/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Contractor here,

I've used 6 of the 8 on that list. Personally, for me it goes like this:

1. Makita
2. Milwaukee
3. Bosch
4. Hitachi
5. Dewalt
6. Porter Cable

Yes, I really don't use anything else anymore other than impact drivers unless I actually am drilling something.

And no, 12v is not for pussies. Unless you're going to be driving/drilling bigger screws, bolts, holes in harder woods especially several pieces at a time a 12v is fine.

>>567625
Good call either way. I was just suggesting the insulation and what not for comfort reasons for your family.

Oh, by the way, if you don't mind sharing what field are you in to be making 100-120k a year. I'm making around the same, but I've been considering a career change

>>567179
Contractor here.

As far as your question. No, it doesn't take long to replace flooring in a trailer. These things were slapped together back in the 70s. If you give yourself a week you should be able to tackle the flooring. While you're at it, I'd look into getting some blown-in insulation put in the ceiling. These things are old and were not insulated for shit if it was built before the 90s, Also, when was the roof resealed? You may want to go ahead and Cool Seal it yourself. It may take 2-3 five gallon buckets of Cool Seal on a single wide. Also check the belly board and if it's in ok condition I'd also re-insulate the flooring as well. If not, buy some tyvek to staple back under the trailer or if you want to save some money you can use some old tarps. The underpinning is crucial to keeping small animals out from under the trailer, so make sure to check it and keep it nice and tight. If you have any other specific questions I'd be glad to help

I think you're doing a smart thing OP, you're throwing cash away on rent and at least with this you could possibly rent it if you wanted at some point or just sell it for a little bit of cash.

Green Contractor here.

I'd choose cellulose due to cost and longevity. You usually get around R-3.6 per inch from loose fill. I'd recommend a bare minimum of 10 inches all over but if possible go for 14 inches.

Also before you do it, I'd suggest buying a few cans of Great Stuff foam and sealing around light fixtures, holes where AC wires are being ran inside your attic, and if you have central AC/Heating then I'd also check your ducts for leaks and mastic/seal around each one to help prevent air leakage from inside your house.

If you're curious about any more Green or Weatherization techniques that wont blow your budget I'll be glad to help.

A flare nut?

>>529445
No, not really. Milwaukee has some nice stuff, but their line is not consistently good as I feel it is with Makita. I love their corded tools, but their cordless brushed stuff isn't all that great. I haven't tried their new brushless drills, but I hear it's got some excellent battery life.

>>529467
Festool is 'high-tech' has quite a few accessories and some of their products would survive a construction site day in and day out, but their drills are garbage. I can't comment on some of their other stuff (haven't had a chance to use them on-site) I do like their miter saw, its extremely nice.

Hilti, yeah for sure has some durability but the only construction professionals that use it generally lease it. They are extremely expensive to get you to lease their products instead of buy outright.

>>529254
This. You can do this, but be fucking careful. You'll need a black iron nipple and a tee (I can't remember if its 1/2inch or 3/4) placed after the shut off valve. You'll also need pipe dope to seal the threads but do not apply globs of it, get a nice solid coat around each thread and tighten it down with a pipe wrench. If the gas heater you get does not have gas line kit, you can buy one from lowes that will have the rest of the fittings you'll need.

>>528970
OP, I dont know if you're gonna be around, but the 3000 vs 4000 is the 4000 has more accessories and it also is better at keeping constant velocity when applying pressure. I believe it also has a higher speed. 32k vs 35k rpm.

No, Dremels are not tools that you can beat on everyday in a professional sense and expect it to keep working, but I have a feeling in your case that it will suit you just fine. I don't see many scenarios where someone who isn't familiar with a die grinder would need one though Bosch and Makita, again are great if you at some point realize you do need something substantially more powerful. (I love both of mine).

Also, one other thing if you decide to get cordless tools, I'd try to stay within the same family (Dewalt, Makita, Bosch, Rigid, etc). You can sometimes come across batteries on clearance (rare, but it happens) and its nice to be able to have a few batteries that work with all your tools.

