The worst part of home improvements. Underestimating Time (1 Viewer)

[Fat Nick]

Rent some equipment man. A sod cutter at least.

Why don't you rent a sod cutter?

ETA, didn't see the previous post about the sod cutter but that's the best advice.

So that makes it 3 recommendations to use power tools after my contractor (working on master bath) came over on Saturday and saw me digging and said, "Why are you doing this by hand?" Regardless, the deed is done. Surface growth is removed and I hauled it over to the hill by the road to build up a safety berm so my mower doesn't slide down the 12' embankment into the road. Fire pit is leveled off, and 15 tons of gravel is ordered for delivery next Saturday. Between now and then I need to lay down some 6 mil plastic sheeting and re-build the rock retaining wall that goes around it, then I'm done...Thank god.

 

[glock]

For anyone that had any doubts about my level of stupidity, I took it up a notch on Saturday.

I had a makita grinder fitted with a 3-4" saw blade. I used this years ago when I would do a siding job. It works great for getting in into small places a skill saw can't fit. But, I also keep the guard off and the switch is a constant ON.

Interesting approach.

You're being too nice here.

 

[glock]

Rent some equipment man. A sod cutter at least.

Why don't you rent a sod cutter?

ETA, didn't see the previous post about the sod cutter but that's the best advice.

So that makes it 3 recommendations to use power tools after my contractor (working on master bath) came over on Saturday and saw me digging and said, "Why are you doing this by hand?" Regardless, the deed is done. Surface growth is removed and I hauled it over to the hill by the road to build up a safety berm so my mower doesn't slide down the 12' embankment into the road. Fire pit is leveled off, and 15 tons of gravel is ordered for delivery next Saturday. Between now and then I need to lay down some 6 mil plastic sheeting and re-build the rock retaining wall that goes around it, then I'm done...Thank god.

 

[comfortably numb]

DIY is pretty overrated.

unless you really know what you are doing or you really want to learn how to do work on your own, just hire a professional and get it done right and use the free time on doing stuff you enjoy.

 

[Fat Nick]

It's been landscaping all weekend here. After hours of looking at trees online, finally settled on a couple of jane magnolias. Website says Lowes has them in stock. Drive there, look around for half an hour, no jane magnolias. Ask a lady for help. She looks for 15 minutes, no jane magnolias. My little girl (6yo) picks up a tag off the ground, and I'll be damned if it's not for a jane magnolia and its on sale. Lady scans the tag, and the computer says they have 4 in stock. Start search over again. 30 minutes later, no jane magnolia!

Settled for a weeping cherry that I liked better from the start, but man what a cluster&$@#!

The weeping cherries look cool for a little while but they can get pretty rough looking depending on the season. I have a regular flowering cherry that I really like. The blooms are only on it for about a week but it's still nice looking afterward. When we bought our house 5 years ago, I spent weeks reading online, going to nurseries, and looking around neighborhoods to find what I liked the best.

I have one, and I hate it, but to each their own...I want to cut it out so badly, but then I have to dig the stump up, and I HATE digging up stumps. Already taken out 5 ~7" diameter pines this spring and I swore no more stumps this year. Our tree has some kind of whacky hybrid thing going on. 4/5ths of the tree weeps...there's 1 branch that grows up from one side that doesn't...I have NO clue what's going on there. The leaves look different, everything. It's almost as if someone grafted some kind of other tree into it. Ugliest thing.

 

[NutterButter]

DIY is pretty overrated.

unless you really know what you are doing or you really want to learn how to do work on your own, just hire a professional and get it done right and use the free time on doing stuff you enjoy.

Agreed. It really does help to enjoy doing this type of stuff. It doesn't hurt that I save a ton of money, but I really do enjoy home improvement and get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing that when a job is done, I was the one that did it. It also doesn't hurt that when a small thing in the house breaks, I can fix it right away rather than going through the hassle of having to call someone.

 

[Fat Nick]

For anyone that had any doubts about my level of stupidity, I took it up a notch on Saturday.

I had a makita grinder fitted with a 3-4" saw blade. I used this years ago when I would do a siding job. It works great for getting in into small places a skill saw can't fit. But, I also keep the guard off and the switch is a constant ON.

Interesting approach.

What could go wrong? Oh...wait...

Would an oscillating saw work here a little more safely? Never tried to cut siding with one...I'm sure it's slower, but when you factor in the time for a trip to the ER, etc...maybe not.

