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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

Gonna end up about 2.5 months behind on our house build. Demo started last October, in February the builder told us late April, date now is July 15th. I just want to move in! Also missed the best window for selling our current house, hopefully it doesn't take forever to sell. And before anyone asks, we don't want to list it while we still live there because we have 2 dogs and a 2 year old, so showings and cleaning up would be a pain in the ass.
 
Someone in my neighborhood put a full size basketball hoop - with pole, backboard, and anchor, all still assembled - out to the curb for trash pickup this morning. The trucks come after I leave for work, but if that thing is gone when I get home, I'm emptying the fuck out of my crawl space. Old doors? Curb. Broken exercise bike? Curb. Old pile of bathroom tiles? Curb.
 
Someone in my neighborhood put a full size basketball hoop - with pole, backboard, and anchor, all still assembled - out to the curb for trash pickup this morning. The trucks come after I leave for work, but if that thing is gone when I get home, I'm emptying the fuck out of my crawl space. Old doors? Curb. Broken exercise bike? Curb. Old pile of bathroom tiles? Curb.

yeah i don't get it; i know a lot of the time you're allowed 1 "bulk" item that you may or may not have to call ahead and warn them about but it seems nuts.

trash finds a way
 
Pretty sure he is just wanting someone to take it, not necessarily the garbageman. Stuff that could potentially have any value usually doesn't make it to the garbageman.
 
Just go get it and now you have a new basketball hoop
 
Put that shit on Craigslist and Nextdoor and somebody will come and get it.
 
Update: the basketball hoop is still there. I'm kind of disappointed that someone hasn't come by at midnight and tossed it into their pickup. I wonder how long it's going to sit there.
 
So, I finally had a chance to use my EGO 16" chainsaw this weekend. I got the set that included the 5.0 battery. We had two smallish trees break about 10' up; both about 12" in diameter. The saw had no issues cutting or lack of power. I delimbed and cut up both trees and never needed to switch out the battery; probably an hour of cutting time altogether.

Really loved how light and quiet it is. Light enough that some guys could maybe use it one handed in a pinch, especially with a smaller battery.

If you're doing quick stuff every now and then I see no reason to have a gas powered model, especially if you have other EGO products and have extra batteries for back up.
 
So, I finally had a chance to use my EGO 16" chainsaw this weekend. I got the set that included the 5.0 battery. We had two smallish trees break about 10' up; both about 12" in diameter. The saw had no issues cutting or lack of power. I delimbed and cut up both trees and never needed to switch out the battery; probably an hour of cutting time altogether.

Really loved how light and quiet it is. Light enough that some guys could maybe use it one handed in a pinch, especially with a smaller battery.

If you're doing quick stuff every now and then I see no reason to have a gas powered model, especially if you have other EGO products and have extra batteries for back up.

Good information. Thanks for the update on the electrics. The battery powered stuff is getting better as the batteries get better.

ETA:

Cell phone battery and electric car battery manufacturers are pushing improved battery life and power per unit weight. All the other products are benefitting from their developmental work.
 
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I persevere over the dumbest shit. Currently trying to decide between Shermin Williams "creamy" versus "dover white" for trim with our "agreeable gray" walls. They are almost the same damn color.

Anybody have strong opinions on ceiling paint? We are just planning for a flat white. Our painters told us they usually use CHB, but the color consultant said it can look a little dirty because of the clay, and recommended ProMar 200 instead.
 
Things that should be simple to adjust/install, but are actually a pain in the ass: door knobs.

Fuck you, door knobs.
 
Things that should be simple to adjust/install, but are actually a pain in the ass: door knobs.

Fuck you, door knobs.

Sometimes it is the knob. Sometimes it is the strike plate. Sometimes it is the door. All can need adjusting. Strike plate is the easiest to move.

What is your issue with the doorknobs? Latch won't keep the door closed?
 
Round knob + flat face plate = pain in the ass to get the screwdriver to the head of the screw. Also, whatever jag-off built my house apparently didn't know the standard size for a knob hole in a door.

I know, I know, I should've just built my own house. Fuck me, right?

On the bright side, aged bronze is tits. Much better than that drug store brass that was there when we moved in.
 
Reciprocating saw with a super coarse (3 TPI) blade works well for trimming those in between size branches. Those too big for loppers but very small for chain saw. Stuff in the 1-3 inch size.
 
So I have a wooden back deck that is slowly rotting out from under me. Its fairly big at 400 sq ft. The 1st contractor out said he doesn't do wood as there is no guarantee on wood and that he only did Trex like decks. I said sure go ahead and quote it but quote a mid range alternative to Trex. He did and the quote came back at 24K. I am not totally against going this way but wanted to ask the Pit what some of your experiences are with replacing decks. I figure to be in the house another 20-25 years barring unexpected consequences. Will a wooden deck if taken care of last this long? If I had to sell is either going to get me my money back?
 
