Home Improvement

“I'll have lots of 9' wide Tyvek left over if anyone needs a bit later. ;-)”


LOL I was gonna ask when I saw pics with all the tyvek!!”

“Stovie...how far are you from Dallas Tx?”

““Any plans on replacing the chimney eventually so you can use your fireplace again?”
techntrek
12:48:02 PM

Nope, fireplaces are nothing but royal pains in the butt. ;-)


“Kick butt! and now which government program bailed you out? (LOL) looks fantastic dude.”
XL400236
1:13:34 PM
Zippo. No government grants for me. I make too much money to qualify. Grants are for 'poor' folks. What I finially drugg out of Alstate and what's in my pocket is paying the bills. That's why I'm doing the repairs myself.


“Stovie...how far are you from Dallas Tx?”
XL400236
1:24:42 PM

Long ways. ;-)
Thanks but I'm so picky about my work I HAVE to do it myself. ;-)”

“Good for you, Stovey!!!! It looks good. I am looking forward to the completed "After" shots. I'd love some Tyvek at some point. That would be a better ground sheet than what I'm using, although Dollar Store plastic tablecloths work, they just aren't as sturdy as Tyvek.”

“Well, SS, I was going to get to the point that putting a wood stove insert into that fireplace would make it much better. Although you don't have as much need for heat down there!”

“tech, I had propane Ventless Gas Logs in it before.

The chimney was a metal insert with wood covered by vinyl siding. I had gas logs in it.
I salvaged the metal fireplace insert and the gas logs and will put it down in my basement for heat down there.
Thinking of either adding a ventless fireplace or else a ventless gas wall mounted heater in my living room.

After my heat pump A/C is fixed, that can be used for both heating and cooling.


Old Chimney


Basement wall before replaceing
last edited: 11/21/06 10:25:31 AM”

“SS...if you should happen to have any extra Tyvac......”

“Cookies??? :-)

Santa Claus might bring you some Tyvek.”

“Looks like the old chimney started leaning over the house? I can see why you tore it down.”

“Nope, that was a shot of the Katrina damage on my old chimney.”

“The old siding looks like painted cedar/pine lap? But yer house isn't that old, eh? Must be Masonite... Hardy? Regardless, you lost me when you murmmered "vinyl". If it don't stir up saw dust it don't innerst me much.

And what's up with the lack of sheathing downstairs? Queer...

Nice to see yer starting to get'er done. I ain't been hitting on much. Just hanging with friends and family and using my tools for three hots and a cot. Gard darn Mexicans have totally wrecked the construction industry in these parts. Their labor rates are akin to those we got in the 70's. One would be better off getting some other McJob...”

“And what's up with the lack of sheathing downstairs? Queer... Gojo

????
I just realized you were talking about the hurricane damages picture. The water made the old blacktar sheaving board crumble away.
My new basement wall has new 4 x 8 sheets of 5/8" pine siding.

The new living room wall has 4 x 8 sheets of OSB covered with Tyvex. The vinyl siding isn't all on yet.
last edited: 11/22/06 11:38:38 AM”

“Tyvak, crunchy goodnes :)
last edited: 11/22/06 11:35:54 AM”

“

Turning my deck into a screened porch is coming along nicely.
The walls and metal roof are up!”

“Looking good.

But...
why no p/t studs? I know... paint. Not enough, imo. Rain splatter do matter!


"Caulk and paint will make a carpenter what he ain't"

You gonna do a shelf rail?

And... why a storm door, and not a quality screeny? Mebbe your thinking advantages of alum. kickplate against splatter?

I do screen porches ala post and beam. Jack stud gable between roof and beam then sidage. 4X4 door and corner posts are easy to work screen to.

Looks like 24" oc stud layout?



Don't forget to install lattice with 4d finish nails - that way you can set them to remove lattice strips without harming them when you need to replace screen panel...


I'll shup up now. I'll just keep sitting around hear with my thumb up my ass...”

“Oh yeah - another advange of P&B is stud layout can be whatever you want, with all spaces equal.


Now where is that thumb.......”

“It ain't finished gojo! LOL

I was just so happy to get the roof up, I had to post a pix!”

“So you gonna wrap the fir in cedar?

I'm aware that it's only "dried in", btw...

well, as close to dried in as a screen porch will ever be :)


So what's the trim man's plan, Stan?”

“Wait! Wait! Don't tell me.

Your gonna do a wainscot?”

“I did notice the corner post you did...”

