Is basic DIY skills enough to get you a job in facilities maintenance?I am currently a degenerate NEET, but I do enjoy working with my hands but I have absolutely zero education past high school or any job experience. Not sure how competitive the market is for this field, should I try to do a two year community college degree/cert first in some relevant discipline?
Not OP but I want to start a small business using my almost non-existant DIY and electrics skills, installing access control devices, self-checkout systems and such. Still haven't got a single client and I'm afraid that I'll fuck up on my first ones but idc lol
>>2993482>I live in the south, every complex is a section 8 complex.I lived in Georgia for a work thing for about 14 months. We couldn't find ANY rentals that weren't Section 8. Single family home, apartment, duplex, nothing. As I was only going to be there for about a year I ended up buying a brand new 5th wheel, setting up in a trailer park, and using the company housing allotment to pay for it. Work took longer than expected and man was I glad to put that place in my rear view mirror. The people were great, but the infrastructure was dogshit and it was like stepping back in time 30 years. The worst part was the weather. Clear day, 85 degrees, 100% humidity, then a storm rolls in, drops 6 inches of water in 30 minutes, and 30 minutes after that it is sunny again. No fucking thank you.
>>2993128>go to school for HVAC>make 6 digitsI never understood this. Why do HVAC, carpenters, plumbers, etc., make more than maintenance guys?Most maintenance guys I know do all of that work and more yet get paid pennies on the dime and are overworked on top of it.How is it that having MORE skills leads to you having less pay?
>>2993583Jack of all trades, master of none.Also, a lot of lower tier trades people make dogshit money. At least in places with weak unions, picture related. Where I live all of the local building outfits hire exclusively illegals. To be fair, these are all tract home and commercial property builders. Outfits that are all about throwing it together as fast as possible. These illegals are all getting paid less than the people working at McDonald's and it is all under the table or falsely reported. The difference between the two is the 'under the table' people have no papers at all and are getting maybe $12 an hour while the 'falsely reported' people are using a stolen identity. On the books they are getting like $22 an hour but in reality they are getting maybe $14.You never see these companies posting job listings either. If they need people they just talk to the one guy on a crew that speaks passable English and more illegals turn up. They also have all the local ICE people in their pocket. All the business that hire illegals do. Why do you think so few businesses get raided? All these illegals coming here, "taking our jobs", and yet no one is actually employing them. Strange, right? What is even stranger is that, even when a company is raided, all they do is round up the illegals. Charges are almost never filed against the business. Almost like someone is getting paid to look the other way and the company missed payment. Wouldn't want to actually put them out of business though. That would stop the money flowing. You just want to remind them who to send the checks to.
>>2993583I knew in Washington State parks, the government would hire maintenance people and they would do all the work of a tradie combined and get paid less, it's weird
I'm repacing a leaking high pressure hose and need to refill the a/c. This might upset the purist shop workers but I don't want to buy a vacuum pump for a one off repair so do you think using the engine's vacuum will work as seen here anons? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9UKHfQFwM8I also have spare vacuum hoses and adapters on hand.
>>2993965This, also a lot of those quick fix refill cans have shitty connectors that bend the service valve stems.>>2993949Put soapy water on the service ports, look for bubbles.Then get a good UV flashlight off scamazon and look for leaks.
>>2993949a/c is a closed system, it should never need to be topped off; if the refrigerant is low, it has a leak.buy the charge with UV dye, and then at night look at it with a black light and find out where it's coming from. Schrader valve (port) is a easy fix, but if it's the condenser or compressor, it's much more involved.
>>2994051>a/c is a closed systema fridge with all connections being brazed pipe is a closed system. a car AC with hoses and gaskets looses a couple % refrigerant every year and not topping it off will seize the compressor within 10-20 years due to loss of lubrication cycling.
>>2994101there's no reason the gaskets should leak and no the system should never need to be topped offt. 1994 honda accord with original r134a system on original charge, 2005 odyssey that I rebuilt in 2015 that still has full chargethe reason gaskets fail in a car engine is because they become vulcanized by the oil, that doesn't happen in an a/c system. home a/cs use the same kind of gaskets in 2026, they aren't expected to be regularly recharged either
>>2994308>there's no reason the gaskets should leakit is called diffusion and ac maintenance is a regular inspection pointaltough id say the majority is escaping through flex houses, since they have a million times the exposed surface area compared to gaskets>still has full chargehow do you know? did you pump it out and weight it?
What is wrong with my single line diagram for my DIY solar power install in southern Illinois?
