Manpad Revolutions X1

1. borac acid = no ants (this is the powdery stuff that the pest control guy will charge you $50 to blow into your insulation). Not toxic like most other junk and relatively cheap.

2. cards = love (i grew up in a family that played poker, gin rummy, euchre, uno, etc. every time we got together - i miss grandma)

3. college football = passion (i love this sport, i hate the senseless arguments that occur between friends because of it)

4. don't ever call it the maxi manpad or i may never stop by

Dave:

Good idea on the borac acid. Will use. Any side effects?

The building is on a cement pad, which is good. But I still want to anti-moisture anti-bug it as much as I can.

And your comment reminds me that I need to get the game watching schedule posted asap.

FUN WITH BORIC ACID: If you mix a couple of teaspoons of boric acid in a gallon of methyl alcohol, you've effectively made something called methyl borate. If you burn it (careful, it's volatile, duh), the flame is a really intense green color. You can burn it in an alcohol lamp or out in the open. Pyro terrific!

so chatt state has a football team? and their games are televised?

you could go high-class and do some nice wood paneling.

Along the lines of what Bob said, you could do beadboard (kind of expensive for the real stuff), but there is also beadboard paneling that's pretty realistic (the grooves just aren't as deep though). It would be sturdy, easy to install/trim out and is also historically appropriate.

Ron, that sounds fun. Where can I get boric acid and methyl alcohol? Isopropyl is what they sell at the drug store, right?

From the man: "Many pesticides are extremely harmful to the human nervous system, so safer, non-toxic remedies are a wise choice. All natural Boric Acid is the "secret ingredient" in so many commercial treatments for insect control. It is a white powder, is nature's proven long-term treatment in eliminating Cockroaches, Palmetto bugs, Waterbugs, Ants, Silverfish, Carpenter Ants, and Termites. This chemical has many interesting and useful characteristics such as use as an insecticide, a preservative,and a fire retardant. This simple inexpensive, household chemical is deadly to all insects, and it is safe enough to use around children and pets."

application directions:

Methyl alcohol (also known as methanol) is utterly toxic. It can enter your body by ingestion, inhalation or absorption through your skin. It also produces poisonous gases, including formaldehyde, when burned. I don't know offhand where you can obtain methanol, but if you get some of it, be sure to wear all of the necessary safety equipment! Boric acid can be purchased at WalMart or some such place. It's pretty easy to find.

Where does one find these chemicals specifically the boric acid stuff? I need some of that for the bugs in da house. If one has carpenter ants around the house where would one put the boric acid? Just around the outside? What works as a good treater to spray around teh house? Basically I want to do what the exterminator would do but save money by doing it myself. I've found that if you buy that bug spray concetrate that you hook up to the hose and spray on the yard that it works pretty well. It works even better if you just pour it strait without using water... kills bugs instantly... though is probably toxic or something.

Nice on the boric acid. I need to pick up a bunch of that, and I'm going to make sure to mix it in with whatever insulation (if any) I decide to put in the building.

I mean, the insulation would be cheap, but part of me (the part of me that's from the cold, white north) see a certain romantic element to watching the late fall/winter footballs games with gloves on and a kerosene heater in the corner.

Plus it'll give Brent and myself an excuse to wear our MU stocking caps.

The boadboard/wainscotting seems like a good direction to go. I pretty much had wood panelling (we just ripped out a bunch of it last night). Anybody done any work with beadboard, any tips?

You should check out our master bath sometime. We ("we" being Ethan Collier Construction) did beadboard wainscoating in there, and it turned out very well. I'm pretty sure that it came in 8-ft. sheets that Huffine ripped in half, giving us a 4-ft tall wainscoating panel around the bath (with some chair-rail at the top and 9 1/2" capped baseboard at the bottom). They ripped it and nailed it to the studs--pretty simple.

The bead-board is a great idea. It’s more expensive than typical paneling, but it looks nice painted or stained. However, since it is a thin panel, it’s not very stiff. One way to counteract this is to put a layer of plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) up first, and then nail up the bead-board. Of course, this will up your man-hours and materials cost.

Also what’s your theme? “Converted Garage”, ”Fraternal Order of the Buffalo Lodge”, “Eastern Appalachian Roadside Modern Art”, etc? Or you could go with a “Modern SoHo” theme. Then you could buy finish-grade plywood sheets, for the walls, cover them with a clear polyurethane, and hide the seams with metallic tape. You could make a desk or entertainment center out of sawhorses, make a bookshelf out of old computer cases, or just stick your finger down an Ikea catalog and have it vomit modern furniture all over the man-pad.

On the dumpster thing: I would just borrow a truck from somebody and take a few loads down to the trash drop-off on 57th street. You can take two loads a day.

you can find the boric acid at the same place that had the info on how to use it.

Tennessee waste haulers. they are the dumpster service we use

I was told once about a service that the city provided... they would drop off a dumpster and haul it away in like 48hrs. I would call 411 just to see if they still had that service in place.

If you're not going to insulate the room, then why not use corrugated roofing sheets? It'd be like an industrial design studio and during the summer it could double as a sweat box (for when you've been bad).

Hey, Josiah, my wife and I just moved to Georgia. We liked eating at Chili's with you and April (and the Orrs). Email me.

As someone who is personally involved with the waste industry, I would advise you to stay away from dumpster rental. Mainly because they will charge you outrageously for the service you need. You're looking for a temp demo can and you're a homeowner so you're going to get the worst possible rate. Its possible BFI would give you better rates than Waste Management does up here, but I wouldn't count on it. Your best bet? Go w/ the pickup truck and landfill idea. Not as convenient but it will save you several hundred dollars easily.

Josiah. Something sturdier than drywall?? Knowing that you can get somewhat rowdy when excited, you might want to go with something like Durarock on your walls. It gets hung and finished like drywall only it's made out of fiberglass sheeting and concrete (you even cut it the same way...you just have to hit it a bit harder). It's used in bathrooms where moisture will breakdown normal drywall but it'd give you a pretty stout wall. Another idea if you're looking for strength is to use 5/8" fire board (drywall) but to double it up, hanging the second layer right on top of the first overlapping the joints. This method is used in apartment buildings/condos on the walls/lid that back up against another unit. It'll give you good sound proofing so you don't piss off the neighbors, and it'll give you a 2hr burn time...that means you can watch the whole second half before you have to put out any fires. If you did it this way, you could probably just dismantle the framing, return the studs for credit, and your manpad would still stand strong.