Fireballsocal

I use the hell out of one. I have a higher end surebonder industrial 100 watt model with standard and high strength acrylic glue sticks. I've used it to stick a door stop together, rebond laminate countertop, even temporarily bonded a brass sheet to a wood backing to cut up in my table saw. The brass alone kept grabbing and getting flung.  Yours is a great use I never would have thought of though. 

It's an IS300 and no way is that totaled. I'd get a second opinion on repair right now since there is nothing for a decent price for sale. 

8 hours ago, LegitDuner said:

The Biden administration has sent letters to all the governors stating there will be a recession coming. At the same time they're trying to pass a 3.5 trillion spending bill. I think at this point we have spent over $10 trillion dollars in the last year and a half. Tell me something evil isn't coming our way

Any sources for this?

We saw this in the early 2000's as demand from HELOC ballers drove sales of recreational vehicles of all types through the roof. Keep that in mind as you look for a used RV in the next several years. These are the years you want to stay away from. Standard stick built RVs have always been of subpar quality with some outliers like Lazy Days, Okanogan, bigfoot. Mostly the small builders that have been building the same designs for many years that haven't sold out to the big conglomerates.  If an RV comes from Indiana, I would be very careful. 

I wanted to buy a vice for my new workbench about 12 years ago and started looking. The stuff in big box stores was junk. I couldn't understand how such a low tech tool seemed to come in 2 qualities, either cheap import junk or made in the USA overpriced high end. As I was talking to my Dad, he offered me my grandpas old craftsman bench vice that was sitting in the dirt on the ground in the barn. The vice was crusty but worked smoothly. It's a light duty 6" vice, useful for sharpening lawnmower blades or sprinkler valves. It's roughly 40 years old and I built a simple base out of cherry so I can move the vice from bench to table. The clamps shown were replaced with sturdy C clamps. I've had it powder coated and have used the heck out of it. I could use a heavier duty vice and so could Grandpa. He bent both the handle and swivel lock on this one but it has proven useful and I really like that it belonged to him and was passed down to me. 

I have a chinese made wilton small machinist vice for my drill press that has been a good little vice. Just for kicks, I started looking through amazon and my jaw dropped when I saw what they wanted for this beauty. Wilton 8" Tradesman vice.

10 hours ago, Dockmaster said:

 

You mentioned putting it on a foundation which is a good thing. In many areas, banks will not give you a loan if you don't have a foundation. Even if you don't need a loan, it could reduce your buyer pool when time comes for resale if someone can't get a loan. 

Great point. I hadn't considered the foundation with regards to resale. 

9 hours ago, basketcase said:

I understand trying to keep it a low profile and I understand "bypassing" local/county rules.  Just a couple comments/questions.  What does the drainage look like in the area?  Have you checked to see if you are in a flood plain?  8" might be cutting it a little close.  Yes, as you raise it, you will either have to bring in dirt or some other material to help match the foundation and grade around the house.  ALSO, if you are thinking of just stealing dirt, IE grading extra dirt around your property to make that work, it can lead to issues with simple permits with the county later down the road, as they like to monitor previous aerial mapping and then ding you for everything on a, lets say, a wall or gate permit or septic or propane or whatever cant be included in the modular building.  

The reasons I ask is so that you dont back yourself into a corner.  Im working with a client right now on county land outside of Phoenix.  Had a fence permit.  Decided to construct a block wall.  Added some lights.  Brought in some connexes, also poured a little foundation.  Now they are trying to get permits for a house.  Block wall not permited, lights not permited, size of connexes not permited, same with foundation.  Its a mess and they are talking about jsut selling the property WITH the issues cause they dont want to deal with it.

I'm actually not wanting to stay under the radar regarding permits for things. I'd rather suck it up and pay now and not have to worry about the tax man or resale at a later date. I wanted to keep the home as low as possible because if I stay in it till I'm elderly, I want as few steps to deal with as possible.  Drainage is excellent but haven't gotten as far as investigating the flood plain. It's in the foothills so lots of slope but there is a U shaped hill behind the pad that can potentially funnel lots of water through. Great points on the unpermitted projects. It's always a good reminder just to pay the man sometimes. 

