Projects/Home Improvement Thread

[BobbyMac]

Have you ever been in a tropical climate for Thanksgiving or Christmas? It's depressing AF.

Tropical, no. I've been in AZ/SoCal for 15 years. As an adult, I'll take a Scottsdale, AZ Christmas over the Michiana / Chicago Christmas' I endured for 35 years.

When I'm feeling nostalgic, I drive 45 minutes into the mountains, fill the bed of the pick-up with snow, go back to the house, build a snowman in the front yard and then go watch Christmas Story. All accomplished in cargo shorts and Teva's. That my friend is a Merry Christmas.

 

[Irish Insanity]

cargo shorts and Teva's.

Why does this not surprise me.

 

[dshans]

When I'm feeling nostalgic, I drive 45 minutes into the mountains, fill the bed of the pick-up with snow, go back to the house, build a snowman in the front yard and then go watch Christmas Story. All accomplished in cargo shorts and Teva's. That my friend is a Merry Christmas.

Lucky, Lucky you.

 

[BobbyMac]

Why does this not surprise me.

Cuz you know how the OG's roll. Shorts and flip flops A/D. Haven't had a pair of socks on since the Fiesta Bowl parking lot. Fact.

 

[BobbyMac]

Lucky, Lucky you.

There's still room... and LOTS of Twinkie fans I'd guess as there are lots of folks wearing shiny purple jerseys at the bars on Sunday.

 

[dshans]

There's still room... and LOTS of Twinkie fans I'd guess as there are lots of folks wearing shiny purple jerseys at the bars on Sunday.

The Twinkies shall abide.

The Purple People Eaters lost their sheen years ago when they abandoned Northern Tier Football and moved indoors.

At least I'm no longer helping to pay, through exorbitant taxes, for the butt ugly new stadium.

The Metronome, with all its shortcomings, only cost the taxpayers and fans in the neighborhood of $86M. The newest iteration/abomination will cost the nearby residents in the neighborhood of $1B in the next 10 years.

Assuming no add-ons or unforeseen maintenance costs.

Screw the idiots in their fancy, over-priced shimmering jerseys and god-awful horns and faux braids.

The reality remains: The "average Joe" can only reasonably and responsibly afford a ticket every five years or so.

And that. even though thousands upon thousands of resident taxpayers, who never attend a game, have no real choice in the matter.

There was a state override of a city mandate involving expenditures of public funds for privately run and for-profit enrichment undertakings.

The Wilfs, as well as the Pohlads as owner of the Twins have benefited greatly from buying their way to feeding from the public trough with the gung-ho support of economic idjits.

I'll end this here.

Politics in MN were often strange and difficult. But they worked, by and large.

 

[Henges24]

I'm in Minneapolis. Currently working from home with my shades on on my new deck, watching the stain peel back because I did it too quickly.

Weather couldn't be better, mosquitoes have oddly not been out this year, hasn't been too humid other than a few days so far. But winter was rough, won't lie. Significantly colder than OH.

Ooofff. I keep telling the Lady it is too soon to stain the deck too (just power-washed it yesterday). I have my "proof" now which should help me hold off till fall. It's too damn hot out anyways to stain an entire deck.

 

[Irish#1]

I asked a lot of people (google, IE, Home Depot) how long to wait to stain, and the longest anyone ever reported was 1 year. Some said a month, some said a summer, some said 6 months.

FYI, I'm planning to sell in 2020.

So you got anxious and couldn't wait. lol

 

[Irish8248]

Does anyone have vinyl plank flooring and a large breed dog? We're looking to install this flooring throughout our house but I have a neapolitan mastiff who is sensitive to slippery floors. Anyone know if the grainy texture of the vinyl plank helps prevent large breed dogs from sliding all over the place?

 

[koonja]

So you got anxious and couldn't wait. lol

I got educated and nailed it.

 

[Henges24]

Looking to buy a wall mount for my TV. Been thinking about putting it over the fireplace but I think it will be a little too high and I'm a little worried how I would run the cords since it is a corner place, stone/wood around the fireplace, free wall above mantel. The mantel above the fire place is about 65" so the TV would be somewhere around 70" up on the wall.

