c/diy-builders

Had my doubts about building my own workbench from scratch, but now I'm a believer

I always figured just buying a premade bench from the store was the smart move, cheaper and faster right? But my buddy kept pushing me to build one, saying I'd get exactly what I need. So 3 months ago I spent a Saturday cutting 2x4s and 3/4 inch plywood in my garage, following some plans I found online. Turns out he was right - this thing is solid as a rock and fits my workspace perfectly, saved me maybe $150 too. Anyone else had a DIY project surprise them like that?

Hot take: treated lumber is way overrated for ground contact projects

Did a soil test for a raised bed in Portland last month and found out the CCA in modern treated wood still leaches enough copper to mess with earthworms after 5 years. Found the study through Oregon State's extension service site. Anyone else switch to cedar or composite after looking into this?

Shoutout to the old handsaw that finally proved me wrong

I spent about 4 hours last Sunday fighting a cheap circular saw to cut a single sheet of plywood for my workbench shelf, getting nothing but tearout and crooked lines. Out of frustration I grabbed my grandpa's 1960s Disston handsaw from the garage, and it cut dead straight in maybe 10 minutes with way less mess. Has anyone else found that an old manual tool just works better than a power tool for certain jobs?

Stopped by an old hardware store in rural Pennsylvania last month and noticed they still sharpen lawn mower blades by hand

The guy behind the counter has been doing it for 40+ years. Charged me $8 for a set of three blades and I watched him file each one with a old school hand file clamped to the bench. Took maybe 7 minutes each. My mower cuts cleaner than it did with the brand new blade I bought at the big box store last year. Makes me wonder how many little skills like that are just disappearing because nobody thinks to ask. Anyone else got a old timer in their area who still does things the slow way?

Spent 3 hours reading old electrical code books from 1968

Found a stack of them at an estate sale in Akron last weekend. Turns out they used to allow aluminum wiring in houses way more than I thought, like for almost everything. Has anyone else flipped through old code books and found something that made you glad we updated things?

Appreciation post: that old carpenter at the Habitat ReStore who talked me out of buying a $60 miter saw

He just looked at me for a second and said 'son, that saw'll chew your fingers off before it cuts an inch straight,' and then walked me over to a used DeWalt for $80 that I still use three years later, so do you think the DIY community leans too hard on budget gear or is there a real line between cheap and dangerous?

Debate: Should you level a concrete slab before building on it or just work around low spots?

I was framing a shed base on a slab in my backyard last month. Half the foundation was 1.5 inches lower than the other side. Figured I could shim the bottom plate and move on. My buddy came over and said I was asking for trouble, that the walls would rack over time. Told me to bust out the concrete grinder and level it. I didn't want to deal with the dust and the noise. So I just shimmed it and built anyway. It came out okay so far, but cracks are already showing in the drywall corners. Is it really that big a deal to have a slab off by a few inches? Who's actually done the leveling and regretted the work, and who's skipped it and regretted not doing it?

Plywood shelves vs MDF for my garage workshop in Denver

I spent 3 days debating between Baltic birch plywood and MDF for shelving in my garage shop. Went with the plywood because I got tired of MDF sagging after a year in my old apartment. Cut everything on a Saturday, routed the edges, and bolted it to the studs with 3 inch screws. So far it's holding up great even with my heavy drill press on top. Anyone else swear by plywood for shop storage or am I just being extra?

Took me three days to figure out I had my saw blade on backwards

I was helping a buddy frame out a shed last weekend and my circular saw kept binding up and smoking. I figured the blade was dull so I swapped it for a new one. Same thing happened. Cussed at the saw for two solid hours before giving up. Then I went to grab my miter saw to cut some trim and noticed my buddy had put a blade on that thing backwards too. That's when it clicked. I checked my circular saw and sure enough, I had the teeth pointing the wrong way. Three days of fighting that saw and it was operator error the whole time. Anyone else ever do something this dumb or am I the only one?

That time my uncle said I was wasting money on a miter saw stand

He builds decks and fences for 30 years. Said just use sawhorses like he always did. So I did it his way for 6 months. Crawling around. Tripping over boards. My back hurt all the time. Finally bought a Ridgid stand for $150. Now I set up in 2 minutes and cut 20 boards without moving. Uncle tried it last weekend. Said nothing but grunted. Anyone else ignore old school advice and find out it was worth the money?

Framing nailer vs. hand nailing a shed floor - the air gun made more sense for my back but I'm not convinced it was faster

After spending 6 hours last Saturday on a 10x12 shed foundation in Greenville, I think the hammer was actually quicker because I spent half that time untangling air hose and fighting a misfire, has anyone else noticed cordless nailers are a different beast altogether?

Debate: should I waterproof my own basement or hire it out?

I've got a 60 year old basement in St. Louis that seeps water every spring. I priced out a professional waterproofing job at $4,200 but my buddy says I can do it myself with hydraulic cement and a drain tile system for about $600 in materials. To me the big question is whether the DIY approach will hold up for more than a couple seasons or if I'm just buying myself a temporary fix. Anybody here tried tackling a damp basement on their own and had it work out long term?

