Hardscaping options

The Handyguys discuss some hardscaping options under consideration for Brian’s fathers house – concrete, stamped concrete and pavers.

Concrete Ideas and Tips

Plain old concrete is the cheapest and fastest option for a front stoop. A small stoop can be done in a day with the following day to remove forms and clean up any dirt around the area. Brian’s fathers project (front patio, walkway, side walkway and rear patio slab) came in at about $3500 for plain concrete.

Image thanks to http://www.landbergconcrete.com

Stamped Concrete and Hardscaping Help

Stamped concrete is the process where a texture is places in the concrete to emulate the look of stone or brick. Stamped concrete also is typically colored. It’s a less expensive option than pavers, installs quickly and has a nice look. Brian’s fathers project (front patio, walkway, side walkway and rear patio slab) came in at about $4500 for plain concrete.

Thanks to http://www.morrisonscustomconcrete.com/ for the image.

Pavers or Stamped Concrete

Pavers are bricks made from concrete. They come in many different shapes and colors that can be mixed and matched to come up with an interesting and unique look. They are usually more costly than concrete. Pavers also require much more attention to detail in terms of preparation and they are more labor intensive to install. The entire job takes longer than concrete. Brian’s fathers project (front patio, walkway, side walkway and rear patio slab) came in at about $9000 for pavers.

Image thanks to http://www.ephenry.com/

Listen to the podcast for a full discussion on each of the options.

We address a question about shed materials and foundations as well as briefly discuss LED light bulbs.

Sheds

The Handyguys received a call from Rick from Sawdust Chronicles and The Splintered Board podcasts.  He asked

What materials are good for shed siding? Do I need a concrete slab for my shed?

Great questions Rick.

Materials

Sheds can be built with many different choices in materials. Some people will build them with the same types of finishes of their house (siding choice, colors, etc) sometimes people would do something different. A quick google search will turn up thousands of different looks.

If you don’t want to try and go to the trouble of matching siding and roofing from your house, and want to keep things simple, there is a commonly used siding called t1-11. Its exterior rated plywood that looks like board and batten siding. You can also get a version made from OSB that comes pre-primed. I think that’s called “smart panels”. I really like fiber cement siding, i haven’t used it on a shed but its on the top of my list for my next shed. Some brands come pre-primed or pre-painted.

Foundations/slabs

You will want to check with your municipality to determine if you need a permit. In most places you do not need a permit if the shed is build directly on the ground, usually with 4×4 PT runners sitting on some patio bricks. When build this way its not considered a permanent structure. When you build on a slab it is usually considered permanent and will require a permit. Again, check with your code people as this varies. Some areas will also require anchors in the ground, or slab, to prevent it from blowing away in high winds.

Also consider having someone build one for you or deliver one pre-made. My last shed I was going to build it myself but a local company was having a sale. They were able to build me a shed for less money than I could have bought the materials. One man came with the shed pre-build in sections (walls, roof, floor) and pout it together in just a couple hours. I painted it and built a ramp. I saved a few hundred bucks.

Listen to this podcast for The Handyguys discussing all these points.

LED Light bulbs

Handyguy Paul came across a new LED Light bulb from GE. Some of the claims from GE’s press release are:

• Expected to consume just 9 watts—compared with 40-watt incandescent/halogen or 10-watt CFL, while delivering nearly the same light output;
• Expected 25,000-hour rated life—will last 17 years (4 hours per day), which is 25 times longer than a general service 40-watt incandescent or halogen bulb and more than 3 times longer than a standard 8,000-hour rated life CFL;
• LED technology delivers the instant full brightness of an incandescent or halogen bulb;
• Durable solid-state design with no filament to break;
• Contains no mercury and will be RoHS compliant; and
• Feels cooler to the touch than CFLs and far cooler than incandescent bulbs.

Discussing bulbs leads Handyguy Brian to make a clam that short life bulbs have planned obsolescence and that some of Edison’s original bulbs are still burning today. Maybe Brian was imagining things but there are definitely some very old light bulbs still in use today. The discussion further digressed into who preferred DC versus AV electrical, Tesla, Edison or Westinghouse. Seems Paul was correct. Edison was a proponent of DC electrical for the grid and Westinghouse was a proponent of AC.

From wikipedia:

In the “War of Currents” era (sometimes, “War of the Currents” or “Battle of Currents”) in the late 1880s, George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison became adversaries due to Edison’s promotion of direct current (DC) for electric power distribution over alternating current (AC) advocated by Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla.

