Projects/Home Improvement Thread

[no.1IrishFan]

Thought I'd start a thread where we could share our projects or anything related. I Decide to slap a bar together about a month ago and give it a tropical/Key West theme. Now we can watch Irish games, grill and take a dip in the pool. Getting ready to start a hot rod as my next project, probably take a year or two.
Also thought we could use this thread to help answer any questions some might have on their own projects/ home improvements.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cackalacky]

Great idea for a thread. Reps.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Nice bar. I know where I'll be watching the games at.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Great idea for a thread. Reps.

Agreed, great idea. I have a few projects for the home we just moved into a few weeks ago. Not the least of which is a shed renovation to make it habitable. The previous owner ran electric and half way finished it (put up some drywall and hung a drop ceiling) but the concrete is cracked and I believe it's allowing bugs and mice in.

The other three projects on the docket:

1. Finish the garage with insulation and some type of wall so it becomes a four-season work space. It's a 4 car garage and I'm uncertain how to do the cooling/heating. I've seen a lot of guys suggest mini-splits

2. We also have an old barn on the property and I'd like to weather proof it and use one partition for chickens and another partition as a little micro-brewery.

3. We want to put in a fire pit next year, I'm thinking I'd like to dig it into the earth and get some big stones to make up the seating.

4. Put in fruit trees/bushes and combo vegetable and herb garden.

I could really use help on fixing up the shed first, as it's a prime candidate to become an office should my home be filled with kids down the line.

 

[Irish YJ]

Whiskey, we want to see your koi pond

 

[koonja]

I just bought a house in Uptown Minneapolis as a rental property investment. I need to add a floor-level deck and don't know anything about it. I have friends that claim they can build a deck, but I also want it done right. I see Home Depot allows you to make the blueprint and they list every item you need. Has anyone done this through Home Depot? How'd it go?

 

[Wild Bill]

I just bought a house in Uptown Minneapolis as a rental property investment. I need to add a floor-level deck and don't know anything about it. I have friends that claim they can build a deck, but I also want it done right. I see Home Depot allows you to make the blueprint and they list every item you need. Has anyone done this through Home Depot? How'd it go?

Decks are a huge liability with rentals. Pay a pro and get it done right if you can't DIY.

 

[Cackalacky]

I just bought a house in Uptown Minneapolis as a rental property investment. I need to add a floor-level deck and don't know anything about it. I have friends that claim they can build a deck, but I also want it done right. I see Home Depot allows you to make the blueprint and they list every item you need. Has anyone done this through Home Depot? How'd it go?

I HIGHLY recommend you have an engineer or contractor do it.

 

[koonja]

Decks are a huge liability with rentals. Pay a pro and get it done right if you can't DIY.

I HIGHLY recommend you have an engineer or contractor do it.

There's a walkout sliding door off of the dining room, so just putting a simple, like 12x12 deck there. Still recommend a pro?

 

[Cackalacky]

There's a walkout sliding door off of the dining room, so just putting a simple, like 12x12 deck there. Still recommend a pro?

How far off the ground? For some reason I was thinking it was high.

 

[Wild Bill]

There's a walkout sliding door off of the dining room, so just putting a simple, like 12x12 deck there. Still recommend a pro?

I just saw you said it was floor level. It's not too difficult. But you need some tools and you have to know the basics. Just make sure it's structurally strong - properly attach the ledger and footings/posts.

 

[cody1smith]

How do I put pics on here from my phone?

 

[koonja]

How far off the ground? For some reason I was thinking it was high.

I don't know the exact measurement but I'm guessing 24-30 inches.

 

[Cackalacky]

I don't know the exact measurement but I'm guessing 24-30 inches.

Oh, yeah...that's not what I was thinking. I would still recommend a contractor like WildBill said to have it done right. Rental properties are rife with liabilities.

 

[Cackalacky]

How do I put pics on here from my phone?

If the pics are on your phone you need to upload them to a site like imgur.com It will generate a code that you can then link using the image link button in the post here.

 

[dshans]

There's a walkout sliding door off of the dining room, so just putting a simple, like 12x12 deck there. Still recommend a pro?

Having just sold my home of 32+ years in MPLS – I'm officially a homeless vagabond sponging off siblings – and having done much work (some via contractor [anything outdoors and visible to inspectors] some not [some indoor, out-of-sight projects I could handle after studying and adhering to current code]) but I'd go with the licensed, bonded contractor complete with permits.

Especially as a rental property it will draw the attention of any number of officials and be scrutinized (rightfully) by neighbors. Owner occupied duplexes, triplexes and four-plexes get some slack, but not much.

Good luck and do right by my 37 year "home" town!

 

[Irish Insanity]

I just bought a house in Uptown Minneapolis as a rental property investment. I need to add a floor-level deck and don't know anything about it. I have friends that claim they can build a deck, but I also want it done right. I see Home Depot allows you to make the blueprint and they list every item you need. Has anyone done this through Home Depot? How'd it go?

Go pro. Even at 24" someone can get hurt, and you'll be poor. I would imagine you'll need permits and it to be inspected following the build.

 

[woolybug25]

Geez fellas, I don't know how handy Koon is outside of carpentry, but I've done about 5 decks in my life. Including one on a rental. My first, when I was a kid with my step father. The rest, just grabbed a friend that had experience. Decks aren't rocket science. I get the whole liability thing, but if you want to make money on a rental, you can't dump a bunch of money in contractors all of the time.

