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Dumb question: Epoxy bartop coatings are a thing, why don't people do epoxy + fiberglass bartops, like a cedar strip canoe? Is it just overkill? Does the fiberglass not make it food safe? I'd imagine that a fiberglass + epoxy tabletop would be very durable and also repairable.
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Jun 12, 2020 18:15
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I may have posted about this before, but I'm going to go ahead and DIY replacing the fencing in my yard, along with one side of the shared fence (which my neighbor claims he will split the cost of and labor) and then two gates on either side of the house. Anyway, I have a 38"ish wide gate on the left side of my house and a ~12 ft wide fence on the right side of my house which I would like to change to a double gate so I can keep my trash cans and things behind the fence. I am trying to figure out what the best solution is for rebuilding the gates. The previous owner at some point installed metal posts in for the fence, and all of the gate kits I have found are designed to be screwed into wooden posts. Do I just have to jerry-rig a chain link fence gate hinge into one of these kits or is there an appropriate gate kit for metal posts? I found this site which carries various get kits, but I'm not sure if it's the best solution for my two gates. https://www.hooverfence.com/gate-hardware/gate-kits TL;DR Have metal fence posts; need to rebuild a 38" wide gate and a 12 foot wide opening where I would presumably have two ~6 ft wide gates. What gate hardware should I use?
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Jun 12, 2020 23:51
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Also spoke with my neighbor who is a civil engineer. She patched up a collapsing section of the wall in her backyard out of her own pocket. She said she did that because she thinks this is something thats going to eventually have to involve the city and she was excited to finish up a landscaping project. The wall spans the entire block, and in her opinion one homeowner cant break off a section to fix it on their lot without causing damage to the rest of the wall. So full warning: I'm a civil/water resources engineer, but I've worked on a number of water-bearing and non-water bearing walls, and depending on how old the wall is (from the sounds of it, possibly 100 years?), I think a competent company could stabilize it, sawcut out the portion on your property, pour a new vertical wall with proper footing, and then do a non-structural transition to the existing. This is for the concrete wall portion. Is some of it wood also? Motronic posted:She's almost definitely right, and there are engineers that specialize specifically in retaining walls. That's gonna be one hell of a bill. Somebody back in the day must have REALLY wanted their lot just a bit more level. Most states only require structural design for retaining walls where the footing goes more than 24"-30" below grade or the wall itself is 6' or more in height, though it varies some. Even then, the person signing and sealing could be a Civil PE as not all states delineate structural from civil for EORs. And at least for the concrete wall, the main issue from just looking at those photos actually appears to be drainage related, since it doesn't appear there are any weep holes in the wall. If it were me personally, I'd probably stabilize the existing wall on my property using cross bracing, then sawcut out and remove the concrete wall, excavate for a new 12" deep footing with probably 6" to 8" thickness of the footing pad itself, and 4" for the stub wall, buy some #4 rebar from home depot and form a simple rebar mat, then after the footing has cured, I"d use CMU block to replace the existing wall. Each block opening gets a vertical #4 or #5, and grouted fully. The 4" stub wall would also have probably 1" or 2" PVC in it pre-pour to act as weep holes once it's done. Then sit back and let people figure out what to do with their own segments.
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Jun 13, 2020 01:00
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 Love 2 spend  to get this drat tree removed. The trunk is less than a foot from the roof there. Previous owner planted it and apparently couldn’t be assed to do gently caress all about it in the time they lived here.
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Jun 13, 2020 15:46
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Spring Heeled Jack posted:
Yeahhh that had to go. When we moved in we had to cut down two fully grown masssssive oaks that had grown between my house and the neighbors. Basically in. 300 sq foot space. The root structure was destroying both foundations.
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Jun 13, 2020 16:05
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Yesterday I discovered I've got a mole tearing up the strip between the sidewalk and the street, and I also managed to capture a yellow sac spider crawling up a wall near where I was sitting in my living room. I let the spider outside and will probably try to find some kind of mole repellent first since I really don't want to kill the poor thing.  Pest control is quickly becoming my least favorite part about being a home owner.
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Jun 13, 2020 16:05
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Idea: Let the mole have that little patch.
