My guess is to let it ride out and hope that it didn't do much damage to it. Otherwise, you may be looking at repaving it again, but that's just my opinion.

Short of tearing the patio up? It takes concrete a full 28 days to fully cure. I'd get some bonding compound and paint your ravine then use portland to fill. Better now than trying to bond to fully cured concrete. The sooner the better. Did we learn anything? ;)

Garage Door Openers
 

What is the lifespan of a typical double door garage door opener? More specifically a 1/2 horse Craftsman. Mine has shot craps and I was wondering how long they are typically in service. :shrug:

I'd bet anything the drive gear is stripped out in it, it's pretty common with Craftsmans and it's easily replaced. Their should be an 800 # on the opener you can call and order the part.

You are right about that. The plastic gear inside is shredded. The gear must be wedged or something because the motor will try twice to turn and quit. I have adjusted the pull and push strength will no luck.

I guess that was my biggest concern: did my motor burn up because of the stripped plastic gear or am I just a gear replacement away from running again.

My moms did the same thing a few years ago, apparently it's pretty common. 1-800-4-REPAIR is their #, call them with the model # and you should be able to get a replacement gear.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Did you hear King Carl is gone? :D

The hell you say! PBJ

Let me know how it turns out for you.

We're getting a bit of cold weather tonight after that warm front. Of course, the heater goes out just as we're putting the kids to bed. Threw on the nasty clothes Crawled underneath the house and started taking apart the unit. Now, I know approximately jack and shit about heat and air.. but... every time I call a repair man for something, I always follow them and watch what they're doing... asking questions the whole time. I remembered what the guy did last time (blew out some line and some valve with a can of spray air), repeated it, and the thing kicked right back on.

Now I'm the hero of the household, and I'm expecting a "reward" tonight when the missus and I hit the sheets.

I guess the only real moral to the story is to follow an the repairman around and pay attention when you have one out. A lot of times the "repair" isn't all that tough.

Here's a painting tip.

When re-painting to freshen up your ceilings, (unless you have spray texture on them) use Benjamin Moore color CC-40 "Cloud White" (Doesn't matter what brand of paint you use).
Why?
As an interior finish contractor were more often than not forced to "touch up" ceilings on new homes after ALL the other sub trades come in and beat the homes up.
CC-40 (you can also lighten it a bit to CC-30) is one of the very few colors you can actually spot paint to repair WITHOUT having to re-roll your entire ceiling.
Just "dry roll it"** out 3 times with a "wiz roller"***
works like a charm, and you don't get that great big spot in your ceiling that looks a different color than the rest of it.



**Dry roll-
Just barley wet your roller and lightly go over the area 3 times after each coat has dried.

***Wiz roller
That miniture roller you see hanging next to all the other painting shit at the paint store

All right, got something for you guys. I have been killing off the area in my backyard that was overrun by shrubs and poison ivy with the weed killer, and it has been effective to a point where the leaves is brown and dead. I have mowed it over without any issues.

The issue is, I am wanting to re-seed that with grass, so the question is, do I need to do any tilling in that general area to tear up the roots that may be buried that the weed killer may have not reached, so that poison ivy won't regrow?

How long ago did u apply the weed killer? If u reseed too early after application, the seeds may not take, (that's what I've heard). As far as tilling goes... I wouldn't see why not.

Btw, I have a weed problem too. I have clusters of Creeping Charlie in my yard. That crap will NOT die!! I used Ortho Weed B Gone earlier this spring, but it only 'browned' the leaves. Now it's back w/ a vengeance and our entire yard has patches of the chit!! We bought a different weed killer today, but I'm not optimistic that it will work either. I'm about ready to call in the pros!

Yeah, I would, that ivy type shit develops quite a complex root system and it wouldn't be bad idea to tear up the area and remove as much of it as possible.

What kind did you use?

If you used a strictly broadleaf killer like 2-4D product (typically Ortho Weed B Gone), you can do it now. If you used a broad spectrum herbicide it will depend on how much residual control was in there. I'd suggest going to where you bought the gunk and asking the question. Some of the OTC stuff can be up to 3 months.

