Home Improvement/Project thread

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Discuss and share your projects.

[showmethesnow]

@C.A.P.E.So what projects have you done with the log house? 

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Here is what I have been working on. Long, painstaking process. This is the southern exposure side of the house, also the 'featured" side. Over the years the finish has turned dark and muddy. It is a tinted penetrating oil, and the color is honey amber. It is clear from the before/in progress photo that it was not that color anymore lol. Probably a combination of UV exposure and just years of pollen and surrounding farm dirt. and rain. It was really ugly and streaky. In the second photo the area left of the chimney is done. I have to do it in stages because if I sanded it all at one time, and we have a rainy, wet period, the exposed wood will weather and turn silver and I would have to re-sand.

The other thing I am working on is getting rid of the crappy lattice and putting in 1 x 6 boards for the deck skirting. Nice clean look. I did the deck railing last summer- I wanted the stainless steel cable but the hardware was super expensive so I did my own design using 3/8" 304 stainless rods. I love how that turned out.

 

[showmethesnow]

@C.A.P.E.Gorgeous house. Wife wants to know if you're selling.  

Railing looks great, though I love my wood so I would have probably stuck with that instead of the stainless. I am curious though why you went with sanding instead of power washing the wood? You can get almost as a clean look with just half the effort that way. Pretty much what I did with my small deck (yours puts mine to shame.  ) and really had no issues with streaking if I took my time.

 

[CAPE]

Here is a close up shot of the finished area. You can see how much more translucent it is, nice amber-red color with the open grain areas standing out. Very happy with that look. The fascia has not been touched yet, so you can see the difference. I am not sure what to do with that, as the carpenter bees/woodpeckers have done a number on it over the years, so I may just replace it.

[CAPE]

9 minutes ago, showmethesnow said:

@C.A.P.E.Gorgeous house. Wife wants to know if you're selling.  

Railing looks great, though I love my wood so I would have probably stuck with that instead of the stainless. I am curious though why you went with sanding instead of power washing the wood? You can get almost as a clean look with just half the effort that way. Pretty much what I did with my small deck (yours puts mine to shame.  ) and really had no issues with streaking if I took my time.

 

Thanks. And maybe in the not too distant future

Actually I did have it power washed, and it did take some of the finish off. It is a penetrating oil so that process is not going to get it all off unless it is heavily oxidized. Sanding is really the only way to get it prepped for a nice even finish. And not fine sanding in this case- 40 grit.

eta- also it has to be low pressure washed- directing a high pressure spray perpendicular to the windows/roof purlins is not good. Water always  finds its way inside.

[CAPE]

7 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

Here's a removable decorative piece I built to cover the sump pit . Yes.. that's an original Millennium Falcon. . As soon as I get time I'm going to build a acrylic glass display case for it.

 

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

Nice. That is quite creative.

[WxUSAF]

Been repainting my deck for the last five week. Finally have one full coat on it. Previous owners did a sh-tty job when they did it so the deck was peeling and two colors. Looks much better now. 

And as always trying to get grass to grow in bare spots. This weekends 0.03” of rain didn’t help much.

[Eskimo Joe]

I fixed a door knob.  I'm a regular Bob Vila.  

[CAPE]

Nice work @losetoa6

[CAPE]

I would have to dig to find some in progress photos for all  the inside work. Here are a couple that show the T&G knotty pine on the interior walls and the heart pine floors. Built the stair/loft railing too. Lots of tedious finishing work with all the wood. Never need to touch it again though. The view of the loft is from the doorway of the master bedroom. 

@showmethesnow show these to your wife. let me know when you want to make an offer  

 

[CAPE]

12 hours ago, WxUSAF said:

Been repainting my deck for the last five week. Finally have one full coat on it. Previous owners did a sh-tty job when they did it so the deck was peeling and two colors. Looks much better now. 

And as always trying to get grass to grow in bare spots. This weekends 0.03” of rain didn’t help much.

Painting holds up longer than a transparent (stain), but it can be a mess when it ultimately fails. Mother nature always wins. I have never found a transparent finish that holds up and looks good for more than 2 years for a deck that is completely exposed. I cant do paint- it would look like crap against a log home. I used this stuff called Flood the last time, and I also used it on the railing project last summer. I like it better than Cabots or Sikkens, and its cheaper. Pretty easy to apply.

[CAPE]

7 minutes ago, losetoa6 said:

Dude...this is wicked nice . What kind of finish on the floors ? Looks like a glossy tint on the pic 

Thanks. Bought the floors prefinished. Its a semi gloss, and it does look nice but I really wanted satin. You know how it is when you are managing a big project, always gotta be conscious of the budget. Got a good deal on that flooring. And its legit 3/4" floor. Of course the other thing about pine, although I love the look, it is soft- even heart pine. Has lots of character now lol. I really wanted to do hickory but that wasn't in the budget.

