Projects

[throet]

On 4/1/2021 at 9:14 AM, ATXZJ said:

40+ y/o boxwood hedges meets a 40+ y/o dude with a sawzall and a shovel.

That makes my back hurt just thinking about it! 

[AntonioGG]

On 4/1/2021 at 9:14 AM, ATXZJ said:

40+ y/o boxwood hedges meets a 40+ y/o dude with a sawzall and a shovel. Good times🤣

 

 

[ATXZJ]

Found out the trick for stump removal is a sawzall with a long blade. Just jam that freaking blade down into the soil and cut in a circle around the stump, slicing through all the roots. Shovel pops it right out. Did 9 in about an hour.

Paid some guys $50 to haul it all off. Sod goes down tomorrow

[AntonioGG]

14 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

Found out the trick for stump removal is a sawzall with a long blade. Just jam that freaking blade down into the soil and cut in a circle around the stump, slicing through all the roots. Shovel pops it right out. Did 9 in about an hour.

Seth talked about that in one of his early videos from his Berm peak.  Great minds think alike!

[ATXZJ]

Admittedly, I was pretty discouraged at first. Out of frustration went to youtube and saw the sawzall trick on some home improvement channel.

Would never have believed it was that easy. 

Edited April 3, 2021 by ATXZJ

[AntonioGG]

I've got some bush stumps to dig out.  Was going to try the sawzall trick. Glad to read it worked for you.  btw, is Sawzall:reciprocating-saw::kleenex:tissue?  I don't really have a Sawzall, I have a Dewalt.

[ATXZJ]

It's a POS reciprocating saw from harbor freight that I've been abusing for 15 years. 

Give it a try. I bought a tree & root specific blade from the despot for under $20. It went through all those roots and hit rocks, and stayed sharp. 

 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-12-in-3-TPI-Pruning-Carbide-Teeth-Wood-Cutting-SAWZALL-Reciprocating-Saw-Blade-48-00-5233/313469090

Edited April 3, 2021 by ATXZJ

[mack_turtle]

The "Honey Do"  keeps getting longer. I just want to ride my damn bike!

• scrape all the popcorn ceiling crap off the house and repaint. we watched a dozen YouTube videos for advice, bought a bunch of tools, and started doing this last weekend. We're almost done getting all that horrible crap off the ceiling in the first 10x10 guest bedroom. we still have a ton of sanding, repairing, texturing, and painting to do. wife doesn't want to pay a pro $10k to do the whole house, so this is my life now.
• modernize the kitchen. demo some walls and replace cabinets. move plumbing fixtures around. tile backsplash behind the stove. remove the "bar" from the countertop. granite or something for countertops. doing it right will cost $50K but I can do this myself with a hammer, right?
• replace the rotting wood fence. I feel like I can handle this, especially if the neighbors who share the fenceline will help with materials and some labor.
• floors: the whole house is a drab grid of 12x12 cream-colored tiles. the mess from demolition alone means we need to basically pack up our whole house and move out for a week.
• fireplace: build a hearth around the fireplace that we never use to make fires.
• roof: it's old and the shingles are on borrowed time. yeah, that's not a DIY job. $10–30K.

I am trying to convince her to save our money for our next trip to Ireland instead.

[TAF]

10 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

The "Honey Do"  keeps getting longer. I just want to ride my damn bike!

• scrape all the popcorn ceiling crap off the house and repaint. we watched a dozen YouTube videos for advice, bought a bunch of tools, and started doing this last weekend. We're almost done getting all that horrible crap off the ceiling in the first 10x10 guest bedroom. we still have a ton of sanding, repairing, texturing, and painting to do. wife doesn't want to pay a pro $10k to do the whole house, so this is my life now.
• modernize the kitchen. demo some walls and replace cabinets. move plumbing fixtures around. tile backsplash behind the stove. remove the "bar" from the countertop. granite or something for countertops. doing it right will cost $50K but I can do this myself with a hammer, right?
• replace the rotting wood fence. I feel like I can handle this, especially if the neighbors who share the fenceline will help with materials and some labor.
• floors: the whole house is a drab grid of 12x12 cream-colored tiles. the mess from demolition alone means we need to basically pack up our whole house and move out for a week.
• fireplace: build a hearth around the fireplace that we never use to make fires.
• roof: it's old and the shingles are on borrowed time. yeah, that's not a DIY job. $10–30K.

I am trying to convince her to save our money for our next trip to Ireland instead.

Damn, that sounds like months, if not years, of work!

[TheX]

36 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

The "Honey Do"  keeps getting longer. I just want to ride my damn bike!

