Home Repairs

[Chadd 916]

Around here it is usually called landscaping timber.

[coryroth24 15]

What do they call that edging? regular 4x4 lumber doesn't have the rounded edge...I've serarched for it as "landscape edging" ...nothing.

And, how did you secure it? I've thought that a piece of re-bar through all the wood and into the ground about a foot or 2 should be enough to hold it all together!

Thanks! They're "Landscape Timbers" from Home Depot. They run just shy of $4 a pop for 8' sections, much cheaper than getting pressure treated 4x4s. To keep everything together, each layer was secured to the one below it by 3-1/2" drywall screws (I swear by these even if they're overkill for some situations). I did this just to hold everything together as I built up the wall. Once that was said and done, I drove three, 4' long pieces of rebar through the entire wall and into the ground. I used 2' rebar on the "deadman" Pretty sure it was a bit much for walls that are all of 14" high, but at least I know they won't go anywhere anytime soon (knock on wood).

That looks great! A pretty steep grade, but that looks really nicely done.

We should have done a full fence around our garden this year; no shortage of deer and rabbits around here this summer. Is there a gate on there or are you just reaching over? Hard to tell from the photo.

Learned the hard way last year that the deer spray doesn't work. Damn things pretty much had a buffet set up for them. As for a gate, I just took a piece of fencing, topped it with a 1x3, added two bolts small enough to fit in the holes of the T-stakes and called it a day. Simple yet effective. I'll figure out something better eventually. For now, it was a race to get this thing done to get the plants in the ground... Here's a pic of the "gate". Next step is to go get some stone to cover up the rest of the dirt that's not getting planted and put up some lattice so I don't have to look at that damn Radon fan and gas meeter!

[RadioGaGa 162]

Thanks! They're "Landscape Timbers" from Home Depot. They run just shy of $4 a pop for 8' sections, much cheaper than getting pressure treated 4x4s. To keep everything together, each layer was secured to the one below it by 3-1/2" drywall screws (I swear by these even if they're overkill for some situations). I did this just to hold everything together as I built up the wall. Once that was said and done, I drove three, 4' long pieces of rebar through the entire wall and into the ground. I used 2' rebar on the "deadman" Pretty sure it was a bit much for walls that are all of 14" high, but at least I know they won't go anywhere anytime soon (knock on wood).

"TIMBERS" Hell....I tried to think of every possible thing they could be called. All edging ever gave me was cheap plastic stuff. and lumber....just brought up the 4x4 or other building materials.

Hmmm....I've seen them all over the place in yards around here...but when I search homedepot.ca or lowes.ca....they don't have them. The .com's do....but not the .ca's

We probably just call it something different. Crazy Canucks!!!!

[DLK 0]

They're also referred to as mini-ties sometimes.

[RadioGaGa 162]

They're also referred to as mini-ties sometimes.

LOL...Yes...just found them. And, they are just over $6 here. Almost would have been worth the drive to Buffalo when they were 97 cents 2 weeks ago!

[Jason Harris 31]

I can't find a picture of something similar, so I'll post the link to something I bought on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=271007255708&si=QHtlegnWOXfQdpbQB7fGvycEy2Y%253D&viewitem=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_786wt_1398), which will be good until they take down the listing.

Anyway, back to my batting cage from above. We set it up last weekend, but apparently the Rocky Mountains are so named for a reason. Part of the area we are using had essentially been a carport with river rock laid down of the dirt, which was ground into the dirt over the years, but the truth is almost the entire area has small rocks strewn through the soil. I tried to rake away the top layer of rocks, but found that new rocks appeared under the epidermis.

Between the rocks and unevenness of the land, we realized the girls could bat, although the balls would get ruined, but they wouldn't be able to easily shoot hockey pucks or soccer balls. So today I used a root tiller to loosen up the first four to six inches. Tons more rocks appeared, sending me into a different direction; I'm going to pull away about three inches of the soil and spread it on my driveway, since it's become rutted over the years and collects a huge puddle in the winter. The rocks in the dirt should help retain more dirt than is currently occurring.

Then I'm going to put down some time of soil before laying down the indoor/outdoor carpeting that I bought on eBay. This should allow the girls to shoot soccer balls, let one daughter comfortably wear her catching gear, and allow us a flat surface to put down a piece of plywood (or artificial ice) for shooting pucks.

Two questions:

1) How much dirt should I remove and replace? My goal is to have enough down to prevent rocks from interfering with the surface, but not too much that the dirt slowly pushes out the sides. (That's one of the reasons I'm going to remove dirt first, so it's not built up too much.)

2) What dirt would people suggest? I was going to get screened top soil, but my brother thought I should get sand. I'm a little worried the sand would be too pliable for when they're kicking soccer balls, as well as possibly bubbling up through the surface of the carpeting, although I could put a plastic barrier in-between the dirt and carpeting. Actually, the more I think about it, I probably should do that anyway.

[RadioGaGa 162]

I ended up getting my front gardening project done. Now a question...I filled much of the area around the brick garden box I built with cedar chips...

