So I'm decking my attic

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:58 am

I'm in the process of pulling boxes down and some of them belonged to my late uncle that I have never opened before. I was curious so I took a peek to see what was inside....about a hundred of these:

The dates range from the late 60s all the way to the mid 90s. Nice fucking discovery.

RadioFan · Post by **RadioFan** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:15 am

Nice!

Have you done any research on the 'net to see if they are worth anything?

Hell, call one of the sports memorbilia dudes on "Antiques Roadshow."

Cornhusker · Post by **Cornhusker** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:44 pm

RadioFan wrote:Have you done any research on the 'net to see if they are worth anything

Done!

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:20 pm

I'm curious as to what an Outdoor Life mag from the '40s might bring.

The considered interest of some pedophile Boy Scout troop leader, would be one guess.

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:53 pm

Sure do miss that fucker.

-Mike Shanahan

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 4:33 am

Finished.

The Equipment:

The Job:

I wish I did this five years ago when we moved into the place, but I was not a craftsman of any kind back then.

This should free up a lot of closet and garage space once I get everything cleaned up and moved up there. I've got 3 sheets of OSB leftover from the job, so I'm thinking of building some shelves in the garage which will get more shit off the ground. Alls I know is Mrs. Rumps is happy.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:17 pm

Rumps,

I am in my 4th house in 10 years. The first 3, I decked the attic over the garage. After the first one, I said I would never do it again. I did it in Dallas in the middle of June. My second house in Dallas, I did it in August. First house in Indiana, I did it in July. Now...I got a 4 car detached garage along with the 2 car attached. Thinking I may not need to deck that. Then again, that's a LOT of space I can use...

Regardless, as much grunt work as it is, it is definitely worth it.

Terry in Crapchester · Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:25 pm

IndyFrisco wrote:Rumps,

I am in my 4th house in 10 years. The first 3, I decked the attic over the garage. After the first one, I said I would never do it again. I did it in Dallas in the middle of June. My second house in Dallas, I did it in August. First house in Indiana, I did it in July. Now...I got a 4 car detached garage along with the 2 car attached. Thinking I may not need to deck that. Then again, that's a LOT of space I can use...

Regardless, as much grunt work as it is, it is definitely worth it.

We had our attic done for use as a bedroom two years ago in anticipation of my mother-in-law moving in with us. I'm not handy in the least, nor did I have the time to do it, so I had to hire someone to do it. $7,000 later, it was serviceable as a bedroom.

A month or so after it was finished, my wife's daughter decides to move out. Thanks for telling us ahead of time, we could've saved that $7,000. :brad:

As much insulation as we put up there, I'd like to think that we've gotten some of that money back since then in the form of lower utility bills. They're still pretty high, though, and we've probably got a long way to go to get to $7,000 in savings.

TheJON · Post by **TheJON** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:26 pm

That looks about what I want my attic to look like. Got good space with nothing up there and have been planning to work on it for the last few months just don't have the time. I can only manage about an hour a week and it will never get done that way. My little bro will help since I've been paying his tuition the last 2 semesters and I got a friend that I'm going to pay a little to help out, but that's still not enough. Was hoping to have it done by spring, but that's doubtful unless I actually go out and hire someone, but I'm trying to avoid that because it would cost an arm and a leg for something I actually have ths skill and resources to do.

Anyone know how much it would cost to actually hire someone to fix up your attic? Anything more than a couple grand and I think I would have to pass on it.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:51 pm

jon,

Unless your attic is 2000 sq ft., it ain't gonna be $2000 to deck.

Let me let you in on a little secret. The economy is in the shitter. People aren't building right now, at least not near as many as in good times. Construction workers are actually looking for work. Now, Dins will probably come in here saying his calendar is full until 2025, but round these parts in the M&W where we live, now's the time to do anything construciton-wise.

Standard garage (I'm assuming you want to deck the garage) is about 20x22 or so. Not all of that is "deckable". Let's just ballpark 20x20 so that is 400 sq ft. This is a very liberal measure as you will really not need that much plywood. So you will need about 13 sheets of plywood and some square head deck screws. Another assumption is you have a tape measure, pencil, straight edge and circular saw.

Raw materials (wood and screws) should cost you no more than $150. An average carpenter can do this whole job in probably 6 hours or less by himself. At $50/hour labor, that is $300. Another assumption is they have no markup on materials. Anyone I would hire would not markup materials. All in all, cost should be no more than $500 with materials and labor.

