Home Improvement: 1943 "Cape Cod" dormer clapboard restoration project update |
- 1943 "Cape Cod" dormer clapboard restoration project update
- I made my first adult deal today on a kitchen appliance and I feel great
- Our discount floating countertop installation.
- Employee at HD recommended Oil Based Interior Satin Poly. I just noticed on the back it says "Not recommended for use on hardwood floors. Instead use Varathane Floor Finish." I'm a nearly 75% done. Am I screwed?
- Oh boy, water damage!!
- 2020 Garage Renovation
- Any idea how to fix this glue down flooring?
- Magic Eraser turned matte wall shiny (midwest)
- Our new AC system makes gurgling sound- what could be the problem? (Video link inside)
- Is it better to get an extra 3 feet of space in the garage even if it cuts into the backyard space?
- Finishing Off the Garage Walls - Easy DIY?
- What kind of thermostat do I need to make my house cooler?
- Front Load vs Top Load Washer and Dryer
- Experience with removing a gas fireplace?
- Contractor from Next Door made a french drain. it failed. Some other companies advise a sump pump. Pictures included. Did the contractor do a bad job? Do I really need a sump pump?
- Looking for advice on removal of old railing and newel posts.
- Front porch re-paint - need to strip all the old paint?
- Advice on how to fix hardwood floor gouges/ scratches /holes please
- Ants in home.
- What home improvements do you personally look for when buying a house?
- DIY Painting - Can I paint my room over the course of a week or does it have to be done all in one go?
- Standing water in sink
- Buying a land and building a house - what are some things I need to consider?
- Thinking of doing a new metal roof. Have you ever used honest abe's roofing company?
- Slowly updating front facade
| 1943 "Cape Cod" dormer clapboard restoration project update Posted: 28 Jun 2020 12:52 PM PDT Here is a link with some before/after photos, and some project photos with captions: I think I might have ended up in a rebound relationship with a house... [link] [comments] |
| I made my first adult deal today on a kitchen appliance and I feel great Posted: 27 Jun 2020 09:36 PM PDT I was looking at all in one stainless steel sink kits at lowes and particularly liked one from Kohlers website for $489, Lowes had it for $249, and I found that lowes pricematched. I found a homedepot ad that they had it on clearance for $46 while supplies last, it was sold out at HD, but Lowes pricematched it. I got what is basically a $500 sink for $50 after tax, plus I got a faucet and other sink parts at Home Depot after (figured I should leave before they changed their minds lol, they had to get the manager). $200 for everything. Idk why but I felt amazing. [link] [comments] |
| Our discount floating countertop installation. Posted: 28 Jun 2020 06:52 PM PDT Pics here We bought this house and have been on a pretty tight budget. We honestly didn't have much use for a dining room and the kitchen is incredibly small so we decided to add some counter space in the Dining room. Initially we wanted to do an IKEA counter/cabinet installation. But after spending a few weeks designing it and getting everything ready it turned out ikea was sold out of almost everything we needed. So I got to dig in an do these floating countertops. Tots cost came in around $500 all said and done. Saving us about $1,500 and It felt really great to do it myself. I know I probably made some rookie mistakes so they're not perfect. But the hold a metric ton of weight and have been over engineered the best I could. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2020 07:49 PM PDT Pic of the product. It says it's best for furniture, doors, and trim. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2020 06:30 AM PDT To the person who posted a few days ago about knowing how to cut off the water supply in your home - on the money!! We found out the hard way yesterday when we visited the new home we just bought (first time home owners btw). Pulled up to the house and the front gutter is gushing water onto sidewalk... it's raining out but not that much so sign #1. We walk in and I see a bit of water in the living room but not too much. Sign #2. Husband opens basement door and is met with a torrential downpour in the basement!! Turns out our fridge water line was leaking for who knows how long. My father in law was with us gratefully bc he quickly stepped in to turn off the water. (Now we know how!!) Regardless, there's TONS of water damage and if we'd been living there and known how to cut the water off obviously things would have ended better but alas not the case... filed a claim with the home insurance. Fingers crossed they cover all the soggy, moldy walls and ruined staircase. Ahh welcome to home ownership I guess!! