Woodworking, DIY, and home repair thread

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 hour ago, Gil Bang said:

what are we talking about?  what kit?   Are you talking about sheds?  Like Tuff sheds or something like that? 

Maybe it's the Lincoln log home office pre fab kit or the lego home logistics space kit w/ plumbing bonus kit.

[utee94 15752]

https://www.amazon.com/Allwood-Solvalla-Studio-Cabin-Garden/dp/B079HVSYFC/?tag=153939-gardenguesthouse-20

 

 

[Okie State 3789]

Never posted finished pics. Ended up rubbing it out (heh) with steel wool to knock down some of the gloss.

[deadshank 24651]

On 7/25/2021 at 6:06 PM, Okie State said:

Never posted finished pics. Ended up rubbing it out (heh) with steel wool to knock down some of the gloss.

Nice work, home chicken.  
 

When you’re ready to quit your day job let me know.   We have one decent source for wood counter and table tops.   

[Judge Roybeanbag 11811]

Working on rehabbing my great grandfather’s desk and chair for my office.   Aside from re-gluing some joints, The Murphys oil soap and q-tips in the crevices is a pain, but should be worth it.  

[Okie State 3789]

Nice work, home chicken.  
 
When you’re ready to quit your day job let me know.   We have one decent source for wood counter and table tops.   

Ha, hope I didn't give the impression I made this. Even if I could source the wood, I don't have the tools. I just buy the pieces and finish them. Also have a kitchen table that's similar that I need to do again.

[deadshank 24651]

41 minutes ago, Okie State said:

1 hour ago, deadshank said:

Nice work, home chicken.  
 
When you’re ready to quit your day job let me know.   We have one decent source for wood counter and table tops.   

Ha, hope I didn't give the impression I made this. Even if I could source the wood, I don't have the tools. I just buy the pieces and finish them. Also have a kitchen table that's similar that I need to do again.

That’s supposed to be our secret

[El Diablo 4232]

I cleaned this lamp up with some NEVR-DULL, I plan on spray painting it. Any thoughts on what I should clean it up with now to prep the surface for the paint? Soap and water? Alcohol? TSP? 

[drt 637]

Looks like it's a petroleum based solvent, so soap and water should be fine.  TSP would also work.

[utee94 15752]

I'd use TSP, then soap and water. Then a good primer.

 

[Anastasis 23408]

A while back I posted about some problems I was having with water incursion on some patio doors. Tried repairing them, but in the end it appeared that the root cause was improperly installed door sills. Tried and considered a few things.  It's an awkward space so ended up having to do a free standing covered pergola that we flashed into the brick.

Got first workout with the storms last night.  Good news, we have solved the water incursion issues around the doors. 

Bad news, drying in the patio (mostly drying in at least) reveals some fairly significant weaping through the brick and the drain holes in the veneer.  There was always a streak of blackened grout that I took for mildew that accumulated along the brick as a result the end caps of the gutters leaking. Every time we had a good rain you could see some water sheeting in that area, and that is what made sense to me. Never noticed water coming out of the weep holes before cause the area was usually saturated, but not that it is relatively protected from driving rain, this stuff is now obvious to me and I am going to have to track this down.  Two steps back, one step forward.

Good news is that I am not getting any noticeable water incursion, but of course I can only see so much.  I do have the baseboards off and a few holes cut under the base boards from diagnosing the door issues, so I was able to check baseplates in a few areas and did not detect any moisture inside the moisture barrier. The weep holes are dried up today with some breeze and sun. 

Anyways, some pictures of the situation below.  Would appreciate ideas.  I am thinking that given the location of where I am seeing the black streaks that we may be dealing with some issues at the interface of the roof with the chimney.  Perhaps some TLC up there would straighten things out.  Also thinking about maybe drilling out a few more weep hopes to ensure that there is quick drainage and some airflow, but don't know if that is a no-no. Note that the pics of the weep holes are from an adjacent wall under a window and another adjacent wall on the chimney. There are not any on the particular short wall where the damp is heaviest. 

