Home Improvement: I used Tung Oil to refinish my floors and it's so dang beautiful |
- I used Tung Oil to refinish my floors and it's so dang beautiful
- How the toggle bolt just saved my sanity.
- Cheapest Permanent, Anti-Off-Road Vehicle Barrier Option?
- Custom built console table
- Contractor MIA for Install. When Should I be Concerned?
- Need ideas for the area under stairs!
- Rewiring old home
- PSA: If You Have Central A/C, Do You Have a Spare Capacitor On Hand?
- Benjamin Moore Ben paint says 400-450 sq ft per gallon, I have a lot left over?
- What would you put in these expansion joints?
- Garage Floor Epoxy Prep: diamond grinder or chemical etching?
- Anyone else feel like they have terrible depth perception?
- Damn door that wont stay shut
- Uneven sides fence
- Any idea for cheap roofing? I’m building a tools shed.
- Torque Matters!
- Removing an old phone jack (installing backsplash)
- How would you clean and get rid of cat pee smell on concrete basement floor?
- Dumb Water Softer Question
- Expansion gaps for floating floors
- Tankless Hot Water Heater - only hot water or cold water. If warm, only last a few minutes then I lose all hot water.
- Leaky shower head
| I used Tung Oil to refinish my floors and it's so dang beautiful Posted: 11 Aug 2020 01:30 PM PDT First post in this sub! With the epidemic shutting down my vacation plans, I decided to refinish my kitchen/hall floors and just pretend I was at the beach instead. I played 90s dance tunes, finished each day with a beer, and woke up sore and exhausted, so I'm counting it as a success and basically the same thing as going to Pensacola. My home was built in the late 1800s in Marietta, GA, but the age of these floors are unknown. My guess is that they are probably only 30-50 years old, but installed in a historical style with masonry top nails and planks (not tongue and groove). I chose a tung oil finish because 1) oiled floors are more historic, 2) better for zee environments, 3)touching up oil floors is forever easy, and 4) I could do the project AND sleep in my house at the same time! By far the most difficult part of the project was completely removing the finish that was on the floor previously. I thought that it would be easy, given that much of the wood was already exposed where the poly finish had worn off. But Nope. It was a BEAST and took a drum floor sander with 36 grit to make a dent. There were also areas of exposed wood where the dirt was so caked into deep grain that I scrubbed with steel wool and tears. This was two days of work and back and forth to Home Depot. And one damaged cord that the drum sander ate because it was just that kinda day. Needless to say, the tung oil application was a dream comparatively and so forgiving! It took me about 25 minutes per coat, which left 15 minutes to relax before the next coat. Perfect for a beach beer break! I ended up with a total of 5 coats across two days before the floors just wouldn't soak up anymore. I plan on doing a retouch of high traffic sectiona around Christmas when I have a few days off again. I used Real Milk Paint tung oil and odorless mineral oil to cut it. Took me one gallon for this kitchen and a hallway, your results will definitely vary based on the wood you are finishing. Their tutorial is EXCELLENT and easy to follow. Love the trick of using wax paper to protect the floor for the first week. Tung oil vs unfinished color difference (edit to update link) [link] [comments] |
| How the toggle bolt just saved my sanity. Posted: 11 Aug 2020 06:43 AM PDT For many years and in a number of homes I've always struggled with something... keeping my towel rings, rods, etc securely fastened to the walls. The constant tugging on an anchor in drywall always caused the towel holders to come loose in time. Enter the toggle bolt. This has revolutionized my body drying and butt wiping experience. Why did I not find this out sooner. Do yourself a favor. If mounting into a stud is not possible, get yourself some toggle bolts for a more secure mount. [link] [comments] |
| Cheapest Permanent, Anti-Off-Road Vehicle Barrier Option? Posted: 11 Aug 2020 03:48 PM PDT I have about 1900 Linear Feet of perimeter around relatively flat farmland that I want to make it impossible for off-road vehicles to go through. Installing over 380 bollards (at $300 each) would cost over $114,000. One option I'm seeing is simply digging a ditch around the entire perimeter. A standard V trench probably won't be enough, so I was thinking of creating an "anti-tank ditch" instead which consists of using two bulldozers. One bull dozer is inside the trench, and when it angles up with the excess dirt, the other dozer pushes the excess dirt toward one side. They alternate going front and back. You can see a demo video by googling "AEBV Kodiak's making anti tank ditch." I thought of using HESCO barriers, but those are pretty expensive too and don't hold up well over long periods of time. Jersey, Concrete Barriers could be an option, but they are super expensive as well when including transportation. Are there alternative options that I'm not thinking of? Do you see problems with creating a mini "anti-tank ditch"? