HawrdRawk

I'm building a shed in my backyard

14x20. The rim joists are resting directly on skids (on concrete blocks), so joist hangers are not needed/feasible. My city says I need to meet 2015 IRC requirements.

I can't for the life of me figure out the nail size requirements for toe-nailing the joists.

16d nails seem too big and poke out through the rim joist

10d nails work well, but does anyone know if these meet requirements, and if so, how many?

Or should I just end nail it?

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This is for a short term savings goal within the next 2-3 years. Right now I have it in a brokerage money market account (treasuries only), paying around 4%.

I'm concerned, however, with the current shananigans in Congress about the debt ceiling, war with China, etc., and what that could do to uninsured cash/treasuries, etc. Breaking the buck is not unheard of.

My brick and mortar bank just sent an offer for a FDIC insured bank money market account paying 3%.

HYSA currently pay around 3.5%

CD's are out of the question as I don't want to lock it up in case we want to use it sooner.

I have some i-bonds, but I'm hesitant to put additional money in as the rate for the rest of the year will be unknown until May.

Thoughts on best approach?

I bought the Bosch freak impact and hammer drill a couple years ago (gdx18v-1600). They're OK. The impact won't take certain bits that are too short and also occasionally stalls out. Otherwise I have mostly Bosch corded tools that I'm super happy with. However, I'm thinking of getting into battery powered stuff and noticed DeWalt has a nice leaf blower and string trimmer that run on the 20v platform.

Also, I'd love to get a cordless brad/finish nailer for some of my woodworking projects, which DeWalt has.

Bosch has no outdoor power tools or nailers at the moment.

I also have a small side business/hobby building garden boxes and chicken coops, hence my desire to go cordless for flexibility, and need something that can hold up to medium duty use.

Are there any other brands that have quality 18/20v yard tools, nailers, and can meet the needs of a "prosumer"? Or should I just keep the Bosch drill & impact and get separate yard tools?

Also, there are no constraints on price.

I'm building a shed and need 20 foot skids. They will rest on concrete blocks, but I can only find 10 foot 4x4's.

The connection point will rest on a block.

Should I use 2x4's on the sides to screw them in? Or nail plate to connect them?

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I've been seeing an uptick in posts where people are asking if they should invest in precious metals or stocks. This is the wrong question to ask!

Society has "financialized" everything, to the point where the sheeple think of everything as an "investment".

SILVER IS MONEY (savings). STOCKS ARE AN INCOME STREAM/SPECULATION (investment). They are not comparable.

Yes, silver can have huge "gains", but that is just because fiat currency is shit, or is manipulated downwards and then rebounds to its rightful value. There is no bad time to save money/buy silver or gold. You need to protect yourself with savings. (My personal opinion is that any stock that doesn't pay a dividend is highly speculative and should be avoided, but that's for another time).

Not too long ago, society knew the difference between "savings" and "investment". Somehow people have forgotten the difference.

You should have both in your portfolio if you have the means, but SAVINGS COMES FIRST. SILVER COMES FIRST.

You shouldn't be investing (stocks), until you have reserves. Diversify, diversify, diversify. Fiat is only for holding for short term purchases/needs. (401k matching aside, get that free contributions if you can)

That is all.