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Jun 13, 2020 16:22
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Yeah, I might, because honestly I don't care about that strip too much. But I'm going to at least try one of the natural repellents to see if he/she might move along, mostly because I've now learned they live 3+feet underground, so it will likely get into the rest of my lawn now that the ground was all dug up for my water line. It is truly incredible the amount of destruction they have caused in only the last 2 or 3 days.
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Jun 13, 2020 16:30
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BonoMan posted:Yeahhh that had to go. When we moved in we had to cut down two fully grown masssssive oaks that had grown between my house and the neighbors. Basically in. 300 sq foot space. The root structure was destroying both foundations. Thankfully it’s next to the sunroom which was added in the 80s and is a slab on cinderblock, so not much chance for serious damage. Still, when we moved in a limb was growing against the roof and denting it. After: 
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Jun 13, 2020 21:27
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Okay. So my girlfriend lives in southern NJ. She discovered termites in her house and called Terminix. They did some damage to a small portion of her subfloor in her bedroom. She has no basement, just a crawlspace, and apparently there's no other damage. House in 1 bdrm 1 bath. I'm looking at the contract Terminix drew up for her, and what they're looking to do is to trench and install 17 "in-ground monitoring stations" (which from what I can tell is a fancy term for bait stations) around the perimeter of the house, 100 linear feet. For this, they're charging $1500, plus a $300 annual charge to keep coming out and checking the stations and adding more bait. Now I know termites are nothing to gently caress with and can do serious damage to a house. Also I feel compelled to yell at her because she has no homeowner's insurance; the house is fully paid off and she owns it LSB but dammit homeowner's insurance is loving cheap and there's no reason to not have it. Except that she's also on a six-month unpaid furlough on account of the pandemic. So what she's asking me, and this is something I have no good answer for because I've never had to deal with it, is this something she can do herself instead of giving Terminix $1500? Post-hole digger, some termite bait stations from the hardware store, what is Terminix doing that she can't do on her own?
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Jun 13, 2020 23:25
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I've got the termite bait stations through terminix and would do it myself if given the option again. They use exactly these bait stations. https://www.domyown.com/advance-termite-bait-system-kit-p-1331.html Get a 2.5" bulb auger off Amazon to install them and you're good to go. SpartanIvy fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Jun 13, 2020 |
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Jun 13, 2020 23:54
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We just did the Sentricon system through a local certified company that isn't Terminix and Orkin. For reference, our house perimeter that received the bait stations was about 2400 linear feet, and we paid just over $900 for the stations/"treatment". That cost also included treatment of a small area in the garage where termites had popped up between the expansion joints, using Termidor HE liquid. We have to pay the yearly station check/bait replacement too but I think that was about $200/year. The $1500 for the treatment seems ridiculously high for that small of footprint.
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Jun 14, 2020 00:08
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Phanatic posted:House in 1 bdrm 1 bath. I'm looking at the contract Terminix drew up for her, and what they're looking to do is to trench and install 17 "in-ground monitoring stations" (which from what I can tell is a fancy term for bait stations) around the perimeter of the house, 100 linear feet. For this, they're charging $1500, plus a $300 annual charge to keep coming out and checking the stations and adding more bait. If she doesn't want to do her own she should at a minimum get 2 other bids, one from a locally owned place. You might be surprised how quickly that terminix bid drops once they find out there are other people sniffing around. Once the literal damage is taken care of she has a few weeks to figure this out. She can use the money she saved to buy a year of fire insurance.
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Jun 14, 2020 00:45
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Phanatic posted:she has no homeowner's insurance That's a hell of a buried lede.
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Jun 14, 2020 00:45
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I tried some grout cleaner and used the most concentrated mix suggested. Looks like I made some progress, I guess. It basically looks like someone spilled water on it, but the water never dried. before  after 
actionjackson fucked around with this message at 04:16 on Jun 14, 2020 |
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Jun 14, 2020 02:19
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SpartanIvy posted:I've got the termite bait stations through terminix and would do it myself if given the option again. While moving some random pavers around in my yard that the PO had left, I saw that there appeared to be a colony of subterranean termites near my house. I knew there were some around my fence that butts up to a green belt, but I hadn't seen them near my house. Anyway, I installed these exact bait stations around the perimeter of my home and in a few months once I know the termites are feeding on the bait, I'll go in and swap the poison in. I don't have any signs of mud tubes up my slab, nor any indication of termite damage-- and for all I know these subterranean termites could just be the kind that only eat rotten and decaying roots and things, but for $300 it's piece of mind. Now, the fact that OP's gf has damage to the structure and a colony that has gotten to the house-- I might pay for the service of trenching around the house and pouring whatever the poison is, but the bait stations themselves are easy to DIY.
