Tag: review

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Tools and Reviews

Review of Sun Joe 10 inch Electric Convertible Pole Chain Saw

Corded Pole saw extension convertable

I purchased the Sun Joe SWJ807E-SJB 10 inch 8.0 Amp Electric Convertible Pole Chain Saw a couple months back. I had a number of trees to trim and many of them are on a rather steep hillside. I trim the trees each year to maintain our view (below).

Pros:

  • Price.
    I paid $52 (including shipping) when I purchased this pole saw. For that price, I felt I couldn’t go wrong
  • Modular / Convertible
    This saw allows you to detach the handle/switch and attach it directly to the saw so that you can use it like a traditional (small) chainsaw. This makes the final cutting of a limb at ground level an easy job.
  • Powerful Enough
    This surprised me the most. If you are patient, you don’t need much.
  • Reach
    This pole saw telescopes to about 9′. This was plenty for most jobs.

Cons:

  • Corded
    Limited by the cord. Easy fix by replacing this unit with a cordless one. A little more money, but knowing how will this unit works, I would step it up to the following

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   Hillside trees to trim

The trees on our hillside grow very quickly and I have used a standard pole saw over the years. Well, those things are a bit of a pain when you are on a hill and reaching out. I figured an options where I didn’t have to manually cut was called for. The manual saws can be great (mine has a lopper blade at the end), but as you get older, shoulder issues can make them unusable. Here is a link to the manual saw if you are interested. The lopper is the best part IMO.

If you notice, the manual saw is about $40. When I received a newsletter that listed the Sun Joe electric saw for $52 shipped, it was hard to resist. I figured that even if it didn’t work all that well, I would only be out $52 and I could justify that.

The saw exceeded my expectations. The saw is modular. In this case, the handle and head unit (blade) can be removed from the saw and then attached to each other (see video demonstration below). This allows for easy clean up when everything is on the ground, or is good enough when a gas saw isn’t handy.

I really don’t have much negative to say about the saw. The negative of it being corded is the primary one and I could get a battery powered saw to get around that. These have really come down in price and you can see one for about $85 below. I will probably purchase that next year when we are trimming in an area that is not too close to an outlet.

I hope that this helped someone. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below.

Categories
General Improvment Tools and Reviews

Laminate or Hardwood? Here is the Truth

laminate flooring up close tongue and groove

One of the most common questions that I am asked when friends are renovating is “Should I use laminate or hardwood?”.

The answer to this question depends on a few of factors.

Location: Primary residence or rental
Keep hardwood out of your rental unless you get a screaming deal, don’t mind a finish that gets destroyed, or want to keep a fantastic (and responsible) long term tenant happy.

Pets:
Pets will destroy the finish on hardwood flooring. If you have pets, and don’t want to refinish every few years, consider a high quality laminate floor.

Installation:
The easiest installation will be a plank vinyl.  You will achieve the look of a hardwood or laminate.  To achieve the look, we recommend the “plank” product. Some think that I am talking about vinyl tile when I suggest plank vinyl.  It is very different in terms of the look, but similarly simple in terms of the installation.

Your primary question has to do with the location of the flooring being put in.  If this is your primary residence, I would almost certainly answer “Hardwood”.

If you are talking about a rental property I would recommend a laminate, or plank vinyl, depending on the age and condition of the underlayment along with the skill of the installer.

If you are considering a laminate, I would strongly recommend that you consider a plank vinyl instead.  The look is nearly identical to a laminate and the installation is much easier.  We wrote a review about the Allure brand of plank vinyl here.  The tools needed to lay a plank vinyl floor are probably sitting in just about anyone’s tool drawer.  Laminate flooring will require a couple of saws and many sharp blades.

