Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[climberevan]

Exterior paint, done properly, requires an unbelievable amount of prep labor. Scraping, sanding, filling, etc. For reference, I just had my houses painted. It's 1700sf, plus 800sf A-frame cottage, but at least a third of the exterior of the house is a sunroom and metal siding garage. Only about 80 lf of wall was old siding, which was in terrible shape, having been neglected for at least 15 years. Guys spent 120+ hours on the whole thing and only about 20 of those were actually painting. (Luckily I had a hookup.). One guy scraped and sanded a 16ft section for 2 whole days.

There's no getting around the scraping/sanding if you want it to look decent and last. Peel Stop primer is also great and likely still required. You'll want to capture the dust and flakes especially if it's lead based, and obviously wear a respirator.

Good luck!

[old goat]

I used to have a 900 sf lap siding one story simple gable roofed house. I paid a recently unemployed friend to paint the house. Took him all summer, mostly scraping. Granted, he wasn't a professional.

[Core Shot]

If it’s painted flaking clapboard.
Rent a siding grinder. Ideally with the hepa vac if it’s old lead paint.
And lay down tarps for less disposal.
And wear a respirator.

[oldnew_guy]

Scraping, sanding, filling, etc.

Peel Stop primer is also great and likely still required. You'll want to capture the dust and flakes especially if it's lead based, and obviously wear a respirator.

Good luck!

Thanks for the highlighted keywords. Definitely led me down the exterior spackle and peel stop primer rabbit hole. I can see many hours of spackling and sanding in my future.

Now to see if I can get anyone to rent me a HEPA vac.

[Core Shot]

Thanks for the highlighted keywords. Definitely led me down the exterior spackle and peel stop primer rabbit hole. I can see many hours of spackling and sanding in my future.

Now to see if I can get anyone to rent me a HEPA vac.

The problem with filling is that paint next to it peels in a few more years.
But the filler is well bonded. So you have to fill next to the filler next time.

Tough call. If it’s your forever house grind it. If it’s a flip or short term bandaid then use filler.

[XXX-er]

Exterior painting is on the to list for the house this summer.

Some prior owner just painted over the flaked and painted peeling paint spots leaving those wonderful "divots" where the layers of paint are uneven. Any option other than sanding it? I probably have a chance for lead based paint but haven't tested yet.

residing after more insulation added to the outside ?

[Falcon3]

Ideas for this? Or maybe there’s just no good way and im on the right track.

I’ve got a porch overhang, no insulation and it’s unfinished, just the rafters and decking. Obviously it gets damp under here.

Right now it appears there’s two layers: a newer layer of peeling latex and an older lead-based layer underneath.

My plan was to scrape it as much as practicable and then use a lead-converter paint to seal it up and make it less shitty to deal with next time.

Other options would be sealing it in with corrugated metal or other roofing? I’d like to finish this space off into a 3-season porch someday. Roof is basically flat here though so no easy venting options.

[fatnslow]

I need to replace a wood fence soon and need advice in using nails or staples for the boards. Standard 6' planks that'll fasten to 2x4 so let's hear it.

[Core Shot]

Ideas for this? Or maybe there’s just no good way and im on the right track.

I’ve got a porch overhang, no insulation and it’s unfinished, just the rafters and decking. Obviously it gets damp under here.

Right now it appears there’s two layers: a newer layer of peeling latex and an older lead-based layer underneath.

My plan was to scrape it as much as practicable and then use a lead-converter paint to seal it up and make it less shitty to deal with next time.

Other options would be sealing it in with corrugated metal or other roofing? I’d like to finish this space off into a 3-season porch someday. Roof is basically flat here though so no easy venting options.

I would cut PT plywood and cover all that shit. And then paint it in a few months
Assuming you want the exposed rafters.

If not then just cover the whole mess with vinyl siding soffit material

[lifelinksplit]

I need to replace a wood fence soon and need advice in using nails or staples for the boards. Standard 6' planks that'll fasten to 2x4 so let's hear it.

I haven't done a many fences but I'd lean more to galvanized siding nails than staples. If your planks start to cup/twist etc a siding nail or ringshank with have better hold than staple.

Falcon- if you are thinking about covering it up with metal soffit(or whatever) just remember it's nice to pull wires and shove boxes up now. If you think you'll want lighting, but I'd be inclined to fix the moisture if that was the case.

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[anotherVTskibum]

My lesson this weekend: removing old barbed wire in a region that used to have agriculture isn't going to be as easy as it looks.

I had about eight or ten feet of exposed barbed wire that was making me nervous with a dog and small children around. By the time I finished pulling stuff about five hours later, I had a lot more than that. The fence posts were mostly rotten, a lot of the barbed wire and the wire-grid fence it was topping was buried at least under several inches of decomposing leaves, some of it was up to six inches deep in the ground, and not all of the ground has thawed yet.

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[Falcon3]

I need to replace a wood fence soon and need advice in using nails or staples for the boards. Standard 6' planks that'll fasten to 2x4 so let's hear it.

I have built several fences and for longevity, I would never go back to nails. Screws is where it's at. Use these and don't have unsightly drip marks from the fastners corroding in a couple years.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-8-x...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Djongo Unchained]

For fence fasteners, there's a few good options. Screws are certainly least likely to pop out but if your doing 1000 yards of fence and using screws, It's gonna take forever and suck.

