Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
This is on my parents house, not mine. Mine, I know exactly what is wrong with it :v:

One of these days I need to draw up my dream-house plans so I have something to work towards when I sell my place and buy a fuckton of land in the middle of nowhere.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

TehRedWheelbarrow
Mar 16, 2011



Fan of Britches

kastein posted:

This is on my parents house, not mine. Mine, I know exactly what is wrong with it :v:

One of these days I need to draw up my dream-house plans so I have something to work towards when I sell my place and buy a fuckton of land in the middle of nowhere.

You are one hell of a son.

poo poo.

Sir Cornelius
Oct 30, 2011

kastein posted:

gently caress gently caress gently caress gently caress gently caress GOD drat IT

Tore out one of the support posts and discovered that the 6x8 sill beam it supported is 25% wood, 75% carpenter ants.

:argh:

Must be load-bearing carpenter ants then. They might just be trying to save you from catastrophe.

Fender Anarchist
May 20, 2009

Fender Anarchist

Carpenters bearing the weight of several heavy pieces of wood attached at right angles...

Is this the story of Jesus?

Blistex
Oct 30, 2003

Macho Business
Donkey Wrestler

Sir Cornelius posted:

Must be load-bearing carpenter ants then. They might just be trying to save you from catastrophe.

No, it's their insulating properties that make carpenter ants great.

Olympic Mathlete
Feb 25, 2011

:h:

Why do Americans not use bricks to build things? I mean I like wood and everything but brick seems to last one hell of a lot longer, my house is a Victorian era brick build so from about 1850-1900 and the only thing wrong with it is a bit of plaster crumbling.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
I'm using brick to build everything right now, actually. Mostly because the brick and mortar is crumbling to nothing on my parents foundation.

Wood is perfectly fine if you aren't a dipshit and keep your house roofed and sided properly. That's more than some people can handle, though.

My next house will be mostly underground, a mix of cast in place concrete, prestressed concrete or structural steel, and granite or fully fired (none of this cheesy half vitrified bullshit I'm dealing with now) brick for exterior. Probably a standing seam metal roof. I am loving sick and tired of other people's piss poor maintenance issues causing me grief and want whatever I build next to last forever.

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe

88h88 posted:

Why do Americans not use bricks to build things? I mean I like wood and everything but brick seems to last one hell of a lot longer, my house is a Victorian era brick build so from about 1850-1900 and the only thing wrong with it is a bit of plaster crumbling.

Brick does not handle earthquakes with anything resembling grace. Thus on the west coast of the US (a.k.a. "earthquake territory") you'll see bricks used for chimneys and the occasional facade, but nothing load-bearing. Well, assuming the house is built to code anyway.

In the rest of the country, sure, there's brick all over the place.

His Divine Shadow
Aug 7, 2000

I'm not a fascist. I'm a priest. Fascists dress up in black and tell people what to do.
We got wooden houses from the 1700s still standing and being inhabited in scandinavia btw.

beep-beep car is go
Apr 11, 2005

I can just eyeball this, right?



New England (where Kastein is) traditionally is wood houses because when us whites came over in Colonial Times the place was sick with wood. It was way easier to build a wood house than a brick one when there was acres and acres of old growth forest everywhere and a brick works was a pain to set up.

Olympic Mathlete
Feb 25, 2011

:h:

kastein posted:

My next house will be mostly underground, a mix of cast in place concrete, prestressed concrete or structural steel, and granite or fully fired (none of this cheesy half vitrified bullshit I'm dealing with now) brick for exterior. Probably a standing seam metal roof. I am loving sick and tired of other people's piss poor maintenance issues causing me grief and want whatever I build next to last forever.

This sounds immensely cool. I've kinda always wanted a bunker home or just one set into the side of a hill. I want to be able to ride a dirt bike on top of my house...

Also thanks for the replies about brick houses, I figured out after I posted that earthquakes probably had something to do with a lot of it as well as abundance of trees.

PainterofCrap
Oct 17, 2002

hey bebe


88h88 posted:

Why do Americans not use bricks to build things? I mean I like wood and everything but brick seems to last one hell of a lot longer, my house is a Victorian era brick build so from about 1850-1900 and the only thing wrong with it is a bit of plaster crumbling.

Wood's still cheap & abundant here.

The look on my Swiss friend's faces when they saw photos of my garage framing, all wood, was priceless. Wood's more of a style element there.

Olympic Mathlete
Feb 25, 2011

:h:

Yeah it is here too, on occasion you'll get brick builds with sections of pointless wood panelling. Some of it looks really cool, most terrible though. I do like the style of places in Northern Europe, they use a lot of wood and use it really well.

I'm kinda sad it isn't really a thing here in the UK, I've been playing with wood for a few years now and it seems like it'd be infinitely easier to master/build stuff with it than to learn bricklaying and get good with it. The simple fact you can use great big fasteners is no doubt a huge help.

