Home Repairs

[userque]

300 Lbs according to Americans with Disabilities Act publications. I am hanging bathroom grab bars for SOs pending return to home. Wingits are recommended but I bet toggle bolts will be fine. I screwed up the first hole by not following the probe all holes first rule. It's all good and I just need to fill a larger than necessary hole in the drywall not covered by the grab bar flange cover.
thanks for the input.
PO

I come in peace.
But regardless of the recommendations: Most certainly grab bars need to secured to studs. :blink:

 

[userque]

... What are you hanging a big screen TV?

Another thing I'd only secure to studs.

Are you guys still watching Bob Villa or something

(j/k nnuut)

 

[userque]

fyi

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/grab-bars-are-only-as-safe-as-their-mounting-020813.html

The devil, as always, is in the details. The bar needs to be mounted properly -- and that means attaching it to the studs behind the wall. Thanks to DuckDuckGo, a search engine that is not just shopping effluvia, we found an excellent set of step-by-step instructions on the Natural Handyman site.

The site doesn't sugar-coat the situation and notes that the proper mounting method depends on the anticipated use. If a very heavy person is going to be putting his or her full weight on the bar routinely, simply screwing the bar to the wall studs may not be adequate and some reinforcement may be needed, the site cautions.

Anyone who has seen a grab bar pulled out of a wall will appreciate this caution.

It should also be noted that there may be local building code regulations in your area covering grab bars. It's important to comply with these regulations, for insurance reasons if nothing else.

Emphasis added.

Just sayin' I'd hate for someone to get hurt.

 

[userque]

Back in the day I used to work on new construction and rework. I did most home improvement things (framing, plumbing, sheetrock, flooring, smart-homes, etc.) but later became a licensed Supervising Electrician.

I also enjoyed the cable series "Weeds." (Highly recommend: Weeds (TV Series 2005 ) The Weeds theme song was "Little Boxes" (made of ticky-tacky). I never appreciated the song until I saw actual ticky-tacky new construction in a middle-class tornado prone area. Couldn't believe my eyes. I think of it when I see news reports of areas flattened by a tornado except a couple of (I suppose) well-/properly-built homes.

Here's the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUoXtddNPAM

 

[alevin]

I'm starting to think I need to do some closer examination of the grabbar at my den steps, no other railings. Installed by/for previous elderly owners (both deceased prior to my purchase). The bar always held when I used it, but I've also noticed a little sideways wiggle in it at times, so always been careful not to pull on it sideways. It's close to a corner edge, but wall is sheetrock covered by spray coating-den used to be the garage before the former owner appropriated it as his mancave, based on evidence still in the house when it went up for sale.

A lot I've learned about home construction through owning this house-and that's a good thing, tho the ways I learned weren't always. Previous owner-husband did a fair amount of jury-rigging in this house that I've had to have repaired/replaced over the years, as the juryrigs were discovered post-purchase, one repair was quite costly. One of his other jury-rigs nearly killed me before I knew there was a problem-but the story of how I discovered and miraculously survived that boobytrap would take too long. I'm not as good a storyteller as PO and wouldn't do that to his thread anyway.

 

[nnuut]

300 Lbs according to Americans with Disabilities Act publications. I am hanging bathroom grab bars for SOs pending return to home. Wingits are recommended but I bet toggle bolts will be fine. I screwed up the first hole by not following the probe all holes first rule. It's all good and I just need to fill a larger than necessary hole in the drywall not covered by the grab bar flange cover.
thanks for the input.
PO

Mudd it up in layers! Wing nuts are toggle bolts.

 

[userque]

I'm starting to think I need to do some closer examination of the grabbar at my den steps, no other railings. Installed by/for previous elderly owners (both deceased prior to my purchase). The bar always held when I used it, but I've also noticed a little sideways wiggle in it at times, so always been careful not to pull on it sideways. It's close to a corner edge, but wall is sheetrock covered by spray coating-den used to be the garage before the former owner appropriated it as his mancave, based on evidence still in the house when it went up for sale.

A lot I've learned about home construction through owning this house-and that's a good thing, tho the ways I learned weren't always. Previous owner-husband did a fair amount of jury-rigging in this house that I've had to have repaired/replaced over the years, as the juryrigs were discovered post-purchase, one repair was quite costly. One of his other jury-rigs nearly killed me before I knew there was a problem-but the story of how I discovered and miraculously survived that boobytrap would take too long. I'm not as good a storyteller as PO and wouldn't do that to his thread anyway.

Wouldn't hurt to look into it. "The life you save might be your own."

I've seen plenty of jack-legged/jerry-rigged work.

 

[tctang75]

Wouldn't hurt to look into it. "The life you save might be your own."

