Home improvement photos

[PeterJMC]

Nice! Does the basement have a private entrance? Is there roof top entrance to build a swaky rooftop deck?

[stm25rs]

Looks fine on the inside but the outside seems pretty boring. But the important thing is the neighbors.

 

The black trim and the front door actually gives it a little more character than lots of rowhomes, but yeah, not much to look at from the outside.

 

I might spruce up the parking pad area a bit, since it'll double as a cookout space. And will put some window baskets out front. Been in this neighborhood for a couple years, and it's a great mix of yuppies like me, and old-timers that have been in this area through the good and bad times (used to be lots of blue collar workers, when Baltimore had lots of heavy industry).

 

It's also just 1 block from Patterson Park:

 

http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~tbezbabn/INFM700-Project2/map.jpeg

 

 

Nice! Does the basement have a private entrance? Is there roof top entrance to build a swaky rooftop deck?

 

Basement's a little weird now. No door separating that big room from the upstairs, so I'll probably put a wall in at the bottom of the stairs. Right now, you go downstairs and you're in the basement room, and there's a hallway going to the back of the house, with the bathroom in that hallway. Past the bathroom, the hallway has a door that leads to what will be a storage space (below) and rear exit. But it's a tight/low stairwell.

 

http://i.imgur.com/9DV3qpY.jpg

 

The water heater/furnace are in a closet in that room, along with other closet space for the basement bedroom.

 

If I wanted a rooftop deck, I'd have to put a hole in back bedroom wall, and the supports would probably get in the way of the parking pad a bit. I'd rather not own a home with a rooftop deck....too much longterm maintenance. Would rather just have friends with decks Place I'm renting now has one, and I don't use it very often. Usually, if it's a nice day where I'd possibly use the deck, I'm off doing something else in the city.

[Rhitter]

Question for those with tar and gravel roofs - how to you repair alligatoring? example below (not from my house, I think mine is in a little bit better condition)

http://www.mcgarryandmadsen.com/inspection/Blog/Entries/2012/4/15_Im_buying_a_50s_modern_house_with_a_%22gravel%22_roof._Is_the_roof_going_to_be_a_problem_files/Alligatoring.jpg

 

Just scrape back some of the gravel and dump roof patch on it?

Edited October 3, 2016 by Rhitter

[jasejase]

Yikes. That's usually a sign that the roof is near the end. Those spider cracks, after time, can allow moisture in.

 

Is your whole roof like that?

 

The 'repair' for a worn tar roof is usually a scrape and re-apply. I would likely go back with EPDM or something not so labor intensive. Scraping a tar roof is a bitch. My father was a commercial roofer. I remember him coming home after tar roof jobs, and he was in rough shape.

[baconbits]

Bought a miter saw the other day.

 

Considering I rarely need to cut 2x20s or anything that big, I couldn't justify a slider, nor could I justify needing a 12" blade.

 

Got the 10" single bevel Hitachi that Lowe's had on sale for $109+tax... love it so far. Comes with a 24t carbide blade that cuts regular and pressure treated 2x4s like butter along with the composite fence stuff I installed for my mom yesterday.

 

 

While installing, well, trying to, the pickets, I found out that even at 105psi, my Bostitch 18ga stapler has ZERO balls to it. I ended up brad nailing the pickets to the crossbars versus the staples they called for.

[jasejase]

When it's time to replace the blade, the diablo's are the best for the $.

I can do finish work with their rough cut blades. Nice stuff.

 

I need a new chop saw. I bought a Ryobi 12 or so year ago. It's fine, but it's a fixed 10", and when you're doing mitered trim, you can tell the difference in a cheap saw. 85% of the time, its perfect though, so it's hard to justify the $ on a better model.

[jasejase]

And.... Nice fence man! Came out nice. Are those just deck boards?

[baconbits]

When it's time to replace the blade, the diablo's are the best for the $.

I can do finish work with their rough cut blades. Nice stuff.

 

I need a new chop saw. I bought a Ryobi 12 or so year ago. It's fine, but it's a fixed 10", and when you're doing mitered trim, you can tell the difference in a cheap saw. 85% of the time, its perfect though, so it's hard to justify the $ on a better model.

 

And.... Nice fence man! Came out nice. Are those just deck boards?

 

Agreed with the Diablo blades - I cut up and scrapped an old Volkswagen with a friend and only needed 3 Sawzall blades. I have an 18t or 24t demo blade from them on my circular saw and that thing destroys everything... nails, electrical boxes, plywood, staples, everything. I've been using it for framing too.

 

I'd say 90% of what I end up using this Hitachi saw for will be straight cuts because I feel its easier to get a straighter cut than with a circular saw. Small job, one or two cuts, sure, circular saw to skip the hassle but bigger than that...

 

The fence is all composite stuff. Her condo complex sent a letter to my mom and her neighbor saying they needed to replace their shared fence and that it must have a "wood look," texture, and color. The posts and crossbars have a cedar (although it's light colored like pine) core with a pressed composite outer with a weathered woodgrain feel to it. The pickets are solid composite. Apparently all the materials for that was almost $500... 3 posts, 6 cross bars, 12 brackets (post to crossbar), 32 pickets.

