2021 Home Improvement Projects

[Burque]

Made this a couple days ago from common board and just under 100 deck screws. It was a little difficult because i had to build it in the guest room it is sitting in.

I am sure you already probably did this, but with your little minions running around and being of climbing age I would definitely anchor that to the wall.

 

[airtime143]

Made this a couple days ago from common board and just under 100 deck screws. It was a little difficult because i had to build it in the guest room it is sitting in.

Wanna make a few of those for me?

That looks outstanding.

That offset in the middle shelves makes it pop. It wouldnt look near as good if all the shelves were uniform.
Good job.

 

[HeHateMe]

I am sure you already probably did this, but with your little minions running around and being of climbing age I would definitely anchor that to the wall.

Definitely anchored into studs with L brackets. Wife is going to sand and stain it with a blonde stain to match the baseboards/doors, but it's pretty much done on my end.

 

[Burque]

Honestly didnt even consider burying the fencing- good call.

I am keeping my fingers crossed on the coyotes- I hear them nightly but have never seen a footprint- I eyeballed pretty carefully all winter.

...but the promise of fresh chicken may make them venture my way.

We had coyotes that liked to spend lazy hot afternoons under our desert willow. That is, until I didn't realize they were there and let the pitbulls out front. my 95 pounder chased the big one out of the yard and he was so on him that the yote jumped the fence and he smashed the fence and took out a chunk of it (He is kinda a big meatball).

There is a guy a couple streets over that has a chicken coop in his back yard with some BIG effing chickens in it. So we started seeing the yotes hanging around his side yard, just kinda getting a bead on his chickens. I saw him out there watering and let him know and he wasn't concerned at all. He said he buried his fencing and hasn't ever had a problem with any animals getting in his coop. His dogs run the backyard during the day, but at night he just closes them into their house within the fenced in coop and as far as I can tell other than chicken on chicken violence he has no trouble at all.

 

[HeHateMe]

Wanna make a few of those for me?

That looks outstanding.

That offset in the middle shelves makes it pop. It wouldnt look near as good if all the shelves were uniform.
Good job.

Thanks, just kinda threw it together and totally agree that doing straight uniform lines would probably look a little wonky. The design was also a function thing to make it stronger. I would have had to do pocket screws to have the shelves go straight across, and was concerned about the strength of the structure if I managed to even drill those guys in straight enough. These are #9 2.5 in GSK screws, 2 in each side, no predrilling.

 

[Scoot26]

Made this a couple days ago from common board and just under 100 deck screws. It was a little difficult because i had to build it in the guest room it is sitting in.

Did the wood cost a fortune?

 

[Urblock]

Cool project and space for the coop. Make sure it's very protected from critters. Lots of them will be after the chickens. Coyote, fox, raccoon, hawks...

Did the old man thing and got up a 2:30 to take a piss last night. Looked out the front window and a fox was standing in the driveway. Tapped the window and he looked at me as if to say **** you and walked away. Been here for 23 yrs and never had a fox this close.

 

[airtime143]

We had coyotes that liked to spend lazy hot afternoons under our desert willow. That is, until I didn't realize they were there and let the pitbulls out front. my 95 pounder chased the big one out of the yard and he was so on him that the yote jumped the fence and he smashed the fence and took out a chunk of it (He is kinda a big meatball).

There is a guy a couple streets over that has a chicken coop in his back yard with some BIG effing chickens in it. So we started seeing the yotes hanging around his side yard, just kinda getting a bead on his chickens. I saw him out there watering and let him know and he wasn't concerned at all. He said he buried his fencing and hasn't ever had a problem with any animals getting in his coop. His dogs run the backyard during the day, but at night he just closes them into their house within the fenced in coop and as far as I can tell other than chicken on chicken violence he has no trouble at all.

Those coyotes are crafty bastards.
Their M.O. is to have a single one coax a dog in to chasing it and runs them right in to the pack... game over.

Luckily the only places I ever take my pooches are loaded with small game to keep em fed.


I do have a semi humorous coyote story.
Got called out in the middle of the night and by the time I was headed home the sun was just starting to glow in the east.
quiet as hell on the roads.
A big ol dog runs across the 4 lane highway and in to the woods.
I pull in to the median intending to get him and find his home.
as I stop, 4 others run by. It wasnt a shepard, I was about to chase a coyote.
I put it in drive and says "well, my work is done here!"

