Jarhead's daughters, chores, and pergolas

[Jarhead*]

It's at the point where I'm being asked to fix an aluminum gutter with duct tape & silicon caulk instead of doing the right thing...

Nords: Apolgize for taking this off topic a wee bit, but your above quote caught my eye.

You're a good boy! (And I'm somewhat envious of your FIL).

About 3 weeks ago, we were invited by oldest daughter to come down and spend a few days with her. My wife asked me what I wanted her to pack for me re: clothing. "Doesn't make any difference", all I'm going to need is my tools.

True to form, I installed a garbage disposal, repaired two inside faucet leaks, replaced two flappers in the toilets, replaced a timing clock for sprinkler system, etc. etc.

My wife and daughter spent a couple of days in the City. (San Francisco).

On the way back home my wife said "It was nice spending some time with her, wasn't it."

Why I oughta.

My youngest daughter, (not wanting to be left out) called a few nights ago, and invited us down for a few days.

I love my daughters, but they're going to kill old Jarhead.

 

[Cool Dood]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

I love my daughters, but they're going to kill old Jarhead.

Good lord, if they can kill a Marine then maybe you should get them to sign up for the military or something?!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

He cant be killed, but he might not smell that good after a while.

 

[REWahoo]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

Good lord, if they can kill a Marine then maybe you should get them to sign up for the military or something?!

Although there are risks, what he needs to do is get 'em married off. Then, if they choose the right men, the SIL's will do all the heavy lifting and Jarhead can be available for consulting and advise only. If the SIL's get killed, so what?

And a few grandkids might be a nice fringe benefit, too. That is, providing you live far enough away not to be available to babysit at a moment's notice...and close enough to see 'em just about anytime you want to.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

I'd be afraid to marry Jarheads daughters. He'd probably come down and scratch my car again.

 

[Jarhead*]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

I'd be afraid to marry Jarheads daughters.  He'd probably come down and scratch my car again.

CFB: Nah, that was so fun the first time, the second time would be anti-climatic.

Beings we've already shot the original thread to "smithereens", and we're just sitting around the campfire bull-----ing, how about this weather?

I think I've mentioned before that I live in the Sierra's (under the snow line). Scratch that statement!

We've had 4 inches of snow last night, and it's snowing those big dry flakes that pile up like mad all day.

Yuba City is looking good to me right about now.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

My in laws had to put chains on their tires up in grass valley. Looks like it'll be pissing it down for a couple more weeks before the sun comes back.

Bummer...I got the shade fabric for my pergola delivered yesterday and the last thing I need right now is shade...

 

[Cool Dood]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

Am I the only one here who's not building a pergola?

 

[brewer12345]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

Am I the only one here who's not building a pergola?     

Is that the same thing as a lanai?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

Snap to it man. Only took me about 4 hours to put the basic frame up. Got the whole thing fenced in to keep the baby from flopping into the dirt/wood chips/dog poop, pair of gates on either side...and a pull down shade on one side. Now I've got the 90% UV sun shade material to cover it over. And theres the sun!

Hey Jarhead...i'm making chili...come on over for a bowl...but its got beans in it...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

Is it the same thing as a lanai...well, not exactly. Pergolas are large arbors. Basically some posts in a square or rectangle, some 2x6's running one way, then usually 2x4 'toppers' spaced every 4-6 inches to block the sun. That doesnt work well here though where you step outside in july and august and the top of your head is medium rare in about 3 minutes. Hence topping mine with shade cloth. I'll post some picks when I'm done with it.

Whole thing including perimeter fencing and gates ran me about $600 in materials and about 10-12 hours total labor. Not too shabby considering some kits that are about as nice looking and dont have the fencing cost 3-4,000 and you still had to build them.

 

[Nords]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

True to form, I installed a garbage disposal, repaired two inside faucet leaks, replaced two flappers in the toilets, replaced a timing clock for sprinkler system, etc. etc.

My wife and daughter spent a couple of days in the City. (San Francisco).

Hmmmm... crawling around leaky plumbing & toilets for a couple days, or hiking cold & foggy hills loaded down like a pack mule in trail of shopping women... I'm thinking, I'm thinking!

I was under the impression that if the kid didn't kill us by the time she was done with college, then we were gonna make it. Don't shatter my cherished illusions!

Is it the same thing as a lanai...well, not exactly.  Pergolas are large arbors.  Basically some posts in a square or rectangle, some 2x6's running one way, then usually 2x4 'toppers' spaced every 4-6 inches to block the sun.  That doesnt work well here though where you step outside in july and august and the top of your head is medium rare in about 3 minutes.  Hence topping mine with shade cloth.  I'll post some picks when I'm done with it.

Ah, we're going to have both. We have a front lanai and a back lanai, connected by about 50 feet of 36" wide sidewalk along the south (sunny) side of the house, and that's where we're (someday) putting our pergola.

We're probably going to have to widen the sidewalk to accomodate the pergola, but I've been informed that the new sidewalk needs to be curvy instead of straight. We're looking for a pergola design that has lovely yet low-profile support pillars on the outside edge, and rests on the roof's eave on the house edge. I'm thinking anything that requires zero maintenance-- copper cladding or PVC.

