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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

Another similar looking system, but with the router mounted on the left. Love the craftsmanship on this one.

phils-work-station-1-650x297.jpg


Fence will be something like this. Much cheaper than buying a high end fence system. I can buy a digital readout that will measure distance from the saw blade to use for fine measurements fo=r about $50.
P1120043.JPG
 
Liquid Karma said:
Another similar looking system, but with the router mounted on the left. Love the craftsmanship on this one.

Fence will be something like this. Much cheaper than buying a high end fence system. I can buy a digital readout that will measure distance from the saw blade to use for fine measurements fo=r about $50.
P1120043.JPG
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LK, Those are awesome goals to shoot for, and from what you have shown before, likely to happen. I'll be looking to do something similar in the next year or two, when I relocate out of my house with basement and no garage to one with no basement, no steps, but will have a garage. I'll be needing to make work space for my radial arm saw, table saw, radial arm drill press and router, as well as storage for the collection of smaller tools (drills and bits, saws etc.

Questions: 1. Not sure I've ever seen that shape of aluminum(?) stock. Where do you find the fence material and the lock down for your rip fence?
2. What digital readout system are you thinking about, and where will you get it?
3. Do you have a crosscut sled for you table saw? If so, did you buy it or make it yourself?
 
If anyone happens to care regarding my previous question on floors, we're going with an espresso finish. The sample they did looks pretty great, I'll post the before and after (they were really light, actually pretty close to the color of the sanded floor in this image).

enA9mhA.jpg
 
We used that same finish on the loft we built for our son's bed. Looks great!
 
Deaconblue said:
LK, Those are awesome goals to shoot for, and from what you have shown before, likely to happen. I'll be looking to do something similar in the next year or two, when I relocate out of my house with basement and no garage to one with no basement, no steps, but will have a garage. I'll be needing to make work space for my radial arm saw, table saw, radial arm drill press and router, as well as storage for the collection of smaller tools (drills and bits, saws etc.

Questions: 1. Not sure I've ever seen that shape of aluminum(?) stock. Where do you find the fence material and the lock down for your rip fence?
2. What digital readout system are you thinking about, and where will you get it?
3. Do you have a crosscut sled for you table saw? If so, did you buy it or make it yourself?
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1 - http://www.8020.net/ - They sell all kinds of accessories with it. The bearings and brake are something you can order from them. The whole setup can be purchased and built for under $200, which is significantly less than I'd be looking at for a legit commercial fence (close to $1000 for a 6 foot system)
2 - The digital readout would come from http://www.wixey.com/fence/. A few times a year they have a sale where you can get the fence readout plus a digital height gauge and angle gauge for under $100.
3 - I have one, but I'm in the process of building one from some excess MDF I had in the garage. Nothing fancy. The miter slots in my table saw are pretty shitty and I might see about milling them out and getting new ones put in.
 
LK, Thank you. Interesting stuff on the links you provided.
 
We got a quote from a local plumber to replace our 30 yr old water heater with a new AO Smith 60-gal for $3275. Does this seem high to anyone? From what I can tell, the 60-gal Voltex hybrid electric costs around $1400. Should it really be $1800 in labor?? I know this is the DIY thread, but I don't really have the time or resources to do it myself. Any other suggestions? Try other plumbers?

This is in Vienna VA btw, maybe I should mention that.
 
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spiffylubes said:
We got a quote from a local plumber to replace our 30 yr old water heater with a new AO Smith 60-gal for $3275. Does this seem high to anyone? From what I can tell, the 60-gal Voltex hybrid electric costs around $1400. Should it really be $1800 in labor?? I know this is the DIY thread, but I don't really have the time or resources to do it myself. Any other suggestions? Try other plumbers?

This is in Vienna VA btw, maybe I should mention that.
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are you changing from electric to gas or something like that? That seems pretty high.
 