>>2989483It's fine
>>2989483It's good actually
>no results foundpost up your latest buysthings you want but dont needchristmas giftsuseless junk or good shit or whatever it isbrand flex or name and shameignore bepis and seig
>>2994125
>>2994040idk man i use wd40 on bike chains, door hinges, stuck bolts all the time and it lasts for years(not the bolts. usually a torch is better anyway)i also have pb blaster and various other thingsbut wd-40 hasn't really failed to do lubicrating jobsi get the technical arguement, but results are results
>>2994040oof.Who's gonna tell this guy that PB Blaster also sells "Pro Grade Multi Purpose Lubricant" which is pretty much the same formula as WD40 and Liquid Wrench. Im sure he wouldnt know though. Imagine actually working on stuff and actually having a cabinet of different products for different scenarios. Caustic non-evaporative PB Blaster all over every project, all the time!
>>2994270>oofback to r*ddit, zoomfaggot. post disregarded.
>>2994274Cmon now, you can deflect better than that cant you?
my house needs all new windowshow do i know what kind to get and not get scammed?currently have vinyl windowstemperate, wet costal climate with cold winters and mild summersits a small house just under 1000sqft + basement but it has a big 250 sqft sunroom so ill need a few
get quotes from a bunch of different window companies in your area.
>>2991336yeah i was gonna maybe attempt to diy the installone im cheap and two ive seen some terrible so called professional installs, this is a big concern it seems to be a shady business..maybe ill try one unimportant basement one first see if it makes me want to kill myself or if its doable, ill probably reside the house after so im not super worried about damage that way
>>2991326>my house needs all new windowsI *want* all new windows for my house and this unnecessary expenditure looks like it will cost me more than I am prepared to spend. Fixed that for you.You are no different to people who spend $5k+ to redo bathrooms that were fully functional.
>>2992554stop projecting your poverty
>>2992554>$5k bathroom redowhere do i sign up
I have a scalpel that I've been using to cut a layer of skin off my foot. I have to be careful because even messing up a little means ghetes a gash on my foot, and they're pretty annoying.
>>2986048Buy a Solingen type callus remover you cheap retard, you're literally using an exacto knife meant for arts and crafts and DIY. It's barely more expensive and much, much safer and useful. >https://www.google.ro/search?newwindow=1&sca_esv=9a0266635dee84b9&udm=2&fbs=ADc_l-aN0CWEZBOHjofHoaMMDiKpaEWjvZ2Py1XXV8d8KvlI3p-ML-906rRL_m6h4jR-tdCeKIwp94h-QiJ4lJfObsqUPixp6KuAej6LdEw-ul8fud3FiyoYcNHDn3HZ8mQ6T-ckdOlkfthMcAd5uMRwsZYjn_umCTETpZ0MlqjQ3jj6aU2YNhF3WIfCt5zMJugIboT7gnQP7QtzrBFLK8H8LGGlhRBepA&q=solingen+callus+remover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjD3dSChuWUAxXKv4kEHTUoL-MQtKgLegQIFxAB&biw=1368&bih=600&dpr=1
>>2986076>>2986075>>2986101>>2986197>>2987991use toenail clippers to remove calluses, thank me later
>>2993805nice tracking link
>>2993418I just embrace the calluses.
Jesus, switch to barefoot shoes, you filthy animals
I have made an anti-grav device in my humble shed.
>>2993225Lambright's a little different. Most lolcow obsessed people go out of their way to find people like that and fuck with them. Wayne was constantly posting and being a retard right there in front of me every time I got on. It's hard not to have formed an opinion on him and be intrigued by such a retard.
>>2993225wayne seeks out abuse. he practically begs for it. he livestreams on youtube. his accounts keep getting taken down and he makes more. he constantly bitches about being swatted and being doxed. yet he makes it easy to figure out who he is, and where he lives. we would all be happier if he never posted on pol or diy ever again.
>>2993989I saw a retarded homeless guy with a nice looking dog talking to his phone screen. He was probably in a video call.It's gonna be so wild when AIs start making fun with these guys. 'Muh ai girlfriend told me to just walk out of the store with it though!'
>>2993989> we would all be happier if he never posted on pol or diy ever again.Naaa. I miss the crazy bastard.
>>2994027hes been hangin out at slab city jerkin off punks 15 dollars a man
Just finished building this guitar pedal. The enclosure is CNC'd from a solid piece of walnut, and the decorations are CNC engraved into 2mm copper. The orange and green are vitreous enamel, which is glass powder mixed with water and applied like paint, then fired in a kiln. Shoved a bunch of huge Vishay Dale RN60 mil spec resistors in there for good measure. Would love to see some other builds, or even other enamel work if anyone is doing that kind of thing.
incredible work OP!
copper plate the footswitch?
