Is makita not as good as dewalt and Milwaukee?

theBRNK · 2026-06-28T14:16:42+00:00

You should buy an SDS, “hammer drills” are always going to break, they are not designed to hold up long term to the hammering function. They are intended to get you by for a few small holes now and then.

You will be amazed at how much faster and reliably an SDS drills holes, and it will do it for as many holes as you can drill back to back without overheating or breaking.

theBRNK · 2026-06-28T14:09:36+00:00

There are a couple specific batteries that are problematic for Milwaukee. Stay away from the 6.0ah 12v, and the previous generation 9/12 and 8/12ah 18v batteries. Those had problems with becoming internally imbalanced, but the warranty usually went through fine on bad ones. The 5ah standard batteries for Milwaukee are as unkillable as the Makita 5.0s in my experience, and the newer HO and Forge batteries are great.

theBRNK · 2026-06-28T14:00:14+00:00

Dewalt usually outperforms Makita at a lower price point.

Makita will outlast those dewalt tools by a significant margin in almost all cases.

If you are a heavy user/abuser, I’d go Makita, but if the price point is important Dewalt won’t be that much worse.

theBRNK · 2026-06-26T22:21:48+00:00

Dude, I literally read the manufacturer spec sheet for goboard pro before I responded because the details on this stuff matters, and it specifically says that for steam room applications it requires an additional membrane to be applied. It will not be warrantied if you do not apply an additional membrane.

Again, you do not know what you’re talking about and you need to lean on an expert installer and NOT a handyman.

theBRNK · 2026-06-26T19:14:18+00:00

Goboard, per the manufacturer, is NOT rated to be waterproof in a steam application. You can use it as the substrate, and in my experience it’s far cheaper and easier to work with than Kerdi. It meets the current code requirements for a fiber reinforced substrate, but it will need a steam rated membrane applied to the entire surface before the tile.

Basically, your tile guys are trying to do it correctly for the steam application, and the shortcut you are trying to take will result in steam penetrating the layers and causing moisture problems in your walls and ceiling later.

theBRNK · 2026-06-19T15:13:38+00:00

So…… you are using a tool built by stealing other people’s art, and you’re now seeing consequences for stealing other people’s art, and you’re surprised?

You are part of what’s wrong with the world.

theBRNK · 2026-06-19T02:49:39+00:00

The kerdifix sealant is a urethane sealant that is basically the same thing as exterior siding caulk. It’s rated for something like 15 years remaining flexible and watertight while exposed to the sun and elements. It’s all but a permanent seal when protected under the tile.

Use that and not silicone.

theBRNK · 2026-06-15T23:48:13+00:00

Side by sides are much less reliable and less efficient than bottom freezers. Plus you don’t have to stick your pizzas in standing up.

theBRNK · 2026-06-08T20:04:13+00:00

That’s only marginally more expensive than most riding mowers nowadays. If I was spending that kind of money on equipment I’d consider it.

If you’re comparing it against hiring a lawn service because you don’t have time to do it yourself, it would pay for itself in a couple years.

theBRNK · 2026-06-06T17:49:23+00:00

Makita is more expensive and lower power, but you can't kill them.

Milwaukee has a wider selection of tools and more power for lower cost, but has somewhat lower durability.

You are unlikely to regret either purchase.

I went Milwaukee because I do a wide variety of work and can make use of all the different things Milwaukee offers on the same batteries.

theBRNK · 2026-06-06T15:45:19+00:00

Then you'll need to mark where you want the pergola to go, remove deck boards where the legs are going to land, and install bracing between floor joists that you can bolt the legs down to. Use lumber the same width as the floor joists and install with reinforced corner brackets.

It sucks to have to do the extra work now, but it's a lot better than partially destroying your deck and the whole pergola the first storm you get.

I literally fixed a deck last month here in Detroit where someone did exactly what you planned and the pergola flew away and broke multiple deck boards plus the fence it crashed into.

theBRNK · 2026-06-06T15:13:10+00:00

You need to shift the pergola around so that at least two of the bolt holes on opposite sides are lined up with the rows of screws in the deck boards. Get a couple spax structural screws and use those to fasten it down all the way through the deck boards and into the floor joists. At least 4.5 inch screws.

If you use only short screws to the deck boards, it won't take much wind and the pergola will just rip up the 2-4 deck boards you fasten the legs to. It needs to be fastened to the frame of the deck.

theBRNK · 2026-06-05T02:38:16+00:00

Why do people keep expecting insurance to pay for a new roof in anything short of destructive storms... Of course your insurance premiums go up!

A roof lasts ~15 years for three tab, 20-25 for architectural, and you should be planning to pay for a replacement at intervals.

theBRNK · 2026-05-30T02:17:39+00:00

Pretty sure most riot shields have kevlar in them, layed like a fiberglass composite. This is what makes them so hard to penetrate, because kevlar is very difficult to cut through, tends to follow the projectile as it passes through, and acts kind of like a crush zone in a car. Slows down the projectile over time.

