The New "Home Improvement" Thread

[Cash or Czech]

41 minutes ago, Keirik said:

Recently bought a house? Yeah, your home loan calculates your tax already into your monthly payment. 

 

Yeah I bought in December. I just wasn't sure if it calculated local taxes as well. I thought it was just my property taxes, hence paying the local tax bill I got in the mail.

 

I'll see the money back in January 2023

Edited April 21, 2022 by Cash or Czech

[Keirik]

2 minutes ago, Cash or Czech said:

 

Yeah I bought in December. I just wasn't sure if it calculated local taxes as well. I thought it was just my property taxes, hence paying the local tax bill I got in the mail.

 

I'll see the money back in January 2023

That sucks. Live and learn. 

[The Dude]

Ok fellas. Power washers. I  want to buy one.

 

Do I bother with an electric one? Projects that I will be using it on are:

 

Cleaning split rail wood fence.

 

Poorly painted house foundation needs flaking paint taken off.

 

Trees have scale on them

 

Garage doors are in shade and get moss on them.

 

Some rock/slate on retaining wall look scuzzy.

 

Siding looks dirty

 

House has well water and not very high PSI from the hose ( i know, i know, future project is to replace pressure tank and manifold), so I'd also like to use it to wash my truck, especially underneath due to the amount of brine and salt they use in the winter 

 

Simpson seems to be the brand I see most of. I don't trust Ryobi or newer Craftsman. 

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

[Dunny]

I have an electric, but I'm poor. Buy a gas.

[BrooksBurner]

On 4/21/2022 at 2:18 PM, Keirik said:

Recently bought a house? Yeah, your home loan calculates your tax already into your monthly payment. 

 

If you opt for escrow anyway. I refinanced this past summer and declined escrow.

[Keirik]

44 minutes ago, The Dude said:

Ok fellas. Power washers. I  want to buy one.

 

Do I bother with an electric one? Projects that I will be using it on are:

 

Cleaning split rail wood fence.

 

Poorly painted house foundation needs flaking paint taken off.

 

Trees have scale on them

 

Garage doors are in shade and get moss on them.

 

Some rock/slate on retaining wall look scuzzy.

 

Siding looks dirty

 

House has well water and not very high PSI from the hose ( i know, i know, future project is to replace pressure tank and manifold), so I'd also like to use it to wash my truck, especially underneath due to the amount of brine and salt they use in the winter 

 

Simpson seems to be the brand I see most of. I don't trust Ryobi or newer Craftsman. 

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

I have a Simpson gas. No issues at all. Works very well. I'd stay away from electric 

[The Dude]

2 hours ago, Dunny said:

I have an electric, but I'm poor. Buy a gas.

I'm on the verge of poor. But that's what they make credit cards for.  

[jsm7302]

13 hours ago, The Dude said:

I'm on the verge of poor. But that's what they make credit cards for.  

We have an electric that has pretty much handled all of the projects you mention with ease.

 

My dad has a gas powered that we borrowed a few times prior to getting our own; only real advantage was not having a cord. Electric is lighter, less maintenance to store and is strong enough to handle the projects.  Id go electric.

[Pete]

I want all these things. Nowhere to store them. 

[BlairBettsBlocksEverything]

Anyone have experience with electric corded or battery operated lawn mowers? 
 

amazon’s brand has good reviews but their corded version apparently needs specific extension cables to work and their battery is apparently finicky. 
 

I don’t have a big front or back yard though so I don’t need anything with crazy run time

[Dunny]

I have a cock, so I can't help you.

[BlairBettsBlocksEverything]

9 hours ago, Dunny said:

I have a cock, so I can't help you.

sounds massive too!

[Dunny]

Alas, it is not.

[josh]

my yard sucks, and even I can mock electric mower mowers. 
 

I have a battery operated weed whacker from the first house that didnt need much. Now, I use it because it shuts off after a few minutes and I don’t have to do it anymore. 
 

Get a small gas powered push mower. If your yard is small, you won’t need self propelled. You can get a new one cheap, or a used one practically free. 

[BrooksBurner]

Electric all the way. I have had the 80v Kobalt battery one from Lowes for 6 years. Been great.

 

You gotta be a sucker to lug around gas and oil for push mowing anymore unless you’re a landscaper or have a side gig taking care of people’s lawns.

[Dunny]

Yeah, when we're out for an evening walk and I spot an acquaintance pushing around his silent little mower, he totally doesn't hang his head in shame and retreat behind the garage.

 

All joking aside, gas or electric, what matters is the blades.

 

I've put about 100 hours in to our front yard this year. I used the snow blower to cut a wider swath on sides of the driveway, and my beautiful wife salted them lmao. That shit was dead. Between that and the road edge where the town fucks shit up, I've patiently stripped, and replanted a bunch. I can be found Saturday evenings hand watering all 5 zones in the front, with a dart dangling, and admiring the neighborhood milfs that walk by. Cut every week, at a minimum. Even the Boomers are impressed. Getting old is fun.