“Shelf rail or wainscot - make sure you can see over it while seated. Say... 32"?”

“Okay. You can tell me - lol!”

“Smoothe sawn 5/8' T1-11 w/4" groovage?





Well....


you won't tell me, so I'm gonna keep a'buggin'!

hehehee”

“Oooooo! 8" cedar lap? SWEET!”

“OHMAGAWD!
NOT HARDY PLANK??!!”

“BTW -
If you even dream of anything vinyl, you better get up and send me an email of apology!

LOL!”

“I'm selling the house and moving away from the water in a couple of years so I don't want to put a lot of money into this project. I'm thinking of just using exterior plywood to cover the bottom 24" or so and to keep the rug rats from running thru the screen and falling the eight feet to the back yard. I'll put a vertical strip of wood every six inches or so on the plywood's outside to make it look a little better.

I'll close in the top a bit to reduce the rain blow in.

I went with a storm door due to the Southern winds that blow.

I had a 30 x 12 deck. Now I have a 10' deck and 20' covered porch.

I used 26 gauge steel 36" wide panels for the roofing. Good stuff. I love the sound of rain on a "tin" roof!”

“LOL my house is covered with vinyl so I did think of that, but decided against it for the porch.”

“Sound of rain?
Dude, yer talking to someone that lives under a camper-cover - lol!

The look your after - plywood w/strips - is termed "faux reversed board and batten", which gives the opposite effect of T1-11.

Good luck. Don't forget to bruse the sawdust from you arm hairs onto your lunch - delicious and nutrious!”

“bruse=brush”

“D'oh! Your look is "board and batten"...


Go 32" with the exterior B&B wainscot, imo. That way, you can get three per 8' sheet of plywood.

And, as always, buy Georgia Pacific. heh!”

“Damn sawdust is in every damn crevice I have. ;-)

My 75 yo Dad and I did all the work.
He tells me what to do. I do it. LOL”

“Yesserie.
I was raised on exterior cedar finish carpentry. Screen porches were all the rage in the 70's, too. Everything cedar, cedar, cedar. Then cedar did a resurgence on the Left coast - from whence it came - and our supply was stopped.

Cedar didn't get painted. What we walked away from was what would be there from that day on. No caulk. No paint. Beautiful.

Joinery was the science of the carpentry day. It's engrained deeeep into who I am today. I cannot compromise. I couldn't even if I wanted to. I can do more with a circular saw and chisel than most can do with a shop full of stationary machinery. It takes time, tho, and "time is money". Few of today's builders were around in the days when craftsmanship was front and center. They have no concept. they don't want to hear it.



God I miss it, stovey. But alas, I had no choice but to get out and find other means and livelyhood, comprende amigo?”

“Ah ah ah!!
Stobey sayed "I got saw duts in my butt hiney crak"!
BOL!”

“I hear ya, gojo.”

“Love the sound of rain on a metal roof. T-111 instead of plywood (comes in various thicknesses) is ext textured plywood with grooves already cut in them. (aprx 6" apart)”

“T1-11...

Can be rough sawn, too. Groove withs can be 3/8" on 4" or 8" centers, or 1-1/2" on 8" centers. It's often my siding of choice because of it's strength and durability.

Due to the construction demands in Stoveys area, T1-11 is prolly high as giraffe tooty, and even harder to get.

1/2" CDX would be an adequate alternative, though not as attractive. Expose C side. Prolly giraffesque, too...


BTW -
My dad will be 81 this year. I'm having to tell him what to do these days...
cherish these moments, friend.”

“Some folks do say T-111 (sounds the same any way)

http://www.pacificwoodlaminates.com/products/siding.php

Guess I left off the southern drawl.

:-)”

“backseat carpenter”

“T1-11 is about $26-27 a sheet here.
We had a good rain and more rain blew in than I liked.
I think I'm going to add a 3 x 5 window next to the storm door and close in that Southern end.
last edited: 1/01/07 1:21:50 PM”

“I haven't heard the term before. I usually only build when I'm bored. When I went to a 40hr work week on midnights, instead of my previous 100 hr week, I started making a few things.

Front & back concrete sidewalks. A fieldstone shed with front overhang, double doors, loft and a metal roof. Like working with stone. Like metal roofs. Put one on my driveway porch too. I built a few fully extendable drawers in my wife's kitchen cabinets since she had trouble reaching items in the back. Built a 7'x3'x2' armoire for my backpacking gear. A few built in shelves. Hardwood floors. Lots of exterior faucets & light switches, ext & int lights, elec outlets. New water well pressure tank, filter, valves, switches set-up.

