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Home and garden projects

Home and garden projects

Old Sep 29th 2020, 9:46 pm
  #1786  
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by Pulaski
Beware of going too dark. IME colours end up looking darker in the real world than you expected.
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Old Sep 30th 2020, 2:51 am
  #1787  
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by markonline1
We bought 5-6 sample pots from Lowes of different colours, and painted a square of each on different sides of the house to see how the colour looked in different degrees of light and shade.
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Old Oct 5th 2020, 9:05 pm
  #1788  
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Getting there. Need a rug to inject some colour, bury those tv wires into the door, change the lamp, get some colorful artwork for the walls, and I think we’re done with this room, and it’s on to the next.




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Old Oct 5th 2020, 9:16 pm
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by markonline1
Getting there. Need a rug to inject some colour, bury those tv wires into the door, change the lamp, get some colorful artwork for the walls, and I think we’re done with this room, and it’s on to the next. ....
Looks good. I like the accent wall, though we wouldn't have chosen blue.

I am looking forward to seeing your next project.
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Old Oct 6th 2020, 7:38 pm
  #1790  
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by markonline1
Getting there. Need a rug to inject some colour, bury those tv wires into the door, change the lamp, get some colorful artwork for the walls, and I think we’re done with this room, and it’s on to the next.



Looks like an Ad for Living Spaces

Very nice!
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Old Oct 8th 2020, 5:37 pm
  #1791  
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by Steerpike
Looks like an Ad for Living Spaces

Very nice!
Yeah, great job!

I have a similar couch, also from Living Spaces
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Old Oct 8th 2020, 5:41 pm
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Decided that I was going to widen my existing driveway to fit another vehicle on it. (Very American sentence to write, that one.)

Got quotes for the forms and finishing, and decided I was going to excavate to keep the costs down. However... when the utilities guys came out to mark up, he mentioned how insanely hard the ground was - he was having a hard time hammering the metal spikes in.

So now I need to figure out whether to leave it for the experts, or do it myself (and if I do it myself, what kind of machinery should I rent?).


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Old Oct 8th 2020, 6:13 pm
  #1793  
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by username.exe
Decided that I was going to widen my existing driveway to fit another vehicle on it. (Very American sentence to write, that one.)

Got quotes for the forms and finishing, and decided I was going to excavate to keep the costs down. However... when the utilities guys came out to mark up, he mentioned how insanely hard the ground was - he was having a hard time hammering the metal spikes in.

So now I need to figure out whether to leave it for the experts, or do it myself (and if I do it myself, what kind of machinery should I rent?). .....
Have you tried digging, to see why it is hard? There are a number of reasons, some of which could be more challenging to overcome, and some may be a blessing in disguise - becuase if the base is so hard there may be no need for a foundation layer of crushed rock.

Residential driveways are often very low-tech: typically the first thing the house-building construction crew, will do after removal of any trees and undergrowth, and basic grading of the lot, is to dump crushed rock where the final driveway will be, literally just dump in on the surface, and level it enough to use to park their vehicles and use for delivery vehicles during construction. Then, when the house is finished the driveway contractor will level out the crushed rock if necessary and place edging boards to shape the concrete. .... So there is little or no preparation of the ground by the contractor pouring the driveway, it's just the construction crew that compacted the ground with their vehicles and equipment.

So the first reason that the ground may be hard is that it may be part of the area left by the construction crew - there may be a layer of crushed rock just below the surface. It could also be construction waste that got dumped there and levelled over. It may also be an area that a previous owner habitually parked a vehicle, so compacting the ground. Among geological reasons, depending on where you are, there could be either rock, such as limestone or granite just below the surface, or a softer rock such as shale - both are common here in NC, especially as land for homes built in a "community" (as opposed to one at a time on an ad hoc basis) is often graded en masse - with the top soil all bulldozed off until there is little soil left on most lots.

Personally, whether I was planning to do the digging myself or pay a contractor, I would did a little, in different areas, to find out what I was dealing with, and whether the project is fesasible.

All that said, and once I had established that the project is feasible I would almost certainly pay a contractor to deal with that, as they will use equipment, most likley a skid steer, unless the ground is super-hard, and it will only take them a few minutes to remove the 2"-3" (yes, driveays are that thin, relying on compacted subsoil or crushed rock to provide most of the support) to pour contcrete that is typical for a driveway on compacted ground.

Depending on the slope of the land, you might consider whether you need to include a drainin your plans, either to divert runoff, or if you end up with a V-shaped drive, you would need a drain grate in the driver and underneath to carry away storm water.

Last edited by Pulaski; Oct 8th 2020 at 6:26 pm.
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Old Oct 8th 2020, 6:19 pm
  #1794  
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by Pulaski
Have you tried digging, to see why it is hard - there are a number of reasons, some of which could be more challenging to overcome, and some may be a blessing in disguise - becuase the base is so hard that there is little or no need for an foundation layer of crushed rock.

