Questions tagged [outdoor]
For questions generally relating to exterior spaces of property, including yard maintenance, pest and weed control, exterior home maintenance, etc. Questions which deal mainly with gardening and aesthetic landscaping will be migrated to the Gardening and Landscaping SE.
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Why are my Outdoor Outlets not GFCI? [closed]
Few years back, I asked this question: Why don't I have ground wiring on any of my outlets?
Apparently the reason I didn't see any grounding wires, was because the entire house was installed with ...
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How should I fasten lowered stair stringers to my deck landing?
I have a small landing and set of stairs that need to be built in a fairly small space up to our garage pad.
I have a limited area to work with so the landing serves as the first step down in order to ...
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Will this mounting plate work when it’s higher than the electrical box?
I’m trying to install a new outdoor light. The old one they had cut the actual sides of the fixture to for it to fit flush on the siding. When I got a mounting block to try, in order for it to be ...
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How to correctly paint deck?
Live in Michigan. Have a large deck needed to be re-painted black. Last year I painted it and it is already peeling everywhere. Starting from step 1- prep- to last step - sealing - how do I do this ...
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How do I get my third PIR yard light to work?
I already had 3 outdoor lights on my property, which I am changing to PIR sensor lights. Yesterday, I changed the two at the end of the run and all worked great. This morning I changed the last light ...
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Can 2-4x4x8 wood posts be stacked?
Trying to get a basketball goal set up. Can’t find anywhere that sells metal posts for this. There are however wood posts. We got 2-4x4x8 for a total of 16’. 4’ of which will be cemented in ground. ...
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How will a rutted farm road get worse if it is not repaired?
On a vacant lot in the northeast US, used for haying in the past, myself and a few other people started different farming projects on it. It is very wet and had an especially wet year in the past. ...
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For a rutted farm road, what is needed to fix it and how much worse would it get? [closed]
On a vacant lot in the northeast US, used for haying in the past, myself and a few other people started different farming projects on it. It is very wet and had an especially wet year in the past. ...
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Flooring covering for a bitumen balcony
Hello I have wood balcony that I made by making my first floor longer then my second floor, so basically my balcony is unfinished uncovered part of my second floor and fenced all around. In any case, ...
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Outdoor circuit loses power - breaker does not trip, other lights in circuit keep working
I've moved into a new house and I'm replacing old motion sensors with ring floodlights. I'm not an electrician, but handy, and I've done plenty of DIY research thanks to this site so I felt confident ...
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can isopropyl alcohol dissolve powder coat?
I have new outdoor furniture that is metal frame & wooden body. The metal frame is painted black, using powder coat I think. I was applying wood protector on the wood parts, and it stained the ...
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Best practice to renovate wrought iron?
My outdoor wrought iron railings have been painted more than 10 times over 40 years. I now want to remove the old paint and apply high quality glossy black paint to last multiple decades, if possible, ...
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Retaining wall on top of concrete AND next to fence
I have an outdoor area which is currently pebbled and retained next to a fence. I plan on removing the pebbles and turfing, and am also considering planting a green hedge because I don't like the look ...
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Ring floodlight camera won't connect to wifi
I purchased four of the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Plus to install around my house. I got the new electrical wiring installed to one of the floodlights and it powers on just fine. Going through the ...
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How to seal pivoted doors?
When a pivoted door is closed, how to ensure that it is sealed around all its edges so that outdoor dust doesn't get inside, and we maximise noise isolation?
This:
was a pivoted door, at least at ...
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How to secure an outdoor 1" PVC 3ft long watering riser pipe?
How can I secure a ~3ft 1" white PVC pipe riser from getting snapped off?
Riser presently is 6ft up and capped.
I plan to add right angle elbow, valve, and spout (standard lawn house threaded).
...
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Anti-slip (ice, water) mat for outdoor stair treads?
I used composite decking to build my stair treads and it gets slippery, especially when water freezes over during winter. I need five of something that is 6' long and 6" deep to provide traction.
