Weekend Warriors, or how NOT to do it.....

[gregpark]

That's show biz!
cut throat business in every way. That said, "this old house" paid me handsomely

[wdfifteen]

There is an impressive rat’s nest of wires switches and boxes in my barn. Pics later.
When they added a room to my old house they put a door where a window was, in the middle of a 12 foot wall. When the electrician came in he gave it a look and said, “I’ll bet there was an outlet there.” He cut out a section of drywall and pulled out the wire that had gone to the outlet. The carpenters had just cut it off, rolled it up, and stuffed it in the wall cavity.

[URY914]

I have always thought the success of the big box home improvement stores owe it all to PBS and This Old House of the '70's and '80's. The baby boomers watched This Old House and told themselves, "I can do that myself just like on TV."

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by URY914

I have always thought the success of the big box home improvement stores owe it all to PBS and This Old House of the '70's and '80's. The baby boomers watched This Old House and told themselves, "I can do that myself just like on TV."

And the spinoff New Yankee Workshop did the same for workshop power tools. Who can forget Norm's big drawer ("drauw" in Normspeak) of Porter Cable router motors - one for every bit!

[dad911]

Holmes did some jobs in the US. I was just picking on the nails as something I remembered, there were more issues than that.

In any event, while states used to adopt Bocca or Cabo codes, now most have adopted versions of IBC (International Building Code)

All had nailing schedules. If we use a strap, hanger, or fastener not specified in the code or the approved plans, we need an architect or engineer to sign off on it. There is no screwing schedule for wood, to the best of my knowledge.

As I recall Holmes constantly complained about sub-par work, yet many of the things he did would not pass inspection here.

Frankly, I use screws whenever possible. However, as studs and joists expand and contract with humidity, I would think nails are a better application. When hand nailing, I split alot of studs back in the day...... with nail guns that's no longer an issue.

[fastfredracing]

Have you ever been almost done with a repair, but need one fitting, pipe, or piece of hardware, but don't feel like putting on pants, and driving the 45 minute round trip to HD or Lowes, so you just use what you have in your spare parts bucket at home ?

[Icemaster]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Have you ever been almost done with a repair, but need one fitting, pipe, or piece of hardware, but don't feel like putting on pants, and driving the 45 minute round trip to HD or Lowes, so you just use what you have in your spare parts bucket at home ?

You wear pants to the hardware store? TIL...

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by look 171

He should, shouldn't he?

Yes, any builder should. I only added that comment because some people claimed his methods 'did not meet code'. I would be fairly confident saying that he always met code for the area he worked in. But he also had a unreasonably high opinion of his 'engineering knowledge' for a guy that wasn't an engineer.

[gregpark]

You ever notice how the most knowledgeable guys never claim to know it all and are always open to suggestion, and the guys with half the knowledge try to give the impression that they know it all?

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by gregpark

You ever notice how the most knowledgeable guys never claim to know it all and are always open to suggestion, and the guys with half the knowledge try to give the impression that they know it all?

Truth here

[URY914]

Originally Posted by gregpark

You ever notice how the most knowledgeable guys never claim to know it all and are always open to suggestion, and the guys with half the knowledge try to give the impression that they know it all?

Never happens here on this forum.

[Icemaster]

Originally Posted by gregpark

You ever notice how the most knowledgeable guys never claim to know it all and are always open to suggestion, and the guys with half the knowledge try to give the impression that they know it all?

Smartest guys I've ever met are the ones who ask the most questions.

[Icemaster]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

And the spinoff New Yankee Workshop did the same for workshop power tools. Who can forget Norm's big drawer ("drauw" in Normspeak) of Porter Cable router motors - one for every bit!

I remember watching him work in that shop and thinking I could do similar work with a fraction of the tools he has.

I have this memory, then I go to my shop and look at my collection.

There's a legit reason for the redundancy - sometimes I've been onsite and left my tools behind or I've discovered it's easier to have two or three drills setup rather than keep changing tips or bits (especially with Kreg's), sometimes it's only a couple bucks difference to buy a new cordless drill with a battery than it is to replace just the battery.

[sammyg2]

When I bought my house it had two new ceiling fans.
Upon further inspection, I found that they were mounted directly to the ceiling drywall with plastic anchors. No boxes or anything solid. But that wasn't the bad part.

The PO had cut off the ends of extension cords and twisted the ends onto the fans secured only with electrical tape, no boxes. Then he ran the extension cords through a hole in the ceiling down to plug into a wall outlet that was controlled by a light switch. Once was hidden by drapes and the other was (mostly) hidden in the closet.
Nice.

[john70t]

A collection of "not my job" results from down under:
https://files.catbox.moe/hu0xcz.mp4