So my questions are: what type of wall mount do you have and how do you like your TV above your fire place? About how high up is it? Anyone have the TV mounts that come out and will move vertically?

 

[calvegas04]

Depending on the TV that you pick you might have to use the manufacturers mount which are normally a little more expensive. If you get a basic LED tv you can normally get away with a universal mount and I would go with a low profile mount with a tilt option. What kind of TV's have you been looking at?

 

[Henges24]

Depending on the TV that you pick you might have to use the manufacturers mount which are normally a little more expensive. If you get a basic LED tv you can normally get away with a universal mount and I would go with a low profile mount with a tilt option. What kind of TV's have you been looking at?

I have a 55" Hitachi LED that I got during Black Friday last year. Definitely nothing fancy whatsoever but I won't ever be going smaller than that and it does the trick for me.

 

[Irish#1]

I put ours above the fireplace about a year ago. I can't remember the brand, but I got one with the wide bracket that also moves so you can tilt up/down, left/right and swing it our some. I went with the wide bracket to spread the weight across the mount. The ones with a small square mounting plate just made me a little nervous.

 

[IrishLion]

Looking to buy a wall mount for my TV. Been thinking about putting it over the fireplace but I think it will be a little too high and I'm a little worried how I would run the cords since it is a corner place, stone/wood around the fireplace, free wall above mantel. The mantel above the fire place is about 65" so the TV would be somewhere around 70" up on the wall.

So my questions are: what type of wall mount do you have and how do you like your TV above your fire place? About how high up is it? Anyone have the TV mounts that come out and will move vertically?

I've got a 55" Emerson that I got for $200 on Black Friday, and I mounted it with a cheap-ass plate above my fireplace. The plate, from Big Lots (of all places lol) was just a plate that bolted into the wall at 5 points. It had two rails that were universal and mounted into the back of the TV. The mount was designed for 32"-60", but it was actually right at the limit for my 55". The rails mounted in at the extreme ends of the plate, butted right up to the stopping pegs and the bolts.

If I could do it again (which I might, this Black Friday), I'd get a bigger mount to give myself some wiggle room, and probably get one that can pivot out from the wall. If I ever need to unplug my HDMI from my cable box and mess with it, I'll have to take the whole TV down. Pain in the ass.

As for the fireplace, I have my TV mounted pretty high up above my fireplace, and it sits at about 70". It's an adjustment at first, but once you're adjusted to looking "up" from the couches/chairs, it's actually pretty nice.

As an aside: In order to make it feel more natural and not just like "A TV Above a Fireplace," we painted that fourth wall with a flat black paint, and painted our shelving to match our fireplace. Now, the black TV sits against the flat black wall and looks kid of like a theater setup, while the fireplace and the shelves stand out well on their own. The only issue I have is with the power cable and the HDMI cords that run to the TV. Still can't figure out what to do with those haha.

 

[Monk]

I have two TV's (55" and 42") mounted with the cheetah mount below. It is kind of a funny story. A buddy of mine recommended this mount so I went to the cheetah mount website directly and ordered one. They called and said they didn't have any in stock and they would upgrade the mount for free. I said that is fine and they sent it. When I looked at my bank account they refunded me my original charge because they technically canceled my order so they could upgrade my mount. The mount came and I was never charged, so I called them to let them know they never charged me. The guy on the phone said, "yea, that's weird. Well Merry Christmas" and they never charged me. A week later I received the exact same wall mount a second time. I called them again and they said it would cost them to much to ship it back so I might as well keep it.

As far as the mount itself. I love it. I did notice after putting my order in they sell them on amazon for about half the price so I would look there first. My TV is not mounted above a fixed fireplace, so I can't really speak to that, but a buddy of mine does have it mounted there and I have to say it looks kind of funny. He ran his wires along the fireplace and they are fairly visible.

