Home Improvement: Ordering carpet online, from the factory: a success story of saving 40% |
- Ordering carpet online, from the factory: a success story of saving 40%
- Contractors who "refuse to do work" on someone else's work or things "not up to code"
- Gas and Electric Lines Not Buried Where 811 Marked
- Metal roofing vs shingles - definitely getting metal next time for cooling! -temps taken!
- Proper/modern way to bring exterior cables inside the house?
- Pipes knock
- Dishwasher powder falling to the bottom after a cycle
- What do you suggest for this kitchen?
- What tool to use
- What the hell is this wizardry? Trying to plug in a garbage disposal.
- Water in new addition tastes like pipe glue
- Any experience/advice??
- How do I fix this concrete slab job?
- New Brick Paver Patio!
- Patio Ceiling - Before, After, and a Thank You!
- Trying to upgrade our small kitchen, need opinions on what to do with the cabinets
- Left over building materials, alternate uses?
- Backyard fence/garden
- Removing the "T" from an underground backyard natural gas line
- I feel like I severely overpaid for gas line capping
- Painting house with one thick coat vs multiple coats
- Looking for some help understanding new construction costs
- What is this rain blocking thing called?
- How to help with old house smell?
| Ordering carpet online, from the factory: a success story of saving 40% Posted: 09 Jun 2020 02:01 PM PDT I posted a few weeks back inquiring about the possibility of this, and though I did not find a lot of success stories, I kept going, and it worked out great. I thought I'd share my story so others would have something to go on. Photos: https://imgur.com/gallery/lwscikn I bought a house 2 years ago in California. I have since coined the term "For sale: Million dollar house. Needs everything." The house was fine, it just had a variety of dated looks, starting in the 1960s on through to the 1990s. When I moved in it had 3000sf of carpet. It's mostly hardwood now, but we still wanted 3 of the bedrooms carpeted. After much hand-wringing, we picked out two carpets (Dreamweaver Reflections III for the master and guest, and Dreamweaver Deere Run for the kid's room). The local place quoted us an all-in price of $4720 for carpet, pad and install. They can't be expected to move furniture for that price, so that was extra. I found that overpriced, so I called the place I got my hardwood from. They quoted $3886, but they had 10 extra yards of carpet in the quote that we didn't need. I'm not trying to beat them up on price, but they had me down for 102 yards and I needed 93. I had measured it every way possible. 93 yards. They were non-negotiable on the fact that I needed 102. Honestly, at the right measurements they'd have been in the $3500 range and I'd have done this in a heartbeat. I was aware you could order carpet from the factories in Dalton GA. If you google the kind of carpet you want, the wholesalers in Dalton will actually come up on Google before the actual carpet website. From these sites I knew they could beat the carpet pricing I could get by 50%. I spoke with Greg at Georgia Carpet Industries who was both knowledgable and friendly, something neither of the previous contestants were. His quote took about 2 minutes (instead of two days) and he came in at $1937, delivered to the depot a few miles from my house, or $200 more to get it to my driveway. He recommended a few sites to find installers and questions to ask them. The first guy I called was a good fit. He wanted $604 to install 93 yards of carpet. He sourced me pad locally for $261. He wanted $50 to pick up the carpet from the depot and I ended up tipping him I think $50. Total for the carpet, $1937. Total for the install, $965. Grand total $2902. A savings of about 40%. Highly recommended. Would do again. [link] [comments] |
| Contractors who "refuse to do work" on someone else's work or things "not up to code" Posted: 09 Jun 2020 09:41 AM PDT I've owned a few properties over the past six years, and one thing that is always a pain point is the constant stream of criticism that occurs when you bring in someone to do work on your home. Whether it's criticism over "the last guy's shoddy work", or various things "not being up to code", there's always something or several things pointed out when you bring in a plumber, HVAC tech, electrician, etc. I can't help what the "last guy" did, and I certainly can't help that codes are constantly changing. Older homes in older neighborhoods are clearly not going to be "up to code" on everything that's changed in the last 30, 40, or 60+ years. Do you just let this stuff roll off your back and find someone who'll do the work that you're asking them to do who aren't "refusing to do this or that" because they don't agree with how another professional left it? Or do you tend to side with whatever they say and pay them to bring everything up to code even if it's outside the scope of the original project? [link] [comments] |