So, you can take the day and a half it would take to do yourself and it cost $150 or spend the extra $300 on someone else to do it and keep your hands clean. Personally, I enjoy doing such projects by myself for the sense of accomplishment. If you don't enjoy carpentry, hire someone. If you do enjoy, find the time.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:48 pm

All you guys out there decking your attics just need to learn how to throw shit away.

T & P to Terry, BTW.

Terry in Crapchester wrote:We had our attic done for use as a bedroom two years ago in anticipation of my mother-in-law moving in with us.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:20 pm

Goober,

Where do you keep your xmas decorations? Do you use a real tree or fake one? No way could I fot all the shit my wife puts up around the house for the holidays in a closet. Right now, all this shit is sitting in the basement because the house we just bought did not have a finished basement. I plan on finishing it though and I am not wasting space down there for storage.

I do agree I shuld throw some shit away, a lot of it, but no way can I go without an attic for storage.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 7:27 pm

We have a mostly finished basement (no, Dinsdale, I don’t want to re-hash the permit debate). The two parts that aren’t finished are a small room where I enclosed the furnace and water heater, and a pretty good sized laundry room. I put up some shelving in there and the Christmas stuff is down there. The way the basement is laid out, there’s no logical way I would have utilized that storage area as part of the finished portion.

The finished part is one large room that runs the length of the house (no, Dinsdale, I don’t want to re-hash the basement bedroom debate). Basically a large play area with a bigscreen, sofa and loveseat at one end, a pool table at the other end, a bar set to one side and a bunch of the grandkid's toys laid out in the middle.

I’m not a city slicker so the tree each year is real.

Learn throw or give shit away. You'll be much happier.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 7:32 pm

Goober McTuber wrote:grandkids

Decided to have kids as a teenager, you old fart? No WONDER you came up with jizz-mopper smack, you have PRIOR EXPERIENCE. That, and you change oil on the side, shit-pusher. Congratulations.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 7:47 pm

I was 26 years old when my son was born. Idiot.

Do the entire civilized world a favor and never have kids, Screwball. Not that it's ever going to happen when you spend your romantic moments balls-deep in another dude's rectum.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 7:50 pm

So your son knocked some whore up as a teenager? Good to see stupidity runs in the family.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 7:54 pm

My son was 22 when his son was born. Keep firing blanks, Screwball. It’s what you’re good at.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Wed Jan 21, 2009 9:03 pm

Extra "storage" is probably a good idea. You know, when the guys come over. God, I hope you used square headed deck screws.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 9:09 pm

Goober McTuber wrote:My son was 22 when his son was born. Keep firing blanks, Screwball. It’s what you’re good at.

22. Genius time to have kids. Like you, your son must have established himself in a succesful career in fast-food management, and felt 22 was the right age to have kids. After all, it's well know that life ends at 22, so you might as well start pumping out babies. Or, this is probably correct, he was too stupid to prevent becoming a father and the old fucking age of 22. Because we all know many pregnancies happen "accidentally."

Your son must either be A) as stupid as you, B) a pussy-whipped bitch like you or, and most likely, C) all of the above.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 10:52 pm

No basements down here in Houston because the water table is too high.

Jon,

Indy is right. I had to take a bunch of boxes down from the attic that was just strategically placed across beams, but the shit just kept piling up. It cost me about $200 to deck the whole thing and that is including the saw and screws. If I didn't have to haul all the shit down to make way for the OSB, then it would have taken me one full day to do the job. I spread it out over the weekend and two evenings this week. No big deal.

And as much as I'd like to throw stuff away, I just can't. Most of everything that I am storing up in the attic was my grandparents stuff. Stuff that's been in the family for nearly a century. I can't give it away or throw it away. Not only that, but we have tons of decorations for Christmas, Halloween, and Easter plus we have baby stuff that was given to us in case the Mrs. and I ever decide to have children.

Decking isn't fun, but I'm not going to regret it after all is said and done.

H4ever · Post by **H4ever** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 12:56 am

I am fortunate to have bought a home with decking already installed in the attic. Mine appears to be one side sanded 5/8 " plywood. Not that anyone plans on living in the attic they decked for extra storage but....I think plywood looks better than OSB. Or is OSB better? I know it's used frequently for roof and framewall sheathing but that gets covered up.

But, rack anyone who gets out their own saw, buys their own wood, and then decks their attic with their own two hands! Since mine was already decked, I installed shelving to utilize even more space up there. I like it up there...strongly considering ducting some heat and A/C and finishing that bitch out some day!