[winterymix]

I'ma gonna start off easy peassie....

 

How can I put out bird feeders while defeating the tree rats?

[mappy]

been working on updating the living room for a little bit now. new furniture arrives this week. finishing up painting each night this week, as well as our two story foyer. so excited!

[CAPE]

1 hour ago, winterymix said:

I'ma gonna start off easy peassie....

 

How can I put out bird feeders while defeating the tree rats?

This-

Audubon Torpedo Steel Squirrel Baffle 

Buy it on Amazon. Unless they jump down from a nearby tree, you will never see a squirrel hanging off your feeder again.

[CAPE]

45 minutes ago, mappy said:

been working on updating the living room for a little bit now. new furniture arrives this week. finishing up painting each night this week, as well as our two story foyer. so excited!

Nice. Post some pics when its finished!

[mattie g]

We’ve got so much to do around the house, but we keep the DIY stuff pretty simple. I have the ability to DIY some decent projects, but I don’t have the patience for it...nevermind the time.

Upcoming home improvement projects (primarily professionals doing the work):

- Roof and gutters, including a new ridge vent

- New attic insulation

- Re-do kitchen

- Replace 6’ fence on two sides of the backyard

- Redesign backyard, to include removing/transplanting a couple fruit trees and establishing new area for a larger garden

- Re-stain portion of the deck

- Gas fireplace insert to replace to carbon monoxide hazard we have in there now. Will also probably have to re-mortar some of the bricks st the top of the chimney that were shaken pretty well in the earthquake and have become a little less stable since then.

- Replace custom-built shed

All of this stuff will need to be done in the next 3-5 years. Not looking forward to it at all. Maybe we should move and leave it to someone else to deal with! 

[CAPE]

2 hours ago, mattie g said:

We’ve got so much to do around the house, but we keep the DIY stuff pretty simple. I have the ability to DIY some decent projects, but I don’t have the patience for it...nevermind the time.

Upcoming home improvement projects (primarily professionals doing the work):

- Roof and gutters, including a new ridge vent

- New attic insulation

- Re-do kitchen

- Replace 6’ fence on two sides of the backyard

- Redesign backyard, to include removing/transplanting a couple fruit trees and establishing new area for a larger garden

- Re-stain portion of the deck

- Gas fireplace insert to replace to carbon monoxide hazard we have in there now. Will also probably have to re-mortar some of the bricks st the top of the chimney that were shaken pretty well in the earthquake and have become a little less stable since then.

- Replace custom-built shed

All of this stuff will need to be done in the next 3-5 years. Not looking forward to it at all. Maybe we should move and leave it to someone else to deal with! 

Thats quite a list lol. I have mine too. There are some things I cant/wont do that need done, but I sure as heck try to do everything I can myself. Combination of not wanting to pay someone, and knowing if its something I can do myself, I will most likely do it better. I am hard to please, especially if I shell out big bucks lol. Time is an issue though. There are other more fun things I could be doing. And yeah, I think about selling and moving on too. Problem is I built this exactly the way I wanted it. Wish I could pick it up and move it someplace else sometimes. Plus selling a log home isn't always easy- not everyone wants one of these  

[BlizzardNole]

15 hours ago, C.A.P.E. said:

This-

Audubon Torpedo Steel Squirrel Baffle 

Buy it on Amazon. Unless they jump down from a nearby tree, you will never see a squirrel hanging off your feeder again.

I have one of those on our 10-foot bird feeder pole and the squirrels have no chance.  We get a kick out of watching newbies try to beat that thing until they finally give up.

Just make sure the pole is at least 8 feet from any tree branches.

[CAPE]

2 hours ago, BlizzardNole said:

I have one of those on our 10-foot bird feeder pole and the squirrels have no chance.  We get a kick out of watching newbies try to beat that thing until they finally give up.

Just make sure the pole is at least 8 feet from any tree branches.

Yeah I have had one for over a year and the squirrels don't even bother anymore. I guess some people will say it detracts from the look but its not like some huge eye sore. The thing works.

[showmethesnow]

On 5/7/2018 at 8:13 AM, C.A.P.E. said:

I would have to dig to find some in progress photos for all  the inside work. Here are a couple that show the T&G knotty pine on the interior walls and the heart pine floors. Built the stair/loft railing too. Lots of tedious finishing work with all the wood. Never need to touch it again though. The view of the loft is from the doorway of the master bedroom. 

@showmethesnow show these to your wife. let me know when you want to make an offer  

 

All I can say is, STUNNING. Very nice. Now if you lived in the mountains my wife and I would be there checking it out to put up an offer. But alas, your yearly snowfall sucks. Well maybe besides for last winter.

