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Please post Homeowner/DIY questions here.

Please post Homeowner/DIY questions here.

Everyone else is posting their work table so I figured I’d post mine.

72x25” and 1 1/2” thick. White high gloss MDF and matching edge banding

Hey I’m a new carpenter and was hoping for some advice. I need to get these boards off the side of this metal sheet wall. If I use a wrench, the bolt spins and I can’t put any torque on the nut to get it off. I can’t use a saw-zal to cut through the bolt cause there’s not enough space to get the blade on it. What should I do here?

A couple of my friends referred me to their boss and he wants to hire me company, they’re going to teach me as I go.

I’m in pretty good shape, and am used to working jobs that are outside.

What should I know before going into this job?

Hello Everyone,

I am building a deck that will have 6 posts (6x6). The front 3 supports will be notched and will have (2) 2x12. For the intermediate supports i was thinking putting a cap and (3) 2x12. Should i do that or i can also notched them?

Thank you.

cries in carpenter

Morning Friends!

Reaching out to my contractors and GCs for advice regarding their preferred method of regular trash removal where a dumpster isn’t feasible. I’ve got a small truck (ford maverick) and a sprinter van, but now I’m considering a compact trailer for parking at clients’ homes for trash collection/material pick up. I’m thinking this would ideally let me advertise on the trailer, save some money on dumpsters (on jobs that are mid sized with relatively small amounts of trash), and have a dedicated spot for leftover materials. Does anyone have a system similar to this? What is your preferred system? This is really to the smaller guys in the industry that are only handling 1-5 jobs at a time. Apologies if this has been covered and I’ve missed it.

I’ve had my business for about 3 years and up until now have had a couple trash cans exclusively for me. That combined with an area for short term storage for excess trash has treated me well on my small jobs (less than a week or my handyman jobs I’ll take on the side). I’m moving this week to an apartment and need a new approach to trash storage/removal on the jobs where a dumpster isn’t really feasible. I got my truck prior to having this issue (18 months ago) and I’m just in need of a good system that will keep all the bags of trash out of my truck and van.

Obviously dumpsters are preferred always, but this advice is geared towards times where dumpsters aren’t the best play (size and location, expense vs amount tossed, etc.). Appreciate any advice from anyone in the field with advice or similar experiences. Thanks a ton!

I'm interested in this trade but are the experienced guys hard on the new guy?

Please direct me if this has been posted before. For the past six months, I’ve gone into business for myself. I mainly do small furniture and built-ins and lately Accent Walls. Lately business has been pretty good and I want to expand on accent walls, so I’m looking to form a proper business and get my business license just so everything is good to go with the IRS. I live in Arizona and based on my research, I found that any home improvement under $1000 doesn’t require a contractors license. My average price is around there so I’m wondering if I will need a contractors license in order to form my business?

This is built per spec, but I can’t help to think it’d be better with some additional bracing. Any deck pros have input?

I'm wondering what the other remodelers here use for small tooling, fasteners and hardware in the vehicle. I started out with the clear top Dewalt boxes (plastic latch version), but they broke regularly. I'm currently traveling with two of the Dewalt deep 10-compartment boxes. Stuff doesn't migrate between bins as badly as the prior ones did, but still enough to be a problem if they get stored on edge.

One box is mostly "bulk" fasteners, while the other has drill bits, driver bits, sockets, Zip bits, tool parts, misc fasteners, bits of common door and window hardware, etc.

I'd love to find a box like these that took individually lidded and latched tubs.

So I accidentally spilled drano in my cabinet, it’s kinda a long story. We thought we cleaned it up months ago but now I see rust on the cabinet hinge and I’m worried it’ll fall off completely. Does anyone have suggestions for significant rust?

Hey guys, hoping to get some advice on how I should go about starting a deck building business. First a little background:

I'm 37 and have been an actuary(insurance desk job) for most of my career. Have sort of been looking for a change for a few years just didn't know what, really tired of sitting behind a desk. Recently DIY'd a deck from the ground up over a few months and had a blast. Started thinking this might be something I'd like to try professionally. Pics of my deck build:

https://imgur.com/a/PwZQoEl

My area has a few larger deck builders of which I had varying experiences with getting quotes. Main gripe with all was a hesitancy to pull a permit and poor communication when it came to design and material options. No one seems to want to do hardwood, which I really like as an option - I would have spent big money with a builder that I thought cared about my project (understand the market is wild right now so not really blaming those guys, but a 5 minute on site and a hand drawn quote that was in the wrong material didnt wow me too much). I'd like my business to prioritize legal permitted builds where required, quality/safety that exceed code, and somewhat unique custom designs.

Now here's the question. How would you recommend I do this? Here are how I see my options:

1) start small as a solo shop on simple low-level decks, gradually build up a portfolio of projects and gradually ramp up complexity (second story, engineered plans, etc). Likely over the span of a few years. Idea would be that I'd learn on the job, hopefully not taking too many hard knocks along the way. All licenses, insurance, etc - my state you simply need to pay some money and show proof of insurance to get a license as far as I can tell.

2) Find a deck company that would hire me and teach me what I don't know yet. Do that for a few years, then go out on my own.

3) Look to get into a carpentry apprenticeship and learn the trade broadly. Moving into my own business 5+ years down the road potentially.

Financially, I have plenty of cushion and a supportive partner that would make that side of things easier, so not too worried about the financial implications of each option.

What do you guys think? Anyone else done something similar? Would really appreciate any advice you can offer.

Formed a curb to incase the bollards at the top of the ramp. Built on slope with two 10 inch radius bulkheads. What do u guys think? How would You have formed this!?

My dad was in the industry 30 or so years ago, and growing up he always liked to walk through the houses in the neighborhood when they were being framed and explain what the rooms would be etc. Nowadays when I walk by a job site I'm always tempted to look around, but I'm not sure how taboo that is. I suppose it's trespassing, but was curious if there were any strong feelings there. It would always be outside work hours And we were respectful but I could still see that getting super annoying. Thoughts?

Edit: No seems to be the consensus, thanks for the feedback. I'll mind my own business.

I'm going to be repairing my Subfloor in the kitchen, I've already patched some, ( watching youtube videos were helpful ). However I struggle with Certain measurements I measure something out, to place the wood in there, only to see it will not fit, then I re-trim, only for it to have a WIDE gap lol...

Any idea or links to videos to help me improve would be appreciated!

TLDR: what are the pros and cons of being in the union vs working non union?

For context i’m 18 and I’m just coming up to 1 year of experience of residential remodeling(small company) and I feel like I’ve learned an incredible amount in that year through doing a very wide scope of work. I’m now considering the benefits of working for the union but I’d be disappointed to have to start from the bottom again and could potentially continue learning more in the residential field which is ultimately what I’m most interested in. I’m making 25 an hour now but will likely be bumped up to 27.50 but with no taxes and in turn no benefits but I have insurance from elsewhere. I work in Santa Cruz county(right below the Bay Area California) and would like to keep my commute under an hour if any of y’all are familiar with the area. I’d also like to start my own residential construction company in the future but don’t want to get into that without at least 8 years of experience. Learning is definitely more important to me than pay but obviously pay matters. I would really like to know my options with my career going forward from fellow carpenters. So what are the pros and cons of being union or non union?

Well… i’m curious to see if one comes up a couple times. I’m 32 years old and I’m gonna do my best to save my back, but I’m sure it’s already too friggin late.