Best Of
Re: Going rate for a pair of LS90’s
The front baffle is covered with vinyl And then it has another plastic bezel That surrounds the Front screen Which is also a separate piece a lot of the times it’s broke off
MrMeeseeks78
1 ·
Re: Home Ownership And You!
We had to get the roof replaced so in July, I started getting estimates and in September, we replaced the roof. Now that the leaks were fixed, I turned my focus to fixing the bad posts that they leaks made worse. I looked at the nice pretty flashing to see what I was up against thinking that the beams were on top of the posts like they should be even though the posts were sitting on top of the decking. I figured I could just cut the decking out and connect the new posts to the porch support posts.
HA! Fat chance on that, bucko!
I didn't want to start ripping down all the pretty aluminum flashing that matched the color scheme of the house but, I had to see where the posts met the beam. Boy was I in for a HUGE surprise! So I cut a chunk of flashing out with tin snips.
First revelation was that the "beams" weren't actually beams at all. They were 2x8's face nailed...well, screwed into the posts. On the front and the back and there was no tie in to the posts except the screws. At the top of the "beam", there was a 2x6 laid flush with the top of the 2x8's which made the top of the beam that I could see look like it had a cap plate on it to have consistent nailing surfaces for the roof rafters. Additionally, every roof rafter was toe nailed into this plate. Not the 2z8's, the 2x6. There was also electrical running through the channel these 2x8's and 2x6 made. What's worse is when I looked at the tops of the posts I realized that the 2x6's didn't even meet on top of the posts. My stomach fell out my **** at this point as the severity of the situation and the effort needed to fix it right quickly became insurmountable for just little 'ole me and the pizza and beer brigade.
What this essentially meant was that to fix this complete right, I'd have to build a jack wall, toe nail the rafters in to place to make sure that they didn't shift on me and I would have to put those jack walls in spots on the porch that could handle the load. Then I would have to strip down the entirety of the Halfassery, get either LVL beams or build new ones and put up new posts that would have to be anchored to the 6x6 support posts unless I went totally "Do It Right" and pulled the 6x6's at the perimeter and made them go from the footer to the roof like it should have been done in the first place. But I know why that wasn't done and I'll get to that later. But the "Do It Mostly Right" method was going to cost me months of weekends and be a monumental struggle. So I got some quotes. $30K to $50K to essentially rebuild the porch roof and supports completely. Yeah, no. Don't have the money for that, I gotta figure something else out and soon 'cause the damage is getting bad. Also, at this time, we would be hearing things go thump on the porch, like something hit the porch like a package or a squirrel jumping or something but every time I looked there was nothing. Now that everything is replaced, I haven't heard that thump anymore and hindsight is telling me that it was the porch columns slowly collapsing. Pretty scary.
These pictures will show you why.
So the first thing I had to do was pull on the flashing to see where stuff was and to find out which post Captain Halfass ran the power through. (it was 3 different posts) and then figure out where the power feed was coming from.
It was coming from here:
There's actually 3 different circuits there. (4 if you count the low voltage line) Two different circuits running through one junction box too. I have no idea how this did not start a fire. I spent 3 hours crawling around under the porch with flash lights, my Chicken Stick, cable cutters and screw drivers pulling the electrical apart and straightening everything out. At this time, though, works stopped because a buried wire end came unburied in all my shuffling around and it some how had tension on it. When I cut another wire, that tension on the old wire was released and it shot a hail of crap in my face and it went right up under my eye protection and got something sharp stuck in my eye. So I had to go to the hospital and I couldn't see for 3 days after that. Fun times. Have I mentioned how much I hate Captain Halfass?
Now with the electrical all sorted and pulled out of the way, it will get replaced with new later. Correctly as well. I started figuring out what I was going to have to do to fix this. I thought I could just get new 6x6's before but when I pulled the flashing down and realized the depths of the halfassery, that went out the window. So I measured the distance between the 2x8's figuring I could order 8x8's at a premium price but at the same time make my life easier. Yeah, no. An 8x8 would actually be about 7.5x7.5 or 7.75 x 7.75 at best. That's not going to work. Here's why.
