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Carpenter talk

Yinzer Moto

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Joined
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Many of us work in the home improvement field. Sometimes we come across a challenge that we have never seen before, or we want to show off a current project. Lets see what you have got.
 
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I came across this deck that someone built on a house flip, up the road from me. It has been a few years since I did a deck for someone and the code is changing yearly, but I don't think this would ever pass an inspection. I noted some activity at the house recently, in the area of the deck, so maybe the local inspector called them out on it.

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In my neck of the woods that wouldn’t fly for numerous reasons.

It never ceases to amaze me how much money gets wasted on projects by guys ignorant of local codes. I’m definitely one that likes to avoid the city when possible. I can’t stand that bureaucratic bullshit, I like staying under the radar, but for fucksake, know the codes at least.
 
In my neck of the woods that wouldn’t fly for numerous reasons.

It never ceases to amaze me how much money gets wasted on projects by guys ignorant of local codes. I’m definitely one that likes to avoid the city when possible. I can’t stand that bureaucratic bullshit, I like staying under the radar, but for fucksake, know the codes at least.

I used to hate permits, I am beginning to like them. Now I hate the people who skirt the permit process and then do non-code compliant work. Especially on decks, they fall down all the time.

A few years ago, I quote a friend on a deck project, I describe how I am going to build it, to build it in a way that it will last a lifetime. The whole way, he is getting hung up on details, that will make the deck last longer. I am having to defend these details. Like wrapping the tops of the joists in ice/water shield, or doing solid concrete piers to above ground level. These details would add very little to the scope of the project but insure the main structure of the deck would last forever. He gets another friend to do the deck, it looks nice but I see all those details were skipped. I see posts that were buried in concrete, they will rot out quickly.
 
I used to hate permits, I am beginning to like them. Now I hate the people who skirt the permit process and then do non-code compliant work. Especially on decks, they fall down all the time.

A few years ago, I quote a friend on a deck project, I describe how I am going to build it, to build it in a way that it will last a lifetime. The whole way, he is getting hung up on details, that will make the deck last longer. I am having to defend these details. Like wrapping the tops of the joists in ice/water shield, or doing solid concrete piers to above ground level. These details would add very little to the scope of the project but insure the main structure of the deck would last forever. He gets another friend to do the deck, it looks nice but I see all those details were skipped. I see posts that were buried in concrete, they will rot out quickly.
Yeah, I’d say 95% of my work classifies as “repair” which there are gray areas of course, avoids needing permits.

It’s sad how things have changed. Most people have the mindset that everything is temporary and just basically needs to last until after the house sells. I mean we know ways to make things last for generations, but when comparing bids, you have to explain why the numbers aren’t apples to apples, then have the discussion explaining the finer points of what exactly “value” is and means and it rarely means the cheapest.

When I first got in to the trades, I think there was still a majority that could be considered craftsmen. The guys that taught me were from the era where these were guilded arts. Watching the economy change and how the labor industry reacted to this, it was easy to see why so many of the old timers I knew got out of the business.

The flip side to all this is most of my income comes as a result of another man’s shoddy work.
 
The flip side to all this is most of my income comes as a result of another man’s shoddy work.

Yeah, I have made a lot of money, fixing half assed jobs.

I hate to admit but I have done a good number jobs, trying to hit the budget of the customer. Doing stuff that I knew would not last a lifetime. This was when I was first getting started. As time went on, I just started turning jobs down when the customer was too focused on getting the job done for the least amount of money.

When I quit trying to compete in the race to the bottom, life got a lot better.
 
I work in commercial construction ... not a pro carpenter, but I enjoy doing my own work and have a general interest in construction practices. Shoddy work for the sake of holding onto every penny with a vise grips is one thing, but what really puts fingernails to a chalk board for me is stuff like this where for the same amount of effort it probably could have been done right. Effort is no substitute for knowledge.
 
Yeah, I have made a lot of money, fixing half assed jobs.

I hate to admit but I have done a good number jobs, trying to hit the budget of the customer. Doing stuff that I knew would not last a lifetime. This was when I was first getting started. As time went on, I just started turning jobs down when the customer was too focused on getting the job done for the least amount of money.

When I quit trying to compete in the race to the bottom, life got a lot better.
So true!

The pandemic for me really altered how I approach my business. I finally learned how to say no. I kept myself so busy running around like a chicken with its head cut off. My time became so much more precious…to me and my family. It’s made me far more profitable which in turn gives me the flexibility to be generous on projects that inspire me or people who I genuinely like who might be struggling financially.
 
