Love the map 
(Topic ID: 290085)
I don't think anyone who's paid attention this whole time is accusing you of being the one in the wrong here. You're obviously going about this following all the rules and being as polite and courteous as possible through this whole thing. Just that it's not hard to imagine being a neighbor witnessing this for 2 years, going out on your back patio, taking a sip of coffee, and saying "Fucks sake, now he's tearing down half the woods?!?"
I love following this thread, learning random pieces of construction wisdom, and seeing the progress of this massive undertaking as you overcome all these challenges. Thank you for sharing this all, it's incredible. Keep up the good work!
Quoted from Mravic:Just that it's not hard to imagine being a neighbor witnessing this for 2 years, going out on your back patio, taking a sip of coffee, and saying "Fucks sake, now he's tearing down half the woods?!?"
I can relate to this, that would be a perfectly valid response. In fact I could totally see myself making that statement, maybe even to yaksplat directly in a semi jovial/questioning manner if I were a neighbor. But how does that in any way validate the kind of reaction his neighbor had?
Maybe I'm miss reading your point here?
Maybe it’s been mentioned before, but where are your pins during all of this? Have they been packed away for 2 years?
Lancaster, NY
Quoted from Mravic:"Fucks sake, now he's tearing down half the woods?!?"
Well, that was just about my wife's reaction. But hers was, "wait, why do we have to take down that whole area?", as she thinks that we're now focusing on the inside.
Everything is a balancing act. Do this now because of the weather/timeline/availability... Go hard now and completely finalize something? Or drag it out?
If I only put branches and stumps directly in front of my house and not in the circle, they would be there every week until fall, and then the yard grading drags out until then. I don't think anyone would want to see that either. These people only have problems but propose no solutions. Their likely solution is going back in time and making sure that my parents never met.
Quoted from Tommy_Pins:Maybe it’s been mentioned before, but where are your pins during all of this? Have they been packed away for 2 years?
Two in my office, one at my dad's, one in each kids room and three in the basement workshop. I have a net to put up in the new basement. The kids throw lacrosse balls at the wall, throw baseballs, or hit tennis balls. Once the net is up, i can move all of the machines down into the new basement.
Quoted from bakerhillpins:I can relate to this, that would be a perfectly valid response. In fact I could totally see myself making that statement, maybe even to yaksplat directly in a semi jovial/questioning manner if I were a neighbor. But how does that in any way validate the kind of reaction his neighbor had?
Maybe I'm miss reading your point here?
Nothing validates that guy in the video lol. I was just following up on some of the comments previously stating that neighbors starting to get impatient is understandable. It seemed like Yaksplat felt the need to defend himself, but I found that unnecessary because nobody was accusing him of doing anything wrong. We're going in circles now, didn't mean to derail.
Quoted from Mravic:Nothing validates that guy in the video lol. I was just following up on some of the comments previously stating that neighbors starting to get impatient is understandable. It seemed like Yaksplat felt the need to defend himself, but I found that unnecessary because nobody was accusing him of doing anything wrong. We're going in circles now, didn't mean to derail.
Gotcha!
Quoted from Mravic:Just that it's not hard to imagine being a neighbor witnessing this for 2 years, going out on your back patio, taking a sip of coffee, and saying "Fucks sake, now he's tearing down half the woods?!?"
I take the view that he is improving the neighborhood (and conversely, their property values). But people can be pretty self-centered. I use to do traffic engineering consulting and would see people get up at the planning commission meeting and complain about the traffic from a new subdivision being built right next door to them in a corn field - conveniently forgetting their property was a cornfield just a year before their subdivision was built and they added traffic to the folks that were there before them. NIMBYs (not in my backyard).
Quoted from ReadyPO:...complain about the traffic from a new subdivision being built right next door to them in a corn field - conveniently forgetting their property was a cornfield just a year before their subdivision was built and they added traffic to the folks that were there before them. NIMBYs (not in my backyard).