 

[NutterButter]

It's been landscaping all weekend here. After hours of looking at trees online, finally settled on a couple of jane magnolias. Website says Lowes has them in stock. Drive there, look around for half an hour, no jane magnolias. Ask a lady for help. She looks for 15 minutes, no jane magnolias. My little girl (6yo) picks up a tag off the ground, and I'll be damned if it's not for a jane magnolia and its on sale. Lady scans the tag, and the computer says they have 4 in stock. Start search over again. 30 minutes later, no jane magnolia!

Settled for a weeping cherry that I liked better from the start, but man what a cluster&$@#!

The weeping cherries look cool for a little while but they can get pretty rough looking depending on the season. I have a regular flowering cherry that I really like. The blooms are only on it for about a week but it's still nice looking afterward. When we bought our house 5 years ago, I spent weeks reading online, going to nurseries, and looking around neighborhoods to find what I liked the best.

I have one, and I hate it, but to each their own...I want to cut it out so badly, but then I have to dig the stump up, and I HATE digging up stumps. Already taken out 5 ~7" diameter pines this spring and I swore no more stumps this year. Our tree has some kind of whacky hybrid thing going on. 4/5ths of the tree weeps...there's 1 branch that grows up from one side that doesn't...I have NO clue what's going on there. The leaves look different, everything. It's almost as if someone grafted some kind of other tree into it. Ugliest thing.

A come along is a pretty good lifetime investment. Makes that type of work a lot easier.

 

[Fat Nick]

DIY is pretty overrated.

unless you really know what you are doing or you really want to learn how to do work on your own, just hire a professional and get it done right and use the free time on doing stuff you enjoy.

Agreed. It really does help to enjoy doing this type of stuff. It doesn't hurt that I save a ton of money, but I really do enjoy home improvement and get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing that when a job is done, I was the one that did it. It also doesn't hurt that when a small thing in the house breaks, I can fix it right away rather than going through the hassle of having to call someone.

I agree...I enjoy doing most of my DIY stuff, and I honestly don't understand how someone can afford a house if they can't at least fix some things. My thing is that when I CAN do something, I feel like I'm getting ripped off to pay someone else to do it. I feel like almost every week I'm fixing something that, if you weren't handy at all, you'd spend $100 to have fixed. I mean, my to-do list for this month probably has over $1,000 in average service cost worth of stuff on it, not to mention the inconvenience of having to always be around for repair guys.

 

[belljr]

DIY is pretty overrated.

unless you really know what you are doing or you really want to learn how to do work on your own, just hire a professional and get it done right and use the free time on doing stuff you enjoy.

I'm torn... i hate when someone doesn't do as nice as job as me but the older I get the less I want to do it but the more I hate paying someone for something I can do

 

[Fat Nick]

It's been landscaping all weekend here. After hours of looking at trees online, finally settled on a couple of jane magnolias. Website says Lowes has them in stock. Drive there, look around for half an hour, no jane magnolias. Ask a lady for help. She looks for 15 minutes, no jane magnolias. My little girl (6yo) picks up a tag off the ground, and I'll be damned if it's not for a jane magnolia and its on sale. Lady scans the tag, and the computer says they have 4 in stock. Start search over again. 30 minutes later, no jane magnolia!

Settled for a weeping cherry that I liked better from the start, but man what a cluster&$@#!

The weeping cherries look cool for a little while but they can get pretty rough looking depending on the season. I have a regular flowering cherry that I really like. The blooms are only on it for about a week but it's still nice looking afterward. When we bought our house 5 years ago, I spent weeks reading online, going to nurseries, and looking around neighborhoods to find what I liked the best.

I have one, and I hate it, but to each their own...I want to cut it out so badly, but then I have to dig the stump up, and I HATE digging up stumps. Already taken out 5 ~7" diameter pines this spring and I swore no more stumps this year. Our tree has some kind of whacky hybrid thing going on. 4/5ths of the tree weeps...there's 1 branch that grows up from one side that doesn't...I have NO clue what's going on there. The leaves look different, everything. It's almost as if someone grafted some kind of other tree into it. Ugliest thing.

A come along is a pretty good lifetime investment. Makes that type of work a lot easier.

What do you anchor it to though? that's been my issue. I have a 100 yard row of white pine, probably about 50 of them in total all about that size that run along my back property line. I occasionally need to take one out, but there's nothing else nearby to anchor to, and I feel like I'd just break the tree next to it if I used a good tree to pull a bad one.

My current (ghetto) method involves digging out as much as I can around the base of the tree, then taking a sawzall with a pruning blade and just cutting directly into the ground all the way around the tree. Then I pick a spot and using a shovel and landscape bar I try and get under the main part of the stump. Once I have a cavity down there, I jam a floor jack into the hole and jack it up. It sounds completely asinine, but it works.

