The Home Ownership Thread

[patrickBOOTH]

Edge-pro, LOL, pleb. When my chef's knife gets dull I buy a new one.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Time to take the chip off my chef's knife

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You know what feeling sucks? When your are grinding away at a low grit for a long time and finally give up and go to an even lower grit... All that time just completely wasted.

Had to go all of the way down to my coarse diamond stone because I just wasn't making progress... I hate using that that thing because it leaves a real nasty surface behind that takes a lot of work with my next stone to clean up.

In my experience water stones are much more effective than diamond stones over time. The diamonds tend to wear to a fairly round profile quickly. By contrast using a diamond stone to maintain the flat surface of a water stone, while messier is much more effective.

The pattern created by a synthetic stone like a typical Japanese water stone will hone out quicker as well due to the profile of the cut.

 

[Omega Male]

I can’t remember what this creeper is, but it is putting on a pretty good show.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Where I come from this is a creeper.

 

[imatlas]

C’mon now, this is a style forum, and this is a creeper:

 

[RedLantern]

I can’t remember what this creeper is, but it is putting on a pretty good show.

View attachment 1365033

looks like some kind of clematis?

 

[double00]

i would guess a jasmine

 

[Gibonius]

I planted three or four clematis last year and I don't know if any of them took.

The one from the year before did, and is just coming up this week. It really puts on a show. Usually in June, but probably a lot earlier this year seems like.

 

[Omega Male]

I asked the landscaper and it’s clematis avalanche.

 

[otc]

Need to reconsider window treatments in my bedroom/office.

I have wall-to-wall windows that go from the ceiling down to wide sill that includes HVAC and sits about 2' off the ground. The right-hand 1/3 has a window that can open at the bottom. Right now I have fairly fat Venetian blinds and they work fine, but they make a terrible background for Zoom calls. I don't want full blackout, but cutting out some more light would be nice too.

Ideally I think I would have motorized solar shades either in front or behind the blinds. With the roller facing backwards, I think it would stay clear of the HVAC vent. Downside is that I'd have to have 3 units to work with my ~130" windows which are split into 3 parts. Not willing to pay that much for a rental (although the ikea ones are close to cheap enough).

Instead I am thinking about a single-sided curtain (so the 1/3 of the wall with an opening window can be left open). Could go full smart-home with the ability to automatically open to wake up in the morning.
These chinese Zemismart parts look pretty decent:

Looks like I could get one with 4m of track for about $170. Can sew my own curtains to fit.

Curtain would likely obscure the HVAC a bit, but it would probably work fine. And unlike sizing 3 rollers to these specific windows, I could always remove the unit when I leave (track is adjustable within reason--might require cutting the belt, but I doubt I need MORE length as my next place will likely not be a high rise and will have traditional windows).

 

[Lizard23]

Despite the quarantine, i persevered and built the top portion of the pergola solo. I imagine this would have been easier with a second man.

Damn, those 6x6s are heavy but i think the overall proportions are better than they would have been with 4x4s. My wife wants it stained gray so i used PT instead of paying 8x for cedar.

Tomorrow i will play around with exact positioning and leave it there for a while to make sure i am happy before the footings get poured.

 

[sugarbutch]

Bored, had some plywood, we’ve been contemplating a smaller, round table, so...

Intended to use no fasteners, but ultimately decided to attach the top to the base using some pocket screws. The diameter of the table allows it to impart a fair amount of torque to the pedestal, so I will probably reinforce that a bit.

 

[SirGrotius]

The wife and I just put up a chicken coop. She loves animals and I have to admit it's growing on me, especially since my young children are interested. Our backyard is nicely fenced since we have a pool, so that probably is a boon here in PA.

Any advice on chickens to purchase, where, how? I have a soft spot for the blue eggs that I see homestead people sometimes post.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Any advice on chickens to purchase, where, how? I have a soft spot for the blue eggs that I see homestead people sometimes post.

We have Americaunas - they are the hybrids that produce the blue-green eggs. Really lovely birds, quite productive and pretty cold-hardly too (we get down to -25ºC here and they are okay). Bear in mind that lots of unscrupulous dealers say their nondesript things are Americaunas, but a lot aren't... I couldn't tell you who are the reputable dealers in your area, unfortunately.

 

[SirGrotius]

Sage advice. Some of our friends are insisting we get some free hens from a local farm but I’m skeptical. To me free equals poor quality but maybe that’s not a thing in the chicken world!