Spring / Summer Projects Thread (non-game related)

[max 330 mega]

Well, I fixed one of the only two problems I had in my life: windshield washer pump repaired, one of GM's most ignorant and complicated stop gap systems working flawless right now. Not looking forward to the next issue, it may require a full washer wiper system replacement, as I've read that is the common cure to most issues in this rare system... replacing door felts next week, Then I am proudly problem freeee.

bitch sprays like a true porno now.
As far as projects, I am working 12 Hr. night shifts for the next 2 months straight until they tell me I can't do any more in order to purchase a house or take the money and run to another Neo member's house in Arizona.
We will see I guess?

 

[Craig]

LOL

 

[mjmjr25]

Late fall project - Treehouse

We have about 3 weeks before snow falls steadily, so it's going to be tight. Base is completely done, staircase is half done, then will come floorboards and walls of house.

Pics:

Spoiler:

Hardest work - clearing the area:

Attaching the main frame - 2x8x14' boards:

All the joists in place - (10) 2x6x8's, then additional stringers to the trees.

Starting the staircase:

Added a ladder to the front on request of the boys (looks nice and adds stabilization, so made sense):

 

[MCF 76]

Late fall project - Treehouse

We have about 3 weeks before snow falls steadily, so it's going to be tight. Base is completely done, staircase is half done, then will come floorboards and walls of house.

Pics:

Spoiler:

Hardest work - clearing the area:

Attaching the main frame - 2x8x14' boards:

All the joists in place - (10) 2x6x8's, then additional stringers to the trees.

Starting the staircase:

Added a ladder to the front on request of the boys (looks nice and adds stabilization, so made sense):

Nice work bro, you guys got it anchored in those tree's like a champ. So is this going to be "my private suite" when I come to stay with you guys for a bit lol?

 

[mjmjr25]

Nice work bro, you guys got it anchored in those tree's like a champ. So is this going to be "my private suite" when I come to stay with you guys for a bit lol?

I'm torn, I feel like it's pretty darn solid - each of the 14' boards are anchored with 3/4" thick, 12" long lag screws (rated to 5,500lbs each) so i'm not worried about that at all, but I do worry about storms and stuff - one tree goes and it's trouble, so i'm tempted to do a few more cross bars for additional support, but as it is right now, it's 5.5' off the ground and plenty of room for the kids to play underneath it - put too many cross supports and it becomes wasted space.

The top house - heck yeah, it'll have windows, door, gaming table and bunk beds - no heat, but I have a couple of these with multiple outs: https://www.amazon.com/US-Wire-7410...-5&keywords=extension+cord+heavy+duty+3+plugs so can pull as much power as needed.

 

[Craig]

I'm torn, I feel like it's pretty darn solid - each of the 14' boards are anchored with 3/4" thick, 12" long lag screws (rated to 5,500lbs each) so i'm not worried about that at all, but I do worry about storms and stuff - one tree goes and it's trouble, so i'm tempted to do a few more cross bars for additional support, but as it is right now, it's 5.5' off the ground and plenty of room for the kids to play underneath it - put too many cross supports and it becomes wasted space.

The top house - heck yeah, it'll have windows, door, gaming table and bunk beds - no heat, but I have a couple of these with multiple outs: https://www.amazon.com/US-Wire-7410...-5&keywords=extension+cord+heavy+duty+3+plugs so can pull as much power as needed.

You're a hell of a dad...

Nice one M, I wish I could do something like that for mine, but I only have huge ass oak trees.

 

[Montatez]

My projects are almost complete i have to blow out my sprinklers this weekend... I did just get my winch plate welded with some hi-grade t1 steel so I need to paint it and install it on my Jeep. Speaking of which I think next year I am going to do a 4 inch Savy/Currie lift on the bitch and do it right.

But mostly winter and fall is reserved for the hunt. My family needs meat on the table. And elk is very delicious.

O yea picked this baby up. End of season sale.



Never had a gas grill before. O the convenience! Best part is its also a charcoal grill! I can grill my bacon sushi with the greatest of ease!

