The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Do it Yourself Discussion! => Topic started by: ABC123 on October 20, 2014, 02:13:51 PM
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I'm a very non-handy person, but when something seems simple I try to see if I can take care of it. I'm sure there must be a simple way of dealing with two issues I've got with my house right now.
1. There is a little storage shed out back. During a hail storm a while back, it got some dents in the metal roof, and there is now some rust where it got dented. I definitely don't want to replace the whole roof. Is there something that I can put over the rusty spots to keep it from spreading?
2. Not sure if this is from the hail, or a woodpecker, or one of the kiddos throwing a golf ball at the house, but there is a small hole in the siding. Maybe the size of a penny. I'm a little worried about bugs or mice or something getting in there and building a nest and having icky babies. Is there a way of fixing holes in siding? Or is there something that I can stick in there to keep critters from getting in? It's on the back corner of the house, so doesn't really have to look super pretty.
Thanks a bunch for helping out a newbie!
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2. Not sure if this is from the hail, or a woodpecker, or one of the kiddos throwing a golf ball at the house, but there is a small hole in the siding. Maybe the size of a penny. I'm a little worried about bugs or mice or something getting in there and building a nest and having icky babies. Is there a way of fixing holes in siding? Or is there something that I can stick in there to keep critters from getting in? It's on the back corner of the house, so doesn't really have to look super pretty.
"Great Stuff" or similar expandable foam is the first thing I thought of. we used it to seal up a bunch of holes in our super old house to keep mice from getting in. looks kind of gross, but maybe you can paint over it?
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I'm a very non-handy person, but when something seems simple I try to see if I can take care of it. I'm sure there must be a simple way of dealing with two issues I've got with my house right now.
1. There is a little storage shed out back. During a hail storm a while back, it got some dents in the metal roof, and there is now some rust where it got dented. I definitely don't want to replace the whole roof. Is there something that I can put over the rusty spots to keep it from spreading?
Paint. Try to un-dent the roof so that water drains first. Get paint designed to protect metal and go over rust; ask your local paint-store and they'll know what to give you.
2. Not sure if this is from the hail, or a woodpecker, or one of the kiddos throwing a golf ball at the house, but there is a small hole in the siding. Maybe the size of a penny. I'm a little worried about bugs or mice or something getting in there and building a nest and having icky babies. Is there a way of fixing holes in siding? Or is there something that I can stick in there to keep critters from getting in? It's on the back corner of the house, so doesn't really have to look super pretty.
Sometimes holes in siding aren't a problem, if you can see building paper or house wrap through the hole, you're probably fine and don't need to do anything. If you can see insulation, you need to do something - stick a piece of flashing under the siding up behind the hole and try to secure it -might be tough to nail in place as it'd need to be nailed up under the existing siding. If you can remove and replace the broken siding piece that'd be better.
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I'm a very non-handy person, but when something seems simple I try to see if I can take care of it. I'm sure there must be a simple way of dealing with two issues I've got with my house right now.
1. There is a little storage shed out back. During a hail storm a while back, it got some dents in the metal roof, and there is now some rust where it got dented. I definitely don't want to replace the whole roof. Is there something that I can put over the rusty spots to keep it from spreading?
2. Not sure if this is from the hail, or a woodpecker, or one of the kiddos throwing a golf ball at the house, but there is a small hole in the siding. Maybe the size of a penny. I'm a little worried about bugs or mice or something getting in there and building a nest and having icky babies. Is there a way of fixing holes in siding? Or is there something that I can stick in there to keep critters from getting in? It's on the back corner of the house, so doesn't really have to look super pretty.
Thanks a bunch for helping out a newbie!
I'm a newb homeowner, but off the top of my head, this is what I'd do:
1) Assuming the roof is steel, I'd get some Naval Jelly (http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/s_trmt_naval/overview/Loctite-Naval-Jelly-Rust-Dissolver.htm) (or equivalent) and treat the rust. It's basically phosphoric acid that turns the rust into a protective coating. You could alternatively try some kind of epoxy.
2) I'd probably just take some caulk and fill in the hole.
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Like others have said, clean off the rust, repaint. I would sand off the rust to bare metal, prime and paint.
For the house siding hole, it depends on what kind of siding you have. For painted wood, you'll want to fill the hole, sand prime and paint. For cement board, use polyurethane caulking and paint to match. For vinyl, try to find an exterior caulk (not silicone) that matches the color. For cedar shingles, replace the shingle, prime and paint to match. Another option is if the hole is deep or goes through to the wall cavity, fill with spray foam and caulk the last 1/4".
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... paint
...paint to match
...paint to match
^found the termite inspector
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^found the termite inspector
What does this mean? I'm slow today.
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Thanks all for your great ideas! They are much appreciated.
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^found the termite inspector
What does this mean? I'm slow today.
I just bought a house, went through several termite inspections, and they were all "blah blah X, paint to match," "blah blah Y, paint to match," "zippidy doo, paint to match."
There was a lot of painting. To match. But I guess you're not a termite guy.
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Gotcha, nope, not a termite guy.