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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

The important thing when removing and moving granite is that the weight is evenly distributed to keep the pressure from being in any one spot leading to cracks. If you have 6-8 friends that can help you lift the countertops when you move them, that'll help immensely. You'll find that the granite is glued to the cabinets, and that's all that is holding them there.

so is that not something the cabinet people would do for us? we need to take care of it ourselves? (i don't mind paying the cabinet people extra to move it if it ensures that the whole thing won't break)
 
I'm sure they would do it for you, and that may be the better option. They have insurance on their work in case they break it, plus they'll be more accustomed to working with it. I'm sure there would be a charge, but unless you are confident in your friends and knowing what you are doing, it'd be worth it to me.
 
So moved into new neighborhood last week, and it seems there is a neighborhood fox. I've seen him 3 times in less than a week. He's either been running up and down my street or chilling in the neighbor's yard that borders my backyard.

Is this thing a threat to small children? Or large dogs? I don't give a fuck if it kills rabbits and squirrels and a cat or two. But I want to make sure I'm protecting my family.
You didn't move to Timonium, MD, did you? We have new neighbors and a couple neighborhood foxes.

Our foxes are totally harmless. They're like the neighborhood pet. One time my 4 year old daughter and the fox accidentally came within 15 feet of each other. They both froze and the fox ran off. There are a lot of neighborhood rabbits and I've yet to see the fox go after one. They seem most interested in mice.
 
How long do home AC units usually last? My house was built in 2000 and everything is still there. I have gas heat but a heat pump for air conditioning. I have a buddy that works in HVAC stuff that came over when I had issues with my system freezing up. He checked everything out and added some freon to the system but we're pretty sure I have a leak because the house won't cool at all now (it was 87 last night and I slept at my sister's house). He said everything looked good and that I could get several more years out of the system but I'm curious how often it will need replacing.
 
You didn't move to Timonium, MD, did you? We have new neighbors and a couple neighborhood foxes.

Our foxes are totally harmless. They're like the neighborhood pet. One time my 4 year old daughter and the fox accidentally came within 15 feet of each other. They both froze and the fox ran off. There are a lot of neighborhood rabbits and I've yet to see the fox go after one. They seem most interested in mice.

Nah, moved to Kansas from Missouri. Seems like consensus is they are harmless. Will leave it be.
 
How long do home AC units usually last? My house was built in 2000 and everything is still there. I have gas heat but a heat pump for air conditioning. I have a buddy that works in HVAC stuff that came over when I had issues with my system freezing up. He checked everything out and added some freon to the system but we're pretty sure I have a leak because the house won't cool at all now (it was 87 last night and I slept at my sister's house). He said everything looked good and that I could get several more years out of the system but I'm curious how often it will need replacing.

knock on wood... my parents have had the same HVAC for 20 years at their house in NC.

(i probably just jynxed it and it's breaking AS WE SPEAK)
 
My buddy the HVAC guy came over yesterday and couldn't find the leak but he's sure I have one. His equipment wasn't working properly to detect the leaks. He has an electronic sniffer thing that wasn't working at all. Also, using the bubble leak finder spray stuff didn't find it either. I hope it's a fairly easy fix.
 
How long do home AC units usually last? My house was built in 2000 and everything is still there. I have gas heat but a heat pump for air conditioning. I have a buddy that works in HVAC stuff that came over when I had issues with my system freezing up. He checked everything out and added some freon to the system but we're pretty sure I have a leak because the house won't cool at all now (it was 87 last night and I slept at my sister's house). He said everything looked good and that I could get several more years out of the system but I'm curious how often it will need replacing.

My understanding from talking to some HVAC folks lately is that during the housing boom in the late 90s and early 2000s, quality standards for HVAC units went way down as builders were generally throwing in whatever cheap units they could get to keep the house prices competitive. Whereas previously units had come with 10-year warranties, during the boom they were generally reduced to 5. They said that a late 80s / early 90s unit is likely to be running better today than an early-2000s unit. Since the crash, quality control has come back into it and most new ones now come with a 10-year warranty again.

