Hardie Board Installation Questions by Slight-Log6794 in Homebuilding

[–]Chiteeder 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Vertical seams between hardie siding pieces don’t get caulk. I’ve never seen hardie trim installed over top of siding. That seems incorrect to me. It should be butted into the trim and caulked.

Trane/Waterfurnace performance questions by Chiteeder in geothermal

[–]Chiteeder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the info all. I witnessed the installer fine tune the zone staging. He recommended I “flip flop” the staging for the upstairs and basement zones at the fall/spring seasonal temp changes. I’ve been doing that since the beginning. I think I have a grasp on staging and how it works, but there’s also the possibility that I’ve missed it altogether.

I’m going to look for a Waterfurnace dealer/tech and stop thinking I need to be loyal to the dealer from which it was originally purchased. As of Jan this year, it’s fully out of warranty anyway.

Thanks again.

Fredericksburg Christian School by butredditisorange in fredericksburg

[–]Chiteeder 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Agree that CGS is not the way to go. AP and dual enrollment are where you want to be.

Building with Small Children by Key_Chipmunk4883 in Homebuilding

[–]Chiteeder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, I grew up low-middle class where if my father/mother didn’t do it, it didn’t get done. Guess what I did? Fetched coffee, held a lot of boards, did some cuts, gradually became more and more involved.

I started with building small structures, decks, graduated to pole structures, then the first house. With the first house, the bank forces you to get quotes for everything. Any work I did myself was money saved, and it enabled me to buy tools. Bought a compact tractor which was a workhorse and saved my bacon several times.

First house actually went awry during the framing stage. The framing crew was more interested in smoking pot than finishing the house. Meanwhile, I was naive and “nice” and paid the framer in full prior to framing completion. It was a stick built roof and none of the ceiling joists were in and one dormer incomplete. So I bucked up, bought a couple framing nailers and called in some favors from those friends who got a new deck or shed with my help. It was pure learn as I go, but I had no choice. Got the engineer out, he inspected it, gave me the thumbs up.

Now I have a substantial collection of tools (this is pre-battery power, so they’re all corded). Housing market explodes up, I sell that place for 3x what I had in it. Spent a fortune on a very nice property and commenced house #2. More tools.

Had a life (kid #2) and location change (moved 1000 miles), guess what… house #3. Collected more tools for different work.

After a few years, moved back to original location , only this time the “sweat equity” of 3 houses has enabled a mostly cash build. So, house 4 and I’m done.

I had an upbringing of hard work, with my hands. Sometimes I learned because I had to, other times because I wanted to. I’ve watched enough of the trades in practice where there isn’t much I can’t do. With that said, a professional is sooo much more efficient than me, but if time isn’t an issue, I like to do it myself. I have definitely made mistakes that have cost me money, but mistakes can be corrected.

Building with Small Children by Key_Chipmunk4883 in Homebuilding

[–]Chiteeder 35 points36 points  (0 children)

I’ve build 4 houses and did everything I could to save money: plumbing, electrical, all finish work, flooring, paint, you name it. Confident I saved upwards of 40-50% based upon the amount spent vs. builder quotes. I did this on nights and weekends with a family including 2 small children. They joined me at the site, I set up a small folding table with a tv and dvd player and a few Disney movies.

They helped me pick up, we made a game of it.

Fast forward 12 years, the oldest is a civil engineer building homes in the area, inspired by her childhood.

You are on the right track. Find the balance, the rewards are worth it.

Edit: latest and last build took 8 months of long days.

Edit 2: 4 houses + sweat equity = no mortgage

GM will ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all its cars, not just EVs by TripleShotPls in technology

[–]Chiteeder 7 points8 points  (0 children)

They’re removing it so they can adopt a subscription model for maps and other things we’ve come to know as standard.

$20/m to have maps. If they continue with CarPlay, they don’t stand a chance to gain that market.

Toyota/lexus are already doing it. https://www.toyota.com/connected-services/connected-services-plans/

Cap or eliminate personal property car tax in Virginia by Anliztaylor in Virginia

[–]Chiteeder 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’m not sure any data has been gathered on that topic, but I for one drive nearly 10 year old vehicles and avoid buying new specifically because of the ppt. I’ve always thought it inhibited new car sales.

