Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[old goat]

Do lodgepoles get the beetles?

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

High CFM bathroom vent fans w/ bright LED lights that fit standard/existing ceiling openings?

New house has a couple classic old Broans with the like 4 watt light and fan that appears to be like 10 CFM. New Broans all seem to max at 110 CFM. There has to be something better, no?

[XXX-er]

Do lodgepoles get the beetles?

yup I been watching an entire province turn brown and then grey for 25 years, the pine beetle kills pine trees unless the tree is young enough but it doesn't necessarily kill all of them

[climberevan]

Panasonic makes the best bath fans, IMO. They have like 500 models and some of them are designed for small openings and shallow ceiling joists. Going over 90cfm without crazy noise is going to require a 6" duct, which I'm sure you don't currently have. If you have attic access it's worth a full upgrade.

How do you have time for home improvements after working on your bike 8h/day?

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Panasonic makes the best bath fans, IMO. They have like 500 models and some of them are designed for small openings and shallow ceiling joists. Going over 90cfm without crazy noise is going to require a 6" duct, which I'm sure you don't currently have. If you have attic access it's worth a full upgrade.

How do you have time for home improvements after working on your bike 8h/day?

I only work on my bike like 2 hours a day......but I spend another 6 hours talking about it on the internet.

[zion zig zag]

How to build a deck that won't kill people and have lawyers crawling up your ass:

https://cms7files.revize.com/waterto...Guide-1804.pdf

So according to your link, the max cantilever for 2x6 beams, doug fir, 16" joist spacing is 1 foot. This will be a ground level deck, somewhere between 7" and 10" off the ground. I want to float the deck next to the house and not attach to a ledger board. For the same reasons I don't want to attach to a ledger board, I don't really want to dig footings right next to the house. A max of 1 foot cantilever still puts the hole pretty close to foundation. Is that just lawyer/cya type spacing, as in, can I get away with a two foot cantilever? I can't imagine it'd be spongy with 3 2x6's (sistered) for beams and joist span of 78".



Flagstone patio sounds pretty good too.

[californiagrown]

I only work on my bike like 2 hours a day......but I spend another 6 hours talking about it on the internet.

Exhaust fans (including makeup air). Whether for the kitchen or the shitter it's important to get them powerful, and important to get them right.

[bfree]

110 CFM is plenty unless you're talking about an enormous bathroom.
Why the restriction on openings? If you can replace a fan, you can use a drywall saw.
Get 0.7 sones or less for a nice quiet model.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

So according to your link, the max cantilever for 2x6 beams, doug fir, 16" joist spacing is 1 foot. This will be a ground level deck, somewhere between 7" and 10" off the ground. I want to float the deck next to the house and not attach to a ledger board. For the same reasons I don't want to attach to a ledger board, I don't really want to dig footings right next to the house. A max of 1 foot cantilever still puts the hole pretty close to foundation. Is that just lawyer/cya type spacing, as in, can I get away with a two foot cantilever? I can't imagine it'd be spongy with 3 2x6's (sistered) for beams and joist span of 78".



Flagstone patio sounds pretty good too.

Oh yeah it's lawyered up, but the reason for that is for the high consequence of failure involving deck collapses. You're pretty close to the ground so you're not going to have any wedding parties falling 20 feet into the ocean, so you could probably cheat it a bit and not suffer the consequences.

Or you could bump the joists up to 2x8 and you'll be by the book.

[nickwm21]

You could set a precast footing next to the house


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[Lvovsky]

Want to replace water heater tank. It’s at least 16 years old. Works fine but I don’t want to be surprised when it doesn’t. Should I go tankless?

Want to get hot water circulating installed too. It takes forever to get hot water in the kitchen going.

[Supermoon]

The recirculating systems are a pain in the ass to retrofit.

We just replaced our 20 year old water heater and the plumber said it probably wasn’t worth it, and a modern water heater would be fine. For us we would have had to upgrade our gas line and add a vent to install the tankless and for our usage a regular water heater is great.

[fatnslow]

Seeking sparky advice. I need to drill through a joist about 88" from an opening to run a wire to the exterior. Total run is about 14 feet straight shot. It's actually 85" from the exterior of the house to the joist. It's over a lathe/plaster ceiling and I'm trying to avoid cutting a hole and patching. I tried using a 54" flex bit mated with a 54" extension from the exterior of the house but after a bit of contact the bit fell off the extension. Is this considered child's play for pro or is cutting a hole unavoidable?
I'm considering getting another bit and trying round 2 with better securing between the bit and extension. Am I wasting my time and money even thinking this ? Just need to drill a freaking hole , fish a line and pull a wire to the exterior of the house.