• scrape all the popcorn ceiling crap off the house and repaint. we watched a dozen YouTube videos for advice, bought a bunch of tools, and started doing this last weekend. We're almost done getting all that horrible crap off the ceiling in the first 10x10 guest bedroom. we still have a ton of sanding, repairing, texturing, and painting to do. wife doesn't want to pay a pro $10k to do the whole house, so this is my life now.
• modernize the kitchen. demo some walls and replace cabinets. move plumbing fixtures around. tile backsplash behind the stove. remove the "bar" from the countertop. granite or something for countertops. doing it right will cost $50K but I can do this myself with a hammer, right?
• replace the rotting wood fence. I feel like I can handle this, especially if the neighbors who share the fenceline will help with materials and some labor.
• floors: the whole house is a drab grid of 12x12 cream-colored tiles. the mess from demolition alone means we need to basically pack up our whole house and move out for a week.
• fireplace: build a hearth around the fireplace that we never use to make fires.
• roof: it's old and the shingles are on borrowed time. yeah, that's not a DIY job. $10–30K.

I am trying to convince her to save our money for our next trip to Ireland instead.

Let someone overpay for the house, go to Ireland. Buy something that has all that done already when the bubble bursts.

[mack_turtle]

18 minutes ago, TheX said:

Let someone overpay for the house, go to Ireland. Buy something that has all that done already when the bubble bursts.

I was just reading an article about the bubble that's not a bubble. Dozens of real estate experts weighed in: it's not going to go down for decades. If the 2020 pandemic/ recession didn't put a dent in it, nothing will, save a massive astroid strike or full-blown zombie apocalypse.

[AntonioGG]

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

• scrape all the popcorn ceiling crap off the house and repaint. we watched a dozen YouTube videos for advice, bought a bunch of tools, and started doing this last weekend. We're almost done getting all that horrible crap off the ceiling in the first 10x10 guest bedroom. we still have a ton of sanding, repairing, texturing, and painting to do. wife doesn't want to pay a pro $10k to do the whole house, so this is my life now.
• roof: it's old and the shingles are on borrowed time. yeah, that's not a DIY job. $10–30K.

We hired someone to do most of the house popcorn.  Even though they put plastic up we had dust for weeks.  A team we hired to do our kitchen backsplash that also does popcorn removal gave us a tip that means no sanding:  after removal when you go float it, wait until it somewhat sets, then use a wet sponge to smooth it all out.  I'm curious if the YouTube videos you watch mentioned that tip.  Get ready for your house to be a lot more echo-y.  

Composite roof replacement should not be that expensive.  Get more quotes.  The only reason why it's not a DIY job is b/c going up and down the ladder with super heavy reams of shingles is crazy.  The guys I last hired to do this for me were small, maybe 125lbs, but they'd get that ream, go up the ladder and the ladder would flex from the weight.  I only figured out how amazingly strong they were when I had to load up the 3 leftover reams to take back to ABC.

[AntonioGG]

12 hours ago, ATXZJ said:

I bought a tree & root specific blade from the despot for under $20. It went through all those roots and hit rocks, and stayed sharp. 

 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-12-in-3-TPI-Pruning-Carbide-Teeth-Wood-Cutting-SAWZALL-Reciprocating-Saw-Blade-48-00-5233/313469090

That was going to be my next question.  Thanks!!

[TheX]

31 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

I was just reading an article about the bubble that's not a bubble. Dozens of real estate experts weighed in: it's not going to go down for decades. If the 2020 pandemic/ recession didn't put a dent in it, nothing will, save a massive astroid strike or full-blown zombie apocalypse.

I have enough ammo for zombies, I got nuthin' for an asteroid.

[mack_turtle]

26 minutes ago, TheX said:

I have enough ammo for zombies, I got nuthin' for an asteroid.

that's what they all say, until your "buddy" intensionally shoots you in the leg and you get swarmed by the horde, giving everyone else time to escape.

Edited April 3, 2021 by mack_turtle

[Chief]

2 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

The "Honey Do"  keeps getting longer. I just want to ride my damn bike!

• scrape all the popcorn ceiling crap off the house and repaint. we watched a dozen YouTube videos for advice, bought a bunch of tools, and started doing this last weekend. We're almost done getting all that horrible crap off the ceiling in the first 10x10 guest bedroom. we still have a ton of sanding, repairing, texturing, and painting to do. wife doesn't want to pay a pro $10k to do the whole house, so this is my life now.
• modernize the kitchen. demo some walls and replace cabinets. move plumbing fixtures around. tile backsplash behind the stove. remove the "bar" from the countertop. granite or something for countertops. doing it right will cost $50K but I can do this myself with a hammer, right?
• replace the rotting wood fence. I feel like I can handle this, especially if the neighbors who share the fenceline will help with materials and some labor.
• floors: the whole house is a drab grid of 12x12 cream-colored tiles. the mess from demolition alone means we need to basically pack up our whole house and move out for a week.
• fireplace: build a hearth around the fireplace that we never use to make fires.
• roof: it's old and the shingles are on borrowed time. yeah, that's not a DIY job. $10–30K.

