DIY Home Improvement Thread..

[Elessar78]

Plan on some leakage

That's what she said.

[grhqofb5]

Quick question: Any good ideas for getting cable or speaker wire behind drywall, running horizontally (studs are vertical), with insulation in the way? I assume its necessary to punch out portions of the sheet rock, perhaps drill through each stud, etc. Can't get above it either with a snake. Thanks.

[zoony]

Thinking of ditching my old water heater in favor of a tankless water heater. I have all electric (no gas) in my townhouse.

What's are the pro's opinions of tankless vs. standard water heaters?

Yes. Buy a gas only. Do not buy electric tankless. They do not work

And if you buy gas, buy the largest one they make. They will tell you that you don't need it. They are dumb. Trust me. Buy big.

---------- Post added February-19th-2013 at 10:47 AM ----------

Quick question: Any good ideas for getting cable or speaker wire behind drywall, running horizontally (studs are vertical), with insulation in the way? I assume its necessary to punch out portions of the sheet rock, perhaps drill through each stud, etc. Can't get above it either with a snake. Thanks.

Remove your baseboard and run it behind then replace baseboard. There should be a quarter inch gap between your drywall and the floor

[China]

I don't know that I'm really trying to recoup any investment per se. I would like to have an endless hit water supply for longer showers, baths for the wife, etc.



My stepfather is a plumber so I'm sure that he could probably help me out with the install.



The main reason I'd like to go tankless are twofold. 1) I like the idea of endless hot water. My wife and I take showers at nearly the same time and we will sometimes come up short or the water will have to be turned hotter towards the end so that it doesn't go cold. 2) Tankless would presumably have a much smaller (or no) footprint. This would open up more space in our utility room.

My main concerns... The water will take substantially longer to get hot, especially at the top of the house (furthest from the water heater). Right now, I have hot water in 20 seconds or so at the furthest point. How long would it take with tankless, over a minute... Longer? Will my power bill go up, down or be largely unchanged by going tankless? Will I lose hot water efficiency at points further from the heater because I'm going tankless?

I assume that I can reasonably answer my concerns. I don't think it will take much longer to heat the water. I think my power bill will be lately unchanged or go down slightly. I don't think I'll lose any efficiency compared to a regular water heater. Let me know if that's incorrect.


Anyhow, my main concerns are endless hot water and space savings.

You should expect a reduction in your gas bill because you are not paying to constantly keep a tank of water hot. For us our master bedroom shower is the farthest from the water heater and it takes a minute or two for the hot water to reach it. It's not a big deal, we turn on the shower a minute before we get in to allow it to heat up. Alternately, as I mentioned, you can get point of use heaters that will heat up the water instantly at that location until the hot water from the water heater gets there. That way there is no lag or wait for hot water, but there is the additional expense of having one of these units installed at whichever tap you want it.

You don't necessarily have to get the biggest unit as zoony suggested, however you should base the size on your max use. That is, imagine you are running your dishwasher, washing machine and someone wants to take a shower at the same time. What unit will be able to cover that scenario?

[Cassow]

I don't know that I'm really trying to recoup any investment per se. I would like to have an endless hit water supply for longer showers, baths for the wife, etc.

If you're running low on hot water during showers a simple/inexpensive solution could be to replace the shower head with a lower flow model. You can check and see how many gallons per minute you use with a stopwatch and 5 gallon bucket. Cutting back on the gallons per minute will definitely increase your hot water time in the shower.

[Major Harris]

"low flow? i don't like the sound of that."

[HOF44]

If you're running low on hot water during showers a simple/inexpensive solution could be to replace the shower head with a lower flow model. You can check and see how many gallons per minute you use with a stopwatch and 5 gallon bucket. Cutting back on the gallons per minute will definitely increase your hot water time in the shower.

That's heresey!!! Then you end up with this!!

[Major Harris]

i was on the same track hof....

