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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

tsywake said:
I ended up wrapping the brass elbow with what felt like 1/8" of tape, enough that it took a rubber mallet to beat the hydrant onto the line, even after softening the line. It took care of the leak though, so I happily filled in the hole. Thanks again for the tip.

One of the best things I did was bury them with sand. Its make digging them out for repairs much easier.
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You may not have needed that much tape - I usually find that one or two complete wraps takes care of most problems. Just glad it worked. That stuff is cheap.
 
Deacon923 said:
Saw this carpenter bee trap idea, pretty cool. May build one, we have too many of those little buggers. http://www.myfrugalhome.com/how-to-build-a-carpenter-bee-trap/
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Looks interesting - hope it works for you. I noticed a couple little piles of sawdust beneath some railings off my patio so I've got some buzzing around too.

Also a ton of ants have moved into a crack in my patio. I was leaf-blowing last night and sprayed half their pile away and they freaked out. Went to get some bug spray but didn't have any left so I doused it with poison ivy spray, which might not do anything, but we'll see. I feel a little bad killing ants that are outside where they belong, but I suspect the ants that keep coming into my house are probably from that same colony.
 
DeaconCav06 said:
Kill them with fire.
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One of my neighbors growing up would do that. I remember one time he had a mound on his lawn that was like 4 feet in diameter and 2 feet high. He just pulled out a lawn chair and a cooler of beer and watched it burn.
 
I also didn't have any spare fire. Had just poured the last of my gas can into the lawn mower. The empty can was sitting right near the ant pile and it did make me think about burning them.
 
um, burning it would also kill the soil, turning it into a larger spot fix. i'd rather shell out for insecticide

unless it's a massive hill that's already demolished the grass
 
i've watched that before and it is still so crazy to see. it's like the sand lightning art the guy makes in Sweet Home Alabama.
 
that's a smart carpenter bee trap, the molten aluminum is fascinating
 
RollTheQuad06 said:
Also a ton of ants have moved into a crack in my patio. I was leaf-blowing last night and sprayed half their pile away and they freaked out. Went to get some bug spray but didn't have any left so I doused it with poison ivy spray, which might not do anything, but we'll see. I feel a little bad killing ants that are outside where they belong, but I suspect the ants that keep coming into my house are probably from that same colony.
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If they're the little black ants, these have worked very well for us. Just place one by the pile and after a couple of days they should be gone.

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If they're fire ants, sprinkle some amdro on and around the mound.
 
I bought appropriate outdoor bug spray and sprayed into the cracks where the ants live, and around my foundation and the areas where they are coming into my house. Hopefully they all die soon.


How many quotes do you suggest getting for home projects? I just had an electrician come out to give a quote for a number of items and it's within the range I was expecting. Granted, that was based on no experience or research... really had no idea how much it would cost. Was hoping it would be under $2,000 and it came in at $1260, which seems reasonable.

A coworker said he was getting some structural work done in his house (removing a wall) and the quotes ranged from like $6,000 to $25,000. So I don't want to pay double what someone else would charge, just by not getting a bunch of quotes.
 
3 quotes is usually sufficient. A lot of times, if the contractor is really busy they'll bid high thinking they wont get the work, or underbid if they're having trouble finding work, which explains the difference in quotes.
 
Find the first guy who will drop his price 10-20% if you offer to pay in cash, and go with him. He will be the lowest price you find.
 
House stuff is so tedious. I want to be sure I'm not paying way too much, but I also don't want to wait another month or more to start this project. (A few days to find more recommendations for electricians to call, a week before we can find a mutually agreeable time to meet, a couple days to get the quotes, etc.) Oh well, guess that's just how it goes.
 
it's pretty annoying doing it piecemeal; worked better for our kitchen when we finally found a General contractor we liked who coordinated it all
 
The project started as a bathroom renovation, but then I realized that my electrical needs are all over the house, so I went with a separate electrician to take care of everything first.

I may look into a contractor/handyman/bathroom company for the rest of the bathroom part instead of individual people for the separate parts - moving/updating plumbing, new subfloor and possible mold remediation, tiling, installing new vanity.
 
RollTheQuad06 said:
The project started as a bathroom renovation, but then I realized that my electrical needs are all over the house, so I went with a separate electrician to take care of everything first.

I may look into a contractor/handyman/bathroom company for the rest of the bathroom part instead of individual people for the separate parts - moving/updating plumbing, new subfloor and possible mold remediation, tiling, installing new vanity.
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If you have that much to do, you are probably smart to get one guy to general contract the whole project and let him worry about the necessary subs. Also let him worry about necessary permits and inspections. Sounds like a good situation to hire a bathroom remodeler.
 
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