What are you doing? - (Hobbies Thread)

[Longnose]

Someone started the movies threads and the music threads a little while back. I figured I would start a hobbies thread to see what other people are doing when you aren't face deep in a 10-K. 

 

What are your hobbies? 

 

I am also a bee keeper. Last fall I came across a group on FB for making bee hives out of refrigerators. So through the winter I decided to give it a go and built a refrigerator hive. I have some property in the mountains and I intend to take this fridge up to the mountains to leave it for the summer around the end of April. 

 

 

[ERICOPOLY]

I have never done much work around the house before.  Lived in them, other people built them and fixed them.

 

I am closing in a few days on a 900 sqft "crack house" in California built in 1920.  $90,000.  For that price I get a house that people cannot get financing on.

 

Hobbies:

I am learning wiring.

I am learning plumbing.

I am learning lath&plaster repair.

I am learning sanding and refinishing wood floors.

I am learning insulation.

I am learning framing.

I am learning tiling.

I am learning window restoration (pulley and weight sash windows)

 

Everything in the kitchen will be gutted.  

Everything but the bathtub will be gutted in the bathroom.

All electrical will be ripped out and replaced.

All plumbing will be replaced.

All ducting will be replaced.

Unfinished basement will become a legal apartment (not sure if I'm doing all of this part myself).

 

Oh, the dream project!  Endless hobby.

 

Once ready, it's less than 2 blocks from the Upper Sacramento river and will be my fly fishing retreat. 

 

10 minutes to Mt. Shasta.

[boilermaker75]

@ERICOPOLY That is something I have always wanted to do. Maybe someday.

[Longnose]

30 minutes ago, ERICOPOLY said:

I have never done much work around the house before.  Lived in them, other people built them and fixed them.

 

I am closing in a few days on a 900 sqft "crack house" in California built in 1920.  $90,000.  For that price I get a house that people cannot get financing on.

 

Hobbies:

I am learning wiring.

I am learning plumbing.

I am learning lath&plaster repair.

I am learning sanding and refinishing wood floors.

I am learning insulation.

I am learning framing.

I am learning tiling.

I am learning window restoration (pulley and weight sash windows)

 

Everything in the kitchen will be gutted.  

Everything but the bathtub will be gutted in the bathroom.

All electrical will be ripped out and replaced.

All plumbing will be replaced.

All ducting will be replaced.

Unfinished basement will become a legal apartment (not sure if I'm doing all of this part myself).

 

Oh, the dream project!  Endless hobby.

 

Once ready, it's less than 2 blocks from the Upper Sacramento river and will be my fly fishing retreat. 

 

10 minutes to Mt. Shasta.

 

Very Nice!!! There's something tangible when you do any kind of manual work. Remodels are so rewarding when your done. Sounds like a stellar location. How much do you think you'll have to put into the place for the remodel? If you airBnB it I may have to come stay and fish. I am also an avid fly fisherman. Never fished any of the Northern Cali rivers. But I would love to. 

[Blugolds]

Currently remodeling a lake home in prep for sale… I do everything myself. 

 

Other hobbies include woodworking, I have another cabin I am going to build a garage at in the spring and will use that shop to hopefully start building a drift boat. I previously worked at a boat shop restoring old wooden boats, ChrisCraft , Hackercraft, Garwood, combining woodworking and love for boats was great. Some archery, but mainly construction/woodworking related. My hobbies change depending on the project, usually my projects are large, so take a while and then I move on to the next interest. I spent 5 years restoring a 1968 Camaro that I still have, so at that time my hobbies were more automotive in nature. 

[james22]

God help me, I'm starting to get into watches. 

[ERICOPOLY]

2 hours ago, Longnose said:

 

Very Nice!!! There's something tangible when you do any kind of manual work. Remodels are so rewarding when your done. Sounds like a stellar location. How much do you think you'll have to put into the place for the remodel? If you airBnB it I may have to come stay and fish. I am also an avid fly fisherman. Never fished any of the Northern Cali rivers. But I would love to. 

