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opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
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5
I built up a gravel pad to put my incoming shed on. Just used some landscaping timbers and rebar. Yard was about 12" off-level:

rrr_img_132120.jpg


Yes, I plan on putting fresh gravel on the rest of the gravel driveway you see there as well, but I was sick of shoveling gravel by the time I filled in the pad. Plus the wife needs to go pull some more weeds there first
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rrr_img_132121.jpg
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
lurkingdirk_sl said:
Looks good, man. But dat fence, tho...
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Yeah, it was existing when we moved in. The rest of my property was not fenced so I built a new one around the rest (you can see some of the new fence I built in the pic). It is technically my neighbors fence but I'm going to have to tear down and put up a new one I think, since I'm the one with dogs and a kid that needs containing, with my neighbors being past that stage in life.

It is on my to-do list once it stops raining.
 
mkopec

mkopec

<Gold Donor>
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Thats probably the way to go but to much work, plus I dont want all that gravel in my yard. Im probably going to just use those concrete block things for a base, level those off to each other on both the low side and the high side, then build a level base of pressure treated lumber from those concrete blocks using 4x4s at corners of the low spot to raise it using some lag screws. Then put up some lattice to cover it all up on the low side so the critters dont try to make the underneath their home.

Im just wondering if its a better deal to just buy a kit to build one or build one myself. I have no problem with skills in building one, just the money aspect. I know how build it yourself projects tend to stray away from the budget, especially the ones I do.

I recently built a mantel for my fireplace from scratch, and while it looks tits and all grand and shit, I know I didnt save any cash by doing it myself. I always tend to buy too much material and waste some of it.
 
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Picasso3

Silver Baronet of the Realm
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I'd def by a kit or even have one assembled if possible. Check into plastic or composite ones as well, they're a lot easier to put up, move, and maintain. You lose some flexibility of attaching shit to the walls though
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Costco sometimes has great deals on sheds that include assembly/installation. When I was mathing it out, for everything that was included it was ~$300-$500 above material costs, depending on the size of the shed, to have them install vs. building myself.

On the gravel, I hear you, but I have a big yard and was happy to lose the grass if for anything, just to have less to mow.
 
Joeboo

Joeboo

Molten Core Raider
8,157
140
I used concrete deck blocks when I built the base for my shed. Here was an in-progress pick of the base back when I was doing it last summer(I did end up adding more floor joists, these were just all the load-bearing ones in the deck blocks

SNMhe5s.jpg


The deck blocks are nice because not only do they have grooves to run your boards through in all 4 directions, but the center is hollowed out a bit to where you could put a 4x4 post in one vertically
Can be used in both of these ways:
Kristin-Jackson-Deck-3.jpg

rrr_img_132176.jpg
 
Heylel

Heylel

Trakanon Raider
3,602
430
Blower on the furnace went out. HVAC guy quoted $500 to fix it.
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The furnace was built in 1983, so it's old as dirt. I'm half tempted to try fixing it myself if it's just a blower motor, but on the other hand it's probably time to replace.
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
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My inspector told me my 20 year old furnace had a 15 year lifespan, but I've been keeping it going by replacing parts and what not. Blower motor shouldn't be that hard.

Wonder how much more energy-efficient new ones are, might not be worth the cost of repairs even if doing it yourself.
 
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Picasso3

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Lot of variables...but yeah I'd look at a replacement, blower motor can be an easy replacement though.
 
Heylel

Heylel

Trakanon Raider
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430
Was quoted $1887 for a new 80 BTU furnace, installed. The guy didn't have much info on it so I'm not sure how efficient it was. He couldn't even break out the unit cost vs. labor, which is very fishy.

I might just 0% finance through a high efficient program and go ahead and redo the whole system. Haven't decided yet.
 
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Picasso3

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20 year old ac could be costing you big money. Id get a 96 furnace too. I bought a 65k gas 96% 13 seer split system 2 years ago Goodman for 2200 parts
 
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Picasso3

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I'm in a restaurant and trying not to be rude but would rather talk ac replacement..

For a system that size by Goodman (96% eff gas furmace and 13 seer condemsor) it was 2200 in materials. I did it myself. But it's good to know what hvac guys have in the equip to know if you're getting fucked.
 
Erronius

Erronius

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Heylel_sl said:
Was quoted $1887 for a new 80 BTU furnace, installed. The guy didn't have much info on it so I'm not sure how efficient it was. He couldn't even break out the unit cost vs. labor, which is very fishy.

I might just 0% finance through a high efficient program and go ahead and redo the whole system. Haven't decided yet.
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I don't know how many contractors would be willing to just straight up tell you what their labor and material costs are. Especially when it comes to what they can get material/equipment for. If I was doing it for a living and going through a supply/wholesale house, I doubt I would tell you either. Just saying.
 
Palum

Palum

what Suineg set it to
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Not always true, but while it does depend on the industry a lot are willing to quote you line item - the catch is it's retail pricing so you don't see markup.
 
Heylel

Heylel

Trakanon Raider
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Erronius_sl said:
I don't know how many contractors would be willing to just straight up tell you what their labor and material costs are. Especially when it comes to what they can get material/equipment for. If I was doing it for a living and going through a supply/wholesale house, I doubt I would tell you either. Just saying.
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I suppose, but it's not like he's building a deck or remodeling my kitchen. It's a furnace. It's a discrete piece of machinery which he's not constructing himself and has a market price. I feel like i have the right to comparison shop, especially when I can google "80 BTU furnace" and find plenty of them for sale online. I couldn't even get brand info from him. I had to walk that backwards from a model number on a single unlabeled piece of paper. It wasn't even a catalog.
 
Palum

Palum

what Suineg set it to
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His quote seems really expensive for an 80 BTU furnace, that's less than one of those chemical hand warmers in heat output.
 
Erronius

Erronius

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Heylel_sl said:
I suppose, but it's not like he's building a deck or remodeling my kitchen. It's a furnace. It's a discrete piece of machinery which he's not constructing himself and has a market price. I feel like i have the right to comparison shop, especially when I can google "80 BTU furnace" and find plenty of them for sale online. I couldn't even get brand info from him. I had to walk that backwards from a model number on a single unlabeled piece of paper. It wasn't even a catalog.
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Of course you have the right to comparison shop, LOL - go get some more bids to compare. Other contractors will probably be more forthcoming on make and model. Some might even give you a breakdown...I'm just saying that I probably wouldn't. At most I might tell you make/model, but I was mostly responding to you mentioning "cost vs. labor" because I literally can't imagine any/many contractors being that forthcoming.

Maybe in some parts of the country it might be more common, but I don't think it ever was where I've worked.
 
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Picasso3

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Ridiculous not to share make model on hvac job. Your unit inside should match outside for warranty purposes and efficiency and brand cost differences are huge.
 
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