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So I'm in the process of trying to get some vegetables growing in my backyard and the existing "landscaping" which I want to replace with a garden is basically just two trees surrounded by bark mulch. In the process of digging out the bark mulch I discovered that it is covering a weed barrier fabric and then underneath that is "soil" that is basically just river rocks packed together. Looks like it was filled in with rocks to level it out before they dumped the bark on it or something. Any better way to handle this than using a pickaxe to try and break them up a bit at a time and slowly shoveling them into a big fuckoff pile of rocks so that I can get some real dirt in there? I think trying to run any kind of tiller through there to break stuff up is just going to gently caress up the tiller blades so that probably isn't an option.
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May 4, 2016 23:28
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 22:12 |
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So is there a good way to decide when to do a roof replacement other than "oh poo poo there is water leaking into my house"? House was built in 1996 and I'm assuming it has the original roof on it so it is probably getting towards the end of its life. Inspection last fall called it out as looking like it would need to be replaced soon due to some loose granules and some missing flashing but it was with the standard "you should get it evaluated by a professional roofer" disclaimer. As part of a contingency the bank put on the sale the sellers had some sketchy roofing company come out and fix the missing flashing and "certify" that the roof was good for 3-5 years but the impression I got was that the company they got to do it was fully aware that they were doing it so that the sellers could close. Plus my understanding is that these roof certifications aren't worth the paper they are printed on. I had three folks out to give quotes (ranging from $7-11k) and they are understandably going to tell me I should go ahead and do it now since they want to get paid. The company that seemed the best (and had the correspondingly highest quote) said it was in "fair minus" condition and that I should just keep an eye out in the attic for any moisture. Looks dry as a whistle up there and I don't see any light leaking in during the day either for now but the repair is inevitable so not sure if I should just get it done now or try to save a grand or so by stretching it out.
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Jun 17, 2016 18:38
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Celador posted:I have a lawn about the size of yours, and I just bought a 40-volt battery-powered mower from Ryobi and it works awesome. I had to get one of the "high capacity" batteries (5 amp vs. the 1.8 amp my blower/trimmer came with) but after finishing the yard it still has about 20% battery life left and I drain the rest with my trimmer. No gas to buy/store, no oil to change, and it's light and makes so little noise some of my neighbors stop and ask me what it is all the time. I got one that actually plugs in to mow my tiny yard with. I probably look ridiculous dragging an extension cord behind me back and forth across the lawn but nice to not even have to worry about charging it or (someday) replacing the battery after it can't hold enough charge.
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Jun 23, 2016 18:18
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:We just bought a new house (yay) and with it came some new rooms with awful paint that need to be repainted. A couple of the rooms have a pretty bright yellow. I am thinking to repaint either very light gray or very light rose pink. How many coats do you think I'll need? Should I prime first? We don't need the rooms for the next 2 months or so, but I'd like to get it underway because I have some spare dollars around. How much should I anticipate paying? They are smaller-ish bedrooms both. I'm not going to paint the closets or any of the trim. You can get newer latex paint that doesn't require primer to be put down and should only take one good coat. Yellow is pretty easy to cover up too, it is the darker colors that are tougher.
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Oct 17, 2016 18:09
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Ghostnuke posted:That's weird. I used it to go over a dark blue and it worked just fine. Story time. When I was touring the house I ended up buying the most shocking thing I found was in the room they were using as an office. It was empty except for a desk and office chair facing the door and the entire room was painted denim color. No I don't just mean a medium blue. I mean denim. Somebody had gone through the room, painted it blue, sponge painted some lighter blue on top of it to make it look like denim texture, and then gone around and hand painted dashed vertical lines to look like stitching every 5 feet or so. It was one of the most hideous paint jobs I've ever seen. We painted over it immediately but still call it "the denim room".
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Oct 17, 2016 19:42
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Ghostnuke posted:Is there anything I can spray on my deck to make it moss resistant? I power washed it all off over the weekend, but it's super shady back there so it's just going to grow back. The same stuff they put on roofs to keep moss at bay. I think they mostly use zinc but you can use bleach too. Either should be effective for a while but you'll wanna make sure you don't gently caress up any plants around your deck.
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Oct 24, 2016 17:57
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Rurutia posted:I was just quoted $1400 for a basic 6yr warranty gas water heater from the company State. Apparently going for the higher quality 10yr warranty one. Does that sound right? Googling around is giving me much lower quotes. Even with installation included that sounds like a lot if it is a straight replacement of an existing heater.
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Dec 1, 2016 23:32
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dalstrs posted:Is there any yard mosquito control that actually works or are they all gimmicks? They guy at the hardware store was telling me how great some garlic extract stuff they sell was but it was around $70 for a gallon which is 4x as expensive as most of the other insecticides they were selling. This is more about personal repellent but might be useful: https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/02/in-high-tech-mimic-of-your-patio-scientists-find-the-best-mosquito-deterrent/
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Feb 23, 2017 22:50
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I hid all the metal spatulas last time we had a house guest.