If you could swing it:

http://www.cpooutlets.com/makita-lxt601-lxt-18v-cordless-lithium-ion-6-tool-combo-kit/mktnlxt601,default,pd.html?start=4&cgid=combo-kits&prefn1=voltage&prefv1=18V&prefn2=brand&prefv2=Makita&srule=price-high-to-low

If not:
http://www.cpooutlets.com/factory-reconditioned-makita-lxt239-r-lxt-18v-cordless-lithium-ion-1-2-in-brushless-hammer-drill-and-impact-driver-combo-kit/mktrlxt239-r,default,pd.html?start=6&cgid=combo-kits&prefn1=brand&prefv1=Makita&prefn2=voltage&prefv2=18V&srule=price-low-to-high

I selected that as it gives you an actual driver and an impact which is nice when you need the extra power unscrewing or screwing something.

>>528957
Sure, and I'm not the expert on dremels but if you're going to be doing intricate work or have other uses for it. I think the 3000 would work best. I'd definitely want variable speed and corded

>>528948
If you buy from shit tier brands, of course. All brands (even the good ones) offer combo kits. I would NOT go from a low end Dewalt combo kit though. I have have purchased their 4 piece kit that sometimes goes on sale for $200 and its garbage. The last Rigid kits I've seen and used seemed great for DIY'er and even if the lifetime warranty takes a little effort if you're not using it every day to make a living it shouldn't be a big issue if you even have an issue with them.

18v Makita drill.

They are more expensive, but they will last for a very long time if not pretty much forever. I have them in my business and they see some heavy workloads and keep on truckin'

If you want more than one tool at roughly the same price as the Makita, get a Rigid 18v combo that comes with a regular screw drill and a impact driver. Its about $200 at Home Depot, and they have lifetime warranties. Can't beat that.

Contractor here.

Pictures would help. I'm not able to visualize exactly what you are saying.

The new vanity has a shorter depth than the old one correct?

>Chances are you will not find matching tile. Unless your bathroom tile is only a few years old or you get lucky and find a remnant somewhere you will probably be stuck with "close."

This is totally correct. It is two bitches in a bitch boat trying to find matching tile. If you put the tile down did you not buy any extra? If you bought the house with that tile check your attics, garages wherever and usually if you had a good contractor they'll leave extras just for things such as this.

You can replicate the texture depending on what it is.. but again I'd need a pic or two.

Really unless you just have the money you seem capable enough to do this job. It's not very difficult just takes a wee bit of planning.

Tesla would be king of /g/
Mantzel is interesting, but he seems way too unorganized for the king
Tim Allen...maybe..but not as funny.

There's only one king Hank Hill all hail Hank and sweet lady propane

>>496916
Do you work for one of the Big 4?

Definitely check it out, but I'll be honest with you. Unless you really do love the trades, I would not go into them. They can be very soul sucking as well. If you get with a GOOD company (which can be hard to find in the trades) or start your own (Also tough to do sometimes) it can suck. I know many good tradesman that don't make shit or have benefits. You hear about all these making 30-50 an hour, which DOES happen but I promise its not the majority.. those jobs are competitive.

Bad business is rampant in these fields. Many companies will hire you only to 1099 you at the end of the year and you wind up paying self-employment tax just so they don't have to. Not to mention many don't offer benefits or time off. I don't know what you're making currently, but I'd wager you will start out less if you decide to enter the fields for at least 2-3 years until you get properly trained.

With that said, I would probably consider plumbing if I were in your situation. I have subbed out enough plumbers to know those fuckers make some money. I don't know what their apprentices make, but I know that their lead guys are probably making 25-30an hour at least. If you get good enough to own your own business you can be set.

I made some bad decisions and didn't finish college.

With the money? Definitely. With the jobs themselves? No. The area I live has cold ass winters and 100 degree summers with high, high humidity. I'm sick of it.

Definitely. I'm 26 and have made no less than 80k up to 120k the last 3 years. I started at around 30k a year though.

