The Home Improvement Thread

Julian, wrote:
I hate this thread. Can we all go back to the stimulating, conversation-inducing wonder that is listing three LPs?

I got crickets on my last contribution.

Julian, wrote:
I hate this thread. Can we all go back to the stimulating, conversation-inducing wonder that is listing three LPs?

How, about someone starting a "3 ranked best forum threads " thread.

how about top 3 integers?  that always gets people super interested.

hutch wrote:
Completed:

mowed lawn twice
Weedwacked once (only back)
Brought in garbage cans two weeks in a row
Bought lots of records


Plan:

change smoke alarm battery as it keeps beeping
Install trampoline but have lined up excuse
Organize records

Pro-tip: Having a nasty ear infection is always a good excuse. You even use it to call in sick to work and sleep all afternoon.

sweetcell wrote:
how about top 3 integers?  that always gets people super interested.

69
420
100

Julian, wrote:

sweetcell wrote:
how about top 3 integers?  that always gets people super interested.

69
420
100

well . . . I guess, there is no need for that thread.

Guys and gals, good news. In my garage, I found a nine piece socket set (whatever that is) left by the previous house owner 15+ years ago. Celeste scoffed at putting the star socket in her electric drill when i suggested it, but when she did, alas it fit, and we were able to unscrew the star screw. Battery comes tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be mowing soon thereafter.

Now I'll be calling Heilung for help on other improvements and a running date (I'll keep up on my bike.) Hutch can bring his records and be dj. K8 can babysit my soon to be teenager and teach her how to be "nice." :)

So many observations…

1. A battery powered mower, lol
2. What kind of respectable  50+ year old male doesn't have a proper tools set?
3. A cheap above ground pool may be the worst investment you could ever make.

Yada wrote:
So many observations…

1. A battery powered mower, lol
2. What kind of respectable  50+ year old male doesn't have a proper tools set?
3. A cheap above ground pool may be the worst investment you could ever make.

1. What kind of mower do you own?
2. That screwdriver was the first tool I've had to buy in…well since i can remember. And it turns out i had one anyway.
3. I can't argue with that one, but I'm outvoted.

Just a reminder to my fellow Virgins: while US taxes have been postponed until July 15, Virginia taxes are due June 1.

Space wrote:

Yada wrote:
So many observations…

1. A battery powered mower, lol
2. What kind of respectable  50+ year old male doesn't have a proper tools set?
3. A cheap above ground pool may be the worst investment you could ever make.

1. What kind of mower do you own?
2. That screwdriver was the first tool I've had to buy in…well since i can remember. And it turns out i had one anyway.
3. I can't argue with that one, but I'm outvoted.

Whatever red no name brand sold at Home Depot circa spring of 2010, gas powered.*

*I outsource my mowing, so only mow myself to fill in the gaps a few times a year.

What kind of respectable 40+ man doesn't mow his own lawn? Yuppie.

Space wrote:
What kind of respectable 40+ man doesn't mow his own lawn? Yuppie.

I'm not 40.  :)

Yada wrote:
So many observations…

1. A battery powered mower, lol
2. What kind of respectable  50+ year old male doesn't have a proper tools set?
3. A cheap above ground pool may be the worst investment you could ever make.

1. we have one, and it's better than any gas-powered or electric we've ever had.  super maneuverable, quiet, self-propelled, really easy to vary blade height… i'm never going back.
2. i generally agree, but star screwdrivers are a specialty item that i wouldn't expect most folks to have.
3. no opinion, i've never owned an above- or below-ground pool.  did rent a place that had a hot tub, used it 2 or 3 times during the year we lived there.  pools and hot tubs = joy < work (i was marie kondo'ing that shit before it was a thing).

108 springs in the trampoline

1-0-8

Pro-tip on  Airbnb hot tubs: Make sure you shower right after. Good lord, what a horrible rash I contracted. Second worst thing that happened on that trip.

Yada wrote:

Space wrote:
What kind of respectable 40+ man doesn&#039;t mow his own lawn? Yuppie.

I&#039;m not 40.&nbsp; :)

damn whippersnapper!
I mowed lawns as a teen hatch and made some pretty good scratch being a sole proprietor in a well off neighborhood
So the thought of paying someone to mow my lawn…just can't do it.
In fact, I meet Hutch via a lawn mowing exchange for housing at 23

gas powered lawn mower produces the same amount of air pollution in one hour as 11 new cars driven for one hour.*

I have used electric mowers since the 80s, and I'm at one with the extension cord.  When the current one I own (which I got for free) dies I'm 100% getting a battery-powered one.  Love my battery-powered weed whacker


*I'm a two-stroke scooter guy…so I pollute in my own special way too (although if I come up with $2k I'm going to convert my 1969 Primavera to electric)

absolute wrote:
I&#039;m a two-stroke . . . guy so I pollute in my own special way too

So many marriages in trouble on here.

absolute wrote:

Yada wrote:

Space wrote:
What kind of respectable 40+ man doesn&#039;t mow his own lawn? Yuppie.

I&#039;m not 40.&nbsp; :)

damn whippersnapper!
I mowed lawns as a teen hatch and made some pretty good scratch being a sole proprietor in a well off neighborhood
So the thought of paying someone to mow my lawn…just can&#039;t do it.
In fact, I meet Hutch via a lawn mowing exchange for housing at 23

gas powered lawn mower produces the same amount of air pollution in one hour as 11 new cars driven for one hour.*

I have used electric mowers since the 80s, and I&#039;m at one with the extension cord.&nbsp; When the current one I own (which I got for free) dies I&#039;m 100% getting a battery-powered one.&nbsp; Love my battery-powered weed whacker


*I&#039;m a two-stroke scooter guy…so I pollute in my own special way too (although if I come up with $2k I&#039;m going to convert my 1969 Primavera to electric)

Believe me… I mowed many a lawns from 1992 until 1998 and then from 2010 until 2015.

$30 a pop is a no brainier when you and your partner were at one time both working 50+ hour a week work week with two kids under five.

Even though still not in that current situation, it's $ well spent round these parts… Not that I'd ever see eye to eye with Space on really anything… And especially anything that involves spending money. I also take space as a once every four week or until grass is knee high, whichever comes first, kind of mower.

I save the lawn mowing money for things I can't do, like plumbing jobs. Or things I'd fuck up, like drywall. I mow it when it needs mowing. We don't put chemicals on our lawn, so it's mostly weeds at this point anyway. At least it's green.

I'd pay my kid to do it, but she refuses to do any chores and is afraid to go in the garage.

Generally I love living in the burbs but one complaint i have is there's always some kind of lawn equipment making noise when we sit on our deck for a meal. Always.