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Post by chalkdevil π on Apr 4, 2017 16:22:42 GMT -5
This is the year that I finally strip the paint off both of my external doors and refinish them. They are solid wood and I think will look much better with out the layers of chipped paint.
I figure if I tell strangers online, then I have to do it. It's not like I could lie to people on the internet.
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Post by chalkdevil π on Apr 4, 2017 16:23:31 GMT -5
I found him in all the shots and it made me happy. |
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Post by ganews on Apr 6, 2017 18:29:30 GMT -5
FUUUUUUUCK two cedar trees went down in today's thunderstorm. One fell directly away from the house and didn't hit anything, I would have no trouble buying a chainsaw and getting rid of it myself. The other, healthier and taller, is located just on the side of the house and fell over the little fence right in the space between the house and the shed. It's still about 30 degrees from vertical and is leaning up against the new deck. Fortunately it seems to have missed the roof entirely, taking off only the corner piece of my gutter (those old gutters need replacing anyway). The deck wood seems undamaged but is a little bowed in at the rail; worst case scenario that part gets unscrewed and replaced. I would consider trying to remove the second tree myself as well, but its great height still looms over the far corner of the deck. Probably one would cut the top out and then the base would sling back to vertical, but the positioning is so awkward I'm going to have to hire a professional.
Of course my phone bricked a couple days ago and the new one hasn't arrived yet, and I was downtown away from the office all afternoon, so Wifemate had to deal with the homeowner's insurance. I'm sure the $1000 deductible will totally screw me.
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GumTurkeyles
AV Clubber 
$10 down, $10 a month, don't you be a turkey
Posts: 3,065 
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Post by GumTurkeyles on Apr 7, 2017 6:59:19 GMT -5
FUUUUUUUCK two cedar trees went down in today's thunderstorm. One fell directly away from the house and didn't hit anything, I would have no trouble buying a chainsaw and getting rid of it myself. The other, healthier and taller, is located just on the side of the house and fell over the little fence right in the space between the house and the shed. It's still about 30 degrees from vertical and is leaning up against the new deck. Fortunately it seems to have missed the roof entirely, taking off only the corner piece of my gutter (those old gutters need replacing anyway). The deck wood seems undamaged but is a little bowed in at the rail; worst case scenario that part gets unscrewed and replaced. I would consider trying to remove the second tree myself as well, but its great height still looms over the far corner of the deck. Probably one would cut the top out and then the base would sling back to vertical, but the positioning is so awkward I'm going to have to hire a professional. Of course my phone bricked a couple days ago and the new one hasn't arrived yet, and I was downtown away from the office all afternoon, so Wifemate had to deal with the homeowner's insurance. I'm sure the $1000 deductible will totally screw me. In regards to stories about falling trees, yours is the most fortunate one could hope for. Glad your house is okay. |
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Post by Not a real doctor on Apr 7, 2017 8:36:04 GMT -5
So I am in the market for a new mattress. I refuse to go in any of the many many many mattress stores in the area, figuring that would be just asking them to rip me off. There are some shady discount stores around, I got my last mattress from one of them and it has been fine really. But I also do not want to look like I am being a cheapskate or my wife will complain. Should I just go to a big box store? Any tips for mattress shopping? I bought my last one from costco and have been happy with it. Being on the "cusp of millenialism," I very much preferred just dragging a mattress onto the floor of costco and lying down on it my damn self to see if I liked without a salesperson who would be equally knowledgeable about their product if they were selling catheter bags or used kitchen equipment hovering nearby. |
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Post by ganews on Apr 10, 2017 7:33:39 GMT -5
I've got two contractors beating down my door to get rid of these trees, one who would have done it Saturday and one who would have done it today. But of course it's the third contractor who gave me a quote Saturday AM for one-third the price that I haven't heard back from yet.
I really need new homeowner's insurance. They were fine after the break-in but are so slow to respond now. Wifemate filed with them on Thursday afternoon and was told they were super busy and would get to us soon. I got the email that a caseworker and claim number were assigned at 4:40 Friday afternoon which of course is useless because you can't get anyone helpful on the phone outside normal working hours.
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Post by chalkdevil π on Apr 10, 2017 11:42:57 GMT -5
This is the year that I finally strip the paint off both of my external doors and refinish them. They are solid wood and I think will look much better with out the layers of chipped paint. I figure if I tell strangers online, then I have to do it. It's not like I could lie to people on the internet. Okay after a whole weekend of stripping (using Citrustrip) and scrapping, I got my back door down to the original layer of paint. I probably sunk about 8-10 hours into this thing already. I think at this point, I might just sand it smooth and just do a new layer of paint. Ugh. Anyway, here is a picture of the door. This is about as far as I got on Sunday before I was just done.  |
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Post by Ben Grimm on Apr 11, 2017 10:20:14 GMT -5
We've had a plumbing noise that's been getting progressively louder lately, and a spot right nearby with some apparent water damage, so we finally got the plumber over today.
