Treated 2x4x8 = $9.97

[BullGear]

Depending on the size of the deck, you may be better off renting one of those hardwood floor sanders. It's got a large disk and it's something you can stand up to use. You can buy different sandpaper for it and then all you'd have to do is hand sand the corners.

I'd be careful with a belt sander. If your not careful you can make the decking wavy. A vibrating sander will usually do a much better job on a large flat surface like your deck.

 

[KZP]

Yep, thats already done for the most part. A few stragglers here and there...

The makita looks pretty good, should cut material pretty quick with 80 grit. Figuring i would probably need to rent a large sander for multiple days, might as well buy one...

If your boards are cupped at all it's a pain to use a belt sander. Won't get good contact. I had to go back with small orbital hand sander to get remaining 40% the belt didn't touch.

 

[vinniedelpino]

Not to derail the thread, but is ICF construction starting to make sense?

I'm building early 2022, most likely, and I was intrigued with ICF before the surge in lumber prices. If the price difference is half of what it used to be I may not go stick built.

 

[ggmanning]

Concrete per yard has risen at nearly the same rate

 

[BullGear]

Earthen Bag Construction will be all people will be able to afford, unless they own 50 acres and can mill their own lumber. But if youcan do all that, then a log home is the way to go.

 

[rjacobs]

Not to derail the thread, but is ICF construction starting to make sense?

I'm building early 2022, most likely, and I was intrigued with ICF before the surge in lumber prices. If the price difference is half of what it used to be I may not go stick built.

Concrete, at least here in Texas is sky fucking high... LAST i checked which was a year ago it was almost $10 a foot installed... I dont even want to know what it is now... double?

 

[Maggot]

Not to derail the thread, but is ICF construction starting to make sense?

I'm building early 2022, most likely, and I was intrigued with ICF before the surge in lumber prices. If the price difference is half of what it used to be I may not go stick built.

Living in a concrete box full time would not be my choice. Theres something about concrete that just never gets really comfortable, for me. You can get it warm but theres always a cold behind it.

Were it me Id sit tight, this boom for construction and bust for materials will pass. It may not return to yesteryear but it will stabilize.

 

[TurboTrout]

I don’t get buying a home or building a project right now, unless you REALLY need it done now, just chill and wait a year or so, buying in a sellers market is not ideal and the prices don’t reflect reality and common sense.

 

[jbailey]

I don’t get buying a home or building a project right now, unless you REALLY need it done now, just chill and wait a year or so, buying in a sellers market is not ideal and the prices don’t reflect reality and common sense.

Of course interest rates could and are likely to increase, meaning your overall project cost could actually be cheaper today than in a year from now. If you aren't borrowing to finance construction, this doesn't apply.

And remember, raw materials, especially lumber, is a small fraction of total project costs of most buildings. The biggest cost - wages/labor - isn't that inflated right now. But it sure could be in the future.

I would build/buy in high lumber market if interest rates and labor is low.

 

[JJMoody]

Concrete here has been fairly stable. I’m still paying $95/yd 5 1/2 sack delivered. But there’s been a small scare with availability. Cement plant in Canada supposedly went down for a few days and supply has been short this week. Supposed to be looking better in the near future. I’ve always loved the idea of ICF construction when done right and planned accordingly. Hydronic heating and ICF is pretty darn efficient. Living in a climate that has large daily temp swings can present problems in getting consistent comfort at times. Floors take a while to heat up and cool down, but it’s easily mitigated by someone who really understands thermal density in concrete structures.

 

[BullGear]

Concrete here has been fairly stable. I’m still paying $95/yd 5 1/2 sack delivered. But there’s been a small scare with availability. Cement plant in Canada supposedly went down for a few days and supply has been short this week. Supposed to be looking better in the near future. I’ve always loved the idea of ICF construction when done right and planned accordingly. Hydronic heating and ICF is pretty darn efficient. Living in a climate that has large daily temp swings can present problems in getting consistent comfort at times. Floors take a while to heat up and cool down, but it’s easily mitigated by someone who really understands thermal density in concrete structures.

Most people can't remember to change their furnace filter and want them to understand the thermal density of concrete homes??? Ain't gonna happen n my lifetime.

 

[vinniedelpino]

Living in a concrete box full time would not be my choice. Theres something about concrete that just never gets really comfortable, for me. You can get it warm but theres always a cold behind it.

Were it me Id sit tight, this boom for construction and bust for materials will pass. It may not return to yesteryear but it will stabilize.

Good looking out. I'll probably stay put. Concrete hasn't jumped around here nearly as much as lumber, but I doubt I'd find a builder that would mess with it without charging a considerable premium.

I actually want a concrete box. I have four boys that have destroyed damn near every "nice" finish work or piece of furniture I've ever had. At this point, I'd do concrete everything if I could... sealed concrete floors, walls, the whole bit. I love them to death, but they're friggin' savages.

Worst case scenario, if the US winds up like Bosnia I'll have a concrete fortress I can hole myself up in. That's only half joking with the way things are going.

 

[E. Bryant]

This all started on Jan 20. Print money, you get inflation. Thank a dim every day.

This started well before Biden took office:

 

[JJMoody]

Most people can't remember to change their furnace filter and want them to understand the thermal density of concrete homes??? Ain't gonna happen n my lifetime.

Lol! Yeah. I’ve spent my entire life in construction and now jumped to the home inspection side of things... furnace filters are up there on what people don’t think about, but there’s a few more things that make you want to beat your head against a wall muttering “why” over and over... I’m not really expecting the average home owner to understand that stuff. My advice is almost always to “Hire Professionals” and know your limitations. In this case, I’m advising that the prospective new ICF homeowner to hire a “Professional” to design the home with these things in mind. Although few and far between, I’ve come across some brilliant individuals from architects that truly understand to Jim-bob who did his research.

 

[Maggot]

Good looking out. I'll probably stay put. Concrete hasn't jumped around here nearly as much as lumber, but I doubt I'd find a builder that would mess with it without charging a considerable premium.

I actually want a concrete box. I have four boys that have destroyed damn near every "nice" finish work or piece of furniture I've ever had. At this point, I'd do concrete everything if I could... sealed concrete floors, walls, the whole bit. I love them to death, but they're friggin' savages.

Worst case scenario, if the US winds up like Bosnia I'll have a concrete fortress I can hole myself up in. That's only half joking with the way things are going.

Sounds like me at that age. My mother always used to say..."Boy, you could wreck a steel ball."

 

[vinniedelpino]

Sounds like me at that age. My mother always used to say..."Boy, you could wreck a steel ball."

I can relate. Quarantine cost me a couch, a dishwasher, an accent table, the railing on the stairs and a whole bunch of accelerated wear and tear.

Four boys in a confined space for months on end set me back quite a bit in my friendly competition with the Jones's.