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Our Diy Corner

Discussion in 'Home Improvement' started by Von Jones, Nov 11, 2019.

  1. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    **Not a haircut but a summer do. 99 percent of summer I pull my hair back into a pigtail. The humidity here makes it difficult to style my hair and even when I do it doesn't last an hour then back into the pigtail.
     
    #46
  2. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Supreme Member
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    How is the ceiling project going, Von? . Working over your head is really hard. Your headgear is a good idea.

    I had to sand some plaster overhead recently and tried to use a little N95 mask. Couldn't get enough air through it, and it fogged up my glasses, so I abandoned it. Had to finish up sooner than I wanted because of breathing that stuff. o_O
     
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  3. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    No, haven't started yet been too hot. I'll wait until it gets cooler.
     
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  4. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    The one attribute that a DIY-er has is the ability to think outside the box.

    For sometime there has been water coming into our basement. At first I was mopping it up. I've found and used two wet vacs. (2 gallon at first then moved to a bigger one). I've dug trenches, repainted with water sealer on the inside where I knew the entry points, Flex Seal and another product that plugs water leaks. The two latter have worked so far. But I discovered another leak where the pipes for the water come through another wall. This leak really had me concerned because the water flows into my craft room. I always checked the craft room after heavy rain to see if it needed removed and quickly if it did.

    I made the repair on the inside but still had to do two outside areas. So it begins...

    Foundation DIY project 001.jpg

    Foundation DIY project 002.jpg

    I refuse to cut down my bushes so I thought long and hard, and watched plenty of Youtube videos of methods that I did not want to do. So I went to Lowes' and browse around to see if there was anything the would say, Aha! to me. I found some metal roof flashing for less than $2.00 each. I counted out 15, found some exterior caulking located nearby and home I went.

    That was a couple of months ago and the weather has stopped me from my carefully thought out plan of attack.

    (1) clear away the areas (2) dry brush and wipe clean (3) get my supplies together (4) apply as planned.

    Foundation DIY project 005.jpg

    I forgot something.

    Foundation DIY project 006.jpg

    It was pretty easy after I figured out why the caulking wasn't coming out. I got a knitting needle and poked the seal then began.

    Foundation DIY project 007.jpg

    The pipe is underground here. My main concern.

    Foundation DIY project 051.jpg

    There was a crack in the foundation here - a last minute 'Oh why not.' thought. I may paint these to blend in better but they can't be seen because of the flower beds

    I didn't need 15 pieces and I already thought of where I can use the leftovers.

    The goal is to keep the rain away from the foundation in the two areas. I figured if they work for roofs they'll work this way too. Time will tell or really the rain will. :rolleyes:
     
    #49
  5. Faye Fox

    Faye Fox Veteran Member
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    @Von Jones Great job! You have the right idea diverting the water away from the house.
     
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  6. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Great Job Von and good thinking!

    On the caulking gun thing. Most guns have a wire in the front of the gun that swivels out so you can pierce the inner seal of the caulking tube nozzle. It keeps the guys from stealing their wive’s knitting needles.
    Alas, from the looks of it I do not think the one you have has one but that said, remember to put a nail or screw in the nozzle hole after you are finished so the leftover caulk doesn’t dry out in the nozzle.
    That is, if you have any leftover caulk.
    8B47A675-B839-4AC2-A28E-9F454132A15F.jpeg
     
    #51
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2020
  7. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I admire your ingenuity, Von!
     
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  8. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    @Faye Fox

    I agree about thinking outside of the box. I'm sure we all have lots of stories of creative solutions.

    Regarding your water issue...I have two experiences with something similar.

    1-My mother bought a house to retire in and there was water coming into the basement through the cinder block walls. The yard sloped significantly towards that side of the house, channeling water to it. We addressed it from the outside of the house, and rented a bulldozer to install a French Drain to channel water away from the base of the foundation. That fixed it permanently at the source (she was in there for 25 years), but is the most expensive thing you could do.

    2-Five years ago I installed a water softener in my house. It took a couple of days, and one of them was rainy. I was in the crawlspace working during the rain and noticed a rivulet along the inside of the foundation, from one corner of the house all along to the other. I shoved 4" corrugated black plastic pipe over the end of the downspout so as to divert the water out into the yard away from the house. That fixed the problem. There is still a break in the foundation below ground level where water could intrude, but this has successfully kept the water away from it.
     
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  9. Faye Fox

    Faye Fox Veteran Member
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    #54
  10. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Oops.

    So...how's your basement? :confused:
     
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  11. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    The funny thing about this is I kept pulling the trigger and twisting the handle until the caulk starting coming out the bottom. :confused:
     
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  12. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    Thanks Beth. I continue to surprise myself with ideas on how to move a project forward where I don't have to spend a lot of money.
     
    #57
  13. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    Youtube had videos of these. Something I would have to hire to get it done and yes, expensive.

    My neighbor suggested placing some type of plastic against the foundation but that required a lot of digging. No, no Nanette.
     
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  14. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    In the day when the the tubes were made out of cardboard, the side of the tube would split out and a person would have to use a finger and putty knife to do the work.
    Now days, because the tubes are made of poly, if it’s a bit cold you can soak the tube in some warm water for a bit so the caulk can run more smoothly and with less effort on the trigger.
     
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  15. Faye Fox

    Faye Fox Veteran Member
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    Yep, done that when I forgot to puncher the seal. I didn't realize my hand strength until I had a blowout of the back with silicon. It was such a mess I tossed the gun and tube and started with a fresh one and not in such a hurry. I remember cursing the store for selling me a dried-up tube and then bam! Luckily I was wearing to the elbow kitchen gloves.
     
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