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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

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.

The support structure is the main problem as the support joists (2x8's) are slowly rotting at the top causing the main boards to start to sag and the SS screws which I have now to not engage with the joists. I have 3 concrete columns underneath holding up the deck but the contractor wants to run a support beam all the way across the porch/deck for better and equal support. The quote I have does not specify how much of the Trex like material will be used but he told me it wasn't Trex but a mid range alternative. He is also quoting steps, handrails, and pickets. Basically it is the works but I still think 24K is kind of steep.

I am going to talk with 2 other contractors about quoting wood and composite and see what they have to say.

Thanks for the help guys!
 
Yeah if there are already 3 concrete columns, and they are already holding everything up so that no more footers are needed from a strength standpoint, just reinforcement with a few beams and new joists, from a cost standpoint he is way overpriced. Even with all new joists, a new beam or two, and the Trex you should be under $5k on materials. The railing and other trim work may add another $1k or $2k, but he is juicing you on labor for sure.
 
Yeah if there are already 3 concrete columns, and they are already holding everything up so that no more footers are needed from a strength standpoint, just reinforcement with a few beams and new joists, from a cost standpoint he is way overpriced. Even with all new joists, a new beam or two, and the Trex you should be under $5k on materials. The railing and other trim work may add another $1k or $2k, but he is juicing you on labor for sure.

More like lots of profit.

Sounds like a contractor who doesnt really want tje work, but for a rich enough price will do it.
 
In the throes of redoing our bathroom.
For a tub surround (no shower pan) that will be subway tiles, is it necessary to waterproof cement board (durock) with something like the mapei roll-on waterproofing? Finding conflicting information. edited to add: we are doing 4mil plastic behind the cement board.

Also, working with pex is like plumbing legos.
 
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So maybe not perfectly what this thread is for, but loosely "home improvement" so I'll go for it:

We just bought a bigger house in Apex and are going to need a good amount of new furniture. Is it worth it to go out to High Point, or is selection and pricing going to be pretty similar in Raleigh?
 
So maybe not perfectly what this thread is for, but loosely "home improvement" so I'll go for it:

We just bought a bigger house in Apex and are going to need a good amount of new furniture. Is it worth it to go out to High Point, or is selection and pricing going to be pretty similar in Raleigh?

I believe Green Front has a store in Raleigh now. Check them out. I've bought stuff from them (the original Farmville VA location) and had it shipped down to FL, and it still has been a lot cheaper than buying it down here. They carry tons of furniture lines and will custom order for you.

https://www.greenfront.com/locations/green-front-raleigh/
 
In the throes of redoing our bathroom.
For a tub surround (no shower pan) that will be subway tiles, is it necessary to waterproof cement board (durock) with something like the mapei roll-on waterproofing? Finding conflicting information. edited to add: we are doing 4mil plastic behind the cement board.

Also, working with pex is like plumbing legos.

anyone?
 

Subfloors rot silently and create a disaster. I do know that all too well and never want to re-live the experience. (Excellent contractor recognized his sub has screwed up on the original job and fixed it for me for free) Don’t know the answer to your specific question but I would alway lean toward the advice that seems like overkill when it comes to showers. For round two at our house, I went so far as to insist on rebuilding the floor with pressure treated lumber.
 
Yeah; this is just on the surround (still have normal bathtub). We have plastic vapor barrier behind the cement board, which is generally considered to be the 'waterproofing.'
I know technically cement board is not waterproof - it just doesn't really harbor moisture well. The issue would be moisture not only seeping through the shower grout, but then also through the cement board. Because it's a straight vertical surface (no built-in niche or anything), it just seems reaaaallly unlikely we'll have an issue with water hanging out on the surface long enough to be an issue.

If we were doing a niche or if we were doing a full standing shower situation, absolutely we'd be waterproofing (actually we would have just used a kurdi board system).
 
Think you will probably be alright. I know my guest shower was done incorrectly but it gets so little use that I don’t worry about it.

On the other hand, some things that seem impossible to leak will still find a way to fail. I am refurbishing a boat at the moment and discovered last week that some hairline cracks had developed in the hull. Only discovered because some rain got it in while it was on the trailer. Rain seeped to these nearly invisible cracks. Actually a pretty easy fix with some fiberglass but I would have never imagined leaks in a hull designed to float.
 
anyone have a Ring alarm? on sale for Prime Day and wondering if the low price is worth it or if Simplisafe is the way to go.
 
Replaced the after filtration system in our refrigerator on a Friday.

I’m mildly concerned this will end up like the episode of Mad Men where Pete tried to fix a leaky faucet.
 
Replaced the after filtration system in our refrigerator on a Friday.

I’m mildly concerned this will end up like the episode of Mad Men where Pete tried to fix a leaky faucet.

Well, you have a few days until Friday.

A few more details on what your project involves would be helpful if you want some opinions or thoughts.
 