The total distance between the outer edge of the outside 2x8 to the outer edge of the inside 2x8 is greater than the width of the potential 8x8.
The problem with that is, the WHOLE beam needs to rest ON the post, not face nailed in to it, not partially hanging off. If it was a solid beam, not as big of a deal. But the 2x8's should be sistered together and secured. Also, for the size of the roof, the 2x8's are the minimum code so while they can support the roof, they need to be full engaged at the point load so the post that the weight will be transferred to needs to engage the entire width of BOTH 2x8's. This Halfassed way of doing it creates a problem. Also, because of how the post is integrated into each junction of structural elements, removing it is an exercise in sado-masochism.
HA! Fat chance on that, bucko!
I didn't want to start ripping down all the pretty aluminum flashing that matched the color scheme of the house but, I had to see where the posts met the beam. Boy was I in for a HUGE surprise! So I cut a chunk of flashing out with tin snips.
First revelation was that the "beams" weren't actually beams at all. They were 2x8's face nailed...well, screwed into the posts. On the front and the back and there was no tie in to the posts except the screws. At the top of the "beam", there was a 2x6 laid flush with the top of the 2x8's which made the top of the beam that I could see look like it had a cap plate on it to have consistent nailing surfaces for the roof rafters. Additionally, every roof rafter was toe nailed into this plate. Not the 2z8's, the 2x6. There was also electrical running through the channel these 2x8's and 2x6 made. What's worse is when I looked at the tops of the posts I realized that the 2x6's didn't even meet on top of the posts. My stomach fell out my **** at this point as the severity of the situation and the effort needed to fix it right quickly became insurmountable for just little 'ole me and the pizza and beer brigade.
What this essentially meant was that to fix this complete right, I'd have to build a jack wall, toe nail the rafters in to place to make sure that they didn't shift on me and I would have to put those jack walls in spots on the porch that could handle the load. Then I would have to strip down the entirety of the Halfassery, get either LVL beams or build new ones and put up new posts that would have to be anchored to the 6x6 support posts unless I went totally "Do It Right" and pulled the 6x6's at the perimeter and made them go from the footer to the roof like it should have been done in the first place. But I know why that wasn't done and I'll get to that later. But the "Do It Mostly Right" method was going to cost me months of weekends and be a monumental struggle. So I got some quotes. $30K to $50K to essentially rebuild the porch roof and supports completely. Yeah, no. Don't have the money for that, I gotta figure something else out and soon 'cause the damage is getting bad. Also, at this time, we would be hearing things go thump on the porch, like something hit the porch like a package or a squirrel jumping or something but every time I looked there was nothing. Now that everything is replaced, I haven't heard that thump anymore and hindsight is telling me that it was the porch columns slowly collapsing. Pretty scary.
These pictures will show you why.
So the first thing I had to do was pull on the flashing to see where stuff was and to find out which post Captain Halfass ran the power through. (it was 3 different posts) and then figure out where the power feed was coming from.
It was coming from here:
There's actually 3 different circuits there. (4 if you count the low voltage line) Two different circuits running through one junction box too. I have no idea how this did not start a fire. I spent 3 hours crawling around under the porch with flash lights, my Chicken Stick, cable cutters and screw drivers pulling the electrical apart and straightening everything out. At this time, though, works stopped because a buried wire end came unburied in all my shuffling around and it some how had tension on it. When I cut another wire, that tension on the old wire was released and it shot a hail of crap in my face and it went right up under my eye protection and got something sharp stuck in my eye. So I had to go to the hospital and I couldn't see for 3 days after that. Fun times. Have I mentioned how much I hate Captain Halfass?