The good news - the noise was just something with the toilet, and only cost $100 or so to fix.
The bad news - the water damage is unrelated, and is due to a bad shower pan. Fixing it will involve a plumber and a tile guy, take the better part of a week (during which we can't use the shower), and sounds extremely expensive. I'm hoping our homeowners policy will cover part of it, but I'm not super-optimistic. Plus the other shower has the cat box in it, and we're going to have to begin the process of moving the cat box so we can use the other shower when we need to.
This is why I always used to have apartments...
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Post by nowimnothing on Apr 22, 2017 9:55:15 GMT -5
It is always better to be the annoying neighbor than the annoyed neighbor. That is why I live between two retired couples. I am sure we drive them up the wall. Luckily our offenses are pretty minor.
They wage annual wars against the field of dandelions that I call a yard. My mature maple trees are constantly dropping leaves and branches in their immaculate yards. My dog barks at anyone outside. Our cats kill the birds they try to attract with their feeders (if the feeders were not already ravaged by the squirrels who live in the aforementioned maple trees.) And my kids can be screaming laughing demons in the back yard while my wife listens to music at high volume while cleaning.
Now that I think about, I am amazed they are still so cordial to us.
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Trurl
Shoutbox Elitist 
Posts: 7,697
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Post by Trurl on Apr 22, 2017 10:35:55 GMT -5
It is always better to be the annoying neighbor than the annoyed neighbor. That is why I live between two retired couples. I am sure we drive them up the wall. Luckily our offenses are pretty minor. They wage annual wars against the field of dandelions that I call a yard. My mature maple trees are constantly dropping leaves and branches in their immaculate yards. My dog barks at anyone outside. Our cats kill the birds they try to attract with their feeders (if the feeders were not already ravaged by the squirrels who live in the aforementioned maple trees.) And my kids can be screaming laughing demons in the back yard while my wife listens to music at high volume while cleaning. Now that I think about, I am amazed they are still so cordial to us. The thing is, if your neighbours came and asked you politely to, say, not play your music loud at night you'd turn down your music wouldn't you? You wouldn't keep blasting your music and write a note accusing them of "tormenting" you by asking you to comply with local noise bylaws. |
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Post by Lt. Broccoli on Apr 22, 2017 18:46:02 GMT -5
My wife is in the "fuck it, let's cover everything with mulch" phase of lawn and garden ownership.
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Post by ganews on Apr 22, 2017 20:18:06 GMT -5
I guess I'm really going to have to get the gutter fixed where the downed tree took off the corner (the whole thing needs replacing anyway). With today's day-long rain a damn big puddle forms in the back if it's not drained away.
Speaking of which, I am absolutely dumping this homeowner's insurance - Homesite, which is contracted by Progressive. They were fine after the break-in, but it took two days to even get a claim number after the trees went down. The agent didn't call or email us back until two weeks after it happened, talking about "visiting to inspect". There was a fucking tree leaning against my construction, asshole, it's not going to still be there after two weeks; here's some pictures. Good thing I can afford to deal with it before I get reimbursed.
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GumTurkeyles
AV Clubber
$10 down, $10 a month, don't you be a turkey
Posts: 3,065
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Post by GumTurkeyles on Apr 24, 2017 6:07:13 GMT -5
Got an offer on my house saturday night. Counter offer made yesterday, and they agreed to it within 2 hours. I'm selling my house!
$268k, with me paying $3k towards closing costs, so really $265k. Since I'm not selling with the contingency of buying another house, I can afford to pay that cash up front. Altogether 10k less than the asking price, but I was expecting to only get 250k, so I'm not complaining.
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Trurl
Shoutbox Elitist
Posts: 7,697
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Post by Trurl on May 1, 2017 13:12:07 GMT -5
I need some stainless steel sheet or bar stock for a project I'm working on (just backing for mounting some hardware) and the local sheet metal suppliers don't keep the stuff on hand. So I was calling local welders instead. Now I feel kind of weird because my call history has a few businesses with "SS" in their names.
