you can get the full kit and replace the ball with the stem and the o-ring if you want, but all it probably needs is the two little round plastic seats and the two springs. all you should need is an allen wrench.

4/8/2014 9:32:49 PM

You sound like you've done this a few times. Is this a "read some instructions and turn off the water supply first" job or is it a "get that allen wrench and go to town" type of job?

4/8/2014 10:10:05 PM

i did it a lot when i worked doing maintenance in the dorms

i'd watch a youtube video, cut the water off, and get to it.

4/8/2014 10:46:17 PM

Took care of it last night and everything went really smoothly. The Delta branded part kit was about $10. Thanks for the info.

This vid covers it for anyone who might have the same issue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJn6Ki9Xu08

The faucet in the vid is a bathroom model, but my kitchen faucet was functionally the same.

[Edited on April 10, 2014 at 4:20 PM. Reason : l]

4/10/2014 4:18:34 PM

glad it worked out for you

4/10/2014 8:44:36 PM

Developer that built out my place put in a jacuzzi tub in my shower, as all the other units in my building, only he neglected to also include an access panel to the motor. motor died apparently. sad trombone noise.

4/11/2014 9:23:14 AM

Have any of you ever had to repair drywall behind wallpaper?

In our bathroom, one of the sides of the toilet paper roll was pulled on by the toddler, and now it's pretty loose. It hasn't completely torn off, but I'm just counting down the days when it's going to completely come off the wall.

What are my options? The damaged area is pretty large (about the size of a half dollar) so I don't think a winged anchor could work.

I almost want to just cut away that area under the TP holder and somehow have a small patched area, and not worry about the wallpaper under it. Of course anyone that ever moves the holder will be upset, but without doing a large repair I'm not sure what to do.

Or just leave it until it actually is pulled off the wall and then try and fix?

4/14/2014 1:16:13 PM

i'd vote for the latter, but then again I have tons of crap falling apart right now as a result.

4/14/2014 1:31:50 PM

remove all the wallpaper, repair the drywall, and paint the room.

4/14/2014 7:15:50 PM

^pretty much. Get rid of wallpaper while you have the chance

4/14/2014 9:56:46 PM

agreed

4/14/2014 11:01:44 PM

pro tip: if you peel the wallpaper, and tear off any of the drywall paper (the outer layer of the drywall) in the process, you'll uncover the inner part of the drywall (the gypsum stuff). if you try to smooth this over with wall compound, the gypsum will soak up the water from the wall compound and bubble up around the repair. so prior to the wall compound, paint that spot with some clear sealant, then do all your repair work.

4/14/2014 11:36:00 PM

Quote :

"^pretty much. Get rid of wallpaper while you have the chance"

Wish I could. Wife covered it ~2 years ago with a design she loves...no chance ripping it down.

4/15/2014 9:09:12 AM

Looked into solar panels on the roof. 28k initial investment, with 9k overall put in after fed and state tax credits are received. It would take 7-8 years to get a return on my investment

4/15/2014 2:06:52 PM

How large of an install?

4/15/2014 2:40:51 PM

^^^ hmm...remove the wife and the wallpaper?

^^ mine are 5 kW with micro inverters; they were $16.7k before subsidies and tax credits (~$2300 after). Break even should be a couple of years. Whether it's worth it depends a lot on what (if any) subsidies are offered by your power company.

4/15/2014 6:44:18 PM

^^Didn't get down to that level of detail. I just called a local company at random, they looked up my house on google maps and quoted me that price.

4/15/2014 8:22:51 PM

Drovkin can you cut a hole and install a recessed tp holder?

4/20/2014 7:49:55 PM

I have a microwave that recirculates exhaust back into the air. It support a "hood range" set up, but I can't find anyone to install it. Any recommendations?

5/6/2014 3:24:42 PM

underwater in my house. deciding whether to rent then sell / buy a new home or just pay down the mortgage till its sellable then buy a new home. decisions...decisions...

5/7/2014 2:01:18 PM

House prices are on the rise, correct? How long do you think you'll have to wait? Do you like your house? If you like it...then just stay in it. If you don't like it and want a new one and don't mind dealing with the hassle of renting...then do that. Doesn't seem like that difficult of a decision.