I finally switched to a track saw after a bad day with a circular saw on a job site in Austin

Was framing a built-in shelf in a 1920s house last month and my circular saw kicked back on some old pine. Took a chunk out of my finger and ruined the cut. My buddy Mike who does cabinets said track saws are safer and cleaner. I got one used for $150 and now I'm wondering if I should have made the switch years ago. Has anyone else had a close call that made you change a tool you'd been using forever?

That 30 year old miter saw in my garage cuts straighter than my new one

I was cleaning out my father in law's workshop in Austin last weekend and found his old Ryobi from 1989. We set it up next to my DeWalt and tested both on some 2x4s. His cut was dead square to within 1/64th while mine was off by almost a full 1/16th. Has anyone else noticed older tools just holding up better than the new stuff?

Tried cheap plywood for a shed build and it actually held up fine

I built a 8x10 garden shed last summer using the cheapest 7/16 OSB from Home Depot instead of the CDX people swear by. Three seasons later and it's still standing without any sagging or rot where I put house wrap over it. Did I just get lucky or is the premium stuff overrated for small projects? Anyone else cut corners on a budget build and have it work out?

Finally tried a chalk line reel instead of a tape measure for long cuts

I spent 20 minutes measuring and marking plywood sheets for a shed roof last week and kept messing up the lines. Guy at the lumber yard said to just pop a chalk line and cut along it. Grabbed a 100 foot reel for 8 bucks and it lined up perfect on the first try. Anyone else switched to chalk for big panels or is this just one of those things everyone knows but me?

I wasted 10 hours framing a wall before I tried a laser level instead of my old bubble level

I was building a partition wall in my garage in Austin and kept getting crooked studs no matter how careful I was with my 4 foot level. A buddy stopped by and made me borrow his Bosch GLL30 laser level and the difference was night and day my plumb lines were dead on in 20 minutes. Has anyone else dealt with fighting old tools when a cheap laser would have saved the whole project?

Spent 4 hours trying to level a floor only to realize my level was crooked

Grabbed my 6ft level I've had for years, checked the floor in my living room remodel. Bubble was way off. Shimmed, adjusted, cursed. Did this dance for 3 hours thinking the old subfloor was insanely wonky. My helper walks in, takes one look at my level, says 'boss you know that things bent right?' Sure enough I dropped it last month and put a tiny curve in the edge. New level cost me $25 and 15 minutes. Anyone else ever fight a tool that was the real problem?

Chat with a retired carpenter about my framing nailer changed how I think about nail guns

I was at a local hardware store last Saturday picking up some lumber and ran into this older guy who used to build houses back in the 80s. He saw me looking at a bunch of 21 degree framing nailers and just started chatting. He told me he still uses his old Paslode from 1993 and that modern nailers have too many plastic parts that break. Said 'you need a tool that can take a fall off a second story roof and still fire'. I'd been obsessing over the newest cordless models with all the features, but he made me realize I was overcomplicating it. Now I'm thinking about getting a refurbished older model instead of spending $500 on something fancy. Has anyone else had luck with older nail guns over the newer ones?

The difference in my miter saw cuts from 6 months ago is night and day

I got a new saw at a garage sale back in February, a Delta 10 inch, and my cuts were all over the place. Yesterday I finally checked the blade alignment with a square and found it was off by nearly 2 degrees from the fence. Who else has dealt with a factory misalignment that threw off all their projects for way too long?

Popped into a Habitat ReStore near Tulsa last week and noticed something sketchy

They had about 20 bags of unlabeled cement mix that some contractor clearly dumped off after a job. Anyone know if there's a way to test old cement before you risk a whole footing on it?

That whole 'dry fit everything first' advice drove me crazy for years

Was building a deck in Spokane last summer and got tired of tearing things apart to fix gaps, so I started gluing and screwing as I went. Has anyone else found that dry fitting just wastes time if you measure twice?

Serious question, did you switch from premixed mortar to bagged mix? Here's my experience.

I used to always buy the premixed tubs of mortar for small tile jobs. It was easy, just open and go. But 6 months ago I switched to the 50lb bags of dry mix for a bathroom floor at my house. The cost difference was huge, like $8 a bag versus $20 a tub. The prep work is annoying though, mixing it myself takes an extra 10 minutes. My tiles feel more solid now, but I'm not sure if it's placebo. Has anyone else made this switch and noticed a real difference in durability?

Tried pine jigs vs store bought ones for drawer slides. Pine won hands down.

Found a trick for straight cuts without a table saw

Last weekend I was building shelves in my garage in Phoenix and needed to rip a 4x8 sheet of plywood, but my circular saw kept drifting. I clamped a level to the wood as a guide and it came out perfectly straight on the first try. Has anyone else used a level or straight edge as a fence for their circular saw?