[jasejase]

Yeah... I was thinking that would be a pricey fence! Nice job.

[Rhitter]

I got a 12 inch dewalt miter saw (not the sliding one) because I wanted it mostly for straight cuts. I seem to suck with a circular saw and my cuts frequently end up wavy(?).

 

Probably doesn't help that I used it to cut concrete and it's a little gummed up.

 

The 12 inch was really nice for cutting 6 inch stair tread at an angle.

 

Edit:

 

Took some pictures of my actual roof. It's not as bad as the example I posted. And it's just the corners / edges. I don't currently have $14k - $20k for a new roof. Maybe next year.

http://i.imgur.com/OOwlvla.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ntPboLU.jpg

 

my neighbor, closet house (same design) is getting a EPDM product put on tomorrow, and my other one (also same design) seemed to put an EPDM product all around the edges.

http://i.imgur.com/R7bLVkm.jpg

Edited October 3, 2016 by Rhitter

[GTEASER]

12" allows you to cut a wider profile of wood at a 45* miter. A 10" is barely enough to cut a 2x4 at an angle and almost impossible to cut a 2x6 at an angle.

[jasejase]

12" allows you to cut a wider profile of wood at a 45* miter. A 10" is barely enough to cut a 2x4 at an angle and almost impossible to cut a 2x6 at an angle.

 

 

 

If you don't use it often, just flip it over.

[jasejase]

I got a 12 inch dewalt miter saw (not the sliding one) because I wanted it mostly for straight cuts. I seem to suck with a circular saw and my cuts frequently end up wavy(?).

 

Probably doesn't help that I used it to cut concrete and it's a little gummed up.

 

The 12 inch was really nice for cutting 6 inch stair tread at an angle.

 

Edit:

 

Took some pictures of my actual roof. It's not as bad as the example I posted. And it's just the corners / edges. I don't currently have $14k - $20k for a new roof. Maybe next year.

http://i.imgur.com/OOwlvla.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ntPboLU.jpg

 

my neighbor, closet house (same design) is getting a EPDM product put on tomorrow, and my other one (also same design) seemed to put an EPDM product all around the edges.

http://i.imgur.com/R7bLVkm.jpg

 

 

 

If you do any patch work, don't mess with the pitch of that scupper.

[nemo]

What has everyone done for closet systems? Has anyone bought any of the systems from Home Depot or Lowes?

[GTEASER]

Bought a house with them already installed.

[jasejase]

I've used closet maid mostly. It can get expensive but it's decent

[nemo]

jase - how's the quality? For the price I am concerned they're poorly made and I will regret it after a few years.

[jasejase]

If you put them in right, and don't skimp on the extra supports etc, they are pretty solid. It helps if you look at it from a construction perspective a bit, and overbuild it. If you do the adjustable wall slots it will get expensive quick

[jasejase]

We've had them in place for 10 years now. I had to replace a one closet rod holder that suspends the rod from the shelf.

[rmoore5]

I have used the wire shelves from Home Cheapo and Menards. They are mounted in a cargo trailer with power tools stored on them. I mounted them upside down so stuff doesn't slide off.

 

The white ones are from Home Depot and the gray ones are from Menards marketed for garage storage. I have used the metal and the plastic U-straps to mount them to the wall. They have been bouncing down the road for 6 months and I can't see any difference in any of the pieces. Menards also sells Rubber Maid it looked like quality stuff, the plastic U-straps I used are Rubber Maid.

 

The red Kennedy box on the third white shelf weighs about 25 lbs, it bows the shelf a bit.

 

 

 

[LatentWagen]

I have a smaller version of the HD one that holds about a hundred pounds of tools. 3 shelves, about 3' wide, with round steel tubing for posts. One shelf will easily hold my weight without bowing, pretty stout stuff for the money.

[jasejase]

I think rmoore was simply using the wire shelving in preexisting shelf framing....?

 

Anyways, that stuff is a bit overkill for a bedroom closet

[rmoore5]

I considered those shelves. They looked very strong. I think I have around $200 in 8 - 4 foot shelves. The uni-strut was around $60 of that.

 

With these I can unload the trailer from the tool chest on back. After removing the uni-strut the shelves hang down flat to the walls, I only lose the thickness of the shelves from the width of the trailer.

 

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[rmoore5]

I think rmoore was simply using the wire shelving in preexisting shelf framing....?

 

Anyways, that stuff is a bit overkill for a bedroom closet

 

No,there isn't any preexisting shelving. The wire shelves are mounted to the wall using the U-strap mounts (maybe the wrong term) just like you would in a closet (just upside down). I used uni-strut for the front legs clamping the shelf to it with a 1/4" bolt, uni-strut nut, and uni-strut square washer.

 

The Home Depot shelf is the stuff they sell for closets. The Menards is a slightly thicker wire. The wire shelving is 16" deep and 4 foot wide. I think any of the wire shelving would be as strong as the next. Just mount it to a stud and you'll be set.

[jasejase]

Gotcha. I have purchased ClosetMaid at both HD and Lowes.

 

Agree on stud mount where possible. And good drywall anchors everywhere else!