Now every morning...my front lawn is littered with chips from cats, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks and whatever the hell else getting into it over night. Anyone know a way (I suppose it SHOULD be humane) to keep animals out of a garden?

[chk hrd 164]

Two questions:

1) How much dirt should I remove and replace? My goal is to have enough down to prevent rocks from interfering with the surface, but not too much that the dirt slowly pushes out the sides. (That's one of the reasons I'm going to remove dirt first, so it's not built up too much.)

2) What dirt would people suggest? I was going to get screened top soil, but my brother thought I should get sand. I'm a little worried the sand would be too pliable for when they're kicking soccer balls, as well as possibly bubbling up through the surface of the carpeting, although I could put a plastic barrier in-between the dirt and carpeting. Actually, the more I think about it, I probably should do that anyway.

If you can take out about 4", put about an 1" of pea gravel or type 2 down and then a weed mat on top of it then finish it with a good topsoils. The gravel will give you some drainage. The weed mat helps keep the topsoil from filling in the gravel but allows drainage. Plastic doesn't let water get trough so you can end up with a muddy mess depending on how much water gets on it. Don't use a sand like play ground sand. Cats love to use it as a litter box. You can put down real bark shavings or the fake rubber bark shavings. They both work nice. Make sure you get it a level as possible, and use a boarder if you go with a bark. If not I've seen a good rain wash everything down the street.

[Jason Harris 31]

Thanks. Because the real expense is the cost of delivery, I was considering skipping the pea gravel since the soil is very rocky as is, but I suppose I should do it right, huh?

[chk hrd 164]

rocky soil doesn't mean it drains well, sometimes it will drain worse. No mater how much you till or rake it the rocks just seem to keep coming up. I have always dug dow, leveled out, compacted if needed and filled. If you do put down pea gravel make sure to put a weed mat over it to keep the dirt from filling the space. It's always better to spend as much as affordable and take the extra time to do right the first time. If you have to redo it it always cost more in the long run.

[Hooah4 12]

I ended up getting my front gardening project done. Now a question...I filled much of the area around the brick garden box I built with cedar chips...

Now every morning...my front lawn is littered with chips from cats, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks and whatever the hell else getting into it over night. Anyone know a way (I suppose it SHOULD be humane) to keep animals out of a garden?

I've used both mothballs (under the mulch) and dried blood. Depends if you have pets (no mothballs) or not. Both odors should repel most critters.

[ktang 34]

Just like RadioGaGa, one of my garage door cables broke last night, after I got home from hockey, so the garage door was too crooked to close. I improvised a connection using a skate lace and was able to get the door level enough to close. Today, Home Depot wanted $110 to order them in, but I was then able to get a pair for $30 from a garage door contractor. Replace both cables and then leveled the door, before the wife got back from Costco. Even she was impressed.

[RadioGaGa 162]

A skate lace???? There's no way that would have held my door, even as a temporary fix....I bet the damn thing weights 80-100 lbs.

[ktang 34]

My double-garage door is easily over 300 lbs. But since only one cable broke (at the eye stay), only 150 lbs had to be supported by the skate lace. I figured that the skate lace only had to support 150 lbs over the 3-4 inches, and since it was a loop only 75 lbs would be on it. I actually used hockey tape (lots of it) to create a new eye for attaching the skate lace.

Our garage door uses torsion springs, so for those doing this kind of repair: be very careful, or you could get seriously hurt or killed.

[ktang 34]

Removed both skylights in their entireties from their curbs last weekend and this weekend, and re-sealed them properly with bitumous rubber sealant after fixing the metal flashing (was never flashed properly, three sides weren't even attached on top). Hopefully that fixes the last 1% of the leaks. If that doesn't do it, I might have to try it again next summer with those pre-molded corners.

At least now I know what's in the skylight structures. And my son was a great help, and seemed genuinely interested in how things are put together.

[Chadd 916]

The downspout under the deck has been leaking badly and the paneling in the basement closet has been soaked for a while. Now I'm dealing with all of the mold that grew back there over the last couple years.

[Goonsquad 209]

The downspout under the deck has been leaking badly and the paneling in the basement closet has been soaked for a while. Now I'm dealing with all of the mold that grew back there over the last couple years.

Have you called in a specialist for mold remediation?

[Chadd 916]

Have you called in a specialist for mold remediation?

No, just doing the basics on my own.

[chippa13 1844]

Just make sure that you get it all. If that stuff spreads it could be ridiculous money to repair.

[Chadd 916]

Just make sure that you get it all. If that stuff spreads it could be ridiculous money to repair.

20 gallons of gas is starting to get expensive.

[wrangler 157]

"starting"?

[Chadd 916]

"starting"?

Not all of us remember it being a nickel a gallon.

[wrangler 157]

Slap-o-Gram on the way.

[Goonsquad 209]

I think Wrangler remembers a time when the first cars never even used gasoline.. ;)

Back on topic. .Yeah get rid of it all or you'll continually run into problems.

[wrangler 157]

OK, one sent for you, too.