Thoguth you might enjoy this story:
Sunday morning it rained, so I wasn’t out farming. I sat in my favorite recliner flipping through the channels – Not much on. I paused at a show on H&G where they a man and a woman were framing a small garden shed. It wasn’t too exciting, so I was probably only about half awake.
About the time they laid out the walls, my 11 year old Son walked in and sat down. The guy on TV picked up a cordless drill and started drilling pilot holes in the plates and studs. The woman was coming behind and hand nailing them together with 16D nails.
I woke with a start when my Son said “OH MY GOD – THEY’RE PRE-DRILLING FOR NAILS!!!” I about rolled out of the recliner laughing.
DW already thinks I shouldn’t watch shows like this – She says all I do is sit there and make fun of what they’re doing. I figure it won’t be long until my Son gets banned from home improvement shows too………………(-:
Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. — Ronald Reagan (1986)
Replies
Funny story .
I have a step daughter that I half raised . Any way , I forced her to learn some things like reading a tape , and working with me a small amount. She learned to cut trim for me , flooring , and one summer I had her painting quite a bit. I paid her for her work , so she did enjoy the money. Thing is , she seemed to hate working for me , but she blamed the work at the time. I remember teaching her to cut paint in , and getting on to her when I checked her work . This went on until she could please me . I told her at the end of the second summer that she could cut with any painter now , and it would be something she would always be able to do, plus take pride in her accomplishment. her reply was something like , " yeah yeah , what do you want me to do now ? "
She now has bought a new house and has a son on the way. She has finished college with good marks , and has a good job. I dont take any credit at all for the way she has turned out because she always had a mind of her own. [still does ] She was able to say thank you by the following way ;
She calls me late one night and tells me that none of the houses pass her approval . She said that she found screw ups every where and shes not having it .
Tim Mooney
Thanks for the "Monday Laugh" that was a great one!
Tamara
Don't feel bad I've been banned as well. I think most of us do the same thing. Ithink that they do silly stuff on those shows just to keep us entertained.
I thought the fun was in watching them screw up and laugh about them? Is that not the intention of those shows? Ive been mislead all this time.
Good one, Ron.
I was dumbfounded when my son wanted to know how come Norm could build something in thirty minutes and it takes you days and days. Huh, Dad, how come ?
Greg.
Greg, it's because Norm has every tool known to man. You, being tool deprived will never be able to equal Norm's output until your shop looks like his. That, and being able to cut every piece right the first time probably speeds things along too. Joe H
I think the miracle of videotape editng plays into Norm's speed more than a little bit.
Hey Norm is just as bad as anybody when it comes to unfinished projects.
Last year I picked up one of his books (at a discount) "Norm Abram's new House" It's basically an account of Norm and his wife building their house. At one point of the book Norm's wife confides in the framers that she's afraid that the house is going to be just another unfinished project by Norm. Even in pictures of the supposed finished house you can see a window that needs cased.
Scott R.
Scott;
I did have a chuckle when you mentioned Norm's book in which his wife complains about him not completing projects. It's good to know that he's only human too, as we tend to think of him as a building God. For myself, the fact that eventhough I am a professional builder, I, like the vast majority of DIY's, can't seem to get that last 5% of a home project completed. I tell everyone it's the "95% Factor" and it's almost universal. Jon
I haven't been 'banned' but I sure do get some ugly looks for my comments on those shows and the methods they use.
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." --Marcus Aurelius
> THEY'RE PRE-DRILLING FOR NAILS!!!" I about rolled out of the recliner laughing.
Well, you can laugh at me, too. I've pre-drilled the plate when I have to put nails within about 4" of the end. It helps prevent splitting. There are places where I have pieces of sole plate less than 5" long, where I'm maximizing an opening. In those cases, I've gone so far as to glue up layers of plywood and made a home made 2x4 to prevent splitting. (And pre-drilled, too, of course.) Does anybody have another way to do those little platelets?
