The DIY Home Improvement Thread

[CDsDontBurn]

We had LVP in our old house and have it in our current house. I would do it again hands down. After tearing up the ceramic tile and backer board to lay the LVP in our old house I swore I would never put ceramic tile down ever again. Like ever.

The labor isn't the issue for me, it's the feel of the material used. Vinyl has a hollow sound and feel to it whereas tile is firm and has no sound.

I like ceramic tiles. Im worried I will break one some time. Its nice and cold on hot days, but its a real slipping hazard with a small amount of spilled water

I also concern myself with maintenance of the stuff where if a corner starts to chip away, especially in the middle of the room, I'll have to pull up the entire floor to get to that one damaged plank. A tile, I just remove the one that's damaged and replace it.

 

[KevinVarnes]

Are you talking about just cheap vinyl tiles or LVP? We like the look/feel/sound of the LVP we used very much.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

I just know it's vinyl and waterproof, not sure on the type.

My dad and one of my cousins have the vinyl stuff and made me not like it more, but made my wife like it. more.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

So the next saga in my DIY adventures is revisiting that AC drip line. If you remember, it was originally going into the sewer clean out, but because it's not code, I had it to remove it and dig a circular hole.

Well, while it was right to do it that way, I'm guessing it's not deep enough of a hole because when the AC is running for an extended period of time, that drain hole overfills and begins to get the concrete wet.

My wife is wanting to bring up the drain pipe to a higher elevation and have it dump the water into a planter that would get installed there at the new location. Another idea she has is to install new plumbing and have it drain to the opposite wall of the existing wall and drain there instead. A third idea she has is to install an AC drip pump or whatever it's called and run that to wherever we want.

All these ideas are great and all, but they require a whole shit ton of work I'm not willing to do because I already have a shit ton of other house related work to do right now. I don't want more work to do when I already have a shit ton of work to do.

My idea. My idea is to just cut the hole where the current drain hole is at and make it a little bit wider and deeper. Currently it's just a 4" diameter ABS pipe going about 12" down. I'm thinking of just having it be a 6" x 6" square hole and digging the dirt out deeper, at least 18" or even 24". I have a sawzall and see that concrete sawzall blades exist for $30-ish. I imagine doing this work would only take about an hour to do and I'm on my way to the next thing that is actually on my list.

My wife doesn't like this idea of mine because it's too close to the foundation and we won't be able to get a hole deep enough for it to do what it's supposed to do, etc., etc. She's goes on to say that even if we did get the hole deep enough, that it would just make the soil beneath weak and compromised over time. Knowing that this is a common solution, I don't believe that is true.

What do you guys think? @dDUBb , what says you specifically?

 

[dDUBb]

@dDUBb , what says you specifically?

Dry well should be at least 3 feet deep minimum. Also helps if you fill the bottom 6 inches of the hole with gravel / rock. Holes / perforations in the bottom foot of the drain pipe so it disperses water outside instead the pipe of just down the bottom. A French drain would be another method to spread water over a larger distance.

Why so much condensate in the first place .. high humidity ?, or do you have a fish tank in the house ?

 

[gunn]

If the area surrounding the hole is filled with rock, that would allow the overflow condensation to seep into the ground. If you are worried about the condensate oversaturating the dirt next to your house, you could trench out and bury a small pipewith holes drilled in the sides. If the lowest part of the pipe is farther away from the source of the water (aka the condensation output point), you'd effectively be creating a mini-french drain.

French drain - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Water was draining towards the basement retaining wall on my MIL's rental so we paid to have a french drain excavated and installed. This pulled the water away from the wall and has been pretty effective for the last 10 years.

Effectively like a mini french drain.
---

My own mini-project was installing a replacement garbage disposal because my previous one blew a seal last night and started leaking under the sink. It was old enough, amazon delivered the next day, so I replaced it fairly quickly.

Biggest gripe? As a cash grab, even the slightly nicer models (3/4HP vs the poverty/rental spec 1/3HP disposal units) do NOT come with power cords. Even though the total install took <1HR (I could reuse the sink to disposal retaining ring and drain pipe which was pre-shortened to the right height for my needs), half of that time was taken because I had to remove the power cable/plug from the old unit and reinstall it on the new model. It boggles my mind why someone would hardwire the disposal as having an undersink outlet seems easy enough. So dumb and such an obvious cash grab (when I checked amazon later, I found the listing didn't mention a power cord being required except on the 8th picture in the listing.)