 

[NutterButter]

DIY is pretty overrated.

unless you really know what you are doing or you really want to learn how to do work on your own, just hire a professional and get it done right and use the free time on doing stuff you enjoy.

Agreed. It really does help to enjoy doing this type of stuff. It doesn't hurt that I save a ton of money, but I really do enjoy home improvement and get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing that when a job is done, I was the one that did it. It also doesn't hurt that when a small thing in the house breaks, I can fix it right away rather than going through the hassle of having to call someone.

I agree...I enjoy doing most of my DIY stuff, and I honestly don't understand how someone can afford a house if they can't at least fix some things. My thing is that when I CAN do something, I feel like I'm getting ripped off to pay someone else to do it. I feel like almost every week I'm fixing something that, if you weren't handy at all, you'd spend $100 to have fixed. I mean, my to-do list for this month probably has over $1,000 in average service cost worth of stuff on it, not to mention the inconvenience of having to always be around for repair guys.

I remember when buying a house seeing some estimate for yearly maintenance being around 1% of the cost of the house. I could really see that if you're paying other people to do everything. We're not talking about a lot of time either. If you're paying someone $50/hour which is probably pretty low, you're only talking one hour a week of your time to save $2600; pre-tax, its over $3k you're saving. So its not like you're missing out on life to save a bunch of money.

 

[NutterButter]

It's been landscaping all weekend here. After hours of looking at trees online, finally settled on a couple of jane magnolias. Website says Lowes has them in stock. Drive there, look around for half an hour, no jane magnolias. Ask a lady for help. She looks for 15 minutes, no jane magnolias. My little girl (6yo) picks up a tag off the ground, and I'll be damned if it's not for a jane magnolia and its on sale. Lady scans the tag, and the computer says they have 4 in stock. Start search over again. 30 minutes later, no jane magnolia!

Settled for a weeping cherry that I liked better from the start, but man what a cluster&$@#!

The weeping cherries look cool for a little while but they can get pretty rough looking depending on the season. I have a regular flowering cherry that I really like. The blooms are only on it for about a week but it's still nice looking afterward. When we bought our house 5 years ago, I spent weeks reading online, going to nurseries, and looking around neighborhoods to find what I liked the best.

I have one, and I hate it, but to each their own...I want to cut it out so badly, but then I have to dig the stump up, and I HATE digging up stumps. Already taken out 5 ~7" diameter pines this spring and I swore no more stumps this year. Our tree has some kind of whacky hybrid thing going on. 4/5ths of the tree weeps...there's 1 branch that grows up from one side that doesn't...I have NO clue what's going on there. The leaves look different, everything. It's almost as if someone grafted some kind of other tree into it. Ugliest thing.

A come along is a pretty good lifetime investment. Makes that type of work a lot easier.

What do you anchor it to though? that's been my issue. I have a 100 yard row of white pine, probably about 50 of them in total all about that size that run along my back property line. I occasionally need to take one out, but there's nothing else nearby to anchor to, and I feel like I'd just break the tree next to it if I used a good tree to pull a bad one.

My current (ghetto) method involves digging out as much as I can around the base of the tree, then taking a sawzall with a pruning blade and just cutting directly into the ground all the way around the tree. Then I pick a spot and using a shovel and landscape bar I try and get under the main part of the stump. Once I have a cavity down there, I jam a floor jack into the hole and jack it up. It sounds completely asinine, but it works.

You could try using another pine. You're not looking to rip the entire stump out using the come along. You want to use it to pull it up a bit, then cut some exposed roots and repeat. So it still involves some digging and cutting but it makes the job a lot easier.

 

[KCitons]

For anyone that had any doubts about my level of stupidity, I took it up a notch on Saturday.

I had a makita grinder fitted with a 3-4" saw blade. I used this years ago when I would do a siding job. It works great for getting in into small places a skill saw can't fit. But, I also keep the guard off and the switch is a constant ON.

Interesting approach.

What could go wrong? Oh...wait...

Would an oscillating saw work here a little more safely? Never tried to cut siding with one...I'm sure it's slower, but when you factor in the time for a trip to the ER, etc...maybe not.

yes, that's what we used Sunday and yesterday. My dad forgot to throw oscillating saw on his truck when he came over. So, I used the "wheel of death" instead.

 

[comfortably numb]

DIY is pretty overrated.

unless you really know what you are doing or you really want to learn how to do work on your own, just hire a professional and get it done right and use the free time on doing stuff you enjoy.

Agreed. It really does help to enjoy doing this type of stuff. It doesn't hurt that I save a ton of money, but I really do enjoy home improvement and get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing that when a job is done, I was the one that did it. It also doesn't hurt that when a small thing in the house breaks, I can fix it right away rather than going through the hassle of having to call someone.