[No_Pressure]

http://serenehomeandlandscapes.com/w...6/DSC_0099.jpg

How difficult is it for a novice to put up a stacked stone retaining wall like the one above? It will be two tiers of 2-3 feet each. The upper wall will be holding up a decent amount of earth behind it. Currently, there is a rapidly deteriorating railroad tie wall on site. Can a novice design and construct this type of wall safely without fear of collapse? Is this pricey to construct approx 40 total feet (2-3 feet tall)?

I did landscaping for 7 years, and did pretty much every job imaginable. It isn't difficult to stack stones like that, but it's an extremely difficult and time crafted skill to make it look excellent. Furthermore, I wouldn't recommend a wall such as that as a retainer against very much earth, or in an area that gets a lot of fast drainage in a storm. That isn't to say that a stacked stone wall won't work in the area you're talking about, but from my experience there are better alternatives. On top of that I don't think it would look as nice as it could. Dry stacks are best left to encircle a modestly sized tree in the front yard, or to outline a mulch bed near your front walk. I wouldn't use it as a terraced retaining wall on the side of your house near the garage, it would be sort of like putting a beautiful and ornate chandelier in a double-wide.

If I were assessing this as a potential job, I'd of course say if you want dry stacked walls I'll go right ahead, but my professional recommendation would be a short retaining wall with grooved wall block.

This video on Lowes' website is fairly comprehensive and goes through the steps to making something such as this, though naturally they add extra steps and things you don't need because they want you to buy unnecessary things at Lowes:

http://www.lowes.com/cd_Build+a+Bloc...all_193857656_

Basically, whenever we did retaining walls that were between 0-3 feet, we used something comparable to this. We would always be mindful to dig 6 inches down, and 4 inches wider than our block base on both sides. We typically used CR6 aggregate which you could probably find at any good landscape supply place. Some people feel that 6+ inches is overkill, and sure- the wall will look fine for a while if you place it on the dirt or do 1-4 inches of gravel underneath.

The problem is with the freeze-thaw cycle, and in areas which receive a fair amount of water through all seasons, the blocks will most certainly move if they're not on a super stable base. We always spent 90% of our work time on getting that base perfect and LEVEL (I can't stress the importance of a uniformly level base which is slanted ever so slightly in one direction to foster water runoff moving in a specific and desired direction). The rest was just stacking and gluing blocks together- not that complicated.

The interlocking wall blocks are simple to understand, and can be used to make straight or circular retaining walls. All you really need is the glue and a caulk gun to finish it up and the rest is fairly simple. I can't say I recall personally making a terraced retaining wall spaced apart from one another like you would want, but as long as you dig out properly and tamp the dirt in the terrace before adding and tamping the gravel, it should be simple to complete, and if both walls are straight you likely wouldn't have much need to rent a diamond blade masonry saw and cut up your own product.

Hopefully I didn't make this sound more difficult than it is, but if you want to build something which lasts decades, concentrate on making a good base, leveling and tamping that base well, and I'd go as far as to level the dirt on the 2nd terrace (perhaps even adding some) so you end up with two flat terraces which can now be used to house some beautiful landscaping. Plants in those areas with non-invasive roots help hold the soil together and will look a lot better than the current barren hillside look you're going with

[Elessar78]

I did landscaping for 7 years, and did pretty much every job imaginable..

That's a fantastically helpful post! When you say you recommend "a short retaining wall with grooved wall block." Do you mean a single wall or two, terraced levels like it is now?

[No_Pressure]

That's a fantastically helpful post! When you say you recommend "a short retaining wall with grooved wall block." Do you mean a single wall or two, terraced levels like it is now?

If you're going to replace what is already there, I mean terraced levels rather than one wall. Typically when one makes a retaining wall, they level everything leading up to it. Putting down one wall would leave a hillside and then a small retaining wall at the bottom, or you would have a gigantic wall multiple feet high which must be back filled with dirt to match the level of the ground in front of your house. Neither option is appealing.