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2020 12:34 PM PDT First time home owner. Two car attached garage was unfinished when we moved in. The ceiling and walls shared with the house were drywalled, likely to be up to code. Well, it was just drywall and tape work, that day for around 40 years. On March 26th the wife and I rented a UHAUL and went and picked up 14 sheets of 4x10 1/2 inch drywall, mud, and r13 paper faced insulation Batts. I stapled the insulation in, then we hung the drywall. I went 4x10 because the garage has 9 ft ceilings. I figured I could hang vertical, that way it's all tapered seams and less of them. Big mistake. The walls weren't even CLOSE to square, studs all over the place. I had to go horizontal with 2 sheets but was able.to do vertical the rest. I had to re tape the entire ceiling, lots of droopy sagging sheets, spend about 2 weeks mudding and sanding. I eventually gave up and just hit it with orange peel up there. After all the mudding, taping, sanding work, I sealed the walls with GARDZ. I have had good luck in the past with it on old crappy drywall. Then I did a full skim coat (paint roller method, just walls not ceiling) and after sanding that, I sealed everything with another coat of gardz and got to painting. The ceiling started staining through (even through GARDZ) so I stopped painting and switched to some primer I had sitting around (Glidden Gripper) and then didn2 more coats of ceiling paint, but still have some orange staining. Painted the walls, hung Rubbermaid fast track rails for storage and shelving. Grabbed a pine Ikea INGO table for a temporary workbench until we get something better. Picked up a compressor and shop vac as well. Lighting is just cheap Amazon LED fixtures that were $40. We used Rustolium Rocksolid for the floors. First coat was horrible but after calling them,.getting a refund, and using that money for a second coat, we are happy with it. Have a few motion sensors running the lights on a zwave switch. Also installed an AVR and some outdoor speakers. Attached is an imgur album. Let me know what you think!!! If you have any questions about anything I bought or how we did something just ask :-). [link] [comments] |
| Any idea how to fix this glue down flooring? Posted: 28 Jun 2020 02:42 PM PDT This is my first post in this sub. About to close on my first house. And noticed a bunch of these glue down floors are lifting like this. Probably due to improper installation. The seller agreed to fix it, but judging by the work he's already had done it probably wont be done correctly. Any idea of how I could fix this myself? [link] [comments] |
| Magic Eraser turned matte wall shiny (midwest) Posted: 28 Jun 2020 08:12 PM PDT I used a magic eraser to remove some smudges on a wall painted with matte paint. It removed the smudges and marks, but the spots treated with the magic eraser now have a sheen to them when viewed from a certain angle. I'm trying avoid having to repaint the wall, which is why I used the magic eraser in the first place. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make the shiny spots look matte again? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Our new AC system makes gurgling sound- what could be the problem? (Video link inside) Posted: 28 Jun 2020 10:15 PM PDT Hello all We just had a new Lennox VRF system installed in our home. The system is a heat pump that allows us to have ducted Heating and cooling on our main floor and minisplits in our upstairs bedrooms. We went with this system because we didn't have an air return upstairs and it was the only way for us to have cooling. The minisplits and the ducted system are all connected to the same air compressor.. Our upstairs mini splits make loud intermittent gurgling sounds when operating in cooling mode. We were told by the installers this sound is normal due to the size of our VRF system and the fact that the refrigerant has to circulate through such a large loop. The mini split also makes intermittent clicking sounds. We aren't convinced any this is normal, particularly because it's not just when the unit turns on - it's constant and intermittent while operating. It's too loud to sleep. What do you all think? Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Is it better to get an extra 3 feet of space in the garage even if it cuts into the backyard space? Posted: 28 Jun 2020 07:27 PM PDT We're building a home in Austin. We have an option add 3 extra feet to the 2 car garage but it will cut into the backyard. The upgrade is $3000. All the men in the family believe the extra 3 feet is helpful for things such as storing a lawnmower. We only have one car now but may get another car in a year. Personally, I do not want the extra feet of space because I think we're fine with what we have and the backyard is very important to me as I plan to landscape, grow veggies/fruits, and add a playset. My backyard is not very big. Do you think the resale value will be greater with the extra 3 feet of garage space or more backyard? [link] [comments] |