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Jun 14, 2020 10:05
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My neighbor just installing an above ground pool without getting any permits or even being compliant with the fence and decking needs sure makes me feel like a fool for waiting for... now 10 weeks while City Hall isn’t reviewing any permits so I can stick frame my freaking basement.
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Jun 14, 2020 15:09
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Hed posted:My neighbor just installing an above ground pool without getting any permits or even being compliant with the fence and decking needs sure makes me feel like a fool for waiting for... now 10 weeks while City Hall isn’t reviewing any permits so I can stick frame my freaking basement. Does your locality have a concept of a retrospective permit? Where I am it's legal to go ahead with some work and then apply for permission afterwards, on the caveat that if it doesn't pass you'll need to alter it or tear it down.
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Jun 14, 2020 15:24
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That's a great idea! I'll ask since the office is responsive over email. I don't have my hopes up since the last time I asked them if I could just start and they inspect after phase one (the framing) they said "well you're not supposed to do anything until we've issued the permit".
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Jun 14, 2020 15:48
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MetaJew posted:While moving some random pavers around in my yard that the PO had left, I saw that there appeared to be a colony of subterranean termites near my house. I knew there were some around my fence that butts up to a green belt, but I hadn't seen them near my house. If they're trenching and putting down chemicals it's probably Taurus SC which is also available on DoMyOwn.com. If you have a shovel you can easily do that yourself for cheaply as well. 1. Dig out dirt. 2. Spray hole and soak dirt with Taurus SC 3. Put dirt back in hole Taurus SC should also be applied above ground on the perimeter of the house and if you can apply it directly to the mound, all the better. Wear a respirator when spraying it.
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Jun 14, 2020 16:13
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I never even considered needing a permit for an above ground pool, but I just checked and anything over 24" deep needs a permit and a fence surrounding it here. Seems like most people just buy one at a big box store and plop it down with no forethought at all, I'd be surprised if 1 in 10 I see have a proper fence/permit.
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Jun 14, 2020 16:17
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Didn't make it to a store yesterday for mole repellent. Just went out to mow and found it/they have taken over my front yard too. There must be 50ft of new tunnels out there, holy crap.
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Jun 14, 2020 16:34
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Sirotan posted:There must be 50ft of new tunnels out there,
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Jun 14, 2020 16:35
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Jun 14, 2020 16:51
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SourKraut posted:For reference, our house perimeter that received the bait stations was about 2400 linear feet, ...
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Jun 14, 2020 17:07
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A city isnt ever going to say you can start construction prior to getting a permit, but they implicitly will allow it if you don't get caught or aren't an arsehole. Just do everything up to the first inspection and youre fine.
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Jun 14, 2020 17:29
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Phanatic posted:Also I feel compelled to yell at her because she has no homeowner's insurance Errrr, what. Also, homeowners won't cover wood destroying insects in my experience, so though that's not applicable to this situation, that should still be remedied anyway.
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Jun 14, 2020 17:35
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I'm having a problem with massive ants coming into and possibly eating the chalet over the past week. Looking them up they seem to be carpenter ants which sounds Bad. They have mostly ignored bait stations so I've attacked what I think is the n'est with some insecticide. No banana for scale but this guy is about 2cm long  Per the paysagiste: "Pour moi ce n’est pas des charpentičres" so we will see.
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Jun 15, 2020 10:02
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We have those big ones here and there too, but I don't tihnk our sort eats houses, we're too farth north for that.
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Jun 15, 2020 11:23
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Sirotan posted:Didn't make it to a store yesterday for mole repellent. Just went out to mow and found it/they have taken over my front yard too. There must be 50ft of new tunnels out there, holy crap.