Hey everyone, moving sucks! Can anyone assure me that a well rated and highly recommended moving company will do a decent (if not super organized) job of packing all of the crap I haven't gotten to finish packing myself? They'll be packing our entire kitchen (cause F doing that myself), but there's a lot of other stuff left too.

On a happier related note, our house is finally done and we're moving in our Wednesday! This pic is a couple weeks old.

65P0ibCFSoVrMKkcXuIiPkVSV9g7pA1O-q0ISvFSihRPblyAFgWGkPoCrkgPBr8LPlB-RcJCoYq9MDgPW3iwAx-8SD_ptC0qeYg-Noa64eNQo_3MeC-eOEgnU_yWALjAYYgMyVORbm81qhNd1WbsByJ-HHvyIBkL8jhqqMKPBbXQWID9S3c3_jvz2bNYr4ZU0xQ_FWLsOOr3yxIuHrrzE23oY9Qj9Sf4nEbINJBSGo_LiBgxuN4NZEjfpEUR2EBd9g0AMXnHkIDKUMwGUDzU2ETrczG6QteOhyQpqC6z2UIsDXCjICnC-PTwmd18Fx5X6sVx81UmKVHFz91td5w0t5NCOYq1IPV6RH1CH-fyijw1BMETfm-QO6UmuJYKBfjIH38hhvoiLmRwUc2C6MCHrWtapBWgAewdOfCGHNixROFij1xcUXKdti8-F1lG5wJ8C8nFOKpMp8MyYTZJoWO0V3fG-KYAQ6auo8ESi4s4lh5je0cs3Xsf0Y8cLcJNS3kiWE5lEYhRZMIJ5aUN75mXKMfLmiP1wIWjTPOsUXEvNSVKrUBAbVOoGVnpsSeKssfknxW__OxqFM1E3RiREH40t4ONg4latEtZgaRg1-hwKdrPDJ2B9idC5RnvYT6AlfM7_qhiiGQs8HmAsLwrgrixUQXe01y02OE=w1204-h903-no
 
Well, you have a few days until Friday.

A few more details on what your project involves would be helpful if you want some opinions or thoughts.

Meant it was done on Friday. It wasn’t super complicated. Just detached the water hoses from the input to the filtration system and filtration system to the water and ice machine. Removed the filtration system and put in the new one and reattached the water hoses then cleared the lines.
 
Speaking of refrigerators, my inlaws got a new "smart fridge" a few weeks ago from Lowes, it basically has an ipad on it. Lowes delivers it and plugs it in, the freezer is set to 0 and fridge is set to 34. They load it up with the food from the old fridge and go about their day. Two days later they go to get something from the freezer and it isn't frozen. Had to dump the whole freezer's worth of food. Apparently, even though the freezer temp read 0 on the display screen, nobody ran the fridge through "activation mode" to actually fully turn it on, so it was in some middle ground cooling mode for 2 days and not really doing anything. Lowes of course denies any liability for not setting it up right. Some basic things really have no need for significant computer integration. Like the stupid autostop things in cars now. Why the hell do I need to turn my car off for 20 seconds at a stoplight before it coming back on? So I can save an aggregate of $6 a year on gas for the pleasure of dropping $800 on a new starter after 5 years because it wears out exponentially faster than it normally would?
 
Speaking of refrigerators, my inlaws got a new "smart fridge" a few weeks ago from Lowes, it basically has an ipad on it. Lowes delivers it and plugs it in, the freezer is set to 0 and fridge is set to 34. They load it up with the food from the old fridge and go about their day. Two days later they go to get something from the freezer and it isn't frozen. Had to dump the whole freezer's worth of food. Apparently, even though the freezer temp read 0 on the display screen, nobody ran the fridge through "activation mode" to actually fully turn it on, so it was in some middle ground cooling mode for 2 days and not really doing anything. Lowes of course denies any liability for not setting it up right. Some basic things really have no need for significant computer integration. Like the stupid autostop things in cars now. Why the hell do I need to turn my car off for 20 seconds at a stoplight before it coming back on? So I can save an aggregate of $6 a year on gas for the pleasure of dropping $800 on a new starter after 5 years because it wears out exponentially faster than it normally would?

Not so green of you, dood
 
Meant it was done on Friday. It wasn’t super complicated. Just detached the water hoses from the input to the filtration system and filtration system to the water and ice machine. Removed the filtration system and put in the new one and reattached the water hoses then cleared the lines.

Sounds good.

As a precaution, and part of clearing up the system, depending on what you have, you might want to dump the first batch of ice made.
 
In the throes of redoing our bathroom.
For a tub surround (no shower pan) that will be subway tiles, is it necessary to waterproof cement board (durock) with something like the mapei roll-on waterproofing? Finding conflicting information. edited to add: we are doing 4mil plastic behind the cement board.

Also, working with pex is like plumbing legos.

Apparently our shower pan is leaking because water came through the ceiling in the garage last night. According to the plumber we can fix it but the whole shower was installed incorrectly so we probably need to redo the whole thing.

I’m pretty sure this was a DIY job.
 
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