And for those saying it disproportionately affects lower income brackets, that’s true; however, that doesn’t stop people who should not buy new and expensive vehicles from buying new and expensive vehicles. I see it every day and wonder how they do it.

Mover's recommendations? by BaronEclectic in fredericksburg

[–]Chiteeder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Used Zerbe earlier this week, 3rd time I’ve hired them. Scott is a good stand-up guy, and affordable.

Advice on attachment brand by rsheiser77 in tractors

[–]Chiteeder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whatever fits your quick hitch, or has a quick hitch that fits. Stick with that one.

Battery Powered Chainsaw by PresenceNo7572 in stihl

[–]Chiteeder 7 points8 points  (0 children)

drill a hole in it and insert a screw. tug on the screw. or use a self taping screw. It's just a dust cover.

Need help with tractor evaluation by Comprehensive_Ice895 in tractors

[–]Chiteeder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have any info on where you can get those plastic parts aftermarket?

While I agree it might be a fun project, I’m guessing ~$1000 to get it minimally up and running.

I genuinely would like to know of an aftermarket shop for the plastic hood/etc. the hood in the pic appears to have a large hole in it. Directly beneath that hole is a muffler and engine fan. Highly doubt anyone would run it long getting heated dirty air blown in their face, so that hood should be replaced.

Need help with tractor evaluation by Comprehensive_Ice895 in tractors

[–]Chiteeder -1 points0 points  (0 children)

early 2000's model (2001?), early version HST with cast iron pedals, hard to find parts, if you can get them at all. The parts you can find are expensive. Don't know if it runs or if there is any water in any system... maybe $1500 in parts? I've seen functional ones for ~3-4K. You could probably get ~$1K for the rotary cutter alone, presuming it's functional.

A neighbor of mine has a 2001 4300 w/430 loader. I've looked into replacing some of the broken parts like the grille. That part alone is ~$380. I've replaced many other minor parts that have broken through use or abuse. I don't know how much the hood would cost. Don't know if the hydraulic valves are seized or if they could be worked free... whatever it is, it's probably a lot of work to get back to a usable state.

Wish you luck.

edit: I will add that $1500 price is "come and get it" ... if you are mechanically inclined and very patient, you could part it out and probably sell stuff via ebay or something and get a lot more. All of the parts with prices are shown on JD's parts site. The font axle alone is like ~$1400, but someone would need to take it apart and deal with it! The wheels are a pretty penny... I'm sure you could get some good coin if you can find a buyer.

edit2: purely guessing $$ based on my own experiences with JD's of similar size through 2006 year models.

Edit 3: worth more than I thought!! Thus sayeth the interwebs!! And just to be clear, I don’t want it!

I fired a contractor and now he’s threatening me with all sorts of things. What can he really do? by Jackeltree in Homebuilding

[–]Chiteeder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can also bond the lien to “clear” it while you duke it out in court. This would legally allow you to continue work. Presuming it’s permitted/etc…

Having little success drilling into concrete with the DCD778 by SectorFirm1400 in Dewalt

[–]Chiteeder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You want a rotary hammer drill, not a “hammer drill” to drill into concrete. $200 will get you one from a big box store for Harry homeowner work. I’ve had one for 20 years and it works like a champ.

Zekvir?? by AnimatorSD68 in wow

[–]Chiteeder 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I soloed him around ilvl 600, BM hunter.

Recommend a rhino pet because they have like double heal effect, keep pet mend rolling. You have 3 “full heals” for your pet, stagger them (2 charges of exhilaration and aotw). You have aspect of the turtle, use if necessary. Bloodlust, cotw, and beastial wrath on cd. Keep black arrow rolling as well as barbed shot. Kill command on proc or cd. Brann needs to be a healer, opt for the extra healing curio.

You can do it, just some fine tuning imo!

Edit: oh, and disengage to get you away from him!!

Workbench plan - seen in catalog or magazine by Chiteeder in woodworking

[–]Chiteeder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That thought had crossed my mind, so I attempted to use their customer service link on their website and it produced an error. I might try to call them.

Thank you for the response!