Didn't know where to put this question, here or random thoughts. Has anyone ever built a homemade ice rink in their yard in the winter? My son is learning to ice skate and loves it and my wife suggested it, just wondering how much of a job I'm looking at. I'm guessing you can probably just throw some stakes into the ground, nail boards around it for the edges, throw in a tarp and that should do it. One of my neighbors growing up dad used to do it. There are kits online to do it but they all seem unnecessarily expensive
my neighbor usually does it and it is super involved. It also needs to be very cold to be operable and the last two warm winters have resulted in very few skating days my advice: don’t do it
I live right off Grand River near Lake Michigan so our winters usually a little colder /more snow than when I lived in metro Detroit, but I was trying to think of last year and I'd guess we are talking two months max where it's consistently cold enough
I don’t think the amount of snow matters but I think it needs to be consistently cold enough that it doesn’t turn to slush and then you have to re do it all the time
Yea Michigan weather is pretty fucked up, but I think we are usually consistently in the 20s or lower in January-February here since I've moved to this side of state
I know a guy in Minnesota that his neighbors all participate in making one in a neighborhood park or something. Sounded pretty involved to keep watering it, etc. So dividing up the work among neighbors Sounded like a great idea
You need 3 days to freeze. My 30x60 takes like 12 -15 hours to fill via hose. Im getting a water truck if i do it again. Id rec leveling your yard enough that itll be around 3-4 inches of ice. If its uneven more water = more time to freeze. NY weather sucks so i only get a few days of this fucking thing You can Google diy using a mop and a hose to make a little Zamboni. I haven't needed to do it. I just hose down an extra layer
No. Its not just the air temp. The ground temp has to keep it cold. NY simply doesnt get cold enough anymore. So if you think youll get consistent sub like 30 degrees youll be ok. Barely freezing isnt enough. The direct sunlight melts it etc.
We're cruising now. Started back filling yesterday. Getting slab poured today or tomorrow and framing starts Monday. Should be dried in by around Thanksgiving.
So the plumber came by and did what I did, turned everything off, checked around and then told me to call a leak detection service (their website says they are a leak detection service, that is apparently a lie) but he didn't charge me anything so cool. Leak detection guy came out today and determined it is right by the meter out by the street on my side. Says there is a coupler in there that is prone to leak. Charged me $500 for about 25 minutes of work. Need to start a company doing this. Called the plumber to come fix it and waiting on them to call me back.
Squirrel update: Critter company lady comes in and explains everything they'll do...inspect roof, attic, all possible entryways and then provide an estimate. I'm thinking "perfect...there's only that one spot so once they're evicted, they seal the hole...I'm golden. In and out under $600." But I'm naive. She comes out of the attic and off the roof and brings me a list of repairs that looks like what I'd get from my mechanic after totalling my car. Not only did these bastards chew a hole IN MY ROOF they're also zipping around unfettered in my attic and have organized a primitive colony with aspirations of growth. So with the eviction, repairs in the roof, the sealing of other possible entry points, repellent in the attic and around those points and other odd, assorted tasks...$2,600. After the sticker shock wore off I realized that if you don't fix it all, it will all come back.
NEVER buy a Samsung washer. Those shits are basically disposable. Mine lasted just past the 5 year warranty and died. Got myself a Speed Queen now. I’ll have that shit until I’m dead.
Bought split-level house two years ago. Concrete, concrete, wood floors upstairs. Previous owners had cats We have cats Previous owners were absolute shit homeowners and pet owners and their cats pissed everywhere and they seemingly had litter boxes everywhere based on where we found litter after taking possession. I've replaced all carpet, including Killz'ing the concrete beneath it in the basement and main floor. Completely tore out downstairs bathroom that had some wood paneling that we think had been just soaked in cat piss at one point. This was the major lingering source of random cat urine smell. There's still a touch of lingering smell and I think it's coming from ducts. I think their cats pissed in the fucking vents. Short of replacing all of the duct work (or taking it out and scrubbing it) the only suggestion I can find is to try and Ozone the entire house (while we and the pets are gone, obvs) Any other ideas?
There's always that stuff they put under their noses like in the autopsy scene in Silence of the Lambs. Cats are fantastic but suck at the same time.
There isn't anything in this world that would make more sense to me than a cat figuring out a way to piss in a vent.
I think from what’s readily available the only way to really attack it would be ozone. There are so other options but more difficult to get easily.
Just thinking if the cats did piss in the vents chances are it didn’t go too deep. You could go with something that has a digestive enzyme and put it in a pump up sprayer and then remove the vents and spray. We use digestive enzymes a lot in healthcare spaces to get rid of the uric acid and fecal matter that gets left behind from standard cleaning. just a thought….
Yeah should have added that to the post...we've done that and tried to use a long brush to try and scrub what we can reach from vent openings. Have tried a couple different kinds
I’ve seen people selling the whole home scent things that attach to your HVAC. Guess hotels use them primarily, but now they are moving more into residential use? First time I’ve seen it was in the last year although maybe it’s been around for a while. Think I’d do the cleaning people recommend and then maybe look into this to mask any lingering smell.
Would be very careful with going ozone route. Have heard some pretty awful stories of it going bad. If I had natural gas it would be 100% no for me, it eats rubber and and can cause gas leaks or carbon monoxide leaks from combustion
Yea our old one the spindle broke. They use dissimilar metals and promote galvanic corrosion that basically has the life span of 3-5 years depending on water quality. Shit ass design with the spindle/barrel assembly. They know they can keep getting repeat customers with that bullshit.
Stainless Barrel, Galvanized spindle assembly has been the design since 2008ish with the front loaders. If you make them both stainless then the machine will last longer until the board eventually shits out because that's how most electronics go these days.
Nature's Miracle makes a cat piss cleaner that's supposed to react with cat piss. Maybe dump it down the vents? Dump Killz down the vents? Dump gas down the vents and light it? Just spitballing here.
Scents over cat urine smells like the scent plus cat urine. We tried that when we had cats. It's the absolute worst. Killz works decently on subfloor but man, the vents is a new power unlocked by these damn felines.
So Michaels has their sale going on right now. We had a bunch of stuff from traveling this year and took it all in. Got six items lined up and on the receipt it says……. Thanks Michael.
Don’t disagree but it’s crazy how much they charge at regular price, and Michael’s on a sale really seems like your best bet, which as your receipt shows, still ain’t cheap