Topic: Welcome back Alex B (Read 3074 times)

Matt · « **on:** January 29, 2013, 06:39:07 pm »

I just want to start a little thread for Alex's benefit to say I'm really happy to see him around again.

Alex is smart, kind, and humble. Had there been user of the year polls in the past, Alex would have a whole cow by now.

JimH · « **Reply #1 on:** January 29, 2013, 06:56:19 pm »

Holy cow, yes! Alex, you've been sorely missed.

MrC · « **Reply #2 on:** January 29, 2013, 07:27:02 pm »

I'll share my steaks in arrears.

rjm · « **Reply #3 on:** January 29, 2013, 07:32:31 pm »

Alex is the lighthouse in a storm. Lighting the way and rock solid.

Alex B · « **Reply #4 on:** January 29, 2013, 08:10:27 pm »

Thanks guys!

My absence was not intended.

Last Summer I had to start major renovation work at our summer cottage / country house because of a mold problem. The subfloor had gone bad and the only way to fix it was to completely replace the floor structure and thus everything else that was inside the outer walls had to go too. I had a very limited budget so I did most of the work by myself. The project took all my free time until now. I really didn't have time to even install new builds.

InflatableMouse · « **Reply #5 on:** January 30, 2013, 01:25:24 am »

Welcome back.

Did the renovations turn out oke?

glynor · « **Reply #6 on:** January 30, 2013, 01:49:53 am »

Yippie!

I was worried.

Mr ChriZ · « **Reply #7 on:** January 30, 2013, 03:57:25 am »

Welcome Back!

Magic_Randy · « **Reply #8 on:** January 30, 2013, 09:30:42 am »

Yes, welcome back

mojave · « **Reply #9 on:** January 30, 2013, 10:23:46 am »

Welcome back! I've done some remodels on rental property that I own and know what it is like to have no free time whatsoever for a number of months.

fitbrit · « **Reply #10 on:** January 30, 2013, 03:02:58 pm »

Welcome back. In line with Matt's retrospective person of the year nomination, I'd like to thank you once again for helping me figure out MC's video cover art handling (and shortcomings) back in the MC 12-15 days.

Alex B · « **Reply #11 on:** January 30, 2013, 05:22:41 pm »

Quote from: InflatableMouse on January 30, 2013, 01:25:24 am

Did the renovations turn out oke?

The project is almost complete. I only need to hire an electrician to install permanent wiring, electrical outlets, etc (everything is now wired with temporary extension cords) and add some finishing touches after a winter break.

Here are some pictures in chronological order: http://www.pix01.com/gallery/4AD73041-94E6-4810-80BE-EDB7F3274485/Renovation/index.html

I took the first pictures after the old floor (and everything that used to be on it) was removed. The last pictures show the current state. The people in some pictures are my friends or hired workmen.

JimH · « **Reply #12 on:** January 30, 2013, 06:16:01 pm »

Wow, what a project! You built a new house inside the old walls. I can see why you didn't have time for Interact. It looks great. What a beautiful spot it is. Thanks for the pictures.

JimH · « **Reply #13 on:** January 30, 2013, 06:17:10 pm »

Alex, unless you prefer not to, I'd like to move this to the public board.

JustinChase · « **Reply #14 on:** January 30, 2013, 06:57:32 pm »

Hmmm, that was quite the project. At least it was basically square (not with lots of corners and angles I mean).

It took a second to realize that the foundation was a couple feet tall, and the missing floor was not at the level of the dirt.

I found this picture the most interesting...

I don't know why you put the 'runners' along the bottom of the joists. if there was a full basement below, I would assume they were for attaching the ceiling material, but since it's a shallow crawlspace, their purpose eludes me. However, that's exactly why I like looking at construction from other places, it's always a little different. Even from state to state here in the US, they build a little differently in every place. they use almost no wood in building homes in Mexico, which makes remodeling a challenge sometimes, but avoids most of the mold and termite issues we face here.

Thanks for sharing the photos, and I must say, it looks quite nice now that it's put back together. Good work!

Matt · « **Reply #15 on:** January 30, 2013, 07:00:32 pm »

This is a picture Alex posted a few years ago of the cottage:

If this software thing doesn't work out for me, I want to disappear to a place like that in northern Minnesota

Alex B · « **Reply #16 on:** January 30, 2013, 07:48:33 pm »

Quote from: JustinChase on January 30, 2013, 06:57:32 pm

It took a second to realize that the foundation was a couple feet tall, and the missing floor was not at the level of the dirt.

