Home Improvement

  • Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and give us your nominations!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!

The_Black_Log Foler

PalsCo CEO - Stock Pals | Pantheon Pals
<Gold Donor>
47,717
42,947
whoo whoo thanks for the advice. Scheduled internet to be installed, they'll run lines. Scheduled an engineer from the power company to come take a look at burying the lines and give me a quote (have to pay myself).

All is well
 

Captain Suave

Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.
5,265
8,958
Noticed my sub floor looked like it was rotting

Two things come to mind.

If the lumber was cut from a tree that had beetles or termites, the mill will sometimes pack the voids with filler. Over time, those fillers could fail and look like what you're seeing. Those holes seem large for this, though.

Also possible it's dry rot (fungus). Healthy wood doesn't disintegrate like that, even after hundreds of years. If those areas get bigger or don't have well-defined borders you should get someone to look at it for treatment.
 
Last edited:

whoo

<Silver Donator>
1,381
6,041
whoo whoo thanks for the advice. Scheduled internet to be installed, they'll run lines. Scheduled an engineer from the power company to come take a look at burying the lines and give me a quote (have to pay myself).

All is well

Good to hear!
 

Fucker

Log Wizard
12,676
28,825
My first venture into this thread. Hoping it won't be my last. Could use some advice..

So I have 16 acres of land with forest/river running through it and a tiny old cabin on it that's very old.

1.jpg
 
  • 2Worf
Reactions: 1 users

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,674
2,534
I'm replacing the countertops in my house with butcher block. I decided to go with maple which I will stain dark brown in the bathrooms and American cherry in the kitchen which I'm just going to oil. I was very scared of cutting the sink holes because they were undermount so my cuts will be visible. I wasn't sure how to do it but I finally remembered that I picked up a badass DeWalt plunge router at an auction a couple of years ago which I have never really used. After watching some YouTube I traced the outline of the sinks on the countertop and then rigged up the router to cut 1 inch inside the line since the sink has a 1 inch rim around it. It came out great. Did 6 passes which might have been excessive but I really didn't want to ruin the counter. It's going to take a bit of sanding but I'm very happy with how it went and I'm in love with that router.

IMG_20200508_182943.jpg

received_243852310289332.jpeg

received_533307167351649.jpeg

received_236583964342019.jpeg


As an added bonus, you get a free cutting board with every sink...
received_1099906843719060.jpeg


My next big question is whether to do mitered corners or butt joints in the kitchen. After doing some research, I'm thinking I'm a butt joint kind of guy. It seems like the miters are just too easy to fuck up and I don't want to have to buy more countertops.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

ver_21

Molten Core Raider
975
-360
I'm replacing the countertops in my house with butcher block. I decided to go with maple which I will stain dark brown in the bathrooms and American cherry in the kitchen which I'm just going to oil. I was very scared of cutting the sink holes because they were undermount so my cuts will be visible. I wasn't sure how to do it but I finally remembered that I picked up a badass DeWalt plunge router at an auction a couple of years ago which I have never really used. After watching some YouTube I traced the outline of the sinks on the countertop and then rigged up the router to cut 1 inch inside the line since the sink has a 1 inch rim around it. It came out great. Did 6 passes which might have been excessive but I really didn't want to ruin the counter. It's going to take a bit of sanding but I'm very happy with how it went and I'm in love with that router.

View attachment 269207
View attachment 269208
View attachment 269209
View attachment 269210

As an added bonus, you get a free cutting board with every sink...View attachment 269211

My next big question is whether to do mitered corners or butt joints in the kitchen. After doing some research, I'm thinking I'm a butt joint kind of guy. It seems like the miters are just too easy to fuck up and I don't want to have to buy more countertops.

Butcherblock is great. Not sure what to recommend about the joint. Mitre is definitely the trickier of the two and might move over time, and you might not like the way the wood stripes come together, anyway. But I can recommend Waterlox Original for the finish. Waterlox tung oil wood sealers, finishes and accessories for floors, countertops, furniture, cabinets, outdoor, marine applications 2-3 coats and you're set. Gotta have good ventilation.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Captain Suave

Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.
5,265
8,958
My next big question is whether to do mitered corners or butt joints in the kitchen.

Mitre is definitely the trickier of the two and might move over time

Edit: This applies only to perpendicular joints.

Done perfectly, miters should be the more stable joint in terms of wood movement, since the two butcherblock segments should expand proportionally across their respective long grains and keep a roughly consistent joint length. With a butt joint you'll have the the long grain side shrinking during dry months and possibly opening a gap.

That said, getting a good, large miter can be a godawful pain unless you're exceptionally careful and have well-calibrated shop equipment. I'd probably just do the butt joint and live with having some flexible caulk in the gap.
 