 

[MCF 76]

I'm torn, I feel like it's pretty darn solid - each of the 14' boards are anchored with 3/4" thick, 12" long lag screws (rated to 5,500lbs each) so i'm not worried about that at all, but I do worry about storms and stuff - one tree goes and it's trouble, so i'm tempted to do a few more cross bars for additional support, but as it is right now, it's 5.5' off the ground and plenty of room for the kids to play underneath it - put too many cross supports and it becomes wasted space.

The top house - heck yeah, it'll have windows, door, gaming table and bunk beds - no heat, but I have a couple of these with multiple outs: https://www.amazon.com/US-Wire-7410...-5&keywords=extension+cord+heavy+duty+3+plugs so can pull as much power as needed.

That's going to be hardcore Mike I really dig it. Curious when the winter winds pickup, do you think the tree swaying will flex the 3 tree anchor points to much since one of the legs is a 4x4 in the ground and won't flex as much as trees? Like if its to ridged and can't flex a bit you think it will pull stuff apart? You know about building way more than I do I was just thinking about that. But with it being lower to the ground probably won't be an issue.

 

[mjmjr25]

At risk of boring people to death - i'll try to be brief.

There are actually (5) trees involved, 3 on the left, and 2 on the right. Two of the ones on the left are smaller though, so not as easily seen in the photo.

Trees do not grow the way it may seem. The base or trunk of the tree does not grow higher - meaning, if I put a bolt at 5.5', in 30 years, all things being equal, that bolt will still be at 5.5',, even if the tree is 30' taller. Only the living meristems continue to grow and produce height - those are at the very top of the tree and on on branch tips. The rest of tree does get bigger, but not taller. This is because the vascular cambrium produces new xylem each year, which in laymens terms means "it gets fatter", but again not taller. So, those bolts I have anchored into the tree at 5.5' will in 30 years and assuming no natural disasters, still be at 5.5' high. The tree WILL grow fatter around it - but the board will not move - the pressure from the board and bolts will restrict growth in that specific area, but cause no harm to the tree, it will simply grow all around it making the boards MORE secure. It will look something like this:

Spoiler:

Or even this:

The only real concern with structure is high winds completely uprooting one of the trees - my hope is by having them all connected, they will support each other against winds. We lost about 5% of trees each year during blizzards.

 

[mjmjr25]

Treehouse is plugging along - base, staircase, deck railing and platform are complete. (pics coming).

Took a break to work on an inside project for the boys (well, my wife). She's wanted built-in shelves upstairs like we did downstairs a few years ago. We decided on a wall-to-wall floating shelf (x3). They are 9' long, 12" deep. Boards are in the garage drying (2 coats stain, 3 coats polyurethane - coat 1 is drying now).

Progress pics:

Spoiler:

Before:

In progress:

Frame complete:

I'll post up some completed pics in 4-5 days once the boards are completely dried and installed. I'm also making a super quick and easy storage shelf for he bathroom - will post some pics in a few days as well.

 

[MCF 76]

Treehouse is plugging along - base, staircase, deck railing and platform are complete. (pics coming).

Took a break to work on an inside project for the boys (well, my wife). She's wanted built-in shelves upstairs like we did downstairs a few years ago. We decided on a wall-to-wall floating shelf (x3). They are 9' long, 12" deep. Boards are in the garage drying (2 coats stain, 3 coats polyurethane - coat 1 is drying now).

Progress pics:

Spoiler:

Before:

In progress:

Frame complete:

I'll post up some completed pics in 4-5 days once the boards are completely dried and installed. I'm also making a super quick and easy storage shelf for he bathroom - will post some pics in a few days as well.

Nice work bro,

Looks pro man can't wait to se the finished results.

 

[xelement5x]

Cool thread!

I recently finished fixing the remaining parts of my fence that had been rotting out and/or getting old. It's nice that your kids are old enough to help and/or stay out of the way if needed. I've got a 3 year old and a 3 month old so fixing the fence was my big priority so I could let the oldest run around outside and still stay in the backyard.

I'm hoping to use most of the leftover kind of junky parts to make a firewood crib to keep the snow off it come winter. Also need to blow out my sprinklers too like Montatez.

 

[mjmjr25]

What are you using for fencing? At my old place I went cheap and used dog-eared treated pickets - 6 footers. Was ugly in 3 years and rotting in 5. We moved to the country, but if I ever had another outdoor project i'd go a few bucks more and use cedar, or *gasp*, engineered.