| Finishing Off the Garage Walls - Easy DIY? Posted: 28 Jun 2020 08:01 PM PDT With everything that's going on, I've found myself with some extra time, and I'd really like to finish off my garage. The builder put up drywall, mudded, and taped, but it was a super quick job and everything needs to be smoothed out (more mud and lots of sanding), primed, and painted. I've done a fair bit of painting, and some small drywall repairs, but this would be my first time taking on a project of this size (first time homeowner). Is this something that I can confidently DIY, and does anyone have any tips? [link] [comments] |
| What kind of thermostat do I need to make my house cooler? Posted: 28 Jun 2020 02:03 PM PDT I live in Mississippi so you can imagine how hot and humid it gets. My home is 1425 sq. Ft. And is two stories. My thermostat and air vent is located in a narrow hallway that connects the front living room/kitchen to my back office. Because of this I feel like my house does not cool down enough because the hallway cools down before the rest of the house and the thermostat meter only defects the hallways temp. I just finished installing blinds and I caved and put a window unit upstairs due to the heat. Is there some sort of improvement I can do to make my house cool more evenly? I know a unit upstairs would help but it's only the master bedroom so I do not know if that would be overkill for a smaller house. Anything helps! Thank you so much! [link] [comments] |
| Front Load vs Top Load Washer and Dryer Posted: 28 Jun 2020 10:54 PM PDT I'm a newly college grad and I'll be getting my own place soon (with no roommates) and I'm going to have to buy a washer and dryer. I'm not really sure of the pros and cons of the different washer and dryer styles, so can someone please help? I usually have a semi bulky comforter and 1.5" mattress topper to wash plus all of the regular items as well. [link] [comments] |
| Experience with removing a gas fireplace? Posted: 28 Jun 2020 03:53 PM PDT We are looking at removing this gas fireplace in a house we recently purchased. We plan to live here for a long time, and it is not something that we will ever use. Not to mention, it is not centered in the room in a way that we can mount a TV above and make it useful. Does anyone have experience with doing something similar? Steps needed to remove it completely? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2020 06:08 AM PDT Images/Video here: https://imgur.com/a/IKIa8d3 My mother hired a guy from "Next Door" to do some waterproofing/put in a french drain because her basement was leaking, mostly in a corner and a bit on the side. Half of the basement is at ground level, the other half is maybe 2 ft deep. $1840-job completed. My mother complained about his work a lot as he was working. Not enough gravel. Didn't dig deep enough to get the corner waterproofed. Didn't wash the cement before applying tar. Didn't wait for tar to dry. Two weeks or so later, her basement is still leaking. She panicked and hired a guy to put in another drain. The second drain prevented flooding shown in the above album. However, the corner of her home is still leaking. Is it likely leaking because the first contractor didn't dig deep enough? Does his work look bad? My mother called a few other contractors for free quotes. All of them want to put in a sump pump. They're asking between $6000-$9000. Is this because it's easy to do and there's a lot of profit in doing this? Would it be a bad idea to hire another guy to fix the first contractor's waterproofing/french drain? Seems weird that her house, after all these years, needs an electrical water pump to keep it from flooding... I figured this would be as easy as adding tar to a crack in the foundation but I guess not. I don't know how to help my mother because this isn't my field of expertise. Please give me your input. Edit: Thanks for the downvotes? O_o Just trying to get some advice here. Edit: You're all great. Thank you so much for your advice. My mother has a text message contract with this guy. I'm looking into the legal stuff and also looking for somebody to do a proper french drain. If I can't find anybody, I'll have to settle for one of the more reputable companies who recommended a pump. [link] [comments] |
| Looking for advice on removal of old railing and newel posts. Posted: 28 Jun 2020 02:52 PM PDT I started working on a project to install a new railing and banister that goes down to a landing for the front door. After I removed the half newel post I noticed that there was a finished piece of wood that it was covering up. I'm expecting it was the original newel post. Any advice on if i should remove it and how or if I should leave it and just paint over it? Ideally I would like to remove it as it sticks out from the drywall a little bit. Here are some pictures. https://imgur.com/gallery/TuAHBrH [link] [comments] |
