The DIY thread - DIYourself

V-Dub

Well-Known Member
(Not) Looking forward to replacing my 20x25 deck in a few weeks. It's 20yr old wood, on grade, full of splinters and spider crickets. I need to decide on composite vs PVC or even pavers possibly. Any experience here? I figure it will cost a few G's regardless of what I go with.
Expect to pay about 3 to 5 dollars a foot for composite decking and about $1 per sq.ft. for hidden fasteners. Some of the stuff and in popular colors
is getting hard to find, or they don't have trim boards or the lengths you need etc. Most of the big brands make good decking and hit all the price points, go to a good local lumber yard (not a box store) and they should be able to help you out
 

iman29

Well-Known Member
Stupid sink spray handle decided to call it quits at like 10:30 last night. The only good thing is that I wasn’t the one that got all wet it was my middle son.

I looked on YouTube and found a temporary fix until I can get to Lowe’s later for a new one.

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iman29

Well-Known Member
Stupid sink spray handle decided to call it quits at like 10:30 last night. The only good thing is that I wasn’t the one that got all wet it was my middle son.

I looked on YouTube and found a temporary fix until I can get to Lowe’s later for a new one.

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Got that fixed pretty easily. After consulting with the boss she said try a different design. maybe this one will last longer than a year.
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Not looking forward to the next project this weekend hoping it’s not the usual 3-5 hour clusterF to get this installed.

Trying to stack the odds in my favor I picked a model with “roomside” install and it’s a retro fit of an older one.

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jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Got that fixed pretty easily. After consulting with the boss she said try a different design. maybe this one will last longer than a year.
View attachment 156725View attachment 156726


Not looking forward to the next project this weekend hoping it’s not the usual 3-5 hour clusterF to get this installed.

Trying to stack the odds in my favor I picked a model with “roomside” install and it’s a retro fit of an older one.

View attachment 156727
I swapped out a bathroom fan not too long ago- I think Broan?
Actually wasn’t all that bad, and the retro kit had a reducer from 4”-3” in case you need it.
 

iman29

Well-Known Member
I swapped out a bathroom fan not too long ago- I think Broan?
Actually wasn’t all that bad, and the retro kit had a reducer from 4”-3” in case you need it.
yeah i went with a name brand Broan-Nutone instead of the no-name versions that HD had. and Lowes even had less selection which is where i prefer to go but who ever heard of "Utilitech". No thanks.
 

ebarker9

Well-Known Member
So, vacuum breakers/anti-backflow valves. I have one on the spigot which is just inside my garage door. I understand the function of these devices and the importance of having one, but being in kind of a finished space, having this valve that just spews water all over the wall isn't the greatest. It's certainly the worst when I'm coiling the hose back up, even though I relieve all of the water pressure and even remove the hose nozzle first. I just hate the mess. Are there any designs that are less prone to this? I see that MTM Hydro has a garden hose coupler with built in check valve...maybe put this "downstream" of the existing valve?


Or maybe a ball valve just after the vacuum breaker so that it doesn't see any pressure when coiling the hose?
 

Over the Bars

Well-Known Member
Woohoo got the last giant tree down that I keep putting off because it leaned towards my house and I needed to climb up multiple trees and cut limbs to clear a path for it to fall. Used 4 plastic wedges and a sledge hammer to get it right where I wanted it and not demolish my garage. My wife and multiple neighbors came out to video it most likely to add me to one of those idiots with chainsaw videos on YouTubePXL_20210502_153221070.jpg
 

rick81721

Lothar
Woohoo got the last giant tree down that I keep putting off because it leaned towards my house and I needed to climb up multiple trees and cut limbs to clear a path for it to fall. Used 4 plastic wedges and a sledge hammer to get it right where I wanted it and not demolish my garage. My wife and multiple neighbors came out to video it most likely to add me to one of those idiots with chainsaw videos on YouTubeView attachment 156918

man I don't miss that nonsense. our house in hillsboro was a nightmare - over a hundred cottonwood trees the original owner planted - half of them were dying off. I had some scary take downs!
 

iman29

Well-Known Member
Well yesterday this became everything I expected it to be. One. Big. ClusterF@ck.

