The Home Improvement Thread

  To go back to the topic at the top of the thread. . . Has any boardies gotten a shed over the past year?
I'm interested and don't know how much I should be paying, especially with materials prices being jacked due to supply chain hinderances.
I'm looking for something between 140-150 sq. ft. and am trying to figure out if it's worth hiring someone to build from scratch. I'm trying to make the building play double duty of storage and possible place to escape to and either workout or work on songwriting/guitar practice (I do a lot of yelling and swearing as part of my process, my wife is not a fan).
  I would figure either way I'd hire someone to assemble any pre-cut shed kit so cost savings of the kit would be offset by the assembly labor, plus the closest that I can get to 150 sq. ft. (the largest size in PG that doesn't require construction permits) by kit is a 12x12 which I feel lacks an aesthetic appeal. The cheapest I've seen for those is around 3k. Also, my house is on a hill, without a driveway so it would make getting anything pre-built not an option.
  Anyone purchase a shed? What size/materials and for how much?

evilizac wrote:
  To go back to the topic at the top of the thread. . . Has any boardies gotten a shed over the past year?
I'm interested and don't know how much I should be paying, especially with materials prices being jacked due to supply chain hinderances.
I'm looking for something between 140-150 sq. ft. and am trying to figure out if it's worth hiring someone to build from scratch. I'm trying to make the building play double duty of storage and possible place to escape to and either workout or work on songwriting/guitar practice (I do a lot of yelling and swearing as part of my process, my wife is not a fan).
  I would figure either way I'd hire someone to assemble any pre-cut shed kit so cost savings of the kit would be offset by the assembly labor, plus the closest that I can get to 150 sq. ft. (the largest size in PG that doesn't require construction permits) by kit is a 12x12 which I feel lacks an aesthetic appeal. The cheapest I've seen for those is around 3k. Also, my house is on a hill, without a driveway so it would make getting anything pre-built not an option.
  Anyone purchase a shed? What size/materials and for how much?

https://www.outerspacehome.com/

This is like 25k, but awesome.

Yada wrote:
https://www.outerspacehome.com/

This is like 25k, but awesome.

That is pretty sweet, would also improve the value of the property,
you could finance it with HELOC (interest would be tax deductible!)

Bamboo-Hatch wrote:

Yada wrote:
https://www.outerspacehome.com/

This is like 25k, but awesome.

That is pretty sweet, would also improve the value of the property,
you could finance it with HELOC (interest would be tax deductible!)

Sounds like a job for sidefi!

:)

You may want to consider having a concrete slab foundation poured. It adds a bit to the cost but your shed will last a whole lot longer.

Maaaaaaan. . . That's like exactly what my heart wants, but my brain can't justify. My wife is also fearful of borrowing against the equity of the house since she lived through her parents losing their house due to misspent funds (unnecessary and unfinished home remodeling and ummmm… indiscretions) from multiple re-fis/home equity loans. I can swing 5-7K cash (preferred) or maybe up to 8-10K with the right loan.
I was torn between pouring concrete and doing something like stilts on pier blocks or something like that. My dad claims he still knows how to do concrete work, but he's a mess as it is. Blergh.   

labor is going to be your biggest cost
so figure out what you need the pros to do and what you/dad/friends who will work for free

My SideFiReco™ would be:
talk to a loan person about a ReFi with cash out and see where the numbers land, shouldn't cost you more than a credit check
Personally not a big fan of the HELOC, but it's a waaay easier process, but understand all the deets before you go that route
The no closing costs often is why HELOC work better for a lot of people
but it's basically a credit card…but the interest is deductable


I really think you could pull some equity out to pay for a large part of this and not increase your monthly costs with the way the rates are (right now) and if it does, we're talking like $50 a month over 30 years

You definitely shouldn't do what her parents did…that is a real danger of this stuff and saw lots of people get in trouble doing this stuff
although I want to hear more about the indiscretions ;)

but pulling $10-15k of equity out and lowering your rate really isn't anywhere near to what they did
again, this should add value to your property, if done right

Fridge door won't close properly. Meaning when you give it a push, it won't close automatically. You have to stand there and manually push the door shut. That usually works. Sometimes you have to push just right, multiple times. Fridge is 3-5 (?) years old, not sure, time blurs. I'm not handy, would rather not have to take the door off if i don't have to. Wife thinks this is "man's work," so I'm not going to ask her for help.

