What home improvement work did you do today?

Yeah, I am truly not in love with the whole thing. The new work boxes are fixed in properly, the back wiring is messy, the circuits are tripping.... Its all crap. Which is why I am willing to bow out and hire someone. Its not necessarily hard work, but it will be a time sync. The flipper definitely took some short cuts.

 

when I read this I nearly died laughing because you had mentioned Branson and the first thing I thought of was this movie "She's out of my league" and Branson is a big to do vacation place they go to,anyway, funny ass movie with this Hottie Alice Eve if you wanna watch a funny mindless movie I highly recommend it.
Ok sorry carry on boyz!

 

Another look at the pictures and I think this may be a simple fix. I see the boxes are held in place by screws on their right side. Guess what's also in close proximity, especially to the bottom screw?...The black (hot) conductor screw terminal. They could potentially be touching (or close enough to cause an arc) with the receptacle pushed into the box. Try resetting the GFCIs with them outside of their boxes. If they reset, wrap the receptacle terminals with electrical tape prior to putting the receptacles back into their boxes. And yes, wrapping a receptacle with electrical tape is perfectly legal despite what others may say.

 

Great catch, I saw the same thing and for some reason didnt test them out of the box. The internal one I wrapped in tape, but since I couldnt fix the outside ones, I didnt. That is a great call out.

 

I mulled over whether to say the same, grappled whether folks thought I was being petty. I know a lot of people don't want to bend and tie, amongst other things. My Dad is no different. Good call

Purely speaking anecdotally, I've seen it happen twice in houses I've lived in. Most recently, about 10yr ago, we decided to overhaul the kids' (/guest) bath. That circuit tuns from the basement panel, through the subfloor to GFCI in the half-bath on the main floor, then up through the floor to feed an outlet in that bathroom. Contractor was a friend of my MIL's who actually does really solid work, I walked him thru the circuit for exactly this reason. After the last time I had similar issue (only other time in my life), I told him "maybe we should avoid using another, already protected?"

He had his sparky, who does great work also, drop a 2nd GFCI in the kids bath anyway, said it wouldn't matter. I wish I'd have paid attention to how it was wired at the receptacle, because over the following month we must've tripped the breaker every 2-4 days. The only thing hooked up to both receptacles on the new outlet were electric toothbrush chargers for the kids, two to be exact. Maybe 1a load total?

It stopped immediately after he swapped to a standard receptacle.

Full disclosure though, I'm not an electrician. Just competent enough to wire to local code, and not make egregious mistakes that would burn the house down.

 

People wouldn't think it was petty if they knew exactly what is wrong with backstabbing. It boils down to receptacle construction. In the backstab the round conductor is only being held in place by a thin piece of metal (see below). So the contact surface area is really small which isn't good in and of itself. Over time, the contact area loosens; loose connections cause arcing; arcing causes fires. I wish manufacturers would eliminate backstabs altogether. However, manufacturers have come out with "lever style connections like those found on Wago splices. Quick and easy, but they cost extra $$$ for the convenience.

 

It's a good PSA for this thread.

My take is: If it'll wiggle out, it's probably not a good connection. That's true for me with push-in vs. screw-in, push-in vs. wire nuts, wire nuts vs. splices, solder vs. crimp, etc.

I've pulled my fair share of push-ins to re-secure them in the houses I've lived. Right now, everything in my house is push-in absent.

 

I was out back under the shed looking for a good piece of scrap for something and I noticed wood splinter chips on the ground. Looked up and saw this.



Carpenter bee tunnels that had been busted out.



Last year I sprayed the wood with an insecticide to keep the bees out, guess I'm late this year. I think I need PM plan on when to do things.

I have never seen this before, my guess is a wood pecker pecked out the bee larva? I know I should fill it in with something but what? Sprayfoam?

P.S. I have a pile of scrap wood out there but nooo, they go after the stuff in use.

 

I don’t necessarily hate on push ins but I do try to ensure pass through for daisy chain is on the same side (avoid current through that small tab) or ideally wire nutted with a pigtail to the receptacle.

Even screw down terminals can be undertorqued.

I never feel guilty replacing receptacles at 10+ years. It’s a little bit of trash for good peace of mind. They should have a lifespan like a roof really.

The commercial grade stuff though, man it’s nice. Really feels like it’ll go 100 years without any trouble.

 

Used motor oil works well to deter them and should stop anything else from trying to build there.

 

Carpenter bees.

Only thing you can do worse than plugging the hole is to ignore it, or do something to it that drives them elsewhere to make another hole. They'll eat into anything that's not PT, and even eat into PT after it's sat for a year or two. If you do nothing, they'll turn wood into swiss cheese, a safety risk. Like "wood cancer", rust on a automotbile frame.

Instead, use the holes to your advantage, as a murder honeypot. Get a bulb applicator. Get a bag of diatomaceous earth, which is totally safe for animals and humans, you can even eat the shit if you want to, some add it to their diet to kill parasites. It won't screw with you, but heavily dusted into the holes, as they crawl into it, it will shred their exoskeletons and they'll die a slow and painful death. when the eggs hatch up in the hole and the young bees try coming out, they'll shred their exoskeletons to death also. They won't bore as many new holes if holes already exist, as multiple carpenter bees tend to use bores year in and year out, you'll notice populations decline in halves (in my experience) throughout the years. Retreat the holes yearly, and you're golden.