...
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Why does an remote indoor switch control a outdoor power outlet
I moved in a house and found it very odd that an outdoor outlet is controlled by an indoor switch that is quite far from it. There are two switches in the picture, one controls lights on the deck, the ...
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Exterior surface mount outlet w/ conduit through soffit
I'm looking into mounting a TV on my patio on the exterior wall of my brick home. Only problem is, the best place for it is the exterior of a masonry fireplace/chimney, so I can't drill through the ...
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Stair lighting going down to lake
I purchased a home 25 years old on a lake bluff. Some of the stair way light fixtures going down to the lake need replaced (3 of the 5). I couldn't get a picture attached. There is a metal housing ...
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reversibly adhere steel parts (outdoors)
I bought a rain gauge for the garden. It consists of a long steel stick and an upper part that holds the jar. The upper part is merely put on top; there is no screw thread or anything to stick both ...
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Best way to create and attach an outdoor kitchen wall to a cinder block wall/fence
I have an area that is designated to be an outdoor kitchen along our cinder block fence. The length is 15.5 feet and the height will be a little shorter than 8ft. The wall itself is nearly 6ft. So I'm ...
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Keep bugs out of laser-cut panel?
In order to hide the electrical boxes, I want to put a vertical divider between my grill & my house, and because of the grill it needs to be heat-tolerant, so I'm building a wall out of metal ...
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Pergola Material for Desert Climate
I'm building a roughly 12'x12' pergola on a concrete slab in my backyard in Las Vegas. Planning on attaching to house via ledger board. 6x6 posts will be set on metal post bases attached to concrete ...
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Hot and cold 1/2 pex, straight run for outdoor shower, pvc 1.25 is that too narrow for both runs.?
Outdoor hot and cold faucets, idea was to attach 1/2 pex to faucets and run through 1 1/2 pvc piping about 12" under ground for an Outdoor sbower, before pavers are installed. Both pex lines ...
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Can you run too big of a water pipe from the main?
I am putting in new irrigation and supply lines for my remodeled backyard and I've done my homework on water pipe sizing, but I'm left wondering if I'm installing too big of a pipe onto the main. The ...
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Fenomastic Mat on Jotashield Tex Ultra on powder-coated aluminium?
Context. Hot, humid, and sunny outdoor climate.
Input. Large shiny powder-coated aluminium panels with some dents in them. This shiny finish makes the dents very visible. The dents are not removable ...
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Does oil-based paint over powder-coated aluminium benefit from any treatment to reduce bubbles and increase outdoor durability?
I have aluminium panels that are powder-coated, and I plan to paint over it with a roller using some oil-based paint. My questions are:
Q1. Does it matter that what's under the powder-coat is ...
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How much can the topmost segment of a stair stringer be reduced without compromising strength?
Let me try this a different way.
My question is about the 2x12 stringer and if there are certain dimensions I need to keep in mind to not undermine the structural integrity of the wood.
Using the ...
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Bistro chair cushion fix/replace?
I have a pair of bistro chairs that are metal with a wire frame and have round seats. The cushions are wood (I believe) topped with foam. The seat frame is completely empty, with just a thin rim ...
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How can I remove corrosion between aluminum and brass?
I am replacing the gas springs on my outdoor sun blinds, and have difficulty removing brass pins holding an aluminum lever. The sun blinds are about 16 years old and there is white corrosion visible. ...
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how should I handle this into-the-wall section of the refrigerant pipe insulation?
I had my first insulation replacement. The section that went into the wall was such a tight space; I didn't believe I could wrap my new insulation around it. How was the old insulation so much thinner?...
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Outdoor kitchen on sloped patio
I am building an outdoor kitchen using standard 8"x8"x16" concrete blocks on a concrete patio which slopes away from the house. The length of kitchen is 120" and the slope of the ...
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What ways are there to paint aluminium panels for outdoor use?
