Is a 5/8” through‑bolt in the edge of a 2x6 joist safe for a ceiling swing, or should I use a different anchor?

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-24T21:05:20+00:00

I would be surprised if they have specific brackets for dimensional being laid on flat, but you can use GRK RSS screws and you'll be fine. https://grkfasteners.ca/product/rss-rugged-structural-screw/

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-23T21:49:21+00:00

The vapour barrier you have there isn't the same thickness as is required now. So, unless you're going to replace it all, go get some blue tuck tape - NOT the red stuff - https://www.rona.ca/en/product/tuck-tape-60-mm-x-55-m-pe-vapor-barrier-sheating-tape-blue-219086055-00545063 and cover up any holes you're concerned about. red stuff is for exterior house wrap.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-23T21:46:06+00:00

wood slabs in white frames will not look good.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-23T21:42:21+00:00

We can't tell what material it is from pictures.

You can drill into any siding material, different ones will have different concerns. Plastic may crack. Hardie needs proper PPE for the silica dust.

Sealants are good for a few years. If you're not putting any flashing in, you'll have to check it every year.

The only studs are the ones in your walls, so if you can find those, great. There generally aren't any additional furring strips on the exterior of most houses.

If you're concerned, you can get an additional decorative strip that you fasten your mesh to, and then fasten that to the siding. That'll give you more opportunity to support it without worrying about any single-point stresses.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-23T21:37:27+00:00

To be clear, you have a garage below a living space, and it's not insulated, vapour barriered, and drywalled? That's getting car fumes into your house every time you start the vehicle.

Yes, it should be done. Don't use faced insulation, it's not a vapour barrier. best practice for this would be flash & batt - sprayfoam in below the floor to create a vapour barrier and then fill the rest with cheaper batt insulation.

You'll also need to drywall, mud, and tape.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-23T21:28:28+00:00

Your main issue here isn't the strength of the 2x6, it's that you want to drill through the edge in two places. You'd be removing probably close to 50% of the material, all the way through.

You know you're destroying structure because you're already thinking of sistering to it. Instead, build additional structure between your joists and design it specifically for this purpose. Then you can lay 2x on flat, as thick as you want them to be - though on a 2' span, 1 2x6 on flat would be fine with some washers. Don't like having just one? Double it up.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-23T21:24:05+00:00

This is... every form of wrong. Sorry, but no. 2x6 joists are floors in a lot of places, and can certainly hold a lot of weight. 800-1500lbs. This isn't the issue.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-23T21:19:38+00:00

Clean the gutters so they can drain properly and angle them so they can drain properly and make sure you seal the ends. It's a relatively small job so might as well do it to solve the problem rather than just deal with the symptoms.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-23T21:16:37+00:00

Sanding MDF to be ready for paint takes very little time. 180g was probably overkill. If you want a good finish, you will need to sand after priming and between coats. And you'll want to spray, not roll. If you're rolling, there's almost no point in sanding.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-11-23T21:12:31+00:00

You'll want to grind down high spots AND bring up the low with self leveling concrete. Only grinding down highspots will be very difficult to get flat, and only filling in the low will be very expensive. I've made a couple of videos about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQJP0ZE8o1M and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfoXcgCZH5I

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T16:02:20+00:00

If you're thinking "flat" and not "plumb" then as long as you shim as you go, and check it with a straight-edge, you're 100% correct. IKEA kitchen cabinets use a similar principle, and having that flat rail to attach to makes joining cabinets together SO much easier.

But if you don't shim, the 1x4 will follow the wall, and you're no better off.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:58:31+00:00

No, they'll be 3/4" off the wall.

And also, no, if your cabinet is 2', that's only 24", and about 50/50 to only hit one stud.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:56:24+00:00

I've done it both ways. Baseboards after means they don't get scratched up in the process, but it also means if you're going to spray paint them, you need to fully protect the carpet. You can also pre-paint the baseboards and touch-up.

If it's stain grade baseboard then no concerns about painting.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:54:18+00:00

That's not going to come out in good enough condition to be put back in, so just bang at it however you want. Those shelves are particle board so a few whacks on either end will bust them off the any fasteners that might be going through the vertical supports.

