[LazySOB]

My bad. And it’s a good thing!

Looks like the GFCI receptacle manufacturers commonly rate their 15A GFCI receptacles to be able to interrupt lots more current than 15A. I had assumed they wouldn’t. I checked Leviton, and I think Pass & Seymour do, too.

I can certainly see the motivation. I’ve bought 15A GFCI receptacles retail for $5, but it’s hard to find 20A for less than $10.

To me, this is great news. Apparently, there’s nothing about a 15A receptacle that keeps it from handling 20A. Apparently, the ONLY reason for me to put 20A recepacles on my 20A circuits is if I want a reminder that the breaker is 20A. I don’t think right now I own a single device with a 20A plug.

[LazySOB]

I assume what you have is a 15A GFI outlet in your bathroom on a circuit that comes from a 20A breaker.

Not safe.

Best to follow Dan O’s advice and replace the breaker, or, verify the wiring is rated for 20A, and replace the GFI outlet with a 20A model.

[LazySOB]

Advantages of sand:
Compacts quickly
Doesn’t hold water
Drains well (another way of saying the same thing…)

Advantages of dirt:
better for growing things, since it retains water
looks better

Not knowing more about your particular situation, most likely sand was the more appropriate backfill.

[LazySOB]

Go to a bulb site, such as
http://www.bulbman.com/
and find something similar to yours. I’d guess you’re talking about one of the Halogen variants, but there’s even quite a few halogen types.

[LazySOB]

Most garages aren’t built with the intention of working there for extended periods. Also depends on your climate, and whether you’ll heat or cool it. In San Diego, wouldn’t worry about it. In Phoenix or Chicago, yes, unless you’ll never work in there.

I plan to heat & cool mine, depending on the season, but only for the few hours I’m there.

BTW, my wife is installing fiberglass batts in our garage starting tomorrow. After I showed her how to do it, her comment was “why would you pay someone to do this?” I guess she thought it isn’t all that hard for a do-it-yourselfer. I got my batts at HD… came out cheaper than Lowes, and with a 10% off coupon (just cause they love me), was even lower than contractors price at the insulation supplier.

[LazySOB]

After more research, here’s more data:

Real stone density is 160 to 170 pounds per cubic foot. Cultured stone varies a lot, but 75 pounds per cubic foot is a common number.

I’d still appreciate any and all opinions on the pros and cons of this type of project.

Thanks!

[LazySOB]

My only real questions are:

1) Do thin cut real stones weigh significantly more than cultured stones that are the same size?

2) Is it any harder to get cut real stone to adhere to mortar than cultured stone?

As to the issues you brought up:

Cutting: I tried this out on 10 stones. Am using Harbor Freight’s $299 saw with 10″ diamond blade, fixed blade/motor with water spray, and rolling trolley. Surprisingly easy to cut. Sure, it’s harder to do than tile, just ’cause there’s more material to cut, but easy nonetheless. You just hold the rock on the trolley, slide it under the blade, then roll it over and do the other side. If you accidentally brush your hand against the diamond blade, you’ll get an abrasion, but nothing like a fiber blade. May use leather gloves to avoid any abrasions.

Base and waterproofing: I’m putting this on OSB (waferboard). Per the cultured stone mfr instructions, the sequence is 2 layers tar paper or equiv with 6″ overlap, lath, mortar, stone. With 2 layers of waterproofing, I don’t think there’ll be a moisture problem.

Height: on my fireplace inside the house, I want to go about 13′ high. On the outside wall, 8′.

I’ve worked thru the material handling and waterproofing issues, and really am not worried about them at all.

If I can figure out material density and adhesion issues, will probably do a test section this weekend. Got blessing from 4-way inspector a couple of days ago that the framing is OK, so the only thing standing in my way is doing it.

[LazySOB]

Looks like I jumped to the wrong conclusion. Your advice is excellent, as usual.

[LazySOB]

You can do this with a greywater pump. I’ve seen ’em for a little over $100.
My choice has always been to cut into the concrete, but that’s me.

[LazySOB]

Give us more details on what you’re doing, and we can be more helpful.
-One breaker or several?
-Is this box the main breaker box for the building, or a separate one for an air conditioner or hot tub?
-do you have a way to disconnect the main power?
-what amperage, or what is this controlling?

[LazySOB]

Several cultured stone manufacturers & distributors have details on how to install their products on walls (owens corning, stoneyard.com, GS Harris, boulder creek)

I have in mind cutting real stone down to about 2″ thick. I tried it on a 10″ tile saw (saw both sides, then break in two), seemed easy enuf.

Question: can install these thin real stone pieces using the same techniques as cultured stone? Or is the weight still a big enuf issue that I really need a brick ledge?

[LazySOB]

I’ve removed melted crayons from carpet, by applying naptha and scrubbing with a brush. Followed up with concentrated carpet cleaner. For red stains, there are several red stain removers, but not sure how they do on red wax.

[LazySOB]

1) flash the slit below the ridge vent, to keep any wind driven water from running down the inside of the sheathing.

2) install rain gutter below the slit, inside the attic, to channel water out of harms way

Would probably mean removing and replacing the old ridge vent, to allow adding the flashing.

[LazySOB]

HB means T or L brackets.
If the movement is between the bottom plate and the studs, that’s what I’d do. If that’s not where the movement is, let us know.

[LazySOB]

All washers have a gallon or two of water left in them, even after running through a cycle.
Lowering the drain hose down to near floor level, the water will drain out on it’s own.

[Author]

Posts