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Hi Caccaco, That's good thinking about replacing the hardware before it fails & becomes an emergency! You mentioned "about" and just shy of" for measurements. Could it be metric? This will help you marrow down the search. Maybe A Match Here- Hager Company makes a very wide variety. Perhaps...

I'm 100% with you on plastic boxes. On the rare occasion (friends & family freebies) that I work in houses, those boxes always seem cheap. I see a lot where the plasterer pushed the sides in or the plaster expanded when it cured. If you can spring for plaster, how about better boxes. Fire...

I'm pretty sure I saw the Akona Surface Bonding Cement at a Menard's store, in case one is near you. For sistering, a good idea is to put construction adhesive in a "W" pattern between the (cleaned) old joist and the new sister. It doesn't add much for strength, but helps very much to prevent...

We've got two short bath tubs. Both are 48" long rough in. One is Kohler Greek, a deep tub. One is standard height American Standard steel tub. My wife fits fine in either & likes them. (We also have a 60" cast iron should my wife happen to grow taller.) Me? I'm like you- Haven't had a bath...

Hi OverMyHead, Congratulations on your new investment house! For joist repairs, keep sistering in mind. It's generally a lot quicker and easier than removal and replacement. (Safer, too since you're not removing anything.) Short basement posts in the crawl are good to temporarily raise any...

I forgot in the previous post to mention meter cabinets. Many of them are built to withstand vehicle hits. We used them at work on occasion. The cabinets bolt to the building, thus eliminating the need for posts in the ground. We also used to use what are essentially short pieces of freeway...

Hi Havasu, When deciding about the barrier size, style and material also check with your local building department. I got surprised once on a construction project I was managing. The tradespeople followed the gas company's requirements only to find that the city required something different...

Gotta love lumpia! Whenever there's an after-mass gathering at Church, a large variety of Lumpia recipes are always present. It's kind of a competition. Lots of east African foods, too. I go nuts!

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What I Did- Excavated to expose about 30" x 30" of the wall below grade with the pipe in the center. Cut the pipe outside about 1" from the face of the wall Removed the rod that was inside the pipe Cleaned inside the pipe against oils (if any) Chipped the block all around the pipe, leaving...

I made an error. The base wasn't sand, It was fine crush, installed in layers, then compacted. (Contractor B.) Contractor A was sand. When I said about compacting, it was a vibrating compactor. Sorry for the goofs. Paul

Procedure Change- I found that the block through which the pipe sleeve passes is cracked under the sleeve & a chunk is missing. I can't get good access due to the pipe angle. So, the decision was made to remove the pipe. Not so lucky. The sleeve is dead-stuck in the block. More than likely...

At the very least, I never run out of stuff to deal with around here. My life's ambition is to one day be able to say "I'm bored." This sewer job is a bit aggravating (putting it mildly). Leaving out a bunch of boring details, essentially the sewer warranty company decided my sewer was...

Thanks for this good information, Snoonyb. I'll do exactly that to seal the sleeve to the wall. I remember in the way back days that we'd put mesh cloth over clay-to-cast joints, then trowel on the mortar. I forgot all about the mesh until you mentioned it. I'll surely use it on this job. For...

Hi All! I have (had) a manual backwater valve under the driveway between the building drain & the sewer. It had to be removed. Left behind is a 1-1/2" schedule 40 steel pipe that passes through the basement wall. It had the operating wheel on the basement end and the valve on the other end...

Hello Tk3000, I'm glad to learn that you got the problem rectified! You asked if the box was PVC. (Assuming Photo in Post #1) I don't work with plastic, so I can't say for certain. I've seen Cantex brand grey PVC device boxes, so perhaps that's a Cantex box. (Instead of Carlon blue) The fact...

I apologize for not thinking of this earlier: An easy way to 99% confirm if the drywall is loose from the joists or the warps are simply bulges, is with a small diameter drill bit or a piece of stiff wire- or even an ice pick or awl. Poke the tool slowly through a bulge. If it has resistance...

If it turns out that the bad areas are bulges instead of sags, as Ron Van mentioned, maybe the finisher just did a poor job of mudding. Or, maybe (as you mentioned) the joists aren't in plane. Maybe scuff sand any glossy paint, then re-mud really, really wide. All drywall butt joints have...

Your idea of sending new screws in, even though there's no flex, sounds like a very good plan. Perhaps make a Tee from wood to try to push an area up while screwing. Make it a little longer than the ceiling is tall so you can wedge it in. The Tee is a piece of 2 x 4 (or preferably wider) wood...

The Big Blu you linked is the one I spoke of. The new bottle is different than pictured, but as far as I know the product is the same. You'll be amazed at the bee hive (cocoon) it forms when you find even the smallest of leaks. I'd hold off on spending money for the electronic leak detector...