Last edited:

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,674
2,534
Everyone I saw on YouTube doing miters was doing it with a $700 Festool track saw which I'm not going to buy. After I posted though, I realized that neither of my L sections are more than 25" wide so I can just cut two 25" long pieces and rip them to width and the planks will all run the same direction. I might even be able to get the joint tight enough that you won't see it too much and I think it will look better than either a miter or a butt joint. I did buy a Kreg Jig to join them with pocket screws.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Captain Suave

Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.
5,265
8,958
Everyone I saw on YouTube doing miters was doing it with a $700 Festool track saw which I'm not going to buy. After I posted though, I realized that neither of my L sections are more than 25" wide so I can just cut two 25" long pieces and rip them to width and the planks will all run the same direction. I might even be able to get the joint tight enough that you won't see it too much and I think it will look better than either a miter or a butt joint. I did buy a Kreg Jig to join them with pocket screws.

Sorry, I've confused myself. Are you making a perpendicular joint or making one long counter out of two shorter lengths?
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,674
2,534
I didn't explain it very well. It's a fairly small U-shaped kitchen with the stove at the end so there are two L-shaped countertops on either side of the stove. The perpendicular parts are both less than 25" though, which is the width of the countertop so I can just cut two pieces 25" long and rip them to width and the boards will all be going the same direction.
 

Captain Suave

Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.
5,265
8,958
I didn't explain it very well. It's a fairly small U-shaped kitchen with the stove at the end so there are two L-shaped countertops on either side of the stove. The perpendicular parts are both less than 25" though, which is the width of the countertop so I can just cut two pieces 25" long and rip them to width and the boards will all be going the same direction.

Got it. So you'll be looking into the end grain on either side of the stove.

Rather than pocket screws, you might consider gluing the joints. With the orientation you've chosen the joints will be long grain to long grain. As long as the vertical faces are planed well enough you'll get a perfect bond and you'll never have to worry about gaps. Pocket screws have their uses, but they're not very strong. Any decent modern glue is stronger than the wood iself.
 

The_Black_Log Foler

PalsCo CEO - Stock Pals | Pantheon Pals
<Gold Donor>
47,717
42,947
Good to hear!
Update. Met with design engineer from power company. Doing above to underground conversion. Gonna have to buy a transformer which is like $4k. Hoping quote comes below $10k.

Getting a second bid of replumbing on monday. Should have that done by end of month. Internet going in next week.

There's some posts with floodlights on the property that aren't connected. I'd like to rewire those and maybe put Arlo 3 pro floodlights on them..

Would like to throw cameras up around the property. First order is getting wifi around the property.... Looking at ubiquiti's outdoor solutions. I can run cat5 from the house for an access point.
 

ver_21

Molten Core Raider
975
-360
Will the power co. be responsible for the transformer going forward, or will it be considered a private transformer?
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,674
2,534
Got it. So you'll be looking into the end grain on either side of the stove.

Rather than pocket screws, you might consider gluing the joints. With the orientation you've chosen the joints will be long grain to long grain. As long as the vertical faces are planed well enough you'll get a perfect bond and you'll never have to worry about gaps. Pocket screws have their uses, but they're not very strong. Any decent modern glue is stronger than the wood iself.

Yeah, I will use glue in addition to the pocket screws.
 

Brahma

Obi-Bro Kenobi-X
12,516
45,582
What mutha fuckers!!! I present grass in my back yard!!!

IMG_20200515_115204.jpg


I'm like this right now!

giphy.gif
 
  • 6Like
  • 4Solidarity
  • 1Worf
Reactions: 10 users

Burren

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
4,371
5,908
Plumbing Question: I smell amonia in the kitchen and two of the bathrooms (the worst in the master bath). It's coming from the water and its starting the make the whole house stink. There is a huge amount of residue in the shower/sinks after only a week. Is this a messed up water heater; The anode, a filter, or maybe something worse? I think my only course of action is to call the plumber/water heater people, but was curious if anyone has ever experienced something similar.

I already called the town water and they can't do anything. Plus, the neighbors haven't got anything similar going on so it must just be in our lines.

Thanks Bros.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,674
2,534
Maybe check on the roof and see if a bird made a nest on one of your vents or something. If it's really the water then the water heater sounds like the most likely culprit but I've never had anything like that happen.
 

Burren

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
4,371
5,908
Yeah, if you run the water it smells strongly. If you flush the toilet it's worse. If you just cup your hands and collect water from the sinks and smell it, its pretty bad.

"I know everything I need to know to own a house!!!"

*actually own a house and learn something every damn day*
 

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
<Medals Crew>
46,726
215,092
Yeah, if you run the water it smells strongly. If you flush the toilet it's worse. If you just cup your hands and collect water from the sinks and smell it, its pretty bad.

"I know everything I need to know to own a house!!!"

*actually own a house and learn something every damn day*

That's a supply issue. Is there different plumbing to those parts of the house, perhaps glavanized piping?

I've never heard of anything like this except in Flint, MI.