Bending to secure the bottom row is also easier to shoot a nail in than trying to get the screw right. Which then often leads to janky lines.
Keep the fasteners properly spaced and consistent for the distance.

A better option is a ring shank nail, made to hang in the wood much stronger than a smooth shank. Even a spiral shank holds better than smooth.

Look into a nail gun, rent one for cheap, and find some galvanized ring shanks and get busy. Spacing the nails wide enough will help reduce cupping as well.

[fatnslow]

For fence fasteners, there's a few good options. Screws are certainly least likely to pop out but if your doing 1000 yards of fence and using screws, It's gonna take forever and suck.

Bending to secure the bottom row is also easier to shoot a nail in than trying to get the screw right. Which then often leads to janky lines.
Keep the fasteners properly spaced and consistent for the distance.

A better option is a ring shank nail, made to hang in the wood much stronger than a smooth shank. Even a spiral shank holds better than smooth.

Look into a nail gun, rent one for cheap, and find some galvanized ring shanks and get busy. Spacing the nails wide enough will help reduce cupping as well.

So a siding nailer ? I'll probably buy a used one and sell rather than messing with renting. It will take me some time to finish since I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

[Core Shot]

A cheap coil siding nailer from harbor freight?

Or. One of their less cheap cordless nailers. They are nice to have.

[Todd Zander]

My lesson this weekend: removing old barbed wire in a region that used to have agriculture isn't going to be as easy as it looks.

I had about eight or ten feet of exposed barbed wire that was making me nervous with a dog and small children around. By the time I finished pulling stuff about five hours later, I had a lot more than that. The fence posts were mostly rotten, a lot of the barbed wire and the wire-grid fence it was topping was buried at least under several inches of decomposing leaves, some of it was up to six inches deep in the ground, and not all of the ground has thawed yet.

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Rookie

[nickwm21]

So a siding nailer ? I'll probably buy a used one and sell rather than messing with renting. It will take me some time to finish since I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

I sheathed and sided my garage and planked 300lf of fence with a $150 siding nailer from Amazon and a cheap pancake compressor. Those shorty, galvy, ring shank coiled nails are what you want.

Good thing about a siding nailer is you can run somewhat long nails through it for other tasks….


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[Djongo Unchained]

Which type of nailer depends on a few things.

A siding nailer typically uses a bit shorter nail, like under 3". A framing nailer usually uses 3-4 " nails. There's a fair amount of overlap with different models.

Depending on the thickness of siding and material to be nailed to, kinda decides your nail length, and therefore the best gun. Most can be adjusted for nail depth.

If there's a rental nearby, they're usually cheap, well maintained and you can google use instructions for any model.
They're simple but if ya don't know, then ask the shop guy.
They'd rather demonstrate than assume it's gonna come back fucked up, right?

Also, if a smaller one will work, it's gonna be lighter and more maneuverable. Framing nailers are heavier to off set the power required to push long fasteners.

And it doesn't take a big compressor to get busy.

IIRC, Ring shanks usually come in longer sizes, maybe 2 1/2" at shortest so figure accordingly.

Don't get fluted, that's for masonry.

[Art Shirk]

What do you guys think this white pvc is serving? I bought a weird old house awhile back and this is an out building (2 horse stable) a ways from the main house. I took the cap of, looked in and I can’t quite tell but it may simply go a few feet under ground and then turn away from the building. What the hell is it venting?

The old owners were apparently eccentric folks who were known to engage is pretty crazy group activities. The amount of lube in this place generally, and where it was found, was comical. So I’m guessing there is an underground sex dungeon with a hatch under one of the horse stalls.




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[ötzi]

Maybe there used to be a gutter above and it goes to a french drain? Gutter seems fancy for that thing but maybe to get water away so it wouldn't be muddy for the horses?

[tuco]

A gutter would go on the opposing side of that structure.
Hopefully you don't discover a Buffalo Bill room!

[californiagrown]

I need to replace a wood fence soon and need advice in using nails or staples for the boards. Standard 6' planks that'll fasten to 2x4 so let's hear it.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Grip-Rit...GSK1/100133840


Simple, easy, and cheap. Plus there is something very satisfying about banging these nails in. No need to get fancy with staples, guns, compressors, screws, etc. The neighbors dog has punched out numerous fence boards nailed with fasteners trying to get to my dog through the fence (my dog would do the same if he could, hes just on the board side of the fence). IME you need a nail (or screw) with a head on it and some kind of ribs because fence boards are soft wood and smooth headless fasteners just slide through it.

Bang in one top, one bottom for each section and then go back and bang in the other two nails once that section is done and youre happy with the spacing. Use a quick grip clamp to hang the board while you nail. Use your wheel barrow as a sawhorse and utilize a speed square. Building fences is, frankly, stupid simple. As long as your dirt isnt a nightmare, by far the hardest part is making field rip cuts on the fence boards... otherwise its real fucking easy.

[californiagrown]

What do you guys think this white pvc is serving?
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Monitoring well, septic vent, or drain vent. Personally, id chop it to ground level, cap it, and then throw a big rock over it for protection and so you know where to find it again if you ever need to.

[::: :::]

Not sure I’d cap it until I knew what it led to…

If you’re lucky, it might have a trace wire

if you are going to make changes to the property or turn it over, maybe have it scoped?

[californiagrown]

Looks like its already capped. If its not already capped, id still chop it to the ground, cap it, dril a hole in the cap and put a big rock over it.