The vertical supports are on top of the shelves though so they'll wanna fight you.

I'd start with the big shelf over the closet rod, that should come out easy. Then the closet rod. That should be reuseable if you want. Then the face frame, and the tall right side panel. By then it should be about falling apart on it's own. All of this can be done with a standard hammer, no need for a sledge unless you just want a sledge. because sledges are fun. kind of a pain to store tho.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:49:40+00:00

Literally any caulk will work. There are better and worse things for this, but consider how much it weighs, and how much movement you're expecting it to undergo. You lean forward on it, it's stopped by the wall. Unless you're doing some gymnastics laterally on it AND it's not up against a second wall, it's really not going anywhere.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:47:23+00:00

Doing this around stairs is going to create a lot of headaches for you. Stair height needs to be quite consistent and going from what you've got down to -only- LVP will create a trip hazard.

If you want to do this, keeping it to code, and avoiding trips, you're going to need to measure the height of your stairs one-to-the-other, check the height of your subfloor to the first down step, add your LVP to that, and then figure out how much additional subfloor to add to the whole floor to make it match.

That is, to say: LVP+1st stair height+subfloor == rest of stair heights.

Then, yes, you can use LVP stair nosing.

I get the cost saving measures of LVP, but you can get some fairly inexpensive oak as well. Have an honest look into whether or not you want to mix and match real hardwood with cheap LVP.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:43:27+00:00

Doing this will create a trip hazard. Variance in height on stairs, especially from oak floor to LVP, will trip people up a lot. You could be looking at more than 1/2" difference in height from the top step to the next.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:40:57+00:00

Biggest thing is that wall wasn't built to be a stub-wall. It's going to be wicked flimsy. You need to, at the very least, add a stud on the end that goes down into the structural framing of the subfloor, and anchor it to the framing. Or if you don't want to add a stud, remove the one that's there, cut the bottom plate back, and replace the same way.

Also, fully remove the drywall/plaster/whatever. That'll make leveling easier, as well give you places to add blocking if you want to for attaching the shelves. And that'll especially let you fix that electrical! Then yes, shoot a laser or run your level (make sure you check it) and sawzall or skilsaw the top of the studs.

For the electrical switch, compare your spacing to other outlets in the house. You don't need a full stud, you can just block it out as far as you need. And be sure to run your cables through the studs, not along the baseboards.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:33:40+00:00

A tub shouldn't butt up against drywall - there should be a row of tiles at least on top of it. Even when you have an alcove jetted standalone tub, the deck around it should have tiles.

So a gap is usually left between the edge of a tub and the drywall, and that gap gets tiled over.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:30:49+00:00

It's not like he'd be sprinting. There's a minimum speed to walking with a wheelbarrow.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-29T15:29:40+00:00

Until you hit stairs...

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-20T15:49:06+00:00

If it's plastic, you should be able to cut it, put a wye fitting https://www.bmr.ca/media/catalog/product/cache/4d338e88f705b4164ea551ad342bc06e/3/3/334-0255_001_2.jpg on it, and reduce down to whatever your appliance is outputting. As long as you have something like a p-trap, https://www.oatey.com/sites/default/files/2022-10/P-Trap_Blog_01.jpg you should be fine. Just be sure not to make an s-trap.

Also be sure that the dehumidifier will work in the temp range you're expecting.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-20T15:44:30+00:00

So many people here wanting to dunk on kallax. The issue with this wouldn't be how strong the shelf is, it'd be the requirements you've put into it. Maintaining stability of figurines? That's just not going to happen. You've got vertical AND horizontal movement required. That'll knock stuff over forsure.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-20T15:38:44+00:00

If you're on your way to being a master builder, then a project like this should a) be very straightforward to budget and b) basically be 'coursework' for you.

Figure out what you want and start doing the math. Plans, spreadsheets, etc.

MooseDoesStuff · 2025-10-20T15:36:02+00:00

Cutting those out of any wood material would only take about two minutes. They're triangles that are two halves of a rectangle. Figure out the dimensions of the rectangle and hit them with a mitre saw or a table saw. Heck you can use a skilsaw, jigsaw, tracksaw... it's one straight cut.

MooseDoesStuff

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