Home Improvement Thread

Postby **Willie Kool** » Fri Apr 06, 2018 5:06 pm

I've got a painting question.

We have a wooden door frame around our front door. Over the years, some of the paint has flaked off during pressure washings. Not much, but it is noticable.

If I'm planning to paint it the same color, do I need to sand it down to the wood? Or sand it at all? Or just clean it, prime it, and paint?

I'd at least scuff sand the whole thing. Any areas that have been exposed should be sanded down to good, fresh wood before priming.

Postby **Silentom** » Fri Apr 06, 2018 5:34 pm

Definitely sand it a little bit. Need a semi rough surface for the paint to stick well.

Postby **mac5155** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 3:14 pm

Well we unofficially moved into the new place yesterday. Gotta say it feels like staying in a hotel or something waking up in a brand new house even though we've spent the better part of the past 3 months out there getting everything finished up.

Postby **mac5155** » Fri Apr 13, 2018 10:00 am

Looking for advice on low water pressure. I have around 50 coming into the house and 40 at the fixtures so it's hard to shower. I am nearly at the same elevation as the water tower which supplies the pressure (and we're about 700 feet off the road too). I have plenty of volume because I put in 2" pipe from the meter and 3/4" copper to all the fixtures. I can have two sinks running and flush the toilet and no noticeable drop. But the pressure is bad.

I was looking at a Grundfos Scala 2 https://www.homedepot.com/p/Grundfos-SC ... /300723212
or a Davey https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DT3YKLK/sr ... 345&sr=8-3

Looking for any input from those who may have installed at their house?

Postby **tifosi77** » Fri Apr 13, 2018 3:50 pm

Well we unofficially moved into the new place yesterday. Gotta say it feels like staying in a hotel or something waking up in a brand new house even though we've spent the better part of the past 3 months out there getting everything finished up.

That awesome, mac. Good for you.

Postby **AuthorTony** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 11:57 am

I'm trying to get ideas for expanding or replacing a small wooden "deck" which is currently covering a concrete slab. Last fall I had the porch roof added and it's intentionally off center with the door as I want to put either a swing or some chairs on the left side, but I need to figure out what to do with the deck. Any good ideas?

Postby **meow** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:20 pm

Remove the wood porch. Break up the concrete slab. Lay all new wood.

Postby **Freddy Rumsen** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 3:07 pm

Ditto to meow.

Postby **AuthorTony** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 4:53 pm

Am reluctant to do that.

NEXT!

Just kidding. I thought too that would be the best choice. Just being lazy.

Postby **mac5155** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 4:35 pm

Between the off center door, the stone work being uneven on either side, the small porch.. my OCD is having a field day with that pic

Postby **AuthorTony** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 4:45 pm

LOL

The porch roof is actually mostly centered on the house this way. I didn't want it to be centered over the door because then it would have covered part of the picture window, and my house is already dark enough.

Postby **meow** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 5:23 pm

My first thought was “how wide is that door? How does Tony get anything in that house?? I hope there is a sliding door or something in the back.”

Postby **AuthorTony** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 5:26 pm

32". All my exterior doors are 32" and yes, it sucks.

Postby **meow** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 5:33 pm

Prayers

Postby **willeyeam** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 5:53 pm

Ts and Ps

Postby **Willie Kool** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 7:40 pm

32". All my exterior doors are 32" and yes, it sucks.

Could you fit a bigger door or is there a wall right there?

Postby **AuthorTony** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 7:44 pm

The front door (enters into the living room) is out, as is the side door. The only doorway I could expand is the back. I've considered putting french doors in there actually, but never get around to it.

Postby **Willie Kool** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 7:55 pm

For the porch (and column bottoms), I'd be looking at trying to match the existing stone. Something a bit like this:

Postby **LITT** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 7:32 am

so the guy who built my table saw and used it for 4 months did somethign funny. it is not level. the side with the wheels is about 5 inches higher than the other side. i have tried to put down the legs on the other side, etc. with no luck. im thinking about putting a few 2x4s underneath to level it out. is there a reason i shouldn't do this?
the blade and riving knife are parallel to the miter slots so that all looks good

Postby **mac5155** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 11:07 am

Is the 'X' piece with the legs on upside down? Just a guess.

Postby **LITT** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:33 pm

I thought about something like that but the feet and wheels are attached so didn’t explore that thoroughly

Postby **shafnutz05** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:55 pm

We finally decided to pony up some cash and pay for lawn service (treatment/fertilizing, not mowing). It's seven treatments over the course of the year. I also decided to go ahead and pay the rather hefty sum for aerating/seeding. Mainly because I know that once the weeds in my yard die from the herbicide, it ain't going to be pretty. From a distance it doesn't look bad, but up close you can see just how much of my yard is weedy crap.

The aerating/seeding, while expensive, is something that I have no interest in doing myself. The grass seed costs a fortune anyway, I'd probably have to get a ton of bags since I'm on a half acre, not to speak of doing the aerating and seeding manually. I think it will definitely be worth it, and the lawn service has excellent reviews.

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 1:10 pm

We finally decided to pony up some cash and pay for lawn service (treatment/fertilizing, not mowing). It's seven treatments over the course of the year. I also decided to go ahead and pay the rather hefty sum for aerating/seeding. Mainly because I know that once the weeds in my yard die from the herbicide, it ain't going to be pretty. From a distance it doesn't look bad, but up close you can see just how much of my yard is weedy crap.

The aerating/seeding, while expensive, is something that I have no interest in doing myself. The grass seed costs a fortune anyway, I'd probably have to get a ton of bags since I'm on a half acre, not to speak of doing the aerating and seeding manually. I think it will definitely be worth it, and the lawn service has excellent reviews.

I aerated my lawn this past weekend. I have 1/3 acre and nearly died.

Postby **NTP66** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 1:13 pm

I wouldn't want to aerate half an acre, but would be okay with fertilizer/lime/seed given how infrequent the applications are (quarterly).

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:09 pm

I broke down and did a year round service (Trugreen) as well. $850 for a year's worth of treatment - fertilization, weed treatment, aeration, fire ant, etc. I made the mistake of over fertilizing our lawn years ago and we're now dealing with a heavy thatching issue. My lawn is so thick in parts that I have to dig out and raise my irrigation sprinkler heads up so they are spraying underground.