I want to get my house re-sided since the current siding is old and ugly. The problem is this - the person who came to give me a quote on the replacement thinks that my current siding may be asbestos siding, or that the paper behind the siding contains asbestos. They won't touch the house until it's been removed. Is there a way for me to test this inexpensively myself, or do I have to have a professional come to confirm whether it is, or is not, wrapped in material that contains asbestos?
There are different laws about handling asbestos material in each state. (I don't know the NY laws. You'll want to read over Code Rule 56 or call the New York DEC to confirm.) The laws and requirements can impact the cost for testing. My guess is it will be more expensive than you want to pay. You can contact a couple of the larger GC's in your area, and ask them who they use for their asbestos testing. (Contractors who are used to doing big jobs that include renovations and demo at schools, hospitals, etc. will have dealt with this, and are familiar with who can test.) Then, you can talk to the lab / company that tests, and ask them how much and what they need from you in order to sample it. However, let me throw in some more info for you: - First of all asbestos siding, tiles, shingles, etc. are of no harm just sitting there. When they are broken and fibrous, and the dust and particles become airborne is when it's a problem. - But also, you have to be exposed to a LOT of this over an extended period of time. So, most states (and I think NY is the same) don't have the same draping and containment requirements for individual homeowners as they do for contractors. In other words, as a home owner, you can do the demo and disposal requirements yourself, with no testing or extra fees. You can put on a mask if it makes you feel better, but it's not really necessary. - Asbestos cement siding (if that's what you have) is very durable and easily paintable. You can also find newer matching pieces for repair work - you may have to check with a local builder's supply, not Lowe's or Home Depot. So, that may be a better way to go. (Whatever you replace it with likely won't be as durable as what you have.) - In most states, there is no special handling requirements or testing if you just leave it in place (encapsulation) and just install the new siding on top of what's there. If your contractor didn't offer that as an option, you may have a special circumstance that makes that a challenge; but, he might just be a dick or want to get more money from you.
Ran across this video last night on Reddit of a guy in Russia(?) who reno'd his apartment. My first thought was, "a 20 minute video? No fucking way I'm watching that..." 20 minutes later I'm thinking, "damn... that was crazy interesting." Especially intriguing was the construction techniques that were absolutely foreign to me. The sand floors and radiant heat everywhere was pretty cool, but the shower/bathroom construction (never mind design), really threw me for a loop.
I bought a brand new house in May (construction was finished last November) and I've watched my lawn transform from mud to as random as you can imagine: Full in some areas, thin, bare, rocky and weedy in others. Most of it still has a layer of straw as long as rainwater has not washed it away at the slopes. Where the lawn is full, I've read that it's best to leave the straw and it will naturally dissipate as I mow, but I want to remove the straw where the lawn is thin or bare so I can re-seed. I would like to avoid raking by hand if I can, so my question is would a powered lawn dethatcher work to remove the straw?
Can you give some information about what part of the country or world you're in? What sort of lawn are you supposed to have? More than likely, you don't need to remove the straw (assuming you mean wheat straw / hay and not pine straw), as the seed will still germinate. The straw can contribute to the replacement of the topsoil layer, that was likely stripped during construction, as it breaks down. What you're describing is pretty typical for the first year, unless you install sod. Again, without knowing where you are or what was installed . . . but, if they completed it in November, then something like Bermuda grass wouldn't germinate until Spring, so they had to also put something like a rye in the seed mix. Once it died when the weather warmed up, if the Bermuda was thin there, it turned to mud. If you've got miscellaneous bare spots, and it's small areas that are manageable; and, if you've got a few more months of growing season left where you are, you can buy a "contractor's seed mix" at Lowe's or Home Depot, and they are usually formulated by region. Spread that on the bare spots, cover with a topsoil and sand mixture and protect that with wheat straw if it's sloping enough to worry about erosive rain runoff. Keep it watered. I think you would have better luck eliminating the wheat straw with a mulching mower or bagging mower than fooling with a lawn dethatcher. imho, ymmv
Might need to replace the plywood and covering on my deck. (it's just getting old and worn). Are any of those roll on decking products actually any good or is it just as seen on TV horseshit? Deck happens to be the roof for storage part of house so, traditional wood slats aren't really a practical option.
I'm in the Cincinnati area. Here is what my backyard looks like now: Aside from that bar spot up front, most of the yellowish areas are straw, not soil. The builders put down wheat straw after they initially seeded and even if I mow on the lowest setting with a bag, there is still plenty of straw sticking to the soil. You're saying I can seed those spots without removing the straw and it will still germinate? I've used the seed mix in spots and it has worked great. I just have so many spots and those mixes don't go a long way. The biggest bags seem to cover only about 60 square feet.