Some pics, in chron order basically, of the emergence of the damp during the course of the storm.

Also some pics of the flashing around the covered pergola.  This appears solid to me, and I do not think that this is the site of the incursion.  I think that it was pre-existing, I just didn't pick up on it until I expected a dry wall. 

Also some pics of the area around the chimney.  Trying to zoom in on the pics from the drone, but I was flying on wifi and wasn't able to get as close as I would like.  Might recharge the batteries tomorrow and take the time to get some better photos.  Anyways, appreciate thoughts.  I do note that the grout is a bit crumbly in a few spots where the black is darker.  This does not gruntle me. 

Pics behind spoiler tag:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by Anastasis

[Anastasis 23408]

On 7/10/2021 at 11:33 PM, utee94 said:

https://www.amazon.com/Allwood-Solvalla-Studio-Cabin-Garden/dp/B079HVSYFC/?tag=153939-gardenguesthouse-20

 

 

That would make a great house for my smoker. 

[Incredulity 11568]

It appears the weep holes are working as intended.

Get a mason to come look at it if you are really concerned.  
 

Don’t start drilling additional weep holes for the love of god

[Gil Bang 25905]

what's the cap look like?

[Anastasis 23408]

14 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

what's the cap look like?

IS that this thing?

[Gil Bang 25905]

8 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

IS that this thing?

Much better than I expected.  I doubt that the cap is an issue at all. 

[Incredulity 11568]

Looking at the images on desktop I am surprised there isn't flashing on the side of the chimney to roof.

[Incredulity 11568]

It looks like they have something going on there but the above is the most common detail.

I would bet that is the point of water intrusion based on the condition of bricks above and below that area(assuming I am understanding the sequence of photos correctly)

[ROFL BOX 6647]

17 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Looking at the images on desktop I am surprised there isn't flashing on the side of the chimney to roof.

He has "turnback metal" & no step flashing (step is shown in your schematic).

It is *possible* his turnback was set under the bricks, however I cannot say for sure (not on the roof, obv).

Also... see pic below.  You need one of these on both sides.

 

  @Anastasis, I will send you a text.  See when I can get one of my guys over there (he is doing stuff for @joe dirt on Monday assuming we are dry enough; we can prob. get a look-see on Tuesday.  The checkup is to see if you need counterflashing (also called a "reglet") set into the brick; that's what is in the pic that @Incredulity posted.

 

& Yeah, don't go drilling into your mortar.

 

 

 

Kickout example (with siding, not brick, but the idea matches).

[dieucla98 2942]

Kiddo broke her bed so naturally I built her a new one to her spec - half loft so she can have a reading nook and some storage underneath the bed (8 ft ceilings with a fan, so dimensions were tight). It's not done yet - still have to build her a bank of drawers to slide under the bed but I need some time to relax... This was quite the undertaking.

~$800 worth of rough, clear Alder. A little pink/green tourmaline (her birthstone). A coat of Rubio Monocoat Cornsilk and this is how it ends (along with some in progress pics):

 

 

 

[Shoxthemonkey 1976]

15 minutes ago, dieucla98 said:

Kiddo broke her bed so naturally I built her a new one to her spec - half loft so she can have a reading nook and some storage underneath the bed (8 ft ceilings with a fan, so dimensions were tight). It's not done yet - still have to build her a bank of drawers to slide under the bed but I need some time to relax... This was quite the undertaking.

~$800 worth of rough, clear Alder. A little pink/green tourmaline (her birthstone). A coat of Rubio Monocoat Cornsilk and this is how it ends (along with some in progress pics):

 

 

 

That's pretty stout for a kid that doesn't weigh more than #50.

Well done. Strong clamp game too.

[dieucla98 2942]

It was a bit wobbly so I built any extra brace (not shown) but yea, that thing isn't going to break.

Close up of potentially too much clamp game:

 

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Somebody out here in Drip posted on the local FB page asking for someone to build a bunk bed that's not too far off from what you've got there.

 

What would you retail that for given the time spent to make & the time you would spend for a repeat (having mastered some of the process)?

