Home Improvement

Late to the lawn conversation but the company I use did it’s last treatment of the season on my lawn last week and this is the note they left me.
Spoilered for size.

Haus said:

OK, first question is do you have an idea/know where the studs in the wall behind that are? That might inform some options.

Second how large is that stone tile that it's mounted in? Unfortunately almost any real solution will involve removing it and the question is if you can do so without breaking it (depending on the adhesive/mortar used to put it up). If you can't remove without destroying I would suggest pulling it out, fixing things up good and proper, then when you replace it, if you can't find matching stone tile (which will be difficult), replace it with a fancy tile arrangement, something with some art/style to it as an "accent" in the shower to distract from the fact that it's not the same stone tile.

Redneck halfassery approach? Get some really strong expanding foam sealant, spray a LOT of it into that space behind the tile and cementboard. Then hold the pipe in place while the foam expands and set to hold it more seady. Then a lot of silicone caulking around the hole to seal it.

Click to expand...

Closest stud is about 5.5 or 6 inches away. Doesn't appear that any cross bracing was put in between the studs to hold the pipe. But, I can't see a lot through the 1.5 inch hole.

Tile is 12 by 12 and I have a few dozen more sitting in the garage, left over from the previous owner. So, no problem if I have to tear it out and replace it. I'd just prefer not to unless that becomes the only option.

I've seen a YT video about using expanding foam. That gave me a good laugh. Depending on my mood I may go that route though. In the grand scheme of things this isn't high up on the priority list, but its an annoyance because of how poorly it was done.

I appreciate the ideas. I'll discuss with the Missus.

It's back...I relocated it significantly farther away this time.

Might have to hang it yourself, that's a pretty rare size. Or you might have to make it from scratch.

Attog said:

It's back...I relocated it significantly farther away this time.

View attachment 316407

Click to expand...

Drown that fucker

ToeMissile said:

I have an aunt who will try to run them over if she sees one on the road.

Click to expand...

We get them in the pool sometimes, vicious bastards covered in flees and ticks, one they get a liking to the yard they gotta go

We closed on our house a month ago and finally got out of our apartment. So many things I want to accomplish but damn is this shit expensive! Outside of all the interior things the wife wants to accomplish, I want to put a concrete slab patio outside of our screened in porch and put a fence around the backyard because we have a retention pond at the end of the property but to hire someone to do both will likely run me $6k. Props to ya'll who've been getting it done.

We spread that shit out over ten years, just do a little bit at a time.

Nice, looks like Don Quixote by Schultz.

Anybody have any experience dealing with Woodpeckers? I'm at fucking wit's end here.

After spending almost 2K in repairs over the last three years repairing damage to my cedar siding caused by woodpeckers, I went ahead and replaced the siding on my house with fiber cement at the cost of 30K, and chose it specifically because everything I researched said woodpeckers wouldn't fuck with fiber cement. I didn't change it specifically because of woodpecker damage, but primarily because the fuckwad builder had used finishing nails to install the cedar siding, hence it started to warp and pop to shit after a few years, but the woodpeckers were certainly incentive. Well, not 24hrs had passed since the new siding had been installed and painted when I heard the dreaded knocking on my walls at 7am. These little fuckers can do a lot of damage in a short period of time.

Over the years I've tried:
- Silver discs and streamers hanging from the windows. Butt ugly and stopped working after a week or two.
- Helium filled reflective balloons "trapped" under my roofline where they love to attack. Also ugly, required daily balloon prep, and had limited effectiveness after a month or so.
- Fake Owl. Totally ineffective after a day or two.
- Bird-X Woodpecker repeller. This actually worked after I had the right "predator" dialed in, but the various fake predator noises it made would drive the neighbors' dogs *crazy* and elicited complaints.

Only things I haven't tried:
- A pellet gun. It's supposedly a federal crime to shoot woodpeckers, but I'm desperate here, and would only really be effective if these woodpeckers are the same crew of assholes.
-Installing an Owl box on the tree outside and hope it attracts a real owl. I'm just not sure whether the owls here in Dallas are a threat to woodpeckers, or if they are even really relevant during the early morning, which is when the Woodpeckers attack.

Totally fucking nuts that I'm being pownd by fucking woodpeckers.

Kill them.

Yes, I read everything you wrote.

Kill them.

**It's worth mentioning: almost all birds are federally protected. If you can catch them in the act, hit them with a hose or pressure washer. It will take a bunch of sprays, but they will move on.

Man I hear you. Much of my house is covered in cedar siding as well, and I'm bummed to hear that cement board doesn't stop them. I'm actually thinking about composite siding.

I don't have much of a problem with woodpeckers. I think that is because I'm in a very wooded area, with several fairly sizable dead trees still standing fairly near the house (not so near as to be unsightly or dangerous), but they seem to attract the woodpeckers, and they leave the house alone. Maybe get some old logs? ha.

Anyone ever try one of these?