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 4:01 pm

Screw_Michigan wrote:
Goober McTuber wrote:My son was 22 when his son was born. Keep firing blanks, Screwball. It’s what you’re good at.
22. Genius time to have kids. Like you, your son must have established himself in a succesful career in fast-food management, and felt 22 was the right age to have kids. After all, it's well know that life ends at 22, so you might as well start pumping out babies. Or, this is probably correct, he was too stupid to prevent becoming a father and the old fucking age of 22. Because we all know many pregnancies happen "accidentally."

Your son must either be A) as stupid as you, B) a pussy-whipped bitch like you or, and most likely, C) all of the above.

My son went into the trades straight out of high school. Made good money right from the start. Made foreman before his 25th birthday. Keep swinging, Screwball. You’re only like 0-for-forever.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:21 pm

H4ever wrote:Not that anyone plans on living in the attic they decked for extra storage but....I think plywood looks better than OSB. Or is OSB better? I know it's used frequently for roof and framewall sheathing but that gets covered up.

OSB performs the same and is cheaper. That's the main reason many people, including myself, deck attics with it. There's no need to spend the extra $ on better plywood. It's just there to store shit.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:35 pm

IndyFrisco wrote:There's no need to spend the extra $ on better plywood.

Oh, I can think of one big reason...

I'd say 3/4" plywood with extra joisting would be in order.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:50 am

Rumple,

Props on the home improvement project. Has to fell good getting the job completed. But as 88 said, where the hell is the insulation? We don't live that far apart and you have way less insulation than I do. Got to keep all that A/C inside the living space. Our attic has a radiant barrier painted to the underside of the roof deck. We also have insulation in between all ceiling joists. (In the pic above under the pipe cutout it looks like it is free of insulation.) And that blue stuff on the wall needs some insulation too.

88, insulation isn't just for the cold. We have a ton of it here too.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:06 am

Giving the matter some more thought, I'm guessing people in Houston ring up a pretty good electric bill keeping their house cool.

Not throwing down a few bucks more in materials to insulate and do the job right is inexcusable.

While the environmental movement has been corrupted and perverted by profiteers, there are common sense "green ideas" that are easily implimented.

Why do you hate America?

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:13 am

BTW -- an attic fan to ventilate the noninsulated attic space results in such a huge load off the AC, it's also pretty much mandatory equipment.

Heck, with a white roof and some partial shade from trees during the day, the central AC here rarely, if ever gets used. Sure, it ain't Houston (or lots of other hot places), but it gets roasting here on an occasion, yet just running the attic fan, it rarely breaks 80 in the house, unless it's a triple-digit cooker... which is a substantial difference from the pre-attic fan era.

Heck, for less than about $150, you can get a solar-powered attic fan, which dispenses with the wiring... although in Houston, I imagine it's better to run the sucker all night, to utilize the little bit of nighttime cooling that nature gives you (same thing here, it's hard-wired, on a switch and thermostat).

Damn, any recruiting news... anyone?

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:40 am

Lefty,

The area I decked is over the entire garage. I guess insulation wasn't required to be covered when they built it (2003). I hired an independent inspector to comb the house before move in back in Feb '04 and he found some flaws that the builder fixed for us before we moved in, but nothing was ever mentioned about insulating over the garage. It's proabably a good idea to go ahead and insulate the blue walls, so I will probably be headed back to the hardware store.

Dins,

Attic fans usually will only be found in homes well past their prime down here in Houston. I like the idea of installing an attic fan up there just to get some air circulating during the warmer months, but it really isn't necessary because no pictures or furniture is being stored up there. The baby stroller, play pin, and all that stuff that was given to us will be shrink wrapped before it gets stored, so I'm not sweating the harsh elements.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:41 am

Newer construction down here tends to do away with attic fans. What with all the current they pull and the fact you have to pay for that too. Instead we now use ridge vents at the highest points of the roof. This allows the hottest air to rise to the top and out of the roof. It is replaced with outside air thru soffet vents. That plus the radiant barrier works very nicely.

