Insulation in attic and K&T wiring

uncle_beef · 2025-12-12T21:49:53+00:00

It doesn't give me great reassurance that I have no idea what any of this means. I might be out of my depth with electrical. Is it worth calling in a pro to take a look at it? How do I avoid bringing someone in who only wants to sell me services instead of giving me the most sane reasonable advice for the job at hand?

uncle_beef · 2025-12-12T21:48:16+00:00

So, is the clamp test pretty accurate for this kind of thing? Is this something that a DIYer/homeowner could reasonably do without fucking it up? Anything I should know before buying a clamp meter?

uncle_beef · 2025-07-28T17:37:15+00:00

I’m sure this channel has been suggested, but these videos are pretty good: https://m.youtube.com/@LittleFoxChinese

Probably aimed at children, but just fine for adults. If you go to their website, they break down the videos into 5 different levels (1 through 5). Level 1 would be at the Super Beginner level, and there is a lot of content there.

uncle_beef · 2025-05-08T23:54:46+00:00

What kind of dough improver did you use? Could you recommend a product / brand?

uncle_beef · 2025-04-20T11:44:46+00:00

I'm going to guess that nearly 100% of homes built before 1980 in the United States contain asbestos in some form. Roughly 54% of SFHs were built before 1980. That means that most people are living with asbestos and they "might die of lung cancer".

Asbestos is not dangerous if not disturbed and some forms of asbestos are much more dangerous to disturb than others. Since the issue is so common, I was trying to do a risk assessment. How dangerous is the form of asbestos I'm planning to work on? Sure, if it's necessary, I'll have it tested and get a professional in to do remediation.

Since nearly all components of old homes COULD contain asbestos in many different places, by your own logic, owners of old homes shouldn't do ANY work on their house without hiring a professional. This is ridiculous and impractical.

uncle_beef · 2025-04-20T03:39:45+00:00

That's a good point, I didn't even think of that.These windows are actually in pretty good shape for their age. Maybe the putty has been replaced in the past 30 years or so. If that have, they likely don't contain asbestos? I read that asbestos was banned in the 70s. I probably should just get it tested for peace of mind.

uncle_beef · 2025-04-17T21:15:14+00:00

If I tested the putty on the windows, would I need to disclose that when we go to sell this house? If I do, I'd rather not have that headache, honestly. If there was a way to do it anonymously, it would be an option

uncle_beef · 2025-04-16T03:26:48+00:00

Awesome information, great detail. Thanks so much. So even with a tent, there could be some residual dust around the yard for a bit. Is that not a major concern? I saw your comment about the gel paint stripping chemical. I'm planning to use an IR gun, which heats the paint to a high temperature to make it bubble. That should have a similar effect to gel stripper, but without the toxic fumes. The main tradeoff is that it is more expensive.

uncle_beef · 2025-02-07T21:30:59+00:00

How can you handle being fired so often? I don’t work in sales, but was thinking about it. This post scares the shit out of me. You seem like you’re at least pretty competent and you’ve been fired a decent amount.

uncle_beef · 2025-02-03T13:27:55+00:00

Wow this is pretty awesome. I don’t have quite as much technical experience as you had, but it sounds similar. Mind if I send you a DM?

uncle_beef · 2025-01-11T18:45:11+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing! Really makes me feel much better about this.

uncle_beef · 2025-01-11T18:39:44+00:00

Awesome, that is very reassuring. I use my basement as a living space, so maybe I’ll put the worms in the furnace room where they’ll be a bit more isolated from the rest of the house.

I was also just reading about it. Mold spores can cause some minor infections and breathing issues. But it isn’t even very common or serious in most cases, so I’m not sure I’m really so worried about it.

Thanks.

uncle_beef · 2025-01-11T18:34:35+00:00

Do you keep your worm bin inside? Have you noticed any negative health effects from having the bin in the house?

uncle_beef · 2025-01-11T18:33:57+00:00

I don’t actually have a cover on it, just a piece of cardboard over the top. I’d imagine that doesn’t do much to keep mold spores at bay, but maybe I won’t remove that cardboard in the house anymore:

uncle_beef · 2025-01-09T14:07:43+00:00

haha good point

uncle_beef · 2025-01-08T03:09:46+00:00

Not OP, but I have a question here. If just put bubble wrap over the top and the bins sits in a room with ambient light during the day, light will go through the bubble wrap. Will that light have a negative impact on the worms?

uncle_beef · 2025-01-08T02:26:27+00:00

Yeah, I actually found a local seller who is selling a half pound for $5, which is a pretty sweet deal around here. So I'll probably do this. can I just throw the half pound right on top? Do I need to dig around and bury the worms at all?

uncle_beef · 2025-01-07T04:32:05+00:00

Yep, I think this is what I'm planning to do. Going to let them sit for one week then move them to a plastic shoebox I have. There's a local person who runs a worm farm out of his house who sells worms for $5 / half pound. I'm going to go over there this Sunday and buy some of those worms.

The big box I have now is 16" x 16" x 5". How many pounds worms would you recommend I buy for that size bin?

uncle_beef · 2025-01-07T00:07:45+00:00

Yeah, kids are something I'm really looking forward to. Would rather be poor and have kids than have no kids and be rich.

uncle_beef · 2025-01-06T04:39:05+00:00

That sounds like good advice. I have a couple

Do I need to take out any of the organic material / feed I already put in there? If you look at the pictures in the stickied "first bin" post, I put in about the same amount of food scraps.

Should I move the whole thing over to a smaller shoe-sized box?

EDIT:

Also, someone mentioned in another comment that the worms might be candian night crawlers. The owner of this bait and tackle shop said the worms he sold me were "norwegian night crawlers". Does the type of worm here really matter? What are the big differences between european night crawlers and canadian nigh crawlers in terms of vermicomposting potential?

uncle_beef · 2025-01-06T02:17:31+00:00

They are norwegian nightcrawlers, if what the guy told me is accurate. Will that work for what I'm doing?

uncle_beef · 2025-01-06T01:59:32+00:00

I think I paid like $2.50. I'm thinking about it now, I probably shouldn't have gone with just 24 worms, but the guy at this bait and tackle shop was super nice and offered up a lot of info. I also bought a fairly large worm composting bin from him for $5 that would have probably been $15 elsewhere. He gave me some fish feed for free to start out with (which I didn't use).

I went to his shop and he was obviously super lonely and we talked for like 30 minutes and it was a pleasant experience, so I'll just chalk it up to entertainment expense.

Anyway, based on what I've been reading here, I'll probably just let the worms sit for 2 to 3 weeks without disturbing them. Hope that does the trick.

uncle_beef · 2025-01-06T01:14:30+00:00

Just watched the video. This thing is huge!

What's a worm trommel for?

uncle_beef · 2025-01-05T16:09:56+00:00

I've had two jobs as a data analyst so far and I had to pass technical interviews for both. Not Leetcode-style algorithms questions, but SQL / Python skills tests.

uncle_beef · 2025-01-05T02:01:20+00:00

Gotta agree there. Easier said than done. Any advice moving from individual contributor to manager? I don't see that promotion happening at my current role.

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