OT: Home Repair Puzzle

[DerbyDad03]

The last time I checked, dry ice "melted" just as unevenly as the wet stuff.

Keep in mind that the main problem with the project is that the hole is the exact same size as the slab, so the slab has to be lowered down with the edges of the slab perfectly parallel to the sides of the hole.

If the ice, wet or dry, melts faster on one end (or side) than on the other, that end (or side) is going to go in at an angle and the slab will become wedged part way down into the hole.

One of 2 things would have to exist for ice (wet or dry) to work:

Either:

Your ice *and* your slab would have to be perfectly flat and of perfectly even density so that the ice melted perfectly evenly...

or

Any variation in the density of the slab that caused it to be heavier in some spots than in others would have to compensated for in the density/height of the ice. Since pressure creates heat, a heavier portion of the slab is going to cause the ice to melt faster in that area than in others.

Good luck in either of those situations.

[cshenk]

"Pavel314" wrote

He put it flat on the floor infront of the hole and shimmy'ed it in place

[cshenk]

"stan" wrote

That was my other idea ;-)

[Cliff Hartle]

The answer is ice and this was on their show a few years ago. I got it right back then too.

[HeyBub]

Imagine:

• Four (or more) smallish holes in the floor.

• Dowels inserted into the holes and rest on a same size hunk of thick plywood in the basement.

• The plywood rests on a big honkin' hunk of dry ice or a pneumatic bottle jack.

• The slab is carfully positioned on the dowels and the whole thing slowly lowered into place

Lest the purist says "Nobody has a bottle jack in their kitchen!" I say "How do you sweep under the fridge?"

[Ed Pawlowski]

And then there's the issue of the subfloor swelling from the moisture and possibly lifting the slab.

*************************************************

All of that is true, but this is a theoretical puzzle. In real life, he'd have some clearance for expansion/contraction also. And the 175# slab would not break if dropped 3/4" either.

[DerbyDad03]

re: this is a theoretical puzzle...

...and therefore the answer should be theoretically viable.

If ice melting in a perfectly consistent manner so as to lower the slab perfectly straight down is theoretically possible, so then is 4 people holding the slab perfectly centered over the hole and dropping it at the perfectly same moment so that it lands perfectly flat in the hole, causing no more stress on any part of the slab than another - in other words...without cracking.

Good luck with either of those theoretically possible solutions.

"In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not."

[JIMMIE]

Plastic wrap may not be strong enough but there are some garbage bags that are.

Jimmie

[The Daring Dufas]

I had another thought besides ice. If he filled the cavity with vegetable oil and covered it with towels before sliding it into place, the hydraulic action of the oil being displaced could keep it from slamming down.

TDD

[Ashton Crusher]

This is WAY too easy. Ice.

[Raymond J. Johnson, Jr.]

If that were the case, it would be impossible for the slab to fit in the hole.

[Red Green]

Pavel314 wrote in news:f577cd9e-609c-4900-b1db- [e-mail]:

I just caught this and have not read through the replies - really. Since you said kitchen, my initial thought was ice and let it melt.

TIme to read and see how I did.

[Colbyt]

Don't think the answer was ever posted in this thread. Ice was the correct answer on the web site.

[Red Green]

"Colbyt" wrote in news:V8-dneY19bLHTwTXnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Correct answer. Great! It's a crock of shit though. But I like the Tappet Bros.