 

 

23 hours ago, C.A.P.E. said:

Painting holds up longer than a transparent (stain), but it can be a mess when it ultimately fails. Mother nature always wins. I have never found a transparent finish that holds up and looks good for more than 2 years for a deck that is completely exposed. I cant do paint- it would look like crap against a log home. I used this stuff called Flood the last time, and I also used it on the railing project last summer. I like it better than Cabots or Sikkens, and its cheaper. Pretty easy to apply.

Like Flood myself it held up well for 3-4 years on the last stain of the deck (semi-transparent Red Wood). And like you said, cheaper.

 

@losetoa6 Excellent work, wished I had the ceiling height that you have. But being an older house (early 1900's) I have very little head room to speak of. Looking at roughly 6'5' at best and that was only because the dirt basement was dug out a couple of feet below the foundation and a concrete slab was laid in the 60's. Of course digging below the foundation opened up another can of worms in allowing water to flood in. They solved that problem by laying a 2 1/2 ft brick wall around the foundation. By the time we bought that was pretty well shot (quite a bit of water leaking in). Tore that down and poured a thick 6 inch - 2 1/2 ft concrete wall around the perimeter and painted that with Kilz. Problem solved and have had no issues whatsoever since. Honestly though, though I like the uniqueness of the older houses they are a major headache when it comes to renovations. Nothing is true or square and most times you are spending half the time trying to figure out how to make something work and the other half having to adjust some standard building material or create something yourself.  

[smokeybandit]

What kind of landscaping ideas does anyone have when your lush green grass is now hardened lava?  Asking for a Hawaiian friend.

[CAPE]

1 hour ago, showmethesnow said:

All I can say is, STUNNING. Very nice. Now if you lived in the mountains my wife and I would be there checking it out to put up an offer. But alas, your yearly snowfall sucks. Well maybe besides for last winter.

 

 

Like Flood myself it held up well for 3-4 years on the last stain of the deck (semi-transparent Red Wood). And like you said, cheaper.

 

Ha, yeah I wish I could move it sometimes. Snowfall is not that bad here, actually. 18-19" is climo average, so last winter was pretty much average. Being further east works against many times with the bigger events mixing/changing over, but then I catch the coastal scrapers and sometimes the sw edge of miller b events, like that late Dec one a few years back we are not supposed to mention here lol.

And yeah I really like Flood. Used it on the fence down by the road and on my deck and the deck railing project I did last summer. I used the transparent(cedar) and like most others, it lasts 2 years on the deck itself. Should last longer on the railing.

[showmethesnow]

55 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

What kind of landscaping ideas does anyone have when your lush green grass is now hardened lava?  Asking for a Hawaiian friend.

TNT is probably a good start. Or if you are feeling lazy bring in a landscaper and let them worry about it.

[Ellinwood]

Some smaller and larger projects on the list this year...

- Replace all electric outlets because the previous owner/contractor decided to paint over all of them. Ugly and a potential fire hazard if/when paint gets inside the sockets.

- Replace 6-7 window screens.

- Power wash the deck, siding, and fence and stain/seal the deck and fence.

- Find a way to add a screen to one of the basement french doors that open to the outside (no windows in the basement, so no way to air it out unless I just keep the door wide open).

- Get the fireplace cleaned (contractor)... obviously wasn't done before we bought the house.

- Add more of a wall and add a door to the main level floor access to the basement (contractor).

[Ellinwood]

1 hour ago, WxWatcher007 said:

Not much of a project but with this newfound space I'm finally able to get a wx station. Should I only consider getting a Davis once I have the money for it, or are there cheaper options out there that are similarly accurate?

I got a cheap one from my brother as a gift years ago, and was finally able to put it up. As a weather enthusiast, I would say spend the money on a good one. Anything in the cheaper bracket won't have the desired accuracy.

[showmethesnow]

1 hour ago, WxWatcher007 said:

 

Thanks. Looks like I'm going to have to go that way. Should I go for a fan aspirated radiation shield or is the standard one fine? I'm thinking about the standard vantage vue. Let me know if I'm derailing the thread  

This is a mid-Atlantic thread. You Connecticut interlopers don't belong here. 

 

[yoda]

20 minutes ago, showmethesnow said:

This is a mid-Atlantic thread. You Connecticut interlopers don't belong here. 

 

Just wait till he tells us about the WSWs for 1 to 2 feet of snow from Miller B's that he will be getting while we down here get WWAs for 1 to 2 inches 

Agree with @losetoa6... Davis VP2 should work well for you

[mappy]

On 5/8/2018 at 12:29 PM, WxWatcher007 said:

Not much of a project but with this newfound space I'm finally able to get a wx station. Should I only consider getting a Davis once I have the money for it, or are there cheaper options out there that are similarly accurate?

i love my Davis VP2

I also got the data link, so i can pull my station up from wunderground, and an app for my phone so I can see what's up at home without having to go to wunderground.