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Apr 5, 2017 18:45
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Steve Yun posted:Thanks for the water heater advice guys. Does $520 for an AO Smith 40 gallon gas powered tank with six years of warrantee sound about right? Sounds reasonable.
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Jun 16, 2017 18:13
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Best option to get rid of the remains of a tree corpse? Neighbor and I took down a big one between our houses and are looking into the cheapest options for getting rid of it. He thinks there is a place that'll take the remains off our hands for free if we chip it first (vs ~$100 per trailer load otherwise) and haul it out there so I'm looking at renting a 6" chipper from a big box store and breaking it down. Had a tree service out to quote haul/dispose and it was $1400. It is super sappy so I don't think it'll make good firewood.
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Jun 26, 2017 19:05
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novamute posted:Best option to get rid of the remains of a tree corpse? Neighbor and I took down a big one between our houses and are looking into the cheapest options for getting rid of it. He thinks there is a place that'll take the remains off our hands for free if we chip it first (vs ~$100 per trailer load otherwise) and haul it out there so I'm looking at renting a 6" chipper from a big box store and breaking it down. Had a tree service out to quote haul/dispose and it was $1400. The answer to this is to get a big rear end dropbox from our local garbage company. Decent rate for yard debris only and I don't need to make a bunch of trips to the dump.
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Jun 28, 2017 18:51
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Frown Town posted:But whatever, it's probably fine, right? If you had watched Better Call Saul you'd know that the guy with EMF "sensitivity" is pants-on-head literally tin-foil crazy and his EMF is 100% a psychological problem and not a physical one.
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Oct 2, 2017 18:10
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Any way to remove an old standalone newspaper box that is easier than trying to dig the drat metal post out? Looks like it goes pretty deep. Nobody gets a paper anymore and even if they did it'd just get dumped in the driveway anyway. I could just angle grind it off I guess but I'd rather get the metal out of the ground if I can. It has holes through it, if I found some rebar or something small enough there might be a chance I could just get a car jack under it.
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Oct 25, 2017 18:25
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Elephanthead posted:Can't you rock it back and forth and yank it out? Is this a hollow metal post or the barb wire fence post thing? Lots of water into the ground helps. Nope, in way too deep I think. I'll probably continue having a go at it whenever we get hit by another week long stretch of rain. 
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Oct 25, 2017 19:24
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I have a Fridgidaire counter depth french door and would avoid them. I've had it two years and have already had issues with stuff freezing in the fridge and the door seals not keeping a good hold.
novamute fucked around with this message at 10:14 on Nov 25, 2017 |
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Nov 21, 2017 21:41
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BoyBlunder posted:I mounted a giant mirror to the wall, and it's got a manufacturer sticker on the corner of it. Peeling it is fruitless, it's extremely thin and tears, and I will literally be here for years trying to pull this loving thing off cleanly. Goo-Gone
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Jul 5, 2018 18:04
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Putting up some floating bookshelves and drilled through some wiring behind a stud. Good news: I'm alive Good news #2: Looks like the outlets in that room were daisy-chained one to the other and the line I hit looks like it is going to the last outlet in a chain which is one I don't care about. Am I crazy for thinking I can just unwire/cap the wires coming out of the second to last outlet and the ones going into the last outlet and slap a blank faceplate over the last one? I'd rather not rip off a bunch of drywall trying to repair one line to get one outlet working.
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Apr 8, 2019 20:51
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mattfl posted:This stuff Sweet. I was googling yesterday trying to figure out what the name was for the texture on my walls and this is gonna save me a lot of headache I think.
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Apr 9, 2019 18:13
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Droo posted:If I were you I would cut enough drywall out to put a proper electrical box in there, and splice the wires together inside the box. You can then put a solid cover on it. Not much more work than what you were planning, it would satisfy code as far as I know, and your outlet would still work. I ended up doing this and everything is working now. One more hole to patch in the wall but hey I'll just consider it practice. Looks like my drywall is 3/4" which is apparently really unusual so I'll have to get creative with the patching. Current plan is to just use joint compound to make a 5/8" section a little thicker.
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Apr 17, 2019 20:40
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We'll probably get a self adhesive vinyl decal for an accent wall at some point. Never used it but it seems better than actual wallpaper.
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Jun 29, 2019 22:33
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 22:12 |
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Rubbed a bunch of Vaseline on the gasket for my freezer and it's actually staying closed again instead of popping open slightly every time the fridge door closes giving everything a nice coat of frost. Should not have gotten a side-by-side in the first place but at least it's functional again.
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Jul 29, 2019 19:29
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