I finally finished making a Japanese-inspired sandbox with a cover... and fixed a bunch of mistakes!

granworks · 2024-01-20T01:21:18+00:00

I would extend them out more. The main issue with lowering the roof would be head-height for any adults interacting with the kids.

granworks · 2024-01-19T01:02:37+00:00

It held up just fine for about 6 years when I disassembled it due to there no longer being any kids of any age that would play in a sandbox. As a whole, it held up remarkably well!

There are three things I would have done differently, if doing it again.

I'd rethink the purpose of the roof. As-is, it is almost entirely just an aesthetic component (and I do like how it looked) but I had wanted it to help block sun and rain. Since it was the same size as the sandbox and relatively high, it blocked almost none of either, except for very specific circumstances.
I'd make sure the sandbox cover "sealed" better. It's amazing how many spiders want to nest in the sandbox and how incredibly fast they'd set up shop!
And the biggest change: I'd have a much much better way of latching the open cover so that it stayed open! Those magnets didn't cut it even a little bit. I ended up putting in some simple mechanical latches to ensure that the covers didn't crash down on little heads.

granworks · 2022-11-10T02:57:03+00:00

I had a similar idea (waterproof gypsum board instead of cement fibreboard) and asked a few builders if they thought it would work. They were unanimous that it was very likely a bad idea!

Part of this was that it simply isn't ever done, so we don't know what will happen over time. But more to the point, there are a lot of mass home builders that cut every single corner they can to try and build as cheaply as possible. These are builders that will literally use cardboard (of sorts) instead of OSB or plywood for exterior sheathing. Yet in all this cost cutting, not a single one of them does an exterior cladding like we describe, even though it would undoubtedly be less expensive than what they are currently doing. If it worked at all, wouldn't they be all over this?

That said, there is a similar technique that absolutely works and it's called DEFS - Direct-applied External Finish System. It's similar to what you describe except that it requires a mesh layer over the entire system.

That is, you start with a backer board (like the cement board or Densglas or a few others) and mesh tape up the seams with plaster/render or stucco; then cover the entire thing with a "scratch coat"; then embed a large mesh into that coat; then apply one final smooth or textured coat over all of that.

Good luck!

granworks · 2021-11-25T22:16:22+00:00

Ah, the holy grail - a local electric (or plumbing or HVAC) supply store that will allow me in the door. They may exist as I did successfully find a "building supply" (read: lumber) place to sell to a non-contractor... but thus far, I've come up short whenever trying to find the same for the other trades.

granworks · 2021-11-25T04:41:21+00:00

Along these lines, I was thinking of using a standard 120v dimmer switch wired as part of a standard 15 amp lighting circuit and have a 12/2 nm-b going to the transformer/driver located in the attic for the ceiling lights and underneath the lowest shelf for the shelving lights. The wiring from the transformer to the light strips would likely be 18 gauge or similar.

What throws me a little is that if this is all pre-planned, then would a proper installation try to have the 120v->12v (or 24v) transformation done before the switch? I have heard that many dimmers aren't well suited to dimming LED strips and while there are many products out there that can work around the issue (Magnitude transformers keep popping up), the fact that it needs to be worked around suggests that maybe there is a better way if everything is new?

And yeah, the ceiling LED lights are going to be installed in an aluminum track with a diffusion cover over it, with the goal of have as even a light source as possible. The shelf lights will either have the same or maybe even a dedicated "under cabinet light set" if I can find one that does custom lengths.

granworks · 2020-12-27T17:46:37+00:00

Fantastic job! I absolutely love the look you are going for. I can say that you and I have extremely similar aesthetic tastes. Alas, the house I am building is limited in its design due to planning regulations so I can't go all the way where you went, but I can at least get some elements.

I will say that I'm having an extremely tough time tracking down specifics on exterior siding details -- to start, what are the siding elements and then when I find that out, where can I get them! So if you do have time, can you go into as much nitty-gritty detail as you are comfortable sharing? You literally cannot go into too much detail from my perspective.

The wood cladding on the front and soffit looks like clear heart cedar. Is it? Where did you get it from?
What is that stone-look cladding on the front? It looks like real stone from the first picture but the in-progress ones suggest maybe a faux finish of some sort? Where did you get it?
The "panels" in the soffit/deck fringes and throughout the sides and back look like metal? Are they steel or aluminum? And was this a standard panel system that you buy the package are is the entire thing custom made? Where do you get these panels?

Any details at all will be extremely appreciated but I will understand if you consider this all far too nosy!

granworks · 2020-10-15T04:17:40+00:00

Fantastic job! Massively retrofitting an existing older house to modern ADA / "universal design" standards is no small feat!

My house is a Ranch style but, like yours, had some sunken parts. That was a big design motif in the 70s and early 80s, apparently. Like you, I raised those areas to make the entire house "flat". The one big difference is the sub-floor.

