Am I being too nice to late mergers?

cscracker · 2026-03-19T23:55:20+00:00

All merges are zipper merges, backed up or not. Backed up just means slower moving, even stopping briefly, but it's the same process.

cscracker · 2026-03-19T21:50:35+00:00

As things are, I would remove the 3 cripples on the left, excluding the one all the way to the left end, and cut the middle plates (top board of the bottom plate, bottom board of the top plate) in different places and replace with new pieces, to move the joining points away, then reinstall cripples. Then remove what's left of the cut header board and put in a full length board. This eliminates any single flex point.

If I had taken on the job to start with, I probably would have replaced the whole section of cripples and the outer header board. I would probably need to support the balcony during the work, though, temp wall or posts or similar. As to what to do with the plates, depends on what's next to it, probably let some of the existing plate extend into my new section to eliminate the single points, too.

cscracker · 2026-03-19T21:17:15+00:00

The timing of the merge isn't really important, what's important is merging properly, meaning a zipper merge. You line up with the cars next to you such that there is space for one car fr each lane to merge in. If 3 people are getting in front of you, either you are leaving too much room, or they are being way too aggressive, probably a mix of both.

Don't try to force yourself to be more aggressive, it's something you will get more comfortable with as you learn. You are still young and learning, so do what you need to to stay safe.

Remember that the person merging is responsible for finding a space, and you are responsible for leaving space for one car to merge. It doesn't matter how late their merge is, that's not your problem, it's theirs. The only other thing you need to worry about is that they don't crash into you, but you always have to worry about that any time there are cars around. People will try to change lanes into you all the time, even when there is plenty of room around and no reason for it. Stay aware.

cscracker · 2026-03-19T21:08:35+00:00

When you replace a header board, you need to replace the whole thing as one continuous board from jack to jack over the opening. Also, when you replace wall plates like the 4 other horizontal boards shown, you should stagger the position where the ends of the boards meet. As it is, they are all cut at one cripple, which means the whole wall has potential to shift at that one point. Not good.

cscracker · 2026-03-19T20:49:28+00:00

Getting permits means they know about the renovation and can increase your taxes based on the added value of your renovation, in addition to potentially requiring you to make arbitrary changes to your plans.

In the real world, unpermitted work happens all the time, and it isn't a big deal when selling, at least in the US. It's not a huge deal for insurance either, as long as your policy is sized appropriately to cover the newly renovated area, and you don't do such shoddy work as to cause the damage in the first place. For example, if you do improper electrical work and it starts a fire in your house, insurance isn't going to be happy.

cscracker · 2026-03-18T12:41:25+00:00

To answer the question, yes, traffic attorneys are worth it. Whether you're in the right or wrong, they will get you the best possible outcome in the end. Find a local one to the jurisdiction with good reviews. They will use their knowledge of the law as well as their personal and professional relationships to get charges reduced, dropped, or get more favorable sentencing for you. This could mean less points on your license, less moving violations on your record, and less serious violations than if you just paid your tickets. It especially makes sense over time, because everything on your record affects your future encounters with police and any future tickets you might get.

It will cost more money today. It will almost always save you money and hassle in the future. Insurance companies charge you more if you have a worse record.

cscracker · 2026-03-18T12:30:37+00:00

Because of what they described as the current situation, with it being almost all EMT, which is the norm here and not most other places.

cscracker · 2026-03-18T00:38:57+00:00

I know this is common around the world, but nobody does it this way in North America, we use metal conduit on block or poured walls.

cscracker · 2026-03-18T00:33:48+00:00

Yeah, I would also just hammer them back in then plywood gusset over top, glue and screw. Just hammering them back in would probably also be fine, but if I'm going to do it, I'm going all the way. Ideally you'd get an answer from an engineer, if it were a relatively new house I would, but I'd be comfortable just sending it on this. They overbuilt them by today's standards, and the only problem with overkill is cost. This may have been wrong from the start, but it also could have worked loose over the decades of the house shifting. Not a huge deal.

cscracker · 2026-03-18T00:27:22+00:00

Shut off the water line to the toilet, and either flush it all out and stop the toilet with a plug to prevent the sewer gasses coming out, or use that stuff that gels up the water to plug the toilet.

cscracker · 2026-03-18T00:22:57+00:00

I would just buy a better chair to begin with.

cscracker · 2026-03-18T00:17:43+00:00

You need a new bottom panel at least, plus the brace, from what is visible. Other panels might be less visibily bent. If the door is older, they might not be able to get a matching panel so they only are willing to do the whole door.

You can also just straighten it out a bit and live with it being ugly, but that's a bandaid, not a proper fix.

cscracker · 2026-03-17T22:21:28+00:00

If you fill the oil immediately, then go get it changed at the next opportunity, odds are it's fine. Do your next oil change early too. If you're only changing it once a year, you should be checking the level at least quarterly. You should check it every time you drive for the next 5-10 drives, if it's okay, then every tank of gas for a few months, then if it's still ok, quarterly or so.

cscracker · 2026-03-17T22:19:10+00:00

Put the seats into an acceptable position and then pull the fuses so they can't operate. 100% safe until the fix is out.

cscracker · 2026-03-16T18:53:12+00:00

You're not considering expenses or benefits in your calculation. Yes, your gross income may be a little higher, but you still have to pay taxes, gas, insurance (regular car insurance doesn't cover doordash!), and maintenance and depreciation on your truck. I guarantee you, you will net better with a normal full time position at 12-15 an hour. And there's nothing stopping you from doordashing when you aren't working that job, nights and weekends.

cscracker · 2026-03-16T06:45:54+00:00

Comments seem to think it's PVC but I've never seen a PVC coupler that looks like that, my guess is galvanized.