[Core Shot]

108” bit extension?
Yeah. Cut a hole in the drywall.

Tankless only makes sense if you regularly run out of hot water.

And there are some recirc devices that allegedly fit under a sink. Never tried them. Doesn’t make sense to me.
To retrofit you need a return line to the water heater. Which depends on your basement access.
Not that bad. Run Pex pipe from hot in basement under the sink to the water heater cold input line and install $300 pump.

[Mustonen]

I’d agree with all of that, and if hot water to the kitchen is a problem you might think about a small tankless (or tank) hot water heater under the sink, or otherwise close by. That would probably be cheaper and easier than a recirc system.

[fatnslow]

108” bit extension?
Yeah. Cut a hole in the drywall.

Tankless only makes sense if you regularly run out of hot water.

And there are some recirc devices that allegedly fit under a sink. Never tried them. Doesn’t make sense to me.
To retrofit you need a return line to the water heater. Which depends on your basement access.
Not that bad. Run Pex pipe from hot in basement under the sink to the water heater cold input line and install $300 pump.

I just ordered a 15' USB inspection camera and will attempt the retrieve the dropped bit with a long pole and magnet. One more attempt at a hole and WHEN I fail I have a another spot I can make a run. This spot make it so I have to wrap pvc around a chimney but that'll be better than having to cut/patch lathe and plaster. My plan is to insert 1" conduit about 2-3' as a guide for the bit. Probably being stupid......

[zion zig zag]

Oh yeah it's lawyered up, but the reason for that is for the high consequence of failure involving deck collapses. You're pretty close to the ground so you're not going to have any wedding parties falling 20 feet into the ocean, so you could probably cheat it a bit and not suffer the consequences.

Or you could bump the joists up to 2x8 and you'll be by the book.

I’ll definitely use the 2x8’s if I have enough room. Not sure what the finished height will be just yet, need to do some grading.

So, how close to the house would you guys be comfortable digging a footing? Foundation is CMU and it seems like it’d be easy to do some damage with a skid steer auger.

[oldnew_guy]

So according to your link, the max cantilever for 2x6 beams, doug fir, 16" joist spacing is 1 foot. This will be a ground level deck, somewhere between 7" and 10" off the ground. I want to float the deck next to the house and not attach to a ledger board. For the same reasons I don't want to attach to a ledger board, I don't really want to dig footings right next to the house. A max of 1 foot cantilever still puts the hole pretty close to foundation. Is that just lawyer/cya type spacing, as in, can I get away with a two foot cantilever? I can't imagine it'd be spongy with 3 2x6's (sistered) for beams and joist span of 78".



Flagstone patio sounds pretty good too.

What are you going to put on for a deck surface? Might want to check your spacing if you are going with a Trex type product.

1' cantilever basically puts the edge of your hole at the edge of foundation by the time you excavate.

I'd look at the code for sistering and how far the overlap needs to be past the support (ie - you probably don't need the sistering the run the entire length of the joist just a certain distance past the support.)

Decks that are less than 36" off the ground don't need permits here, so last time I redecked and expanded ours I used code as a guide.

[SorryBro]

So according to your link, the max cantilever for 2x6 beams, doug fir, 16" joist spacing is 1 foot. This will be a ground level deck, somewhere between 7" and 10" off the ground. I want to float the deck next to the house and not attach to a ledger board. For the same reasons I don't want to attach to a ledger board, I don't really want to dig footings right next to the house. A max of 1 foot cantilever still puts the hole pretty close to foundation. Is that just lawyer/cya type spacing, as in, can I get away with a two foot cantilever? I can't imagine it'd be spongy with 3 2x6's (sistered) for beams and joist span of 78".

Flagstone patio sounds pretty good too.

Your plan view doesn't show a cantilever, but I will assume you are picking one end and sliding the support beam "in" to create a cantilever.

Not sure where you live, but with the code live load for an exterior deck (60psf), the 2x6 (Hem Fir) will be structurally fine to cantilever 24" off the last beam if you are spacing joists at 16"oc. If you live in an area with high snow loads, or you are going to top the deck with heavy pavers, this calculation won't be valid. PM me if you are using something heavy and I can modify my statements.