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Got a late start around noon cause I had to take the 14 year old to soccer field he’s a referee for little kids league. I was figuring about 2 hours then maybe get in a short afternoon ride. Yeah no.

Grab all the tools and get the old vent fan out of the ceiling without too much trouble. I was even able to maneuver the canister and pull it down through. My original plan worst case was to tuck it into the attic space for future removable which really means never.

Took some wrangling to get the electrical line out of the clip but I carefully pulled everything back and took pictures of the existing wiring just in case I needed a reference.

Good news was this fan was added by us about 18 years ago so this line is NOT aluminum wiring. Other good news is that it’s clearly vented to the roof cause I got hit in the face with this partial roof shingle
Coming down the vent as I was disconnecting it.

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Time check. About 12:45pm.

Now I crack open the box to the new fan and it immediately goes downhill.

The dimensions being a bit off where there was a gap in the Sheetrock was not unexpected. The real issue was that I could not orient the box in the ceiling to match
The previous setup. No problem I thought. I will just route the vent to the other side.

Then I looked and the new box doesn’t have a spot for the ground wire like the old one so I took it to the garage and used a sheet metal screw to make a hole. Very proud of myself.

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Got everything wired up and in place (or so I thought ) and realized I slightly miscalculated the spot for the ground wire outside the cover. Oh well no big deal.

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Now I go to attach the duct to the cone and tape it nicely in place. But now I can’t position it in the box. After 2 attempts I realize the tail end of the cone it basically
Flush against the joist. FML.

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Can’t rotate the box cause the electric run has no slack. FML.

After sitting and thinking about it for 10 minutes I realize I have no choice but to extend the electric line so I can rotate the can in the ceiling to accommodate the duct attachment. (Insert several explicit words here ). This means I need to go back to the store and get supplies. Plus I needed a way to make up the gap between the sides of the box and the sheet rock since once I turn it 90 degrees the gaps are wider. 😡🤬😡🤬

Time check. 1:45pm.

Trip #2 to Lowe’s which takes me like almost an hour round trip cause of stupid people and traffic. At least the guy at Lowe’s had electrical experience (shocker) and helped me confirm my idea was legit and within code. If this was aluminum wiring I was totally screwed though I did see Aluminum to copper connector thingys but I would have never been able to sleep at night if I didn’t have a qualified electrician to do that.

Got back like 2:45. I was starving for lunch until the dog threw up on the carpet. Then she needed to go for a walk. Now it’s like 3:30.

Got the wiring and junction box in place without too much trouble. Number of times
I have done this before. Zero. Thanks YouTube.

Rewired everything again and got everything back in place. Flip the switch to text the fan. Tripped the breaker. FML 🤬😡

Not sure now if it’s my wiring job or something else. I should have noted the wiring instructions were complete crap. Then after 5 minutes of staring at it I was defeated and texted @Patrick desperate for help.

Time check 4:45pm

Another 10 minutes of staring at it and comparing the old wiring and I realized the instructions didn’t call out the ground wire which I mistakenly attached to the black. Oops.

Fixed that and attached the fan. Success!!
Stuffed some insulation along the gaps of the Sheetrock and used foil tape seal everything off because I new the size of the light mount would hide everything.

Connected the Light bracket and LED light and flipped the switch. Success !!!

I only had a single switch for both before this so I was fine with the same setup and I didn’t want the extra work of figuring it out either. Good thing cause dinner was ready.

Time check. 5:55.

What did I learn:
1. I should have measured better.
2. plan for it to not fit due to existing connections
3. Next time hire @Patrick so I don’t bother him during his date night!

I added the rest of the pics below this only lets me add 10 per posting.

On to the next project - sanding and restaining the deck.
 

iman29

Well-Known Member
Be Proud Ian! These are typical struggles for all, even professionals.
Thanks fair point. I guess the difference would have been a pro would maybe have seen issues like this before and been able to plan in advance with the right supplies already in hand.

Of course now that the boss lady likes the new one and it’s so quiet she’s asking about the one in the other bathroom. I told her I need a sanity break before I can even think about it. 🤦🏻‍♂️
 

jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Finally got around to this-
The 3M heavy duty I’m too cheap to buy new lenses kit.

Before
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During
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During
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After
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We’ll see how long they hold, but it’s a damn sight better for sure.
 
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