I've seen plenty of jack-legged/jerry-rigged work.

Erry-Jays are in the ruck-tay! Anybody? Anybody?

 

[PessOptimist]

Mudd it up in layers! Wing nuts are toggle bolts.

Yeah in layers. There is actually only about a 3/16" arc exposed around the trim piece. I'll get er done and actually have some viable paint that matches. WingIts are sort of toggle bolts but require much more behind the wall clearance. They also may or may not provide more surface area in contact with the dry wall. We can get some engineer on the board here to figure that out. It would depend on how much of the toggle actually contacts the surface.

I stuffed some spackle repair stuff in the hole today and will see what happens but it was three years beyond the use by date and didn't feel right. No sweat, just buy another small tub and let it expire peacefully.

I will get to replying to the others who replied to this soon, got another issue that popped up. Is Bob Villa still alive?

PO

 

[OBGibby]

...Is Bob Villa still alive?...

​Yes.

 

[PessOptimist]

Back to CFL and LED bulbs in home repair.

While cleaning out the pantry both SO and I agreed we couldn’t see s**t because of the CFL spotlight. I replaced it with a 60w incandescent and now we can see what’s in there. The CFL spotlight has a date I put on of 6/13/08 and has Sylvania as a brand. Good longevity but have we been peering through squinty eyes for 7+ years or do they get dimmer over time?

Same thing is happening in the walk in closet, are we getting blinder or do early CFLs get dimmer? I don’t have a replacement right now for the closet but will get one, incandescent if I can find it.

I am not against CFL or LED bulbs per se. Just against the .gov mandate to prohibit incandescents and subsidize the manufacturers of alternative light sources.

Now what the hell do I do with the CFL spot that still has life maybe but at about 20 watt equivalent lumens. I haven’t seen many ads lately about the poor polar bears cubs drowning. Is this initiative passe?

It may be my own bad karma about CFLs but tonight I turned on a lamp and got a popping sound, smoke and a very bad smell. OK, old lamp, check out the wiring. No problem. The CFL actually blew a chunk of glass out of the spiral tube. Maybe that smell was vaporized mercury. Whatever, it was a brand new experience. No globules of mercury apparent. Replaced the CFL with a known safe incandescent I had around. Should I forget it or contact one of the attorneys with an animal name that advertise on TV? It was a bit disconcerting as you usually don’t expect the bulb to blow up when you turn it on.

Enough of my whining. Just please be aware.

PO

 

[PessOptimist]

Re: Home Repairs: cleaning your lap top screen the hard way

My lap top screen is squeaky clean. It looks brand new. That’s cause it is. This is not the recommended way to get a clean screen.

I dropped my lap top recently. Twice. The first time I was lucky and nothing broke except a corner of the top case and a hinge cover popped off. Never able to learn not to try to carry everything at once and open a door too, I dropped it again. This time I lost the top third or so of the screen. Finally the rest of the screen died. I called a few places that advertise screen replacement, only one was interested and wanted $150 plus parts. He said parts were hard to find.

So I looked around on line and found an official Dell video about replacing the screen. They took the entire computer apart. I looked further and found about a 15 minute procedure, less if you have done it before. Looking for replacement screens I found a bunch from $39 to over $250. Quality maybe? I ordered a $39 one with free shipping. It arrived the other day but I have been busy. Today I made time and did it. Hardest part is getting the hinge cover and bezel off without breaking the tabs off. I used a thin putty knife and small screwdriver. The screen itself attaches with four #1 phillips screws. The connecter is tiny and fragile. It is held in place with cellophane tape. Lay the screen on the keyboard and carefully peel back the tape then unplug the connecter. Look at it first and note how it comes out.

The cheap replacement screen was exactly the same part number and manufacturer as the original.

Plugging the connecter back in was tricky with my old fingers and eyesight. I finally moved to the patio table so I could see. Use a new piece of tape. Don’t be too cheap. Getting the screen in position was a little tedious as well but make sure it is seated before you tighten those screws. Remember you are not torqueing head bolts. Before you replace all the plastic, fire it up and see if the screen works OK. Don’t forget to remove the protective covering before replacing the bezel. Also tedious but be patient and go easy and it will snap in easily if in the right position. If you have to use the force something aint in the right place.

It’s great to have a full visible screen again. As far as actually getting the original years old screen clean, I never did find anything that worked.

PO

 

[alevin]

Re: Home Repairs: cleaning your lap top screen the hard way

You done good, PO. I ended up buying whole new laptop the time my laptop screen went bellyup electronically, not from droppage. My techie guy said would cost practically as much to try and replace screen as to buy new laptop, so I caved. Maybe I'll try harder if that problem shows up again.