| Gas and Electric Lines Not Buried Where 811 Marked Posted: 09 Jun 2020 08:23 AM PDT I had my property marked by 811 and it shows gas and electric running 2 feet and 4 feet from my sidewalk along my corner lot. I dug a hole 3 feet down and 4 feet long from the sidewalk to verify placement of the pipes. Nothing there! I called the gas company and they said that on their map it shows the gas line under the side walk. Is it possible it's buried deeper than three feet? I'm planning on building concrete block columns with metal fencing between them, two feet from the sidewalk. [link] [comments] |
| Metal roofing vs shingles - definitely getting metal next time for cooling! -temps taken! Posted: 09 Jun 2020 01:35 PM PDT So I have been wanting to compare my neighbour's attic temperatures vs mine for a while now and I had been waiting for a hot clear day - like today - for a while now to compare. He got metal roof last year - black color while I have normal black asphalt shingles. Our houses are pretty much the same, with same orientation and his house is maybe 10 feet away from mine so no variations at all. I just measured the surface temperatures of his roofing vs mine and went into his attic and into mine and I was mind blowed! Roof surface: His roofing - 110 F with southern orientation My asphalt roof - 168F same orientation. Then I went into the attic and measured both the roof trusses and the surface temperature of insulation. His attic: - Roof wood trusses - 125F - Insulation surface - 108F My attic: - Trusses at 165-170F - Surface of insulation - 165F That's easily a 50F differential INSIDE the attic! that's crazy! I'm lucky I have about R55-R60 of celullose insulation, but my insulation is battling against 170F temperatures vs his 110F! That has got to make a big difference! I can't imagine how much of an impact would a lighter color make as well. I light color metal roof would probably bring it into high 90s? EDIT - For reference purposes. Today is clear skies and about 90F over here. [link] [comments] |
| Proper/modern way to bring exterior cables inside the house? Posted: 09 Jun 2020 08:32 AM PDT We're in a pretty new house (1999) which has sadly been pillaged by a few trades. I've fixed up some "speed holes" that were left open from old hot water exhaust, old furnace intake/exhausts (guess it was moved?). The copper, cable just shoot through the side. Is there a new way to do this properly rather then swiss cheese every time a new cable needs to be brought inside the house? Perhaps something as simple as a conduit, although taking insulation into consideration ? We'll be getting FTTH soon which would be another cable coming in. I've tried doing some searching but can't find anything official, which might mean it's still just do whatever is best. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jun 2020 07:02 PM PDT Why do my pipes make a noise/ knocking now when I turn on the shower ? This is new just started ...,and only in 1 /3 bathrooms in my house [link] [comments] |
| Dishwasher powder falling to the bottom after a cycle Posted: 09 Jun 2020 06:33 PM PDT Apparently the packet made its way out of the detergent box, but it's not dissolved / rinsed away. The package is there as a whole after it's finished. Apparently there's steam/ heat. It happens some time, some times it's normal.What could go wrong pls? [link] [comments] |
| What do you suggest for this kitchen? Posted: 09 Jun 2020 06:30 PM PDT Help me with this kitchen! I just purchased my first home in a suburban neighborhood in Western Pennsylvania and everything about it is amazing but the kitchen! It is absolutely awful and has an old stove, barely any counter-space, and no dishwasher. What can I feasibly do with this space? How much would it cost me? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jun 2020 07:46 PM PDT My neighbor laborer poured concrete on my sprinkler. Can someone suggest the easiest way to chip the concrete. Should I use a chisel, breaker bar? I don't want to get a power tool for a small job. thanks [link] [comments] |
| What the hell is this wizardry? Trying to plug in a garbage disposal. Posted: 09 Jun 2020 05:44 PM PDT I've cursed, I've swore, I've made up some new words that I'm not sure what they mean, but I know it's not good. I've tried to be as polite as possible under the circumstances when telling my wife "no, dear I dont need help, thank you" when she asks if there is anything she can do, but may still need to buy some flowers. I am trying to plug in my garbage disposal under the sink in the outlet it was previously plugged into. Literally for the better part of this last hour I, a person with two masters degrees (albeit in the humanities and social sciences) have buried my head under our kitchen sink trying to get this plug in the damn outlet. This should not be this hard. I have been plugging things into outlets my whole life in preparation for this exact moment. I barely remember the problem I was working on when I unplugged it at the beginning of this long and arduous journey. Should I call my priest and have him exorcise it? Do I need to give up and sell the houses and if so, am I required to disclose this hellish nightmare that awaits them under the sink? Do I need to smuggle a message in droids to an old Jedi master, saying "help me, Obi wan Kenobi, you're our only hope?" Seriously, what is the trick with these TR outlets? This should not be this hard. Post has been edited for profanity. [link] [comments] |