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Post by chalkdevil π on May 1, 2017 14:25:29 GMT -5
I have two lawn mowers, neither will start. I have a probably 20-year-old gas mower that hasn't started in a couple of years, and the 2 year-old battery powered mower that stopped working at the end last year. I don't know why the electric mower isn't working and my repair skills are suspect, but I tried a few trouble-shooting things off of the internet Saturday and nadda. Then I moved to the gas mower and nothing. So, Sunday, I borrowed my SIL's push-reel mower she doesn't use anymore. It's a bit rusty, but I tried it on a section of grass when I got it home and it cut. But, it had been rainy (and has rained all day today) so I couldn't do the whole yard. So, I have a stop gap until I can get the battery mower fixed. I think it's still under warranty, I just need to find the docs in my garage somewhere.
So, now I have 3 lawnmowers of varying technologies taking up my garage space.
Not sure if I've mentioned it here before, but I am totally willing to purify my lawn with a controlled, cleansing fire and just let the prairie take the whole thing back.
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Post by ganews on May 1, 2017 15:07:20 GMT -5
I need some stainless steel sheet or bar stock for a project I'm working on (just backing for mounting some hardware) and the local sheet metal suppliers don't keep the stuff on hand. So I was calling local welders instead. Now I feel kind of weird because my call history has a few businesses with "SS" in their names. is all you ever need. |
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Post by Not a real doctor on May 15, 2017 10:05:33 GMT -5
I'm meeting with the mortgage folks tomorrow to begin the pre-approval process. Apartment living is slowly killing me, my job appears solid for the forseeable future, and some nice shacks have come on the market lately so here we go!
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Post by Floyd Diabolical Barber on May 15, 2017 12:39:10 GMT -5
my call history has a few businesses with "SS" in their names. If anyone asks, just say you've diversified into lifeboats and flare guns. |
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Post by Ben Grimm on May 15, 2017 13:57:07 GMT -5
With the cat gone, we've got a series of home improvements we've been planning we're going to get started on - replace the couches (the cat started spraying them at one point), replace the carpet with wood flooring (I don't even want to think about how much cat vomit is in there), fix the shower now that we have a backup, etc. It's going to be expensive, and probably a giant pain in the ass, but it all needs to be done. Especially before we get any more pets.
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Trurl
Shoutbox Elitist
Posts: 7,697
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Post by Trurl on May 15, 2017 13:57:33 GMT -5
I have two lawn mowers, neither will start. I have a probably 20-year-old gas mower that hasn't started in a couple of years, and the 2 year-old battery powered mower that stopped working at the end last year. I don't know why the electric mower isn't working and my repair skills are suspect, but I tried a few trouble-shooting things off of the internet Saturday and nadda. Then I moved to the gas mower and nothing. So, Sunday, I borrowed my SIL's push-reel mower she doesn't use anymore. It's a bit rusty, but I tried it on a section of grass when I got it home and it cut. But, it had been rainy (and has rained all day today) so I couldn't do the whole yard. So, I have a stop gap until I can get the battery mower fixed. I think it's still under warranty, I just need to find the docs in my garage somewhere. So, now I have 3 lawnmowers of varying technologies taking up my garage space. Not sure if I've mentioned it here before, but I am totally willing to purify my lawn with a controlled, cleansing fire and just let the prairie take the whole thing back. Saturday I pulled out my old gas mower to do the lawn for the first time this season. That sucker was early 80s vintage, back when they were more devil-may-care about safety issues and things like deadman's switches were for pussies who were overly attached to the idea of having ten toes. The years had not been kind to the mower; the deck is mostly rust, the handle and one of the wheels reattached with stove bolts, the throttle line completely gone so that you can only adjust the engine speed at the carburetor, and the blade is utterly seized to the driveshaft that no amount of liquid wrench and swearing will remove it. Anyway, I pulled out the mower, sharpened the blade with my dremel knockoff, filled the tank and tried to start it until my arm got tired. Nothing. Decided to pull the spark plug because that way I could tell if I'd flooded the engine or if the plug is gummed up, and it's the easiest first step. The plug was dry so the problem had to be with the fuel system which means a big pain-in-the-ass mess. So I disassembled it, soaked everything in carb cleaner and put it back together. And it worked. My guess was gunk blocking the carb jet. With mowing, showering and other cleanup, that was my entire fucking day. |
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Post by chalkdevil π on May 15, 2017 14:24:42 GMT -5
