I’ve got one of those big red 20-gallon parts washers. You know the one. I mostly clean bicyle parts, and most bicycle lubricants are not petroleum-based. They’re usually plant or wax-based. The idea is that a water-based degreaser, like Simple Green, should have no problem cleaning the stuff. My experience is that Simple...
I’d like to build a carport. It will basically just be a shed roof extending off the front of my garage. I’ll need a beam, as thin as possible, to span 22 feet from side to side....
A flitch beam sounds interesting. The problem with 2-by timbers, like 10x2 or 12x2, is their thickness. A 12x2 would drop down 12 inches, and the highest point of my carport is only 8-feet high. In its 16-foot run, it has to drop at least 4 inches in order for water to run off. I can’t be using material as thick as 12x2. That’s why I was considering doubling or tripling some engineered wood. But at that point it seems like steel would be the same cost and better performing. I dunno. Like you said, I may have to talk to an engineer.
That was the original plan. I was going to just extend the existing roof outward, but it would shed rain directly where you have to walk to get to the cars. You’d basically have to walk through a waterfall.
I used to be against this idea, but it seems like a much more honest way of taxing real estate. I think the unintended consequences might be that green space becomes too expensive not to develop. So you wind up with those shitty five-story wood-framed apartment buildings everywhere, which all look the same, and you lose the houses & gardens.
My favorite thing is when the people who argue for increased density and mixed-use zoning are the same people who move to the suburbs the minute they start having children. They realize they don’t want to live in what they advocated for, and the schools are better elsewhere.
What do you mean by “cleaning” the hardwood floor? What needs to be cleaned off them? Is the contractor going to sand the floors and recoat them with something? If it’s just a matter of tearing up the carpets, I wouldn’t pay $2700 for that. If the floors need sanding, I absolutely would never do that myself. (source: I used to own a floor sander and realized I shouldn’t do that myself.)
I’m reading “Fred The Vampire Accountant” series right now, and it’s fabulous. You’re not going to expand your horizons and intellect with these, but they’re very fun to read. Almost always a happy ending, and the group of characters is always growing. It’s like a Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew for adults, but the main character is a vampire.
Parts Washer: What solvent are you using?
I’ve got one of those big red 20-gallon parts washers. You know the one. I mostly clean bicyle parts, and most bicycle lubricants are not petroleum-based. They’re usually plant or wax-based. The idea is that a water-based degreaser, like Simple Green, should have no problem cleaning the stuff. My experience is that Simple...
Need beam for a 22-foot span. It's a carport. What to use?
I’d like to build a carport. It will basically just be a shed roof extending off the front of my garage. I’ll need a beam, as thin as possible, to span 22 feet from side to side....
Could this obscure tax idea reshape American housing? Detroit may put the land-value tax to the test ( www.vox.com )
see also this explanation
Transfer Orbit: 17 new sci-fi and fantasy books to read in September 2023 ( transfer-orbit.ghost.io )
this is one of the main newsletters i use to keep up with new sci-fi and speculative fiction releases. it’s pretty good!
DOJ sues SpaceX, alleging hiring discrimination against refugees and asylum seekers ( www.cnbc.com )
Cleaning old hardwood floors?
Hey all,...
What are some good, 'easy reads'?
What do you read when you’re struggling to read what you usually read?...