This is a huge help -- thank you for the tip!

As others have said, get an engineer to come and scope it out. I hired one to check out a foundation on a rental property. $550 bucks saved me 50k in foundation work.

If you are really dead set on doing this without help make sure you build temporary over engineered structural supports around your work site. Do small sections at a time. I honestly wouldnt do it without an engineer.

Anything less than an 1/8" shouldn't be a problem, but a full 1/4" could be an issue with your drywall.

First, do your best to identify which studs are the issue. A long level (at least 4') will help to identify find highest/ lowest point. Take care of those first, and then reevaluate. Cutting/sistering or replacing a single stud might take care of most of the problem.

Alternatively, you can shim out all the surrounding studs. Tedious, but often the quicker option. These work well. Or, thick felt paper.

A new shed of comparable or lasting value could cost from 3-5k more or less. Create a budget with or without your parents money and estimate what you can scrape together. You can settle for a cheap one (the kind that sits out on the Homer or Lowe’s lot) or rebuild just remember to put a $/hr on your time.

Alt: is the shed needed? Homeowners policies in some states require coverage for a shed. If it isn’t needed you could renegotiate their homeowners policy without one.

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Quickcrete is like $8 a bag. If your really worried about it going bad id just wrap it in a plastic bag.

It will be fine, the key with pressure washing is to keep the nozzle as far away from the surface as you can, although with an 1800 PSI pressure washer you will have a hard time damaging wood unless you put the nozzle right on the surface, or use the narrow angle jet-type nozzle which don't have much for anything except extremely durable materials like steel. If you have never used a pressure washer I would recommend testing out the various nozzles and distances on a piece of scrap wood so you can get a good idea of how easily it might damage something.

Honestly, I live in the northeast where it gets extremely humid and I've been pressure washing yearly for two decades, I can't say I've ever permanently damaged anything, but you obviously want to be careful with anything that's painted (although a proper exterior paint, applied correctly, should be able to be pressure washed without stripping it) or finer decorative materials.

Also, my personal suggestion for an electric pressure washer having been through many crappy ones is anything by AR Blue, inexpensive but the parts that matter are good. The one I have now ended up running for multiple hours overnight while dry (a lesson to never leave them plugged in...) and it was so hot I thought for sure the pump would have failed, and was surprised the thing didn't short circuit or catch fire, but it's been years and I am still using it with no problems.

Hinges must be perfectly vertical

That's good to hear. Sucks that it happened, but all things considered, it's positive.

Correct you need code and licenses

Do not do it alone gas is very dangerous also don't work over 180 volts it takes a professional

Yeah. The floor joists sit on top of the exterior wall. I didn't build any of that. Load-bearing walls are not something I play with.

-20 F. Insulate

Believe it or not, smashing your thumb was probably way more painful, so I feel for you. I had the benefit of shock, adrenaline, and heavy narcotics in the er when the latter wore off.

I have a pool shed in the northeast that gets heavy moss growth under trees, I pressure wash it yearly and it does not damage the shingles. The trick is to use a lower pressure electric one with a wide angle nozzle at a reasonable 8-12" distance from the surface. Also, you obviously need to direct the spray downwards towards the edge of the roof.

If you go using the high-pressure nozzle on a gas 3200 PSI pressure washer, then yeah you're going to fuck your shingles up.

Speculating, but based on what the other guy said from the website - do the two pieces with the arrows separate and slide apart, possibly with a spring between them if you gently try to slide?

My guess would be that you need to open, hold them apart so there’s some tension, then tighten the screw that’s in the little part so it stays in place (or, if there’s no screw, get one)

thanks! It was a really fun project. Coulda gone without the dismemberment part, but would do again!

Sand down the area first to knock the raised edges around the hole away as that is part of what makes it so visible.

Fill in the hole completely. Caulk, sheetrock compound (spackle is basically the same), or wood filler putty will all work. Once dried sand it smooth and fill in again if needed.

Let dry for 24 hours before painting and if you still see a dark area where the hole was after the paint dries for a couple hours add another coat. You may still see the touched up area however if the walls are dirty, the paint has been worn, someone had smoked in the room, the walls are exposed to direct sunlight, along other things. If that is the case wipe down the area around the repair and see if that will help. If not plan to repaint the wall if it is too much of an issue.

Honestly the best thing to do is not put holes in the wall to begin with or do so sparingly and reuse those holes for other stuff.

We’re shooting for 50 - 60% mobility restored in the proximal joint. Ha have pretty solid movement in all the other joints on the finger. Feeling wise where the saw entered is where the median nerve (?) runs. The surgeon was flabbergasted I didn’t cut that. He doesn’t understand how it didn’t get cut given the location and damage. It’s tingly where the saw entered and slightly numbe around. Other then that I have good feeling in my top and else where.

The suregeon, specializes in hand trauma, said it’s one of the more catastrophic finger injuries he’s seen mostly due to the fragmentation of the bone which is shown in the x-ray a bit, but the CT scan showed a much more dire picture.

All things considered it’s a positive prognosis, it won’t be the same, but it will be functional.

I have replaced the discoloration you speak of on a job before & the doors just a few months ago. Basically we will use a motorized saw at a horizontal angle and cut about an inch above the rot line all across to remove all of that. Of course make sure the interior allows this & does not have flammable fluids stored against the wall inside or wiring where you cut. (Gasoline Cans or Bug Sprays etc) as a power tool will surely ignite this. Then we just cut and place new wood. I would also consider staining the entire structure with water sealant stain and perhaps even siding it with vinyl if you want to make it last considerably longer without having to make patchwork fixes very often or ever again.

This is a common project where I live in Baltimore. It usually costs at least 100k. Requires a structural engineer. If you have a local Facebook group for home improvement etc, you should ask around there.

My crawl space is just a dirt floor and only the foundation wall footings are below frost line. The dirt in the middle isn't dug as deep.

Ah, the ceiling joists are anchored into the outer wall?

Building the floor/lowering the ceiling added about 300sqft of what was other wise wasted space. The floor drops in room as is so it has about 9ft ceilings now which makes it feel very open.

Our air conditioning smusage has dropped about 20% between the two units as well.

Cut the studs 1/2 way. Push it straight and sister with another pc of 2x4 or a rip of plywood. I’m assuming those aren’t bearing walls.