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dodgingRuby
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Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 8:47 am

I looked around and didn't find any topics that focused on this so I thought I'd start one.

What are you guys working on? What do you plan to work on? Whether it's building something for your home, fixing up or updating the landscape around your home, building cool things to put in your home, or the normal maintenance of all the breakable things in your home. I find that talking out my plans with others helps fuel ideas and methods that I may have not otherwise thought of and in some instances save me a lot of work, money, or headaches!

My current project has to do with some landscaping I'm tackling in the backyard. I don't have any pictures as of today but I will upload them to really show what I'm talking about. For now however, I'll do my best to explain. I share a chain-link fence with my neighbors who have some dogs. These dogs and my dog do not get along, so when they are let out at the same time there is lots of barking, gnashing of teeth, and sprinting like a banshee up and down the length of the fence. This results in the grass being torn up and lots of mud. The mud is created by a combination of dogs going insane and the layout of my neighborhood. My backyard is at the bottom of a slope so when it rains, everything runs down past this fence and pools into my yard. Once this happens, Ruby's paws need to be washed off in the tub. This process gets REALLY old REALLY quickly. So this year I will be edging off the muddy section along the fence line. It extends about 4' from the fence and will be covered with about 3 inches of mulch. Inside the mulch we will plant a few bushes and place a few big rocks. Making it ascetically pleasing while creating a barrier that will keep Ruby from running along the fence. I'm not too worried about her just sprinting along the newly edged barrier (hence creating a new muddy spot) because the further back she is from the dogs the less worked up she gets. If I'm wrong here, then that sucks and I'll be forced to seed each year which is fine because we won't be in the house much longer anyways!

On the subject of the dogs, I would like to point out the my dog isn't the issue. There are two dobermans that bark when the wind blows and one coonhound puppy that gets caught up in the excitement. Ruby and the coonhound get along just fine when they're outside, just the two of them together. They lick one another through the fence and play with sticks, it's adorable. The owners don't scold the dogs for incessant barking and don't seem to care that their dogs are trying to dig under the fence to my side of the yard. I've talked to them several times trying to explain to them the issues we have and been very polite in suggesting an informal procedure of at least looking before they let the dogs out. Ruby isn't out for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time if we see that they are home in order to be respectful of the insanity of the dogs. This only works about one quarter of the time and they just yell "SORRY!" from the deck when they let the dogs out and the insanity happens.

Here is a short video of the culprits. I REALLY dislike these dogs and their owners hence the language.

https://youtu.be/yePBm4PqWIo
 
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CINCO
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 9:09 am

There is a place along my fence that borders two other yards... one yard hard 3 beagles and the other has some mutt looking dog. I have 3 dogs, one mostly pit bull that has a loud scary bark and a French bull dog that barks like she has nasal congestion. Anyway his results in frequent annoying bark offs between the dogs. I've been considering a remote controller sprinkler system that turns on and sprinkles the areas where the fences all meet to make them scatter.
[redacted]
 
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Jackie
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 9:36 am

I built a 10x20 tin roof screen porch to replace my rotten back deck several years ago. Had to find and order some pet resistant screen. It's made of nylon coated in vinyl or something. So far it has survived years of cats climbing on it without tearing though.

I redid the master bedroom and bath in my house a couple years ago. Replaced the cheap molding strips over the drywall seams with actual drywall mud and tape. Sprayed texture on all the walls and painted. Also replaced the old carpet with some nice decent quality vinyl sheet flooring. It's animal puke and pee proof, and has a nice texture on top and cushion underneath so the old dogs don't slip and fall as easily.

Also been slowly replacing all the carpet and laminate flooring in the house with vinyl sheet as other flooring does not stand up to the inevitable messes that all my animals make.

Currently remodeling the laundry room in the same way, replaced molding strips, sprayed texture and painted. Just have to fix a bad patch job of the subfloor and then I can put the new flooring in and the rest of the trim. Finally I'm gonna build some nice new shelves on the walls to replace some old crappy mdf ones.

I've got a rotten spot by one of the doors that needs to be torn out and fixed soon, I want to build another tin roof over the front porch when I rebuild that soon, would also really like to build a carport onto the end of a large shed next to my house so I stop getting pine needles, sap, and other bits of the forest all over my car. Also want to clean out some of the brush in the fenced in part of the yard so the dogs have more room in their area when they are out there.
 
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dodgingRuby
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 9:39 am

Jon LH Hart wrote:
I built a 10x20 tin roof screen porch to replace my rotten back deck several years ago. .

How are the sound levels when it comes to hail or rain?
 
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Jackie
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 9:46 am

dodgingRuby wrote:
Jon LH Hart wrote:
I built a 10x20 tin roof screen porch to replace my rotten back deck several years ago. .

How are the sound levels when it comes to hail or rain?


Don't really get hail, gets loud in the rain when you are out on the porch. Doesn't make much difference inside. It's honestly more of a relaxing sound to me, than annoying or anything. I could probably add some kind of sound dampening material on the underside of the tin if I really wanted to.
 
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CINCO
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:46 am

If I look at past projects I finished by basement and added a 100in screen and project with full surround sound. Great investment. It also divided the living space from laundry, storage and utility space.

I re-did my entire pool 2 years ago with maintenance and water team being he main concerns. I need to replace the liner so when that was needed I had then resurface under neath the liner with cancrete and sand mix, add two drains at the bottom for better water circulation, changed the filter from DE to sand and went with salt water chlorination.