5/7/2014 2:18:48 PM

house prices are on the rise....except in Southeast Raleigh, which is where I'm at. 3 / 7 houses in my cul-de-sac have foreclosed in the last 3 years. the house is meh, don't really like the neighborhood. got married, planning for kids, yada...yada...yada...

Southeast Raleigh is why I'm hesitant to rent out as well.

[Edited on May 7, 2014 at 3:21 PM. Reason : ]

5/7/2014 3:01:54 PM

If you can afford another house...then I would move and rent it out.

5/7/2014 3:12:39 PM

first rule about living in southeast raleigh... don't live in southeast raleigh

5/7/2014 3:27:49 PM

Rent it out section 8 at the maximum you can get per check and keep 20-40% of the income for repairs whenever the tenant leaves. You'll probably have a really hard time ever selling the house this way, but being a slum lord is profitable if you can get past the whole "your property being destroyed every year" thing.

5/7/2014 6:34:00 PM

Quote :

"Drovkin can you cut a hole and install a recessed tp holder?"

Haven't thought about that, could be an option. I was able to reinstall with some of those drywall anchors that flare out. It's not completely solid, but much tighter than it was before.

Now I have a question about outdoor wooden columns. I had a screen porch installed ~3 years ago. I've noticed some surface cracking on some of the wood and hadn't really thought about it. Now that we're getting into warmer weather, I noticed this on one of the 4x6 posts.



Something to be concerned about? I don't think it's all the way through, but I actually can't tell because we have strips installed in the middle on the outside.

5/7/2014 8:39:46 PM

no, i wouldn't worry about it

5/7/2014 9:14:41 PM

Nope, that's normal cracking from drying and stress. Fill and paint if it makes you feel better

5/8/2014 9:53:30 AM

Whew, thanks!

5/9/2014 9:11:14 AM

Quote :

"first rule about living in southeast raleigh... don't live in southeast raleigh"

It's really not bad at all. The neighborhood is quiet and you get more home for your money. The neighbors just don't really interact with each other as much as I'd like in an ideal setting for a "community". Also, the neighbors are all much older than my wife and I. It was a great starter location, just want something better for our forever home. Southeast Raleigh isn't really deserving of the bad rep it gets.

5/9/2014 2:48:44 PM

12 year old fridge just died. Compressor is shot. I'm not going to try and replace it myself and the cost of repair is probably not worth it on this thing. Has anyone bought a refrigerator in the last couple years? It seems like everything I look at online has a much higher % of bad reviews than I am comfortable with for a ~$1000 purchase.

5/19/2014 9:38:26 AM

^I noticed the same when I was looking at appliances - I chalked it up to more idiots bitching on the internet. I got a samsung and love it. only complaints (well, from my fiancee...) are that the ice maker is slow (to make & to release) and the bucket is small. those two things don't really bother me (the small bucket may in the future, but there's an easy work around for that).

It's really hard to tell what appliances are good these days - online reviews are mostly people venting from issues instead of a good representative picture. Companies sell their names to others and so you never know just who made it; parts are becoming more and more plastic garbage from Asia; electronics are being added all over the place; those 2 together creates more potential for damage/broken parts. It's sometimes hard to know that more money = higher quality with so many optional features to play with the price. I think it's a crapshoot. Go for a "good" brand and hope.

[Edited on May 19, 2014 at 9:49 AM. Reason : .]

5/19/2014 9:44:17 AM

that's what I figured :/

Thanks though.

5/19/2014 10:10:59 AM

I've almost entirely stopped reading online reviews for products. People who are happy with a product or service very rarely take the time to share their experience. Usually people who write reviews are pissed off to the point they feel the need to go out of their way to tell the world about it. Yelp is probably the best example of this.

5/19/2014 10:18:45 AM

completely agree with you. It's just tough because there aren't many other options when comparing something like an appliance.

5/19/2014 10:28:39 AM

I just bought a new fridge about 5 months ago after our kenmore (rebranded LG) died.

When the repair guy was here diagnosing it, I asked him, based on what he saw as a repair guy what manufacturer he would recommend.