Now with the electrical all sorted and pulled out of the way, it will get replaced with new later. Correctly as well. I started figuring out what I was going to have to do to fix this. I thought I could just get new 6x6's before but when I pulled the flashing down and realized the depths of the halfassery, that went out the window. So I measured the distance between the 2x8's figuring I could order 8x8's at a premium price but at the same time make my life easier. Yeah, no. An 8x8 would actually be about 7.5x7.5 or 7.75 x 7.75 at best. That's not going to work. Here's why.
The total distance between the outer edge of the outside 2x8 to the outer edge of the inside 2x8 is greater than the width of the potential 8x8.
The problem with that is, the WHOLE beam needs to rest ON the post, not face nailed in to it, not partially hanging off. If it was a solid beam, not as big of a deal. But the 2x8's should be sistered together and secured. Also, for the size of the roof, the 2x8's are the minimum code so while they can support the roof, they need to be full engaged at the point load so the post that the weight will be transferred to needs to engage the entire width of BOTH 2x8's. This Halfassed way of doing it creates a problem. Also, because of how the post is integrated into each junction of structural elements, removing it is an exercise in sado-masochism.
Jstas
1 ·
Re: Home Ownership And You!
Sooo....haven't posted to this in a while. Not because I didn't have anything done or anything, just a lack of time and inclination. Writing this stuff out takes time!
I have lots of stuff to talk about since March of 2023 like replacing roofs (yes plural) and the Captain Halfassery that was present during that adventure. A few trees fell down again. Built some bookshelves for one of the kids. Also had to replace the water filter/softener system, the pool liner replacement, the pool deck sinking (not fixed yet), electrical line tracing through the property, the propane BBQ grill literally blew up (actually set my hair on fire) and a bunch of other stupid little repairs everywhere that have been more of a nuisance than an issue.
But, no, today I am writing about an epic adventure that has been several years in the making but was waiting for when I could actually get the roof replaced.
Today's story is how I replaced the porch columns on the porch.
Porch columns? Really? That's all?!?! Those are EASY! What kind of a loser can't....
Hold on there, honcho, you're about to find out!
When we moved in, the porch posts were shabby and looked like they had some bad repairs done to fix rot. They seemed solid though. So I marked that as a project to do later instead of right now. Fast forward 5 years and we fixed the biggest issue with the house which was improperly enclosed porch (see last posts) and then I decided that the next big project was the roof. That included the porch posts. The roof over the porch was leaking significantly at this point too and the rest of the roof was showing significant signs of problems. But I'm not talking about that adventure today.
So, the porch roof, should be simple, right? Typically just a header plate on the side of the house with beams and joists attached to create a roof and it's held up at the outer edge by some posts that the beams sit on top of and get toe nailed in or use structural plates to locate and stop lateral movement too. Easy peasy, right?
Yeah, no.
So MY porch roof is a massive, wrap around porch. The house itself was about 1500 square feet of roof and the porch alone added another 800 square feet. It's huge and it's held up by 11 columns at about 10 foot intervals. It's also steeply pitched so there's lateral forces too, not just load bearing forces.
These pictures are at night with the Christmas lights on it but the lights really show how the columns are oriented and with the roof covered in snow, you can see exactly how big it actually is.
That entire porch was held up by columns like this:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Turncraft-96-in-x-8-ft-Primed-Pine-Square-Column/3099719
They were hollow and made up of chunks of wood finger jointed together to make the necessary lengths and then turned down in the factory to make the decorative scrolling. For something like a portico or a narrow porch roof they are fine. Just keep them dry. For the massive monstrosity of a porch roof I have....no.
That wasn't the worst problem, though. See, Captain Halfass...when he built the roof in the early 2000's, he put this brown shingle on that likely matched the original house roof color. When he replaced the entire house roof in, like, 2007, he didn't pull up the old roof. He laid the new roof down over the old roof. Naturally, this caused a massive water problem. Leaks everywhere and since there was space between the shingle layers, water migrated everywhere. So every rain storm, there were leaks on the porch and they would dribble down rafters and into the soffits. Additionally, there's tons of woodpecker damage 'cause they were going after the carpenter bees that were damaging the posts as well.