Yea, enjoying it is key.

I am somewhat handy but I find myself just getting aggravated a lot during some projects.

Usually the end satisfaction does not cover the aggravation during.

Then comments from the peanut gallery (wife) don't help. She is more of a perfectionist...I am more of a it's good enough kind of person.

So after 7 hours and hearing, "it's not even" I feel like throwing the drill at her.

 

[glock]

It's been landscaping all weekend here. After hours of looking at trees online, finally settled on a couple of jane magnolias. Website says Lowes has them in stock. Drive there, look around for half an hour, no jane magnolias. Ask a lady for help. She looks for 15 minutes, no jane magnolias. My little girl (6yo) picks up a tag off the ground, and I'll be damned if it's not for a jane magnolia and its on sale. Lady scans the tag, and the computer says they have 4 in stock. Start search over again. 30 minutes later, no jane magnolia!

Settled for a weeping cherry that I liked better from the start, but man what a cluster&$@#!

The weeping cherries look cool for a little while but they can get pretty rough looking depending on the season. I have a regular flowering cherry that I really like. The blooms are only on it for about a week but it's still nice looking afterward. When we bought our house 5 years ago, I spent weeks reading online, going to nurseries, and looking around neighborhoods to find what I liked the best.

I have one, and I hate it, but to each their own...I want to cut it out so badly, but then I have to dig the stump up, and I HATE digging up stumps. Already taken out 5 ~7" diameter pines this spring and I swore no more stumps this year. Our tree has some kind of whacky hybrid thing going on. 4/5ths of the tree weeps...there's 1 branch that grows up from one side that doesn't...I have NO clue what's going on there. The leaves look different, everything. It's almost as if someone grafted some kind of other tree into it. Ugliest thing.

A come along is a pretty good lifetime investment. Makes that type of work a lot easier.

What do you anchor it to though? that's been my issue. I have a 100 yard row of white pine, probably about 50 of them in total all about that size that run along my back property line. I occasionally need to take one out, but there's nothing else nearby to anchor to, and I feel like I'd just break the tree next to it if I used a good tree to pull a bad one.

My current (ghetto) method involves digging out as much as I can around the base of the tree, then taking a sawzall with a pruning blade and just cutting directly into the ground all the way around the tree. Then I pick a spot and using a shovel and landscape bar I try and get under the main part of the stump. Once I have a cavity down there, I jam a floor jack into the hole and jack it up. It sounds completely asinine, but it works.

You need one of these. Great workout.

 

[Ditka Butkus]

For anyone that had any doubts about my level of stupidity, I took it up a notch on Saturday.

I had a makita grinder fitted with a 3-4" saw blade. I used this years ago when I would do a siding job. It works great for getting in into small places a skill saw can't fit. But, I also keep the guard off and the switch is a constant ON.

Interesting approach.

Shows his level of confidence.....I like it.

 

[Ditka Butkus]

Putting a new metal roof on a family members house. 94 degrees Saturday.....Installed 3o pound felt on entire roof by myself. 7/12 pitch.....It is what it is.

I used to go to church camp where we helped on houses for the less fortunate. Tarred and shingled a roof in 105 degree heat in east Texas. That has to be worth some points.

You would think.......That was your own version of hell..Kind of ironic.

 

[NutterButter]

DIY is pretty overrated.

unless you really know what you are doing or you really want to learn how to do work on your own, just hire a professional and get it done right and use the free time on doing stuff you enjoy.

Agreed. It really does help to enjoy doing this type of stuff. It doesn't hurt that I save a ton of money, but I really do enjoy home improvement and get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing that when a job is done, I was the one that did it. It also doesn't hurt that when a small thing in the house breaks, I can fix it right away rather than going through the hassle of having to call someone.

Yea, enjoying it is key.

I am somewhat handy but I find myself just getting aggravated a lot during some projects.

Usually the end satisfaction does not cover the aggravation during.

Then comments from the peanut gallery (wife) don't help. She is more of a perfectionist...I am more of a it's good enough kind of person.

So after 7 hours and hearing, "it's not even" I feel like throwing the drill at her.

Good point. My wife takes zero part in the home improvement process. I consider her more of a renter than a homeowner. Although its mostly a blessing, it sucks sometimes when I'm making all the decisions and doing all the work.

 

[Henry Ford]

I had a makita grinder fitted with a 3-4" saw blade. I used this years ago when I would do a siding job. It works great for getting in into small places a skill saw can't fit. But, I also keep the guard off and the switch is a constant ON. I was using it to trim some old celotex (and leaning over the A/C), cut too deep and hit the sill plate, the grinder kicked back on the blade landed on my forearm, then bounce towards me and took made a nice gash in my side.

