Recent content by Sodo

So joists are bearing ontop of the wall plate. A bevel at the top corners for roof slope will have ZERO effect on the capacity of the joist. The load carrying capacity of your mezzanine joist is determined by the joist height (8" or 10") at the midpoint (7'3") of the 14'6" span. The bevel at...

I would have liked to have a real "compactor". But you can't have every piece of eqpt that you wish for just hanging around. DIY can take months. Finding a trucker to bring me SAND for fill, that concern reduced somewhat. (Free sand !, a little bit moist. and LOTS of it !) Wish I had a...

I found this Old Old garden bench found in the bushes at our property. My wife said "I want a bench like that one" So I did what any good husband with too many tools; and too many other projects, that I was avoiding..... I cut down a redwood tree, milled it, planed the lumber, and built two...

UNBELIEVABLE how much screws cost now. It's just price-gouging, and anti-competiton, monopolization. Seems like a feller could rig a simple test. Screw some sheetrock to a scrap 2x4. Tear off the sheetrock and see if the fine-thread screw pulls out. .....post a YouTube. I doubt that we need...

Any project worth doing - is worth overdoing when DIY. especially if you have extra time and the tools and the inclination....😉 Yes there's prep, and also the stability of the existing terrain.

here's the two wall drains 1.25" drain at the bottom, and the 3" corrugated at the 3rd course. Not even "one drip" has exited either pipe since installation in January. Each pipe has "original dust" in its end. But someday, when the gravel drains fill with silt, the open pipes may begin to...

I put an hour-meter on it that crapped out the 1st year. Ten 8 hour days per year x 10 years = 800 hours.... .hmmmm. maybe 200 hours then? No way to know.

Hanging a magnet is vastly different than arranging lots of magnets on the floor (for example). Magnets cannot pull tiny particles from the fluid from all directions. It catches only the particles dropping past very slowly, vertically downward from above (while the oil is still). Your method...

Ray, engine oil is subject to different set of contaminants, including chemical. Hydr oil gets mostly stone & metal contaminants. Which are both heavier than oil, and will settle out. Which is something you "can" do if you want. You cannot (easily) remove chemical contaminants that engine...

Incidentally...... 10 years later this generator is still good. The battery is toast but it starts first pull. I drain the carburetor over the winter. The fuel shutoff valve crapped out. The rubber inside it disintegrated. I found a replacement valve for a song and it works well (for now I guess).

They're Redwoods, planted in 1985. I would like them better if not so close to the house. The 40" is 11 feet from the house. Someday they have to be taken out. It's a 1 bdrm, decent condition, but low-value house (rental). Here's row 6, welded to the tieback structure Here's row 9 welded to...

I welded the eight 6ft T-Posts and rebar rectangle together. It's really solid. No way in h*ll is a plastic deadman as strong as this method. From the other buried steel I find here, I'm sure this will last 40 years and more. I doubt this little house will still be here in 40 years though. I...

Thx Flogger that's good to hear. Three significant details that influence success / failure ! ------> (conditions, conditions, & conditions). It's "the unknown", "changes", and "the future" (seismic?) that should be the impetus for overkill, not internet glory. From my (very simple and limited...

The helical anchors will arrive today Sunday. Crazy what Amazon has done to projects, with one-day delivery. I cannot IMAGINE they will hold as well as 6ft (or even 8ft) T-Posts. Maybe I'll just toss them in the toybox and go get 12 T-posts. I'll know how easily (or difficult) a 5 foot post...

It's glacial. Imagine sand/with a little soil mixed in, with the crushing weight of 500 feet of ice above it. "Legend has it" that the weight of the ice flow compressed the entire land 200-300 feet creating the channel for the water body of Puget Sound for example. It has ~ 20,000 years of...