 

In the backyard, between the COVID pool, and trampoline, it's a fucking disaster, but nobody knows lol.

[josh]

8 hours ago, rmc51 said:

Electric all the way. I have had the 80v Kobalt battery one from Lowes for 6 years. Been great.

 

You gotta be a sucker to lug around gas and oil for push mowing anymore unless you’re a landscaper or have a side gig taking care of people’s lawns.

Lugging around gas and oil? lmao

[BrooksBurner]

1 hour ago, josh said:

Lugging around gas and oil? lmao

Yup. Enjoy making your garage smell like gasoline just to cut a push mower sized lawn.

[Morphinity 2.0]

On 7/12/2022 at 8:03 AM, BlairBettsBlocksEverything said:

Anyone have experience with electric corded or battery operated lawn mowers? 
 

amazon’s brand has good reviews but their corded version apparently needs specific extension cables to work and their battery is apparently finicky. 
 

I don’t have a big front or back yard though so I don’t need anything with crazy run time

I had an EGO mower when I first moved in to my house. It was garbage. All of the parts are plastic, so if you're bumping up on landscaping stones or anything, you can damage it. It has one shitty blade which would frequently require me to do two passes on particularly thick parts of grass. And it got choked up on dense grass areas very easily. But I'm a stubborn motherfucker. I continued to use it for a year until the next season when I take it out and the relay switch for the safety mechanism just straight up broke on me. The mower wouldn't start unless the switch was engaged. 

 

This infuriated me. So I brought it back to Home Depot and I finagled them to somehow take back a year old mower and I bought a Honda gas mower for $100 more instead. Best move I made. It's a two bladed power house. This thing doesn't get choked up on anything and cuts even every time. Full metal too. 

Get gas. The electric mowers are shit. I have a quarter acre to mow and I get a 2 gallon canister and use that the whole season. That's it. You're not saving the planet by saving 2 gallons of gas per year.

 

Now I also have the EGO string trimmer and blower. Those are great for general maintenance around my small yard. 

[Morphinity 2.0]

46 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

Yup. Enjoy making your garage smell like gasoline just to cut a push mower sized lawn.

I fill my mower outside in my driveway before I mow. My garage does not smell like gasoline. I certainly don't have to lug anything anywhere. One fill up of my mower lasts me about 2 cuts, depending on the time of year. 

[BrooksBurner]

30 minutes ago, Nashley Tisdale said:

I fill my mower outside in my driveway before I mow. My garage does not smell like gasoline. I certainly don't have to lug anything anywhere. One fill up of my mower lasts me about 2 cuts, depending on the time of year. 

 

Ok guys I was being facetious about “lugging it around” lol. I used a gas push and rider mower for years and know you don’t lug a gas can around as you’re mowing.

 

One small spill of gas on the driveway or leaking down the side of the canister is enough to make shit smelly. Maybe I suck at pouring gas, but now I don’t have to worry about it.

 

The fact you spent less on an electric mower than a gas mower, when quality electric mowers generally cost more upfront, tells me this isn’t exactly an apples to apples comparison. It’s also possible you just got a lemon. I paid $400 for mine 6 years ago. I’ve had to replace one wheel bearing and replace/sharpen blades 2 or 3 times. That’s it.

 

Benefits that are not related to “saving the earth”:

 

No “tune ups”. No spark plugs. No oil. No fuel filters. Etc.

 

Push button start. No pulling on cords. You know what’s annoying? When the mower doesn’t seem to want to start and you’re out there huffing cord pulls after fiddling with things.

 

Easier cleaning underneath. Can just flip it upside down and do whatever you want. Don’t gotta worry about gas leaking out.

 

I can’t imagine anyone buying a gas mower to manage a quarter acre or less anymore, outside of doing specialized stuff (i.e., mowing at a real low height)

Edited July 13, 2022 by rmc51

[Morphinity 2.0]

I mean it was equally annoying when my battery lasted 45 minutes and I had a few more rows left. In the middle of spring when that grass is thiccccc I would always have to hot swap or wait to charge up a battery.

[josh]

1 hour ago, rmc51 said:

Yup. Enjoy making your garage smell like gasoline just to cut a push mower sized lawn.

 

 

Parking a car in the garage would be worse, no?

 

[BrooksBurner]

1 minute ago, Nashley Tisdale said:

I mean it was equally annoying when my battery lasted 45 minutes and I had a few more rows left. In the middle of spring when that grass is thiccccc I would always have to hot swap or wait to charge up a battery.

Totally fair. Mine came with 2 batteries, lasts roughly 20-25 min per battery. But I have 2 more batteries that came with the weed trimmer and leaf blower from the same set, which are still going strong. Though the weed trimmer I’ve abused the shit out of lol might be time to get a new one soon.

[Pete]

I've never tuned up or changed the plug on my mower. It's 10 years old. I just start it once a month during the winter. Normally fires up after 2-3 pulls in April.