Home Improvements

Diomedes · March 10, 2011, 08:18:36 PM

Good news for my wallet and my mental well being: We just landed a 2,000 square foot deck job, cantilevered over an embankment into an Annapolis creek. First things first, we have to remove the huge old deck, which is in such poor shape it was actually condemned. Then we're gonna have to build a work platform before we can even begin the actual building. A dozen or so custom-formed 3x5 foot concrete piers have to be excavated, formed and poured, a tricky stepped wall has to be poured around the pool...the whole shebang.

I think this job warrants purchasing a teco nailer. God knows I don't wanna fasten all those joist hangers by hand.

What a relief...steady work for a few months.

Susquehanna Birder · March 10, 2011, 08:25:17 PM

And a convenient place to hide the bodies.

phillymic2000 · March 10, 2011, 08:31:09 PM

Quote from: Diomedes on March 10, 2011, 08:18:36 PM
Good news for my wallet and my mental well being: We just landed a 2,000 square foot deck job, cantilevered over an embankment into an Annapolis creek. First things first, we have to remove the huge old deck, which is in such poor shape it was actually condemned. Then we're gonna have to build a work platform before we can even begin the actual building. A dozen or so custom-formed 3x5 foot concrete piers have to be excavated, formed and poured, a tricky stepped wall has to be poured around the pool...the whole shebang.

I think this job warrants purchasing a teco nailer. God knows I don't wanna fasten all those joist hangers by hand.

What a relief...steady work for a few months

Thats awesome news Dio!!! Have fun, sounds like a lot of work.

Diomedes · March 10, 2011, 08:53:35 PM

There's a shed to be built on top of the deck, for pool supplies and the like. A few stairways, gates, etc. An elaborate affair.

This will be the third job I've done since leaving the office for which I've been given a set of plans and had some responsibility for understanding them, and even helping with material estimates and the like.

All the same, I'm the low man carpenter, and the youngest on the job, so yeah, I'm no big shot goddamn carpenter. I'm gonna be working.

smeags · March 11, 2011, 05:11:47 PM

i am finishing up on istalling the interior doors and trim work and getting ready to move outside to the deck. its gonna be 12x26. is it really worth using the partical planks over the pressure treated ?

Diomedes · March 11, 2011, 06:18:17 PM

Particle planks?

You mean Trex?

smeags · March 14, 2011, 08:37:52 AM

thats it, couldn't remember the name just that it's made from reclaimed materials. is it worth it ?

Seabiscuit36 · March 14, 2011, 10:29:25 AM

Depends how much you want to pay and how much maintenance you want. The major upside is you never have to stain them, the downside is the cost compared to natural wood. I'm currently weighing the same thing smeags, but i think price wise we're going to end up doing regular pressure treated with stain just to cut cost. For the railings we were going to go with Tensile Wire across instead of dealing with buying full railings or having to paint them each year.

smeags · March 14, 2011, 11:36:08 AM

thats what i may do as well, the prices are insane, especially for the trex accent which is the smooth grain that wont chew up your feet. great long term option it seems but may end up being too pricey and not sure i will have the coin after finishing the remod in the kitchen and hallway.

Tomahawk · July 11, 2011, 07:49:15 AM

Is removing the old and installing a new water heater a DIY project? It seems straightforward enough...turn off gas and water, remove fittings, take old water heater out to put on the lawn next to cars on cinder blocks, install new heater

phillymic2000 · July 11, 2011, 08:55:23 AM

I would recommend installing a tankless water heater. It is a little more intense of an install, but still a diy project. The main thing is the stainless steel exhaust pipe. We put one in about two years ago and we love it. We never run out of hot water and cut our LP bill about 20% the first year.

hbionic · July 11, 2011, 09:29:06 AM

I've heard those things are faulty and have a life span of about six years instead of the purported 20+ before they become a fire hazard (extremes)...something about the fact that some function in them overheats and melts away.

Tomahawk · July 11, 2011, 09:45:28 AM

I helped (watched) a friend put in a tankless. His disappointment with its performance is enough for me to say farg that noise.

phillymic2000 · July 11, 2011, 10:24:52 AM

Wow, never heard of or had any issues. Oh well, don't be green then

Seabiscuit36 · July 11, 2011, 11:08:35 AM

I can put them in, after watching 2 put in. Its not rocket science, the main thing is to bleed your lines so that you dont have water dumping out everywhere. And to open your valves and open the blowoff valve so you dont build up too much pressure and break pipes when you're filling the tank up.

We ended up getting a Hybrid Hot water heater, its a geothermal hot water heater, so it pulls heat out of the air, and pumps out cold air. Kinda nice in the summer as it cools your basement down. The downside is that its electric, im not sure if they have gas ones, and that since its a heatpump, it makes noise. But the yearly operating costs is 198 dollars a year. You pay roughly 1300, there are tax rebates for going Green etc, but i couldnt be happier. I cant stand regular hot water heaters with Glass Lining, this is Porcelain