I had a similar issue hanging shelves in the basement of my old house. It's the only reason it came to me as a possibility
I initially thought "It must be concrete/cinder blocks", but he said he felt metal... you'd think that with furring strips would still spit back some concrete at some point, not metal. I was also thinking that they must have some insulation in there too, between the concrete/cinder blocks and the wall. Hard to tell without some more detail.
Yeah, I’ve done enough studying of the pipes/ductwork to know that it’s not in that area of the house. The only thing other than furring strips I can think is a metal guard over wiring but it would be a weird choice if wiring location for where the outlets are down at the bottom of the wall. However it is a late 70’s house, and some of the wiring is weird as shit. I will clarify, all of this info I have is just from feel - the drill didn’t spit out anything other than drywall dust. Just for some reason, at this wide stud, it stopped going in past the drywall and I heard a squeaking sound as it spun - so I stopped. It may be a shitty drill bit and a hard wood stud, but I don’t wanna fuck with anything that might be intentionally covered.
Do fluorescent light ballasts have a fairly definitive lifetime? The pair in the kitchen went out less than a year apart. New bulbs were put in, nothing. Do I just need to replace ballasts or is there something else that could be going on? Spoiler
Yes, the ballasts can and do burn out. Replacing them typically isn't too bad. I'm sure they do have an average lifespan of sorts, but in my experience, it's all over the damn place. I've had them burn out after 6 months and still go strong after 10 years. In general, I hate florescent lights and stopped using them in favor of led bars instead.
figured this is probably the best thread for this... we're doing some more home reno stuff, in the sense that we're paying someone to build new cabinets and a built-in butler bar kinda thing. I could do it, but there's a difference between functional woodworking and artistry -- I can put things together and make them work, and build things that don't look like shit, but one of our co-workers is firmly on the "artist" (autist?) side so after some smaller projects he's getting the call for this one. first question we gotta answer in order to get the dimensions for the rest of the bar: We are looking for one of those dual-zone wine and beverage coolers. Something similar to this. It'll be under the counter, and we're thinking a cooler about 30" wide give or take. Any recommendations as far as brand, style, whatever? This is something I don't know a whole lot about, and all I really know is that it has to be for both wine and cans, a good brand that won't shit the bed after a year or two, and under $2k. The area of the house the bar is in, plumbing won't be feasible, but we're also looking at ice makers. Something akin to the GE Nugget Ice maker is what we're eyeing up for the counter. Any other brands or styles we should be considering? Beyond that, obviously we're gonna have plenty of shelf and drawer space, but is there anything that we're obviously missing for a home bar? The space is roughly 8X8, and the lighting will all be battery powered, aside from two sconces at the top, which we're gonna have an electrician wire to a in to a separate switch when they add the extra outlets at counter height.
30" is an odd size. You could have an issue replacing it down the road if that brand stops making them. But, I've been out of the appliance game for a decade now so maybe 30 is the new 24?
I measured our appliances when we moved in, just to be ready in case one shits the bed. Fridge and stove are newer and 30” wide. Dishwasher is ancient and is 24” wide. So you might be right.
yeah 30" is what my wife told me to start looking for. I don't know if there's a standard or not. We'll leave space around it for a trash can and access to outlets and things, so replacing won't be an issue down the road. I just mentioned it as a general idea of what we're looking at, like not some little dorm fridge thingy
That was going to be my next point, if you're building it in, make sure it's a built-in model. Lot of the smaller units aren't designed to be built in and will run hot and have a short life. But, sounds like you're leaving room around it anyways. U-line was pretty good. Marvel (pronounced Mar-Vell) is a little better IMO but Perlick is the best. I have no idea what they cost now though
We went with a “cabinet depth” or “counter depth” fridge, it looks much cleaner and still has a good amount of storage without sticking way out into our kitchen. I can recommend the GE Opal ice maker, it’s fantastic, although I can’t recommend getting the model that comes with the Aux water tank enough, the other model you’ll constantly be adding water to. We are down to a punch list on our kitchen Reno, entrance door goes in today then it’s just some paint touch up.
Here’s a question for you guys. Our living room doesn’t have a ceiling light, and the original plug-in swag pendant is ugly as fuck. I want to add a new one, and I want to do a triple-socket thing like this: My question is: can you even put any type of shade on this? I want to use the Edison bulbs with a glass shade, but it doesn’t have a shade collar. Would it require completely swapping out the sockets?
In order to use shades you will need bulb sockets with threaded rings like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Hang...sprefix=hanging+light+pendant,tools,73&sr=1-3 The one you posted is intended for a bare bulb.
Yeah, I answered my own questions over the last day. I also figured I can go to the store and buy cable, plugs and threaded sockets and do it all myself, without the unnecessary switches on each wire.
Yeah, when you learn how to do some basic wiring you can do a lot of handy stuff. At that point, your imagination is your only limit. Just watch out for electrical codes and ensure your fire insurance is up to date.
Alright, hopefully this is a simple answer, but I don’t want to continue until I’m sure. So after some debate, and interior decorating considerations, I decided to buy a specific pendant light, and convert it to a plug-in swag pendant. So I buy the fixture, I buy the conversion kit, and start getting to work. The fixture has the wire, plus an exposed copper wire for ground. The conversion kit is 2-prong - so no ground wire. What do I do with the copper wire? I see some DIY sites that say if there’s a ground, you must use a 3-prong (but I don’t see any conversion kits for 3-prong wire). I see some sites saying to just “keep the wire in the fixture for future use if necessary (but it’s a fixture with vintage bulbs and a cage around it, no place to keep the wire). Can it be removed? Cut off? It’s gonna be plugged into a grounded outlet, and I’ve never seen a lamp cord that isn’t 2-prong, so I don’t feel like it’s needed - but I want to be sure. EDIT: Okay, I think I found the answer, that the ground wire can be removed, or at least doesn’t need to be connected. I really hate having to read through fifty pages of opinions until I get a decent answer.
You won't be touching the fixture, except for lightbulb changes, right? The bare/ground wire, simply stated, is a safety thing. Majority of appliances with plastic or nonconductive cases or exteriors don't need it. It gives a path of least resistance for the stray current should surfaces become electrified because of failure. One of my old houses was all two-wire with no ground, something in the washing machine failed and electrified the exterior of it and shocked the shit out of me.
I used to work at a music store - I’ve had plenty of experience getting shocked by old vintage guitar amps. That split second of inexplicable sensation is…quite something. But yes - since it’s a swag pendant, I’ll unplug it from the outlet before any movement (which after tonight will be only to replace bulbs, pretty much). I also made sure that the wire connectors are set up away from any metal, zip tied to reduce pulling - to reduce failure at that connection. On a similar subject - is there any in-line wire connectors, that work for lamp wire? I’m using the regular twist-on wire plugs, and I used black sharpie to make it so there aren’t two orange caps visible.
Oh, yeah, there are plenty. Butt connectors. You could do clear ones, or get heat shrink wrap in a color that matches closest to cover the butt connectors.