Mr. Fix It

[Macland]

So I'm sure a few of us are a little more handy in home fixing than vehicle fixing. I want to make this an area to showcase your handiwork as well as an area for the XN to ask questions.

XN assumes no responsibility for how to's posted so do your research. Find out what your local laws are and DO NOT attempt anything dangerous.

 

[Creepy Cruiser]

I pretty much built my entire house myself, does that count?, lol.

A couple buddies and I framed it, (because you can't really do that by yourself, lol), and I hired out the excavation, the concrete, and the carpet install, but everything else was my wife and I. (electrical, plumbing, heating, sheetrock, mud and tape, etc...). It was a great project, so my wife and I are going to do it again, but this time much bigger than 2400 sq feet like this one.

 

[RATTFINK]

I am learning as we speak haha.

I am in an apartment now; but moving to a house that needs some fixing.

Removing carpeting that must have been done by a monkey. They did everything right, up in till they decided the carpet needed more staples to attach to the wooden floor beneath :/

Other than that, May have to rewire a wall, patching holes in the walls, installing tile, fixing the front door and door jamb... The list goes on lol


Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk, while ruling the world from my toilet.

 

[Ricel]

Currently working with the IT guy at work to re wire the network and install some sweet wireless setups in both conference rooms. Just installed two recessed plugs into the conference table that allow for laptops to charge and used the ethernet connectors to hook up to the VGA port to display in the 40" wall tv when doing presentations.

Picture dress pats shirt tie, with sawzall in hand cutting up an oak conference table.

 

[Creepy Cruiser]

I am learning as we speak haha.

I am in an apartment now; but moving to a house that needs some fixing.

Removing carpeting that must have been done by a monkey. They did everything right, up in till they decided the carpet needed more staples to attach to the wooden floor beneath :/

Other than that, May have to rewire a wall, patching holes in the walls, installing tile, fixing the front door and door jamb... The list goes on lol

Very cool.

It's so much easier now a days with the whole internet thing. When I built my house, I had to learn everything from scratch all at one time. I bought a few books, read through them and just went for it, (I had never even built a shed before, lol). But now with the internet, everything is all there at your finger tips.

 

[Macland]

Add another reason I like Creepy! That's awesome. My dad and I buy repos and flip them or turn them into rent houses. He started buying them and fixing them starting with his first two houses, then my sophmore year of high school he started buying small repo fixer uppers and taught me how to do a little of everything like you mentioned. We don't do carpet, foundation work, or whole roofs. We know how to, just choose not to.

 

[Creepy Cruiser]

It can definitely be a very good biz.

Picture dress pats shirt tie, with sawzall in hand cutting up an oak conference table.

Love it!

 

[AbuseTheElderly]

I used to work for my father-in-laws construction company and between him, a crane and I, we built this shop. It was 40 ft by 60 ft with 16 ft walls and even had a pit you could use to get under the vehicle. It took us 4 days to get it this far. This was the second time the building had been built though, the first time the owner was building it himself and insisted he didn't need huricane straps. He was on the building when the sheet metal was going up, a hard wind came through and separated the trusses from the top plate. He is in a wheelchair now because he came down and hit the back of his neck on the corner of the foundation. My father-in-law was the one telling him he needed hurricane straps, his excuse for not using them was "No inspectors come out here."

 

[Macland]

Wow. That's crazy. Hurricane clips aren't for the inspectors benefit, their for yours! Bummer it happened that way though.

 

[AbuseTheElderly]

Yeah, but the guy was a complete asshole after the accident, it definitely changed who he was as a person. He ended up not paying us a dime for building the entire thing with hurricane straps AND doing all of the sheet metal. We walked away with empty pockets and a bad taste. The way I see it, everything that happens to you, is a result of how you treat others but in this situation it was reversed. I think it was resentment he had towards my father-in-law for telling him to use hurricane straps, and him not listening. We just turned the other cheek and even prayed for him, he still turned out to be one of the most sour people I have ever known.

 

[Macland]

Well that's all you can do.

I worked for a guy over the summer one year putting up metal buildings and in New Mexico the wind blows with a vengeance. We would secure those buildings from every angle so tight a tornado would be the only thing to take it down.

 

[Creepy Cruiser]

Yep, that stuff is so very important. My house is blocked in between every truss and double side hurricane strapped all around (it took my wife a whole day to pound in all those nails, lol), as well as "J" bolted down to the foundation, (not just those wimpy bend over straps). We went over and above everything that was code here. My inspectors loved me, lol.

 

[RATTFINK]

Very nice!! Good to see I'm not alone lol.

Well I worked 6hrs on the house today. Patched the bathroom and living room with vinyl spackling and mesh on the larger holes.

Repaired a hole in my bedroom with a 6" dia smooth finish patch by Wall Span... Pretty nifty thing.

Me Da' is working on one of the bedrooms open closet trim and sheet rock.

Tomorrow I'm shopping for paint at Sherman Williams with my Da's DirectBuy discount.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk, while ruling the world from my toilet.

 

[Macland]

Nice Ratt. Sounds like a good day of work