[davidg 4034]

@dieucla98  Is that a homebrew CNC router table?   

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

1 hour ago, ROFL BOX said:

Somebody out here in Drip posted on the local FB page asking for someone to build a bunk bed that's not too far off from what you've got there.

 

What would you retail that for given the time spent to make & the time you would spend for a repeat (having mastered some of the process)?

Tree fiddy. 

Kidding aside, @dieucla98 did a great job.  If one of my guys built that, I'd guess it would go for $3,500 - $4,000.

[dieucla98 2942]

2 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

What would you retail that for given the time spent to make & the time you would spend for a repeat (having mastered some of the process)?

I guess $1500-$2000 including the materials? I've been chipping away at it since August so it definitely took some time. I've never done a paid for job so all I'm thinking is "can I make enough money to buy another tool" (in this case, being a jointer with a longer bed)?

 

2 hours ago, davidg said:

@dieucla98  Is that a homebrew CNC router table?   

Yup! Lowrider https://www.v1engineering.com/lowrider-cnc/

[BabaYaga 15238]

Completely redoing the garage.  Going with epoxy for the floor, but the quote I got just for the floor was $2,000.

Seems a little steep.  Anyone done it themselves that have suggestions (for or against), or does anyone have any DFW contacts they've used and would recommend?

[CycleTex87 2958]

On 7/31/2021 at 9:45 AM, Okie State said:

On 7/31/2021 at 9:15 AM, deadshank said:

Nice work, home chicken.  
 
When you’re ready to quit your day job let me know.   We have one decent source for wood counter and table tops.   

Ha, hope I didn't give the impression I made this. Even if I could source the wood, I don't have the tools. I just buy the pieces and finish them. Also have a kitchen table that's similar that I need to do again.

Where do you get your tabletops/countertops from?

[Okie State 3789]

Where do you get your tabletops/countertops from?

The countertop was from a place called The Hardwood Lumber Company. Couldn't find anything locally, but I probably just don't have the right connections. It wasn't cheap being custom and shipped cross country, but it was exactly what I was looking for. First one was damaged by the shipping company and they turned around a new one in like a week no questions asked.

The table was actually a kit from a website called tablelegs.com. Was having a hard time finding anything locally in the dimensions I wanted made from quality wood. This let me choose the style, dimensions, and wood species. I think they're based out of Vermont and I was very happy with the result.

Edit: Just looked at the countertops and prices have gone waaay up since I bought mine in 2013.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4968]

23 hours ago, dieucla98 said:

Kiddo broke her bed so naturally I built her a new one to her spec - half loft so she can have a reading nook and some storage underneath the bed (8 ft ceilings with a fan, so dimensions were tight). It's not done yet - still have to build her a bank of drawers to slide under the bed but I need some time to relax... This was quite the undertaking.

~$800 worth of rough, clear Alder. A little pink/green tourmaline (her birthstone). A coat of Rubio Monocoat Cornsilk and this is how it ends (along with some in progress pics):

 

 

 

Needs a slide to get down.

[Jkwellborn 6670]

Completely redoing the garage.  Going with epoxy for the floor, but the quote I got just for the floor was $2,000.
Seems a little steep.  Anyone done it themselves that have suggestions (for or against), or does anyone have any DFW contacts they've used and would recommend?

We’ve had some floors done at work and that shit is stupid expensive.

[BabaYaga 15238]

3 minutes ago, Jkwellborn said:

We’ve had some floors done at work and that shit is stupid expensive.

After doing to research, 2K seems to be on the low side. 

Need to just get some tractor supply rubber horse mats and be done with it!

[davidg 4034]

Garage Journal forums has a whole sub-forum on garage flooring.  Should be able to find everything you want to know.  

FWIW, couple of neighbors did the DIY epoxy and they looked good for 3 or 4 years or so then started to flake up.  Biggest thing is cleaning the floor well  and using a surface grinder.  I don't think either did the grinding and that's a crucial step from what I've read.

[Jkwellborn 6670]

Yeah you absolutely have to properly prep the floor. That mess is a waster of money though if you ask me.

