baconbits

Lots of VW/Audi guys use Raxles in their big power (400+) builds... they don't twist like the stockers. I'd imagine they'd be good for Subarus like other makes/models.

Soap and water in a spray bottle, soap and water in a cup with a paint brush... Lots of ways. There are pre-mix solutions to get to check too, or just sniffing for it. Temp shouldn't change anything.

Windows are all the same... I have zero studs on the exterior walls. My neighbor has one of those roll up screen doors like you mentioned. He paid extra for that door because it's got a permanent glass window on the bottom (has dogs that have torn the screen before) and the glass/screen on top. No dogs in my house so an extra $100 in my pocket. Yes, steel door. I was originally looking for fiberglass but there weren't any local places with a 30x80 right hand inswing door in stock, or any right hand inswing in any size for that matter. It seemed every fiberglass door came left hand. If/when I do the windows, I'm investing in a hammer drill and putting the Tapcons into the brick. Putting them into 75 year old mortar seems sketchy to me.

New storm door in. One of the cheaper ones from Lowe's... vastly better than what I took out of there last weekend. I just couldn't stomach paying $250+ for a storm door when the entry door was $147. Just need to paint the entry door, trim, jamb, interior trim, and rewire the door bell. Window Nation window quote from yesterday: $16k. Guy was a douche... spent half the quote-consultation time bad mouthing all other window companies in the area versus talking up his own. Looks like I'm doing them myself with the help of a neighbor for $5k.

I've got a bunch of loose bricks laying around (actual structural bricks, not pavers) that we used for garden edging... I suppose I could try a Ramset in those and see how it works. Ramsetting 2x4s to brick though... nails would have to be pretty long. Do they make them ~3" long? I'll admit, I've never looked.

I have a feeling it would be FAR easier in a stud-framed house. Trim off, sawzall with metal blade down the side to cut all screws kick door frame and it falls out. I've asked about the Ramset and my neighbor is terrified about it popping bricks and not holding. He's got me thinking it would just shatter every brick I try it in and without a hammer drill, I was relegated to putting the Tapcons into the mortar joints and not the brick itself. I hope to never use them again short of maybe securing something to my basement floor like a work bench or something. I'd probably just use those heavy duty hammer-in inserts and bolts at that point. I need to figure out what I'd do when installing windows though... neighbor said he used Tapcons for everything.

When I showed the sill "hole," it looks like there's a lot of termite-chewed wood in there but it's actually sandy, like the mortar on the bottom crumbed. Vacuumed that out before putting a fresh bed of mortar in, similar to how you put mortar behind tile backer board. Check out the water damage on the bottom of the old sill... woof. Not having any more of that, for sure.

Replaced my side entry door over the weekend. I leaned on my neighbor quite a bit because he's already done it on his house. I did all the labor, he just gave me some pointers because I've never used Tapcons before. Here's my journey starting at around 10am Saturday and finishing at about 8pm Sunday. 1) Screen door closer mounting point is rotting and tearing out. 2) Outside view starting out. 3) Inside view starting out. HORRID sealing around the door slab on everything but the hinge side and the single pane glass sucked. Drafts in the bottom cause the sill and bottom weather strip on the door to frost over. 4) New goodies. Steel door without window, lock/deadbolt set, Tapcons, jamb extensions 5) Screen door off. 6) Old door frame cut out. Note brick frame of house and no stud walls. FML 7) "Hole" for the sill. I put a 3/4" bed of brick mortar down and set a pressure treated 2x6 on top and got that thing A+ level. Nailed it from underneath the landing in the basement, followed by a second 2x6 and then a 1x6 to get it to the height of the subfloor on the landing. 8) Door frame in and Tapcon'd. I hate Tapcons. 9) Door in, jamb extensions on. 10) Where it's at today. I had to rip down some pressure treated 2x4s and cut a 3/4 x 3/4 relief in the backside so I could have it cover the mortar and brick... essentially made some longer, custom jamb extensions to finally get everything sealed to the brick. Caulked the hell out of everything. Screen door to come today (weather permitting) and then some paint to follow. Still need to wire up the door bell again and then do interior trim.

Several of them frost over in the winter and it's especially bad in the bathroom and kitchen. Several panes are cracked throughout the house. Drafts are terrible. My neighbor (we call each other neighbro LOL) noted that it's not that they cut down on heating/cooling bills but it cut down on the drafts and made the house feel better. Curb appeal is vastly improved. If I have to take out a home equity loan, that's not an issue... I've got roughly $30k in equity due to the family member discount so no matter what I do short of solid gold counter tops and a platinum toilet, I'm good.

Quote #1 based on my measurements and "quick math" of the salesman after I told him 14/16 were masonry installs - $12-14k. Hopefully I can stop at a different showroom after work for another estimate. Looks like I'll be doing them myself at this cost.