I am trying to convince her to save our money for our next trip to Ireland instead.

Best way to remove ceiling popcorn is with a pressurized sprayer full of water and a 10" spackle blade. Soak the popcorn with the water and then start scraping, comes right off nice and clean with no dust just be sure to put down a tarp to catch it all. Another note about ceiling popcorn, it can contain asbestos depending on how old the house is and when the popcorn was done. So be careful and research it before just scraping down. 

[ATXZJ]

8 minutes ago, Chief said:

Another note about ceiling popcorn, it can contain asbestos depending on how old the house is and when the popcorn was done. So be careful and research it before just scraping down. 

I am all too familiar with the bestos'

[Chief]

15 hours ago, throet said:

That makes my back hurt just thinking about it! 

Then this will really make your back hurt. Did this a couple years back 57 at the time. Two days by myself. Had to dig out and set five posts. 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Chief

[TheX]

44 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

I am all too familiar with the bestos'

Almost as bad as the 'beetus.

[mack_turtle]

2 hours ago, Chief said:

Best way to remove ceiling popcorn is with a pressurized sprayer full of water and a 10" spackle blade. Soak the popcorn with the water and then start scraping, comes right off nice and clean with no dust just be sure to put down a tarp to catch it all. Another note about ceiling popcorn, it can contain asbestos depending on how old the house is and when the popcorn was done. So be careful and research it before just scraping down. 

that's exactly what we did. it comes off in the form of a fine powder no matter what liquid we use—hot, cold, mixed with varying levels of vinegar, wait 15 minutes, wait 15 seconds, one application, or five applications. I have not tried soaking it in Tito's yet.

I asked a few neighbors with houses built at the same time (mid-'80s) who have gone through this. I received a few confirmations that asbestos tests came back negative.

Edited April 3, 2021 by mack_turtle

[ATXZJ]

2 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

that's exactly what we did. it comes off in the form of a fine powder no matter what liquid we use—hot, cold, mixed with varying levels of vinegar, wait 15 minutes, wait 15 seconds, one application, or five applications. I have not tried soaking it in Tito's yet.

I asked a few neighbors with houses built at the same time (mid-'80s) who have gone through this. I received a few confirmations that asbestos tests came back negative.

As i recall, 1979 was the last of it.

Edited April 3, 2021 by ATXZJ

[mack_turtle]

I'm going about this all wrong. Sure, DIY is exhausting and frustrating, but 50 cents on every dollar I save us goes to the Bike Parts Fund, right? If scraping all the popcorn off means I get to buy a Sendro in the fall, gimme that scraper! I'll have it done in a week.

[AntonioGG]

2 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

I'm going about this all wrong. Sure, DIY is exhausting and frustrating, but 50 cents on every dollar I save us goes to the Bike Parts Fund, right? If scraping all the popcorn off means I get to buy a Sendro in the fall, gimme that scraper! I'll have it done in a week.

Plus you get to buy any tool you need.  Most pay off in one use!

[Chongo Loco]

that's exactly what we did. it comes off in the form of a fine powder no matter what liquid we use—hot, cold, mixed with varying levels of vinegar, wait 15 minutes, wait 15 seconds, one application, or five applications. I have not tried soaking it in Tito's yet.

I asked a few neighbors with houses built at the same time (mid-'80s) who have gone through this. I received a few confirmations that asbestos tests came back negative.

Use more water. Trust me, it can take a lot some times if there’s several layers of paint. If you’re getting dust it’s just plain not wet enough. The Sheetrock will dry out in a day without mildew, soak the crap out of it. The paper will get soft so either switch to a plastic putty knife or scrape at a real shallow angle so there’s less dings to fix up. I’ve resprayed mine with a thin layer of texture in most rooms so it covers a lot of imperfections and makes the paint look much better.

 

Oh and mine is from 1982 so no asbestos but there’s lots of other crap you don’t want to breathe in I’d gear up for!

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[AustinBike]

Kitchen counter is full of outlets but they are all consumed by USB things these days.

So I added a USB C and USB A outlet, charges phones and other devices.

Really cleans the place up. 

I've put in about a dozen of these around the house, they are awesome. One in the bike room for Garmins and tail lights. One in the guest room because guests always have a tone of devices to charge.

I was even able to get one to charge my MacBook Pro - It does it very slowly but I do not need to have the standard charger anymore. 

Simplicity is the best.