Anyway derail over, consider my question answered. Thanks. :)

Digital War
May 28, 2006

Ahhh, poetry.
Stick-built buildings aren't uncommon in the UK, although breeze blocks are still more popular. It's just hard tell unless you were around for the early construction stages since bricks are pretty much the only exterior cladding that's used.
These two homes are stick-built, I drove past them every day on the way to work and it was impressive the speed at which they went up. The roof was on practically a week after the foundation was poured.

Vindolanda
Feb 13, 2012

It's just like him too, y'know?

His Divine Shadow posted:

We got wooden houses from the 1700s still standing and being inhabited in scandinavia btw.

We got stone buildings from the 1000s still standing and being inhabited in the UK btw.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
Are they LEED certified, though? :v:

Redid one of the support post bases for the back entryway tonight. Getting better at this whole brickwork and mortar thing.




Bought the crap to replace the ant-eaten and rotted beam last night so that will probably get done Thursday or Friday night.

His Divine Shadow
Aug 7, 2000

I'm not a fascist. I'm a priest. Fascists dress up in black and tell people what to do.

Vindolanda posted:

We got stone buildings from the 1000s still standing and being inhabited in the UK btw.

That's fine, I wasn't making the argument wood was more durable or as durable as stone. Only that it's probably more durable than people give it credit for.

Vindolanda
Feb 13, 2012

It's just like him too, y'know?

His Divine Shadow posted:

That's fine, I wasn't making the argument wood was more durable or as durable as stone. Only that it's probably more durable than people give it credit for.

Oh absolutely, if you use good quality materials and take care of it well almost anything can last a long time - there are adobe buildings around that have stood uninhabited for hundreds of years with remarkably little degradation.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
Today I dedicate to Sir Cornelius and his doubting of my eventual victory against the ants :v:

First things first. Support all the joists that were supported by this beam, which is rotten in places and full of ants in others.


Next, observe your enemy's stronghold.


Flail repeatedly with the claw end of a framing hammer.


How do you bastards like that?


HAVE A DRINK ON ME YA MOTHERFUCKERS (it's permethrin :unsmigghh:)


Entire 6x8 beam removed, all 64 inches of it. Killed a thousand ants or more. Maybe 20 escaped.


New beam cut to length and flashed. Oh and it is pressure treated anyways.


Tenon cut so it will go right where the old beam did.


New beam in place. Joists hung on it with grade 8 bolts and GRK RSS structural screws, supported by new PT post, old beam under next wall over supported by three 8 inch heavy duty angle brackets with 6 4 inch long GRK RSSes each. Not loving Going ANYWHERE.


That's all for now, probably more tomorrow, I still have another cornerpost to replace, brick support post for it to redo, and a foundation wall to rebuild.

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe
Okay, I'm impressed. How much assistance did you have for beam wrangling? I can't imagine that thing was light.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
None, actually. No real space for a helper even if my dad did feel like crawling down there. It only weighed about 50lbs since it was only 64" long, I've done 8 footers alone without much sweat and the new joists I set a few pages ago (16 foot 2x12s) were way more of a pain in the rear end to do alone, mostly due to being 6 inches longer than the room I put them in, even once trimmed to length.

All I really had to do for this one was get the tenon started into the mortise, then hold the other end up with one arm while wailing on it with a deadblow hammer with the other. Once the tenon was half in it was for the most part self supporting.

Since there was poo poo in the way everywhere I cheated and used the 12 ton bottle jack to lift the beam into place at the other end while I pried it sideways as needed to clear a few obstructions, such as bits of sheathing, the side of the deck, etc. Went pretty smoothly all things considered, there wasn't much space to work.

E: I am curious. For the actual contractors in the house, how much would you charge for a project like this beam replacement or the foundation repairs I've been doing? I am in no way charging my parents for this, but I am debating getting my contractors license and starting a side business doing repairs like this as it is something I am decent at and figure I could make some good money doing occasionally. It sucks while I'm getting started and not emotionally invested in a project yet, but fistfuls of money tend to reduce that somewhat.

kastein fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Oct 26, 2014

Motronic
Nov 6, 2009

kastein posted:

E: I am curious. For the actual contractors in the house, how much would you charge for a project like this beam replacement or the foundation repairs I've been doing? I am in no way charging my parents for this, but I am debating getting my contractors license and starting a side business doing repairs like this as it is something I am decent at and figure I could make some good money doing occasionally. It sucks while I'm getting started and not emotionally invested in a project yet, but fistfuls of money tend to reduce that somewhat.

Figure $50-65/hr. I don't even need to ask any of my carpenter friends if they'd take a job on like that based on a flat job rate. Too much you can't see until you get it apart.

