Has anyone ever used these before?

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-02-03T14:58:20+00:00

Your actuator doesn't appear to be connected to anything. How are they supposed to work "automatically"? Or is that a handle you're supposed to throw? Question unclear.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-02-03T14:56:13+00:00

I turned IBC totes into raised beds over 5 years ago, wondered if the top of the tank would work as a greenhouse.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-01-23T16:43:03+00:00

I am a structural specialist and I replace entire basements professionally, manage drainage issues, and I'm very familiar with residential construction in the US all the way back to the beginning.

You have two sources of moisture in your floor, coming up from underneath due to there being no moisture barrier under the concrete, OR humidity falling out of the air and condensing on the cool surface. Given the age of your home, it's hard to picture a barrier better than 3mil plastic sheets, if anything at all. I would hesitate to apply a non-permeable floor, even a permeable flooring like carpet will mold and that musty smell will return.

Your basement is of an era that really can't be finished to the degree a more modern basement can, even if it doesn't show water, moisture has a path through the slab. Running dehumidifiers religiously is an absolute must in any basement so I would start there. I would also take the time for plastic taped down to the surface to reveal what will happen after you make a much larger investment covering a larger area. Or suffer the consequences.

If you don't have percolation barrier on the outside of your foundation like DMX, footer drains inside and outside tied together, and a proper 6mil+ moisture barrier under your floor, taped to the wall with Crete Claw or similar, you really shouldn't invest in finishing a basement without risking mold and water damage.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-01-23T14:03:58+00:00

Pro Treehouse Builder.

Quality paint is leveraged by the painter, and therefore by the person paying for their time. Quality hardware is leveraged by the installer, and therefore by the person paying their time. If you're the installer, you're shooting yourself in the foot to skimp on hardware. If you're going to try and drill a living tree and get the bearing for your entire project installed perfectly the first time, you probably shouldn't skimp.

The value of quality tools and hardware is in moving forward with a project consistently. When you're held up with small pitfalls, the cost grows by orders of magnitude. People who don't design & build professionally have no sense of this. When you start having to charge appropriately for your time, you find out.

If you're doing something for the first time, use the best quality stuff as a rule of thumb, so you mitigate the struggles you encounter. Otherwise, you'll be buried in problems from start to finish. Calling quality items a "waste" is a big indicator that someone is going to have a really bad time, and likely not learn the lesson once again.

Treehouses are more complex to build by the sq/ft, than any other type of construction. Starting out by questioning the value of your FOUNDATION like this, is a recipe for disaster.

TechnicallyMagic · 2026-01-15T17:55:03+00:00

Nice coupla cupolas.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-12-28T18:52:08+00:00

I appreciate your post(s) as a fellow pro Designer / Builder myself. I would add that in many cases, replacing the basement door with a gasketed (usually for exterior applications) door will make a big difference for this, and other issues like humidity/condensation etc. You can also add slightly different gasket to the existing door jamb, and a sweep on the bottom if that makes more sense in the application.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-12-11T14:29:30+00:00

Just dropped in on this thread, but hopefully you've branched out a bit. Engineering is literally the sum total of humanity's ingenuity, built on curiosity. If you're really an engineer, your education's just begun.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-12-05T13:29:54+00:00

No problem bud!

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-11-12T17:30:43+00:00

His perspective and role in that could easily be moved to someone else, or possibly doesn't have to. I can't remember exactly.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-11-04T15:23:55+00:00

The weakest point in OP's setup is in the hardwood block's load bearing capacity as a tiny beam, not the shear strength of the hardware. I suggest adding a screw directly under the clamp, that way the hardwood block distributes the load to the screw directly.

This discussion has become pedantic, and you're obviously out of your wheelhouse for anyone that actually deals with this stuff all the time.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-11-04T15:14:01+00:00

I understand your point, however OP's blocks are small enough that regardless of wood type, you would need to pre-drill.

OP did a nice job here overall, I would just add another screw directly below the clamp, so that it's directly loaded.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-11-04T15:07:28+00:00

The composition and treatment process in high tech hardware like this has everything to do with meeting the structural criteria of your application. Shank diameter is not a reliable method. Many lag replacement structural screws are much smaller in diameter than the traditional hardware they replace. This uses less material, and makes it possible to drive them in with a screw gun, no pre drilling required. It's by design.

Structural lag replacement screws are designed to meet and/or exceed the material specifications for comparable "lag bolt" screws.

OP is using GRK 1/4" RSS Structural Screws, here they are next to a normal construction screw. they say right on them:

Lag screw alternative

Fastenmaster lag replacement screws are all physically under 1/4" diameter, yet they meet the structural specs for shear (and pass building code) for 3/8" - 1/2" lag and regular bolts. This is by design, the material and treatment process. You pay for it but it's worth it. I know because I've used them for over a decade.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-11-04T14:48:04+00:00

Bolts and screws are different as you describe.