Many will tell you that laminates look just like hardwoods now.  Don’t buy it!  They will look great compared to an old carpeted floor, or sheet vinyl floor, but there is simply nothing that matches the look of a true hardwood floor.  There is a difference in the look, sheen, feel, and temperature.  Yes, temperature.  Your hardwood is going to retain warmth better than a thin laminate floor will.  The warmth of a true hardwood is not just in the beauty of the wood, it is also in the warmth that the hardwood retains.  The hardwood will hold some of the warmth from your heating source.

Bouncing / Punky floors

Many people who install laminate flooring will complain about the “bounce” in the floor.  This happens when you have an uneven floor and the laminate spans that section.  The laminate wants to hold its straight line.  Because of that, it will feel punky, or bouncy, anytime it goes over a depression or sits on two uneven sections.  In addition to that, it could weaken the tongue over time and destroy that joint.  The manufacturer will recommend using a floor leveler for areas that are uneven, but many people won’t even be aware of the depressions until after their laminate installation.  Plank vinyl is nice in that it will take to the wavy floor. I had an incredibly wavy area to address in a 100+ year old home.  The plank vinyl did the job perfectly. Hardwood is nice because it is fastened to the underlayment.  There are glue down installations, but if you are doing a glue down, the leveling of the floor is a must.

Laminate:

laminate flooring up close tongue and groove

Plank Vinyl:

Plank Vinyl Flooring

Hardwood:

hardwood flooring up close

It is hard to argue with the finished look of a hardwood floor.

Hardwood:

Oak hardwood floor

Plank Vinyl:

Plank vinyl in a wet entry

Categories
How To's Tools and Reviews

Allure Floor Installation and Review

Well, our Trafficmaster Allure floor installation is complete.  If you aren’t familiar with this plank vinyl flooring product you can find it at Home Depot.  The product is a fantastic alternative to a peel and stick vinyl tile.  At the end of the installation, the product acts as a sheet vinyl would rather than free floating pieces that will gap and slide over time. Any movement should be covered by your final molding piece.

We wrote our initial review of the product here: http://www.wnyhandyman.com/trafficmaster-allure-plank-vinyl-floor-review/

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There are a number of videos regarding the installation of the TrafficMaster Allure product. Here are a couple that we found useful prior to installation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILuez7u7Mvw (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khXeJ0E8-Do (part 2)

Installation of Allure Trafficmaster Plank Vinyl from HomeDepot.com (PDF file)
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/72/72845250-3948-4c77-824f-50f17da70f63.pdf

Summary of Allure Trafficmaster Plank Vinyl review:

Pros:

  1. Price
    At less than $2 per square foot, this is a good value for the money.  In fact, you can run over to Ebay and pick up a Home Depot or Lowe’s coupon to save an extra 10%!
  2. Ease of install
    No special tools are needed. Similar install to a peel and stick tile without the slippage and separation. Cuts with a razor knife and detailed cuts can be made with shears. Since this is a floating installation, you don’t adhere to the sub floor making it a much cleaner DIY floor.
  3. Durability
    The product has a thickness to it that won’t allow it to show many imperfections through.  With many vinyl flooring products every crack and void in your subfloor will show through. The vinyl planks are about 2x the thickness of an inexpensive sheet vinyl product. This will help with durability and smoothness of surface

Cons:

  1. Errors aren’t simple to correct
    If you make a mistake when applying this product, you are not going to be able to pull a single piece out with ease. The adhesion achieved when placing the pieces is nearly impossible to undue. If you make a mistake, you might have to backtrack quite a bit.
  2. Instructions don’t fully cover the detailed steps
    As with other laminate installations undercuts should be made at door jambs and molding should cover your outer gap for the best result.  This isn’t covered in the basic instructions that come with the product.  To achieve a professional looking result, this should be done.  If you don’t have one, consider a Factory-Reconditioned Dremel Multi-Max.

I would absolutely use this product again or recommend it to any DIY’er.  Easy and a solid looking end result.