I have two lawn mowers, neither will start. I have a probably 20-year-old gas mower that hasn't started in a couple of years, and the 2 year-old battery powered mower that stopped working at the end last year. I don't know why the electric mower isn't working and my repair skills are suspect, but I tried a few trouble-shooting things off of the internet Saturday and nadda. Then I moved to the gas mower and nothing. So, Sunday, I borrowed my SIL's push-reel mower she doesn't use anymore. It's a bit rusty, but I tried it on a section of grass when I got it home and it cut. But, it had been rainy (and has rained all day today) so I couldn't do the whole yard. So, I have a stop gap until I can get the battery mower fixed. I think it's still under warranty, I just need to find the docs in my garage somewhere. So, now I have 3 lawnmowers of varying technologies taking up my garage space. Not sure if I've mentioned it here before, but I am totally willing to purify my lawn with a controlled, cleansing fire and just let the prairie take the whole thing back. Saturday I pulled out my old gas mower to do the lawn for the first time this season. That sucker was early 80s vintage, back when they were more devil-may-care about safety issues and things like deadman's switches were for pussies who were overly attached to the idea of having ten toes. The years had not been kind to the mower; the deck is mostly rust, the handle and one of the wheels reattached with stove bolts, the throttle line completely gone so that you can only adjust the engine speed at the carburetor, and the blade is utterly seized to the driveshaft that no amount of liquid wrench and swearing will remove it. Anyway, I pulled out the mower, sharpened the blade with my dremel knockoff, filled the tank and tried to start it until my arm got tired. Nothing. Decided to pull the spark plug because that way I could tell if I'd flooded the engine or if the plug is gummed up, and it's the easiest first step. The plug was dry so the problem had to be with the fuel system which means a big pain-in-the-ass mess. So I disassembled it, soaked everything in carb cleaner and put it back together. And it worked. My guess was gunk blocking the carb jet. With mowing, showering and other cleanup, that was my entire fucking day. At the risk of sounding not super manly, this is the kind of thing I think I would be happier paying someone else to do. Also, I do not know how to disassemble and reassemble small engines. That probably is the bigger reason. |
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Trurl
Shoutbox Elitist
Posts: 7,697
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Post by Trurl on May 15, 2017 16:36:37 GMT -5
Saturday I pulled out my old gas mower to do the lawn for the first time this season. That sucker was early 80s vintage, back when they were more devil-may-care about safety issues and things like deadman's switches were for pussies who were overly attached to the idea of having ten toes. The years had not been kind to the mower; the deck is mostly rust, the handle and one of the wheels reattached with stove bolts, the throttle line completely gone so that you can only adjust the engine speed at the carburetor, and the blade is utterly seized to the driveshaft that no amount of liquid wrench and swearing will remove it. Anyway, I pulled out the mower, sharpened the blade with my dremel knockoff, filled the tank and tried to start it until my arm got tired. Nothing. Decided to pull the spark plug because that way I could tell if I'd flooded the engine or if the plug is gummed up, and it's the easiest first step. The plug was dry so the problem had to be with the fuel system which means a big pain-in-the-ass mess. So I disassembled it, soaked everything in carb cleaner and put it back together. And it worked. My guess was gunk blocking the carb jet. With mowing, showering and other cleanup, that was my entire fucking day. At the risk of sounding not super manly, this is the kind of thing I think I would be happier paying someone else to do. Also, I do not know how to disassemble and reassemble small engines. That probably is the bigger reason. It isn't really difficult (there's not many parts to remove, small engines are simple that way) and it's nothing to do with manliness, it's just the crap jobs that we're willing or not willing to do. Like doing an oil change - the process is simple, just messy and a pain in the ass. I *never* do my own oil changes because why should I collect and dispose of the old oil when I can pay someone else to do it for me? But the alternative of not fixing the mower for me was not having a mower - can't afford a new one, can't afford to waste all the time to find a deal on a used one. |
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Post by Powerthirteen on May 15, 2017 17:00:33 GMT -5
I have two lawn mowers, neither will start. I have a probably 20-year-old gas mower that hasn't started in a couple of years, and the 2 year-old battery powered mower that stopped working at the end last year. I don't know why the electric mower isn't working and my repair skills are suspect, but I tried a few trouble-shooting things off of the internet Saturday and nadda. Then I moved to the gas mower and nothing. So, Sunday, I borrowed my SIL's push-reel mower she doesn't use anymore. It's a bit rusty, but I tried it on a section of grass when I got it home and it cut. But, it had been rainy (and has rained all day today) so I couldn't do the whole yard. So, I have a stop gap until I can get the battery mower fixed. I think it's still under warranty, I just need to find the docs in my garage somewhere. So, now I have 3 lawnmowers of varying technologies taking up my garage space. Not sure if I've mentioned it here before, but I am