If they're eating there, they'll also hit the eaves and other places on the sunny side(s) of your house. I also find them in fence posts and decking, typically on the underside of horizontal boards, or boring up at an angle into posts.

Here's the bag of DE I'm typically using (and an alternate brand), and the bulb setup. Hardest part is getting the DE into the bulb. While it's edible, DO NOT inhale it, it is an irritant!

$35 DiatomaceousEarth 10 LBS Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth - 100% Organic All Natural Diamateous Powder - Diametaceous for Humans is Safe Around Children

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00025H2PY?ie=UTF8

$15 HARRIS Diatomaceous Earth Food Grade, 4lb with Powder Duster Included in The Bag

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072J8Z28F?ie=UTF8

$12 Sbestily Bug Treatment Powder Duster/Large Diatomaceous Earth Bulb Duster/Powder Applicator/Garden Applicator/Bulb with Long Copper Tube for Indoor and Outdoor Insect Treatment Blue

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RCFRBX2?ie=UTF8


PS - DE also works to kill bedbugs. I know some people will sprinkle it on their beds to kill the little bastards.

 

@shifty` I get what you're saying and I have prevented them in the past, I just didn't do it soon enough this season.

What I have never seen is something, (woodpecker maybe?) chopping at the wood to get to the larvae.

 

This may sound silly, but do you get time to just be outside with nothing going on?

I ask, because I havent seen one on the new property yet. When I walk around outside and just remain in awe that I actually have this life.. I hear the little bastard off in the distance hammering out trees. When I am working outside, i never hear him.

 

I haven't seen such a perfect slot like that from a pecker. I've stuck my pecker in a few slots before, but never in wood or metal. My wood never looked like that wood, either.

But yeah, I've never seen anything like that, and I hope I never see it on my house. I assumed you used a wood chisel or a router to make that rectangular hole. You telling me you didn't?

PS/EDIT: I'd tend to that by cutting a filler piece, and wood gluing it into place, hammering it in, and brad-nailing it to hold it in place

 

Correct, I did not open these up. Something hungry for carpenter bee larvae opened this stuff up.

Good stuff regarding gluing some stuff in. will do that.

 

I have never seen anything like that before. Can you close off all the open areas with screen to prevent their access? Wrt the exist holes, I’d try and clean them out as much as possible and fill in with a structural epoxy to get strength back.

 

I probably could but I really don't want to, it's just an open air lean-to to cover up some yard hardware and my compressor. I need to be more diligent in preventing these buggers from drilling into my wood.
Been googling, some folks on reddit report the same thing, birds getting after the bee larvae. well at least they take care of the bees...now to find something to kill the moles!

 

Bug service will charge you $150 to lace the holes. For roughly $30 you can do it yourself.

Whatever you do, don't plug the holes that are there, other than the big square one of course. Boobytrap the holes with dust. If you fill them, they'll just make more. Consider the ones already there as "lesson learned".

 

yep, I need to spray what I got now, make mental note to spray sooner next year.
You'd think with the Cicadas like they are the birds would be feasting on them. I saw a mockingbird snatch one out of the air the other day, nice job!

 

Would you recommend 0w20 or 5w30? And how often would you recommend changing it?

 

That's the best part about dusting ... you don't need to be ahead of the ball. The dust stays up in the hole and will continue working for a couple of years. When you start to see bees flying around, or sawdust on the ground, treat that as a reminder, "ah hell, I should update the dust again..."

 

Wait until dark then fill the hole with axle grease. They get that on them and can no longer fly.

 

I dunno, I think having them die from slicing their exosekeleton to shreds on DE dust so much more satisfying. But maybe I'm just a sadist when it comes to carpenter bees.

I'm also convinced those little bastards talk, too. I bet once they notice, they'll abandon.

 

Today was a victorious day. I got flustered with not being able to solve my outlet issue, so I grabbed my tester and went to looking. turns out, this house is all f'd up with wiring, but i pulled and tighened outdoor outlet 3 and it fired right up and works. Pulled outlet 2 and just left it unhooked, no power, but out of the way. Went back to outlet one (the one that had the loose white wire) and snugged it all back up. Pulled the inside the hallway plug and found this...



So i made the corrections and went to test the outlets. All of them fired back up, but outside 2. Any guesses on why it didnt work?



cleaned out the boxes and put in a new GFCI.

All outlets are working now and i found out which ones are in a series together and their breakers. The layout is stupid, but i at least know it know.

Wife is happy, I am freshly showered and relaxed now.

Next up, tear more of the deck out and then get some sealant to cover the edges of the home in before I take a trip to SD.

 

1 repair and 2 purchases.

Drained my spa partially to make a repair to the mortar that was cracked and missing which was allowing water to get behind the walls. I used rapidset on a 95 degree day. First two buckets hardened too fast. Finally made it a little soupier and got into the spa to get eye level. Repaired the mortar by hand.

Purchased two robots. One for floors and walls and the other to skim the surface. These little bastards are heroes.

 

Can you message me some details on the robots you went with? Our pool is almost complete and I'm starting to do my research on them. Appreciate you!

 

This would be worth a try.
https://youtube.com/shorts/ZkTk0ZkvMnQ?si=ONCaOM0ccc2YfIMh

 

Knowing my luck it will attract hornets..

 

Was able to get an old flag pole base dug out and the stump to the tree i cut down from the front of the house. I am always surprised about how far roots go and the various directions... But, good and productive day today.