When I mounted my 55" I ran all of the cables through the wall and some of the problems I noticed were:
1. The power cord is a little short and I don't want an extension cord in the wall. My power cord is hardwired into my TV so it is difficult to extend. I can not move the mount/TV as much as I like because of this restriction.
2. I fit a lot of wires in a small area. I have 3 HDMI, 1 network cable, 1 power cord, and 1 fiber optics. It gets a little congested. Make sure you run extra cables for future use, because when you are done running them you will not want to open that can of worms again.

Good luck.

 

[Irish#1]

The Cheetah is what I bought. Not much you can do with the cables when dealing with a fireplace. I bought some of the flex "cable minder" and put all the cables in it, then secured the cable minder where the wall and mantel meet then did the same as it came down the side.

 

[Wild Bill]

Looking to buy a wall mount for my TV. Been thinking about putting it over the fireplace but I think it will be a little too high and I'm a little worried how I would run the cords since it is a corner place, stone/wood around the fireplace, free wall above mantel. The mantel above the fire place is about 65" so the TV would be somewhere around 70" up on the wall.

So my questions are: what type of wall mount do you have and how do you like your TV above your fire place? About how high up is it? Anyone have the TV mounts that come out and will move vertically?

I had the same issues concealing wires and cable box when I hung mine above the fireplace.

I just installed a plug and cable connection above the mantel for the TV and cable box. I bolted a two inch thick plate to the wall and hung a stationary bracket on the plate. The space gave me room to conceal the wires and suspend the cable box behind the television. I was worried I would have issues using the remote/cable box but I've had no trouble at all. It was a pain in the ass but it's a clean look and I've had no issues.

 

[Rack Em]

I had the same issues concealing wires and cable box when I hung mine above the fireplace.

I just installed a plug and cable connection above the mantel for the TV and cable box. I bolted a two inch thick plate to the wall and hung a stationary bracket on the plate. The space gave me room to conceal the wires and suspend the cable box behind the television. I was worried I would have trouble using the roommate but I've had no trouble at all. It was a pain in the ass but it's a clean look and I've had no issues.

Did you run that wiring or did you have an electrician? How difficult was it (assuming you ran it through your attic) or how much did it set you back?

I'm getting ready to reroute my existing cable line above my fireplace like you did. Ideally, I'd put a plug and cable connection right by the mantel. I just want to figure out if this is something I can do, or if I need a professional.

 

[Wild Bill]

Did you run that wiring or did you have an electrician? How difficult was it (assuming you ran it through your attic) or how much did it set you back?

I'm getting ready to reroute my existing cable line above my fireplace like you did. Ideally, I'd put a plug and cable connection right by the mantel. I just want to figure out if this is something I can do, or if I need a professional.

I did it myself. It was relatively easy and cost me about $20 bucks for the wire, plug and cut in box.

I went through the basement but only b/c I built a new mantel, apron and legs for my fireplace and ran my electric line before it was installed, so I wasn't too worried about cutting out some drywall.

If I didn't update the fireplace, I would have run my line through the attic to keep the line within one wall cavity rather than three (to maneuver the line up and around the fireplace). It saves you from ripping up drywall, patching and painting.

It's really easy but only if you're comfortable working with electricity and you have some patience to snake that line through. If you're not comfortable just hire someone.

 

[Irish#1]

Did you run that wiring or did you have an electrician? How difficult was it (assuming you ran it through your attic) or how much did it set you back?

I'm getting ready to reroute my existing cable line above my fireplace like you did. Ideally, I'd put a plug and cable connection right by the mantel. I just want to figure out if this is something I can do, or if I need a professional.

It really isn't that difficult, if you plan accordingly. Take the time to look at the walls and find out where the studs are. I have a two story, so I didn't have the luxury of coming down from the attic. You might need a snake to pull the cable through. Those can make the job a lot easier.

 

[Henges24]

Thanks for the input guys. Luckily for me there is already a electrical box on top of the mantel. I will just need to figure out how to run the cord up/down the wall from the basement. It's going to be a little difficult because there is literally a small deadspace "room" (appox. 6'x2') in my house that you cannot get to and coincidentally this is wall that I want to put the TV on.