I bet you saw this more times than you can recall.
Quoted from mbwalker:I bet you saw this more times than you can recall
Practical every development - don't want it, argue too much traffic, too much noise. Always the same arguments... Amazingly, never heard even one time, "I will buy the property at fair market value and put a park there."
Nothing worse than a NIMBY. Or the person that thinks that they should be the last build in a town. We have a major NIMBY issue here. Everyone wants some small parks added in town, but every time the town finds a location, residents nearby fight it. They always want it somewhere else.
I’d be over helping you often. We only have one miserable SOB in our entire hood.
I was helping a neighbor cut down some big trees. The SOB comes over crying about the trees going down and “not one of them better hit my lawn!!”
I told my good neighbor I was helping what Id do, he said go ahead. I girdeled about 15 cottonwood trees leaning over his yard. I bet he’s picking up dead branches for 20 years.
Quoted from ReadyPO:I take the view that he is improving the neighborhood (and conversely, their property values). But people can be pretty self-centered. I use to do traffic engineering consulting and would see people get up at the planning commission meeting and complain about the traffic from a new subdivision being built right next door to them in a corn field - conveniently forgetting their property was a cornfield just a year before their subdivision was built and they added traffic to the folks that were there before them. NIMBYs (not in my backyard).
Oh those days I had to explain why a traffic signal is programmed the way it was and why it has to favor the movement with 100 times more traffic. Also, like you said people are just fine with their own subdivision, but don't think about letting anyone else move in. People really hate change.
Yak, like Mravic said, we aren't throwing shade, so no need to defend. However, neighbors can get fed up when projects take a long time or majorly change the look of things. No reason to go crazy on someone though like your neighbor did.
Quoted from RyanStl:Yak, like Mravic said, we aren't throwing shade, so no need to defend. However, neighbors can get fed up when projects take a long time or majorly change the look of things. No reason to go crazy on someone though like your neighbor did.
I'm always on offense and defense. I was talking to the guy whose son did my sub panel and he said he was glad that he didn't live next to me, so i proposed the same question. Would you attack, help or watch? It made him think. Although he wouldn't want a project like this next door, what kind of person was he? He said he'd probably walk the fence between helping and watching. I said, that's what makes you a good human.
Fed up is one thing, but fully lashing out to the point of a restraining order is another.
More work and less drama.
Surprisingly we've had three weeks without rain. But it's coming tonight, so I wanted to get some seed in the ground. I got a basic grade in the clay. 4" in the first 10' from the house and then 5/8" per 10' for the rest of the yard, crowned in the middle since drainage is on either side. I taught my wife how to tell me what the ground was at with the laser. It took a bit, but she got it.
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The back section was loaded with roots. These piles are about half of what was pulled out.
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The rest were already burned.
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I managed to get the back area complete and raked. Milorganite was added prior to the seed and then all raked out.
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I just put a net in the basement for the kids. Between lacrosse, tennis and baseball, they'll take full advantage of the net. We tested it here. I still flinched.
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I had a couple of movement notifications this morning from the side camera.
South Side Of House G4 - 6-11-2023, 2.43.25am EDT (resized).jpg
South Side Of House G4 - 6-11-2023, 6.08.12am EDT (resized).jpg
I prefer the skunk...
Quoted from yaksplat:I prefer the skunk...
I agree, that guy does look like a pain in the ass
Quoted from JayDee:I agree, that guy does look like a pain in the ass
Maybe the wife will make him move.
Quoted from DarthPaul:Arborvitae are great as long as there are no deer around.
Very true. We have a ton of deer in the area. All of the arborvitae around have been eaten about 5-6' high.
Quoted from Jmckune:Plant giant green arborvitae along that side. Will quickly fill in and block him out!
It would, but I have no desire to spend any money or time dealing with him. Other than putting up siding and planting grass as required by the town, I don't see myself spending an extra dime on an area that we won't typically be in.