 

[NGT]

built a chicken coop with some help from my son. All materials were free besides the hinges and screws. free CL and reclaimed wood.

then we set up a little pool for the kids and the yard was set for the summer. good times! garden and hammershlagen (sp?) it was a great summer for sure. pool was also free CL

 

[xelement5x]

What are you using for fencing? At my old place I went cheap and used dog-eared treated pickets - 6 footers. Was ugly in 3 years and rotting in 5. We moved to the country, but if I ever had another outdoor project i'd go a few bucks more and use cedar, or *gasp*, engineered.

For posts I've used cedar but in a couple spots (where we get a lot of wind) used metal fence posts sunk in concrete, then with another post on the inside to make it look nicer.

I've been using treated pickets but they're going to be sealed/painted soon. This fence was in rough shape, but we're planning on moving in the next couple of years so I just needed to fix it up enough to not be an eyesore at that point and not rotting out anywhere.

I'm personally not a huge fan of fences, but where I live like everyone has them and knocking down one the I had would probably have cost me money when I went to sell.

 

[mjmjr25]

3 years ago we completely gutted our upstairs bathroom - like complete gut job - down to joists and studs; nothing was saved.

Spoiler:

When we finished - we had a bit of a "dead" space between the entry and the vanity. My wife has wanted a small shelf there since:

The weather has been amazing - so I felt motivated to take advantage and put this together quickly. (we normally can't polyurethane this late in the year)

I also finished up those shelves in the boys room I had mentioned about a week ago:

Spoiler:

Full view shot. The bunkbeds to the right I built 4 years ago. The stuff on the shelves is not what goes on them, just for wait as all the glue sets up (clamps will come off tomorrow too). They look like huge solid blocks of spruce floating on the wall, but as you can see in the first pic, it's a lightweight, but super sturdy frame that is anchored to 8 total studs, 6 on back wall and 1 each on side walls, then a 1x12 top and bottom board and a 1x5 custom cut front board, stained, polyed, and then glued up - they each hold at least 400lbs (I laid across the center and my boys sat on the ends).

 

[blakeb8111]

I've got several indoor projects I've been wanting to get done in my house for awhile now, and a couple are finally complete. I just finished my dining room floor last night. The room is about 15' x 15' and the flooring is a pergo laminate wood. I needed something relatively inexpensive and durable so my dogs can't scratch it. Total cost just under $700 for the flooring.
Before:

After:

 

[FilthyRear]

I've got several indoor projects I've been wanting to get done in my house for awhile now, and a couple are finally complete. I just finished my dining room floor last night. The room is about 15' x 15' and the flooring is a pergo laminate wood. I needed something relatively inexpensive and durable so my dogs can't scratch it. Total cost just under $700 for the flooring.
Before:
View attachment 40722
After:
View attachment 40723
View attachment 40724
View attachment 40725

Fuckin' A.

Hardwood floors are sweet, nice job.

 

[HDRchampion]

Goodjob man, i need to do a living room. Where did you order your wood at?

 

[FilthyRear]

Where did you order your wood at?

The forest.

That shit is EVERYWHERE.

 

[HDRchampion]

The forest.

That shit is EVERYWHERE.

Well tell that to your mom, she keeps ordering more wood.

 

[blakeb8111]

Thanks, Filthyrear.

@HDR, it's actually from Home Depot, $2.59/sq with the underlayment already attached which is pretty cheap. It locks into place nicely with the tongue and groove and click locks together at the ends of each plank which gives it a nice solid feel.

 

[FilthyRear]

Well tell that to your mom, she keeps ordering more wood.

Holy shit, what are you, 12?

Go back to your Steret Fightin' "career", you pussy.

 

[xelement5x]

Looks nice man! I finished the shack to cover my firewood but haven't moved it in yet. Should probably do this before it snows or it will all be for naught.

 

[HDRchampion]

Thanks, Filthyrear.

@HDR, it's actually from Home Depot, $2.59/sq with the underlayment already attached which is pretty cheap. It locks into place nicely with the tongue and groove and click locks together at the ends of each plank which gives it a nice solid feel.

Sweet, thanks man. The cheaper & easier the better, just like Filthyrear's mom.