I have lots of stuff to talk about since March of 2023 like replacing roofs (yes plural) and the Captain Halfassery that was present during that adventure. A few trees fell down again. Built some bookshelves for one of the kids. Also had to replace the water filter/softener system, the pool liner replacement, the pool deck sinking (not fixed yet), electrical line tracing through the property, the propane BBQ grill literally blew up (actually set my hair on fire) and a bunch of other stupid little repairs everywhere that have been more of a nuisance than an issue.
But, no, today I am writing about an epic adventure that has been several years in the making but was waiting for when I could actually get the roof replaced.
Today's story is how I replaced the porch columns on the porch.
Porch columns? Really? That's all?!?! Those are EASY! What kind of a loser can't....
Hold on there, honcho, you're about to find out!
When we moved in, the porch posts were shabby and looked like they had some bad repairs done to fix rot. They seemed solid though. So I marked that as a project to do later instead of right now. Fast forward 5 years and we fixed the biggest issue with the house which was improperly enclosed porch (see last posts) and then I decided that the next big project was the roof. That included the porch posts. The roof over the porch was leaking significantly at this point too and the rest of the roof was showing significant signs of problems. But I'm not talking about that adventure today.
So, the porch roof, should be simple, right? Typically just a header plate on the side of the house with beams and joists attached to create a roof and it's held up at the outer edge by some posts that the beams sit on top of and get toe nailed in or use structural plates to locate and stop lateral movement too. Easy peasy, right?
Yeah, no.
So MY porch roof is a massive, wrap around porch. The house itself was about 1500 square feet of roof and the porch alone added another 800 square feet. It's huge and it's held up by 11 columns at about 10 foot intervals. It's also steeply pitched so there's lateral forces too, not just load bearing forces.
These pictures are at night with the Christmas lights on it but the lights really show how the columns are oriented and with the roof covered in snow, you can see exactly how big it actually is.
That entire porch was held up by columns like this:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Turncraft-96-in-x-8-ft-Primed-Pine-Square-Column/3099719
They were hollow and made up of chunks of wood finger jointed together to make the necessary lengths and then turned down in the factory to make the decorative scrolling. For something like a portico or a narrow porch roof they are fine. Just keep them dry. For the massive monstrosity of a porch roof I have....no.
That wasn't the worst problem, though. See, Captain Halfass...when he built the roof in the early 2000's, he put this brown shingle on that likely matched the original house roof color. When he replaced the entire house roof in, like, 2007, he didn't pull up the old roof. He laid the new roof down over the old roof. Naturally, this caused a massive water problem. Leaks everywhere and since there was space between the shingle layers, water migrated everywhere. So every rain storm, there were leaks on the porch and they would dribble down rafters and into the soffits. Additionally, there's tons of woodpecker damage 'cause they were going after the carpenter bees that were damaging the posts as well.
Jstas
1 ·
Re: Post a picture.....any picture...part deux...
If it can still move under its own propulsion in that condition, it just might be the world’s toughest automobile ever.
That would actually be the Toyota Hilux that Top Gear attempted to destroy, several times before success.
https://topgear.fandom.com/wiki/The_Indestructible_Hilux
I had one of those. The engine grenaded somewhere around 200,000 miles.
Mine was the SR5 extra cab version with all the fixings. I added real off road tires. It was under powered and scary off road.
F1nut
2 ·
Re: Streamer
I have yet to hear a difference in a streamer combined with a quality linear power supply
Now... Streamer with switch mode versus linear? Night and day!
My prior lumin u1 with x1 power supply was replaced with the mini dsp sdh studio and a quality power supply, absolutely no loss of fidelity
Now... Streamer with switch mode versus linear? Night and day!
My prior lumin u1 with x1 power supply was replaced with the mini dsp sdh studio and a quality power supply, absolutely no loss of fidelity
VR3
1 ·