The problem with being a carpenter is that anyone with a pickup and a hammer thinks they're a carpenter and it makes the good guys look like poo poo. This has increased with the unemployment rate. In addition, every customer thinks they know what materials cost because Home Depot/Lowes so people bitch when your materials prices are higher than that because of using a real lumber yard with good materials plus markup.

A couple of my friends who have been doing this for a long time are going specialized in what they offer, mostly as some way to distinguish themselves. One of them is working with a friend-of-a-friend who repairs fire pumps. Nobody knows what the parts cost (or can even track them down), they are legally required to have them back in operation ASAFP so they can't shop around for quotes, plus sweet, sweet emergency/off hours call out cash.

TL;DR: don't become a carpenter. If you insist I'll put you on the phone with some of them so you can hear what a poo poo show it has become.

Motronic fucked around with this message at 16:38 on Oct 26, 2014

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
By request, another ant genocide video :unsmigghh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL-9GWWBjn0

You know it's working when you can feel clumps of ants bouncing off the inside of the shopvac hose.

E: thanks! That's a pretty good amount of cash, at least double what I am making right now (though variability of work and taxes/health insurance/contractors insurance/etc surely eat a lot of that margin up.) Will have to think about this some more.

kastein fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Oct 26, 2014

th vwls hv scpd
Jul 12, 2006

Developing Smarter Mechanics.
Since 1989.
Your video is marked private for me.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
Yeah the youtube android app is absolutely abysmal and I couldn't change that setting after uploading it. Why would a google service ever work seamlessly with a google produced app on a google produced OS? :iiam:

(should be fixed momentarily)

Seat Safety Switch
May 27, 2008

MY RELIGION IS THE SMALL BLOCK V8 AND COMMANDMENTS ONE THROUGH TEN ARE NEVER LIFT.

Pillbug
This is like the video version of your infamous angle-grinder picture. I love it.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
In this picture, the elder Stein has just sat up directly into a joist, smashed the poo poo out of his head, and cursed a lot. This may sound rather familiar to those who know me.

Also pictured: the second support post has become rather less structural and I knocked down and cleaned up the brick support pier under it. Relaid the bricks already but no pictures yet.


I shook a piece of old junk wood from the beam I removed and these all fell out, dead. All winged carpenter ants, about 1 inch long.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ejsM0VF-Os

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
Threw another four bricks on the wall and finished pointing/filling some joints that were empty due to running out of mortar last time I worked on the wall.


Decided that it was time to do some actual perfect pointing just for the hell of it. Like I said before, that other pointing pic was not perfect :v:


Time to pass the gently caress out, back to the day job tomorrow.

apatite
Dec 2, 2006

Got yer back, Jack

kastein posted:




That's all for now, probably more tomorrow, I still have another cornerpost to replace, brick support post for it to redo, and a foundation wall to rebuild.



Just because I like to learn things, is there a reason to use these type of joist hangers rather than the ones that are connected in a "U" with a piece that supports the bottom of the joist?



Also: keep being awesome, dude. I hope your parents appreciate the work you are doing for them

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
They do. I owe them a hell of a favor right now so I'm fixing basically everything, including poo poo that was broken in 1991 when they bought the place. And it's resulting in me having a big pile of cash on hand because the drive from their place to work is way way shorter than the drive from my place to work. I may even be able to afford to buy a furnace before winter at this rate.

I used those because sadly, Strong-Ties aren't available for true dimensional lumber. Their house is like mine, and made entirely out of lumber that's 1/8" under nominal size instead of 1/2"* under like modern KD+planed lumber, so regular hangers don't do poo poo for us here. Therefore we used those hangers (which are actually intended to support stair treads - they're significantly thicker than regular hangers) with 1/4" grade 8 bolts through the joists to the other hanger and 5" long 1/4" structural screws (either panhead SPAX or GRK RSSes, I can't remember, same poo poo though) into the support beam.



* yes, I know about x8 and larger dimensions being 3/4" under :haw:

apatite
Dec 2, 2006

Got yer back, Jack

kastein posted:

I used those because sadly, Strong-Ties aren't available for true dimensional lumber. Their house is like mine, and made entirely out of lumber that's 1/8" under nominal size instead of 1/2"* under like modern KD+planed lumber, so regular hangers don't do poo poo for us here. Therefore we used those hangers (which are actually intended to support stair treads - they're significantly thicker than regular hangers) with 1/4" grade 8 bolts through the joists to the other hanger and 5" long 1/4" structural screws (either panhead SPAX or GRK RSSes, I can't remember, same poo poo though) into the support beam.



* yes, I know about x8 and larger dimensions being 3/4" under :haw:

Ahhh jeez. I hadn't had my morning coffee. Had to do the same thing in my place with some of the amish sawn lumber and didn't think about it. Carry on, nothing to see here :D

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
No pictures tonight but the house is back on its own two legs (literally) and it is just foundation poo poo left to fix now.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
Now with proper daytime potatophone pictures!