So I have a wooden back deck that is slowly rotting out from under me. Its fairly big at 400 sq ft. The 1st contractor out said he doesn't do wood as there is no guarantee on wood and that he only did Trex like decks. I said sure go ahead and quote it but quote a mid range alternative to Trex. He did and the quote came back at 24K. I am not totally against going this way but wanted to ask the Pit what some of your experiences are with replacing decks. I figure to be in the house another 20-25 years barring unexpected consequences. Will a wooden deck if taken care of last this long? If I had to sell is either going to get me my money back?


Some thoughts for you.

Trex and all the composites get much hotter than wood in the sun. I mean uncomfortable to walk on in bare feet hot. OTOH, no splinter risk from composite.
Trex is about 3x the cost of premium PT pine.
Manufacturers of composite decking recommend their own fancy, expensive fasteners, instead of nails or screws.

For longer life, use screws, not nails. Wood tends to shrink as it ages and dries, loosening the nails. rarely does it shrink enough to loosen screws. If screws do get loose, a quick turn with a screwdriver will tighten things up again.

And pay the premium for stainless steel screws. You can thank me in five years for not having rust spots on the deck.

Wood can last a long time. BUT you have to do continual maintenance on it. That means cleaning and restaining/resealing the wood every few years. How long between depends upon the sun exposure your deck gets.

Pressure washing, particularly with higher pressure (3000 Psi) systems can destroy decks. Water at that pressure can actually remove wood fibers from your boards, just like sanding would. Better to use the cheaper, lower pressure washers, use a wide angle nozzle and keep the nozzle up high.

How old is the support structure for the deck? What kind of shape is it in? The condition of the underneath support stuff may be a big factor in getting another 20+ years of life out of the deck.

Pay particular attention to the posts holding up the deck where they meet the ground. Are they directly in the ground, encased in concrete in the ground or on plinths on concrete footers? Posts tend to rot near the air/ground interface because molds and fungi get what they need - oxygen from the air and water from the ground. If your posts are in concrete in the ground, don't let dirt, weeds etc. collect on top of the concrete. keep that area clear.
 
So I have a wooden back deck that is slowly rotting out from under me. Its fairly big at 400 sq ft. The 1st contractor out said he doesn't do wood as there is no guarantee on wood and that he only did Trex like decks. I said sure go ahead and quote it but quote a mid range alternative to Trex. He did and the quote came back at 24K. I am not totally against going this way but wanted to ask the Pit what some of your experiences are with replacing decks. I figure to be in the house another 20-25 years barring unexpected consequences. Will a wooden deck if taken care of last this long? If I had to sell is either going to get me my money back?

Is it one level and square? You could DIY a 400sq ft deck with Trex for under 10k easily, maybe $5k really if you didn't get fancy with railings and steps.
 
Is it one level and square? You could DIY a 400sq ft deck with Trex for under 10k easily, maybe $5k really if you didn't get fancy with railings and steps.

One price for Trex I saw was $56 per board for 1x6x20. For a 400 square foot deck, that would be at least 44 boards (1x6 is actually 5.5 inches wide). Cost of boards would be almost $2500.

Fasteners are $30 for a box that will fasten 50 square feet, so add another $240.

Another thing to check: What is the joist spacing? Composites tend to sag and get soft in the heat. Need to make sure your joists are no more than 16 inches on center. Otherwise your deck will feel spongy underfoot. If yours are currently 24 inches on center, you may want to consider adding new joists to drop the spacing to 12. (Easier, but not cheaper in material than respacing all joists to 16 inches.)

ETA:

Need to add 3-4 more boards for the railing tops. If you replace the deck, gotta make the railings match. So add another $168 - $224. Still in the $3k for materials ballpark.
 
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So I have a wooden back deck that is slowly rotting out from under me. Its fairly big at 400 sq ft. The 1st contractor out said he doesn't do wood as there is no guarantee on wood and that he only did Trex like decks. I said sure go ahead and quote it but quote a mid range alternative to Trex. He did and the quote came back at 24K. I am not totally against going this way but wanted to ask the Pit what some of your experiences are with replacing decks. I figure to be in the house another 20-25 years barring unexpected consequences. Will a wooden deck if taken care of last this long? If I had to sell is either going to get me my money back?

Sounds like you need to get at least one more quote. i did a little internet research using standard Trex pricing from big box home improvement store and came up with about $3k in material cost. Either your bidder has really expensive labor or he is making a huge profit, or he has additional work not obvious from your description.
 
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