As far as tilling goes, I don't think you'd necessarily have to, but there may be some benefits. I don't think you should if you have bindweed. Bindweed can regrow itself from it's roots and plowing does absolutely nothing to kill the weed.

If you don't have any bindweed, I think you're probably free and clear to do what you want. It maybe beneficial to till it up (espcially if there is existing grass worth saving) if it needs smoothing or you need to improve the watershed.

One thing I would most definitely do if I were you is spray rather frequently with broadleaf control products. If those plants have gone to maturity even once, then they will have dropped a billion seeds you will have to fight forever. Be careful not to get any on trees, shrubs, flowers, pretty much anything but grass (be careful of both overspray and drift if you are using much of a nozzle at all.)

Weeds suck a fat dick. Good luck!

Like a month, month 1/2 ago. I don't plan on re-seeding until at least September anyways, since there's still some work that needs done back there.

That's what I thought as well, because not only that I am trying to plan for now, but in 5 years as well whenever (if the wife and I decide to) we have youngins.

Any recommendations on both how much and what type of wood sealer would work best for a 5' high cedar picket fence? I have about 100 feet of fence, total, and would need to do both sides, obviously.

5-gallon containers. You'll need more than you anticipate. Go with a semi-transparent stain and not just a sealer since the former will last longer.

When I sealed my fence (Olympic from Lowe's), it needed to be redone in 3 years. That's when I went with a stain (Home Depot, Behr, I believe). Claims to last 10 years on fences, but I certainly wouldn't hold my breath. That said, it would be better than the sealer.

And you won't want to do this chore again in only 3 years.

Is there a brand and sprayer you'd recommend? I've heard mixed things about using garden sprayers.

Brush/roll it.

If you spray it, you'll lose a shit ton of product, plus you have to chase it with a brush anyway to avoid dripping and to apply an even coat.

Brush, take the time, and do it right. Ultimately you'll save money and have a better end product. My fence looked like a million bucks, and the neighbor who sprayed had an embarrassing looking fence (with some shit on his house b/c the stupid mother****er was careless).

Cool.

Thanks.

Definitely don't use a garden sprayer, you'll never get an even coat. And while brushing it is the most desirable I've put it on with my airless sprayer plenty of times, not everyone is willing to pay me what it would take to get me to brush an entire fence.

Shit.

I can't even imagine the labor cost for this endeavor. I had 180 feet of fence, so I was looking at about 30 hours of total work.

Mother**** you, cross-beams!! Mother**** you!!

Those shadow-box style fences are the worst. There isn't enough money on earth to get me to brush one of those.

I hire high school or college kids to treat my decks every summer.

While I'm perfectly capable, I decided it was better use of my time to let someone else do that, they make a few bucks and I make more while I'm working.


I bought 5 laborers at a auction for a fund raiser and I've got a list for them too, probably this week.

We hired a contractor to paint my sisters house that had a very good paint sprayer that he stained finish on cabinets and trim that I'm sure would work for a fence. You just have to know how to use the thing and be cognizant of wind. If you're going to just do the one thing, I'd probably go with a brush. Paint sprayers can get expensive.

Definitely take care of the fence. They are mother****ing expensive to replace.

Yeah it's not cost effective for the average homeowner to keep an airless sprayer around, and while you can rent them if they haven't been maintained properly they can be more trouble than they're worth. But I have a Graco, I can spray anything with that fugger.

I have no idea what our contractor has, but it is a BAMF. I'm sure in your line of work, you use the balls out of it.

I use it frequently but not daily, mine is a pretty basic one I paid a grand for 10 years ago, had to have the fluid section rebuilt a few years ago for $400, so I've definitely got my money's worth out of it. One of my former employers had one that was convertible from electric motor to gasoline engine, now THAT was a badass machine. I could never justify that for my needs.

Mods. Would you please move this post to the Crazy-Man Corner?

FAX

Fireplace people.....

I've got a final piece to pretty much finish my home remodel and I'm looking for input.

I have a fireplace with a chipped(rough) brick front and fire brick interior(poor condition).