It's a whole different mindset when you're not on the clock, time isn't money, and you actually enjoy doing stuff. But I'll admit that I did go way too far when I made a little dutchman out of shim stock to fill a void in the plywood 2x4, glued it in, then cut it flush with a chisel and block sanded the surface..... ;-)
Code permits drilling in the plate, up to 75% of the nail diameter, but not in the stud - for face nailing that is. Where splitting isn't an issue, drilling the plate is harmless but unnecessary, but drilling into the end grain of the stud would substantially weaken a connection that already doesn't have much resistance to pulling out.
Given that they're driving nails with a hammer instead of a pneumatic gun, they're going to be far slower than any professional could afford to be. For the pros, hand nailing is as obsolete as hand sawing. But I've also made saw cuts by hand where I wanted to be careful of nearby decorative plaster. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
-- J.S.
John -
Keep in mind that it wasn't ME who thought it was so funny.
What struck ME as funny me was that my 11 year old Son was so shocked by it. I kinda figured I've brainwashed him or something.Do doctors use number two pencils to label their stool samples?
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
Are you sure these weren't deformed pin anchors being driven into holes in the concrete on the other side. I was doing some rigorous testing on the old Lazyboy one Saturday afternoon when I may have seen the something similar. It took a long double take to realize what was going on. On the other hand your probably correct they were screwing up. You seem to have a better apprehension of details, particularly in the structural area.
Since that time I have had a chance to use the deformed pins. They are like blunt pointed nails, 12d to about 1/2" diam. , with an 'S" curve or deformation near the tip. I worried they wouldn't hold well and just have strength in shear. I tried to remove a 3/8" version and bent my 3' crowbar without shifting the pin. I was impressed. A good product for anchoring in hard concrete.
Boss
Not so funny here in Australia. Depending on your timber, nailing (without a gun) can be impossible without pre-drilling. Used to import all our framing lumber as the local stuff was impossible - now use mainly local grown Radiata pine. I think it's called brush in California.
Of course, who sponsors H&G ? I bet they like nothing better than selling unnecessary toyls to weekend warriers. I see 'em all the time in my local version of HD "I just want to drill one hole ... what's your cheapest drill?" Occassionally get an extra 10-20% discount for offering advice :-)
BTW, I think it was you a month or so back with the customers who wouldn't believe that their roof plans were impossible. How did that turn out?
Ian
"I think it was you a month or so back with the customers who wouldn't believe that their roof plans were impossible. How did that turn out?"
They screwed around for a couple of weeks making changes. Then the GC finally came back with something that would work. And immediately wanted to know how soon he was going to get the trusses.
The framer called me once to find out what was going on with the trusses. (Guess he didn't believe what the GC was telling him) He said when he first bid the job a year earlier, he had told the GC there were serious problems with the print. Why the GC started the house knowing there were problems, I have no idea.
Anyway, the house is framed in and under roof now.
In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. -- Voltaire (1764)
Thanks
I'm glad to hear that roof turned out. I had been wondering if we were going to hear the other shoe drop. Some how these construction situations almost always seem to work out.
Kind of like childbirth. The groundbreaking is full of enthusiasm. Then reality sets in. A long, halting, messy, painful process takes place with shouting from all sides. The GC carries the house to term and a house emerges. If everyone did their job well it is a building that will anchor a family for generations to come. Hugs and handshakes all around. Kind of chokes me up thinkin about it.
"The groundbreaking is full of enthusiasm. "
Now THAT'S an understatement if I ever heard one.............(-:
Interesting analogy, to say the least.A liberal is a person whose interests aren't at stake, at the moment. [Willis Player]
toyls Was that a typo, or did you mean to spell it that way? I like it. Combination of tools and toys. But you won't find any of those in my shop.
Picked up the spelling here or on Knots, look for the "freudian slip" thread as in "Sandy don't play with daddy's toys ... I mean tools". Wish I could claim it as an original. Probably a missuse in the context of H&G, HD and weekend warriors. (grovelling) appologies to the originator.
Ian
Want a real laugh? Watch "Warehouse Warriors" on the DIY channel. Like yours, even my kids can't believe how bad this stuff is.