totally willing to purify my lawn with a controlled, cleansing fire and just let the prairie take the whole thing back. Saturday I pulled out my old gas mower to do the lawn for the first time this season. That sucker was early 80s vintage, back when they were more devil-may-care about safety issues and things like deadman's switches were for pussies who were overly attached to the idea of having ten toes. The years had not been kind to the mower; the deck is mostly rust, the handle and one of the wheels reattached with stove bolts, the throttle line completely gone so that you can only adjust the engine speed at the carburetor, and the blade is utterly seized to the driveshaft that no amount of liquid wrench and swearing will remove it. Anyway, I pulled out the mower, sharpened the blade with my dremel knockoff, filled the tank and tried to start it until my arm got tired. Nothing. Decided to pull the spark plug because that way I could tell if I'd flooded the engine or if the plug is gummed up, and it's the easiest first step. The plug was dry so the problem had to be with the fuel system which means a big pain-in-the-ass mess. So I disassembled it, soaked everything in carb cleaner and put it back together. And it worked. My guess was gunk blocking the carb jet. With mowing, showering and other cleanup, that was my entire fucking day. Up til last year my dad's lawnmower was a bad-ass old Craftsman mower that he found in the shed of a house he moved into the year before I was born. Basically just a motor on wheels with a blade attached. It never stopped working, he just got tired of having to fix the pullcord all the time. That thing was a beast. |
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Post by Ben Grimm on May 15, 2017 17:55:14 GMT -5
I think we're leaning towards engineered wood (not laminate) to replace the carpet. Anyone have any experience installing it and have any advice?
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Post by Floyd Diabolical Barber on May 15, 2017 18:12:34 GMT -5
About three years ago, I rented a trencher and ran water lines and electric wires out to the barn. Last year we had an electrician hook up a small breaker panel and a couple of outlets, but still had the fence charger on it's old circuit from the light pole near the house.
Today I finally moved the electric fence charger inside the barn and buried conduit and ran wires out from the barn out to the fence. I was able to roll up the "temporary" extension cord from the light pole, which we had used continuously for the last three years.
I still need to wire some lights and a few more outlets in the barn (I can do simple wiring) , but that's a job for another day.
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Post by Buon Funerale Amigos on May 15, 2017 21:16:12 GMT -5
Fucking lawnmowers. Mine wouldn't run yesterday, so I took the taped-on foam rubber off of the air filter. Still wouldn't run. I looked at the carb. Bad gasket, so I made a new one out of leather. Still wouldn't run. Pulled the air filter entirely. Ran like a champ, because I'm a fucking idiot. Fired up the air compressor and blew the gunk out of the filter, replaced it and mowed the goddamn lawn. Life in the suburbs fucking sucks.
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moimoi
AV Clubber
Posts: 5,090 
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Post by moimoi on May 15, 2017 22:02:42 GMT -5
Developments at Maison Moi: I installed a smart thermostat an ecobee 3 - and it's adorable! Other green upgrades on the way: solar panels on the garage roof and possibly a section of vegetated roof.
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Post by ganews on May 15, 2017 22:35:24 GMT -5
Man, if you've got a suburban yard I can't recommend a cordless electric lawn mower enough. It won't power through a half-acre of waist-high grass on one charge, but it's no trouble with regular use and I can always raise the height if I have to. I bought one for $100 at a yard sale, replaced the battery for $40 (the only trick was finding the right generic battery), and it runs like a champ. No gas cans in the car, no fixing the thing. The only special part that will ever need replacing are these little $5 carbon brushes, nothing to it and a video on YouTube. No one is going to steal it because I keep the charger inside. I disconnect the battery and keep it in the house over winter.
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Trurl
Shoutbox Elitist
Posts: 7,697
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Post by Trurl on May 16, 2017 6:33:22 GMT -5
I think we're leaning towards engineered wood (not laminate) to replace the carpet. Anyone have any experience installing it and have any advice? I did our small bathroom with an end lot of engineered oak - I found it was was pretty much the same as doing laminate, installation-wise. As with everything, the subflooring is the most important part. |
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on May 16, 2017 8:35:32 GMT -5
I need some stainless steel sheet or bar stock for a project I'm working on (just backing for mounting some hardware) and the local sheet metal suppliers don't keep the stuff on hand. So I was calling local welders instead. Now I feel kind of weird because my call history has a few businesses with "SS" in their names. is all you ever need. McMaster-Carr is located a couple towns over, they recruited me nearly 10 years ago and to this day I'm a little bummed that I bombed the interview. |
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