?

    Well, I do have a dog and two young kids. Besides this, the fire burned the railroad ties and blew debris from it all over the back of my house. I do not know how toxic the railroad ties really are, though since I have kids I want to avoid the possibility of any exposure to anything dangerous...
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    Advice for backyard staircase - concrete VS. gravel?

    Is there an advantage to using the concrete below the steps with a rebar grid in it vs. the roadbase gravel approach? We do not want to replace the staircase with railroad ties because of the potential toxicity of the treated wood. Thanks.
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    Advice for backyard staircase - concrete VS. gravel?

    I have a staircase going down a small hill in my backyard that was built using rebar and railroad tie. The whole staircase was burned in a recent fire and now needs to be replaced, and I'm trying to find a way to replace it without costing a fortune. 1. One contractor suggested using concrete...
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    Is this termite poop?

    The container was not completely sealed. Where would mice have gotten bird seed. We do not have any that I know of anywhere around our property... This is what I was referring to on Google termite poop
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    Is this termite poop?

    I am having my whole house cleaned after being exposed to smoke from fires in my area a couple months ago. Part of the cleaning includes cleaning out the attic and sanitizing it. I was in the attic today and brought down some plastic containers with strange things that look like seeds. I googled...
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    Adding insulation to attic above garage

    I am located in S. California. 1. Pardon my ignorance, but what is the framing member? I will likely not have the answer to this anyways... 2. Would blown in be the better option if I intend to store boxes up there? 3. What does it mean that the batts are incapsulated? Does that mean that...
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    Adding insulation to attic above garage

    I store lots of boxes in my attic located above the garage. It does not have insulation, and I am having it cleaned and I am thinking of also adding insulation to cool it off during summer and warm it up during winter. If I add insulation: Could I still store boxes up there? Would I need to...
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    Speaker wire and LED light advice

    1. Please pardon my ignorance, do I have a choice whether the speaker wire is parallel wire or twisted cable? 2. If the shielded wire protects against interference, is there any reason to not use shielded wire? 3. Does the larger gauge speaker wire minimize interference or just help with the...
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