If you made two straight walls extending to the outer portion of the existing mulch bed you could get some extra soil and fill/level the space for each terrace. The end effect/desired result would be something like this:





Though yours would be on a smaller scale, and of course you could choose to landscape that any way you please.

The alternative with one wall would be a very high wall and back filling it with a whole lot of dirt which would likely not look all that nice, it would be difficult, more expensive, and create a greater safety hazard on your property. I'd go with terraces.

Just remember, if you do something like this you're going to want to build the lower wall first and then prepare well for the 2nd.

You will need:

- A hand tamper.

- A good shovel.

- A good level.

- A measuring tape.

- A chisel for prepping your lower level of blocks.

- A rubber mallet for knocking things into place well.

Measure out how long you want your wall to be, and make sure you have space enough to mark and dig out your base. Try to calculate your aggregate needs in advance- a 10 foot wall will need to sit on a base which (ideally) is about 10 feet 4 inches long, and depending on the width of your block (let's say it's half a foot wide) your base is going to be a foot and 2 inches wide. You may be up against a driveway which restricts the "4 inches on each side" rule, and certainly when you're up against the house you can't observe this rule. Anyway, you would have 10'4 by 1'2 base ideally at a depth of 6 inches. V= L*W*H so 10.33 times 1.16 times .5 = around 6 cubic feet unless my math skills have become atrophied from lack of having to calculate crap like this anymore.

The point is, in order to make it cost effective for yourself you should calculate in advance the volume which will be needed for the base of each wall. Also keep in mind the source of your gravel. If you have a work truck which can take a load of gravel being dumped in the bed, I'd buy in bulk and shovel it in. Sure, it's extra work, but buying it in bags or having bulk loads delivered can get pricey.

Level the ground all the way across, in small sections at a time. Be mindful of getting it perfect. Tamping the dirt prior to adding the gravel base and leveling the dirt will help make this a quicker process. Tamp, level, tamp again, level again. It's time consuming and tedious. I've also seen work that I did in year 1 landscaping which is in excellent condition today alongside work of a corner cutting crew which is lopsided and looking quite aged. You won't notice mistakes in months or a few years. After a decade however you'll know the difference between quality work and shoddy work.

When you complete your first wall, and after the glue is dry, I'd fill in, tamp, and level the dirt behind it so you have a flat surface. For the upper terrace, you will likely need to do a decent amount of digging to give yourself space to once again dig out a 6 inch base and repeat the process. Be mindful of keeping straight lines when putting together your wall and digging out your base. Tamp the **** out of everything- the dirt your base is sitting on, the dirt around your base, the base itself. You need solidly packed ground and a strong foundation. When you make the 2nd tier fill dirt in behind that, and level it off. Plant something nice in there for god's sake!

[dfitzo53]

Dishwasher install went pretty smoothly except for one snag. The old hole in the cabinet wall for the hot water hose won't work for the new dishwasher. It's not far back enough, so the dishwasher can't be pushed all the way in. Just have to grab a drill bit big enough to do the job tomorrow and I'll be good to go.

[SpringfieldSkins]

Yes. Buy a gas only. Do not buy electric tankless

Major problem... I don't have gas at my house at all. Should I just opt for as large of a water heater I can fit then?

[chipwhich]

Yes. Buy a gas only. Do not buy electric tankless. They do not work

And if you buy gas, buy the largest one they make. They will tell you that you don't need it. They are dumb. Trust me. Buy big.

Confused by the post. If I have gas, and deciding on going tankless, should I do it or buy the biggest hot water heater I can buy.

I have a 75 gallon water heater (gas) which has worked well, but I think it is coming near end of life. I was considering going gas tankless.

[Bubble Screen]

$170. That's why I said screw it, I'll do it myself.

Oh, I see. Can't blame you there.

---------- Post added February-20th-2013 at 01:26 AM ----------

And No_Pressure that's a helluva nice looking retaining wall if you did that yourself. That's excellent.