 

[CDsDontBurn]

ry well should be at least 3 feet deep minimum. Also helps if you fill the bottom 6 inches of the hole with gravel / rock. Holes / perforations in the bottom foot of the drain pipe so it disperses water outside instead the pipe of just down the bottom.

Duly noted. Sounds like I'm going to need to dig a hole slightly larger than I intended to make adequate space for my digging.

Also sounds like there shouldn't be anything in it until the very bottom or so (gravel).

A French drain would be another method to spread water over a larger distance.

For the French drain system, can it be at the surface? Or does it need to be buried still? If it needs to be buried, how does does it need to be buried? @gunn

Why so much condensate in the first place .. high humidity ?, or do you have a fish tank in the house ?

It's always been like that. My house does get humid when the AC is running. So after it shuts off on the cycle, it begins to get humid.

 

[dDUBb]

Also sounds like there shouldn't be anything in it until the very bottom or so (gravel).

Somewhat .. imagine buying a coke at jack in the box .. its 99% ice and not much space left for the actual drink.

how does does it need to be buried?

3 feet minimum.

My house does get humid when the AC is running

That's almost opposite of how ACs work .. unless you're pulling from outside air.

 

[gunn]

Duly noted. Sounds like I'm going to need to dig a hole slightly larger than I intended to make adequate space for my digging.

Also sounds like there shouldn't be anything in it until the very bottom or so (gravel).



For the French drain system, can it be at the surface? Or does it need to be buried still? If it needs to be buried, how does does it need to be buried? @gunn



It's always been like that. My house does get humid when the AC is running. So after it shuts off on the cycle, it begins to get humid.

A French drain cannot be on the surface as it uses gravity to flow distribute the water outward. The water flows through the ground, collects in the buried pipe with holes, flows away from the house and then flows outward at the end of the pipe. Hence the buried tube needs to be open on the top and the gravel allows the water to sink downwards vs pooling on top of the dirt.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

3 feet minimum.

I guess I should have clarified here.

Given my current situation, how should I get this buried. I know 3ft, but concrete is already set, so concrete will need to get cut up.

Given my current situation, what is the easiest, least cost prohibitive, solution?

That's almost opposite of how ACs work .. unless you're pulling from outside air.

My bad again. When my AC is NOT running, my house gets humid.

A French drain cannot be on the surface as it uses gravity to flow distribute the water outward. The water flows through the ground, collects in the buried pipe with holes, flows away from the house and then flows outward at the end of the pipe. Hence the buried tube needs to be open on the top and the gravel allows the water to sink downwards vs pooling on top of the dirt.

So I could potentially cut a strip of my concrete and just lay the perpherated pipe there, cover it with gravel and call it a day?

I know my wife would not like this solution.

 

[gunn]

I guess I should have clarified here.

Given my current situation, how should I get this buried. I know 3ft, but concrete is already set, so concrete will need to get cut up.

Given my current situation, what is the easiest, least cost prohibitive, solution?



My bad again. When my AC is NOT running, my house gets humid.



So I could potentially cut a strip of my concrete and just lay the perpherated pipe there, cover it with gravel and call it a day?

I know my wife would not like this solution.

This french drain is for rainwater, not A/C condensate.

Apparently, an airconditioner makes between 5-20gallons of condensate/day.

How Much Water Should Drain from your Air Conditioner? A NJ Tech Answers | Air Experts

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air, so to dehumidify your home, your AC pulls the water out of humid air and dispels that water outside.

www.airexpertsnj.com

I'm not your landscaper but I don't thinkthe amount you need to disperse is that significant. Even moving the water a few feet away and replacing the dirt with rocks would help distribute the condensate). I would take a wider shot and see where you can redirect the water away from the house (is everything around their concreted over?)

Here's a short specifically for A/C condensate lines

 

[Zep5.0]

I don't see concrete in the picture???

You don't have a basement, so I'd just dig a 3' deep by 18" hole and fill it with rock.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

@dDUBb , @gunn , @Zep5.0

Current picture of the affected area. Concrete was poured a month ago, and the issue didn't present itself to us until late last week.

You can kind of make out the witness marks of the water going towards the left up against the wall.

 

[Zep5.0]

Sure you don't want a nice planter there, so you can just busy up that square? Looks like a nice place for a bush

 

[dDUBb]

Apparently, an airconditioner makes between 5-20gallons of condensate/day.

Not with my humidity. Maybe a water bottles worth.

Current picture of the affected area. Concrete was poured a month ago, and the issue didn't present itself to us until late last week.

Is there any way you can get a long auger drill bit to simply dig the hole down deeper ??