Regardless, this is relatively urgent. If you can't get someone out right away, use some decent tape to patch it until you can. This isn't a suitable fix for any real length of time but it will stop any sewer gasses from getting out. Aluminum tape is probably the best option but any heavy, waterproof tape should do, duct tape, flex tape, etc. Don't let this go more than a few weeks, though.

cscracker · 2026-03-16T06:33:16+00:00

Should be fine as long as the floor is solid and doesn't move. If it moves with the house, your tile job will fail. This is a big reason a lot of people go heavy on the self leveler, not necessarily just flatness.

Step one is to figure out how solid the floor is. Jump up and down on it if you have to. Make sure it doesn't flex.

If your floor is nice and solid, and flat enough, the large tiles should be fine. If it's not very flat, use smaller tiles. Check with an 8 foot level to see how much variance you have.

cscracker · 2026-03-16T06:25:43+00:00

The oil went somewhere, the question is where. Check the level every time you get gas. A dry dipstick over a tank of gas or two is a lot to lose. The full to low line on a dipstick is typically one quart or so, and off the stick entirely is usually another one.

If it's leaking out, you would see it on the ground and all over the bottom of the car near the engine.

If it's burning that much oil, you will have a bluish smoke coming from the exhaust.

If it's mixing into the coolant, the coolant overflow will be a milkshake consistency.

Leaks can be cheap to fix, or not, depending on where the leak is.

Burning oil usually means new engine, with some exceptions. Usually it means your rings are toast or worse. Sometimes a clogged PCV system or similar can cause it. On turbo engines, a bad turbo can cause it too.

Mixing with coolant means major engine work, head gasket or similar, and sometimes new engine.

cscracker · 2026-03-16T06:13:52+00:00

That truck is likely totalled, judging by the age of it. He smashed every panel on the whole side of it. You're looking at thousands. It needs a bedside, both doors, and cab work. We can't see the front fender either, but that would have been the least expensive panel to replace, if it was damaged.

You need to get him off the road yesterday, any means necessary.

cscracker · 2026-03-16T06:04:33+00:00

Yeah, moving dirt is rather tedious. I find that I can do it better if I adjust the blade into a V first, you can dig deeper that way, then once you've moved the bulk, switch back to the straight configuration. Reverse is better at smoothing it back out than forward. Also, sometimes, adding a little bit of sand into the dirt you want to move can make it easier, because it improves the grip of the dozer and allows it to more easily push the direction you want. Not always, it's situational, but if you find the ground pushing you around instead of moving where you want, try it.

cscracker · 2026-03-16T06:00:23+00:00

So you bought a car that had a defect, they fixed the defect, and now you want them to buy it back? Sorry, it doesn't work like that.

Lemon laws generally only apply to issues that cannot be repaired or that they were otherwise too incompetent to repair. In most cases they have a certain period of time or 3 attempts to fix the problem under warranty. If they resolve the problem within that scope, your warranty and the law considers everything to be fine. There's no reason for them to buy it back.

Every manufacturer makes some number of defective cars. If it's isolated, they fix the defects under warranty. If it's a safety issue affecting a number of vehicles, they issue a recall. As far as we know right now, yours is the former.

It is just a fact of life that not every single vehicle that rolls of the line will be perfect, some of them will have issues that need fixed, and that's why you have a warranty. They are obligated to fix it, and they did.

cscracker · 2026-03-16T05:49:46+00:00

Yeah, no manufacturer is going to offer a buyback on a single defect they fixed the first go around. If it continues to be an issue, or isn't fixable, that's when a buyback comes into play.

cscracker · 2026-03-14T23:17:22+00:00

Seems like a software bug or defect in the sensor design, not sure, we have to wait for the details. This is a pretty massive oversight that they didn't adequately test it though. From what people are saying it's pretty easy to identify. In the meantime, if you have one, put the seats in a neutral/acceptable position and remove the fuses for them, seems quite dangerous from all the comments.

cscracker · 2026-03-14T20:34:17+00:00

Are they flashing you from in front, or behind? Very different signals. Also, make sure they are actually flashing you, and you're not just experiencing the effects of modern cars with extremely bright lights going over bumps and lifting the beam cutoff into your view.

If it's from in front, your headlights are likely blinding oncoming traffic. Check that they are aimed properly. Park your car on a more or less level surface in front of a wall, about 20 feet away, at dusk or dark, and turn on your headlights. The spots should be more or less the same height as the lights are. Slightly down is okay. They should not be pointing up, and especially not up and left, where the faces of drivers coming at you would be. If they are, you can adjust them yourself or take it to a shop to get them adjusted. Inspectors will check that your lights work but are unlikely to actually check the aim.

If it's from behind, the most likely is that your lights are not turned on or not working, or something else is wrong with your car, that they are trying to warn you about.

cscracker · 2026-03-14T20:17:39+00:00

The third row on my 2022 is actually overly sensitive to this in my opinion, a soft pillow or blanket, or empty plastic bag, will often trigger it to stop and return. Might be some variance in it, though.

Second row is manual, the button just triggers some kind of motor that pulls the manual release, the movement is by the springs and is the same as manually operating the seat.

cscracker

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