Quoted from yaksplat:...It would, but I have no desire to spend any money or time dealing with him. Other than putting up siding and planting grass as required by the town, I don't see myself spending an extra dime on an area that we won't typically be in.
Aside from the irritated neighbors, I am kind of curious why the addition hasn't been sided?
Quoted from mbwalker:Aside from the irritated neighbors, I am kind of curious why the addition hasn't been sided?
It's on the list. We also have to pick out the exact siding and stone that we want. I should be doing the soffit and fascia soon though, just to keep everything out. I was originally planning on doing that in june, but then being unemployed for 6 months made us stop spending. There's not a huge rush to get it sided, but I would like to finish that this summer.
Hamilton, ON
I continue to love this thread and think the map of your neighbourhood is hilarious. I do find myself wondering if my neighbours made a map what they would label my house... I'm guessing "Quiet family that keeps to themselves".
I totally didn't think about this renovation from your neighbours perspective, ultimately I think I would be the watch type of guy, I'd happily help if I was ever asked but everything you're doing seems well beyond any of my skills so I think I'd just get in the way.
I do have a new neighbour who moved in over the winter and now that the weather is nicer he has an old muscle car he drives to work every morning at 8:00 that can wake the neighbourhood and then works on in the evenings and weekends that is louder than anything I think is reasonable. I couldn't imagine knocking on his door and telling him to keep it down though. I can literally hear his car from across the street in my bed. Crazy loud, but whatever, ultimately it is what it is, I can only imagine the pleasure that car brings him, he clearly takes great pride in it, I just wish it were a little quieter 
Quoted from roar:I continue to love this thread and think the map of your neighbourhood is hilarious. I do find myself wondering if my neighbours made a map what they would label my house... I'm guessing "Quiet family that keeps to themselves".
I totally didn't think about this renovation from your neighbours perspective, ultimately I think I would be the watch type of guy, I'd happily help if I was ever asked but everything you're doing seems well beyond any of my skills so I think I'd just get in the way.
I do have a new neighbour who moved in over the winter and now that the weather is nicer he has an old muscle car he drives to work every morning at 8:00 that can wake the neighbourhood and then works on in the evenings and weekends that is louder than anything I think is reasonable. I couldn't imagine knocking on his door and telling him to keep it down though. I can literally hear his car from across the street in my bed. Crazy loud, but whatever, ultimately it is what it is, I can only imagine the pleasure that car brings him, he clearly takes great pride in it, I just wish it were a little quieter
I have one of those car neighbors too. He's a street away, but it's loud enough for the neighborhood to hear. He doesn't work on his car before 7am or after 10pm, so he's aware of the noise ordinances. It's not all the time but I will say I'm glad that i don't live next to him. That's noise that could be going on for the next 20-30 years. I'm rarely outside making noise. It's more in bursts as portions of the project come up. Hauling away fill, cutting down trees, hauling roots, grading the yard... My last noisy thing should be getting the driveway poured, and even that isn't noisy. More commotion than anything.
Siding, stone and soffits are all quiet. Just the banging of a single hammer.
It's definitely loud inside though. Flooring has started going in.IMG20230613160834 (resized).jpg
I've trained the kids to pick and place the boards for the next rows, so it goes pretty quick.
It's just going to be flooring for a while...
Last night didn't finish well. I was spending more time unjamming my flooring nailer than putting floor down. My 15 year old Akuzuki was just not having it. Back in 2009, flooring nailers were easily a $600 item. I wanted to install some hardwood flooring, but i didn't want to rent the gun. I also didn't want to spend $600 on one. I checked amazon and there was a off brand nailer that everyone loves. It was $300. I still didn't want to spend that much. But a friend of mine was talking about putting in hardwood, but he was afraid to DIY, but really wanted to. I told him, buy me a nailer and I'll teach him and help install the entire floor. He was on board and i got my Akuzuki. It worked great. We installed 600 sqft of Ipe in his house. Amazing looking floor. Then I did floors in my parent's house. Then 1200 sqft at my neighbor's house. And finally 250 here in my house. Well, I think after 100 sqft here, the akuzuki decided to give up the ghost. Yesterday it started leaking air. Fixed with some liquid gasket. Then the jams started. First every once in a while, then every 10 shots. One nail about welded itself to the hammer. After the 10th jam i was done for the night. Each jam is removing 5 screws, removing the nail, then 5 screw back in. 5-10 minutes each time.
