The Home Ownership Thread

[Fueco]

Or anyone else, for that matter.

 

[RedLantern]

Got something done over the weekend I've been meaning to do for a long time -

Two winters ago we had a rat problem (I successfully trapped/killed them) where the rats were getting into the house up under the bottom of the siding where it comes down close to the ground on the back of the house.

I finally got around to taking off the siding in that area to figure out what was wrong there that they could get in. As it turns out, under my bevel siding is not plywood sheeting, but some kind of tar-paper clad drywall nailed to the framing. Some of this drywall had broken down by the ground level, making a nice little gap between the siding and the base plate of the wall framing that sits on the foundation.

I took off a few feet of siding and snapped a chalk line to cut a nice straight line across to cut and remove the exterior drywall stuff that was in bad shape and replaced that with plywood and covered that in tar paper. Today I cut, installed and caulked the new siding. Thankfully I found a place that had 7/8" x 10" x12' cedar siding in stock!

I'm having new windows installed as a tangent to my kitchen remodel so I'm going to wait till those go in to paint.

 

[idfnl]

Got these puppies....

 

[RedLantern]



Got these puppies....

Nice - any particular reason you got the driver to go with the drill?

 

[js0930]



Nice - any particular reason you got the driver to go with the drill?

Just jumping in, I use my impact driver as much as my drill. For driving in screw or bolts, impact drivers are so much faster than drills (and more compact which can really matter). I just built 2 4'x8'x22" planter boxes for my girlfriend using deck screws and then Timberlok screws. No pre-drilling, no issues, just bang, bang, bang and you're done. If you're a serious DIYer, I think you've got to have both.

 

[Numbernine]

Second that impact drivers were a game changer in construction . ^^^

 

[RedLantern]

Ah, cool. I always figured they were only used for screwing to concrete and stuff like that. #themoreyouknow

On a side note, putting my siding back together was the first time I've used a hammer and nails in a long time - felt oddly more satisfying than screws

 

[js0930]

For concrete you'd want a hammer drill, not an impact. And you probably don't need a hammer drill.

 

[Numbernine]

Small rotohammers are a must have in construction . Handy man work ,not so much. I find the hammer function on batt drills ok for a few small anchors though.Impact drivers are whole other animals specifically designed to drive screws

 

[Ataturk]

Ever try to drill a hole in concrete without a hammer drill?

 

[Numbernine]

Ever try to drill a hole in concrete without a hammer drill?

I'm old when I started out we used star drills ,but yeah I've done it. Just hope the hole is small and shallow and you don"t hit aggregate

 

[idfnl]



Ah, cool. I always figured they were only used for screwing to concrete and stuff like that. #themoreyouknow

The other thing about the impact driver is that it doesn't strip screws nearly as often.

An impact driver doesn't hammer into concrete, the impacting happens along the rotation.

On a side note, putting my siding back together was the first time I've used a hammer and nails in a long time - felt oddly more satisfying than screws

You gotta try a nail gun

 

[Fueco]

Just got a gas powered weed whacker after a couple of years of using a rechargeable electric one... #wherehaveyoubeenallmylife

 

[jcman311]

Just got a gas powered weed whacker after a couple of years of using a rechargeable electric one... #wherehaveyoubeenallmylife

I got a 4 stroke one (no mixed gas) and have all the various attachments to it (blower, edger, hedge trimmer) Works awesome.

 

[RedLantern]



The other thing about the impact driver is that it doesn't strip screws nearly as often.

An impact driver doesn't hammer into concrete, the impacting happens along the rotation.
You gotta try a nail gun

I've got a couple finish nail guns, and I used one for the fence I built last summer. Wasn't difficult to nail the siding by hand, actually.