BacktoBack said:
are you changing from electric to gas or something like that? That seems pretty high.
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Nope, just swapping out an electric tank. I wasn't there for the estimate, my wife was, so I'm going to try calling tomorrow to see if they can give me more info on why it's so expensive (what is their hourly labor cost?!?). The quote to switch to gas tankless was $4750-5200 (he needed to consult their gas technician to get an exact quote) which is way more than I would ever want to pay. I'm gonna check with some other plumbers around the area, maybe some based farther out than McLean to see if the cost goes down.
 
Dude you could go to lowes and get a new water heater and change it out yourself. The wires and plumbing are already there. Seems crazy high
 
I'm currently undertaking a massive renovation to a Civic Club that was given to our FD. We're converting it to a place to conduct training meetings and also space to rent out for birthday parties, reunions and such. It was originally built in the 1950s, so we're updating it to make it ADA compliant, completely gutting and renovating the kitchen. Far and away the second largest project I've ever tackled behind building my house. I'm enjoying the heck out of it, but its long, backbreaking work.
 
BacktoBack said:
Dude you could go to lowes and get a new water heater and change it out yourself. The wires and plumbing are already there. Seems crazy high
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That's only true if you get one that is the exact same size with the same dimensions for the connections. Not to mention, you need the proper tools. I've changed out the burner equipment on our water heater before and I was seriously nervous about the gas connection.
 
Liquid Karma said:
That's only true if you get one that is the exact same size with the same dimensions for the connections. Not to mention, you need the proper tools. I've changed out the burner equipment on our water heater before and I was seriously nervous about the gas connection.
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And if you have the time. We're moving into our new house this weekend, and 1) I would rather not have one of my first handyman tasks be replacing a water heater and 2) I've quite a bit else on my plate.

I did call another plumber, very well reviewed on Angie's List (and isn't working today but called me back faster than the plumber who came by yesterday to do the quote), who said don't get a hybrid water heater (reliability issues, internet agrees for the most part), don't get tankless around NoVA (water is high in mineral content, so they aren't as reliable as other areas, though you could get a filtration system installed), just replace the current 80-gal AO Smith with a new 80-gal AO Smith, which he said would roughly be $1300-1400 or so from him. So yeah, I could potentially do it myself, but that's a bit of effort that I kind of don't have time for right now. But thank you all for the advice!
 
Liquid Karma said:
That's only true if you get one that is the exact same size with the same dimensions for the connections. Not to mention, you need the proper tools. I've changed out the burner equipment on our water heater before and I was seriously nervous about the gas connection.
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I've helped my dad change their electric water heater twice and that's no big deal for me. Just need a cutter, steel wool/sandpapger, torch, copper pipe, elbows, joints, flux, solder, and wire in the new one. I'm skittish about anything with gas though.
 
Liquid Karma said:
That's only true if you get one that is the exact same size with the same dimensions for the connections. Not to mention, you need the proper tools. I've changed out the burner equipment on our water heater before and I was seriously nervous about the gas connection.
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He said it was an electric one. With Pex piping in a lot of places the connections are pretty easy. Agree that having the right tools helps. My bigger point was that it's not a big job, shouldn't cost a mint like he was quoted
 
Even in NOVA a straight swap of water heaters shouldn't be that much in labor.
 
RollTheQuad06 said:
my shower/tub is draining slowly, probably due to hair. I'm going to buy a snake.

think I'd be okay with this short $9 version: http://www.amazon.com/FlexiSnake-Drain-Millipede-Hair-Cleaning/dp/B00871R9Z8/ref=pd_sim_hi_1

or should I get a $25 more heavy duty looking thing?: http://www.amazon.com/General-Cleaners-R-25SM-4-Inch-25-Feet/dp/B003NFO528/ref=sr_1_1

Or does anyone have other recommendations?
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Short version is fine.

Try one of these first....worked just fine for us: http://www.lowes.com/pd_161219-319-LX-00400_0__?productId=1038705
 
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