>>2992201Thank you very much!>>2993502I was considering that but didn't want to get into breaking apart the switches I have on hand - any recommendations? Maybe it's easier than I think? A matching switch would be sick
>>2988583very nice OPWhat kind of kiln did you use for the enamel, and what was the kiln schedule like? Did it take a long time to cool down to prevent the enamel from cracking?
>>2994170Thank you! I use a Prometheus PRO-1 for enameling - almost always running it at 1450 F, and I'm just popping the pieces in for around 1.5 to 2 minutes. This larger decorative plate may have been more like 2.5 minutes? I usually let the pieces cool on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before placing them in pickling solution, that seems to be good enough to prevent cracking
>Job has machining/handling/postprocessing of composite materials as one of the things we do>Workers dont wear any protection whatsoever, leave their site with hands blacker than tar and lungs full of dustI've changed 3 workplaces that had absolutely zero relation to each other and this just keeps fucking happening. One of them even had a department for fiberglass and the guys there seemed to be the only ones to share my sentiment regarding this whenever i brought it up just because it had some real boomers working there. Meanwhile the rest, from everymen all the way to engineers keep spouting shit like:>Haha well we only live once anon :)>Eh i am feeling fine>Cant handle a bit of coal dust boy?>Oh ok. *proceeds to practically snort it*Like what the FUCK is going on with workplace safety? This is some India-tier convergent negligence.
>>2993903this guy fucks
>>2987766Real men don't give a shit about PPE. You fucking pussies spend more time putting on gloves and masks than you do working.
>>2987766Toxic masculinity that is allowed because it serves capitalistic interests of management and shareholders.
Do you live in a third world country with 0 labor laws and having dangerous working conditions is actually good for the company?
>>2987766you see anon, the people you work with are high time preference and low iq, so they dont think about the future consequences of their short term actions
Looking to finance/rent some equipment and start a land clearing and light excavating company in the mid-atlantic region. Skid and maybe a mini ex. What am I in for?
>>2993394Yup it also needs new pins, bushings and cutters for the bucket. I got it for a steal, also no emissions on it. I have a friend who has a demo company and a friend with an excavation business who helped me find it.
>>2993396>needs new pins, bushings>plumbed for a hammerexpectedhopefully it never ate garbage from a hammer failure $2k/ton?
>>2993398$2.8k/ton
>>2990374This, depending on what part of the mid Atlantic you might be near a Ritchie Bros yard, there's one near Elkton MD.>>2990453Bud this is our world, nature's just living in it.
>>2990222Maryland or Virginia? VA here
What am I in for?
>>2986642If you've got two sheds and a dwelling and you need more storage but can't afford it you need to throw some shit out.
>>2992369No I ended up being unable to afford a second shed so now I'm building a palletoid shed instead. I moved all the pallets down into the gulch basin and now I've got to move the cinder blocks but I'm lazy and still have to set up starlink and clean out the camper I'm in now by moving totes down into tents that are also in the gulch basin. Luckily I just took some Vyvanse so I can do all that today
>>2986081My one suggestion is build an over hang so your drip line is away from the structure.
>>2992656Sounds hard. Sounds impossible...I'm gonna fuck it up*takes three tabs of vyvanse and starts tripping BALLZ*WHOO!LET'S DO THIS!
>>2993800Dude I'm coming up on my trip rn so hard bro
My mom has these cardboard flower pots. This is the second year we've had a 100% failure rate of every single seedling put into them.I think it's because the roots don't actually manage to penetrate and the whole thing gets mouldy but I'm not sure.I've asked her to switch to plastic ones but she she didn't do it.Mind you I think she also used coco coir rather than soil in most (I kinda managed to keep them alive with fertilizer while she was on vacation but she stopped using it I think) but even the ones with soil eventually die.
>>2992408Just use plastic like a normal person.
I’ve had success with those in the past, but maybe 2-3 years ago I noticed the same problems as you’re re describing. Also noticed it would happen more indoors instead of outside in my greenhouse or back porch. The roots will punch thru eventually but the cardboard shit needs to be wet for a long time, which I think contributes to the problems.
>>2993342Indeed, and as >>2992912 said this stuff molds REALLY easily.