My neighbor used to install windows while in college so he did all of his windows himself. His house is a structural carbon copy of mine so he's fairly familiar with it. He did his for about $3800 including the cost of windows, wood to frame out the openings, Tapcons, etc. He said he went with mid-range Pellas and was forced to go with picture windows for the 58x65 large front windows because the ratio was off... Pella said they couldn't do anything other than a bay or picture window in dimensions like that supposedly. I want to get a couple quotes from companies to determine what install versus bare window cost would be to see if it's worth it for me/my neighbor/a friend/my dad to install them. Our houses are brick framed, early 1940s vintage. I found a lot of 1941/42 dated newspapers when I tore apart the basement. Brick exterior, 1" air gap, brick frame (exterior walls only, interior walls are stud framed), then 3/4 x 1 furring strips, then 3/4" drywall. Everywhere. Even the ceilings. It's a bitch to run new electrical because all the boxes are sized for 1/2" drywall.

I measured the rough openings of my windows and side door yesterday... going to head to a local window manufacturer (same business park) on my lunch break and see if they can give me a rough estimate from my measurements. Preparing a large container of Vaseline because 14/16 windows and the side door are masonry installs without wood framed openings.

Real hardwood floors?

I'm going to be building some 2x4 and OSB shelves in the basement some day too... too much random BS down there taking up floor space. Need more space for activities.

I'm going to be doing something VERY similar in the future. Windows, new side door, bathroom and kitchen first though.

Dash Rattle Stopper SUPER BEEF

Just some generic one... Goodman I think. Had a GE motor in it which I replaced with another GE from the local HVAC supply store. Motor seems quieter and moves a bit more air which is a win-win situation. Motor and new run capacitor ran me $114 with tax so not bad at all. Sunday emergency service call would've been $100-125 an hour plus parts... forget that. I'll sleep in a 55 degree house for a night to save a couple hundred bucks. Had only one hang up... I flipped the spade connections around in two spots. Get everything installed, buttoned up, flip the switch to turn the furnace on. The exhaust blower for the burners would run 24/7 as long as the switch was on and the thermostat wasn't getting power. Hmm... flip two black wires around, PRAISE JEEBUS I HAVE HEAT. House got down to 52 degrees this morning but we're back up to 68-70 right now. I'm letting it run for a couple heat cycles to make sure everything's A+ and then I'm going to work.

FFFFFUUUUUU Woke up at 6 this morning to a burning rubber smell and the house 10 degrees colder than set point. Blower motor on the furnace appears to have taken a dump. Fan won't turn on during heat cycle after burners fire. Fan won't turn on with heat off and fan set to circulate but will hum. Cage spins freely from what I can tell (doesn't hang up or drag anywhere). Son of a...

Just realized I never posted some pictures of my foyer tiling job. Sub-sub floor - 1x8 pine after removing plywood subfloor covered in glue from linoeum Sub floor specific liquid nails down for new OSB sub floor Hardie backer down after thinset layer Hardie backer seam taping and mudding Faux marble tile down and grouted, baseboard up, caulked, door casings up, some nail holes filled, gaps caulked, walls painted. Door still needs painted (waiting for better weather) and closet door needs cut down, need transition strips. Need to fix/replace mail chute door. Need to rebuild front door threshold because it's rotting on the outside and the door would be custom so $$$$ to replace. New light fixture

My friend's house is similar and would need one of those if they were to add a bathroom to their basement. The decided against a basement bathroom (have 3 others in the house already) just because they didn't want to deal with that thing if/when it fails.

Finish nails it is... Waiting on Bostitch to get me some parts for my compressor so I can finally finish this job.

Love the pub feel. A+ Guys, need some advice. I have a roughly 3/8" rise from the hardwood in my living room to the tile in my foyer. I have a transition strip sized properly for the rise and cut to length, but how would you guys attach it to the floor? I've used brass screws on other strips in the house but I'm not crazy about the look seeing as the screw heads are flat and the transition is rounded. This is not one of those snap down style strips... Needs screwed or nailed. I'm thinking 2" brads maybe? Fill the holes?

I hated trimming ceiling tiles when I worked for a home remodeling company... Especially the recessed ones like those because you had to bevel the cut edge to make it sit right. The guy I worked for ended up having me do the field and he did the borders.

I tried to pull it a couple weeks ago but it was already gone.

If it happens to everyone else, it'll eventually happen to me. I bought the car with 77k on it and it's been at stage 2 for almost the entire time I've owned it... now at 111k. It appears to be a "five owner" car including myself, but two of the owners were dealers... first one had it for 60k, other one had it for the rest... I think that last one had it at stage 2 or something because half of the heat shields around the downpipe were gone and the popits for the snorkel were broken. Anyway, 111k, borrowed time coming up. Most turbos need replaced around 120k, according to MrTris, shortblocks every 30k