 

[CDsDontBurn]

Is there any way you can get a long auger drill bit to simply dig the hole down deeper ??

I could potentially do that, yes.

The limitation here would be the tight spacing constraints of it being in the corner. That, and the foundation of the house, the cement spreads out away about 2in. or so.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

Walking out the house right now, and this is what it's like.

 

[gunn]

4" diameter x 12" depth = 150.72 cubic inches = ~.64 gallons
Clearly that's not enough space for the water to get absorbed by the ground

What overflowed looks at best 2x that so the best/easiest solution is dig that shit out. Doesn't need to be straight down, either. Just needs to make room for the water to get absorbed. If you are worried about a sinkhole, add some rocks in the hole after digging.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

4" diameter x 12" depth = 150.72 cubic inches = ~.64 gallons
Clearly that's not enough space for the water to get absorbed by the ground

What overflowed looks at best 2x that so the best/easiest solution is dig that shit out. Doesn't need to be straight down, either. Just needs to make room for the water to get absorbed. If you are worried about a sinkhole, add some rocks in the hole after digging.

I will see what I can do to dig this thing out deeper.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

Demo continued today for a bit of my floor. We've now expended two 1gal bottles of paint stripper stuff for the black mastic.







We're also like 99% sure we're going to go with this long plank style tile as our flooring option.

 

[gunn]

Fun random lesson I learned this weekend: when you install a new garbage disposal AND you already have a dishwasher, there's a plug you need to punch out inside the nipple where the dishwasher drain pumps into the disposal unit. I guess it makes sense that they would have the nipple plugged by default (for those who install a disposal unit w/o a dishwasher) but after my wife noticed that the dishwasher wasn't draining properly twice, it occured to me to check to see if there was a plug. Sure enough, there was.

I probably should have looked at the instructions but considering I was installing a like-for-like replacement, I didn't think about anything other than "make sure all the connections the old one had are on the new one".

 

[Kenz]

We're also like 99% sure we're going to go with this long plank style tile as our flooring option.

View attachment 13631

View attachment 13632

One thing to keep in mind is that any flooring made out of a pressed wood is susceptible to spills damaging it. Previous owners put a simmilar style in our living room. Over the years from people coming in from the pool, spills, pet messes, it's not holding up well. In the corners it puffs up where water is absorbed.
The floor is less than 7 years old, and I am considering replacing it with LVP or having tile installed

 

[CDsDontBurn]

One thing to keep in mind is that any flooring made out of a pressed wood is susceptible to spills damaging it. Previous owners put a simmilar style in our living room. Over the years from people coming in from the pool, spills, pet messes, it's not holding up well. In the corners it puffs up where water is absorbed.
The floor is less than 7 years old, and I am considering replacing it with LVP or having tile installed

It looks like pressed wood, but it's not.

These planks are tile!

 

[Kenz]

It looks like pressed wood, but it's not.

These planks are tile!

Nice choice! That's what I have in most of my house, it looks really good.



Previous owners spent a ton getting the floors redone in Italian ceramic tile planks. But for some reason they put the cheap stuff in the living room

 

[CDsDontBurn]

Thanks!

Only the bedrooms and and the master bathroom are not getting this flooring. And that's because the bedrooms will get carpet and the master bathroom needs a major overhaul and will receive new flooring at that time.

 

[Rodeo Joe]

Fun random lesson I learned this weekend: when you install a new garbage disposal AND you already have a dishwasher, there's a plug you need to punch out inside the nipple where the dishwasher drain pumps into the disposal unit. I guess it makes sense that they would have the nipple plugged by default (for those who install a disposal unit w/o a dishwasher) but after my wife noticed that the dishwasher wasn't draining properly twice, it occured to me to check to see if there was a plug. Sure enough, there was.

I probably should have looked at the instructions but considering I was installing a like-for-like replacement, I didn't think about anything other than "make sure all the connections the old one had are on the new one".

Hate to say it, but the same thing happened to me!

Joe

 

[Kidd-7]

Fun random lesson I learned this weekend: when you install a new garbage disposal AND you already have a dishwasher, there's a plug you need to punch out inside the nipple where the dishwasher drain pumps into the disposal unit. I guess it makes sense that they would have the nipple plugged by default (for those who install a disposal unit w/o a dishwasher) but after my wife noticed that the dishwasher wasn't draining properly twice, it occured to me to check to see if there was a plug. Sure enough, there was.

I probably should have looked at the instructions but considering I was installing a like-for-like replacement, I didn't think about anything other than "make sure all the connections the old one had are on the new one".

I learned that lesson the same way a couple years ago. LOL