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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

HailToTheDeacons said:
Greetings Homeowners.

I am now a member of the club and am mostly clueless about everything.

I know next to nothing about lawncare - as a neophyte, what should I be thinking about and doing on a regular basis? I just want a respectable lawn that doesn't get laughed at by the neighbors.
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well, you have three choices:

1) grit your teeth, buy some books about it and get ready for a grinding war not seen since the Western Front. You will win, at least one year at a time. It will sap your will.
2) buy a mower. mow bi-weekly. not compare yourself to the old men in the neighborhood who have all day/week to work on lawns.
3) pay a guy
 
This is an easy project, but wanted to see if anyone had recommendations. I live in an apartment and have a few herbs/plants (mint, cilantro, rosemary, etc.) which we use in the kitchen. We have up until now been using cheap individual pots for the plants and it's working well, but have three windows that get a lot of sun in the front of the apartment and would like to make a planter box that fits into a couple of the window sills. Ideally we would want a few "slots" in order to separate some of the plants from one another (particularly mint given its proclivity to grow everywhere and around everything). Does anyone have a DIY type project for this? It shouldn't be difficult at all, but didn't know if anyone had done this before. Any thoughts would be helpful.
 
HailToTheDeacons said:
Greetings Homeowners.

I am now a member of the club and am mostly clueless about everything.

I know next to nothing about lawncare - as a neophyte, what should I be thinking about and doing on a regular basis? I just want a respectable lawn that doesn't get laughed at by the neighbors.
Click to expand...

What size lawn are you working with, and what is the current state of the yard? Full sun or shaded, etc?
 
HailToTheDeacons said:
#2 is what I'm doing. Any relatively easy tips beyond that?
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throw down some fertilizer in the spring and again in the fall.

the other thing i do when I have time in the spring/fall is rake/dig up dead spots and throw some potting soil and seed down to patch it. I would not buy the patching stuff, it's expensive and doesn't work as well.

the other thing you might want to do, at least initially since it's a new property, is have the soil tested by the state extension. t's a pretty simple/cheap process and it will tell you what kind of nutrients you should be applying to bring the soil back to optimum health. It sounds like overkill, but it's really the best way to get a snapshot of what you need. Otherwise, you might be wasting money on buying fertilizer that emphasizes the wrong stuff.
 
Seriously though, broadcast a little 10-10-10 now. Cut biweekly. Plug, seed, and fertilize in the fall. Pull weeds.
 
tsywake said:
What size lawn are you working with, and what is the current state of the yard? Full sun or shaded, etc?
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.5 acre. It's mostly shaded. And it's in okay shape - there are some visible weeds, and we have a dirt spot on top of the septic tank from when it was inspected.
 
HailToTheDeacons said:
.5 acre. It's mostly shaded. And it's in okay shape - there are some visible weeds, and we have a dirt spot on top of the septic tank from when it was inspected.
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ImTheCaptain said:
throw down some fertilizer in the spring and again in the fall.

the other thing i do when I have time in the spring/fall is rake/dig up dead spots and throw some potting soil and seed down to patch it. I would not buy the patching stuff, it's expensive and doesn't work as well.

the other thing you might want to do, at least initially since it's a new property, is have the soil tested by the state extension. t's a pretty simple/cheap process and it will tell you what kind of nutrients you should be applying to bring the soil back to optimum health. It sounds like overkill, but it's really the best way to get a snapshot of what you need. Otherwise, you might be wasting money on buying fertilizer that emphasizes the wrong stuff.
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This is a good start. If you do decide to seed thin patches, make sure you get a shade tolerant grass, K31 fescue is the most abundant grass seed in the south, but isnt great for shaded areas. Also mow your lawn on one of the higher settings. Cutting it too low, especially in shaded areas can spell doom for the grass.
 
tsywake said:
This is a good start. If you do decide to seed thin patches, make sure you get a shade tolerant grass, K31 fescue is the most abundant grass seed in the south, but isnt great for shaded areas. Also mow your lawn on one of the higher settings. Cutting it too low, especially in shaded areas can spell doom for the grass.
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yup
 
Just plant common bermuda and be done with it. That shit will eventually take over your lawn anyway.
 
PhysDeac said:
Seriously though, broadcast a little 10-10-10 now. Cut biweekly. Plug, seed, and fertilize in the fall. Pull weeds.
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I wouldn't use 10-10-10. Go buy a bag of pre-emergent +lawn fertilizer (heavy on the nitrogen) and apply it now (I usually apply twice in the spring: once late February, and once middle of April). In fall, you can put down 10-10-10 once around late September and once in early November, but I'd highly recommend the soil test as ITC suggested.

HailToTheDeacons said:
.5 acre. It's mostly shaded. And it's in okay shape - there are some visible weeds, and we have a dirt spot on top of the septic tank from when it was inspected.
Click to expand...

Use Trimec or Speedzone Southern Broadleaf Herbicide for Turf to kill the weeds. Be sure to read the label.

Otherwise, mow high as tsy suggested.
 
WFFaithful said:
I wouldn't use 10-10-10. Go buy a bag of pre-emergent +lawn fertilizer (heavy on the nitrogen) and apply it now (I usually apply twice in the spring: once late February, and once middle of April). In fall, you can put down 10-10-10 once around late September and once in early November, but I'd highly recommend the soil test as ITC suggested.

Use Trimec or Speedzone Southern Broadleaf Herbicide for Turf to kill the weeds. Be sure to read the label.

Otherwise, mow high as tsy suggested.
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And for someone who likes it in numbers, high means at least 3 inches.
 
Now, a question about glue. Specifically, I need to find a glue to attach some small aluminum plates to the inside of an upright freezer. The small plates are the holders for the fronts to the shelves that keep stuff from falling out. The manufacturer glued them on, but that glue hasn't held well. Screws are not an option. The need is to find a glue that will glue aluminum to the textured steel white surface inside the freezer. Epoxy has been tried and failed.
 
Is there a way to clamp them on while it dries? I would probably try some Gorilla super glue or construction glue, but you usually have to hold it pretty firmly in place for a few minutes while it sets. I know the super glue should hold below freezing.
 
2&2 Slider To Leyritz said:
Is there a way to clamp them on while it dries? I would probably try some Gorilla super glue or construction glue, but you usually have to hold it pretty firmly in place for a few minutes while it sets. I know the super glue should hold below freezing.
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Thanks for the suggestion on super glue. Clamping is going to be a challenge. The brackets are too far from the edge to use any of my clamps. I may be able to use a spreader from side to side inside.
 
I can add a new skill to my skill set after yesterday afternoon, tearing apart a 2 stroke jet ski motor. I found a little water in the pipes leading to the muffler so I traced it back until I saw no more water. Luckily, it looks like the water didnt make it to the ignition chambers, but I'll know for sure once I get everything put back together. This afternoon will be drilling out and re-tapping the block head.
 
I'm a 2-smoke small engine dude myself. Are you sure it wasn't just condensation? Also, my outboard pumps water through the exhaust. Pretty normal thing. I guess it's too late, but the first thing I would have done is check the compression.
 
Yeah, I partially sunk it last summer, and when I removed the muffler a few weeks ago, it was full of water. Luckily it looks like the water was at the base of the engine. I'm hoping the water never got up in there, but I didnt see anything higher.
 
I see, go ahead and get a new set of plugs. Do jet skis have a water pump impeller like outboards do?
 
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