This is what happens when I go full-on OCD about pointing.


Jammed another few bricks in the corner. Once this corner sets up I can rip the wall next to it apart without worrying about it tipping over.


The subsurface stone foundation needed to be repaired a bit, so I did that before laying more brick. Also jammed a steel strap in one of the joints to mount the skirting support beam to.


Now to let it all cure so it will hold weight while the rest of the foundation gets knocked down around it.

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
While yapping with Motronic last night on IRC about disconnect switches and shop power setups I managed to find a brand new 200A 3-pole non fusible disconnect switch (a GE TGN3324, not some lovely chinesium brand) for $157 shipped, so it looks like I am going to solve the neutral/ground bonding debate once and for all by just putting in a disconnect that pulls the neutral too and bonding neutral/ground right there. I keep getting different answers from different people (who all nominally know the NEC at least as well as I do) and I'd like to have a disconnect anyways so gently caress it.

Spermy Smurf
Jul 2, 2004
Is there an english version of that last post or...?

Does it basically mean that you found a way to power something that wont explode when you plug stuff into it?

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe
Wait, what IRC channel? Is there an SA DIY channel somewhere I should be lurking in?

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.
Nope, it's an AI related channel, there just happens to be a lot of crossover.

Spermy Smurf posted:

Is there an english version of that last post or...?

Does it basically mean that you found a way to power something that wont explode when you plug stuff into it?

Basically I'm putting in a big rear end shutoff switch for my whole house so I can completely cut power if I need to. Excellent to have because it means I can do maintenance, repair, or upgrades on the ATS (auto transfer switch), main panel (including main breakers), or anything else in the system without having to worry about live wires.

Most people don't get one because it costs a decent amount of money and builders aren't willing to make it a standard feature, and because it would probably add up to around a thousand bucks by the time you had an electrician install it - at least. Me, I'm getting one for $157, because I loving want to.

e: this one http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-200-Amp-240-Volt-Non-Fuse-Indoor-Safety-Switch-TGN3324/100674079

kastein fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Nov 12, 2014

PainterofCrap
Oct 17, 2002

hey bebe


I have a 100-A service disconnect between my meter & my breaker panel (next to the panel in the basement)...installed in 1975. Greatest thing ever.

Also used a home-built curb stop key to shut off water at the street to my house so I could replace the failing gate valve on my main :v:

angryrobots
Mar 31, 2005

I've been involved in a couple auto transfer setups in my commercial electrician days, and seen quite a few since, as well as a solar array interconnected to utility power, but I've not personally seen anybody switch the neutral.

Since this disconnect is to be installed after the meter can, the neutral and ground should be separate at this point, which would require a 4 pole switch to be NEC compliant, and accomplish what you are intending I think.

angryrobots fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Nov 12, 2014

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

kastein
Aug 31, 2011

Moderator at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/and soon to be mod of AI. MAKE AI GREAT AGAIN. Motronic for VP.

angryrobots posted:

I've been involved in a couple auto transfer setups in my commercial electrician days, and seen quite a few since, as well as a solar array interconnected to utility power, but I've not personally seen anybody switch the neutral.

My understanding from a little googling and previous discussions, is that if you disconnect the neutral, then you must make sure the neutral is bonded to the frame of your generator. Portable generators come set up this way already.

Another caveat - since this disconnect is to be installed after the meter can, the neutral and ground should be separate at this point, which would require a 4 pole switch to be NEC compliant, and accomplish what you are intending I think.

first paragraph - cool! Some power companies want to see a switched neutral in residential work with an ATS involved. I can understand why, if your premise wiring is hinky as gently caress (which can basically be guaranteed on anything more than 10 years old with at least one JAFHO involved) there's no guarantee that your goofy wiring and generator might not backfeed a couple dozen volts onto the neutral and fry their poor lineman, so I'm interested in switching my neutral even though my local company really doesn't care.

second - sorta, IIRC. My plan was to bond neutral and ground at the disconnect, and have every neutral be connected together (but not to ground) downstream of that. Since the transfer switch doesn't switch neutral, my neutral wiring would be bonded to ground at the disconnect still. I assumed neutral-ground bonding at the load side of the disconnect switch, which may or may not be accurate/to code now that I think about it, and this may throw a wrench in my plans, so thanks for bringing that up.

third - are you talking 3 phase or splitphase residential? I thought grounds were NEVER switched, which with splitphase 240V residential would leave me with 3 poles (hot, hot, neutral) switched and ground contiguous, which I believe is how I should do it.

Clear as mud? I can put together a wiring diagram tomorrow if not.

kastein fucked around with this message at 03:21 on Nov 12, 2014

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply