NO snake oil!!!
6 years ago
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Refinishing a purpleheart/ipe deck
Comments (8)Thanks, John. It's heartening to hear that a pro thinks highly of the project, since it took so much blood, sweat, and tears (and money) to do it. The deck was part of a pretty huge remodel/landscaping project, which I spottily documented on a side section of the blog I've been writing since our son was born - you can see more photos about the construction process and the landscaping that went along with it than you'd ever care to see at the link below. (Josh, BTW, is our son; I'm David. I'm not REALLY as obsessed with the little booger as it sounds, I've just gotten used to using my daddy-ly identity as my online handle.) Vents would surely be a good idea - probably something we should have thought of in the first place. Our contractor was and is very good, and had done a number of decks before, but nothing like this, and his main business is high-end home remodels, not decks. I shudder at the thought of retrofitting the vents in the HardiPlank (the stuff is a pain in the butt to work with, and messy), but I'll put some noggin time into figuring it out. I can't imagine the moisture/heat differential between the top and bottom of the planks, either in winter or in summer, is particularly good for the wood, and it might explain some of the early cupping and general movement. (Keeping the posts plumb and square is another problem, since the 4x4 ipe moves a lot more than the supplier advertised; he assured us that it doesn't move at all once it's in place, when in reality it's been twisting and shimmying like a belly dancer.) Just curious - why did you retire from answering outdoor finish questions? More hassle and controversy than it's worth? Incidentally, in case anyone out there is paying attention, I love the purpleheart, and no doubt the deck will outlive me - the Atlantic City boardwalk was supposedly made of the stuff back in the 70s, and is still just fine, in a much harsher climate than ours. But the expense was far above and beyond what we could have imagined in our worst fears, not in initial material cost, but in labor. It's just so difficult to work with and hard to fasten that the costs blew out of all budgeting and were hard to contain. Part of that was the contractor's inexperience in working with the stuff, and part of it was the complexity of the design, but be aware when you're doing a comparison with more traditional materials (redwood, cedar, composites, etc.) that the up-front cost is the least of your worries when dealing with these super-hard tropicals. Just my two cents' worth. I love it, and we wanted wood, not a composite, and didn't want to be replacing a redwood or cedar deck in ten or fifteen years, but we weren't prepared going in for what it would take in all-in cost. Here is a link that might be useful: Remodeling/landscaping album documenting the process...See Moresoapstone before/after rehoning
Comments (48)Farmgirlinky - I realize this is an old thread, so I hope you see this post or maybe someone else will be able to answer my question about refinishing soapstone. Does the rehoning also help to eliminate or minimize chips or gouges along the edges? I know there would be the desire to keep a clean, even edge, but it might be worth a little unevenness in the edges if it smoothed out the chips. I am trying to decide if soapstone will hold up well enough to look terrific when we will need to resell our house in 8-10 years after we retire. I wouldn't mind having to spend $500 every 4-5 years for rehoning if it really brought the soapstone back to its original, pristine state. I am quite sure that rehoning will minimize or eliminate scratches, but it is the chips on the edges that worry me the most. I know the aging can be an appealing trait for some, but for resale, we'd need to make it look virtually new. If anyone has refinished or refined their soapstone, I would appreciate knowing how well it worked to minimize or eliminate both scratches and edge chips....See MoreI'm Confused Again, and a Little Paranoid - CBD Oil in Florida
Comments (17)I realize this is an old thread bumped up but it has attracted further conversation. Medicinal benefits from the use of cannabis in different ways and forms has been demonstrated (or demanded) enough that it's even been legalized in several politically conservative states. Ingesting small amounts of edibles for those seeking relief of chronic pain is not going to escalate your drug use into heavier drugs. Evening use for overnight pain relief is not going to endanger you. Like most treatments, few things work for everyone in every circumstance and these products seem to be very much in step. Great for some, zip for others. My own recreational cannabis use ended in early adulthood, simply as a choice, but responsible home use has been ever-present among many I know over all these years. For those whose occupations or other situations in life don't require periodic drug testing, I can't image why there would be any reluctance to trying things more likely to be effective than CBD products. Many of you take pharmaceuticals that are far more dangerous, far more habit forming, than simple cannabis products. Aren't such views contradictory?...See MoreAre mycorrhizae soil additives snake oil?
Comments (4)Not 'snake oil', no. Pretty much any plant benefits from a mycorrhizal relationship. But additives are generally unnecessary. These fungi exist in most soils already....unless the soil has been highly worked (like farmland) or new developments where the indigenous soil has been scraped off or removed. And most larger growers and wholesalers have realized the benefits of mycorrhizae for some time and regularly inoculate their growing media to improve the growth and performance of their plants before bringing them to market. But growing media is vastly different from inground soils. lone_elm's proposed experiment holds some value. And I'd take it beyond just cuttings by using a couple of inexpensive 'test' plants one would purchase at a nursery........like some young boxwoods. Plant in the same soil in similar locations, treating one plant/planting hole but not the other. And then observe growth over a period of time to evaluate. Just an aside, I did a paper on this topic back in my hort school days. So my understanding about mycorrhizae is relatively decent :-) But I am not yet convinced it is a necessary additive in most cases....See More- 6 years ago
- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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