I'm looking for options for a gas insert as well as ideas for what to do with the brick. I've considered buttering the bricks to smooth it out and putting in some type of tile(nothing expensive, but fancy enough to make it a centerpiece), or some type of stone.

Basically, I'm interested in learning about 2 things....If you sell or install Gas inserts, either tell me what I want or don't want.....or PM me about a potential sale.

If you're a tile and brick guru, I'd be curious to see ideas or samples of what to do.

The fireplace is the centerpiece of a living room, has a full length wood mangle and bookshelves on each side.

I guess you shouldn't have built that yourself.

So I have a dishwasher issue. My wife called a few minutes ago saying that there was water all over the kitchen floor that had come from the dishwasher. She said it seems like the dishes were clean, so the dishwasher was working, but just leaking water. I'm wondering if its drain is clogged? How do I check and fix that?

Kinda depends on if your d/w drains into the disposal or has it's own inlet into the drain pipe.

That I don't know. But I guess it'd probably be easy to tell by looking under the sink. If that is the case, is it likely that the disposal is clogged?

If it is a constant water leak, it is a water supply line.


If it only leaked when the dishwasher runs, or to be more precise, when it was draining the water, more then likely your pump and/or pump seal has gone out.

I had an issue like that a couple years ago. Looked all over for that leak. Finally found a tiny hole in the tub that had been pierced by a knife. Tiny hole, lotsa water. I would usually start seeing the water about the time it started drying.

Not on the dishwasher topic, but I want to put in a screen door on my back door (an extra door storm/screen door) On the pamphlets for the doors it says you need at least 2.5 inches depth on the little side piece of the door frame. Mine has 2.0 , maybe 2 1/4 max. Has anyone installed their own and come across this?
The problem would be that the door knob on the actual door would stick out too far, I think and so the screen door wouldn't close. How can I get around it?

I'd somehow shim the screen door out a 1/2". What type of trim is around the exterior of the door frame? Is it standard brick moulding?

Could cut a routered pocket where the door knob protrudes. (Assuming you're talking about a wooden screen door.) If you're putting in an aluminum one, you'll probably need to build up your door jamb outward and mould around it.

It depends on the house and the moldings.

If you're in an older home with wooden trim or moldings, you could remove them, peace in a 1x4 between the wall and the molding(trim) around the exterior and give yourself some additional spacing.

The first place you might consider looking is for an updated door knob that wouldn't protrude as far?

Yes, brick.

That's what I seem to be finding out, that I need to somehow build up the door jamb.

Finding a different doorknob as Iowanian suggested would definitely be easier, IF you can find one that fits. I have no idea if such an item exists.

It's kind of strange that the jamb would be oddly sized like that.

Yeah, it makes me kind of mad. Such a stupid little thing.

Many sizing guidelines are just guidelines. Have you checked to see if it works despite the call for 2.5"?

Here's a bit of knowledge that might help. My dishwasher did the same thing a few years ago. I learned if you open the dishwasher while it's running to add an item, close the door for 30 seconds before locking the lever. It needs to build up pressure.

I'm on a project right now, I'm re-doing my pantry. Got all of the peeled painted stripped off and spackled and sanded down. Now I'm going to refinish the wood shelves and replace a couple. Then paint, should look good when I'm done!

How old is the home? Are you aware of the potential hazards of working with lead-based paint?

yup, it's a very old home. Yup, lead paint is a bitch, I was told that there was no more lead paint but there were a few layers of paint that I could see in some areas where that might be. I wore a mask while I was doing it and made sure to clean up well.

But my soon to be ex wife wanted a ****ing faux finish and now I get to scrap that terrible idea :thumb:

Concrete Scalling
 

My driveway has gone to shit very quickly. We had some snows and some extreme cold this winter but nothing more than usual. Water has gotten into the cement in any event.

The slab was poured in 1999 per the stamp in the concrete. There are a lot of things on the interweb but wanted to get some insite from some planeteers. Has anyone tried to repair this? Does it match when you are done? Can a weekend warrior fix this?

This is not an actual picture but a good representation of what's going on.