Our upstairs unit crapped out a few weeks ago at 8 years old. The cost to fix the coil leak and fill it back up with freon wasn't too much less than a new unit, so we went with the new one rather than patch an already shaky old unit. The new one has been significantly better and more efficient. Now we're waiting for the downstairs unit to shit the bed.
 
My understanding from talking to some HVAC folks lately is that during the housing boom in the late 90s and early 2000s, quality standards for HVAC units went way down as builders were generally throwing in whatever cheap units they could get to keep the house prices competitive. Whereas previously units had come with 10-year warranties, during the boom they were generally reduced to 5. They said that a late 80s / early 90s unit is likely to be running better today than an early-2000s unit. Since the crash, quality control has come back into it and most new ones now come with a 10-year warranty again.

Our upstairs unit crapped out a few weeks ago at 8 years old. The cost to fix the coil leak and fill it back up with freon wasn't too much less than a new unit, so we went with the new one rather than patch an already shaky old unit. The new one has been significantly better and more efficient. Now we're waiting for the downstairs unit to shit the bed.

My buddy said if it can be fixed, he would only charge me about $300 total. A new system for my house would require everything since I would be going from R-22 freon to R-410 and would cost about $4,000 if he installed it for me. I hope it's cheap.
 
My buddy came back yesterday, looked for a leak again, put a vacuum on the system, and is pretty sure there is no leak in the system. He thinks it's in the valves where refrigerant can be added so they replaced the valves and put on better covers. It's 70 in my house this morning so I hope it's fixed. He said it may run for a couple more years but to be saving for a new system which he said for my house might be $3,000 to $3,500.
 
I need some Pit advice. We built a fire pit with pond rocks, and put mesh down first to keep out grass/weeds/etc. I think we messed up by putting down leveling sand in between the mesh and the pond rocks, and now it's a pain keeping weeds out of it. From what I can tell, everything is taking root in the leveling sand instead of penetrating the mesh and growing down into the soil underneath. Should we take up all the pond rocks, wash out the sand, and reconstruct it leaving out the sand this time? I really don't feel like dealing with having to weed the firepit every few weeks, so I would hope that without any sand to grow in, we wouldn't have to do much to maintain it.

Here is what it looks like at the moment. Once I weed it, I really don't want to do it again.

v7WuWoQZhaEY6_ENzpmGpr3dj7V-jJIFrSTaE_AVUVM
 
I'm finally gritting my teeth and getting prepared for the annoying task of painting my wood paneling. Bought TSP substitute to clean the walls, and a sander extension pole and bunch of sandpaper to get rid of some of the finish. And wood putty for the nail holes and one random big hole.

The rest of the house had been nicely painted and all nails and tacks removed when I moved in, but I removed 11 nails from this wood room, and there are still some thumbtacks I need to pry out. I noticed that I was indenting the wood some when I was prying out the nails with the back of a hammer, so I need to be more careful.

I'm reading conflicting things online (and here) about the necessity of sanding, but I'd like to make sure I do this job properly so the paint doesn't peel off right away. I expect to follow it up with oil-based primer and latex paint.
 
I noticed that I was indenting the wood some when I was prying out the nails with the back of a hammer, so I need to be more careful.
Use some scrap wood to leverage the hammer against. I do this when pulling out of drywall to avoid marks.
 
Use some scrap wood to leverage the hammer against. I do this when pulling out of drywall to avoid marks.

this.
get something to help spread out the pressure from the head of the hammer; get the claws around the nail and put the piece of wood under where the head would make contact w/ the wall and roll back over it.

Woodworking010.jpg
 
side note- i know it's personal preference, but because you're clearly painting over paneling i think some character to the walls is kind of fun. obviously one huge gash is something to cover, but a few nicks here and there gives it some interest.
 
I ended up getting a dishcloth and putting under the hammer, which helped. I wonder what sort of huge things they were hanging to need some nails as long as some of these were.

The big hole I need to patch seems to be where one of the pine knots made an escape, so there is a hole I could seal with a cork. Maybe I should just do that, it would be funny. I do think there will be enough "interest" with all the grooves in the paneling. Ugh this is going to be the worst project. I'm still waffling over painting the trim or leaving it natural wood.
 
paint the trim paint the trim paint the trim.



otherwise it ends up looking like you live in a coloring book (white/pale walls, dark outlines)
 
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