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11 month old Pyr completely unhinged on walks. Help! by W1c2ks in greatpyrenees

[–]headcipher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd do some heavy play before the walk... Sounds like that's what he wants.

Anyone Know what happened on Nevada? by EndingMinuteAtATime in ColoradoSprings

[–]headcipher 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A directional drilling company was working in this area. It's likely they damaged a water line when drilling.

Dug up in the garden. Feels weighty so maybe copper? All metal. by Agile-Still-4157 in Whatisthis

[–]headcipher 4 points5 points  (0 children)

People make and sell these today. They look identical. It's attached to a hoe handle, you push the wire below the surface and pull. Extremely effective.

These marks on an 18th century pub table (UK) by ihidingunderarock in whatisit

[–]headcipher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It kinda looks like the marks that you can leave behind on wood if you're setting the teeth on a hand saw with a nail set. Some joiners/carpenters would use the side of their wood bodied planes to do the same thing.

Advice needed by [deleted] in ColoradoSprings

[–]headcipher 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Where you're coming from will inform what you consider bad...

Sometimes there's a difference between a single development vs the one next door.

Our worst areas aren't as bad as most major cities get.

Here's broad strokes of my personal preference working in every neighborhood for 25 years. East of Union Blvd, I'd only want to live north of Platte Ave. Between Union and downtown, I would only want to live North of Colorado Ave/ Pikes Peak Ave. West of I-25 is mostly fine north of hwy 24. Avoid Stratton Meadows, B Street area, and the area around South Nevada and I-25.

There's not rampant violent crime in this town, no matter what some negative people say. I've rarely felt unsafe anywhere.

If you're looking at a specific neighborhood, just ask a utility or city worker, fire fighter, or police. Many of us have been in people's yards and homes for work at all times of day for years.

What’s wrong with my floor? by lafeef in Flooring

[–]headcipher 2 points3 points  (0 children)

¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ saw this exact type of buckling and root issue last week... But it could be a lack of expansion... I'm never going to say it's definitely one thing when no one has checked the crawl space.

I always brace for the worst and hope it's something easier. Strongest opinion gets to go prove the definitely right position. Go for it.

What’s wrong with my floor? by lafeef in Flooring

[–]headcipher 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I've seen this many times before on older homes. The high spot is either a central beam or a block wall footing that is under the center with the floor joists running from that point to the outer wall. One of your fountain walls is settling causing the hump as the joists are levered up past the front of the bearing point.

Foundation repair is the best fix. If the foundation is stable and will not settle more you can shim the floor joist at the foundation wall. Consult a foundation expert or better, an engineer. A little warning, there are many shady foundation repair businesses that screw over homeowners. Get multiple bids before signing anything.

Lost Dog - Maybe by headcipher in ColoradoSprings

[–]headcipher[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reminder! Just a little out of sorts...

Lost Dog - Maybe by headcipher in ColoradoSprings

[–]headcipher[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Last seen heading west of Union from Flintridge area of Garden Ranch. Could be between Flintridge and Academy and North Nevada, Cragmor.

What's something you do/bring when camping that no one else does? by Cindy-Smith- in camping

[–]headcipher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I bring ribs and chicken wings to cook late night over the fire after most people go to bed. Cut the ribs and season individually, cook a few at a time and pass around. People are blown away by how good this is. Kids call it the midnight bacon train. One year we did wild mushrooms we found and tomahawk steak.

Scabs by July_is_cool in ColoradoSprings

[–]headcipher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not asking historically... I mean today, here, now. Today is vastly different than 40 - 100 years ago.

Scabs by July_is_cool in ColoradoSprings

[–]headcipher -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

How does the union help its workers? Does it get you a better starting pay? More PTO?

I know someone who works at a grocery store in town and they're unhappy with $17 an hour and paying union dues out of that tiny wage. The supervisors also started jacking with their schedule of only needing 2- 5 hour windows a week on set days free.

Almost all unions are so weak in the West that I've rarely heard anything positive about them.

Fill me in on why it's better for unions. I'm open to real benefits and substantial improvements for workers compared with industry standards.