I left the last one in. I'll fix it later.
IMG20230614231449 (resized).jpg
Off to Lowe's this morning before work. Based on amazon, everyone loves the Bostitch, and great news, top of the line nailers are only $300 now.
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Everything has been great so far with this one. No issues and just moving along. 220 sqft done, 21% of that room.
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I'm a big fan of this wood. I like the variation. It's not going to show all the dust like other woods that are consistent in color.
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Quoted from yaksplat:It's just going to be flooring for a while...
Last night didn't finish well. I was spending more time unjamming my flooring nailer than putting floor down. My 15 year old Akuzuki was just not having it. Back in 2009, flooring nailers were easily a $600 item. I wanted to install some hardwood flooring, but i didn't want to rent the gun. I also didn't want to spend $600 on one. I checked amazon and there was a off brand nailer that everyone loves. It was $300. I still didn't want to spend that much. But a friend of mine was talking about putting in hardwood, but he was afraid to DIY, but really wanted to. I told him, buy me a nailer and I'll teach him and help install the entire floor. He was on board and i got my Akuzuki. It worked great. We installed 600 sqft of Ipe in his house. Amazing looking floor. Then I did floors in my parent's house. Then 1200 sqft at my neighbor's house. And finally 250 here in my house. Well, I think after 100 sqft here, the akuzuki decided to give up the ghost. Yesterday it started leaking air. Fixed with some liquid gasket. Then the jams started. First every once in a while, then every 10 shots. One nail about welded itself to the hammer. After the 10th jam i was done for the night. Each jam is removing 5 screws, removing the nail, then 5 screw back in. 5-10 minutes each time.
I left the last one in. I'll fix it later.
[quoted image]
Off to Lowe's this morning before work. Based on amazon, everyone loves the Bostitch, and great news, top of the line nailers are only $300 now.
[quoted image]
Everything has been great so far with this one. No issues and just moving along. 220 sqft done, 21% of that room.
[quoted image]
I'm a big fan of this wood. I like the variation. It's not going to show all the dust like other woods that are consistent in color.
[quoted image]
What flooring is it. It looks very good.
Quoted from GCS2000:What flooring is it. It looks very good.
It's called tigerwood, Brazilian tigerwood, Goncalo Alves.
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It's about 30% harder than oak. The main issue with these types of wood is that the nails sometimes like to split the tongues. The board isn't going to go anywhere, but it's just a bit annoying when it happens. At least the sawdust doesn't act like a crazy allergen like some tropical wood. My son had reacted horribly to ipe dust. We don't know if it was related to his nut allergies, but it's possible.
Quoted from yaksplat:It's called tigerwood, Brazilian tigerwood, Goncalo Alves.
[quoted image]
It's about 30% harder than oak. The main issue with these types of wood is that the nails sometimes like to split the tongues. The board isn't going to go anywhere, but it's just a bit annoying when it happens. At least the sawdust doesn't act like a crazy allergen like some tropical wood. My son had reacted horribly to ipe dust. We don't know if it was related to his nut allergies, but it's possible.
Thanks. I just like the look of it a lot. Normally more of darker look (or reddish) myself but in your pics this has a very nice look and pattern to it.
Quoted from GCS2000:Thanks. I just like the look of it a lot. Normally more of darker look (or reddish) myself but in your pics this has a very nice look and pattern to it.
I guess that, similar to cherry or mahogany, it will darken with age and sunlight. I do love darker floors, but we have a dark oak in our current master bedroom and you can see every speck of dust on it.