| Front porch re-paint - need to strip all the old paint? Posted: 28 Jun 2020 02:47 PM PDT Hi everyone, and thanks in advance for all your help. Front porch is wood and painted brown. Existing paint has been on the surface for a little more than seven years. It's held up quite well except for the high traffic areas: steps, area leading to the front door. The vast majority of the brown paint is in great condition and doesn't need to be touched, but of course I'm gonna paint that when I do the rest of it. My question is whether or not it's really necessary to strip all the old paint before putting down something new. What are the downsides of matching the paint color, and giving all the brown areas of the porch a once over? The porch is a combination of brown with white spindles. [link] [comments] |
| Advice on how to fix hardwood floor gouges/ scratches /holes please Posted: 28 Jun 2020 08:00 PM PDT Hello all, Today my wife and I pulled up the carpet in our 'new' 50-year-old house to reveal totally decent looking oak hardwood. However, after removing all the tack strips and such we have lots of scratches, holes and some gouges unfortunately (I got better at removing the tack strips as I went; you live, you learn). Proper refinishing isn't in the cards for us at this point in time. Does anyone have any advice for me please, about how to improve the flaws? The one photo is of the worst gouge. Thanks!! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2020 10:02 PM PDT Ants wandering into home through small holes in the corner of walls. Looking for food/humidity. Haven't found anything significant yet. Tried Terro bait already. They stop for a while but come back. How can I get rid of them without hiring professional? [link] [comments] |
| What home improvements do you personally look for when buying a house? Posted: 28 Jun 2020 07:44 PM PDT Hi all, my sister and I are currently renovating the house we grew up in, although we have no plans to sell. This is really the first time we've done this and I'm just curious what improvements you personally look for when buying a home. I know there are tons of articles on the subject, and while appraisal value does play a role in our decision making (we will be refinancing it), I'm just more curious about what you guys personally like to see. Thanks for any feedback you may have. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2020 03:38 PM PDT Hi all. I'm planning on painting my room due to outgrowing the color I had painted for it about a decade ago. I'm wondering if I need to paint the entire room in one session or if I can paint the room throughout the week. For example, I plan on painting one wall in one day, then painting another wall a couple of days later, and so on. I'm asking because this would be my first paint job & I don't know if one wall drying earlier than the others would cause the walls to look different despite having the same paint color... total noob question lol. The reason I am doing this is because the room is quite full of furniture and I have limited space in my house. So, this would be my plan:
Anything wrong with my plan (or anything that might come up as a problem)? Would greatly appreciate a reply. Thanks to all those who have read. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2020 09:31 PM PDT I just replaced some super clogged piping in my house with some pvc in basically the exact same as the previous metal piping. I also cleaned out everything under the sink and am still having issue with standing water. I can't imagine I fucked up the piping this bad but it seems like the water isn't draining at all. Any ideas would be appreciated. [link] [comments] |
| Buying a land and building a house - what are some things I need to consider? Posted: 28 Jun 2020 09:31 PM PDT what are some things I need to consider when we plan to build a house after buying a land? exiting utilities? water? sewer lines? roads, construction time, dealing with contractors, county & city planning officials etc? [link] [comments] |
| Thinking of doing a new metal roof. Have you ever used honest abe's roofing company? Posted: 28 Jun 2020 02:41 PM PDT Those of you who have metal roofs I am contemplating getting one but have questions. I have one quote from local amish guys for 7000. A roofing company based in IN wants 19,700 to replace the roof. I also have damaged sheathing and need a rafter or more repaired. there was a fire so I'm figuring there is damage in that area. it's a soft spot on the roof. They are going to have to take off all the shingles, one area has multiple layers. I was upfront and honest about the roof condition as I knew it when I got my quotes. So the question is. Do you like your metal roof? Has it faded and how long have you had it? And did you do a local contractor or go with a company, or do it yourself? I'd like recommendations and anyone who's used honest abe's roofing company to tell me how it went. And how they feel about their own roof. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2020 11:49 AM PDT I've still got a couple things I'm adding, and I'll be switching out the lighting fixtures, but I love how little changes really make my front door more personal. I especially love the barn quilt a local maker made for me. https://imgur.com/a/iWBFQZK [link] [comments] |
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