I like my air to be conditioned. As such I have a programable thermostat and it allows the temp to climb while we are not home and then begins to cool the house in the late afternoon. By the time we are sleeping it is a nice comfy 68. The house is also on 2 a/c units. One for upstairs and one for the downstairs. Our electric bill for the 3000+ sq/ft house is less than $200 per month. We did spend some money up front though on insulation and radiant barrier so I guess it all works out.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:23 am

RumpleForeskin wrote:Dins,

Attic fans usually will only be found in homes well past their prime down here in Houston. I like the idea of installing an attic fan up there just to get some air circulating during the warmer months, but it really isn't necessary because no pictures or furniture is being stored up there. The baby stroller, play pin, and all that stuff that was given to us will be shrink wrapped before it gets stored, so I'm not sweating the harsh elements.

Wow, science class wasn't very good to you.

I will, of course, help you out...

Heat rises.

I know, I know... it's a radical concept, but there actually appears to be scientific concensus on this one.

The cooler the air above you is, the greater ability for the heat at your level to rise.

Wacky, wild stuff.

Lefty -- I can tell you from personal experience (in more than one house) that the amount of current the fan usues produces more cooling for-the-buck than the AC by itself. Obviously, the æffect is going to be different in different climate conditions, but as a general rule, the attic fan saves enough load on the AC to make a gain.

'Round these parts anyway, and attic can hit 150 or more on a really hot day (sun stays up a loooong time in the summer months Up North). Cooling this space down to 100 with outside air makes it much easier to keep the upper part of the living space (in my case, a single-story) cool, resulting in less load on the AC.

My thoughts on this matter have been supported by an HVAC engineer (well, a former engineer for an HVAC company, who has a degree in such things, who also goes by the name Dinsdale's Best Friend), so I'll stick with them.

In this particular house, just the fan was good for a 5-6 degree drop on the hottest days (which we only deal with for 3 months or so, rathet than your year-round predicament), which is pretty consistant with what I've seen in other houses. Your results may indeed vary quite a bit. It consistantly drops below 65 in the wee-hours even on the hottest days (except in rare circumstances), so we got that going for us.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:05 pm

Dins,

We get better heat drops via the ridge vents without using a fan. As you were explaining the heat rises and is replaced by outside air. On the hottest summer days my attic tops out at about 120.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 6:23 pm

Oh, sorry. I left that part out.

You are indeed correct about ridge vents, and those are becoming fairly popular in new construction and reroof jobs around here (a friend recently hack a gash for a ridge vent when doing a new roof --I think he's pretty happy with the results).

But... it's much easier to install a fan in an old house than to modify the roof for a ridge vent.

But I agree fully about the æffectiveness of the vent.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:54 pm

Dinsdale wrote: Damn, any recruiting news... anyone?

I saw where your fave team the beavers had a good week, picked-up a great guard in Michael Philipp and a hell of an athlete/wr in Markus Wheaton. My 'skers missed on Wheaton, we struggled considerably in wr-recruiting this year, which is weird because we've had good passing-attacks the last few seasons.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:03 pm

Right on.

In other news, my real favorite team is talking about giving Tee Martin a coaching job, the obvious purpose for which is to recruit his desciple, Tahj Boyd away from tOSU... pretty sleazy, but legal.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:57 pm

Hope it works out for you better than the Malzahn/Mustain thing did for Nutt, granted Nutt screwed that one up himself. Bellotti will likely be smarter about this, good luck on Boyd.

PSUFAN · Post by **PSUFAN** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 4:19 am

any recruiting news... anyone?

I think Newsome is a big get for PSU. QB position is looking good at the moment.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:18 am

Things are going very well on the MSU recruiting front...as well as I can ever remember.

In the meantime I get to watch guys like Gerry Dinardo on the BTN break it all down for me by saying MSU could be a top 3 contender in the Big Ten next year...yet will fail to make a bowl game.

Genius shit.

RumpleForeskin · Post by **RumpleForeskin** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:26 am

UofH needed a posession receiver and they got one in 6'6" Willie Jefferson. They also have reloaded on the o-line. The offense should be one of the best in the country next season, but the defense is still the missing link.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:26 pm

With the graduation losses, Oregon has been scouring every JuCo in the West, and signing up DLinemen like they're going out of style.

While it's a good short-term fix, I'd just as soon see some home-growners that could be around 4 years. Then again, having california JuCos act as farm teams isn't a bad gig, either, but there isn't the benefit of getting 3-4 good years out of them.

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:33 pm

Rumps wrote:The offense should be one of the best in the country next season

Uhhh, no. This is Houston we're talking about here.

The only time the words "University of Houston"and "best in the country" ought to ever coincide is when someone is talking about these two dudes...