I just use cottage cheese containers with no holes, and all of mine make it, unless I waited to long to plant the sprouts
My wife uses those peat pellets to start seeds. She was just transferring them into the ground outside and had pretty good luck. But, in the fall when pulling tomato plants we noticed the roots had a defined area where they were weaker after going through that mesh netting on the peat pellets. So now she snips said peels that off before transplanting into the soil.
how about explosives to improve "Perk" for Septic System install?Been watching this guy's videos about problems with land for sale and lack of good Perk for Septic due to layer of rocks, clay, etc seems to come up often.How about drilling down a 100ft maybe 100ft square and dropping some TNT to "frack" the rock or clay so it will open some passages to ground water? :)
>>2993431Lol, no. The fence is so some kid doesn't go drown. The animals don't matter at all. The fence doesn't matter either unless you want it or want to follow your regulations (assuming it applies to you).Most people don't put a fence up. We had a dog that would swim in the lagoon, and the animals would drink from it>t. licensed installer
>>2993477what sort of areas wont let even Lagoon Septic be installed? (besides snooty rich ones, for strictly political NIMBY reasons).
Most perc test failures I've encountered are from water draining through the ground too fast, not too slowly. Essentially not allowing the waste water enough time to be properly filtered by the ground before it makes its way back to the water table. Breaking the ground up with explosives would probably make that problem worse.
>>2993811Most lakefront properties and anywhere it would overflow into public water above or below ground. Really they care more about the construction of the lagoon than the location
>>2993833yep this is the real reason and then theres my friend that had to put in a sand filter due to flunking and when he was in the county office scheduling an inspection the good ole boy govt dude in charge told him he shoulda just had a couple load of shit clay hauled in and smeared out and then retested instead of immediately capitulating with a filter system
Left to rightStanley FatmaxPicardHarbor Freight and two welded steel versionsVaughanPost 1 of 7
>>2990277Ok?
>>2993063>>2993162>Can you tell us how you cut that or a good youtube tutorial?I would suppose those cuts were started on a miter saw and finished with a hand saw. 52 and 38 are the magic numbers there. A double-bevel miter saw would help yet it is possible to do on a single-bevel.>>2993230>this used to be best back in the day, but quite soft cast>https://hammersource.com/dalluge-2110-21-oz-framing-hammer-serrated-face-magnetic-nail-holder-17-straight-hickory-handleLooks like a good pattern.>this is best hammer these days>https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Stiletto-14-oz-Titanium-Milled-Face-Hammer-with-18-in-Curved-Hickory-Handle-TI14MC/203527254I would consider one if I could do so at my own pace finding one displayed in the open.>>2993286Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.
>>2993374have an outside miter going from a rake to flat ceiling, cute return though
>>2993374>my (person who exists at a time in which slavery is socially reprehensible)>Talker-type talk.sorry that i have subcontractors that i work with, do you get offended when someone calls it the master bedroom rather than the primary? and the hint i will give you about making those cuts is that making a jig completely changes the dynamic of cutting crown. and double bevel is not optional.
>>2993596>sorry that i have subcontractors that i work withI don't think that you are.>do you get offended when someone calls it the master bedroomOne should be the master of one's home. That's not a person with an employment or contractual working relationship.>double bevel is not optionalSpace it away from the fence with a 1x4 and turn it backwards.
My grandma a decade ago crashed her golf cart into the garage door. Garage door is inoperable (unrelated), though can be lifted and closed by hand and I don't care about the looks of the dents or anything like that, but after I've completely cleaned out this garage I've noticed that there is a shit ton of light coming in from that garage door at the top, and on the outside it's large enough to stick your entire hand through.How do I cover the hole to the garage to prevent (or at least limit) bug intrusion without interfering with the opening and closing of the garage door?picrel isn't my garage door, just an example of what mine also looks like from the inside due to the large gap.
>>2993429Most likely culprit is the weatherstripping has degraded, or the apron has sunk, or a combination of both. If you want to avoid slabjacking or replacing concrete, replace the weatherstripping and dial in your opener stops and forces (read the manual). May be time for a spring lube and tension. If all that fails get ready for some concrete work or just tack on a strip of wood under the existing header beam. But do check your garage door alignment first.
>>2993429If your top panel isnt sealing and its that far out of wack, check the top roller brackets.They are adjustable and they dictate how close or far the top panel rests away from the weatherstripping.Running into it hard enough can absolutely throw the top brackets out of alignment.
>>2993429Bugs are always going to find a way into a garage. You fix that to keep raccoons out.
>>2993429Looks like the poster for an A24 horror film
