Random household issues -- questions asked and answered here

wprager wrote:

tim1_2 wrote:Anyone have any opinions on the best deck stain?

Consumer Reports says Behr Solid Stain is the best, but everything you read online contradicts this. Seems like TPW and Defy are the best products, but neither are available in stores in Canada...I can order "Defy Extreme" online, which looks like the best bet.

Thompsons, Rez, CIL, Olympic, etc, all seem to be second rate.

I assume it's a cedar deck. Former co-worker who had a woodworking side business said that he much preferred the natural grey that cedar turned (he used the term "patina"). Too bad I didn't listen to him because after spending a lot of money and time, our fence is pretty much where it would have been without spending all that time and money.

Taking to another (current) co-worker, the stuff you can get here is useless, but what you can get in the US (or online) -- possibly "Defy" that you mention -- will give you a great color that won't fade.

In any climate? I use a so-called "stain" that looks more like a paint and I would realistically have to redo it every year. As for a true stain, I wonder if the trick would be to find a really good sealant rather than be preoccupied with the stain itself?

Apparently the Defy Extreme stuff I mention is really UV resistant, and will hardly fade. My deck is half cedar and half pressure treated...thus I am going to use a semi-transparent or solid stain so it'll look pretty much uniform.

If I started from scratch, I would just go with cedar everything and not worry about it, letting it age naturally.

tim1_2 wrote:Apparently the Defy Extreme stuff I mention is really UV resistant, and will hardly fade. My deck is half cedar and half pressure treated...thus I am going to use a semi-transparent or solid stain so it'll look pretty much uniform.

If I started from scratch, I would just go with cedar everything and not worry about it, letting it age naturally.

This is all you need to know about wood stain:

Ordered the "Defy Extreme" stuff from the States. After shipping, taxes, and brokerage, I expect to pay about $300 CAD for a 5 gallon pail of the stuff.

The Behr Premium stuff at Home Depot goes for about $250 CAD (after tax) for 5 gallons.

Remind me to report back in two or three years when I find out if it was worth the cash or not.

If I did my deck all over again... it would be composite decking.

shabbs wrote:If I did my deck all over again... it would be composite decking.

Definitely, if you plan to be in your house for many years, this is absolutely worth it. My deck was already there when we moved in, and we just expanded it slightly.... When the time comes to replace it, assuming we're in the same house, we'll replace it with composite.

Need recommendations for hiring a mover for a really short-distance move: from the living room to the upstairs bedroom. Bought an elliptical and it's not in as many pieces as I'd hoped. The base part is bulky and fairly heavy, and the flywheel housing makes it very difficult to get a grip. If I had the right lifting straps or even a hand-cart I could probably manage it with my son, but he's not as strong as he could be and my back is not as good as it used to be.

Any suggestions? I tried the Kanata Kourier's "Work Wanted" section and it was nearly empty -- I guess the economy has picked up.

Big burly neighbour? Son's friends?

tim1_2 wrote:Big burly neighbour? Son's friends?

I don't think my wife wants the neighbours to see our house, the state it's in. My 15-year-old's friends aren't any stronger than he is. My 16 year old would probably die if I asked him to ask his friends. Or at least go into shock.

I moved a treadmill by myself. I disassembled it in 3 or 4 manageable pieces then re-assembled in the new location.

Number Twenty Nine wrote:I moved a treadmill by myself. I disassembled it in 3 or 4 manageable pieces then re-assembled in the new location.

This is an elliptical. It came disassembled, but they big part is still one piece. And it weighs over 150 lbs. To disassemble that part would require taking apart the fly wheel and the magnetic break mechanism. Gears, axles and ball bearings. No thanks.

tim1_2 wrote:Ordered the "Defy Extreme" stuff from the States. After shipping, taxes, and brokerage, I expect to pay about $300 CAD for a 5 gallon pail of the stuff.

The Behr Premium stuff at Home Depot goes for about $250 CAD (after tax) for 5 gallons.

Remind me to report back in two or three years when I find out if it was worth the cash or not.

Finally finished staining the deck (after stripping and cleaning it..both full day jobs by themselves). Major pain in the Donkey, but it looks pretty good now, and is repelling water like nobody's business!

My lesson learned from all of this is as follows: never stain your deck. Use a clear water sealant if you choose. Apparently Thompson's is pretty inferior stuff (it's designed to need re-application every year), but I'm not sure what other clear sealant products are out there. By not using a coloured/tinted stain, you don't need to worry about stripping stain off when you want to reapply.

wprager wrote:

Number Twenty Nine wrote:I moved a treadmill by myself.  I disassembled it in 3 or 4 manageable pieces then re-assembled in the new location.

This is an elliptical.  It came disassembled, but they big part is still one piece.  And it weighs over 150 lbs.  To disassemble that part would require taking apart the fly wheel and the magnetic break mechanism.  Gears, axles and ball bearings.  No thanks.

Just to close the loop, I ended up borrowing some straps from a friend -- just tie-down straps, nothing fancy, not even overly thick. I passed them through some openings in the base, wrapped the ends around my hands, and together with my son basically guiding the top, managed to carry the beast up the stairs, one stair at a time. Once we go to the top landing I moved it using the built-in wheels (after removing the strap, since that's where the wheels were).

Now when I stand on it my head is about 2-3" from the ceiling at the highest setting (it tilts). I figure my son's got another year or two, tops, before he has to duck when using it. The thing is surprisingly hard. I haven't been able to do any of the programs for longer than 20 minutes (I did a 30-minute workout on a manual setting). There is a book-holder which I use to prop up my laptop to watch Netflix -- I can just barely tilt it enough to be able to see properly, with the handles just barely not banging the edges of the screen (for some reason the handles curve inward quite a bit).

All in all, good purchase.

My smart TV connects to the home network but not the internet. WTF???? Help please.

I have a Thomson "doesn't let you change much" Gateway modem.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:My smart TV connects to the home network but not the internet.  WTF???? Help please.

Many reasons.
1. You are connected to the "xxx-guest" network instead of "xxx". If your modem modem supports guest access that network always connects, but then it redirects the browser to a login page. If your smart TV has a browser, try starting that one up and see if it goes to a login screen. If that's the case, then go to Network settings on your TV and change to the non-guest network.
2. Your wireless router has some kind of access control (like allowing only specifically allowed devices).
3. Your wireless router's DHCP has a limited allowed IP range and you are already maxed out (how many devices do you have on the network already?)
4. You typed in the password incorrectly.

Need more info on your TV type, screenshots of your Network configuration screens, etc.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:My smart TV connects to the home network but not the internet. WTF???? Help please.

Does your TV manual have any instructions for setting up the network connection? Can you log on your router and see the TV as one of the connected devices?

What TV do you have (model #)? Is it a wired or wireless connection?

It's a Philips (At work I don't have the model number). I can login into the router and I see the TV as an unknown device connected to the WLAN. It's a wireless connection with a USB "doggle".