I tell prospective clients that if the warning label for what happened with a product would take up more than two lines of text, it translates to the jury as "Warning: don't be stupid" and they'll have a hard time winning. That just popped into my head. No idea why.

 

[KCitons]

I had a makita grinder fitted with a 3-4" saw blade. I used this years ago when I would do a siding job. It works great for getting in into small places a skill saw can't fit. But, I also keep the guard off and the switch is a constant ON. I was using it to trim some old celotex (and leaning over the A/C), cut too deep and hit the sill plate, the grinder kicked back on the blade landed on my forearm, then bounce towards me and took made a nice gash in my side.

I tell prospective clients that if the warning label for what happened with a product would take up more than two lines of text, it translates to the jury as "Warning: don't be stupid" and they'll have a hard time winning. That just popped into my head. No idea why.

Trust me, I was the first person to call me stupid after it happened. I don't need a jury of my peers.

 

[KCitons]

For what it's worth, I made it 45 years without a stitch or a broken bone. I've been in fights with shoplifters, had screwdrivers, knives and a gun pulled me. It took a DIY project to break the seal.

 

[msommer]

For what it's worth, I made it 45 years without a stitch or a broken bone. I've been in fights with shoplifters, had screwdrivers, knives and a gun pulled me. It took a DIY project to break the seal.

The only one who can hurt you, is you...

/zenmaster

 

[Fat Nick]

Fire pit is leveled off, and 15 tons of gravel is ordered for delivery next Saturday. Between now and then I need to lay down some 6 mil plastic sheeting and re-build the rock retaining wall that goes around it, then I'm done...Thank god.

I'll take pictures. It's a lot, but not an insane amount of gravel. ~12 yards. The good news is that if I can get the plastic down, I'm just going to have them back into the yard and dump it right on the plastic, so the only thing I'll need to do is spread it around.

 

[Fat Nick]

For anyone that had any doubts about my level of stupidity, I took it up a notch on Saturday.

I had a makita grinder fitted with a 3-4" saw blade. I used this years ago when I would do a siding job. It works great for getting in into small places a skill saw can't fit. But, I also keep the guard off and the switch is a constant ON.

Interesting approach.

What could go wrong? Oh...wait...

Would an oscillating saw work here a little more safely? Never tried to cut siding with one...I'm sure it's slower, but when you factor in the time for a trip to the ER, etc...maybe not.

yes, that's what we used Sunday and yesterday. My dad forgot to throw oscillating saw on his truck when he came over. So, I used the "wheel of death" instead.

 

[Fat Nick]

What do you anchor it to though? that's been my issue. I have a 100 yard row of white pine, probably about 50 of them in total all about that size that run along my back property line. I occasionally need to take one out, but there's nothing else nearby to anchor to, and I feel like I'd just break the tree next to it if I used a good tree to pull a bad one.

My current (ghetto) method involves digging out as much as I can around the base of the tree, then taking a sawzall with a pruning blade and just cutting directly into the ground all the way around the tree. Then I pick a spot and using a shovel and landscape bar I try and get under the main part of the stump. Once I have a cavity down there, I jam a floor jack into the hole and jack it up. It sounds completely asinine, but it works.

You need one of these. Great workout.

I have one of those, but I honestly find it to be more work than it's worth for roots. I can get more force to cut the bigger roots with an axe. There's not enough leverage with one of those to rip roots out or lift the stump, so I usually use my landscaping bar for that. The thing with pine is that there are a ton of medium sized roots that are a huge pain.

 

[glock]

Fire pit is leveled off, and 15 tons of gravel is ordered for delivery next Saturday. Between now and then I need to lay down some 6 mil plastic sheeting and re-build the rock retaining wall that goes around it, then I'm done...Thank god.

I'll take pictures. It's a lot, but not an insane amount of gravel. ~12 yards. The good news is that if I can get the plastic down, I'm just going to have them back into the yard and dump it right on the plastic, so the only thing I'll need to do is spread it around.

Shovels hate gravel.

 

[msommer]

What do you anchor it to though? that's been my issue. I have a 100 yard row of white pine, probably about 50 of them in total all about that size that run along my back property line. I occasionally need to take one out, but there's nothing else nearby to anchor to, and I feel like I'd just break the tree next to it if I used a good tree to pull a bad one.

My current (ghetto) method involves digging out as much as I can around the base of the tree, then taking a sawzall with a pruning blade and just cutting directly into the ground all the way around the tree. Then I pick a spot and using a shovel and landscape bar I try and get under the main part of the stump. Once I have a cavity down there, I jam a floor jack into the hole and jack it up. It sounds completely asinine, but it works.