Shade cloth or vegetation? Sorry, that's a décor decision that I've learned I'm not to be trusted with...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

Well, you can set the posts in concrete in the ground, or bolt them to the sidewalk. I voted against attaching it to the house, because then I can avoid getting a building permit...well...mostly...I used half inch bolts to put the whole thing together, so if anyone whines or an inspector shows up, I can take it down in about an hour...and put it back up again in about the same time. Plus if you attach it to the roof edge, you're asking for a leak. But then theres all those holes in the roof from that solar mounting that you'll already be patching periodically

I used vinyl fencing and gates, and the same company has a 3.5x3.5 vinyl 'sleeve' that slips over a "4x4". They also have "2x6" sleeves. When I have it 'set' to how I want it to be finally done, I'll take it apart a bit at a time, slip the sleeves over, caulk the whole thing up with silicone 50 year white and forget about it until we move.

About the only other thing I did is buy some "2x3" rails to slide inside the vinyl fence pieces to make them a little more structural. Tied the corner "4x4's" to the concrete with some braces and a couple of concrete screws into the patio.

Instead of extending the sidewalk, maybe put a couple of posts into the concrete, couple into the ground, and then put some pavers or brick and sand into the 'extension' area? Would save you a lot of work and a bit of money. One of the really nice effects I've seen was a guy that used a chain saw to cut off 2-3" thick 'slices' of wood from some thick oak firewood, treated the 'slices' and set those into the ground as pavers. Looked REALLY nice.

As far as fabrics, that was easy. I had already put sun shades on all of the windows back there before I got married. New fabric is from the same company and matches those. I was grandfathered in.

 

[Martha]

Re: posts and pergolas

When we set posts for fences and pergolas here we have to go down below the frost line, 48 inches. What do you do where there is no frost line? How deep do you put those posts?

EDIT, I split this alleged topic off from the Help me to love Stocks thread

 

[Ginger]

Jarhead: Your post had me howling at work today. I could just envision your wife going off with your daughter on some "mother-daughter" bonding shopping excursion, and you -- completely stuck at the house doing repair detail. Count your blessings - maybe next time you and your daughter go out for lunch together alone (after the repairs, of course!)

 

[SteveR]

Re: posts and pergolas

When we set posts for fences and pergolas here we have to go down below the frost line, 48 inches.  What do you do where there is no frost line?  How deep do you put those posts?

EDIT, I split this alleged topic off from the Help me to love Stocks thread

If you don't have frost to worry about most folks would sink them about 2 feet if in concrete. Sort of depends on the wind load and other lateral stresses..

No pergolas, decks or lanai building here. I do have to replace my driveway this Spring but I am hiring that out. No time, no experience and no desire to do that kind of thing myself.

 

[Zipper]

The daughters need to marry a couple of Canadians.

 

[REWahoo]

If the SIL's get killed, so what?

The daughters need to marry a couple of Canadians.

I'm always amazed at the remarkable quality of advice on this forum.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

When we set posts for fences and pergolas here we have to go down below the frost line, 48 inches. What do you do where there is no frost line? How deep do you put those posts?

EDIT, I split this alleged topic off from the Help me to love Stocks thread

In this frost-free neck of the woods, you only need to go down 2'; an 8' post driven 2' deep with a full bag of concrete usually does the trick for a six foot fence. I usually take a 12' pressure treated post and put it in 4' anyhow.

 

[Nords]

In this frost-free neck of the woods, you only need to go down 2'; an 8' post driven 2' deep with a full bag of concrete usually does the trick for a six foot fence.  I usually take a 12' pressure treated post and put it in 4' anyhow.

In Hawaii we only go down 18" or until you hit the layer of blue rock, and then you use rebar through the posts into the earth around the hole to reinforce the concrete in the hole.

And then you replace it after the hurricane.

 

[Nords]

Re: Help me to love stocks!

Plus if you attach it to the roof edge, you're asking for a leak.  But then theres all those holes in the roof from that solar mounting that you'll already be patching periodically

I hear ya, although the pergola-roof holes would theoretically be drilled through the bottom course or two of composite shingles, and our roof has a three-foot overhang beyond the walls.

No roof leaks at all in the last three weeks' rain. Short of a hurricane I don't think we're going to have any leaks in the next decade.

I like your plan. I think we're planning concrete to eliminate more yardwork, but I bet an innovative combination of mulch & ground cover could also do the trick. Our community association rules require a design permit to pour more concrete so I'd have to sneak around with a wheelbarrow on weekends anyway instead of getting a big honkin' grout-pump truck. Luckily none of this can be seen from the street and we have no neighbor on that side, so arguably we could have the truck pump in the concrete to fix the back steps and then "spill" a little on the way out...

In this frost-free neck of the woods, you only need to go down 2'; an 8' post driven 2' deep with a full bag of concrete usually does the trick for a six foot fence. I usually take a 12' pressure treated post and put it in 4' anyhow.

In Hawaii we only go down 18" or until you hit the layer of blue rock, and then you use rebar through the posts into the earth around the hole to reinforce the concrete in the hole.

And then you replace it after the hurricane.

You raise a good point, though-- as I'm gazing out my back lanai window upon today's half-inch rainfall, it occurs to me that I could dig all of those holes in about 10 minutes with my shopvac...

 

[Jarhead*]

The daughters need to marry a couple of Canadians.

Zip: Good one! Credit given when credit due.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I'd rather dig around here when its swampy. In the summer you need a pickaxe and perhaps dynamite.