Home ownership
Maybe I missed a thread similar to this, but that's ok. I have been in my home for 10 years now, and there are some thi
Rebuilt the steps off one side of my deck today. Of course, being me, it was way more frustrating than it should've been.
Pretty simple, 2x8 boxes with 2x6 supports, slightly recessed, running inside, and decking laying on top of those.
The guy who did it many years ago didn't use treated wood, so the box parts were getting rotted. Replaced with some red treated stuff. Will outlast me.
He also used the square-head screws to hold down the decking. I was having a hell of a time getting those backed out. Indeed, there were two I couldn't get out at all.
Quite a lot of up-and-down. I'm getting too old for that. Hands a little sore too. Dealing tonight, hope I don't start cramping.
On the plus side, yesterday evening my old drill battery ran out of charge, so I walked up to HD and got a new Ryobi. On the way back, I noticed the battery was much less think than the one I had for trimmer & reciprocating saw.
Any project you get to buy new tools is a good one.
Happily, the interface didn't change. Both 18V, seem to be interchangeable. Now I have to buy a tool bag or something to keep these things organized, I guess.
The ryobi 40V battery for the lawnmowers is switchable with the tools and the 40V tools are plenty capable. I have the blower, chainsaw, and line trimmer. They all have ample power.The mower broke on me this month though - it was not holding height adjustment and was kicking down to minimum height every time it moved. I took it apart and it was clear that the torque spring tha
I got sick of waiting for the spring to be shipped to me so I went and bought a new Ryobi mower, multi-blade, 40V, self-propelled. This thing is a beast. I feel very little buyer's remorse for replacing the old one even if I could've fixed it.
If I can fix the old one I'll sell it with the old batteries. This new one came with two hefty 6ah batteries.
The reason why I was rushing to get a mower back in action was my kids are gone at camp and I have a limited window to try to bring the lawn back to life in the highly-worn sports areas of the yard.
I cut the lawn down to minimum height with the new mower, rented a core aerator, aerated the crap out of the grass, overseeded, topdressed with compost and peat, and raked it all in. Big weekend project.
Along with some irrigation repair, this involved a whopping FOUR trips to home depot which is one more than I prefer in a single weekend, maximum, under ideal conditions, for any project. I forced myself to ride my road bike to Home Depot (7 mi each way with lots of climbing) as penance for having to take the last trip on sunday.
Conventional wisdom says it's way too hot/too late into the summer to seed a cool-season grass. Hopefully I was kind enough to it with the topdress that it's effective and doesn't just wilt and die; just gotta keep my fingers crossed that we don't have any more 100 degree days for a couple weeks.
Wasp on a Milkweed
I think the bathroom project finished today. It had cooled off enough the last couple of days that I could open the windows, turn on the fan, and apply coats of polyurethane to the built-in cabinets.
I don't think I did a great job, but I think it's ok. I have all the votes that count, so there's that. Left all the stuff up there just in case I decide a third coat is in order.
Not sure what's next. Kinda-sorta planning a road trip next month. Maybe I'll think of something while out there.
congrats goldie! always fun to close out a personal one.
Welp, im going to get screwed this weekend.
Took a job replacing sheetrock that got wet and fell down off the ceiling.
Was a friend of a friend referral.
Her H/A system sprung a leak in the condensate line and ruined about a 4'x4' section of ceiling.
While there she asked me to replace a section of ceiling about 36in x 55in in the closet where the hot water tank is and where the old heat and air was located.
Told her we would just rock over that part because we didn't want to make a bigger mess
Plus a couple of holes about a foot square that her kid "accidentally" made in the hall.
Didn't ask a price, but I originally ballparked 300 to her for just the section of 48in x48in ruined ceiling, she decided to add the other stuff when I got started.Never said a word about price for the additional work.
I told her that didn't include painting, just tape and bed the new section.
Anyhoo she bought the supplies, so I didn't get money up front like I usually do.
Im done with the first coats so we agree I will go back Sunday to sand and finish coat.Let everything dry a few days.
Well I ask for a draw cause I wanna get some fireworks(lol)
She basically doubled the work so I figured double the estimated labor.
I ask for 300 even though im almost done, then another 300 when i really finish.
She balks and offers 200.
I take it and hope she will pay the rest next week.
But we kinda know where this is going.
I'd walk away but got too much dang pride to half ass a job.
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I mean, if you do get screwed, is it worth the extra $300 to you?
I've been feeding the blue jays and crows raw in shell peanuts for a month or so. Yesterday found a new kind of weed shooting up in the grass.
Well done Jimmy Carter!
Took the nasty 20yo carpet out of the hall and the weird room created 100 years ago when the second wing was added (functionally a very wide hall now) and exposed the hardwood below. It's in pretty decent shape, aside from the fact someone decided not to lay down a drop cloth when painting, since they were adding carpet anyway.
I'd add pics, but my phone updated and now I can't copy them to my clipboard. I'd email it to myself but my email server updated and now won't accept pictures.
oldmanyellsatcloud.jpg
looking forward to future boiled peanut recipes
I used to hang a wire peanut ring on a pole in the backyard and once the blue jays discovered it they would come nonstop and take one and fly off until it was empty. At one point I was buying 50 lb. bags of peanuts from Wild Birds Unlimited about every 6-7 weeks.
Think my neighborhood had the fattest blue jays around 😀
Had to plug my phone in to my computer physically to do something else, so I grabbed a pic of the hardwood I found under the nasty carpet while I was there.
Refinisher coming out on Monday.
I dunno, I'd be tempted to scrub it really good and just poly it and say its a distressed style.
But I've done a refinish before so im biased.
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Well I don't think it needs the drum sander from what I can see at least.
hard to tell how many nail/staple holes, but looks fairly decent from a distance
Few nail/staple holes, except around the edge where the tack strips were. It had a lot of glue on it, but several hours and a container of Goo Gone later, it's almost all gone. Really just a dead old finish, a few scratches, and a crap load of paint drops. The hallway through the door there is worse IRT paint.
This house is not the right style for a distressed finish, but if this were a farmhouse, I'd likely go for it, if there weren't also fully refinished floors with a different color of stain connecting to that room.
Weird how they have the joints all lined up in the middle. I wonder if there was a wall there at one time.
As Jeremy Clarkson once said, "that'll buff right out."
Weird how they have the joints all lined up in the middle. I wonder if there was a wall there at one time.
Mebbe? There was a new wing added in 1925 that starts right around there. I'd always assumed that room was a bedroom or sleeping porch in the original wing and turned into a hallway with the addition. I don't see why they'd have had to add to it, but it's possible.
I spy a physical media collection there...