I found this picture the most interesting...

I don't know why you put the 'runners' along the bottom of the joists. if there was a full basement below, I would assume they were for attaching the ceiling material, but since it's a shallow crawlspace, their purpose eludes me. However, that's exactly why I like looking at construction from other places, it's always a little different. Even from state to state here in the US, they build a little differently in every place. they use almost no wood in building homes in Mexico, which makes remodeling a challenge sometimes, but avoids most of the mold and termite issues we face here.

This kind of underfloor structure is quite traditional here in Finland. The man in the picture is a retired construction engineer and carpenter. He designed the new floor and helped me along the way.

The idea of the runners is to make the floor very steady and also support the wind shield and insulation material. As you said, there is no basement, just enough room to crawl under the floor when making inspections. The empty space under the floor is now well ventilated (and thus about as cold as the weather outside) to avoid moisture and mold problems in the future.

JustinChase · « **Reply #17 on:** January 30, 2013, 08:13:42 pm »

I would never have thought of a wind shield, but then again, we don't have car races on ice with spiked tires around here

I considered the insulation, but here, we just staple the paper to the joists directly, so don't need/use the runners the way you do. It's also not nearly as cold or windy here as in Finland.

Thanks for the education

Just curious, is Kimi Raikkonen a big deal to the 'normal' person there, or just the race fans? What about Heikki Kovalainen? I'm sorry to see he might not have a race seat next year. He seems like a genuinely nice guy.

Alex B · « **Reply #18 on:** January 30, 2013, 08:23:03 pm »

Quote from: JimH on January 30, 2013, 06:17:10 pm

Alex, unless you prefer not to, I'd like to move this to the public board.

No objection, though I'm not sure which board would be appropriate --maybe PC's and Other Hardware (if lumber qualifies) or perhaps Music, Movies, Politics, and Other Cheap Thrills (the project wasn't exactly cheap, but I could call it thrilling, at least in retrospect.)

Alex B · « **Reply #19 on:** January 30, 2013, 08:55:46 pm »

Quote from: JustinChase on January 30, 2013, 08:13:42 pm

Just curious, is Kimi Raikkonen a big deal to the 'normal' person there, or just the race fans? What about Heikki Kovalainen? I'm sorry to see he might not have a race seat next year. He seems like a genuinely nice guy.

Kimi is quite a popular figure and known by almost everyone. Heikki is not as famous, but I have noticed that he often gets invited to television talk shows whenever he is in Finland because of his nice character.

JustinChase · « **Reply #20 on:** January 30, 2013, 09:21:06 pm »

Quote from: Alex B on January 30, 2013, 08:55:46 pm

Kimi is quite a popular figure and known by almost everyone. Heikki is not as famous, but I have noticed that he often gets invited to television talk shows whenever he is in Finland because of his nice character.

Yeah, it sure seems a chore to get Kimi to string more than about 6 words together in a row. I'm not surprised he's not the one invited to be on TV

I sure do find him to be an entertaining character though, partly because he refuses to be drawn into a real conversation with the media. Partly because he's a remarkably talented driver, who had almost NO experience before coming into Formula 1. They actually had to make an exception to the rules so he could get his (probational) super license, since he'd not driven enough miles in a formula 1 car to qualify at the time. He was found asleep in the back of the garage half an hour before his very first race, where he placed 6th. Just crazy to me. I've read that outside of media coverage, he's quite the talker, and a really nice and funny guy.

Anyway, great work on the new floor. I'm sure it's a project you would have preferred not to have done, but it sure turned out nice!

InflatableMouse · « **Reply #21 on:** January 31, 2013, 01:13:17 am »

Thanks for the pics. Turned out very nice.

Brings back a lot of memories too. I basically did the same thing like 10 years ago. My house is from 1890 and when I came in it was almost in its original state, including a bedstead made for dwarfs. no matter how hard I tried, I didn't fit. I stripped it completely including ceilings and support walls and rebuilt it from scratch. The only thing standing were 4 walls and the roof. I pulled out the original led waterpipes and cotton wound wiring running through rolled steel pipes (they had a seam).

I can tell you 1 thing. I'll never do that again. Ever.

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: Welcome back Alex B (Read 3074 times)