[deadshank 24651]

On 9/29/2021 at 6:55 PM, Anastasis said:

A while back I posted about some problems I was having with water incursion on some patio doors. Tried repairing them, but in the end it appeared that the root cause was improperly installed door sills. Tried and considered a few things.  It's an awkward space so ended up having to do a free standing covered pergola that we flashed into the brick.

Got first workout with the storms last night.  Good news, we have solved the water incursion issues around the doors. 

Bad news, drying in the patio (mostly drying in at least) reveals some fairly significant weaping through the brick and the drain holes in the veneer.  There was always a streak of blackened grout that I took for mildew that accumulated along the brick as a result the end caps of the gutters leaking. Every time we had a good rain you could see some water sheeting in that area, and that is what made sense to me. Never noticed water coming out of the weep holes before cause the area was usually saturated, but not that it is relatively protected from driving rain, this stuff is now obvious to me and I am going to have to track this down.  Two steps back, one step forward.

Good news is that I am not getting any noticeable water incursion, but of course I can only see so much.  I do have the baseboards off and a few holes cut under the base boards from diagnosing the door issues, so I was able to check baseplates in a few areas and did not detect any moisture inside the moisture barrier. The weep holes are dried up today with some breeze and sun. 

Anyways, some pictures of the situation below.  Would appreciate ideas.  I am thinking that given the location of where I am seeing the black streaks that we may be dealing with some issues at the interface of the roof with the chimney.  Perhaps some TLC up there would straighten things out.  Also thinking about maybe drilling out a few more weep hopes to ensure that there is quick drainage and some airflow, but don't know if that is a no-no. Note that the pics of the weep holes are from an adjacent wall under a window and another adjacent wall on the chimney. There are not any on the particular short wall where the damp is heaviest. 

Some pics, in chron order basically, of the emergence of the damp during the course of the storm.

Also some pics of the flashing around the covered pergola.  This appears solid to me, and I do not think that this is the site of the incursion.  I think that it was pre-existing, I just didn't pick up on it until I expected a dry wall. 

Also some pics of the area around the chimney.  Trying to zoom in on the pics from the drone, but I was flying on wifi and wasn't able to get as close as I would like.  Might recharge the batteries tomorrow and take the time to get some better photos.  Anyways, appreciate thoughts.  I do note that the grout is a bit crumbly in a few spots where the black is darker.  This does not gruntle me. 

Pics behind spoiler tag:

  Hide contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

It appears that your back porch cover and metal roof where added after the house was built.  If so, the brick veneer drainage plane went all the way down to the brick ledge and exited the weep holes according to Hoyle.  
 

The new  porch cover and metal roof has a very low pitch to it.  The water doesn’t exit toward the roof drainage plane at the open end and may, in heavy or blowing rains, surge against the brick wall causing additional and more intense water entry through your brick veneer and eventually exiting through the weep holes at the brick ledge. 
 

The porch cover addition / roof was counterflashed into the brick but only with a reglet cut in the masonry.  Even true, integrated through wall flashing above the addition roof line would only make water infiltrating behind the brick veneer exit above the new porch cover / roof structure.  

That was not done and probably not needed   

Your problem is the roof porch is too low and the roof pitch is dictated by the eave height at the open, downhill end and the head wall height at the window opening.  You got what you got.  
 

You may try gently power washing the brick masonry, let it get completely dry and then spray-apply Prime-a-Pell masonry sealant to prevent the water from getting into the brick veneer drainage plane at the porch cover / metal roof level  and exiting the weep holes.  You’ll have to re-apply this every year or so.  
 

As @Incredulity said the weep holes are functioning properly but you’ve changed the brick veneer wall / drainage plane by adding the porch cover and metal roof and receiving forced in water.  

Don’t smoke a cigarette when spraying Prime-a-Pell.  Effective but quite flammable. 
 

@Onboard 2.0

[Anastasis 23408]

37 minutes ago, deadshank said:

Your problem is the roof porch is too low and the roof pitch is dictated by the eave height at the open, downhill end and the head wall height at the window opening.  You got what you got.  