You need one of these. Great workout.

I have one of those, but I honestly find it to be more work than it's worth for roots. I can get more force to cut the bigger roots with an axe. There's not enough leverage with one of those to rip roots out or lift the stump, so I usually use my landscaping bar for that. The thing with pine is that there are a ton of medium sized roots that are a huge pain.

My neighbor had a huge fir. When they cut it down they brought in a machine that simply ground the stump down beneath the surface (woodchips flying) ad then just put dirt on top. It took 10 minutes. I was impressed.

 

[Fat Nick]

My neighbor had a huge fir. When they cut it down they brought in a machine that simply ground the stump down beneath the surface (woodchips flying) ad then just put dirt on top. It took 10 minutes. I was impressed.

Stump grinder...if these were cheap and small, nobody would hate removing stumps. But they cost $$ to rent, and even more to pay someone to come do it. If you don't want that expense, your options are limited and usually involve a lot of time and effort.

 

[Fat Nick]

For what it's worth, I made it 45 years without a stitch or a broken bone. I've been in fights with shoplifters, had screwdrivers, knives and a gun pulled me. It took a DIY project to break the seal.

Reminds me of a comment my wife made. She accidentally stabbed herself in the wrist with a scapel-sharp steak knife a few years ago when we were preparing to fix dinner for our extended family. As I drove her to the ER, all she could say was, "I was sure I would be taking you to the ER before you had to take me." I thanked her for the vote of confidence in my DIY skills, and now remind her of her mishap every time she gets on me about doing something that she feels is dangerous.

 

[KCitons]

For what it's worth, I made it 45 years without a stitch or a broken bone. I've been in fights with shoplifters, had screwdrivers, knives and a gun pulled me. It took a DIY project to break the seal.

Reminds me of a comment my wife made. She accidentally stabbed herself in the wrist with a scapel-sharp steak knife a few years ago when we were preparing to fix dinner for our extended family. As I drove her to the ER, all she could say was, "I was sure I would be taking you to the ER before you had to take me." I thanked her for the vote of confidence in my DIY skills, and now remind her of her mishap every time she gets on me about doing something that she feels is dangerous.

Putting the two bolded together, it may not have been an accident.

Which reminds me, evidently it's now "standard procedure" for the nurse to ask me if I've had suicidal thoughts recently? She also asked if I smoked, if I ever smoked, and when the last time was that I smoked? This wasn't during the admissions process, but while the doctor was was stitching up my side.

 

[Fat Nick]

For what it's worth, I made it 45 years without a stitch or a broken bone. I've been in fights with shoplifters, had screwdrivers, knives and a gun pulled me. It took a DIY project to break the seal.

Reminds me of a comment my wife made. She accidentally stabbed herself in the wrist with a scapel-sharp steak knife a few years ago when we were preparing to fix dinner for our extended family. As I drove her to the ER, all she could say was, "I was sure I would be taking you to the ER before you had to take me." I thanked her for the vote of confidence in my DIY skills, and now remind her of her mishap every time she gets on me about doing something that she feels is dangerous.

Putting the two bolded together, it may not have been an accident.

Which reminds me, evidently it's now "standard procedure" for the nurse to ask me if I've had suicidal thoughts recently? She also asked if I smoked, if I ever smoked, and when the last time was that I smoked? This wasn't during the admissions process, but while the doctor was was stitching up my side.

Lol...it's possible that it wasn't an accident.

So we live like 5 minutes from the hospital. When I dropped my wife off, the ER said they had a 45 minute wait. We still had to get the food on to cook, etc. and a house full of guests...so I left my wife there and went back to the house to finish food prep and start cooking, then went to pick her up an hour or so later after she was stitched up. She said that the doctors asked her like 10x if she had suicidal thoughts, if I abused her, if she was drinking, if she was SURE it was an accident, etc. I guess I get it given that she was cut right on her wrist...you have to ask the question, but she indicated that they asked over and over and over. I guess they thought it was odd that I dropped her off and left and they weren't sure I was coming back which led to more questioning. I guess it's a little odd, but she's very independent and we're both very matter-of-fact about most things. Is it life-threatening? No. Will she be fine? Yes. Does she need emotional support? No. So I'll go home and cook, then come get her right before we eat. Done. Minimal disruption.

I'm guessing in your case, after you described the "wheel of death," they figured you had to have a death wish to use something like that.