8 hours ago, Lord of the Dunes said:

A long time ago, one of my wife's friends bought a modular home and we stayed with them for a week. I was very impressed with the fit and finish and the price. It was just over 2,000 sft with a very large kitchen and a huge master suite, with a walk in closet, a huge bathroom and a whirlpool tub big enough for two. They had solar tube skylights in the master bath, the hallway and in the kitchen. Her husband showed me the house was so airtight, you couldn't slam the front door. It would get within a couple of inches of the frame and slow down and stop just before the jam.

If you can get in touch with Tim Mesic, he's an expert on all of the different brands on the market, he could tell you which ones are the best and which to stay away from.

Thanks for the tip regarding Tim Mesic. I'll give it a shot. 

13 hours ago, BaBaBouy said:

I looked into these for a property I have, over $200 a square foot. I’m waiting for prices to drop and build it myself at a target of $90 a square foot. 

Yeah, it looks like base model pricing for a well built manufactured is $100 sq/ft. But a nice upgraded home is double that. You have Kit custom up by you that builds some nice homes. 

13 hours ago, luvdunin said:

I looked years ago at doing this, out west of Phoenix before it ever was built up.

I know at the time, the manufacturer that seemed best IMHO (that was available in AZ) was Silvercrest.

https://www.silvercrest.com/

Like I said though, this was years ago - I have no idea now?

They surely were not "cheap" but you could tell that too when you walked in compared to the normal, run of the mill, next to the free way mobile home units.

IIRC, Jimmy Miller's parents (of Jimmy & Kelly...lol) bought one for their property outside Yuma - but I could be completely wrong on that.

Definitely lots of research and time to find the right builder for you.

 

Silvercrest out of fairly local to me San Jacinto is a brand that stands out so far. Kit custom home builders out of Idaho also seems to build a high quality home. 

11 hours ago, Cookie said:

I am listing a Manufacturer home for $750,000 in a couple of weeks.  1800 sq ft, I would say they appreciate just fine

22865 Vista Del Agua, Wildomar, CA 92595 - realtor.com®

 

I'm curious how well the home does being a manufactured. First one I've seen with a tile roof. Is that for fire resistance?

Wilton makes a great vice but understand the difference in price between a wilton and an import of most brands excluding the good German or Japanese brands will make your jaw drop. You can try finding a used wilton or snap-on but prices have jumped up in the last few years. 

9 hours ago, Justdirt said:

Pretty familiar with this subject but not so much on the appreciation side of things been doing foundation for them for the last 16 years like you said some are really nice some not so much here in NV they have to be built for zones wind/snow load /temperatures generally the only difference between mobile and modular were electrical and plumbing where done by license people.lots of difference in manufacturers some leave frame on some take off and set on stud walls 

Do you handle just the digging and fill or do you pour foundations also? I wanted as low to the ground as possible and one of the sales people recommended a low profile permanent foundation at anywhere from 9-20K. She said that would place the home 8" above grade. 

I'm thinking outside of the box a bit and have been interested in manufactured or modular housing. New construction, to be placed on my private land on a permanent foundation. As I understand, a modular home will be built to local building codes, be worth more upon completion, and will appreciate much like a normal stick built home. A manufactured home seems to be of differing opinions and is built to HUD specs, not local codes. Some say that once it is mounted on a permanent foundation, it is considered "real property" and appreciates in value however not at the same rate as a stick built. Some say they never appreciate, only depreciate. I don't know what to believe. 

  These manufactured houses are highly customizable, and vary in quality from junk with 1X2 interior walls and formica cabinets to build quality rivaling mid line stick built homes. I'm confident that I can spec out a manufactured or modular to be well built. 2X8 or 2X10 floor joists, 3/4" tongue and groove OSB flooring, 2X6 exterior walls with R40+ ceiling insulation, etc. The way the information is presented from all of the manufacturers makes me wary though. It seems they go out of their way to not provide construction specs, pricing (Though I'm sure that goes way up and way down depending on supply/demand) or allow real reviews. 