 

It's very close to downtown Dunsmuir.  1/2 mile walk to the brewery and 500 ft to public access to the river (and great water at that spot).

 

It will be on AirBnb, because you know, we have to cover that $950 annual property tax somehow

 

We'll get the renovations done for roughly $50k - $60k we think.  But that does not include the project of turning the basement into an apartment.  It is zoned R3 so it will be a full legal apartment.

 

Electrical:       $2,000.

Kitchen:     $6,000 for the kitchen (we're not doing upper cabinets, just shelving above $485 10' maple butcher block countertop and Ikea cabinets, and Diamond floor paint.  Appliances are most of this cost)

Bathroom:  $3,000. (original cast iron alcove bathtub is already there.  Then it's just tiling and a couple hundred for pedestal sink and a couple hundred for toilet)

Roof:          $14,000 for metal standing seam roof that a contractor will install.

Attic insulation:  $750 

Windows:   $5,000.  

Rear staircase:  $2,000

Plumbing:   It can't be much, it's just replacing pipes.

Ducting:  ?

Heat pump:  no idea really, guessing $10k

Siding boards... we need to replace about 1/4 of the redwood siding.  The rest looks pretty good and it's 100 years old now. It is "Double ogee" siding and may need to talk to a lumber mill or go looking for salvage material.

Paint:  $1,000 ???

 

Amtrak Coast Starlight stops in Dunsmuir so just take the train.  0.4 miles to train station.

 

Edited March 3, 2022 by ERICOPOLY

[gfp]

Congratulations on the project Eric.  As someone who has done all of those renovation tasks many times I will recommend that you don't do it all yourself but if you have plenty of time, tools and want to learn go for it!  If the neighborhood really is rough, make sure you secure the property really well while you are renovating it.

 

(other advice, don't use wood or marble countertops on an airbnb - use something durable)

 

It's this one?

Edited March 3, 2022 by gfp

[Gregmal]

Ive always found that stuff fun. Did a complete kitchen renovation with my buddy. Paid him in beer and a new PS4(yea this was awhile ago). Also did a demo on an entire floor of a Bank of America office that was being re-leased. These type of things definitely give you a sense of appreciation for those skillsets and workers. 

 

Also +1 on the fishing. No joke, after my kids, fishing is probably one of the biggest considerations for where or if we move. Im not really interested in mainland Florida. Lakes that are really just retention ponds with pretty much just largemouth bass and catfish dont really do it for me. 

[Paarslaars]

With two small kids, my hobbies are rather limited: indoor football and padel.  

 

I do plan on gradually building a 'sustainable' vegetable garden.

The dream is to never have to buy vegetables ever again and grow much better quality myself!

Additionally, maybe add poultry for eggs/meat etc... perhaps even with a pond to breed fish.

Bee keeping is actually something that looks quite attractive as well but I heard it can be quite a challenge to keep the hive alive.

 

My grandma lived like that after she retired, sounds like a dream to me. Hope to have time for it at one point...

Edited March 3, 2022 by Paarslaars

[ERICOPOLY]

2 hours ago, gfp said:

Congratulations on the project Eric.  As someone who has done all of those renovation tasks many times I will recommend that you don't do it all yourself but if you have plenty of time, tools and want to learn go for it!  If the neighborhood really is rough, make sure you secure the property really well while you are renovating it.

 

(other advice, don't use wood or marble countertops on an airbnb - use something durable)

 

It's this one?

 

That's a different one.

 

It's this one below.  The neighbors on both sides were very nice and came over to intervene when they thought we were snooping around the backyard.  One of them is a handyman who can do plumbing for $35 an hour.  Both neighbors had contemplated buying it to avoid a situation like the one they had before with the renters, but being "all cash" it was a sticking point I believe.  Previously there was a breakin and there is a spoon with a lighter in the basement washtub and a needle in the kitchen sink.  Graffiti on the walls.  It had been a long-term rental to the son of the owner who is under a conservatorship and he trashed the place, there was a marijuana grow going on in the basement, it's a "crack house".  That basement window to the rear of the house was kicked in which is how they entered the house, and that's one of the windows that needs replacement. :

Edited March 3, 2022 by ERICOPOLY

[gfp]

Much cuter.  Nice project

[ERICOPOLY]

My wife is a 'handyman'.  She has gutted a kitchen and bathroom before and rebuilt the cabinets and retiled it herself.  We've been watching "This Old House" videos on You Tube to learn how to replace the ropes in the sash windows and she's so excited to have these projects to work on.  The table saw in our garage is hers, not mine, from before I met her.

