Ok, so you guys have probably noticed a thread or two from me on home repair issues. As a little background on myself: I earned my Home Repair merit badge when I was a scout, and I helped dad build shelves, decks, hang fans, etc. in our old house. My experience in that arena is mostly electrical and finish carpentry. Evidently the small hands of an 11 year old are good for that sort of thing.
Here's the problem: This house burned to the slab about five years ago. Obviously it has since been rebuilt. Unfortunately, it was rebuilt by retarded monkeys. The wiring, plumbing, etc. are up to code (mostly), but there are a whole slew of "little things" that have started cropping up that require an inordinate amount of work. You may recall the thread on the leaky shower. Another fine example is my discovery, using "Newton's method," that the POS Rubbermaid closet racks are screwed to the drywall. Not the studs, the drywall. With 1" drywall screws, not anchors. The caulking on the baseboards is poor. It looks like it was just squirted down and left to dry. I can smooth caulk better with my big toe. The water line from the street was plumbed in using flex tubing for a water heater, not proper sweated fittings. I find something new every week.
Fortunately, I enjoy working with my hands, and my brother will do anything for a case of beer. Labor and motivation are not in short supply.
So, I have compiled a to-do list. I don't plan to live here much longer, and neither does my brother, but I want mom and stepdad to live in a house that won't fall over. Also, I know my phone will ring every time something breaks. It's not that I don't want to see my parents, I'd just rather not have to tote my toolbox every time I come over. So, here is my list, along with some questions. Any miscellaneous advice you can come up with is also welcome.
Closet Shelving - I am replacing the junky racks with something solid. I have come up with a plan to screw some 1x4s to the wall, and then attach some 1/2" galvanized pipe using floor flanges. I tried this out in my closet, as my suits were laying on the floor following the "explosion," and it seems to work rather well. I can do pullups on the bar. Now all I need is a shelf on which to put my shoes. I need recommendations on just what wood to use. Additionally, I'm going to rip out the wire shelving in the other closets. What do you guys recommend as a replacement for it? Mom's closet has five shelves. One of them holds the closet rod. The other four along the sides span about 48". Again, wood selection and the appropriate method of securing them are the question. I don't need them to be super sturdy, but something that will support 50-60lbs. would be good.
Closet Shelving Part II - Our coat closet is very deep. We're talking almost 6'. I would like to build something to sit in the back of the closet. Something like a 3-4' high bookshelf would do nicely. I'm debating whether I want to build it in place, or construct it and then just set it down on the carpet in there. I'm thinking that something in place would work better, but I'm open to ideas. If I go with something in-place, I will have to cut and re-tack the carpet, but that's no biggie. Material choice is, again, a concern.
Garage Shelving - Believe it or not, that blasted Rubbermaid junk made it into the garage. A good solid 80' of it, in total. Dad and I built sliding-door cabinets in our old garage. They stood about 4' off the floor. I don't want something that will sit on the slab (and it can't anyway, as the garage is sunk about 4" below the rest of the slab grade), but it can't be super tall. Both mom and stepdad are pretty short. It is intended just as storage, not specifically for tools, just for household stuff that can stand the temperature changes. I looked at quality wire shelving, but I can build the same shelf-footage for a third the cost out of pine and plywood, and I want something that sits up off the slab anyway. I'm trying to decide between open-front cabinets, closed cabinets, and regular shelving. Again, materials are a question, and design recommendations are most welcome.
Exterior doors - I read that exterior doors are often too easy to kick in. I want to reinforce them. Mom won't allow heavy steel doors with fiberglass armor core, so I'm pretty much stuck with the el-cheapo pine. I read about screwing a good long strip of metal over the bolt side of the door jamb (cutting holes for the bolt and the knob striker, of course). I poked around at home depot, but I came up with nothing (not that I expected much out of them anyway). Where might one procure such materials? Don't worry, I'm not neglecting the windows. They're all vinyl sliding windows (some horizontal, some vertical) so I'm just going to stick dowel rods in the way. I've already devised a system for that.
Garage hanging storage - We have a bunch of luggage, sleeping bags, air mattresses, and the like. I would like to suspend those from the ceiling. I'm thinking cargo nets. I have devised a system to allow those of the shorter persuasion to raise and lower the nets (dad bought a sailboat when we were kids, so rigging is old hat to me), but I can't seem to find a net at a decent price. Anybody know a place where I might find some netting, or have instructions on how to make them? I could easily secure a supply of 550 cord on the cheap, so I'm not opposed to weaving something myself. I looked at cheapo hammocks, but I would prefer something a little sturdier.
Exterior door trim - The trim, and part of the frame of one of our exterior doors is rotten. The bottom 6" of it is basically dust. The carpentry bit is no biggie, but the cement on which this stuff sits is never dry. It is actually green with growing thingies. This little alcove faces North, and is protected on both sides by exterior walls, so there is zero airflow and zero sunlight. Originally, the door was sliding with an aluminum frame, but the rebuild of the house came with a french door type setup. I know that treated lumber is a good start, but I would like to find a way to treat the concrete so that it doesn't allow water to seep back up under the trim. I know exactly nothing about concrete sealants.
Mailbox - Our mailbox is one of the standard metal jobbies. It is also falling into the street at an alarming rate. We had a really nice one that grandad welded up from a bucket of horseshoes at the old house. A car hit it. The car was totaled, and the mailbox was slightly scratched. Obviously I can't just go rip that one out, so who makes something good and sturdy that won't remind me of the leaning tower of Piza? Wood? Metal? Plastic? I'm willing to do anything short of brick.
That's all that comes to mind at the moment. I'm sure I'll be back for more later. Wish me luck!
