DIY Thread

My wife says "Honey, don't you think we should wait until my dad is here so he can show you how to do that?"

 

What I was going to say. Trailer park comment and all.

Like OV said, you can mount the TV into the brick with the proper hardware. I wouldn't run your wires in any void though if you plan on using the fireplace. Those brick can diffuse a lot of heat, and that could lead to nothing but trouble.

You can use masonry screws (they're blue- called tapcons like justin said). Be sure to drill your pilot holes with a hammer drill and a masonry bit. You'll be apt to burning up bit after bit if you use a regular drill. Or you might be able to use an anchor bolt (the ones that have the spring loaded butterfly nut) if you want an even more secure mount.

 

Is it a stone or masonry fireplace? Some tile places sell a stone cover for wires but you may have to grout it and place it like tile.

 

Good lord, Dros - you just got married, man.

Take her ass back with receipt while there's still time.

 

You know what you could do after all of these chores?

Paint some Brit flags on the hood of your new Mini.

That'd be sweet.

 

He has a child on the way. He has a mini van in his future.

 

Shagadelic.

 

Sell it.

 

the fireplace has kind of a ugly facade. now i'm thinking of attaching some beadboard and running the wires behind it and not screwing around with trying to run the wires in teh fire place. my bro in law insists he has a drill that will do the job properly. so hopefully he is right.

it's a brick fireplace surrounded by concrete.

coming up on the two year anniversary in a month now. i don't think the warrantly covers that type of wear.

Two kids actually. Wife is talking about a honda odyssey. I'm ignoring the request and trying to hold on to what's left of my youth with both hands.

 

I forgot about that. My apologies. Bill Cosby said that you can't consider yourself a parent if you only have one child because if something gets broke, you know who did it without having to investigate. You have that taken care of already.

As to the emasculating mini van, may you find inspiration in the words of Dylan Thomas:

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

Freaking classic.

 

Embrace the van. I have had one for almost 10 years. It's an Odyssey. My review is this... You can't kill the engine, but remember it's built in bammer. I worked at the plant that builds them for about 6 long, hellish years. The interior is falling apart at this point, but you can't beat it for long trips with kids.

As far as the poles, have you thought about using a torch to cut them out at the base?

 

Justin, I'm putting in an attic strip light, and want to put the switch down on the ground floor. Since it is "old work," do I need to put in a conduit because I can't staple the romex wire to the stud, or can I just let it hang? I know by code, it has to be stapled, but I'm not ripping out a wall just to put in some wire.

Not sure if a conduit is code or not, either, but seems like it would be better than just letting it swing.

 

You can buy decorative strips that have the wire pre-run inside it. That's the route I would go. Pretty sure it meets code as well. Check at any hardware retailer. The decorative stuff will look much better than aluminum conduit.

 

It'd be inside the walls, so I'm not much worried about looks. I'm drilling into the "frame" from above, dropping the wire through the wall, and then putting in a box, switch and cover. So, it will look like any other light switch in the house, but it will be wired in to the attic's strip light.

 

I wouldn't worry with stapling it especially if it's almost a straight drop down.

 

well i also don't particurally want to pay for one either.

i basically ended up doing what volst53 suggested. i bought a saw for $50. got the metal cutting bit and bent the bit to the ground to cut it flush. going to patch it with some concrete soon.

 

Alright, so I wired in the light and a temp switch, before I drill into the wall, but I have an oddity that someone with some electrical knowledge can probably comment on.

I wanted to jump off the old fixture's power supply, and so when I took it down I found two sets of wire, a romex 12/2 and some paper wrapped wire from the 1940s (house original). I thought the romex was the hot line, so I wired the switch and the light to the romex, but apparently it wasn't hot, it was out. They were using the light fixture as a makeshift junction box for, I think, outdoor flood lights.

So I rewired with all white with wire nut, and romex and 1940s wire black with a pig tail to the off position of the switch. The wire to the new fixture white went with the whites and the hot went to the switch's top. So now I have light.

But, with the switch off, I still get power through the fixture. The light doesn't come on, because the circuit is closed at the switch, but if I run my detector over the bulb it beeps as if it were hot.

Which makes me think I have something amiss, in that maybe I need to wire a black to a white here or there. Any ideas?

 

That's odd.

I'm useless when it comes to electrical but I'll see what people smarter than me say about it.