Home Improvement Thread

[dodint]

Ah, gotcha. Something about a shaded planter strikes me as odd. I guess it's just something you have to consider when you choose what to plant in there.

[NTP66]

Yeah, my wife knows which type of flowers do really well in there, so we know what to get from the garden center each year. They always do well in the well, and during laye spring especially they look amazing. We found these purple flowers long ago that would kinda overgrow the well and hang over the edges - looked fantastic. Well broke and something happened and we lost them, and neither of us can recall exactly what they were.

[Willie Kool]

If you can source some black locust wood, that would be by far the most durable but it's rough as hell on saw blades and while it won't rot it might split and check. I'd probably use cedar but wouldn't put dirt directly in it, I'd figure out a plastic liner for the sides or find a pot with really good drainage to fit inside.

Good to know, thanks. I can go the bucket route on the inside of even some sort of lining, but what about the bottom of the cedar touching the dirt on the base? I assume no issues there, or should I use something on the bottom of that, as well?

Just make sure you have a lot of drainage, like if you use a bucket, swiss cheese the f out of the bottom with pretty big holes and probably a few on the sides right around the bottom if it's going to sit right on the ground. Put some rocks and gravel in the bottom to keep soil from falling out.

Keeping the wood completely out of the dirt and therefore relatively dry will definitely help it last longer. Maybe lay down a few of these or something like it

https://www.lowes.com/pd/WonderLand-18- ... 5014652645

Also I'd probably use stainless fasteners.

[dodint]

Make it entirely out of Trex.

[NTP66]

Make it entirely out of Trex.

There's actually a company that uses a similar product. They also have some wild paint schemes on some of their wells, lol: https://www.greenacres.info/patio-furni ... ing-wells/

[NTP66]

$200 for the material for this wishing well/planter, but it’s entirely red cedar. Shocked that Lowe’s stocks this stuff And HD does not.

[NTP66]

Changed around the well design slightly, opting for using the 2x4s vertically for the first few rows, and then adding a horizontal row for the shelf. I also 3D printed some drill guides for the two holes I'll need per piece to join everything. I plan on using these two pieces for all of my markings, too, which will speed up the job. Hoping to at least start on it this weekend.

[mac5155]

Anyone have recommendations on blink camera mounting brackets on vinyl siding?

[NTP66]

Anyone have recommendations on blink camera mounting brackets on vinyl siding?

When I was looking into them before, Amazon had a lot of options that were basically all the same design - a metal clip that tucked in under the bottom of a panel, and had a bar/screw that allowed you to adjust it horizontally. Probably your best bet if you don't own a 3D printer to print your own.

[mac5155]

Yeah, I saw those and then I saw some sticky ones that would work on flat surface (like the siding corner trim). I guess I'll give those a shot.

[NTP66]

The Blink cameras weigh like nothing, so the metal mounts are probably more than enough. I'd just mount them high enough to require at least a step ladder. That was one of my complaints about some of the Eufy cameras I was looking in - no actual security mounts, so unless you mounted it high enough, somebody could literally just walk up and pull it off the mount with zero tools. Which is wild to me given that these are billed as security cameras.

[mac5155]

Interesting. I have CCTV security cameras mounted on all four corners of my house and they have siding blocks. Ihowever the wiring has deteriorated and at least two don't work properly so I'm replacing them with blinks. I thought they may be too high though and far away to be useful. They're about 10-12 feet off the ground.

[dodint]

Our dryer died. Took it apart to check the thermal fuse and it had a tag saying "Built in Mexico 2003" in it. 21 years is a pretty good run. The guy at Lowes said the life expectancy of the new ones are 7-10 years at best.

My wife, who is a saint, did all the research and only brought me a long to sanity check her choices. The new set will be delivered on Friday.

[NTP66]

7-10 years is pretty sad, honestly. The LG washer and dryer we got rid of a few years ago both worked fine, but were simply too small now. We had better get 10+ years out of these new ones.

[dodint]

The fussiness of our LG refrigerator caused us not to consider them for a w/d. And I love LG electronics.

[NTP66]

See, I've heard that about their refrigerators, so they would never be on my list. We've always had LG washers and dryers, so those are always our primary choice. My only gripe with most of their front loaders is that they have an awful detergent dispensing design that basically ensures that mold will grow. That's why we went with a newer design on this last change.

[MR25]

What did you go with? I recently replaced my Amana's from the 2000s with Maytag, and I think Don's gave me a 5 year warranty.

[dodint]

She went with the biggest washer that didn't have a glass top, then got the matching dryer. It's a Maytag set, MVW4505MW and MED4500MW.

Her other big requirement was an agitator in the washer, which is a feature that is fortunately nearly back to standard now for toploaders.

[mac5155]

We have GE kitchen and Samsung W/D. No complaints with any of them, though the dishwasher is the biggest PITA.

[NTP66]

All of our kitchen appliances are Frigidaire Gallery, and I'd probably replace anything that broke with another of the same brand. We've had really good luck over the last 20+ years with Frigidaire/Kenmore/etc.

[Shyster]

The left-front element on my Kenmore glass-top stove partially stopped working in that the outer ring of the dual element would still come on, but the inner part would not. A replacement element was about $40 on Amazon, and it took maybe 30 minutes to swap out. I didn't go with an OEM part, but the one I bought looks exactly the same as the official Frigidaire/Kenmore part, and I figure they probably all come out of the same factory in China. It was less than half the price of an OEM element.

[AuthorTony]

Have any of yinz ever built a hidden swinging bookcase? I was thinking of making two of them to replace bifold doors in my movie room. I'm fine with the build part, but I'm just wondering what I need to take into consideration as far as clearance goes.

[Beveridge]

Having a contractor come over tonight for looking at finishing our unfinished second floor. Can't wait to see those prices.

[Joegap]

$5500 seems really high for just a 2-stage furnace, IMO.

Includes install

Okay, that’s different then, lol.

We got a quote for a trane 2-stage and a new outdoor AC for 15k...... I just texted an old buddy who just started his own HVAC biz, and he told me I'd be looking at 6k. I for the life of me cannot comprehend the price difference.

[dodint]

We paid a little over $15k for a similar system a few years ago, and that included running new ductwork and hauling away the old furnace and tanks.