2021 Home Improvement Projects

DC

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airtime143

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I would farm that job out as well. The gravel is a dealbreaker.
The only way I am doing that myself is renting a machine.
 

airtime143

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In all honesty, if the ties running parallel to the slope are far enough apart you really could bang out a cheap, good looking solution with relative ease.
Yank out the paving stones in the middle.
Rake the gravel even.
Pour in some base sand, but a 30 dollar hand tamper,, whom it flat and level and lay pavers over the top.
Use sand to fill the voids in the rotten ties, landscape cement to slap pavers over the rotted ties.

That is less than a couple grand and a weekend.
 
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Hawkeye OG

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@DC shit man, I don't think it looks that bad at all. Kinda depends on your situation and how long you plan on being there, but if you don't want to drop the coin or have the time, leave it.

Make those beds on the left garden beds or plant some flowers/shrubs wit mulch, etc. Pull up the pavers, sell for $1/piece on FB market place. Same with the gravel around the fence. Place sod down and do some shrubs along the fence.

You could make something work with what you have there.
 

Hawkeye OG

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The more I look at these pics, the more backyard character I see tbh. You could easily keep them and just plant like an overgrown flower garden on each terrace. If you hate the wood, since it’s terraced already and level I don’t think it would be to difficult to pull it out and replace with landscaping blocks.

Also, do your kids jump their bikes off that shit? I would have been all over that as a youth
 

DC

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The more I look at these pics, the more backyard character I see tbh. You could easily keep them and just plant like an overgrown flower garden on each terrace. If you hate the wood, since it’s terraced already and level I don’t think it would be to difficult to pull it out and replace with landscaping blocks.

Also, do your kids jump their bikes off that shit? I would have been all over that as a youth

The garden is what did them all in. Wood is rotting, soil is shit and my wife hates the walk down. It's a sledding hill that, when enough snow falls, wraps around the backyard by where you see that trampoline. The boys have hit that tree on the bottom multiple times lol.
 

JimAKABlkhwks918

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My favorite teams
  1. Chicago White Sox
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
1. Get the stupid master bath done after the builder fucked it up.
2. Modify granddaughters swing set/playhouse.
3. Have driveway redone, money permitting
4. Keep plugging away at the basement when it gets colder
 

airtime143

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Started a new project this weekend.. gonna build a chicken coop.
Clearing out the area between the 2 oaks with the orange tape around them all the way back to the hickory in the center.
Gonna build a little 8x6 building with half a dozen nesting boxes and a little yard for them.Screenshot_20210329-075050_Gallery.jpg
 
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airtime143

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I am actually running a concurrent project during the clearing process- inspired by @DC .
His railroad tie pics, although ratty, are in spectacular shape compared to the fallen retaining wall i have out front.
I am alternating between clearing trees for the coop and chopping up and removing the fallen wall below.
There is supposedly a brick walkway under all of that... railroad ties, leaves, and about a 2 inch layer of soil and 20 years of broken down vegetation.

20210329_092217.jpg
 

airtime143

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Word to the wise on chopping up the ties- Have your sharpener ready.
There is no rhyme or reason to the hardware in there, and between that and the dirt in the crevasses I am chewing through chains like mad.
I get a few cuts on the ties till things start to slow down, then move to the softer wood on the trees, then sit my ass down and start filing away.
I am almost to the point of taking a prybar and an angle grinder to the spikes holding them together and dragging them all whole in to the woods and leaving them to rot.
 

Urblock

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Word to the wise on chopping up the ties- Have your sharpener ready.
There is no rhyme or reason to the hardware in there, and between that and the dirt in the crevasses I am chewing through chains like mad.
I get a few cuts on the ties till things start to slow down, then move to the softer wood on the trees, then sit my ass down and start filing away.
I am almost to the point of taking a prybar and an angle grinder to the spikes holding them together and dragging them all whole in to the woods and leaving them to rot.
If I had to work that hard to get them out I would have to burn those fuckers.
 

airtime143

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If I had to work that hard to get them out I would have to burn those fuckers.

I am sorely tempted, believe me.
I would burn them where they sat if they were not so close to the deck. the footings you see to the right are for the front deck, And even worse, that is the south side of the house- I am sure a south wind would pick up if I lit them and set it all on fire.

Deck inferno?


I have already sharpened one of my chains to the end of its life- not enough left to put an edge on to.
 

DC

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I am actually running a concurrent project during the clearing process- inspired by @DC .
His railroad tie pics, although ratty, are in spectacular shape compared to the fallen retaining wall i have out front.
I am alternating between clearing trees for the coop and chopping up and removing the fallen wall below.
There is supposedly a brick walkway under all of that... railroad ties, leaves, and about a 2 inch layer of soil and 20 years of broken down vegetation.

View attachment 10997
Flathead or Phillips?

You do you and I'll go make us some lemonade.
 

airtime143

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Flathead or Phillips?

You do you and I'll go make us some lemonade.

Make it coffee and you are on.
I was addicted to country time as a youth. that shit is like crack to me.
 

Tater

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Started a new project this weekend.. gonna build a chicken coop.
Clearing out the area between the 2 oaks with the orange tape around them all the way back to the hickory in the center.
Gonna build a little 8x6 building with half a dozen nesting boxes and a little yard for them.

Cool project and space for the coop. Make sure it's very protected from critters. Lots of them will be after the chickens. Coyote, fox, raccoon, hawks...
 

airtime143

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Cool project and space for the coop. Make sure it's very protected from critters. Lots of them will be after the chickens. Coyote, fox, raccoon, hawks...

The coons are what worry me.
I have a decent tree canopy and enough shrews and shit running around to keep the hawks off of them.
Coyotes are near, but I frequently walk my dogs around the barb wire perimeter and we all mark the territory...lmao.

The coons are gonna be a problem though.
I am gonna do a fenced yard encompassing the whole patch, but I fear no matter what I put up top the coons are gonna get in.

I am banking on the open area around me and the dog scent to keep them at bay, but I expect I will lose some at some point.
 

Tater

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Good luck protecting them and enjoy the fresh eggs.
 

Burque

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The coons are what worry me.
I have a decent tree canopy and enough shrews and shit running around to keep the hawks off of them.
Coyotes are near, but I frequently walk my dogs around the barb wire perimeter and we all mark the territory...lmao.

The coons are gonna be a problem though.
I am gonna do a fenced yard encompassing the whole patch, but I fear no matter what I put up top the coons are gonna get in.

I am banking on the open area around me and the dog scent to keep them at bay, but I expect I will lose some at some point.

When you run your wire for your walls, just trench out a foot or so down/wide, run your wire, down below ground level and out, then throw one of those railroad ties in there on each side to hold it all together and cover with dirt.

two birds with one stone and hopefully no racoons or yotes bother you.
 

HeHateMe

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Made this a couple days ago from common board and just under 100 deck screws. It was a little difficult because i had to build it in the guest room it is sitting in.

20210328_192430.jpg
 

airtime143

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When you run your wire for your walls, just trench out a foot or so down/wide, run your wire, down below ground level and out, then throw one of those railroad ties in there on each side to hold it all together and cover with dirt.

two birds with one stone and hopefully no racoons or yotes bother you.

Honestly didnt even consider burying the fencing- good call.

I am keeping my fingers crossed on the coyotes- I hear them nightly but have never seen a footprint- I eyeballed pretty carefully all winter.

...but the promise of fresh chicken may make them venture my way.
 

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