I only know of powder coating as a method of applying the final paint. My questions are:
What are other options of painting aluminum panels (e.g. aluminum gate) for outdoor use?
How do they compare ...
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Ways to Hide Outdoor Wire box for Outdoor Wall Light
The lights outside the garage are mounted on top of the wire box. It doesn't look great and also allows for water behind the lights.
What would be some good options for solving this? Putting ...
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How to attach this wooden beam to concrete blocks
I want to attach a wooden beam to a hollow concrete block to use as one side of a washing line.
How should I do that?
Are there any attachments or fixings that I should use?
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Easy way to repair romex that shorted/severed at top of outdoor brick pillar?
See image below. This is a 3ft brick pillar at the street in a house I just bought. It was built around 20 years ago. A few weeks after moving in, the breaker for this circuit flipped. Found the cause ...
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How do I make a pink-powdered-sand grout to seal outdoor stone patio?
I brought back some pink powdered sand from a recent vacation. I want to use it to grout and seal a stone patio I laid at the bottom of an outdoor stairwell with a drain. How should/can I do this?
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Rain Gets on Outdoor Prong
Just to be clear, this is about the prong, not the outlet!
Today I set up an outdoor fountain and plugged it into an outdoor extension cord to reach the outdoor outlet I have. When I went back inside,...
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Are LED Light strip that comes with plug ac when wire stripped?
I have Govee weatherproof LED strips from Amazon, and I want to use my low voltage transformer 12/15v. I have no experience with installing these but would like to learn since this is low voltage and ...
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Running PVC water pipe to 2nd floor balcony
I want to run a simple water line outside from my faucet to my 2nd floor balcony so I can easily water my plants. It’s not a very long distance, but I’m wondering what my best options are. Here are ...
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How to hang lights from vinyl siding?
I have a couple of townhomes that I want to run some industrial outdoor string lighting - thick gauge. The problem is there is nothing except the house to hang these from. As I get into the yard I ...
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Always using gray 14/2 outdoor electric cable... indoors and out
I know that gray, UF-B outdoor 14/2 electrical cable can be used both outdoors and indoors for permanent installations in Michigan.
Why isn't the outdoor cable ALWAYS used for ALL 15amp indoor wiring ...
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How do you securely attach bird spikes to a second floor metal railing without causing damage (to the railing)?
We bought a thirty year old home in southern California in the desert and are trying to figure out how to deter pigeons from perching on our house and pooping everywhere. They're actually mourning ...
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Is 14g stranded wire a bad choice for outdoor electrical outlets in the dry desert?
I recently went to a big box store and asked for help to extend power to my front yard. I installed a total of three outdoor rated electrical outlets with the cover plate that covers the entire area. ...
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Outdoor wiring - multiple GFCI and trips
I recently moved into a house that has multiple outdoor outlets eventually feeding an outdoor lighting transformer and a small waterfall pump. There is an outlet on the interior of the house first ...
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Are these cracks on the stone wall with a water tank on top serious?
First of all, english isn’t my main language and I lack the vocabulary to describe the issue, types of walls/cracks, I’ll attach images instead. Basically the housing complex was built on a cliff like ...
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Outdoor LED strip enclosure that aims light towards the floor?
Most LED strip enclosures (e.g. for mounting under stair risers or cabinets) direct the light in the opposite direction from the mounting surface. But I'm looking to direct light towards the surface ...
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Wiring a 100 Amp Transfer Switch to main panel
I have a 100-Amp 240-Volt Outdoor Non-Fused Transfer Switch and would like to wire it to the main panel outside. My main panel has 3 breakers (Oven [25 Amp], A/C [50 Amp], & House [100 Amp]) my ...
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Voltage detected in hot tub
Thank you in advance for help with this mystery.
We detected a voltage in our hot tub, my wife detected a small shock.
My multimeter detects between 9-11v. The unit has a 10ma rcd which doesn’t trip. ...
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