 

[HeHateMe]

Did the wood cost a fortune?

It was around $180. Screws 13 bux. So under 200 to this point, so cheaper than ikea.

 

[airtime143]

Finished the chicken palace.
decided to make it match the colors of the house, garage and out building.
on the near side next to the picket fence I am installing an auto side door, but it is on back order- should be here in a month.
It has a timer and is wifi enabled. I have a ton of wifi cameras as well, so the set up will be camera inside to make sure all the girls are safely inside and then hit the door.

Oh- and the deck was a ccs addition.
My chickens can have deck mealworms.

 

[airtime143]

 

[Fatman LOU]

New house ( farm land ) here and I wont be doing the chickens anymore. Not worth it to us to raise them, around here we can get a dozen from friends farm for $ 1.00 a dozen plus they are a pain in the ass ............................

 

[airtime143]

New house ( farm land ) here and I wont be doing the chickens anymore. Not worth it to us to raise them, around here we can get a dozen from friends farm for $ 1.00 a dozen plus they are a pain in the ass ............................

I am a chicken newbie- got them more for the entertainment value than anything else.
Shit- If I was doing it to save money on eggs, I might get in the black in 20 or 30 years. Maybe.

 

[Tater]

I am a chicken newbie- got them more for the entertainment value than anything else.
Shit- If I was doing it to save money on eggs, I might get in the black in 20 or 30 years. Maybe.

And they eat a lot of bugs.

 

[airtime143]

Just ordered 3 new garage doors, wifi openers, key pads, the whole 9 yards.

Heads up for anyone thinking of doing garage doors this year, order now.
They are 16...I repeat SIXTEEN weeks out on manufacturing.

 

[Hawkeye OG]

Anyone done wallpaper before? Tip n tricks?

Walls are textured like the pic below - will this cause issues?

 

[Krogoth]

Anyone done wallpaper before? Tip n tricks?

Walls are textured like the pic below - will this cause issues?

I can tell you that I removed wallpaper that was put up long before I bought my place on a textured wall, and I had no idea the wall was textured underneath before I took it down.
It was up for at a minimum 23 years.

 

[Crystallas]

Wallpaper will transfer the texture that is behind it. That doesn't mean it will look bad, but if you want a specific wall feel for your wall paper, you'll need to prep the walls by removing or adding material(older homes people used scrap newspaper with adhesives, IDK if that's still done now) and you could make sure you are using a more rigid wallpaper so less of that texture transfers through. If it's just the renters removable stuff, some of that is thicker and hard to notice. But if it's the silky, velvet like stuff, don't expect it to turn out.

 

[Scoot26]

Just ordered 3 new garage doors, wifi openers, key pads, the whole 9 yards.

Heads up for anyone thinking of doing garage doors this year, order now.
They are 16...I repeat SIXTEEN weeks out on manufacturing.

Still better than my couch, which we got informed a week ago would arrive in late November/early December. We ordered it in early April.

 

[Crystallas]

Guess I'll share updates. I bought a new house in December. Sold my house in Jan. In the middle of doing all of the structural stuff. Dug out the foundation in spring, did all the drains/weeping tile with dry well systems, repaired the soil perc, reinforced footing all around, as well as added rafting and damming matched to the sloped spots on the property, damp proofing all around, about 3 tons of various mineral amendments to leech into the concrete for added strength, parging the walls, exterior insulation, and added a few stealth footings in ground for a couple future 'bump-outs'. Barely filled the holes back in before the summer heat kicked in, so now I'm working inside with the carpentry side and framing. It's a 150 year old house and my age is catching up with me for sure.

Last build was in 2005 and I had contractors helping. This go I want to DIY as much as I can and it's simply brutal but I'm going to keep it up until I'm either in the hospital or complete it. This is the first time in my life I taken on a project where I'm genuinely afraid this whole thing will break me. I didn't realize how much I took my prior home for granted for being damn near a passive home as far as heat and ac requirements go. No longer have solar, water collection and gray water drainages(will add *something* but it wont be anywhere near as optimal.) At least 5 hours a day I'm drenched in sweat, my business is almost frozen aside from a few of my best clients, and it seems like I have newly permanent lines on my face from wearing a respirator and googles for long periods of time.