The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

[aparch]

HGTV are a bunch of lying liars. I was under the assumption that a deck could be assembled In a three minute commercial break.

My backyard says that isn't the case.

[dxmnkd316]

I have an insane sounding question.

Any idea what would cause a loud, deep thud every four hours on the dot at 4, 8, 12, 4, 8, and 12 again every day?

It’s been happening for a couple months now, and I thought it was the house settling during the hot weather. But I just recognized yesterday it was literally every four hours. I went downstairs to watch because I thought it sounded like water hammer type frequency. When I was watching it, like clockwork, the whole piping supply line shook. We noticed some sand around it but figured that was just a small ant colony or something that came in. Now I’m wondering if the shaking is causing the sand to come up around the piping.

I assume this is something I need to call the city about. So I’m going to do that Monday. Not sure who to call or what to even ask without sounding like an insane person.

i figure it’s some sort of valve cycling or pump kicking on. I just can’t imagine a natural thing like settling to be that regular. Like, within a dozen seconds each time. I’d also be surprised if it was something citywide without reports. Either way, I’m very confused.

[RaceBoarder]

Could you get video/audio of it? That would help lay out the idea to whomever you talk to with the city...

[dxmnkd316]

That’s a good idea.

Just happened again five minutes ago. Like clockwork. Also happened at 6 pm this time. It sounds like someone dropping a 20lb weight and hitting flat on the ground like a book would.

[St. Clown]

I went on to Lowe's site and bought a shed kit, a 10 x 12 x 7 Gambrel-roofed shed. They send all the wood pre-cut, the nails, etc., too. I figure there's about a $500 premium paid for them to take care of the cutting. I need a flat place to set it, and didn't just want to put down a pad of landscaping rock, so I've started building a wooden base (all green treated/pressure treated). First, I placed down the 4x4 posts, and set them in concrete. They're about 0.5" off square, when measuring the one hypotenuse, but the other is almost dead-on balls accurate. I still have to set the 2x6 joists, and then the plywood flooring over them. I'm starting to think that I should have just paid a guy to put down a concrete pad back when I had my driveway replaced in July. Getting the posts to square was a much bigger task than I expected, and I was expecting easy. The shed kit comes on two weeks from today, so then we'll see how well I can follow instructions.

And yes, the posts are all in 3" from the 10'x12' dimensions to account for the width of the 2x6 joist wrapping. I thinked before I done.

[burd]

I went on to Lowe's site and bought a shed kit, a 10 x 12 x 7 Gambrel-roofed shed. They send all the wood pre-cut, the nails, etc., too. I figure there's about a $500 premium paid for them to take care of the cutting. I need a flat place to set it, and didn't just want to put down a pad of landscaping rock, so I've started building a wooden base (all green treated/pressure treated). First, I placed down the 4x4 posts, and set them in concrete. They're about 0.5" off square, when measuring the one hypotenuse, but the other is almost dead-on balls accurate. I still have to set the 2x6 joists, and then the plywood flooring over them. I'm starting to think that I should have just paid a guy to put down a concrete pad back when I had my driveway replaced in July. Getting the posts to square was a much bigger task than I expected, and I was expecting easy. The shed kit comes on two weeks from today, so then we'll see how well I can follow instructions.

And yes, the posts are all in 3" from the 10'x12' dimensions to account for the width of the 2x6 joist wrapping. I thinked before I done.

How is the shed sided? Typically, you want the siding (and/or sheathing under it) to start lower than the outside edge of the floor decking to prevent water intrusion, even if it's treated. In other words, is their 10 x 12 dimension an outside-of-siding measurement?

[St. Clown]

How is the shed sided? Typically, you want the siding (and/or sheathing under it) to start lower than the outside edge of the floor decking to prevent water intrusion, even if it's treated. In other words, is their 10 x 12 dimension an outside-of-siding measurement?

Per the site:

Actual Exterior Width 10.19'
Actual Exterior Length 12.23'

Actual Interior Width 10'
Actual Exterior Length 12'

[burd]

Per the site:

Actual Exterior Width 10.19'
Actual Exterior Length 12.23'

Actual Interior Width 10'
Actual Exterior Length 12'

What kind of siding? I'm guessing it's in sheet form, like T1-11.

[St. Clown]

What kind of siding? I'm guessing it's in sheet form, like T1-11.

They call it "engineered wood", but it's pretty much the newer-age particle board. I think it'll be okay because I am raising it off the ground.

[burd]

They call it "engineered wood", but it's pretty much the newer-age particle board. I think it'll be okay because I am raising it off the ground.

Yup. When you get your kit, come here with similar questions. You probably have carpenter friends, but if not, I'd be happy to share what limited knowledge I have, including private message.

[St. Clown]

Thanks. I might take you up on that.

[dxmnkd316]

Wet edge.

Nice!

[St. Clown]

I went on to Lowe's site and bought a shed kit, a 10 x 12 x 7 Gambrel-roofed shed. They send all the wood pre-cut, the nails, etc., too. I figure there's about a $500 premium paid for them to take care of the cutting. I need a flat place to set it, and didn't just want to put down a pad of landscaping rock, so I've started building a wooden base (all green treated/pressure treated). First, I placed down the 4x4 posts, and set them in concrete. They're about 0.5" off square, when measuring the one hypotenuse, but the other is almost dead-on balls accurate. I still have to set the 2x6 joists, and then the plywood flooring over them. I'm starting to think that I should have just paid a guy to put down a concrete pad back when I had my driveway replaced in July. Getting the posts to square was a much bigger task than I expected, and I was expecting easy. The shed kit comes on two weeks from today, so then we'll see how well I can follow instructions.

And yes, the posts are all in 3" from the 10'x12' dimensions to account for the width of the 2x6 joist wrapping. I thinked before I done.

Completely expected by most everybody except me - I messed up setting the 4x4 posts when pouring the concrete, but I've been mostly able to figure out how to fix it all. Almost. All things considered, I'm pretty happy with the results. The hypotenuse of my 10' x 12' base is 187.446". My two C-value measurements ended up at 187.25" and 187.75".

Just to make this easier for me to write:
Stud A = SE corner stud
Stud B = NE corner stud
Stud C = NW corner stud and
Stud D = SW corner stud.

In order to get to that point, I had to cut out about 1/2" off the eastern side of Stud A, and add a 1/2"-thick shim to the eastern side of Stud B, and another 5/8"-thick shim to the southern side of Stud A. Stud D is at the high point of the land, so it was used to set the level for all other studs.

All of that took way more time than it ever should have. I spent about 8 hours yesterday and then 2 hours tonight doing this. It's frustrating to think how long it took me to come to that point. Amateur Hour. Now I have the much simpler process of setting the joists on the interior of the base and then the plywood floor. I can't decide, or maybe I have. I don't know.

[dxmnkd316]

Bought a fairly cheap fire pit at menards (TERLETS! BENCHES! SOFT BENCHES!) this week. Last night we had our first fire. A few notes:

1. Why in the hell did we not do this earlier?
2. Surprised at how much I liked this cheapo fire pit. Good design, won’t last most likely. But just a bandaid until we can get our permanent one put in ground next spring.
3. Buckthorn burns amazingly well with little ash. Very satisfying to see it burn. Nice smell too. We had an overstock of thick logs for it as I didn’t know what it looked like and didn’t expect it to be planted intentionally. Well, I had four or five 15-20 tall specimens.

[Kepler]

Fire pits are awesome but please don't use your now since you ill just be spreading your covid to the neighbors.