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Jun 15, 2020 17:06
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Dog hair put in the mole holes seems to have helped me for years, but that may have just been coincidence.
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Jun 15, 2020 17:14
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HycoCam posted:Scissor traps are horrifyingly effective. Keep the trap in a box/garbage bag and wear gloves when placing to keep your scent off the trap. Only three things have ever worked for me at getting rid of moles--dogs, cats, and scissor traps. You gotta be real lucky to have a pet that catches moles. The scissor traps normally get the job done in 48 hours. Yeah I am going to give the repellent a go (put down the first round of a caster oil-based one last night, no new mole activity that I can see this morning) before I get a trap. I just watched a video about the scissor traps and that looks like the easiest one to set, and also holy poo poo I didn't realize just how big moles are. I found one of these bad boys in my garage when I moved in, guessing this will be an ongoing battle: https://www.amazon.com/Victor-Plunger-Style-Quick-Clean/dp/B00004RAMS/ Mole(s) please just leave I really don't want to murder you. 
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Jun 15, 2020 17:20
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If you're a 7 or 8 year old kid, you can jam a garden hose in a mole hole and solve the whole problem by accident. You will need your father to be nearby with a shovel to dispatch the moles. At least this is the method that worked for me.
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Jun 15, 2020 17:27
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Sirotan posted:Mole(s) please just leave I really don't want to murder you. My mother had a similar situation, and got round a guy who cared a lot about his job, and cared about the moles, but still felt that the only reasonable solution was to kill them all. His reasoning is that moving them on will only lead them to surface in some other person's garden, if they don't come back. Like how do you decide where to dump them?
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Jun 15, 2020 17:39
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Jaded Burnout posted:His reasoning is that moving them on will only lead them to surface in some other person's garden, if they don't come back. Like how do you decide where to dump them? Yeeaaahhhhh I am struggling with that bit as well, that all I may accomplish is making this someone else's problem. Feels bad man.
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Jun 15, 2020 17:54
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Jaded Burnout posted:My mother had a similar situation, and got round a guy who cared a lot about his job, and cared about the moles, but still felt that the only reasonable solution was to kill them all. This is the kind of thinking that leads either to running a mole sanctuary or developing the most horrifyingly impressive efficiency at killing them.
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Jun 15, 2020 18:53
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cakesmith handyman posted:This is the kind of thinking that leads either to running a mole sanctuary or developing the most horrifyingly impressive efficiency at killing them. Yeah. Apparently he went for the latter, though compassionately so.
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Jun 15, 2020 19:12
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Sirotan posted:I found one of these bad boys in my garage when I moved in, guessing this will be an ongoing battle: https://www.amazon.com/Victor-Plunger-Style-Quick-Clean/dp/B00004RAMS/ All of the poison methods don't really seem to work. Lighting the gas sticks and stuffing them in the holes feels like you are being dastardly and going to wipe out the pack--but in the end, gassing doesn't seem to work very well. Never got the poison granules to work either. The big box stores in the USA seem to offer either replants or really expensive poison worms. Over the years, I've spent hundreds on fighting the fuckers. The plunger style was the first of the murder traps and it has been hit and miss over the years. One reason it may have become less effective is because of the handling of the mole trap over the years and getting human scent all over it. Anyhow, grabbed a few of these scissors traps: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Easy-Mole-Trap/114078412195 A trap costs about the same as the worm poison. If you can't beat them any other way, grab a few of these and make sure you never touch them. Find the straightest runs you can. Put the trap in, step on it. Make sure the trip is resting over the tunnel. Lightly tamp down 8" or so of dirt on either side of the trap and wait a few hours. (If you compact the dirt too much, the moles may tunnel around the cave in.) Wear the gloves and bring a few bags with you when you retrieve the trap--one for the dead mole and another to keep the trap stored until the next use.
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Jun 15, 2020 20:16
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Dear homeowner goons. Chemical warfare is bad, please don't do it unless you really need to (e.g. bugs eating foundation). Conventional weaponry is more \m/ metal anyway
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Jun 15, 2020 20:29
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This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I say the moles have won. I recommend moving.
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Jun 15, 2020 20:40
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