You could have fixed it before by sealing it. But that ship has sailed. I'd be interested to hear answers from a concrete guru. I've seen this from time to time and a simple, effective fix might be something to throw into my own bag of tricks.

Now that I am free at last (going through divorce), I'm building my beer trophy case that I always wanted to do. I don't care if it's cheesy or silly, I want it. It's basically one beer bottle from each type of beer that I have bought and drank. It would look glorious now with all of the great beers I have drank over the years, but in a year or 2 it will be awesome. I'm building it right next to my freaking bar. The ex would never allow it before. It's going to be a fun project because it will involve a lot of drinking. I'm a guy who likes to try different beers all of the time, so this will be a way to remember them for me. It is very "bachelor" I know!

Also, my bitch of an ex wife never would let me have a dog. So a couple of weeks ago I adopted a beautiful one year old black lab. She's an awesome dog.

Which leaves me to my next project, which will be done this week, is finishing the fence in the back yard. There already is a fence, it's just not enclosed and I need about 20 more feet of fence and 2 doors for it to finish it. Easy enough.

But nothing beats beer and house projects without a raging **** nagging at you!

Hey to each their own, dude. If I want a dog, I go pick one up. The same goes for an ATV, truck, gun, whatever. I have never been given a hard time by my wife about it. I'm a lucky guy, but that's also why I'm still married.

Damn. I was hoping you had a trick already. :) We moved in three years ago and the sealing wasn't even on my radar.

The more I read it sounds like something that needs to be done yearly. I just have never seen anyone sealing their driveway before.

Nah - dude - nobody does that yearly. Not even a contractor.

yup, you must be lucky. It's been a couple of months since I the cheating bitch confessed, all of the sudden I have freedom and a lot more money...at least for now.

I didn't think so.

I'm changing my garbage disposal today. I thought it would be quick but the new one is wider on top and now I have to change the lengths of the other pipes in there to make it all fit.

Should be about 30 seconds.

Where can i get durable screen in bulk? The stuff they sell at lowes and home depot is junk.
Gonna rescreen the porch. 18 screens.

plain old store bought beer will make your girlfriend much more attractive. Saves a ton of money on cosmetics and gym memberships

Any of you guys ever watch the Red Green show? Fugging great show. Now THAT is a handyman.

Anyone ever put a storm door on an entry door with two side lights? I'd imagine I just need to build out the jam on each side, but was wondering if there was anything special to take into consideration?

http://www.mcmaster.com/#
Its handyman heaven

I plan to scrub the cement in the garage this spring and seal it with something. What's a good product to use, that will last?

i think i heart that site.

So you have used this? How did it hold up?

Never used it. Am going to use it on the back porch concrete.

http://www.vseal.com/products/sealers.php

I have a bunch of stuff in stock. You gonna be up this way for any reason?

You're on the right track. The only secret is; don't put a screw or nail into your sidelite.

Ill be up to see Grandmother in the next month or two. Ill hit you up before hand. Bring you some farm produce to boot if youre so inclined.

Sure. Bring beer. I'll bring screen.

deal.

I know someone out there is a flooring specialist. We installed bamboo in our addition. I've currently been cleaning with micro-fiber mop and a spray bottle of water. It cleans it okay, but you can still see smudges and such from certain angles (nothing super noticeable, but you definitely see them when looking at a more acute angle).

I've read mixed reviews on Orange Glo, Bonniva, and other cleaning systems for bamboo (some people basically said that it ruined their bamboo). Anyone have any solid knowledge? (and yes, I know this should go in the House Bitch Corner, not Handy Man).

My remodel project was finished about a month ago.

I've got a couple of trees to remove and some landscaping....and I'm calling my castle-revitalization project, complete.

I think I'm going to move my focus to buying some land and a 5 year plan to build new.

This year its screened in porch,back porch, caulk,paint inside and out. Next year its new roof, then floors.

Place is almost 100 years old. Needs some real TLC.

Stop looking at your bamboo from certain angles. I have about 1000 sqft of bamboo in my house. We don't do anything special. But we're not crazy neat freaks either.