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Categories
Tools and Reviews

TrafficMaster Allure Plank Vinyl Floor Review

Trafficmaster Allure Plank Vinyl
Trafficmaster Allure Plank Vinyl

We decided to us a plank vinyl flooring product for the entry at a fixer project.  The product is TrafficMaster Allure and is available at Home Depot.  This is a floating vinyl installation where the vinyl planks adhere to one another.  In theory, this is a better method than your traditional 12×12 vinyl tile installation. With the plank vinyl floor, your product moves as a single unit (similar to a sheet) rather than experiencing the individual movement that an inexpensive self-stick tile will see.

For a wet area, the plank vinyl product from TrafficMaster seems ideally suited. The method that they use for the adhesion is a lapped tongue that is substantial enough (about 1″) so that the adhesion should provide a nice water barrier / seal.  Overall, we are very happy with the product.  It met our needs for this project and was a nice alternative to a sheet product.

As many of you probably know, making flooring choices is always a challenge.  There are a number of factors that will impact your decision.

  • Cost
  • Time
  • Design

Put the factors in your own order, but they are almost always part of the equation.   Our small entry area (70 square feet) has a rather tight door swing.  Because of this, we are unable to do a traditional tile installation. We had to use a vinyl product due to the thickness (or lack of).  Due to a rather complex shape, we wanted to avoid a sheet product and we also wanted to achieve a wood look.  One other factor was that we wanted a fast install that virtually anyone could do.  A product that can be put down by a handyman and not just a skilled flooring contractor was the right choice for this job.

We selected the TrafficMaster Allure, Hickory 6 in. x 36 in. Resilient Vinyl-Plank Flooring.  The price was $1.79 per square foot which was a very fair price for the quality of the product.  Time will tell with regard to the durability and adhesion quality of the glue used for the lapped tongue, but our initial impression of the project makes it a terrific choice for many applications.

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Trafficmaster Allure Plank Vinyl
Trafficmaster Allure Plank Vinyl
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Categories
Real Estate Tools and Reviews Uncategorized

Lancaster NY Assessments Through the Roof!

Lancaster, NY revaluation. It stinks!

Well, if you live in Lancaster, NY, you probably received a lovely letter yesterday regarding your property taxes and your property assessment.  There were increases that appear across the board.  The equalization rate is no longer as we have moved to 100% valuation.  The increases are staggering in many cases.

The town of Lancaster continues to spend, and spend, and spend on projects that don’t benefit the town as a whole.

  1. There is a pricey new addition to town hall (approximately $985,000).
  2. There is a new police and courts facility in the works ($8,000,000 Plus).
  3. There is the new use of a former library for an emergency management office (that’s right, Lancaster has one).
  4. There is the proposed recreational facility that will certainly add long term costs.
  5. etc. etc.

Let’s not forget that use of these properties suddenly pulls them off the tax rolls. And, in the case where a sale is possible, eliminates the funds from a sale (Depew Library is a prime example).

Many will be fighting the new assessment figures.  In a couple of cases, I will be one of them.  If you aren’t familiar with the tools available to you for searching property information here are a couple:

I know that there is quite a bit of state and/or federal funding drying up for Towns and Villages. How about cutting costs rather than continuing to spend. If a surplus builds, cut taxes!

Politics suck.

Categories
Tools and Reviews

Fastcap 3rd hand Review. A helping hand when no one else is there.

The fastcap 3rd hand is a great tool. I can’t tell you how many times I have been able to use this item. If you work alone, I am sure that you have needed someone to “hold that other end”. You have probably also made your own braces out of a spare 2×4 (or two). The 3rd hand is great because it allows you to jack it up with a single hand. It is great for placing crown molding, or even drywall pieces. When hanging drwall alone you can use your regular t-brace (made from 2×4’s) and then snug the piece against the ceiling with your 3rd hand tool. This allows you to get your screws in nicely without worrying about your drywall shifting.

FastCap 3rd Hand
FastCap 3rd Hand

For about $40, this is a nice tool. You can find it at sites like Rockler or Coastal Tool. The price doesn’t vary too much from one retailer to the next, so check on the cost of shipping, handling, and sales tax.