Home Improvement Thread

Postby **skullman80** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 8:32 am

Going to try to install this over the weekend in the dining room. Hoping it should be pretty straight forward.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Progress-Li ... /301219240

Postby **mac5155** » Wed Mar 03, 2021 10:29 pm

My father in law mentioned to me last night he'd like to build a 4 car garage with a loft apartment on my property and move in.

The thought of having a 4 car garage is tempting but then also having my father in law 50 yards away may or may not be a good thing.

(for reference I have 4 acres of land)

Postby **Beveridge** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 8:25 am

Going to try to install this over the weekend in the dining room. Hoping it should be pretty straight forward.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Progress-Li ... /301219240

How did it go?

Postby **skullman80** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 8:44 am

Going to try to install this over the weekend in the dining room. Hoping it should be pretty straight forward.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Progress-Li ... /301219240
How did it go?

It actually went fine. Took a bit over an hour. Biggest pain was getting the chain length right and running the wires up through the chain to the top. Spoilered the pics since not sure how big they will be.

Postby **MrKennethTKangaroo** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 9:06 am

My yard is small (about 750 to 800 square feet according to google maps) but flat and usable enough that I would like to give a sht about it. for a yard that small, i'm assuming it would be best to just fertilize it myself instead of hiring someone like scotts to come out and do it for me?

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 9:28 am

My yard is small (about 750 to 800 square feet according to google maps) but flat and usable enough that I would like to give a sht about it. for a yard that small, i'm assuming it would be best to just fertilize it myself instead of hiring someone like scotts to come out and do it for me?

Do it yourself. I even spent a few bucks and sent soil samples to Penn State (sue me) for them to analyze my soil. They'll give you recommendations on what nutrients to add and how much.

Scotts et al are overwhelmingly expensive.

Postby **MrKennethTKangaroo** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 9:59 am

can I just send some of my dog's turds to penn state and have them sample the makeup of those turds instead

Postby **count2infinity** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 10:20 am

You actually can....

Postby **LITT** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 3:01 pm

i love hanging ceiling fans

Postby **meow** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 3:29 pm

Ceiling fans are one of the more bang for your buck when it comes to time invested vs time used when it comes to home improvements. I can throw a ceiling fan in in 2 hours then use it for 500 hours by the end of the month. Great ROI

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:32 pm

I put a ceiling fan up on our back porch. Not fun times, and not sure if the ROI will be there. My wife hopes it'll allow us to eat outside during the more hot and muggy days, and also deter any flying insects.

Postby **NTP66** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 5:42 pm

I put a ceiling fan up on our back porch. Not fun times, and not sure if the ROI will be there. My wife hopes it'll allow us to eat outside during the more hot and muggy days, and also deter any flying insects.

The people who I know said it definitely helped with bugs. My wife hates the ceiling fan in our bedroom, because it runs 24/367, and she’s always cold.

Postby **Shyster** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:05 pm

The people who I know said it definitely helped with bugs. My wife hates the ceiling fan in our bedroom, because it runs 24/367, and she’s always cold.

Postby **Morkle** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 8:53 am

I got a question for you guys. My wife wants to hang string lights on our composite deck. Our deck rail is aluminum thin fencing, so I don't want to drill into it. Anyone know of a product or a nice looking DIY that I can do to build kind of a pole base so I can hang lights across?

Postby **shmenguin** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:00 am

I’m 5 out of 10 in basic home maintenance skills. I can wield a drill, replace an outlet, run Ethernet cable through the walls. My spackle game isn’t strong but I can make it work.

We have a little unfinished pool house at our new place. It’s all framed up and has electricity (outside outlet). Do I need to be highly capable to insulate and drywall this thing or leave it to the pros?

Postby **NTP66** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:07 am

Insulation and drywall shouldn't be an issue for the average DIYer, IMO, just use the right materials. I'd still pay somebody to finish the walls afterwards, though, because taping and joint work is for the devil.

Postby **Morkle** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:33 am

I’m 5 out of 10 in basic home maintenance skills. I can wield a drill, replace an outlet, run Ethernet cable through the walls. My spackle game isn’t strong but I can make it work.

We have a little unfinished pool house at our new place. It’s all framed up and has electricity (outside outlet). Do I need to be highly capable to insulate and drywall this thing or leave it to the pros?

I have zero experience, but HGTV has showed me you can cut the insulation or spray it and cut it, and drill the drywall into the studs and then fill them.

If I had to do it, I would certainly try it myself with zero experience. Nice thing, is you can just buy more drywall if you make a mistake since it's unfinished.

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:12 am

Source of the post I'd still pay somebody to finish the walls afterwards, though, because taping and joint work is for the devil.

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:13 am

I got a question for you guys. My wife wants to hang string lights on our composite deck. Our deck rail is aluminum thin fencing, so I don't want to drill into it. Anyone know of a product or a nice looking DIY that I can do to build kind of a pole base so I can hang lights across?

Is there a roof over the deck?

Postby **Morkle** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:18 am

Nope, open air, off the second story of our house so can't post into the ground, as it'd look goofy.

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:23 am

I'm thinking a small pole (1/2" - 1" in diameter) mounted to something like a flag pole base. Mount it to the 4x4's. That way you can remove the poles/lights in the winter if you want.

Postby **Morkle** » Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:31 am

I'm thinking a small pole (1/2" - 1" in diameter) mounted to something like a flag pole base. Mount it to the 4x4's. That way you can remove the poles/lights in the winter if you want.

Interesting. I'll look into this one. THanks!

Postby **NTP66** » Sat Mar 06, 2021 12:53 pm

I think we’ve finally picked out a tile for our kitchen/bathroom/pantry. Next up is the estimate, which is what worries me. The tile is going to run over $2k alone, and I also want to look at infloor heating around the countertops and along the wall next to our slider door. I expect to be told $8-10k, even though these are 12x24 tiles.

Postby **meow** » Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:21 pm

I’m hesitant with drywall because it can turn into a time sink for me. I value my time very high, so things like drywall often get me to write a check. I can do it, but I’m just so damn slow and have to come back to it three or four times.

Postby **mac5155** » Sat Mar 06, 2021 4:29 pm

I got a question for you guys. My wife wants to hang string lights on our composite deck. Our deck rail is aluminum thin fencing, so I don't want to drill into it. Anyone know of a product or a nice looking DIY that I can do to build kind of a pole base so I can hang lights across?

My brother in law used command strips for his aluminum gazebo. Can hardly see them