I like the idea of painting the wall with the TV a different color. I think it will give it a cool look. I've also heard great things about Cheetah and their customer service. No surprise that they would do that for you after reading the comments I read last night. I may have to go with them given the story you told.

I appreciate all the input.

 

[Monk]

Thanks for the input guys. Luckily for me there is already a electrical box on top of the mantel. I will just need to figure out how to run the cord up/down the wall from the basement. It's going to be a little difficult because there is literally a small deadspace "room" (appox. 6'x2') in my house that you cannot get to and coincidentally this is wall that I want to put the TV on.

I like the idea of painting the wall with the TV a different color. I think it will give it a cool look. I've also heard great things about Cheetah and their customer service. No surprise that they would do that for you after reading the comments I read last night. I may have to go with them given the story you told.

I appreciate all the input.

Just to clarify, the first thing they said was I needed to contact Amazon, before I told them I ordered it directly from them. They are so much cheaper on Amazon then from Cheetah directly, so I don't know how good the customer service is when you go through Amazon.

 

[Henges24]

Just to clarify, the first thing they said was I needed to contact Amazon, before I told them I ordered it directly from them. They are so much cheaper on Amazon then from Cheetah directly, so I don't know how good the customer service is when you go through Amazon.

Amazon is actually where I read the comments so it must be the same. People were giving 5-stars just for the customer service alone.

 

[wizards8507]

Any architects on here who can tell me if there's any functional purpose of a "garrison house." For those not familiar with colonial architecture, a garrison house has a second story that overhangs the first, either in the front or all the way around. This is contrasted with the plain flat front of a traditional colonial home.

 

[ozzman]

Any architects on here who can tell me if there's any functional purpose of a "garrison house." For those not familiar with colonial architecture, a garrison house has a second story that overhangs the first, either in the front or all the way around. This is contrasted with the plain flat front of a traditional colonial home.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrison_(architecture)

Historically the term garrison means 1) a group of soldiers; 2) a defensive structure; 3) the location of a group of soldiers is assigned such as garrison house or garrison town.[1] "The term garrison refers to the military or defensive character of a house"[2] but not as heavily built as a blockhouse. "Garrisons, or fortified houses, were built in almost all New England towns and they were particularly common in the frontier towns of Maine and New Hampshire...Like an ordinary house in plan and appearance, garrisons were used in times of peace as one-family dwellings, but were strongly built and capable of protecting a number of families in times of danger."

 

[wizards8507]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrison_(architecture)

Historically the term garrison means 1) a group of soldiers; 2) a defensive structure; 3) the location of a group of soldiers is assigned such as garrison house or garrison town.[1] "The term garrison refers to the military or defensive character of a house"[2] but not as heavily built as a blockhouse. "Garrisons, or fortified houses, were built in almost all New England towns and they were particularly common in the frontier towns of Maine and New Hampshire...Like an ordinary house in plan and appearance, garrisons were used in times of peace as one-family dwellings, but were strongly built and capable of protecting a number of families in times of danger."

Lol don't you think I Wikipedia'ed it before I asked the question? I'm not particularly concerned why they were built in 1770 frontier New Hampshire. I'm more wondering if it serves any purpose beyond aesthetic in 2016 suburban Connecticut.

 

[IrishLion]

Any architects on here who can tell me if there's any functional purpose of a "garrison house." For those not familiar with colonial architecture, a garrison house has a second story that overhangs the first, either in the front or all the way around. This is contrasted with the plain flat front of a traditional colonial home.

My google search says that it is simply a way to create more living space without expanding the normal footprint of the house.

 

[ozzman]

Lol don't you think I Wikipedia'ed it before I asked the question? I'm not particularly concerned why they were built in 1770 frontier New Hampshire. I'm more wondering if it serves any purpose beyond aesthetic in 2016 suburban Connecticut.

lol. Other people in this thread would have read the wikipedia, gotten some excellent professional advice, and then completely ignored all of it, so I wanted to make sure the basics were covered first. If I had to guess, it's purely a remnant to the past and only serves as aesthetics.

 

[calvegas04]

looks haunted