He said whirlpool by far.

He said the problem with Samsung and LG is that replacement parts are hard to come by, as both manufacturers have a poor distribution network. Also, they have so many bells and whistles that he just sees more service calls in general for Samsung especially.

I also found so many mixed reviews online. I then called up a couple of other appliance repair companies and one guy also said whirlpool would be what he'd buy, and the other one said GE profile.

We ended up buying a Kitchenaid (which is made by Whirlpool who also makes Maytag) and so far so good.

5/19/2014 12:10:35 PM

thanks. KitchenAid is what our current one is and we has zero problems with it in the 4 years we owned it and it has been here since the house was built by the previous owner in 2001. I would definitely consider another

5/19/2014 12:48:10 PM

Yeah I avoided Samsung appliances too, even though I like Samsung products in general...

Consumer reports has some data on fridge brand reliability...I'm sure you can find a summarized form of it if you Google around.

5/19/2014 5:12:38 PM

13 years isn't bad on a fridge compressor

5/19/2014 10:28:25 PM

I have had a Samsung refrigerator for about 3 or 4 years and really like it. I didn't get it with all the bells and whistles, though. That seems to be what always breaks so hopefully I'll have a good run.

I'm pretty sure according to Consumer Reports Samsung is one of the more reliable brands - or at least not specifically unreliable. Otherwise I probably would have gone with something else.

5/20/2014 8:41:55 AM

^^ I agree. The repairman was convinced that it died from lightning since we had bad storms the night before but who knows. It came with the house but it was a solid fridge - sad to see it go. Out of all the kitchen appliances that came with the house, it was the one I liked the most: it was super quiet, never had a single problem with anything and they bought a pretty energy efficient model.

^I saw some Samsung with good reviews and others with terrible. Similar to lots of other brands in that regard.

I ended up spending all night reading reviews and feel pretty convinced that this certain model series of Whirlpool is the way I am going to go. My guess is that series probably has the same compressor and electronics but just variations in the setup (french door with/without front ice & water, side by side, 4 door etc.) all ranging from around $1200-$1600 after memorial day savings. Of course the one we like is the $1600, but it has 257 reviews with 233 being 4 or 5 stars and of course they make KitchenAid too which we had good luck with before.

I appreciate all the feedback - it was definitely helpful. I'll let you all know what we do.

5/20/2014 9:25:30 AM

While I can't speak for LG and Samsung fridges, I do have a pretty high-end LG washer/dryer set, and the repairman who came out to fix it after the thermal fuse component that auto-shuts off when it overheats (intake issue) said basically the same thing as this:

Quote :

"He said the problem with Samsung and LG is that replacement parts are hard to come by, as both manufacturers have a poor distribution network. Also, they have so many bells and whistles that he just sees more service calls in general for Samsung especially."

5/20/2014 9:27:12 AM

that's one thing about Whirlpool fridges that I liked - their replacement parts if needed seem to be easy to come by and repairmen are familiar with them. I checked back with the guy that came out to confirm our compressor was dead and he also recommended Whirlpool and KitchenAid in my price range.

5/20/2014 9:37:20 AM

samsung fridges are little piles of crap. whirlpool a better choice.

5/20/2014 1:02:25 PM

Building a picket fence this weekend. any advice? called 811, got HOA approval... FIL has post digger.

5/20/2014 4:30:59 PM

post hole diggers suck balls. they're ok if you have one hole like for a mailbox or something.

go rent an auger.

5/20/2014 4:38:26 PM

^that's what he has... the motorized kind.

5/20/2014 4:39:40 PM

then you're set

5/20/2014 4:40:31 PM

5/20/2014 4:44:29 PM

If it's a 2-man auger and you have tough/rocky/root-tatisc soil, watch your hands and thighs. Those like to snag and whip the motor+handles around like nobody's business.

If it's a 1-man, you should be fine. I hope for your sake it's the tow-behind, "see-saw" kind with nice big tires and the motor is the counterbalance. Those are the easiest to move around and get into place for a lot of holes, IMO.

Best of luck!

[Edited on May 20, 2014 at 5:20 PM. Reason : .]

5/20/2014 5:19:08 PM