 

The prior renters were hoarders.  The neighbors said that the city would tell them to move their trash and they would do so, but then they would move it back into the yard again.  For years it decorated the front yard and side and rear of the home and filled the basement and crawlspace.

 

This is from April 2021 and this is NOT moving day.  They lived like this for a decade.  The city fined the property owner for this situation and there was a sizable lien to be paid off:

 

 

 

[gfp]

That's great.  I've built and rebuilt hundreds of all wood windows over the years.  Make sure to use real "sash cord" and not some random similar rope.  Hopefully the original weights are still in the pockets.  Sometimes they end up one floor below in the wall LOL

[Guest]

I've worked on 2 foreclosures (my first two houses) and helped my brother with 2 of his also. My dad is easily in the top 1% of people can do this kind of stuff (and he's personally built several houses - almost all by himself). I can do some things, but not a lot, without his input. I have a ton (a ton!) of respect for manual labor and self reliance.  We literally almost never hired anything out growing up. So I learned some and I understand how hard it can be sometimes. 

 

With all of that said, It's good that your wife is willing to help...but man, I would absolutely hate to try to tackle that one. Good luck to you though.

[Longnose]

2 hours ago, Paarslaars said:

With two small kids, my hobbies are rather limited: indoor football and padel.  

 

I do plan on gradually building a 'sustainable' vegetable garden.

The dream is to never have to buy vegetables ever again and grow much better quality myself!

Additionally, maybe add poultry for eggs/meat etc... perhaps even with a pond to breed fish.

Bee keeping is actually something that looks quite attractive as well but I heard it can be quite a challenge to keep the hive alive.

 

My grandma lived like that after she retired, sounds like a dream to me. Hope to have time for it at one point...

 

I have 3 under 3... Life is literally a shit show right now... diapers.... 

 

I garden every year and do the bees. This year I plan on taking the bees to some property we have in the mountains and get wildflower honey. Happy to be a resource if you ever take the bee keeping dive. Though usually its best to just join a local bee club. 

[ERICOPOLY]

53 minutes ago, gfp said:

That's great.  I've built and rebuilt hundreds of all wood windows over the years.  Make sure to use real "sash cord" and not some random similar rope.  Hopefully the original weights are still in the pockets.  Sometimes they end up one floor below in the wall LOL

 

The floor below is the basement and crawlspace so we'll get to them.  This is the stuff:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EVE42G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Castanza]

Recent project I did for a neighbor. Completely rebuilt this mantel from the ground up. Never did this before so it was a fun project. Not perfect, and a few things I would do differently but turned out alright. A few finishing touches missing in the pic but that's the latest I have. I think they are going to put a gas insert in at some point so this was the immediate solution. 

 

- Pulled off old sheeting

- Reinsulated duct work

- Added canless lights, new outlets from circuit from box, and hidden media box behind TV with dedicated ethernet. Samsung Frame mounts flush which is pretty cool.

- Also thought the picture mode looked pretty real if you got some high res paintings (one pictured is not)

- Re sheeted in 3/4 veneer core finish ply

- Custom milled trim 

- Custom built beam (shoutout to Sheppard Brackets <- use these)

- Removed old insert cleaned and painted brick/fire box

 

 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Castanza said:

Recent project I did for a neighbor. Completely rebuilt this mantel from the ground up. Never did this before so it was a fun project. Not perfect, and a few things I would do differently but turned out alright. A few finishing touches missing in the pic but that's the latest I have. I think they are going to put a gas insert in at some point so this was the immediate solution. 