Yes, it will germinate, although that doesn't look like a very big area that you couldn't remove it with a rake if you needed to. I'm not sure what time of day you took that picture; but, it looks like from the angle of your house and height of those trees, that area is shaded for a good portion of the day. You could have a fungus, rot from too much moisture, or something like an army worm issue. A couple suggestions: - most areas of the country have a County Extension agent that will either come to your house to take a soil sample, or discuss it on the phone or online with you; around here it's done through the University system of Georgia, so I suspect Ohio State manages yours in Hamilton County. This is almost always free or very low cost. They have all the local information about treating for pests or disease, proper fertilizer balance, and which grass will work best. I would contact them and ask for help. - your house is less than a year old. Since you haven't completed a growing season, the Contractor's warranty will often extend for a year for landscaping. You may want to contact them or your realtor or whomever. ETA: Oh look. This may be useful to you: http://extension.osu.edu/ask-an-expert or http://hamilton.osu.edu/
Been meaning to share this, since i bought the house 6 years ago. Just going through old pictures and found them. Back bedroom had carpet along with the rest of the upper floor except the middle bedroom and kitchen. This is the middle bedroom which had tile. And when we peeled up the carpet in the rest of the rooms, it all had tile under it. It took me and my dad 3-4 days to rip up the tile. Why is it black you ask? They put down the tile with FUCKING ROOFING TAR. Once you peeled up the tile it was sticky as fuck still, lots of baking soda to just cover it so it wasn't sticky. The front bedroom is just to my left, middle bedroom down near the end of the hall, and the back bedroom is just past it. Couple of picture of the finished product.
Here's why renovations and repairs pay off: I live in a semi-detached bungalow. A garden variety non-big-deal. Had a mostly finished basement when we bought it and some Teeny, tiny SNAFUs I discovered, like when I removed one screw from the drop ceiling and half of the entire ceiling crashed down on me. Fucking Mike Holmes used one screw to hold up the entire one half of the room's ceiling tiles. Anyways, I had to bang the frame back into shape with a small ballpean, that was a blast as well. Then I finished the laundry room. It was my first time dry walking and installing doors I literally learned it out of a book (I have used tools most of my adult life though which would help) and put in a finished padded laminate floor, sealed the floor drain, basic wall trim, it looked decent and it cost less than a grand because I only bought materials. So six years later now our next door neighbour gave us an estimate and because it qualifies as a fully finished house, the house's value jumped almost twenty thousand dollars in seven years. I mean, I don't know how that system works exactly, but Spoiler We were pleased, since our place isn't very big. Now comes the long process of undoing all the other half-assed things they did. Get this: When we looked at the house, he stood at the fridge the whole time to block the big fish mouth hole in the seal while the wife hustled us out of the kitchen as quick as possible. Fucking scumbags. I've thrown out all their mail we've received since they moved. It's good fire starter too.
The is what is left of one of the posts the hold up the centre beam in my new house. There is about 4 inches of concrete then 4 inches of fill, then it looks like there is a 2x6 laying flat that the post was sitting on. I am hoping the there is a concrete post under the 2x6 that I can tie a new footing onto.
I miss having time to post and read here, but renovation is kicking my ass. We bought in 13 and are prepping to sell/move. I can't believe how far we've come... And fuck if I know what I'm doing with this fucking floor. Here's where we are right now...
Hmmm, should I put this question here or in the "help me with this" thread? (I mean, I could put it in the Boobie thread, since that's obviously not used for other content . . . but, I digress.) I need a new basic 16" gas chainsaw. Mine is tired of working right, and I'm tired of taking it apart and cleaning the engine. A couple of the ones I've looked at now come with a Safety tip, like this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-16...hainsaw-with-Heavy-Duty-Case-RY3716/206465479 Sometimes, I need to plunge in with the tip (don't we all?!). Does anybody have one like this? Can you just take the Safety tip off? Or, is there some kind of connector on the bar or guide that would make it not work?
I hope you're not looking at that Ryobi... it's absolute shit. The safety tips on the ones I've seen require unbolting to remove. No easy undo, it's meant to be permanently attached. I'd just go get a Stihl and call it a day.
Yea, Ryobi power tools aren't to bad, but there chain saw are garbage. Stihl or Husqvarna. 16" are cheap
Thanks, all. I have an 18" Stihl. This is to replace my "other" chainsaw, like that I'll loan, or let people help me with, i.e. "yes, dumbass, it does dull the chain when you cut in the dirt" My Mom said she'd give it to me for Christmas, so I was trying to get an easy one she could pick up at Lowes or Home Depot. The one I have now is a Poulan, and it was fine. I have some other Ryobi things, and am aware you get what you pay for. As pointed out to me in rep, the Q&A section indicates that the tip is easily removed (didn't realize there was a page 2, dur).
Ryobi is the Fresca of tool companies: cheaper and lousier than the rest. Husqvarna (the King) and Stihl kick ass. No power-lawn tools have better durability/ lasting life as Stihl.