I work in commercial construction ... not a pro carpenter, but I enjoy doing my own work and have a general interest in construction practices. Shoddy work for the sake of holding onto every penny with a vise grips is one thing, but what really puts fingernails to a chalk board for me is stuff like this where for the same amount of effort it probably could have been done right. Effort is no substitute for knowledge.
Absolutely. It’s criminal.

My FIL passed a year ago. House was on a beautiful 5 acres adjoining Prince William Forest Park. I was too busy to rehab the house, it was too far from home. On recommendation of the realtor, hired a local outfit. Mind you, the house was a wreck. FIL was one of those guys who physically made it back from Vietnam, but mentally did not. So 25 years of drug abuse, alcoholism, and flop housing did its toll.

Make a long story short. Thew the crew off the job, wiped my schedule and literally had to rip out all the newly tiled floors, new bathtubs, surrounds..,, there was plumbing not connected. I had to demo out about $50,000 of work and redo it. All that money went straight into the dumpster.
 
I came across this deck that someone built on a house flip, up the road from me. It has been a few years since I did a deck for someone and the code is changing yearly, but I don't think this would ever pass an inspection. I noted some activity at the house recently, in the area of the deck, so maybe the local inspector called them out on it.

CBB16935-77CD-412E-AD1B-91CCB9BB1304.jpeg


F6579B9E-1DD5-4305-BAB0-A73767448775.jpeg


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Thats an accident waiting to happen...A few each year pull off from the house because ledger is not bolted on correctly
 
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For the brain trust here, I have a problem. Our bedroom door squeaks. It squeaks bad. Liquid lubes didn't work, cleaning the hinges and applying graphite hasn't worked for more than a couple days. Trying to realign the hinges isn't working. I think the best option is to start from scratch with a new prehung door but I'd like to try to salvage this one if I can for a little while longer. Things look wrong, some of the screws feel stripped. Would installing new hinges in different spots be better? It is cheaper than a new door but the fuss is probably worse. What say ye?

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Just getting ready to do my stairs. It only took me 3 years to renovate the whole second floor as I didn't know what I was doing and I was away for work a lot. Pretty much the last thing are my stairs.

These 2"+ slices of larch were milled from a tree in my back yard. The height will match the difference of height from where I installed 3/4" spruce floors upstairs and down.

In the living room to dry out from milling and acclimatize to the house.
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A bit of weight on it helps keep it from twisting as larch tends to do.
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For the brain trust here, I have a problem. Our bedroom door squeaks. It squeaks bad. Liquid lubes didn't work, cleaning the hinges and applying graphite hasn't worked for more than a couple days. Trying to realign the hinges isn't working. I think the best option is to start from scratch with a new prehung door but I'd like to try to salvage this one if I can for a little while longer. Things look wrong, some of the screws feel stripped. Would installing new hinges in different spots be better? It is cheaper than a new door but the fuss is probably worse. What say ye?

IMG_20220216_161251119.jpg
IMG_20220216_161237020.jpg

If you want to keep the door, try some new hinges. If the screws holes are stripped, jam some tooth picks in the holes, with a squirt of wood glue or liquid nails.
 
For years I set tiles for money but always had a boat on the go in the garage last project was one of my smallest in years but satisfying and useful
Only the edges of this board had to be strip planked, the top and bottom was full 6" wide 5mm cedar cut on my buddies bandsaw mill. The building table was where I glued them together with just wedges no clamps.

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For the brain trust here, I have a problem. Our bedroom door squeaks. It squeaks bad. Liquid lubes didn't work, cleaning the hinges and applying graphite hasn't worked for more than a couple days. Trying to realign the hinges isn't working. I think the best option is to start from scratch with a new prehung door but I'd like to try to salvage this one if I can for a little while longer. Things look wrong, some of the screws feel stripped. Would installing new hinges in different spots be better? It is cheaper than a new door but the fuss is probably worse. What say ye?

IMG_20220216_161251119.jpg
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Start with easiest solution First ..I would pop the pins one at a time and put a little grease on them and pop back in
 
Do you remember our math teachers in grade school telling us we need to learn to do math in our heads, because we would not just have a calculator in our pockets?
Obviously, they were wrong about that and cell phones have made our lives much easier. The other day, I was working with someone who had an apple watch and they are taking it to another level. Just say “Hey, Siri” and ask the question. She will answer most math problems. She can not give fractions back.

The other thing I recently tried is the Measure App on the iPhone. It worked perfectly.

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