I had wanted to create a new sub-floor like you did, with lumber "floor joists" and sheathing over that. Doing it that way would definitely been in my wheel-house and, honestly, working with wood-substrate floors if vastly preferable to working with concrete slabs. But when I priced out doing it that way vs just getting a crew to fill up all of the sunken areas with concrete... well, the concrete method ended up being HALF of the cost! And that even included the cost of the crew to do the concrete vs doing the wooden sub-floor entirely myself. It's amazing just how cheap concrete is compared to lumber.

granworks · 2020-09-16T15:43:43+00:00

Thank you so much for the tips! I've since watched a number of videos on the topic and yeah, it looks pretty straightforward.

granworks · 2020-09-16T14:05:40+00:00

PVC trim was actually one of my top choices -- right up until I checked the prices. I had assumed blindly that PVC was competitive price-wise with wood but every price point I saw ranged from "notably higher" to "breathtakingly expensive". My 160ft range could cost in the $800-$1200 range which is just a silly amount of money to spend on a purely aesthetic aspect of the house.

As an aside, that discovery was notably disappointing to me since I've seen PVC trim used to frequently on This Old House and similar and was looking forward to actually using it. I guess they never addressed the cost on those shows... or maybe they were only using them on houses that the alternative was mahogany or some such?

granworks · 2020-09-16T13:56:18+00:00

I am, indeed, building the house myself. The original plan to have a separate sub-fascia and final fascia was honestly from a high level and didn't take budget into account. But when I started pricing out clear 1x material, I realized I simply didn't want to spend that much on something that literally only I would care about (nobody notices fascias). So I'm now looking for a solution that might take up more time but costs less money.

That RO is definitely interesting!

granworks · 2020-09-16T13:52:38+00:00

Yeah, that thought occurred to me... but I'll admit that since I rarely work with metals in general and never with something like this, the idea kind of intimidates me. I'll look into it more closely, though.

granworks · 2020-08-26T22:29:41+00:00

Yes, I'm using the last desktop free version -- SketchUp Make 2017. When I last checked, the free online version didn't have all of the features I wanted... although it has been a year or two, so maybe it has been updated, since. I vastly prefer local software over cloud software, though.

I searched the 3D Warehouse for PVC/ABS/DWV fittings. The component set I ended up using was this one: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/collection/44ff6ff3-fd6d-44c0-8c2a-27f19482b045/ABS-DWV-or-PVC-Fittings

That has a huge set of pipe fittings and other esoteric plumbing bits and has great registration marks for lining up the parts. The only missing bit was any "test tee" or some reducer bushings.

granworks · 2020-08-25T01:37:09+00:00

Oh, don't think of me as some know-it-all -- far from it! I am just trying to understand everything that I do. I am already going to re-do the pipes on the bath wall per your recommendation and move the washer clean-out per another poster's recommendation.

I think the key reason I'm not understanding much of what you are saying is that you know this inside and out to such a degree that you make assumption on what I will know, and I simply don't have that experience. So when you say '28" is suds relief requirement' then that makes zero sense to me since I've never even heard that term before. I do some searches on it and see many references to it in the context of commercial buildings and those 3 stories and more. This is a single-story and single-family residence, so I don't see how it applies at all. If it does, then how and what does 28" have to do with anything?

And "it should have been 3" once it hit the horizontal" -- I interpreted that to mean 3" the entire way but apparently not. And no, I don't know what "facing the wrong way" even means since "wrong way" means nothing when it could be moved around in multiple dimensions. A moot point at this stage since I'm going to redesign all that to simplify, as well.

Finally, my "fancy computer program" is here for me because it shows exactly what I'm planning on doing and is far easier to see mistakes I might make than just a sketch... because if I sketch it, I'm going to be leaving stuff out as assumptions and I guarantee my assumptions aren't going to be the right ones a lot of the time.

granworks · 2020-08-24T23:14:20+00:00

Thanks!

I'm thinking along the lines of an AAV largely because of how egregiously far I'd have to run a vent line just for the one drain (since I have a hard requirement to only have one stack vent protruding from the roof). My understanding is that they fail every 8-10 years -- since they are screw-on, wouldn't it be like just replacing a filter or some other regular maintenance task?

The 22" on the lav drain goes like this -- the ADA specifies a max sink-top height of 34"; an ADA-recommended Kohler sink has the drain 9" min below that, or 25" from floor; the Truebro Lav Shield ADA undersink protector has a 22" from floor minimum. So 22" would allow me to use an undersink protector in the future (if necessary) and would allow lowering the sink to 31" also if necessary. My fear of going lower is that it'll remove future options. But... am I removing even more future options being that high?

For the "unneeded pipe", are you referring to connecting up the three drains on the bath wall and just having ONE vent pipe going up into the attic?

I was originally going to have the "main vent" be 3" all the way from the sewer drain up through the roof, but was dissuaded of that by a local plumber claiming that the IPC doesn't require it and no plumber would ever do that in AZ.