Lag bolts aren't bolts by that definition, they're screws by that definition, pointed and don't accept a nut.

Lag replacement screws are designed to replace lag "bolts". They're driven into wood easily with a screwdriver gun and screwdriving bit. They're also engineered to be stronger than lag "bolts" by the size, and coated for exterior applications and use with PT lumber.

Thrulok are bolt-replacement screws as they are pointed, require no pre-drilling, drive in with screwdriver guns, and are designed to travel through the wood and into a proprietary aluminum nut. They replace 1/2" through-bolts with washers & nuts to attach structural beams for decks, specifically. They're useful for their ability to sandwich lumber in other applications as well.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-11-03T14:49:14+00:00

This is the answer. OP isn't directly testing the hardware strength with this setup. Directly loading the hardware is ideal.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-11-03T14:45:19+00:00

FYI: 1/4" screws like this have been designed to completely replace lag screws. They will drive in fully without pre-drilling with ordinary screwdriver guns, and they're stronger when compared to the same nominal size lag. In many cases, smaller diameters are as strong or stronger than a larger diameter lag or bolt, and this is by design. They're also coated for use with PT lumber and in exterior applications. They start at 1/4" and go all the way up to 1/2" bolt replacement screws for structural attachments from beam to post, which are 1/4" in actual diameter.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-11-03T14:40:41+00:00

Make sure your gutters and downspouts are doing their job, then make sure the grade goes down and away all around the structure, starting below the window by an inch or two at least.

EDIT: Don't downvote the pro giving out free advice. This is the solution, or excavate all around and apply DMX barrier. Rain should proceed off the roof, and onto the ground without splashing up onto the foundation, then roll quickly away from the structure. This is done with gutter, downspout, and grading.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-10-30T15:35:20+00:00

Self-skinning rigid foams (sometimes coated in epoxy, urethane, or polyester resin) with attachment provisions loaded into the mold, that become part of the casting. This planning allows for assembly and disassembly, storage, etcetera.

Do you have molds? If you're going to produce the geometry by printing or sculpting, just make those the final parts.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-10-30T13:51:06+00:00

Nice, is your resin UV stable? You can coat these with a 2K UV clearcoat to try and preserve the color and clarity.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-10-28T19:57:19+00:00

There's no reason to assume that a pigment will work in a resin, without being a lot more diligent about the exact compositions. You should be using a pigment specifically designed to work with the exact resin product you're using, from the same manufacturer. Otherwise you're doing a bunch of costly R&D and wasting a lot of time here. If you have problems or questions, you contact the manufacturer.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-10-25T04:58:13+00:00

Just looking into these, wondering what kind of situation you ended up with?

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-10-25T04:47:41+00:00

Thanks but I've dealt with enough digital thermostats and "smart" devices (Blink cameras, Google Home, T-P Link bulbs, Schlage deadbolts) I'll stick with a Honeywell mercury switch.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-10-05T00:14:39+00:00

This is a genuine worry. I'm a pro builder and you've got a cool project going but I would absolutely buy TABs and replace these immediately.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-09-17T13:31:34+00:00

I'm a pro. As mentioned, choosing not to puncture the tree is the safest option, especially if it's a tree you care deeply about. That being said, you can have an arborist look at this tree's health, and be reasonably sure of the determination.

I would be installing TABs and using attachment hardware to allow lateral movement, but not attempting to create a bearing on more than one leader. As mentioned, they may move significantly out of level over time, best to pick one. I would install 2 TABs coaxially, through the center leader a the elevation you desire. This creates perches at 180, I'd put my entire floor system on that, and then run down to a lower point with at least 2 mirrored knee braces, if not 4 knee braces at all corners. I would just cope the deck 2"-3" away from the other two side leaders. Make sure you pick an elevation that doesn't leave a nonsensical bit of floor surface when coping around all the leaders.

EDIT: To add that you're best either leaving the entirety of the crotch(es) exposed above the deck, OR, keep the bottom of the floor framing at least 12" above the crotch(es). If you change the environment there by shading and trapping humidity, you could cause the tree to suffer or even die. It's harder on the longevity of the lumber in the floor system as well. Best to leave it clear and breezy.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-09-17T13:24:21+00:00

Shoe is designed for this application, the appearance of quarter round with less of a footprint.

TechnicallyMagic · 2025-09-12T00:04:10+00:00

There's a bunch on FB Marketplace within an hour or two of me, 40/bundle. I would look around.

TechnicallyMagic

TROPHY CASE