  So what is your informed opinion of manufactured and/or modular homes?

13 hours ago, Kat-A-Tonic said:

What is the reason?  Fire, the rona, or are they just being a$$hole$?

Fire danger.

I leaned toward Sony ES (Elevated standard) or pioneer elite but had to return my last yamaha receiver because it was just to friggin complex. Setup was a nightmare, I just wanted to listen to Pink Floyd in stereo. I have a denon mini all in one now that sounds fantastic in stereo. Even the speakers that were included sound great for little guys. I listened back to back with a nice set of klipsch reference series and they sound just as good. I would buy denon again or look for an older ES or elite receiver on offerup. 

Mountainhouse tastes the best in many of the reviews. That's what I went with. 30 year shelf life if stored as per directions. 

Can't recommend a shop but 3M ceramic tint film was the best option I found. They have 2 other higher (More expensive) films but the ceramic did what I wanted, mainly cutting down on UV. 

Or you can replace the back of the unit, the cooling unit itself if it is a propane/AC fridge. Pull the whole unit into the living room and swap the parts out. 

I'd throw it up on craigslist for parts. $100. 

Honestly. I'd start at 10K assuming it runs and see where you're at. Prices are incredibly wonky right now. There is no rhyme or reason so start high with the intention of letting the buyer work you down. No emissions is a selling point and that little tractor can do a whole lot of back breaking work. My Dad bought a used B8200 set up just like that one but with a ROPS 30 years ago and he has it still to this day. I would expect it to fetch about $7,000. 

Due to a back injury, running/jogging outside or on a treadmill hurts me. I ended up buying a used precor elliptical and have also put a ton of miles on it. I used it quite often till I sold my house. Now I use the gym machines. The only brand I know well is precor and yes, they make solid gym quality machines. Models with arm bars just allow you to work your arms along with your legs. The cardio benefit is the same, but the muscles in your arms, back, and shoulders will/won't get worked. Look for a model with a heart monitor. The kind I used was a band that you wore against the skin around the chest. A sensor on the machine reads and displays your heart rate. I like keeping my heart rate above and below certain points. There is a graph on the machine face that shows where you want your heart rate at for your age. It's a rough suggestion but that worked for me so I would keep my heart rate between 140-150. I lose weight then gain it back so the elliptical was beneficial for me and that machine and a dumbell set made working out during the pandemic easy. 

O rings keep the lube in so the chain stays lubricated where it pivots. I used maxima chain wax to protect from rust but you need to apply it every trip. The really good chain lubes like PJ1 black/blue fling all over the place and the lube can't penetrate past the o rings anyway. It's good for non o ring chains. 

Without absolute proof that the neighbor did the deed, any time or money spent on legal proceedings is a waste. I agree with removing the tree and moving on. Remember, he will be expecting retribution so be cool. 

  Has he done any projects that may not be permitted? Code enforcement loves those calls. Does he have a barking dog? Is he renting a room out? I also like DavyJones ideas. The magazines may be hard as everything is online now but you may be able to find something. Weed seeds are even better but remember, cameras these days are very good. 

1 hour ago, Kraut_n_Rice said:

Ah, yes, the ratchet.  I have the smaller version with the 3/8 head.  It's not breaking anything loose like an air ratchet.  The paddle is terrible.  Thought maybe I just got a bad one..  When you hit the paddle, if there is too much load on it, the thing quits and you have to cycle the paddle.

Cordless ratchets are designed to break loose the fastener by moving the handle like you would a normal ratchet. Once the fastener is broken loose, use the switch and the motor spins the fastener free. 

What about spray insulation? Is that too expensive also? 

Killer pad! And since you chose the fixer upper route, you will have exactly what you want when it's done. The parking, covered and non covered is such a luxury in itself. My first thought when I saw the garage/shop was it's gonna cost a ton to insulate that bad boy. But if you can swing it, it will be worth it. 

If I was at the end of a well lived life, it would definitely be toward the top. At 44, I think I would wait a bit.