Advice on what to do regarding the fridge?

a lot of times this has less to do with the door and more to do with the fridge being level
there are little adjusters on the feet, might want to start there

hrumpp…man's work…that's pretty damn sexist

also Youtube for this kind of stuff is a great resource

check the rubber gasket that seals the door to the body of the fridge.  doors not closing or staying closed could be due to a tear, bump, etc in the gasket.  had to replace ours a while back and it was easy-peasy.

once you've accomplished this manly task, are you going to load her up with women's work? 

^ good tip
the gasket sometimes can go and is just a peel and stick operation
although I'd make sure you get the gasket for that specific model and not some generic one

I'd definitely put on some low cut jeans and make sure your ass crack is showing while doing this work
then be like 'bitch, make me some chicken pot pie'…I'm sure that will go over well

When you have a gut like mine, all the pants ride low. They key is to have a shirt that's long enough the cover the cracks.

I can't think of a home repair that's *ever* been "easy peasy" for me. They all stress me out. Exact opposite of my dad, who never saw a pipe wrench he didn't love. Doing a 10 mile hike with 2500 ft elevation gain will always be easier for me than simple home repairs. But thanks, yeah, I'll look at the gasket!

Space wrote:
I can't think of a home repair that's *ever* been "easy peasy" for me.

space, today is the first day of the rest of your life - you've got this!  replacing the gasket is so simple, you could sub-contract the gig to your daughter (that is, if she ever did any housework…).  the gasket is held on by an adhesive.  replacing a gasket is literally as simple as peeling off the old one, no tools required; then removing the wax paper on the back of the new one and sticking it on.  the hardest part, which isn't hard at all, is aligning it correctly.  protip: take a couple of pix of the old gasket before you remove it, so you can reference where to place the replacement - assuming your fridge isn't like ours which had a well/indentation where the gasket needed to go.  pretty close to idiot-proof (couldn't even snare this idiot!).

sweetcell wrote:

Space wrote:
I can't think of a home repair that's *ever* been "easy peasy" for me.

space, today is the first day of the rest of your life - you've got this!  replacing the gasket is so simple, you could sub-contract the gig to your daughter (that is, if she ever did any housework…).  the gasket is held on by an adhesive.  replacing a gasket is literally as simple as peeling off the old one, no tools required; then removing the wax paper on the back of the new one and sticking it on.  the hardest part, which isn't hard at all, is aligning it correctly.  protip: take a couple of pix of the old gasket before you remove it, so you can reference where to place the replacement - assuming your fridge isn't like ours which had a well/indentation where the gasket needed to go.  pretty close to idiot-proof (couldn't even snare this idiot!).

Put that way, it does sound easy peasy. Thanks. Though i do worry that i could end up making it worse.

My daughter won't even turn the shower on for herself (if mom is around.) No way she's doing home repairs.

sweetcell wrote:protip: take a couple of pix of the old gasket before you remove it, so you can reference where to place the replacement

Can confirm…excellent protip

Side-panda wrote:
also Youtube for this kind of stuff is a great resource

This.  Replaced a drain pump on our washing machine to see if I could before calling a service person.  YouTube made it very easy….

Space wrote:Put that way, it does sound easy peasy. Thanks.

don't forget to grunt a lot and complain about how hard this (men's) work is… get full credit for what is ultimately a cakewalk.  bonus points for mansplaining what a gasket is to your wife.

mind you, the problem might not be the gasket - then we're back to square one.

vansmack wrote:

Side-panda wrote:
also Youtube for this kind of stuff is a great resource
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This.  Replaced a drain pump on our washing machine to see if I could before calling a service person.  YouTube made it very easy….

youtube taught me to replace the pilot light assembly on our water heater.  10 minutes of video and a trip to home depot saved us several hundred dollars and spared us from days without warm showers due to no repairmen (it's men's work, right?) being available until the following week.

replace the thermocouple on my furnace…youtube made me the 'man-king' for a day

I should stop looking at zillow
but the house in San Franciso that we sold in 2013…is now valued at $900k more now!
From what I can tell, almost zero upgrades (everything was fairly new when we bought in 08)

jesus christ on a stick, I wish we'd held on to that