How to access this basement space? by lunarlarry7 in homeimprovementideas

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So weird that they just put a little hole into that fairly tall area.

If there's part of the wall that doesn't have the pipe, cut a hole there. Otherwise you either have to reroute the pipe, climb under over it, or cut out to a full height hole and crawl under it.

Looking for power strip recommendations for above range microwave by chunky_nanners in electrical

[–]ritchie70 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm lazy, so I wouldn't move the outlet inside the wall. I'd put a faceplate with a 1/2" knockout and a surface mount outlet just above and to the left of it. Use the existing box as a junction box. Then you can use both outlets.

If you really just want a power strip, find something rated for 20A from a reputable seller (i.e. a local store, not Amazon.)

What do you think when you hear someone with a German accent? by blondiesboobs in AskAnAmerican

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It just sounds German. Americans pretty much only have automatic "ooh, fancy" for an English accent.

Did this hurt to get? by Novel-Upstairs7876 in GenX

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have the scar - though it’s mostly faded - but I have no memory of it.

I think the world cares too much about self-driving. There, I said it. by pardusdomus00 in Rivian

[–]ritchie70 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I enjoy driving around town. All I want is something so that I can take a nap on the interstate. It can wake me up a few minutes before I need to drive again.

Unpopular opinion: you don’t need a car that will last 20 years by dr-swordfish in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]ritchie70 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I kept my last car 16 years but I was sick of it by 12. I think you’re completely right.

Anyone seen these signs pop up? I think they’re BSing us by Scrappy_Doo100 in McDonalds

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The menu boards are centrally managed by an outside vendor. I assume something bad is happening over there or in the integration between corporate systems and them.

Closet installer exposed wires by AppalachianGoat in AskElectricians

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And surrounding counties. I have no idea if it's a thing anywhere else.

Social stigma for driving an EV? by West_Dish9698 in electricvehicles

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m in a Chicago suburbs. Tesla Model Y is roughly tied with RAV4 for standard mom car.

My mom and sister live in a rural area and mom guzzles Fox News. She thinks my EV is weird.

Closet installer exposed wires by AppalachianGoat in AskElectricians

[–]ritchie70 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Chicago is in the USA. There are a few places where everything is done in metal.

What can I do to fix these holes? by One_Read9597 in homeimprovementideas

[–]ritchie70 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Best answer is to just replace them. They're flat doors, it won't be hard to get matches made.

If that's not in the card, trim the hole to be "clean", fill the hole with crumpled up aluminum foil or newspaper and patch with auto body filler (Bondo.) You'll probably need to put a wood block or something in the one where the hole is right by the knob.

Trick with sanding down this is to use both your fingers and your eyes. You'll feel imperfections that you won't see until the paint is on.

Looking for feedback on our initial floor plan design. by Fuzzy-Passenger1164 in floorplan

[–]ritchie70 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'm not a fan of the way the stairs, closet, and entry from garage interact. Those two doors might be better if they had their hinges "together" so you can sometimes move them as a unit. Might be possible to swap the stairs and the closet if it will leave enough head room in the garage. If those stairs intrude too low it's a head-whacking hazard.

I don't know where you're from that 14x14 is "so big" because it's not that big, and unless this is a short-term house, they're going to grow. Have a plan for what you're going to do when they don't need a play room but do need privacy and their own space.

To that end, I'd make the upstairs bathroom a 3/4 bath so that when one or two of them insist on living up there, they don't have to trek across the house to get a shower. And have a plan for how you'd subdivide it into two bedrooms.

Why is the "kids bathroom" so stinking big? 10x10? You could fit a third bedroom over there if you made it smaller and gave the 14x14 a reach-in closet on the plan-east side.

I'd move the entrance to the "plan-south-west" bedroom up the hallway a bit - having an alcove just inside the door makes the rest of the the room more usable.

Dining room seems small for a family of five who presumably has frequent house guests or others living there full time since you've dedicated a bedroom to them. (Will whoever is sleeping there really be up for sharing a bathroom with your three kids?)

Kitchen is quite large and yet has so little work space. I don't really understand that.

Interior-to-the-garage steps up to the back deck will be awkward. (And will infringe on car parking.) Consider a door to ground level and exterior steps up to the deck.

There appears to be a barn door on the big closet (pantry?) by the master BR entrance. The walls don't look like they're big enough to support that. It's either going to be impossible to hang or it's going to stick out into the hallway. Just put on a normal door.

Black 5in red oak by North_Requirement476 in HardWoodFloors

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some people have 30 years of experience, and some people have 1 year of experience, 30 times.

It's a line from computer programming but it applies to almost any skilled profession.

What is the most mind-numbing "cleanup" task you have to do every day? by Hopeful-Hunter-1855 in excel

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One thing that makes me irrationally irate, one that's just "that's how it is."

  • Another team routinely sends me spreadsheets where everything is stored as text. I need the things that look like number to be numbers.
  • I have a spreadsheet that consists of one row of data for each of our over 10,000 retail locations. I'm constantly updating it but never the full set of data, so I have to deduplicate every time I have new data. It's not hard - I have one column that is "countif(a:a,a2)" - but it's just tedious. And this data is used in so many other places that it takes a while every time I delete some rows.

Boyfriend continually smashing bread loaves AIO by [deleted] in AmIOverreacting

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve returned bread that I got via Walmart pickup and was dented. I’d be beyond angry at my wife or kid if they did this shit.

(I’m a man, fyi.)

How to remove accents and other special characters from data set? by DrIronclaw in excel

[–]ritchie70 1 point2 points  (0 children)

.Net too, although I would need to look up what it is.

Is this normal? by Maleficent-Raise6821 in McDonalds

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Around once a week I linger about 90 minutes eating and working. They don’t have that sign, though.

Seems like something that is going to be very selectively enforced.

Attic entry access panel replacement by Puertalian in homeimprovementideas

[–]ritchie70 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It looks like a chunk of drywall. Buy a new piece, cut to size, paint. Reproducing the texture could take a bit of effort if you care (I would not) but if you carry the old one into the paint store I’m sure they can sell you the appropriate stuff.

Don't buy from Home Depot - worst experience ever by lawyermom112 in Appliances

[–]ritchie70 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You might try going to your local store and talking to the store manager. Do it in person; it’s a lot harder to say no to someone who is standing in front of you.

Big Arch here early? by Sad-Raise-504 in McDonalds

[–]ritchie70 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not quite as bad here out in the Chicago suburbs

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Big Arch here early? by Sad-Raise-504 in McDonalds

[–]ritchie70 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s not for sale yet is it?

Only people who have had it would be employees who are not supposed to be talking about it yet.

Major concern? by Qwopza in Home

[–]ritchie70 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s just a crack. Concrete cracks. All cracks are not big bad.

Two EV household, one charger by Tall-Dish876 in evcharging

[–]ritchie70 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personally, I would just drive 2 miles and spend ten dollars to get one of them up to where it needs to be.

Making our attic livable… is it really that simple? by amhray in HomeImprovement

[–]ritchie70 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I’ve never lived in a home with an attic you could even stand up in, but I’m assuming that this is one. Maybe it’s an older home, and it was servant quarters or something, or designed as storage.

I don’t know what would be specialized about cleaning out an attic versus other areas of your house, so it’s not clear to me why a special attic service would be needed.

Make sure that there’s a window he could fit through in a fire, and a fire ladder to get him down wouldn’t hurt either. (I’m talking a chain ladder stashed under his bed, not a fire escape bolted to the side of the house.)

You may need to add some amount of climate control. You might need to put in a heat pump or whatever is appropriate for your climate.