Thanks for the response. Very helpful. And yes, this was a recent addition. The pitch is low as we had to thread the needle between two second level windows on the house side (limiting how high we could go on that side), and an overhang to a sunroom (limiting how low the other side could go).  We ran both sides to the limit to maximize the pitch, but we are at like 1/4:12.  it does shed water at the open end, but I need to take a look and see if its building up on the brick wall side next rain we get. We were dealing with an awkward set of rooflines and constraints, and needed a solution that would keep water off the doors. We ended up with a pergola supporting a polygal covering. So yeah, it is what it is.

I read a few things in various forums regarding the masonry sealer, so something that I will look into.

Based on your response, it doesn't sound like you see a red flag with any of the flashing at the roof/chimney intersection that could be contributing? 

[deadshank 24651]

28 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Thanks for the response. Very helpful. And yes, this was a recent addition. The pitch is low as we had to thread the needle between two second level windows on the house side (limiting how high we could go on that side), and an overhang to a sunroom (limiting how low the other side could go).  We ran both sides to the limit to maximize the pitch, but we are at like 1/4:12.  it does shed water at the open end, but I need to take a look and see if its building up on the brick wall side next rain we get. We were dealing with an awkward set of rooflines and constraints, and needed a solution that would keep water off the doors. We ended up with a pergola supporting a polygal covering. So yeah, it is what it is.

I read a few things in various forums regarding the masonry sealer, so something that I will look into.

Based on your response, it doesn't sound like you see a red flag with any of the flashing at the roof/chimney intersection that could be contributing? 

The saw-cut reglet flashing isn't the problem.  And they seem to have done a decent job.  Their counter flashing work seems to be keeping the water from going between the porch addition roof and the outside of the brick veneer. 

You're getting more water behind the brick veneer drainage plane due to hydrostatic pressure forcing water into and through the  brick veneer.  The water is weeping out at the bottom of the brick veneer drainage plane as it should.  It appears to be getting more water into the drainage plane because the water doesn't get off the roof covering drainage plane quick enough AND I did not see any pics of water draining down on the outside of the brick veneer below the porch addition. (Has it done that?)  The 1/4 on 12 roof pitch doesn't allow for quick drainage and that pitch is usually reserved from sealed membrane roofs.  

Coating your brick veneer to keep water out may be your best bet at this point.

https://shop.ramtool.com/ramtool/en/USD/Chemicals/Chemicals/5-GALLON-PRIME-A-PELL-200/p/CHE-5 PRIME A PELL!plus2638

Edited October 14, 2021 by deadshank

[Anastasis 23408]

5 minutes ago, deadshank said:

AND I did not see any pics of water draining down on the outside of the brick veneer below the porch addition. (Has it done that?)

No, I don't see any water draining down the outside.  What water I do see under the porch addition is coming from 1) actually appearing to weep out through the grout and 2) out of the weep holes. 

[Anastasis 23408]

7 minutes ago, deadshank said:

The saw-cut reglet flashing isn't the problem.  And they seem to have done a decent job.  Their counter flashing work seems to be keeping the water from going between the porch addition roof and the outside of the brick veneer. 

 

Also, just to be clear, my question about the chimney roof line flashing is related to the preexisting main roof, as in pics below, in case that was not clear:

[deadshank 24651]

8 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

No, I don't see any water draining down the outside.  What water I do see under the porch addition is coming from 1) actually appearing to weep out through the grout and 2) out of the weep holes. 

Then the roofer's reglet cut counterflashing is working and you need to keep the water from getting through and behind the bricks.  A masonry sealant will provide that function but it is not a one-shot-Charlie proposition.  You'll need to do it once every year or two.

The chimney flashing is all together a different story.  Those bricks are probably on a red iron lintel to support the bricks' weight and they put in a big metal pan on the plywood roof deck, across and on top of the brick lintel and legged it up behind the placed brick veneer.  If the brick chimney flashing was leaking you would have known that a long time ago.  Their detail while common and kind of squirrely is probably OK.