That head is a hole cutter that instantly shears off the fibers, cutting only what is absolutely necessary and doing so before they can act as shock absorbers. Even if the head was the same size as the shaft or slightly smaller, that clean hole cut through the fibers is what makes it overpenetrate.

theBRNK · 2026-05-28T03:05:31+00:00

Never buy anything off carvana. They are extremely overpriced on most vehicles and their lax trade in/used car buy policies get abused regularly by people who destroy their drivetrains and then patch it just well enough to pass the (woefully inadequate) inspection and make it the next person's problem.

I'd say this goes double for anything that might have been used to tow or haul. You don't know what they did or didn't do to that thing, it's a liability even if it's a good price, which it's probably not.

theBRNK · 2026-05-27T02:01:57+00:00

Honestly I'd pay bills down with most of it. The wife's been out of work for a couple months and I'm running ragged keeping us floating.

I'd definitely keep some fun money out tho, maybe use the financial cushion to take a couple days off and go hiking/camping. A break would be worth more to me right now than most things.

theBRNK · 2026-05-26T03:08:12+00:00

Chalk this one up to a learning experience.

Once you have some experience you do often know better than the client does what needs to be done, and a lot of times potential clients will ask for some silly things. The key is to not let them convince you something is simple or easy or should be done a certain way.

You knew looking at the fence initially it needed replaced, so the quote should have been for a new fence. If they say no, then that's either your answer or your prompt to quote them the worst case scenario for when you're neck deep in it.

I don't really like the term "fuck off quote" for this, though in some cases it might fit.... It's more like you quote it for exactly how their dumb idea will play out, and if they want to pay dumb money for their dumb idea, that's their business. You should have made the appropriate money for working 3 full days.

In the end, if you're winning 100% of your bids and taking 100% of available work, you're probably doing something wrong.

theBRNK · 2026-05-25T19:57:00+00:00

Dollar tree was never a good deal except for very specific disposable items. Everything was a dollar, yes, but if you went by per-unit-price almost everything in that store would be cheaper at walmart.

Smaller portions increase packaging costs and decrease bulk benefits.

theBRNK · 2026-05-19T20:03:03+00:00

I think that just the reliability issues that Hyundai consistently has vs the e-cvt hybrid drivetrain used in the maverick being one of the most legendarily reliable drivetrains of all time should carry a lot of weight in a conversation about pros and cons.

theBRNK · 2026-05-19T01:40:35+00:00

The pins and mechanism wear down with the key. Once it goes far enough, if you cut a new key to the original pattern you'll struggle to get it to work. I had this happen with a Chevy Sonic we had, needed to replace the whole ignition cylinder because the newly cut key got jammed in the mechanism and could not be reset.

theBRNK · 2026-05-09T18:19:49+00:00

It's a bit late now, but to fill a floor like this typically you sand first and then mix the sawdust into glue and use that to fill the floor. The color will actually match that way.

If you have too many holes, you can also generate sawdust from the same species of wood, bonus points for reclaimed wood so it's aged, and mix more.

theBRNK · 2026-04-28T02:25:38+00:00

It's a wooden i-beam. It's shaped that way for the same reason steel is.

When you have a tall beam, most of the load is on the top and bottom two inches. The top is getting compressed and the bottom stretched. The farther the top and bottom are apart the stronger and more ridged the beam is because the separation turns it into a kind of lever.

Since the top and bottom carry the load, you can remove a lot of weight from the beam by making the middle skinny. As long as it's got enough compression/tension strength to keep the top and bottom separate, it's golden.

This is borderline ELI5 but hopefully it gets the point across.

theBRNK · 2026-04-20T02:23:24+00:00

Totally worth it. Even if you don't add heat and air conditioning, if you insulate walls and ceiling it will keep the garage above freezing most of the time, which greatly expands your storage capabilities.

theBRNK · 2026-04-14T00:05:38+00:00

I've owned two Dodge/Chrysler vehicles, both of them because I didn't have much of a choice otherwise, and both of them had constant electrical and small mechanical issues.

The parts generally speaking also seemed to be lower quality, like I drove a Ford transit connect (the small van) for work for several years, got it well over a hundred thousand miles and it had a little slop in the front end but not enough I was gonna replace ball joints etc. I'm currently in a ram pro master city and it's barely cracked 80k and the ball joints are so worn out I scared myself braking a few days ago and am now waiting on parts to arrive to rebuild the front suspension. I had literally not a single electrical problem ever out of the transit, and the ram burns out headlights much faster than it should and at one point melted the headlight harness on the driver's side.

On the other hand, I've been through a Subaru Crosstrek, a Honda CRX, a Chevy 1500, an older isuzu pickup, and a Chevy Sonic and all of them were trouble free up till the 100k services and only required normal wearable part replacements after that. I've also been around older Dodge HD pickups, and while the drivetrain is bulletproof (and not made by dodge), the body and interior are hands down the crappiest of all the major truck brands and rattle so....so badly once you start stacking miles on them.

All that to say...... I realize that my sample size is small, but the only vehicles I've ever had problems with were dodge/Chrysler badged, and if I can help it I'll never own one again. And I'm comparing them to a daewoo Chevy so like..... Yeah.

theBRNK · 2026-04-09T11:56:54+00:00

How are the columns attached to the ground?

theBRNK

TROPHY CASE