Well, I'm already sick of hardwood floors. 500 sqft down and 1100 sqft to go.
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Fortunately, the weather is nice again so i could focus more on the yard. I officially have grass in the back section.
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I'm ripping out the old garden that i put in 13 years ago. It was built with pressure treated wood.
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Since this was after 2004, it was no longer pressure treated with CCA and everything is now ACQ. Well, ACQ is absolute trash compared to CCA. Everything completely rotted.
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Things that I built with CCA pressure treated wood back in the 90's at my parent's house still haven't rotted.
I just have to relocate my rhubarb, blackberries and blueberries.
Quoted from yaksplat:Well, I'm already sick of hardwood floors. 500 sqft down and 1100 sqft to go.
I feel your pain. Been there, done that more than once (albeit w/waterproof laminate).
It's those oddball sections/cuts that a person has to make that is a huge time sink. And I'm not a fan of breaking the runs from room-to-room and installing a trim piece (although I do keep in mind the longest continuous run the manufacture's recommend to prevent expansion issues), so that slows it down too, around doors, etc.
This is about 40' across. It was originally going to go straight from the kitchen/great room and right into the bedroom. But then i decided that this short section of hallway would be tile instead. That makes the installation of the two rooms completely separate and i don't have to worry about elevation changes or continuous installation.
pasted_image (resized).png
Everything left is a straight run with only some diagonal cuts for the fireplace.
Quoted from Tommy_Pins:at least its not tile. I have ptsd from doing our tile floor.
I'll get sick of that next. The pantry, mudroom, laundry and then the master bath and possibly the closets.
Quoted from yaksplat:In love using a chainsaw. They're a blast, but it's absolutely exhausting work. I always file all the teeth before starting. Just a few swipes on each is good enough unless you hit something.
Super important step most people forget. WAY more exhausting trying to cut with dulled teeth. My neighbor has a battery powered one which is surprisingly effective! It's real heavy but it lasted 5 or 6 hours of standard use. I'm looking into one of those fuel cell powered ones now, like the Paslode framing guns.
Quoted from yaksplat:It's just going to be flooring for a while...
Last night didn't finish well. I was spending more time unjamming my flooring nailer than putting floor down. My 15 year old Akuzuki was just not having it. Back in 2009, flooring nailers were easily a $600 item. I wanted to install some hardwood flooring, but i didn't want to rent the gun. I also didn't want to spend $600 on one. I checked amazon and there was a off brand nailer that everyone loves. It was $300. I still didn't want to spend that much. But a friend of mine was talking about putting in hardwood, but he was afraid to DIY, but really wanted to. I told him, buy me a nailer and I'll teach him and help install the entire floor. He was on board and i got my Akuzuki. It worked great. We installed 600 sqft of Ipe in his house. Amazing looking floor. Then I did floors in my parent's house. Then 1200 sqft at my neighbor's house. And finally 250 here in my house. Well, I think after 100 sqft here, the akuzuki decided to give up the ghost. Yesterday it started leaking air. Fixed with some liquid gasket. Then the jams started. First every once in a while, then every 10 shots. One nail about welded itself to the hammer. After the 10th jam i was done for the night. Each jam is removing 5 screws, removing the nail, then 5 screw back in. 5-10 minutes each time.
I left the last one in. I'll fix it later.
[quoted image]
Off to Lowe's this morning before work. Based on amazon, everyone loves the Bostitch, and great news, top of the line nailers are only $300 now.
[quoted image]
Everything has been great so far with this one. No issues and just moving along. 220 sqft done, 21% of that room.
[quoted image]
I'm a big fan of this wood. I like the variation. It's not going to show all the dust like other woods that are consistent in color.
[quoted image]
You made a great choice. I will pay $300 to save my back any day of the week. And you have WAY more to go! That $300 will be invisible after all the time you'll save.