 

[KCitons]

Second weekend of working on the siding and I still have accomplished what I wanted to get done last weekend. Hope to have it done before the first snow fall

 

[Fat Nick]

Fire pit is leveled off, and 15 tons of gravel is ordered for delivery next Saturday. Between now and then I need to lay down some 6 mil plastic sheeting and re-build the rock retaining wall that goes around it, then I'm done...Thank god.

I'll take pictures. It's a lot, but not an insane amount of gravel. ~12 yards. The good news is that if I can get the plastic down, I'm just going to have them back into the yard and dump it right on the plastic, so the only thing I'll need to do is spread it around.

Well, the good news is the gravel is spread. I severely under estimated how long it would take. The bad news is that at this point, my hands barely work, and my back and arms are killing me. It looks good though...definitely got more than 4" of coverage. Probably more like 6"...But you can never have TOO much gravel, right?

Delivery of 12 yards of gravel - 1 full truck-load. Guy dumped it into 2 piles so that it didn't overflow my rock retaining wall.

Starting to spread it around...realizing very quickly that this is going to be an intermittent job just because I get worn out.

And pretty much done. Now I need to trim back the plastic outside the rock wall, back-fill with soil, and seed it. I also want to move a few HUGE rocks into the pit area to build 2 little rock tables that people can put drinks on. I've got 4 Adirondack's that I usually put around it when in use, but I keep them in the shed when they're not in use.

Side question...does anybody know of a pair of good DURABLE landscape gloves? I don't like the baggy cheap kind you can get most anywhere (like THIS) I previously had a pair of Mechanix landscaper gloves. They were great. Had them for 3 years of really heavy use. Got so caked with mud and dirt and finally a seam gave out on them. Looked for the same pair, and they had changed them. Got a pair of THESE for Christmas. They looked really nice. Stitching was strong, and they had the knuckle protection if I needed it. Well...I started using them this spring, and I've already worn 3 small holes on the index fingers, mainly from lifting rocks to re-build the rock wall. The material is not very abrasion resistant. Anybody have any recommendations for fitted landscape gloves that are durable and comfortable? I'm not opposed to paying $20-30 a pair if they last a year or two.

 

[Fat Nick]

Second weekend of working on the siding and I still have accomplished what I wanted to get done last weekend. Hope to have it done before the first snow fall

My wife was out of town this weekend, and is out next weekend too...The weather was perfect...in the 70's and breezy. I got so much done this weekend it was almost comical. My wife isn't a hindrance to my yard work, but for some reason I get A LOT more done when she's not home...but in general, I agree, I always underestimate how long it will take me to do things. By roughly half.

 

[Henry Ford]

Fire pit is leveled off, and 15 tons of gravel is ordered for delivery next Saturday. Between now and then I need to lay down some 6 mil plastic sheeting and re-build the rock retaining wall that goes around it, then I'm done...Thank god.

I'll take pictures. It's a lot, but not an insane amount of gravel. ~12 yards. The good news is that if I can get the plastic down, I'm just going to have them back into the yard and dump it right on the plastic, so the only thing I'll need to do is spread it around.

Well, the good news is the gravel is spread. I severely under estimated how long it would take. The bad news is that at this point, my hands barely work, and my back and arms are killing me. It looks good though...definitely got more than 4" of coverage. Probably more like 6"...But you can never have TOO much gravel, right?

Delivery of 12 yards of gravel - 1 full truck-load. Guy dumped it into 2 piles so that it didn't overflow my rock retaining wall.

Starting to spread it around...realizing very quickly that this is going to be an intermittent job just because I get worn out.

And pretty much done. Now I need to trim back the plastic outside the rock wall, back-fill with soil, and seed it. I also want to move a few HUGE rocks into the pit area to build 2 little rock tables that people can put drinks on. I've got 4 Adirondack's that I usually put around it when in use, but I keep them in the shed when they're not in use.

Side question...does anybody know of a pair of good DURABLE landscape gloves? I don't like the baggy cheap kind you can get most anywhere (like THIS) I previously had a pair of Mechanix landscaper gloves. They were great. Had them for 3 years of really heavy use. Got so caked with mud and dirt and finally a seam gave out on them. Looked for the same pair, and they had changed them. Got a pair of THESE for Christmas. They looked really nice. Stitching was strong, and they had the knuckle protection if I needed it. Well...I started using them this spring, and I've already worn 3 small holes on the index fingers, mainly from lifting rocks to re-build the rock wall. The material is not very abrasion resistant. Anybody have any recommendations for fitted landscape gloves that are durable and comfortable? I'm not opposed to paying $20-30 a pair if they last a year or two.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I covet your fire pit. Is it a kit, did you build it yourself? Do you have plans for it?