I'm a carpenter/contractor.

Hey OP, I was driving anywhere from 2-5 hours a day, everyday for 2 1/2 years. I'd recommend a couple of things.

First, make sure that you have ample cushioning in your seat of the vehicle. I was driving a 02 Silverado and it had so much drive time that eventually the cushioning was worthless and I started having back pain from riding so long and became so stiff by the end of the drive that I could hardly walk for the first 45 minutes I got out.

What helped me was to listen to audiobooks that were self-improvement type like meditation, it really helped me with the time.

I also liked listening to very soothing music like classical music or Enya. Basically what the other guy said if you have any tension physically or emotionally while driving it makes it miserable, so I just relaxed as much as possible and I found that the long drive helped me with stress some days.

If you want some comedy try listening to "Free Beer and Hot Wings" show - they're hilarious.

What do you like doing first of all? What is your living/money situation right now? Do you live with parents, have no real bills or what? Is college an option?

My recommendation is look at your state's department of labor website and browse jobs there that might interest you and in the meantime be looking on there for an apprenticeship in one of the trades.. there are MANY not just what you'd normally think of as a 'trade'.

However, if you're truly that weak you may not be able to handle any tradework then you need to develop a skill thats useful and get people to pay you for it. Programming, SEO, website design and go on Guru or Odesk and do some jobs

>>488546
What material is that? You say plywood so are you talking a 4' x 8' sheet or a 1x6 piece of lumber?

I would advise getting a licensed contractor to look at it. I can't see everything from one pic, so I can't give exact advice.

However, if you're adamant you're dealing with an exterior wall which makes this a bigger project.

First, you need to check the extent of the damage on the other side of the interior wall.

Next you need to find out which directions your ceiling joists are running. If they are sitting on that exterior wall, its going to be a bitch. you'll need to build a temporary wall and make the studs of that wall in a vertical T by using 3" screws for extra strength. Make sure the wall is tight under the joists. You'll then either need to squeeze yourself in there to cut the plates. I'd recommend making a square cut through both right down the middle of the 2nd good stud you find. then you go back another two and cut the top capping plate so you'll have overlap. if you cant go back far enough you can get some simpson splice plates and hammer in 16d nails usually at least 6. You'll also need to cut the bad studs and for good measure maybe double up on your studs. If your ceiling joists tails are not sitting directly above a stud put one under it.

Its a little more complicated as far as making sure you're level but thats the basics of what you need to do. It also may be easier if you do it from the outside with that slat sheathing if you have some kind of vinyl/wood siding.

Just an in ground pool? To do yourself for a decent size pool you're probably looking at 15-25k.

>>481863
When using the canned spray foam you need to finish the job once you start. That stuff hardens inside the tips, nozzles and becomes useless after that. Also, wear latex gloves and don't let it get on your skin, its a bitch and a half to get off. Other than that, no it's pretty simple in this case.

Id use some insulating foam for that. Let it harden and go back and cut it flush as you can with the floor. Are you going over top of that god awful flooring?

>>478716
Exactly. There are a few of us Contractors on here. I've done enough punch lists for real estate closings to know MANY residential inspectors have no construction experience nor an idea of what they're talking about.

>>476932
First off, the inspector said it had a bad subfloor which tells me nothing that we can't see.

Is this house sitting on a slab or is there a crawlspace?

If slab, you're getting deflective cracking which basically means cracks in them slab are transferring thru the tile.. I've seen this a lot in homes on slab. What you can do is tear it up and install an isolation membrane that will not raise height and if the foundation cures/moves (and it will) the membrane will stretch to prevent the cracks transferring into the tile.

If its a crawlspace you really could have a few issues underneath, the joists may been spanned too far without a beam and are now sagging and causing cracking. You can grab a level and see if the floor has a sag where the tiles are cracking. It could be that the tiles were laid without a concrete board underneath. Too many variables here to give you one answer.

If you can get some more information as far what the inspectors mean the subfloor is bad (if he really even knows what he's talking about..)