3 weeks later
Man, flooring is just slow. But finally the kitchen and family room are done. 1100 sqft done and ~400-500 to go in other rooms
IMG20230711210230 (resized).jpgIMG20230711210305 (resized).jpg
The second last row isn't fun either. Everything has to be predrilled and hand nailed and set. Hammering while 2.5" from the wall. The final row just gets face nailed which will be hidden under the trim.
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The final piece.
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But this isn't the only thing going on. I got the yard graded and seeded.
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Since I did that last week, it hasn't rained. I've got sprinklers all over and the yard gets an hour every morning.
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Quoted from FrankJ:I’m getting sad. This was such a fun build to watch. Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
We still have the full game room buildout!
A lot of the rest of the stuff isn't really as fun as seeing the structure go up. Soffits, fascia, stone, gutters, siding... It's all just the topcoat. I think the fireplace will be a fun change as well as the spiral staircase. These are all the small projects that could go on in any house. I just really want the floors to be all done. It'll be nice to not have to walk on any more plywood.
I'm looking forward to doing the basement. That should be next year.
Quoted from yaksplat:...The second last row isn't fun either. Everything has to be predrilled and hand nailed and set. Hammering while 2.5" from the wall. The final row just gets face nailed which will be hidden under the trim...
I probably would have just went with slightly shorter nails if that spot didn't get any traffic or stress. Maybe use a palm nailer if there's room? Then set w/a punch.
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Quoted from mbwalker:I probably would have just went with slightly shorter nails if that spot didn't get any traffic or stress. Maybe use a palm nailer if there's room? Then set w/a punch.
[quoted image]
I tried the palm nailer, but they're just way too aggressive. The piston pops out too, you'll see the little dents on hangers. I do love them for tight spaces though. I was actually using a copper headed hammer. It's for non-marring applications, but in this case i just wanted the weight and small head.
Quoted from yaksplat:A lot of the rest of the stuff isn't really as fun as seeing the structure go up. Soffits, fascia, stone, gutters, siding... It's all just the topcoat. I think the fireplace will be a fun change as well as the spiral staircase. These are all the small projects that could go on in any house. I just really want the floors to be all done. It'll be nice to not have to walk on any more plywood.
I'm looking forward to doing the basement. That should be next year.
We (me, atleast) wants to see it all!
Quoted from yaksplat:The second last row isn't fun either. Everything has to be predrilled and hand nailed and set.
Installing hardwood is a monotonous task. But imagine doing it 100 years ago when you had to predrill every nail in every board you put in. Every cut was by hand, and after installing 16 rows you had probably only covered 2 feet into the room as the average flooring width was 1.5”.
Quoted from TheShaft:Installing hardwood is a monotonous task. But imagine doing it 100 years ago when you had to predrill every nail in every board you put in. Every cut was by hand, and after installing 16 rows you had probably only covered 2 feet into the room as the average flooring width was 1.5”.
Exactly what my grandfather did in his house. My dad tells me stories about when he was about 5, tapping nails in. And that's when you did the entire house too.
I started work on the soffits and fascia. I started in the back until I heard a lot of humming. I looked up...
IMG20230712183328 (resized).jpg
I'm not sure what kind these are, but I've never seen them before. They're not bald-faced hornets, thank God, but I don't know of another black and white hornet or wasp. I sprayed them and left the area for later.
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I moved out to the front for a bit so i could tackle my weird corner.
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I think it turned out well.
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I decided to miter the soffit in the corners. I think it looks a bit better this way.
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Then it dawned on me that I never did the returns on the gables. I didn't want to do porkchop boxes like the sides, so I went with hip returns at a 6 pitch.
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I think overall, it's a good look. It gives the front some extra dimension.
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Looks great, and the light on your clipped corner looks like it belongs there, and the corner and light were part of the original design. Just need the house numbers below 
Quoted from ReadyPO:Looks great, and the light on your clipped corner looks like it belongs there, and the corner and light were part of the original design. Just need the house numbers below
Exactly. It’s not a flaw, it’s a feature
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