If you have room, I would use 2x8 joists as 2x6 lumber varies greatly in quality and your deck will feel more solid with 2x8. You could also place pier blocks next to the house for a reduction in vibration of the 24" cantilever.

[climberevan]

108” bit extension?
Yeah. Cut a hole in the drywall.

Tankless only makes sense if you regularly run out of hot water.

And there are some recirc devices that allegedly fit under a sink. Never tried them. Doesn’t make sense to me.
To retrofit you need a return line to the water heater. Which depends on your basement access.
Not that bad. Run Pex pipe from hot in basement under the sink to the water heater cold input line and install $300 pump.

All of this.

We cut holes in the DW bc my or sparky's time is worth way more than the drywaller's.

I always try to talk my clients out of tankless. Why spend the extra $2-3000 and then be signed up for yearly flushings with vinegar and likely electronic failures? Get an 80gal conventional WH and forget about it for another 20 years.

We've used the little thermostatic valves that cross between H & C under sinks when we don't have access for a return line. They work in conjuntion with a pump at the WH. Clients have been happy with them, but a real recirc circuit is definitely better.

[zion zig zag]

What are you going to put on for a deck surface? Might want to check your spacing if you are going with a Trex type product.

1' cantilever basically puts the edge of your hole at the edge of foundation by the time you excavate.

I'd look at the code for sistering and how far the overlap needs to be past the support (ie - you probably don't need the sistering the run the entire length of the joist just a certain distance past the support.)

Decks that are less than 36" off the ground don't need permits here, so last time I redecked and expanded ours I used code as a guide.

Thinking 5/4 cedar decking. I don't think the joists would be sistered, just the beams. No permit needed here either.

Your plan view doesn't show a cantilever, but I will assume you are picking one end and sliding the support beam "in" to create a cantilever.

Not sure where you live, but with the code live load for an exterior deck (60psf), the 2x6 (Hem Fir) will be structurally fine to cantilever 24" off the last beam if you are spacing joists at 16"oc. If you live in an area with high snow loads, or you are going to top the deck with heavy pavers, this calculation won't be valid. PM me if you are using something heavy and I can modify my statements.

If you have room, I would use 2x8 joists as 2x6 lumber varies greatly in quality and your deck will feel more solid with 2x8. You could also place pier blocks next to the house for a reduction in vibration of the 24" cantilever.

Yeah, I couldn't see anything on the Strong-Tie app that let me cantilever, but yes, slide back one row of footings (long way) 2 feet and that's what I was thinking. I'm guessing I average 100" of snow a winter, and that side tends to gather drifts. But not talking Tahoe levels of snow. For what it's worth when I change the live load in the program from 40psf to 60psf, it doesn't seem to change anything. If I go to 100psf it adds a 5th beam (and a 5th set of footings) of the three 2x6's. The 2x8 vs 2x6 is 9" overall height vs 7" overall height. Might be worth a little extra grading?

I do like the idea of some pier blocks under the cantilevered end for some insurance.

[::: :::]

Thinking 5/4 cedar decking. I don't think the joists would be sistered, just the beams. No permit needed here either.



Yeah, I couldn't see anything on the Strong-Tie app that let me cantilever, but yes, slide back one row of footings (long way) 2 feet and that's what I was thinking. I'm guessing I average 100" of snow a winter, and that side tends to gather drifts. But not talking Tahoe levels of snow. For what it's worth when I change the live load in the program from 40psf to 60psf, it doesn't seem to change anything. If I go to 100psf it adds a 5th beam (and a 5th set of footings) of the three 2x6's. The 2x8 vs 2x6 is 9" overall height vs 7" overall height. Might be worth a little extra grading?

I do like the idea of some pier blocks under the cantilevered end for some insurance.

any particular reason for 5/4?
(might want to re-eval your oc spacing)

[zion zig zag]

any particular reason for 5/4?
(might want to re-eval your oc spacing)

Seems widely available? Just noticed the app calls for 1x6 for cedar at 16" oc.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Where I live, augers don't work. Seeing that you mentioned rocky conditions, plan on a mini ex

86s the precast pier blocks. Your structure is either frost protected or it isn't.

Non-engineered opinion. 1/3 total span is fine for cantilever

5/4 cedar seems expensive. I think that would need 12" oc joists.

Sent from my Turbo 850 Flatbrimed Highhorse

[old goat]

Why do people build decks near ground level rather than stone or brick on the ground?