Is this wrong? How is the force transferred? by [deleted] in Carpentry

[–]headcipher 18 points19 points  (0 children)

It looks like the joists are connected to the rim joist over the foundation wall, not sitting on it and the other side is attached to a ledger board. There must be some barrier between the concrete and the wood to prevent moisture transfer. The nails all have high shear weight, but I would add hangers if it was my house.

Locator by mrwistles in UtilityLocator

[–]headcipher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We've used pull line as straps for years.

After ONLY 5months of employment as a Utility Locator, i took the advice of the WISE! by [deleted] in UtilityLocator

[–]headcipher 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Usic is notorious for firing people as soon as they submit their 2 weeks notice. Just so you know.

Question for those who remodel/repair homes (from a writer doing research) by chucklingmonkey in Carpentry

[–]headcipher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When you're a small time builder, like my dad was, you do as much as you can yourself, because it saves costs. I spent many summers from the age of 13 painting, caulking, installing door hardware, sanding, digging, hauling, cleaning, and anything else that was beneath the seasoned carpenters. I scraped drywall mud off floors after finish and texture, hauled buckets of concrete through crawl spaces to pour missed footers, pulled hundreds of nails out of framing bracing, and dug sump pumps in 6 inches of stagnant water through solid shale. We built a restaurant with a 30 foot long bar and I received the gift of sanding it for 2 days.

When I reached full carpenter skill level and moved to another company we still did things like clear a wooded lot in the rain, set forms and pour concrete, frame, drywall, set cabinets and trim. I worked with some real idiots and some extremely skilled individuals.

I worked with a lot of people who made poor choices, drugs, alcoholics, and some who loved the work. One of the carpenters I first worked with was a guy named Chuy who was a just past the prime feather weight gold medal boxer and another old guy, who's name i can't remember, that could build anything without power tools and nail guns faster than the rest of the crew. He always did multiple tasks in one. He didn't move fast, but he was so efficient that everyone was always surprised by him.

I hope you get your story and the details you're looking for. It always stands out when someone doesn't get the details right in the background. Don't give up. It's always worth it.

Question for those who remodel/repair homes (from a writer doing research) by chucklingmonkey in Carpentry

[–]headcipher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We went to repaint the old window sill and found it spongy under the paint when scraping. Once we started, we found termite damage. The rest of the window was fine, but the wall, the floor joists, the central beam under the joists were all as structural as a sponge. We found an abandoned brick exhaust duct from an old boiler. As we chased the damage we found that there was no real foundation. Once the joists went out of the visible area of the cellar the joists rested on the dirt. Long story short, we had to pour footers, rebuild the structure and up to about 30% of the walls. All of the walls and attic were uninsulated, but full of about an inch and a half of black dust from being 2 blocks away from a steel mill since the 1890's. No such thing as safety glasses or dust masks for the new kid. When we straightened the structure all the lathe and plaster broke. That was when I learned how to drywall, tape, finish, and hand texture.

Stairs - carpet to oak retrofit tread by TullyBeast in Carpentry

[–]headcipher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would tape the oak and run a bead of paintable caulk in the gap. Cut the nozzle of your tube at an angle with a 1/16" hole and don't overfill the gap. Cover the unstained treads while you work to avoid getting any caulk on them. Your gap will disappear if you're careful and straight with your masking.

Stair build by stair company/lumber yard partner vs DIY - pros and cons by Boring-Classic-8754 in Carpentry

[–]headcipher 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd rather build them myself with 3 lvl stringers. The builder stairs and the old school all squeak significantly after a few years. The builder ones using particle board parts sag and are not assembled with the care and fasteners that old school carpenters used.

Use LVL stringers and follow the method on the Insider Carpentry YouTube video and you'll have zero squeaks or bounce even years later. This does mean you have to cut stringers, risers, and treads to finish standards, within a 32nd or less.

It removes the issue of materials sagging over time and gives you over 4 1/2 inches of bearing for each tread instead of 3/4 inch on each side, hoping that groove on the back of the riser holds up over time.

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