 

[NutterButter]

Second weekend of working on the siding and I still have accomplished what I wanted to get done last weekend. Hope to have it done before the first snow fall

My wife was out of town this weekend, and is out next weekend too...The weather was perfect...in the 70's and breezy. I got so much done this weekend it was almost comical. My wife isn't a hindrance to my yard work, but for some reason I get A LOT more done when she's not home...but in general, I agree, I always underestimate how long it will take me to do things. By roughly half.

Any kids? They are the real project schedule saboteurs.

 

[Fat Nick]

Fire pit is leveled off, and 15 tons of gravel is ordered for delivery next Saturday. Between now and then I need to lay down some 6 mil plastic sheeting and re-build the rock retaining wall that goes around it, then I'm done...Thank god.

I'll take pictures. It's a lot, but not an insane amount of gravel. ~12 yards. The good news is that if I can get the plastic down, I'm just going to have them back into the yard and dump it right on the plastic, so the only thing I'll need to do is spread it around.

Well, the good news is the gravel is spread. I severely under estimated how long it would take. The bad news is that at this point, my hands barely work, and my back and arms are killing me. It looks good though...definitely got more than 4" of coverage. Probably more like 6"...But you can never have TOO much gravel, right?

Delivery of 12 yards of gravel - 1 full truck-load. Guy dumped it into 2 piles so that it didn't overflow my rock retaining wall.

Starting to spread it around...realizing very quickly that this is going to be an intermittent job just because I get worn out.

And pretty much done. Now I need to trim back the plastic outside the rock wall, back-fill with soil, and seed it. I also want to move a few HUGE rocks into the pit area to build 2 little rock tables that people can put drinks on. I've got 4 Adirondack's that I usually put around it when in use, but I keep them in the shed when they're not in use.

Side question...does anybody know of a pair of good DURABLE landscape gloves? I don't like the baggy cheap kind you can get most anywhere (like THIS) I previously had a pair of Mechanix landscaper gloves. They were great. Had them for 3 years of really heavy use. Got so caked with mud and dirt and finally a seam gave out on them. Looked for the same pair, and they had changed them. Got a pair of THESE for Christmas. They looked really nice. Stitching was strong, and they had the knuckle protection if I needed it. Well...I started using them this spring, and I've already worn 3 small holes on the index fingers, mainly from lifting rocks to re-build the rock wall. The material is not very abrasion resistant. Anybody have any recommendations for fitted landscape gloves that are durable and comfortable? I'm not opposed to paying $20-30 a pair if they last a year or two.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I covet your fire pit. Is it a kit, did you build it yourself? Do you have plans for it?

Thanks. It's mostly DIY. I went to Lowes and bought 2 things - 1 pre-fab fire pit bowl (biggest one I could find, disassembled in the box), and a pallet of curved pavers. The fire pit bowl has a metal lip. That's the key. Get one with a big lip. Level your surface and put down some gravel so it's solid. Measure the inside edge of the lip of the bowl, and spray out a circle of that diameter on the ground. Start ringing your pavers around that circle. You can expand it a little so you don't have to use 1/2 of a paver if you need to. There's a little wiggle room. Once you have your base circle of pavers, just start adding layers. I used some construction adhesive between layers. Just a little. That stuff is really strong. Make it as high as you want. Mine is actually about 5 pavers tall...after I filled in with gravel, it covered almost 2 layers of paver, so the pit goes down a lot further than it looks. Once you're done, just set the bowl and screen on top. The lip will support it on the top of the pavers. Throw the legs that came with the bowl away. You can lift the bowl out to dump ashes. I literally just dump mine inside the ring of pavers under the bowl.

Building the fire pit was by far the easiest part of this whole thing. Prepping the area was just a lot of work.

 

[Fat Nick]

Second weekend of working on the siding and I still have accomplished what I wanted to get done last weekend. Hope to have it done before the first snow fall

My wife was out of town this weekend, and is out next weekend too...The weather was perfect...in the 70's and breezy. I got so much done this weekend it was almost comical. My wife isn't a hindrance to my yard work, but for some reason I get A LOT more done when she's not home...but in general, I agree, I always underestimate how long it will take me to do things. By roughly half.

Any kids? They are the real project schedule saboteurs.

No kids for the next 2 months...1st kid is due August 4th...another reason I'm in yard-work overload mode at the moment.

We're having a boy, so I'm excited to teach him how to dig a hole and learn all the tools so he can help as soon as he can. I've been trying to figure out if it's ILLEGAL to have a kid under 16 use a riding lawn mower, or if it's just frowned upon. I was cutting 4 acres of grass on a Sears riding mower when I was like 8, so if it's not flat out illegal now, I'll deal with "frowned upon."