Home Improvement Today?

I installed the holiday light outlet last year, also did not know about this little in wall timer. My wife just used a smart plug outside and set it up through whatever app... but having this built in on the garage side is much more appealing...

 

Working for a couple days replacing this landing at the bottom of these deck stairs. So much wrong with it all, but I digress. You can see they have heaved quite a bit at the lower right post/footing and the oppositeend of the landing. So much that the handrail became separated. Fixed that. During demo, I discovered they were only being held up with one 2x4 partially resting on another 2x4 stuck in the ground. Just when I think I've seen it all. Stairs were 2" out of level. I jacked up the right side and removed 2" from the post and was able to set it back down onto the metal bracket. Rebuilt it with a slightly different configuration for more usable space. Customer was quite thrilled. It's solid as a rock now. Nothing terribly difficult.

 

Nice job! If you have ever done this it's tricky. The existing has moved, you're trying to create a safe entry, spacing steps, uneven ground, looks good.

 

Toddler toilet training temper tantrum…one of our bathroom pocket doors got slammed open hard enough that one of the brackets it was hanging from started pulling out of the top of the door. After a few weeks it gave out completely. Finally took the door down and found that the MDF it was formerly screwed into was toast. Picture is of the top edge of the door.



I routed out said MDF about an inch deep, leaving the veneer face on each side in place, and glued and screwed in a strip of real wood in its place.


Not pictured: new wood has been painted, hanger brackets screwed in, and door re-hung. Still need to put the trim around it back up.

Hopefully this version will hold together better.

 

Excellent, creative, solution.

 

now to just deal with the toddler!

 

Is this how the pros do it? I have less than no idea, but it never stops me from trying.

 

Lasers are the way to go. I always notch the posts in, so they aren't just hanging on bolts. Deck looks good.

 

Made some custom hogwire and corrugated metal deck railings for a client on an existing deck.

 

String or laser.

Or precut them all and attach a temporary cleat to support the post when attaching it, then they'll all be at the same height. Probably all the same amount of work in the end.

I put posts inside the rim/band joist so blocking can be added for support in all directions. With lags bolts and/or GRK structural screws.

 

The corrugated panel is a good idea.

A solid panel on the windy side could make a nice comfort improvement.

 

Thanks. I'll be glad when the last screw gets driven into place. I didn't get "permission" to rebuild the decks, so it wouldn't have really mattered but the county strictly prohibits notching in the posts. I personally think that it makes a more solid connection.

I went 1/2" galvanized carriage bolts for the posts. I thought about lags from the joist side to have a clean outer appearance but it was too late, as I already installed a few posts.

The deck that you posted up turned out great!

 

Finally got the strapping up on my basement crawl space insulation project.. This whole ordeal has taken way longer than expected.

Very happy with the results though. There were two batts in the entire job that didn't feel right - they were loose and floppy for lack of a better term - like they weren't made right at the factory. One of them is in the last pic. You can see it had already started to sag down over just a month or two.

98% done at this point though. Just a few small gaps left to fill

 

Curious what brands people are installing for front entry doors.

Long story short I need to pull out the French door entry at our house, narrow the opening a bit and install a new front door. I’m planning to go single door with side lights on both sides. I should be able to sneak 60 inch width. It’s a tall door now so we want taller than the standard 80 inch.

 

We've had a Therma Tru fiberglass single with double sidelights since '04 and it's been great. Didn't buy it from a big box store, so I can't speak to the quality of the doors sold there. Ours came straight from a building supply wholesaler. (In Newington IIRC)

 

Heard you guys like some occasional hackery. Well I got some today. All my gutters divert into a box that either go into the cistern (almost the entire patio you see is the tank) or the yard. All they had was some piddly elbows that drained the water super close to the house and I don't need all that water going against my foundation. During the summer the cistern never hits overflow due to me washing vehicles or watering. Winter time none of this happens, so it gets full. I'm pretty sure the overflow is stupidly tied into the weeping system and I don't need that. I bought some corrugated pipe to keep it out into the yard, but the back of the house I had to use old scrap lumber to prop the pipe up. While it isn't freezing cold yet, I had some 3" sch40 laying around so this is my half ass fix

 

Looks good! I would eventually try to get that beyond the grass buried draining to daylight or pop-up emitter.

 

The corrugated will only stick on there during the Winter and Spring. I don't need to be drinking and tripping on it...


The eventual fix will be diverting the cistern overflow out of where it is now into the yard. But, I probably won't go through the effort as I only have a couple years of good life out of the system. There's literally close to 2,000 gallons of water on the other side of the wall of my foundation and they've resealed it before. I'm not going through the trouble of hiring that out.

 

X2. A Therma Tru that you buy at a big box store is not the same as those sold at Building Supply shops. I've had way too many QC issues from doors (of multiple brands) purchased at big box store.

 

We recently had Marvin and Andersen (Renewal) come out to give quotes on 3 exterior doors. Both big companies that have been around for a long time. Andersen was ~40k. FU*K THAT! Marvin was in the mid 30s. We're just gonna refurb what we we got instead. Our original wood doors are better design anyways.