Residential driveways are often very low-tech: tpyically the first thing the construction crew will do after removal of any tres and basic grading of the lot is to dump crushed rock where the final driveway will be and level it enough to use to park their vehicles and use for delivery vehicles. Then, when the house is build the driveway contractor will level out the crushed rock if necessary and place edging boards to shape the concrete. .... So there is little or no preparation of the ground, it's jsut the construction crew that compacted the ground with their vehicles and equipment.

So the first reason that the ground may be hard is that that is part of the area left by the construction crew, and may have a layer of crushed rock just below the surface. It could also be construction waste that got dumped there and levelled over. It may also be an area that a previous owner habitually parked a vehicle, so compacting the ground. Among geological reasons, depending on where you are, there could be either rock, such as limestone or granite just below the surface, or a softer rock such as shale - both are common here in NC, especially as the land for homes built in a "community" (as opposed to one at a time on an ad hoc basis) is often graded en masse - with the top soil all bulldozed off until there is little soil left on most lots.

Personally, whether I was planning to do the digging myself or pay a contractor, I would did a little, in different areas, to find out what I was dealing with, and whether the project is fesasible.

All that said, and once I had established that the project is feasible I would almost certainly pay a contractor to deal with that, as they will use equipment, most likley a skid steer, unless the ground is super-hard, and it will only take them a few minutes to remove the 2"-3" to pour contcrete that is typical for a driveway on compacted ground.
Would you use rebar? My driveway rebuild included rebar but it was a 'floating' driveway on a wooden platform, so maybe that's why (was on a steep hillside).
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Old Oct 8th 2020, 6:24 pm
  #1795  
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by Steerpike
Would you use rebar? My driveway rebuild included rebar but it was a 'floating' driveway on a wooden platform, so maybe that's why (was on a steep hillside).
Personally I would, because I am a belt and braces kinda guy, and I hate cracked and broken drives, but I have never see a driveway here with rebar in it, and I believe it would be unusual to do so, at least in my neck of the woods. I'd also pay for more than the 2" skim of concrete that is all too typical here.

Last edited by Pulaski; Oct 8th 2020 at 6:28 pm.
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Old Oct 8th 2020, 6:44 pm
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Rebar would be a good option. Other thing to consider instead is fiber mesh in concrete but the most important is thickness of concrete and psi rating. I used 4000 psi which doesn’t cost that much more than 3000 psi. Make it thick 4 inch minimum but I usually go 5 inches. Also important to place appropriate grooves for controlled cracking. I like to overdo it on everything I build so I only have to do it once.
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Old Oct 8th 2020, 6:48 pm
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

This reminds me that I've seen some really cool concrete 'stamping' services. I don't know how much this adds to the overall cost, but can look really good (basically, a 'surface pattern' is embedded into the surface of the still-wet concrete, often with embedded paint).
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Old Oct 8th 2020, 8:12 pm
  #1798  
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by ddsrph
Rebar would be a good option. Other thing to consider instead is fiber mesh in concrete but the most important is thickness of concrete and psi rating. I used 4000 psi which doesn’t cost that much more than 3000 psi. Make it thick 4 inch minimum but I usually go 5 inches. Also important to place appropriate grooves for controlled cracking. I like to overdo it on everything I build so I only have to do it once.
Yes, that's me too! ... Do/ fix it once, over-engineering it as much as necessary to make it likely that I won't be doing it again.
Originally Posted by Steerpike
This reminds me that I've seen some really cool concrete 'stamping' services. I don't know how much this adds to the overall cost, but can look really good (basically, a 'surface pattern' is embedded into the surface of the still-wet concrete, often with embedded paint).
I agree it looks great, but I don't know what it adds to the cost. My gut feeling is that stamping and pigments will double the cost over a plain grey slab.
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Old Oct 8th 2020, 8:22 pm
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by Pulaski
Yes, that's me too! ... Do/ fix it once, over-engineering it as much as necessary to make it likely that I won't be doing it again.

I agree it looks great, but I don't know what it adds to the cost. My gut feeling is that stamping and pigments will double the cost over a plain grey slab.
The cost is so minimal to over do a little and not have to worry about problems in the future. Sometimes fixing those problems can cost more than the original job and never quite achieve the quality of a job done right in the first place.
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Old Oct 8th 2020, 8:33 pm
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Default Re: Home and garden projects

Originally Posted by ddsrph
The cost is so minimal to over do a little and not have to worry about problems in the future. Sometimes fixing those problems can cost more than the original job and never quite achieve the quality of a job done right in the first place.
Exactly, but a lot of people seem to do the cheapest, half-@$$ job they can get away with, because they are planning to sell before the problems come back.

Worse, I am astounded that people fall for the "I'll fix all the issues your home inspector finds so you can buy our house" trick. Don't people realize that the seller is going to cut every corner they think that can get away with to "fix" the problem?

Last edited by Pulaski; Oct 8th 2020 at 8:37 pm.
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