| Water in new addition tastes like pipe glue Posted: 09 Jun 2020 09:17 PM PDT I just added an addition to my house and the water smells/tastes like the PVC adhesive glue. Is this typical and is it toxic? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jun 2020 08:43 PM PDT Hello! Long time reader, first time poster! Just wondering if anyone has any experience with those countertop stickers that are meant to change the look of your countertops! My boyfriend and I have a pretty dark and dull kitchen, doesn't help that there is no direct sunlight to that room as we are in a condo. We are planning on painting our cabinets white/light grey, but the counters would not match that at all as they are a brown/black granite. So I'm just wondering if anyone has had positive and/or negative experiences with the stickers that you apply to your entire countertop and cover up your counters without having to invest in replacing your countertops [link] [comments] |
| How do I fix this concrete slab job? Posted: 09 Jun 2020 08:42 PM PDT I Bought some cheap concrete mix bags from Menards for a walkway slab on the side of my house. 14 bags later and the finish dry concrete slab looks terrible. How can I make the surface look decent? Slab Photos [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jun 2020 05:59 PM PDT Hello old water wrapped deck, hello new brick paver patio! Did all the work with my brother and my dad helped with the install. Turned out well for the first time doing pavers for any of us Deck took about two days to demo plus some prep work. We were able to finish the patio in one long day. About 5 inches on crushed concrete as the base, then 1 inch of sand, then used the Trevista 50 Smooth paver and black polymeric sand on top. We ended up renting a compacter for the day, which i highly recommend for the base. It was designed so water would run off the patio so it does go slightly downhill, as the deck pooled in the middle and was causing water issues in the basement. Realization: It was a lot of work but saved about 4k-5k by doing it ourselves. Also the pattern for those stones is very difficult to follow. At some point we were basically doing our own pattern Check out the end results! [link] [comments] |
| Patio Ceiling - Before, After, and a Thank You! Posted: 09 Jun 2020 03:11 PM PDT Recently I made a post here asking for some suggestions on how to go about renovating the ceiling on our patio that we tore out. We had many suggestions, but the one we ended up going with was getting beam board and hanging that up. For reference - here's the old post with the old pictures. (Before) It ended up working out really well as our deck is just about 20 ft long and we the panels were 4 feet wide. So there's 5 panels stapled to the original beams in the older pictures. They're just simple beam board panels we got for cheap at Home Depot. The border of it is made with plastic PVC board that we also nailed over the older wood. Here's a couple pictures where you can see the new ceiling.
I ran out of the PVC board, I plan on buying 4 more boards and using them to cover the splits in the panels that you see. We also caulked around the edge where the panels and PVC met up in order to blend them and hide any lines. The only thing I don't like is that because our patio is older, some of the wood we had to build over was somewhat rotten and the deck wasn't perfectly straight. So some parts of the PVC board came out a little bent looking or somewhat crooked, nothing anyone will notice when they're enjoying a nice burder out here though! Shoutout to everyone who gave me the suggestions for the beam board! A week ago I had never even heard of this stuff and not it's making my patio look great! [link] [comments] |
| Trying to upgrade our small kitchen, need opinions on what to do with the cabinets Posted: 09 Jun 2020 07:34 PM PDT Should I stain the cabinets darker, or paint them lighter? Our appliances are black, and our counter tops are gray with a hint of pink. Any opinions are welcomed [link] [comments] |
| Left over building materials, alternate uses? Posted: 09 Jun 2020 06:48 AM PDT Hi all! I'm finishing up a complete kitchen renovation, and have a lot of extra material: 30lbs thinset mortar powder 20lbs grey grout 3sqft mosaic tile Most of a gallon of kilz2 Most of a box of engineered flooring A LOT of scrap wood, from half shims up to 8' 2*8 Most of a roll of flexible window flashing Several scraps of laminate countertop Several big pieces of glass Several lengths of shoe molding, 1' to 8' length Old glass-globe light fixtures Short lengths of copper pipe I don't want to store this junk, forever, what can I use this stuff for? I'm looking for ideas like "use the mortar to patch cracks in the cement basement floor", or "use the window flashing tape to patch holes in a shed roof" that kind of thing. Maybe the best answer is just donate it all to the ReStore, what do you all think? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jun 2020 11:18 PM PDT Hi guys, My first post in this subreddit. I live in Southern Ontario. I have been staring at my backyard for years now and finally have had enough. As you can see in the picture, the left side of the metal fences are collapsed by the tree branches from behind it(mostly smaller branches that have subsequently grown over it). I also want to tear down the back garden as well so that I can install a new 6-foot fence over the back to provide more privacy. Any idea if clearing the backyard can be done independently by myself with simple tools or do you guys suggest contractors for the whole job. I will be hiring contractors to do the fence. Any other suggestions are also appreciated! Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Removing the "T" from an underground backyard natural gas line Posted: 09 Jun 2020 11:13 PM PDT Hey everyone, We have a natural gas line that runs from the middle of the yard (from an old deck) to a T fitting underground which looks to attach to the deck and the garage. Is it possible to cap at the T itself, or remove the T all together and run a I style fitting (is this the correct term?) to connect the garage and house lines - leaving the yard line disconnected and the house to garage the single line? The end goal is to remove the yard line off the T without digging the entire yard up. I'm in Canada if it matters regarding regulations. Happy to answer any questions to clarify, [link] [comments] |
| I feel like I severely overpaid for gas line capping Posted: 09 Jun 2020 01:12 PM PDT Hello, So last night my girlfriend and I smelled an egg smell around the house. We called the gas company to see if it was a gas leak and even though I don't think that smell was coming from us he found a small one in an old valve in the basement. So he had to shut our gas off. I following day I called the place that did the sewer cam for us when we were doing our house inspection. For reference, they charge $99 for the sewer cam. So I had to pay about $79 to get them to come out for an "emergency" visit because they weren't going to be available until next Tuesday and I imagined most places would be similar. So the technician arrived a few hours later and suggested having the pipe capped off, and I agreed because there was a connection for the dryer below and no need for any other outlets. He did about half an hour's work (Removing the valve, capping the pipe, reseating the dryer connection and testing the line) and ended up charging me $664. based on some searches I have seen between $75-$150, but you know how the internet can be. Anyway, based on the internet searches and my own feelings about it I feel a big gouged. Was I? [link] [comments] |
| Painting house with one thick coat vs multiple coats Posted: 09 Jun 2020 07:05 PM PDT Currently we are in the process of getting bids from contractor. From my research, 2 coats of paint is the way to go. However, I got an interesting reply from one of the contractors (as title suggest). I can't seem to find information regarding this and hoping someone can help. Thanks! It just seems kind of odd to me. How do you measure paint thickness? Doesn't a lot of paint of the first coat gets absorbed by the surface and it is uneven? Does anyone heard of this theory before? [link] [comments] |
| Looking for some help understanding new construction costs Posted: 09 Jun 2020 10:45 PM PDT Hi, I'm in the process of working through a new construction project and the architect on my project has been getting some bids. The one I've seen seems really high (around 60% higher) compared to the original estimates the architect provided, and I had a few questions to any contractors, or anyone else that might be more informed then myself:
Thank for anyone taking the time to educate me. I'm hoping if I go into this with a little more information on how the contractor bids the job there'll be fewer surprises on my end, which I'm hoping will lead to a more successful project. [link] [comments] |
| What is this rain blocking thing called? Posted: 09 Jun 2020 10:35 PM PDT I was given 3 of these items. You put them in your window to allow airflow but block the rain. I was satisfied with how they work, so I want to buy more. Unfortunately, I can't find them. I know Amazon sells them, but I've been unable to find them. What is this thing called? I've tried window vent, rain guard, magic vent, rain blocker, and other similar search terms. Amazon keeps showing me window screens, door stoppers, foam, and anything except what I'm looking for. It boggles my mind that I'm unable to figure out what this thing is called. [link] [comments] |
| How to help with old house smell? Posted: 09 Jun 2020 06:49 PM PDT Ripping a house all the way down to the studs and it still smells like an old house. Is there anything I should do to the sheathing/studs/subfloors while they're exposed to help with the odors? [link] [comments] |
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