I had built a 2 story back yard shed many, many years ago using the textured plywood. Used it for interior walls on my basement staircase & (another)enclosed porch. The 2nd story was for my daughter's clubhouse & she wanted a covered 4'x10' overhanging deck on it. My grandsons use it now. Thinking of adding an enclosed big yellow kid slide from the 2nd story. I really like maintenance free vinyl siding better. My wife has a large patio that she didn't want covered, so I built a separate 18x18' pyramid shaped metal pavilion roof for a weather resistant BBQ pit. Pyramid roofs are a pain to do in metal. Think I might sling a hammock there too. Adding a cupola & a stone fireplace to it this coming summer.

A few contractors have been pestering me to do their tile work, hardwood floors & wide window sills, but I like working at my (slow)pace. Want me to do commercial lock installations too like I used to for a couple major corporations but I lost interest in it. Maybe when I retire.

Then, my daughter is building a house a block away & wants me to do her hardwood floors too (among many other things). I prefer drilling & setting spiral nails by hand. I usually hand sand & finish too.

Received an air compressor, air tools & air nailers for Xmas but I'm doing a lot more welding these days.

If I do carpentry work, I like oak.

Just a common tinkerer.”

“No carpenter work here, but I have been painting.


For some reason, unknown to mankind, cottonsox decided the girls room needed to be painted hot pink and lime green with purple and orange shapes on one wall.

It was putrid. I am in the process of eliminating that blight, but holy cow, I have been through two gallons of Kilz before getting the new color up.”

“Dang Catsk, do you have any open yardspace left?”

“I got "T1-11" from an invoice in the 70's. I've written and taught it the same ever since. T111 and T-111 work as well... I reckon.

But "y'all" will never be "ya'll" -
that must be a Yankee thing, don'cha know? lol!

I've worn a nail apron for a total of about 25 years; an electrician's toolpouch for about 12. I taught H.S. construction for seven. At 48 years old, the math doesn't seem to add up, but I've done side work all along - often removing one pouch in the afternoon, and donning another in the evening/weekends. I've dabbled in contracting intermittantly over the years. I do my own masonry, drywall (up to 50 boards or so - then subbing kicks in), and plumbing. I'll do duct work, but leave the mechanical to the HVAC pros.

I tried side work in the early days of teaching, but I was too spent to do enough damage to make the effort worthwhile. Therefore, my side work was usually relegated to summer breaks.

I'm currently disallusioned and not working to speak of.”

“My old farmhouse needs a new everything. The good news is that the structure is rock solid. The new year will be a lot about tearing out walls, new floors, sheet rock, knotty pine, installing a wood stove, bigger windows in some areas. What to do with the upstairs? I have a lot to learn. There is also the question of what to grow on a 10 acre field. Soil testing sounds like a first step. I need to figure out ways to legally create some pools in the trout stream that goes through the yard. All this and I must hike and float some rivers. Retirement, yikes!”

“replacing a faucet today... a 4 part unit. got it all done and pulled out the main faucet part... dinged. i called the place i bought it and they said, "no problem! bring it back." i asked if i could just bring back the dinged part and swap it for the same part in another box. "sorry sir, we need the entire thing." man, was i pissed. so i had to take the entire thing apart, repack it, and when i get to the store... it's closed... new years day hours close at 5pm. not a good start to 2007.”

“Spent the weekend (when I wasn't at work) finishing the 1/2 bath downstairs. Had to take off wallpaper, and paint and put up wainscoat. Been a fun weekend LOL)”

“I used to own a good portion of my own mountain but everyone was using it but me. Now, I only have a couple acres (wish it was more). Kinda hard to justify a backhoe, so maybe I'll just get a trencher.

My wife wants me to kick the back wall of our house out. NOW she tells me after we built an enclosed porch, 2 decks & a 14x24' concrete patio there.

I wouldn't mind a garage or another house. Probably have them built because it takes a loooonnnng time for 1 person (& sparodic helpers) to do it.”

“Anyone know much about Shenandoah cabinets from Home Depot? They've got the best price for what we want to do, but G wants to know about the quality.

I think we're gonna cut back on some of the bells and whistles on the kitchen, and save more money for other things. We don't plan on staying in this house for more than 5 years.”

“We're re-doing our kitchen for 1,800. That should include beer.”