I would pay an electrician way before I would pay some schlep to do a deck.

 

[Wild Bill]

I bought a house the other day and I'm rehabbing it on my own. I removed a load bearing wall this weekend and recessed a beam so my lady can enjoy an "open concept" as if that wasn't possible with a simple header.

Now that it's done, I like it and feel it was worth the time and effort. But damn, it was a bitch setting that heavy ass beam between the ceiling joists.

 

[connor_in]

One thing, insurance wise, if you attach the structure of the deck to the house,then it is covered by the home insurance's dwelling coverage. If you just butt it up against the house, it is covered by the other structures coverage. Make sure you have it covered correctly. Good luck, my friends.

 

[Irish YJ]

Geez fellas, I don't know how handy Koon is outside of carpentry, but I've done about 5 decks in my life. Including one on a rental. My first, when I was a kid with my step father. The rest, just grabbed a friend that had experience. Decks aren't rocket science. I get the whole liability thing, but if you want to make money on a rental, you can't dump a bunch of money in contractors all of the time.

I would pay an electrician way before I would pay some schlep to do a deck.

Agreed. Decks are not rocket science. There's a million how-to books and you don't need a bunch of tools. Just a skill say, compound miter, and drill.

My only recommendation, don't use the block support method. Set your post in cement.

 

[phork]

Also as an FYI attaching to your house might require permits etc. Depends on municpality bylaws etc etc. Always cover your ass.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

How do I put pics on here from my phone?

If you get the Tapatalk app you just tap the pic of the mountain when you're replying to a thread and it will automatically open your phone photos and let you select the ones you want.

 

[Irish#1]

Also as an FYI attaching to your house might require permits etc. Depends on municpality bylaws etc etc. Always cover your ass.

The deck may require a building permit regardless of being attached or not. Check the code first. Nothing worse than an assessor coming by and finding something built that didn't have a permit for it. I'll go with Irish YJ and Wooly. It's more common sense and a little homework up front. If you do it yourself, get yourself a nice level at least 3 ft. long. Preferably 5-6ft.

 

[NDohio]

I just bought a new spec home and the garage is way too small. Does anyone have a storage mezzanine in their garage? I'm thinking that is going to be the only way to get cars into this thing.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Nothing against Koon, but all those reasons are why I said go Pro. Permits, inspections, attaching to the house, and being where he is it'll need to be set below the frost line. Koon, I may be wrong, but I just don't see you as the handy man. Or having enough knowledge to oversee friends who do.

 

[woolybug25]

Nothing against Koon, but all those reasons are why I said go Pro. Permits, inspections, attaching to the house, and being where he is it'll need to be set below the frost line. Koon, I may be wrong, but I just don't see you as the handy man. Or having enough knowledge to oversee friends who do.

The permits are ridiculously easy to get, attaching it to the house is simple and a google search of your region's frostline will have you all squared away.

Koon might not be Bob Vila yet, but if he ever wants to make money on his rentals. Then he is going to have to learn how to do stuff like this eventually. All projects seem daunting until you do them.

 

[koonja]

I'm not getting into the business of rental investments, this is the only one I plan to own on the side of my day job. So I don't feel like it's something I need to learn I'm order to be succesful, because this could be the only deck I ever have built for all I know.

But no, I'm not a handiman around the house. I do need permit, msp is pretty strict about stuff like that. Like I said, it'll be to walk out of the dining room on the main floor, so I plan on it being attqched to the house (to be honest, idk how it'd NOT be attached to the house... I never thought of that as an option). I have friends that are more handy than i, and a few have said they could build it no problem. But they're I think most of them have maybe helped build one, but not taken the lead on building one.

 

[woolybug25]

I'm not getting into the business of rental investments, this is the only one I plan to own on the side of my day job. So I don't feel like it's something I need to learn I'm order to be succesful, because this could be the only deck I ever have built for all I know.

But no, I'm not a handiman around the house. I do need permit, msp is pretty strict about stuff like that. Like I said, it'll be to walk out of the dining room on the main floor, so I plan on it being attqched to the house (to be honest, idk how it'd NOT be attached to the house... I never thought of that as an option). I have friends that are more handy than i, and a few have said they could build it no problem. But they're I think most of them have maybe helped build one, but not taken the lead on building one.

What's the point of owning a rental if you don't make money on it?

If you pay a contractor a couple thousand to build it, are you telling me that doesn't significantly cut into your profit? There is a ton of maintenance that goes into a rental, when you pair that with vacancy, taxes and upkeep... you spell a recipe for disaster. There is a lot more that goes into figuring out your profit then simply subtracting your mortgage payment from your rent. If you don't have any desire to become a quasi "handyman"... then you don't want to own a rental, homie.

People may tell you different, but my family owns a bunch of rentals. My wife's family owns over 20 rentals. I own three. I'm telling you straight up that if you think you can simply pay contractors for your maintenance or improvements, then you should probably invest your money elsewhere. Rental properties are a handyman business. Plain and simple.

 

[koonja]

Also looking to replace about 10 windows throughout the house. It's an older home that is pretty much completely remodeled but has no deck and has the original windows still. I cannot change windows and from what I've read that's more difficult than building a deck, so will also be having that done professionally. Any advice for doing about 10 windows throughout? Or what a price for that project would be? Including the cost of windows? I've not researched windows much but it sounds like it's going to cost a few thousand dollars.