 

As @ROFL BOX mentioned, a kick out flashing would have been nice.  There may be one each side and it got trimmed off to the edge of the brick veneer.  I just can't tell from the pictures.

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by deadshank

[Incredulity 11568]

you can see the discoloration of the masonry in the center of the bricks here

 

and here

 

 

i don’t believe that it’s just coincidence that is where the gutter meets chimney.

[Gil Bang 25905]

Any suggestions for a do-it-yourself deck coating product?  

A friend of mine is on a very tight budget.  Her balcony deck has some soft spots.  The current coating is a rubbery material that she says was applied with a roller when she had her house built.   She's asked me to help remove the plywood in the soft area, replace it, and then she will attempt to re-surface the deck herself.  

I think it's a bad idea...I doubt that she can get a truly waterproof membrane applied correctly, but I'm already doing "enough" here as a volunteer.  

[deadshank 24651]

37 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Any suggestions for a do-it-yourself deck coating product?  

A friend of mine is on a very tight budget.  Her balcony deck has some soft spots.  The current coating is a rubbery material that she says was applied with a roller when she had her house built.   She's asked me to help remove the plywood in the soft area, replace it, and then she will attempt to re-surface the deck herself.  

I think it's a bad idea...I doubt that she can get a truly waterproof membrane applied correctly, but I'm already doing "enough" here as a volunteer.  

Hire a professional.  DIY balcony repairs / replacements are a disaster waiting to happen.  

But if you must https://hydrostopsupply.com/

Edited October 19, 2021 by deadshank

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

3 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Any suggestions for a do-it-yourself deck coating product?  

A friend of mine is on a very tight budget.  Her balcony deck has some soft spots.  The current coating is a rubbery material that she says was applied with a roller when she had her house built.   She's asked me to help remove the plywood in the soft area, replace it, and then she will attempt to re-surface the deck herself.  

I think it's a bad idea...I doubt that she can get a truly waterproof membrane applied correctly, but I'm already doing "enough" here as a volunteer.  

Agree with @deadshank.  There's a reason waterproof deck's are so expensive.  Once you put "plywood + deck", I'm assuming you're above a finished space.  If the plywood is wet, there's no telling what's beneath.  I haven't used HydroStop, but I've heard good things.  Carlisle and Westcoat make good products as well, but can be difficult to work with if you haven't used them before.

[deadshank 24651]

We waterproof balconies all the time.  We use a lot of self-adhering modified bitumen base sheets, APP modified bitumen interply and cap sheets and copper flashing details.   These are not DIY grade products or application techniques.  
 

Hydrostop is an ok remediation product. The issue, as stated by @Spaulding Smails , is you’ll have to get down to suitable substrate and repair anything that is rotted, warped, delaminated or otherwise unsuitable before  applying your waterproofing  membrane or coating 

Edited October 21, 2021 by deadshank

[Gil Bang 25905]

Thanks y'all.  Yeah, I get it.  I jerk off a couple times a day, but I'm not just a jerkoff.

I've seen a lot of defect cases, and 95% of them involved water, and a good bit of them involved balconies.   

In general, balconies are a bad idea. 

I fully intend to repair any wood damage.

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

Question-- does this sound okay for prep?

We have a single painted four by four post on our back patio. We noticed the caulk at the bottom where the post rests on the cement is coming up/loose due to age. Before I apply new caulk, my plan is to

a. remove old caulk

b. gently wash post with some Murphy's soap to remove dirt (then let dry)

c. take a small brush and sweep away any dirt near post and where grout was

d. caulk and then use finger to smooth a channel.

Sound okay? Have I forgotten a step?

Thanks in advance.

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Mrs Whiggins

[ROFL BOX 6647]

6 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Question -- what should I have instead of direct contact from my wooden post to the concrete?

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

Does that involve power tools? I have no training with those. I understand about the moisture and the wood issue, but I may have to settle for this caulk for now. The post is in good condition for thirty years old  and has no damage but we could look into figuring out how to slip that underneath it eventually?

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

Thanks for the tip, though. I'll let you all know how the repair went.