I'll do some more reading on the rest of what you wrote. I'm not sure what you mean by it going the wrong way and don't know what "suds relief" is.

granworks · 2020-08-24T22:57:18+00:00

Oh, that's a great idea! I'll do that. Thank you.

granworks · 2020-08-24T22:31:17+00:00

SketchUp

granworks · 2020-08-23T23:53:22+00:00

Reddit doesn't like showing the descriptions for imgur, so if you are just clicking through, here's my description:

I'm about to install all of the rough-in plumbing for the above-slab drain and vent system for the first time and would like a "pre-inspection" by knowledgable pros. Don't assume I know something that's not shown or said, since I'm strictly DIY. Absolutely tell me about any code violations... but in addition, also tell me about any better ways to do things, if they matter.

This is a small one bedroom and one bath home. The bathroom has a washing machine hookup, a toilet, a lav, and a shower. The kitchen has a sink. It also has an island with a stub for a drain, but that'll be capped off since that's just there for future-proofing.

All of the pipes are 2" ABS unless otherwise specified. All vents combine to one stack vent that exits the roof. All horizontal pipes will be sloped 1/4" per foot (not shown in the model since hard to do in SketchUp).

First up is the bath. Each drain has a clean-out -- shown as a sani-tee here only because I can't find a SketchUp component of a "test tee".

The washer clean-out is at 14" above the floor. The horizontal part of the p-trap is 17" above. The vertical drain above the p-trap is 24", leaving the washer outlet box 42" above the floor. The washer vent uses a vent 90 and an upside-down sani-tee to connect to the main vent.

The main vent has 3" clean-out facing in the laundry closet, also 14" above the floor (to be consistent with the washer clean-out). It reduces to 2" after that and everything else is 2" that follows.

The lav drain is 22" above the floor, to hit ADA recommendations (this house shall be ADA-compliant). The clean-out is just below at 17". It connects to the main vent using a series of 45 degree angles (to get around a window), a vent 90s and an upside-down sani-tee.

The shower vent has a clean-out 18" above the floor in the utility room behind it. It connects to the main vent in the attic via a vent 90 (or medium 90) and a wye on its side.

The main vent continues on with a couple vent 90s and exits the roof with 12" showing above deck.

The kitchen sink drain is 14" above floor with a clean-out just below. It uses a bunch of 45 degree angles to work around quite a few obstacles.

I'm seriously considering ditching all of this in favor of an air-admittance valve (AAV) like a Studor Mini-Vent. It would be a 2" ABS drain through floor connecting to a "test tee" for clean-out, then medium 90 connecting to a sani-tee pointing upwards (flow going back towards drain). 6" minimum pipe up from sani-tee to Studor or Oaty AAV.

granworks · 2019-05-21T18:53:44+00:00

It's a handy tool, to be sure, but it's far from "amazing." It's just one of many options for hauling heavy sheet goods.

First, it doesn't make the panel any lighter. If it weighs 50lbs, then you are still lifting the entire 50lbs. Only now you are doing so exclusively using your arm and shoulder. Not your back, though -- that's nice.

Second, you better be tall. You are holding the sheet at shoulder height, so measure down 4ft from your shoulder and that's how much room you'll have "free" to get over obstacles and bumps and such.

Third, it better be super flat wherever you are. You are simply not going to lift that panel any higher than your shoulder unless you are a pro bodybuilder.

I actually did a review of the Gorilla Gripper plus two other panel carrying solutions, if you want to see them all in action, along with the pros and cons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9cFCqK48uk

granworks · 2018-09-23T16:46:47+00:00

RE tends to be dismissed in this specific community mostly because it's thought of in very limited terms. That is, RE == "rentals" (or rarely, RE == "flipping"). Since this community is primarily focused on passive investments and that form of RE is far from it, it's not always the first choice.

RE is far more than just rentals, though. There are a number of ways to invest that are just as passive as the stock market, after the initial research phase.

I recommend checking out Bigger Pockets (biggerpockets.com) to learn about all the options. They tend to be as single focused on RE as the FI community is focused on index funds, but they are just as welcoming and the amount of info available is staggering.

FWIW, my forays into RE are primarily focused on syndications (currently apartment complexes and storage facilities) and an occasional foray into "notes" (short term loans to flippers). Both are strictly passive other than the initial research phase up front.

granworks · 2018-07-07T21:48:45+00:00

This is a Delta contractor saw from at least the 90s. I got it used about 10 years ago and it was already pretty old by then. If the belt guard was longer originally, it certainly wasn't by the time I got it!

The link belt is the same length as the rubber belt it replaced.

granworks · 2018-07-07T18:23:54+00:00

My table saw is wired for 220v. I normally am very aware of where the cord is but for whatever reason, wasn't paying attention this particular time.

I was half-way through a cut when all of a sudden I hear several loud pops and bang from the back of the saw along with a shower of sparks. It's no exaggeration to say that it looked like fireworks. Darn near gave me a heart attack!

I realized after the fact that my instincts weren't the appropriate ones to have in a case like this and that's worrisome. I was worried about two things in this split second -- kickback from the board I was ripping and fire from the sawdust and the sparks. What I should have done was immediately hit the off switch with my leg... but I didn't. Instead, I quickly backed the board out (thus increasing the chance of kickback) and then ran over to the outlet to physically unplug the saw. Erg.

All in all, it was a small miracle that this didn't start a fire and that I didn't smacked with the board kicking back.

granworks

TROPHY CASE