 

[PessOptimist]

Re: Home Repairs: how not to clean your laptop keyboard

A few nights ago I spilled a beverage on the lap top's keyboard. Shut it off, removed the battery and cleaned up best I could. Let it sit overnight in low humidity area (anywhere here) and hope for the best. Fired it up the next day and three keys or maybe six worked funky. 6-n,5-b and /-+ all work together to enter both. Oh crap.

I took apart and cleaned a desktop keyboard and a laptop keyboard in the past. Not fun, a lot of work and take a picture first. Do you remember exactly where all 101+ keys go?

Looked on line and found a replacement keyboard for $14.75. You need to find the exact computer model. Replaced it but do not like the new keyboard as much as the old. You get what you pay for. Space key requires a firm touch. Found yet another type of connector being used. Ribbon cable just goes under connector and you roll it down.

Replacement was not as much of a "snap" as described as keyboard was glued to housing by beverage. Had to do a bit of careful prying after releasing the tabs. Just be careful, think and try not to break plastic tabs off. My keyboard is now as clean as new.

PO

 

[pmaloney]

Re: Home Repairs: cleaning your lap top screen the hard way

After repairing my video connection on my laptop twice I connected it to my big monitor and replaced it for my old desktop that ran Windows at the bare minimum requirements. The new lap/desktop is a nice I7 with 16 Gb of RAM and a good video card and the old desktop is a better Linux computer. They really seem to have reached a plateau for everyday use. :smile:

 

[pmaloney]

Re: Home Repairs: how not to clean your laptop keyboard

Man, I remember trying to repair a keyboard on an IBM XT or AT. Tough job and not worth the effort. I like my new wireless keyboard and mouse but respect your tenacity and skill. :smile:

 

[PessOptimist]

I understand what you are saying. Keyboard repair is just not worth it these days. It was when I did it and funds were tighter. I thought seriously about just plugging in a keyboard to the laptop and forgetting about it. Laptop has been abused and dragged to many hospital rooms recently and still needs to be mobile. Amazing now how many 101 keyboards I have around from computer replacements v why I cleaned up that old one years ago. I still use the one I fixed as I like it's clackyness.

PO

 

[PessOptimist]

A couple of home repairs recently that I did not do. A/C. Sort of important here.

Friday before Memorial Day the circulation fan in my air handler ceased to function. Internal failure. Never happens with these new ECM motors. Never saw one fail. So I am told. Gotta order one from WV. So it gets here Memorial Day and a tech installs it. Wasn’t too bad, two portable swamp coolers and sucking in outside air Sunday night kept it around 85 with 75% humidity. If I wanted to live in the SE US I would move there. SigOther stuck that one out.

Last night around 9PM I step out of the shower and notice the water is not drying off immediately. Internal temp 84. Compressor is not running. Since it is the hottest day of the year so far and hotter tomorrow I convince SO and houseguest to move to motel for two days. A/C tech shows up around 2PM today and internal temp is 97. With two coolers running. Compressor starter cap bad. I might have figured this out but would not have taken other precautions the tech took before attempting to start the system. Whatever, it is running again but will probably take several hours to get internal temp below 80 especially with overnight low predicted as 90.

Some things some of us should not attempt to fix.

Other home repairs recently. New exhaust fan/microwave lights used as nightlight. Bulbs lasted about 30 days twice. Bought some LED bulbs and now going on six months. Insignificant stuff like faucet cartridges and hose washers.

Not actually repairs but replaced a 32”CRT TV and had a couple of smaller ones around I needed to get rid of. Neither I nor any of my “older adult” friends were really capable of moving this 120+lb monster from where it sat. Without possible injury. All the usual places said they would no longer take CRT TVs. EPA web site listed all the places that said they no longer accepted CRT TVs. All you EPA employees out there, especially you GS-99s, you are not making it possible to comply with your regulations or suggestions. Turn in all those bonuses you got last year and this year right now! Then fix this problem.

I found a place called 1-800-GOT-JUNK that took all three away for $114. Their web site has some vague statement about saving the environment. Being green is not only impossible through our EPA but not free.

Good luck with any and all home repairs and post questions here. There are a lot of people here in TSPTalkland who have a lot of answers. Not talking about investing here. There are lots of answers about that in different threads.

PO

 

[alevin]

thanks for the share, PO. I still have a functioning CRT tv myself, didn't know I would have a hard time disposing whenever it dies. It's about 20 years old now and still going strong. no plans on replacing. by the time I do, I hope your 1-800 place still exists. Mine is still manageable by one person, at least. not easy but doable.

 

[burrocrat]

what is a crt? for that matter, what is a tv? this is why they invented smart phones. if you want a bigger screen then you just hold it closer to your face. holy moly where have you guys been? you can't even take a selfie with a tv, sheesh.