Sand doesn't filter as finely as DE but with the increased circulation and steady chlorine generation the maintenance went from 10 hours a month to zero.

Jon you should consider outsourcing your yard brush clean up. I got some reasonable quotes from local landscapers and went with the cheapest. Worthy every penny since they take it all with them at the end of the day.

I do think about adding heat and power to my current shed and making it a complete work shop. It's about the same size as a garage and I even build a storage attic in it a few years ago.

I'm not sure if it's considered a home project but I also build a DIY ice hockey rink in my back yard that's completely collapsible and stackable when not in use.
[redacted]
 
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dodgingRuby
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 11:19 am

CINCO wrote:
I'm not sure if it's considered a home project but I also build a DIY ice hockey rink in my back yard that's completely collapsible and stackable when not in use.


Pool, hockey rink, garage size shed. How much land do you own?
 
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Mzoga
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 11:24 am

dodgingRuby wrote:
Jon LH Hart wrote:
I built a 10x20 tin roof screen porch to replace my rotten back deck several years ago. .

How are the sound levels when it comes to hail or rain?


How about cats in the summer time?

January was removing all the insulation in the attic, and then re-doing the whole thing the correct way, so we'd stop getting ice dams and cold children. We seem to have overdone it, as people can tell by the lack of snow.

We are in the process of removing the split rail fence/wire combo thing we had in the back yard from when we had dogs. I hate weed whacking it, it keeps leaves in our yard, and recently a few parts have been rotting/chewed on. So rather than replace it, we're removing them all.

The original shed at our house is 70ish years old, and will kill someone soon, so we're knocking it down and having the Amish come out and build a new one.

After that, I'm finally getting rid of the last bit of carpeting in the house, and will probably just replace it with some of that vinyl planking, since its the room where the kids play, and go in and out of the house.

I think that's it for now.
 
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CINCO
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 11:27 am

It's a bit smaller than an acre. The hockey rink varies in size by the amount of effort I want to out in... it's been as small as 24x24 and as big as 36x48. The pool is decent size at 18x40. Shed is just about size of a standard 1 car garage. There also a 20ft mesh fenced trampoline
[redacted]
 
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Jackie
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 11:37 am

Mzoga wrote:
dodgingRuby wrote:
Jon LH Hart wrote:
I built a 10x20 tin roof screen porch to replace my rotten back deck several years ago. .

How are the sound levels when it comes to hail or rain?


How about cats in the summer time?


All my animals are spayed and neutered so other than the occasional hissing match the cats lay around in the sun and sleep.
 
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CINCO
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 12:09 pm

My cats are also extremely low maintenance.
[redacted]
 
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il Duce
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 6:54 pm

I grew up doing a lot of woodworking and am getting back into it. I promised my wife that a spinning wheel would be the first project completed (aside from the shop cabinets and such needed to get going). I finished a prototype a couple weeks ago and am in the process of drafting the final version right now.

Spoiler: show
Image
Image

Image


EDIT: Also this is part of why I've been afk for a month.

Edit2: Future plans include a gaming table with a recessed center lit by LEDs on the edges with a top/cover that will let it dual purpose as a standard dining table. I hope to also include pull out shelves on the sides for individuals' character sheets etc. Trying to talk Elsa into an octagonal table but she isn't sold on it. I'll have to mock it up with cardboard or something first. This one has a SketchUp design in progress.

I also have an idea for a completely self contained Dice rolling tray/dice tower/dice vaults. Trying to piece it together in my head so that it looks like a treasure chest when in transport mode. I like what Wyrmwood does but just strapping a bunch of pieces together with a leather strap is clunky (and kinda lazy). I also don't want to outright steal their designs, so mine will be dovetail joints. I roll this one around in my head a lot but haven't put pen to paper yet.
 
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Twisted
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Wed Mar 01, 2017 9:50 pm

My dream gaming table would have a projector mounted with a top-down view of the table where I, or any other DM could easily switch/alter/control maps from a laptop or tablet during the game. Get the Roll20 experience IRL ya know?

Besides a massive number of smaller projects like door repairs, vent cover replacements, wood splitting/stacking, cutting down trees etc that I throw a few hours at every day, I'm hoping to take a weekend to make an island into a campsite.

I currently live on a reservoir, and in this reservoir is a large, maybe 1 acre fully wooded island. I want to build a docking site, line a path up to the center of the island with torches, then build a table and firepit at the clearing. Maybe cut down some narrow trees and create an outline of the campsite and the path. Eventually I'd also like to get a storage bin out there where we can leave tents, chairs, and torch fuel as well as other supplies.

Should probably also build a spooky shrine to scare off all the high schooners that raft out there and trash the place in the summer.....

Image
(That's the island in the western portion half. Best picture I could find.
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Criporc
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Thu Mar 02, 2017 12:33 am

Ooo, that's a decent shop, Duce. you almost have more pipe clamps than my old yacht building company...
When I grow up to be a Waterfall, I'm gonna wear a helmet.
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Mzoga
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Re: Projects on the homefront

Thu Mar 02, 2017 6:39 am

Jon LH Hart wrote:
Mzoga wrote:
dodgingRuby wrote:
Jon LH Hart wrote:
I built a 10x20 tin roof screen porch to replace my rotten back deck several years ago. .

How are the sound levels when it comes to hail or rain?


How about cats in the summer time?


All my animals are spayed and neutered so other than the occasional hissing match the cats lay around in the sun and sleep.


I'm sad nobody got my lame cat on a hot tin roof reference.

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