 

- Pulled off old sheeting

- Reinsulated duct work

- Added canless lights, new outlets from circuit from box, and hidden media box behind TV with dedicated ethernet. Samsung Frame mounts flush which is pretty cool.

- Also thought the picture mode looked pretty real if you got some high res paintings (one pictured is not)

- Re sheeted in 3/4 veneer core finish ply

- Custom milled trim 

- Custom built beam (shoutout to Sheppard Brackets <- use these)

- Removed old insert cleaned and painted brick/fire box

 

 

 

 

 

Look at this man. Always impressive work. 

[ERICOPOLY]

9 hours ago, gfp said:

(other advice, don't use wood or marble countertops on an airbnb - use something durable)

 

 

We may be naive, but we're thinking the butcher block countertop will be a safe option because we can remove stains with sandpaper.  

[Parsad]

6 hours ago, Castanza said:

Recent project I did for a neighbor. Completely rebuilt this mantel from the ground up. Never did this before so it was a fun project. Not perfect, and a few things I would do differently but turned out alright. A few finishing touches missing in the pic but that's the latest I have. I think they are going to put a gas insert in at some point so this was the immediate solution. 

 

- Pulled off old sheeting

- Reinsulated duct work

- Added canless lights, new outlets from circuit from box, and hidden media box behind TV with dedicated ethernet. Samsung Frame mounts flush which is pretty cool.

- Also thought the picture mode looked pretty real if you got some high res paintings (one pictured is not)

- Re sheeted in 3/4 veneer core finish ply

- Custom milled trim 

- Custom built beam (shoutout to Sheppard Brackets <- use these)

- Removed old insert cleaned and painted brick/fire box

 

 

 

 

That's nice work Castanza!  Looks good.  Cheers!

[gfp]

The main problem with wood countertops is water around the kitchen sink.  I have units with solid butcher block countertops and they are very easy to self-install and inexpensive.  But after a few years the areas around the sinks are all messed up.  If you use an over mount stainless steel sink with a fairly large apron that drains toward the sink that could help.  I wouldn't recommend wood countertops with an under-mount sink.  Ikea used to sell a cheap porcelain farmhouse style sink called domsjo that sat on top of the wood countertops and that did ok preventing water damage but the sink and cabinet are difficult to replace when a tenant damages the porcelain sink.  Also that look is now dated.  You guys will figure it out - have fun!

[Castanza]

@Parsad  @stahleyp thanks appreciate it! 
 

@ERICOPOLYman that looks like a big project to take on! Definitely good and bad working with older homes but once done refinished they really are a gem. I have to agree on the countertop. You’ll save yourself a lot of trouble by going with a man made quartzite. I believe you’re in Cali so not sure what it’s like there but here you depending on how big of a piece you need there are plenty of off cuts which you can get for a reasonable discount.
 

Just be sure to leave your tenant a bunch of cork hot pads. A friend of mine does that for his tenants and says he hasn’t had a single problem with countertops since he started doing that. 

[ERICOPOLY]

2 hours ago, gfp said:

The main problem with wood countertops is water around the kitchen sink.  I have units with solid butcher block countertops and they are very easy to self-install and inexpensive.  But after a few years the areas around the sinks are all messed up.  If you use an over mount stainless steel sink with a fairly large apron that drains toward the sink that could help.

 

Have you tried a few coats of polyurethane on them to seal them?

Edited March 4, 2022 by ERICOPOLY

[ERICOPOLY]

22 hours ago, Longnose said:

If you airBnB it I may have to come stay and fish. I am also an avid fly fisherman. Never fished any of the Northern Cali rivers. But I would love to. 

 

Lots of opportunities:

Upper Sacramento River (short walk)

Lower Sacramento (50 minute drive -- below Lake Shasta)

McCloud River (23 minute drive)

Pit River (75 minute drive)

Hat Creek (75 minute drive)

Fall River (75 minute drive)

Klamath River (60 minute drive)

Trinity River (94 minutes)

 

Many options, not counting lakes.

Edited March 4, 2022 by ERICOPOLY