Thanks Paul for setting Brian straight. Listen to the podcast to hear the discussion.

Wood Floors on Concrete, Plumbing Repair and Finding Carpet Stains

This is a very full show covering many different topics. We start off commenting on a article in Fine Home Building magazine about wood floors over concrete, address two listener questions (one on leaky faucets and one on garbage disposals), and then we wrap up the show with a tip from Brian about how to find pet stains in carpet.

Wood floors on concrete

Can this be done? Sure it can. Brian and Paul comment on an article in Fine Homebuilding. The Author, Charles Peterson, discusses a technique that uses two layers of plywood and a vapor barrier to create a stable, floating, subfloor for installation of your finished floor. Check it out and listen to The Handyguys comments in the podcast.

Drippy faucets

The Handyguys love getting questions where the answer is simple and inexpensive. We received this question from Cheryl

I have a leaky bathtub faucet, it started dripping and it has gotten worse, do I need to replace the entire faucet? My house was built in 1953 and I’m guessing the faucet is probably that old too! It consists of two knobs, one of hot and cold and the spigot of course. I think both the hot and cold are leaking, I can’t really determine which one it is! Thanks for any help you can provide.

Cheryl – Thanks for your question. NO, you do not need to replace the faucet. The fix is pretty simple. We assume you mean the drip is coming from the spout, not from behind the handles. Our friends over at hammer zone have put together some instructions. I’ll let you read them instead of my recreating the steps here. Check out HammerZone’s how to replace a washer article and listen to our podcast for details.

There could be a few other issues. Give the washer replacement a try first, its easy to do.

Some possible pitfalls

• The washer screw is broken off
• The seat (what the washer presses against) is damaged
• Parts are corroded preventing removal
• The handle you have may remove differently than in the pictures at hammerzone

If you have trouble please let us know. You can hear our discussion of the issue in the podcast.

Garbage Disposal Smells

This stinky issue keeps generating interest. We have received many tips and tricks. We thought we would answer Dave’s question and pass along his tip.

I always shut off the circuit breaker to the disposal anytime I am going to stick my hand in there. Just to be sure that it will not turn off.

Have you guys used Draino? I had a problem where soft foods weren’t getting shredded enough to go down the drain so I started getting an odor. I poured draino down there and after it sat for awhile I ran it again and the food and smell were gone. Do you know of any problems in using draino in a disposal. ex corrosion or other problems?

Good tip about the circuit breaker Dave, better safe than sorry. As for Draino. Yes and No. It depends on which draino product you are considering. Check the label. The crystals are not recommended for garbage disposers, the gel is fine according to the manufacture. Bottom line, check the label.

The Handyguys discuss and test drills

In this episode, the Handyguys discuss the basic variety of drills. They also answer a couple questions about the the best drill to use for difficult jobs like putting large holes in joists and drilling holes in concrete.

There is an amazing variety of drills on the market today so it is difficult to know where to begin — cordless, corded, or lithium ion — contractor grade or low-end. Hopefully you can build a solid, standardized drill arsenal by listening to this podcast.

In response to these questions, the Handyguys test out a table full of drills in the garage. For their tool challenge, they see which of the seven different drills can handle putting a large auger bit through a piece of tough oak. In addition, they set a cordless hammer drill against a corded hammer drill in a concrete hole contest.

Results of the 3/4″ auger bit through 5/4 Red Oak:

• Milwaukee Magnum 0234 (5.5a, 1/2″ 850RPM) — 3.59 seconds
• Makita HP1621FK (5.7a 5/8″ 0-2800 RPM) — 2.69 seconds
• Milwaukee #1630 (300RPM) — 5.20 seconds
• Craftsman 315.11441 (2.2a, 3/8″, 1200RPM) — Not enough power
• Bosch LIon PS20 (10.8v cordless) — Not enough power
• Porter Cable 9966 (12v cordless, 1/2″ L-425RPM, H-1300RPM) — Not enough power
• Makita LXT BHP451 (18v LIon cordless, L-300RPM) — 7.65 seconds

Corded vs cordless hammer drill test in concrete (2″ deep hole with 3/16″ tapcon):

• Makita LXT BHP451 (18v LIon cordless, L-300RPM) — 12.87 seconds
• Makita HP1621FK (5.7a 1/2″ 0-2800 RPM) — 6.50 seconds