Home Improvement Today?

I just think its funny one sees a slab and asks if basements aren’t a thing. Not everyone wants one. I like my slab ranch.

 

Me, too.

 

Nice man. My basement is not finished but I lived in a house as a teen that was and it was my safe haven. And the place to take your date to watch tv.

 

I love those levels. I was sad to hear the company went out of business years ago. Luckily I have their 2’ & 4’ levels around. Much better than the stabila ones everyone uses around here

 

I have 2' , 3' , 4' , 6' and 8' Master Levels , but I also have Stabila levels

You can't get replacement vials for the Master Levels anymore and a couple of my Master levels are not as trustworthy as they once were so they are relegated to stuff like foundation work where the tolerances are a bit more forgiving

 

there are replacement vials on ebay. A bit pricey but I’ve never replaced any on mine. I love the adjustability.

I am mainly a cabinet/trim installer so the square edges on the master levels are great. Also the actual bubble is the proper size for the vials unlike the stabila. If I would have knows they were so nice I would have stock piled a couple.

 

totally agree on the square edges and fact they are square out to the end without the rubber foot that makes it hard to line up the end of the level to marks

 

Lumber prices are crazy here ... copper way up too.

I lucked out last year ... bought my first new house and the price went up a bunch just because of the lumber shortage.

The local housing storage added a little to it too .... house was started Feb-March, 2020 and Finished Mid-October, 2020 ... and had a 15% price appreciation to date.

Appreciation feels good after losing my ass on the previous house due to termites (even with a termite bond).

I will hold off on my special projects until lumber comes down a bit.

 

I did the same. House was 530k when we started build in May. Closed Oct, and it's now worth 650k.

 

wife wanted a garden bed and some garage shelves, after heading to the hardware store and seeing that the 2 8 foot shelves and simple 16'x2' garden bed was going to cost upwards of $900 in construction grade lumber she was very happy to receive no shelves and 4 prefab metal 4x2 garden beds lol

 

We have all our footings formed up , rebar horizontals in and hanging and most of the verts tied in , will finish tying in the verts in the morning .

Structural engineer and Building Inspector come by tomorrow for their inspections and we are scheduled to pump concrete Friday afternoon

 

So I'm needing to replace the 1860s era outside lights on my house. Replacements have been purchased and now I'm thinking about the actual mounting.
The PO didn't do me any favors by mounting the old lights directly to the cedar siding, leaving a huge gap at the top of the light base to get it plumb.
What do you think about these options? Am I missing anything obvious?

1. Cut the siding, allowing a solid block to be mounted directly to the sheathing, cut a hole for the box, wire and mount the light. I wouldn't necessarily need flashing since the light is tucked up high under the porch.


2. Use a

$16 surface-mount T tocas 30 amp panel mount circuit breaker with manual reset button switchable for car truck RV ATV marine trolling motors boat audio system 32V 30a

surface-mount PVC block (

$20 Arlington 8141DBL Siding Mounting Kits with Built-in Box, White, for 1/2" Lap Double Siding, 1-Pack

Arlington 8141DBL). This particular part is for 4" reveal lap siding. Mine is 6", so i'd have to fill a sizeable gap somehow.


3. Custom build a surface-mount block from .5 or .75" cedar board.
a. Figure dimensions and cut a hole for the box.
b. Put the wood on the wall and scribe the siding profile onto the edge.
c. Route a relief channel on the back, then use a jigsaw to cut each side (unfortunately, no bandsaw avail).
d. Fine-tune with sanding, clean up, stain and mount.

 

Were the 1860's lights Kerosene or candles?

 

I would say oil lamps (whales) and candles.
Kerosene lamps were invented in 1853, so they were definitely up and coming by the 1860’s

 

Nailed it!

 

New Flowers and Mulch

 

Funny lol I don’t see the CIWS I’m sure you have covering the place. Must be hidden behind a bush or something

 

All viable options do whatever makes you and/or significant other feel right about it. If you have the time and tools tho I’d forgo the vinyl on a historic house

 

Actually it pops up from the tree on the right

 

Passed both our inspections , everything buttoned up , ready to pour tomorrow