DIY Thread

[ALLSKIING]

20 yards of top soil sitting at the end of my driveway. Gonna be a challenging next couple of weeks... :-o

What are you doing with all that? Garden beds?

 

[Terry]

I've got 1 small patch of bare ground showing now so will have to start the raking thing soon. God I hate that- would rather be out there skiing. Going to be warm all week so I have to go hike for turns this week also. Maybe the raking can wait a couple more weeks!

 

[tree_skier]

I have a couple of small patches of bare ground but it looks like it still may be at least a week before I can start thinking of raking. The good news is that all of the ice has finally melted from the driveway, the bad news is that it's mud season

 

[Greg]

What are you doing with all that? Garden beds?

I had a grub invasion last summer so I have some repair to do. They also finally did the second coat of pavement on our road so I want to fix the front edge of the yard. Most of it will be for some more beds and another area of grass. I may need more... :-o

 

[ALLSKIING]

I had a grub invasion last summer so I have some repair to do. They also finally did the second coat of pavement on our road so I want to fix the front edge of the yard. Most of it will be for some more beds and another area of grass. I may need more... :-o

Grubs:angry: I hate those things....I had a huge tree that I took down a few years back and after that I had grubs. The tree guy told me that can happen when taking down trees...I guess they like something about the stumps even if you grind them. The only way I could get rid of them was to put grub killer down. I really did not want to do that with well water but they return year after year.

 

[hammer]

I had a grub invasion last summer so I have some repair to do. They also finally did the second coat of pavement on our road so I want to fix the front edge of the yard. Most of it will be for some more beds and another area of grass. I may need more... :-o

Will you be spreading it all out by hand? I've had to move about 4 - 5 yards by hand a few times, took a long time...really glad I now have a tractor to help out.

Do you have plans to put down stuff for the grubs? I believe that there's a specific time that you need to do that...

 

[Greg]

Will you be spreading it all out by hand? I've had to move about 4 - 5 yards by hand a few times, took a long time...really glad I now have a tractor to help out.

Do you have plans to put down stuff for the grubs? I believe that there's a specific time that you need to do that...

Well, I have a leaf trailer for my tractor and while I totally overload its recommended capacity when filled with top soil, :lol: it's still way better than pushing a wheel barrow around. But, yes, by hand, meaning a shovel. I did a total of 15 yards last summer so I'm used to grunt work. It does take a while.

I have a well too, but the lawn is getting hit with Grub-Ex this spring.

 

[deadheadskier]

Any tips on grouting ceramic bathroom tiles? The tiles are glazed. I'm basically most concerned with even distribution of grout between the tiles such that it is smooth.

My contractor (brother) and I had a bit of a falling out prior to the work being completed, so I'm going to tackle the project myself.

 

[ctenidae]

Any tips on grouting ceramic bathroom tiles? The tiles are glazed. I'm basically most concerned with even distribution of grout between the tiles such that it is smooth.

My contractor (brother) and I had a bit of a falling out prior to the work being completed, so I'm going to tackle the project myself.

Work the grout in well with a rubber float, let it set a minute, then wipe off with a well-rinsed and well-rung out sponge. That should smootht he grout well. Any uneven areas can be smoothed over with a moist finger.

The key to grout work is to know when to leave it alone. Stand back, look at the whole field, then say "That'll do it."

 

[Sexkitten]

The key to grout work is to know when to leave it alone. Stand back, look at the whole field, then say "That'll do it."

That's great advice actually. I had to grout just the other day... we are redoing our kitchen and I had to tile a small area before we installed the new cabinets. It felt good doing the work and then suddenly I had a flashback to the sore knees and back and ragged hands I'd gotten when doing the original install. Needless to say I wrapped it up quickly.

 

[Greg]

The key to grout work is to know when to leave it alone. Stand back, look at the whole field, then say "That'll do it."

The same hold true for a lot of things like this, wall mudding, cement work, etc.

 

[ctenidae]

The same hold true for a lot of things like this, wall mudding, cement work, etc.

Yup. Probably the hardest lesson to learn.

 

[Marc]

Any uneven areas can be smoothed over with a moist finger.

Amazing how that piece of advice transcends home improvement.

 

[ctenidae]

Amazing how that piece of advice transcends home improvement.

I had that thought as I typed it.

Good to have you back.

 

[ckofer]

Now here's a cool project:

http://bigmouth.here-n-there.com/

 

[hammer]

Looking to replace my front entry door...any recommendations/advice (steel vs. fiberglass, brand) would be appreciated.

 

[tree_skier]

Looking to replace my front entry door...any recommendations/advice (steel vs. fiberglass, brand) would be appreciated.

I would go with fiberglass. I replaced my steel front entry door with a fiberglass one from home depot last summer. I also added a storm/screen door at the same time. The prefinished fiberglass is much nicer then the steel one was.

 

[Mildcat]

I'm just about done with the drywall on the dining room I made. I'm almost ready to prime. Ordered an airless sprayer on Ebay. Any recommendations for a primer with good filling properties and easy sanding?

 

[deadheadskier]

pretty small scale in terms of DIY, but purchased an unfinished coffee table this weekend, stained and polyed it. I think this will be the route I take with all future furniture purchases.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

pretty small scale in terms of DIY, but purchased an unfinished coffee table this weekend, stained and polyed it. I think this will be the route I take with all future furniture purchases.

I like glass coffee tables the best...JEA!!!!!!!