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2020 08:38 AM PDT In our kitchen, we have this awkward 26" long, 10" deep wall. Too small and narrow to really do much with, yet big enough that it looked awkward with nothing there. This past weekend, I decided to build a custom console table with shelving to fit the space, as I figured it would give us some functional storage for things like cook books, mail, etc., while also breaking up the wall. The legs are built out of select pine, the shelving is 1.5" thick Poplar, and each shelf has a 1/2" band of Oak running around the outside. Having never built anything before in terms of wood working, I was really pleased with how it turned out. It fits the space perfectly, and the design is exactly how I imagined it in my head. https://imgur.com/gallery/b49JllB Edit: Imgur link updated to include some of the in-progress pictures of the framework and the shelving. As for more detail, all wood was purchased at Home Depot. I just used 2x2 and 1x2 Select Pine for the support. The shelving is Poplar 1x6 and 1x10 that was glued up and cut to size on the table saw. The edging of the shelves was 1/2" Oak hobby boards. The legs are held together with dowels and pocket screws. The shelving is attached the same way, and the Oak edging was glued and clamped to the Poplar shelving. [link] [comments] |
| Contractor MIA for Install. When Should I be Concerned? Posted: 11 Aug 2020 08:05 AM PDT First time home buyer here and dealing with my first contractor issue. The house I recently purchased has some very old leaking single pane windows and old doors. I hired a window contractor off of home advisor to replace all windows and doors with impact products (very important for hurricane season down here in soflo). It was supposed to be a 6-8 week lead time which I thought was very reasonable. While the contractor had been very communicative through the process, things have started to drop off. There were some delays from the factory which are understandable (about 2 weeks), but my contractor told me this past Friday the products arrived and he would be in touch later to set up the install for this week. I reached out again Sunday via text, and tried to call yesterday. Reached a voicemail that's full and not accepting calls, and haven't heard back from him. This is now week 11, I can't reach the contractor, and I head back to work next week and lose my install availability. I think it's a legit company since the contractor is from home advisor and the permits for the project have been filed for (but not paid yet) but I don't know why the contractor would stop responding after the products arrive. Just need some advice on how to proceed/what my options are (especially since I already paid a 50% deposit when I signed the contract). Edit: Thanks for all the responses! Seems this is the norm, especially in the busy season. Glad to know it's nothing to be concerned about for now and I should just give it some more time. [link] [comments] |
| Need ideas for the area under stairs! Posted: 11 Aug 2020 08:34 PM PDT My house has an L-shaped room under the stairs (https://imgur.com/a/bibF6ti) that I am trying to set up for online school. Right now I have a desk on the short part of the L and an open area with shelving when you walk in, as shown in the pictures. Does anyone have any recommendations for this room to make it feel more like a small office or workplace? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2020 06:13 PM PDT My wife and I just bought an 1895 home. It has plaster and lathe walls and it needs complete rewiring/upgrading and replumbing. Currently the plumbing and wires are on the outside of the walls. There is no attic or basement/crawlspace access so it all has to run through the walls. We want to save money where possible...should we completely demo the walls and then replace with dry wall? We hate to lose the plaster walls as they're in good condition but it seems like it would require extensive patching if we try to just spot cut into the walls. Not to mention it seems that would cost more since we can demo and hang drywall ourselves but patching plaster and lathe is another story. Also concerned the plumber and electrician will charge more to work around the plaster and try to thread it through. Advice for the most cost-effective and practical solution? [link] [comments] |
| PSA: If You Have Central A/C, Do You Have a Spare Capacitor On Hand? Posted: 11 Aug 2020 08:46 AM PDT A year or two ago I came across a thread about how to replace the capacitor on a central A/C condenser and thought to myself "I should order one of those in case mine fails" but was too lazy to take the 15 steps to go look at the specs of what to order. Fast forward to yesterday evening, the exact middle of a heat wave here in Massachusetts and wouldn't you know it, failed capacitor. Amazon couldn't get one here until Saturday so I had to drive an hour and a half this morning to go pick one up. Don't be like me: always keep a spare capacitor on hand. Hopefully my warning helps someone else. [link] [comments] |
| Benjamin Moore Ben paint says 400-450 sq ft per gallon, I have a lot left over? Posted: 11 Aug 2020 05:51 PM PDT Just finished painting a basement and I did the math of 2600 sq ft, that's with 2 coats. I picked up 5 gallons which is 2000-2250 sq ft and figured I'd get another gallon if I needed it. I ended up using like 3 maybe 3.5 gallons. I have amazing coverage and it came out well. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this [link] [comments] |
| What would you put in these expansion joints? Posted: 11 Aug 2020 10:21 AM PDT What would you fill these with? I'm tired of crap getting clogged up in them and then growing. Also, it looks like I'm losing some material on the slab so I want to prevent that too. [link] [comments] |
| Garage Floor Epoxy Prep: diamond grinder or chemical etching? Posted: 11 Aug 2020 07:44 PM PDT Was told by an industrial paints supplier that it's better to use the new chemical etching since new house concrete has additives that make it difficult to prep with diamond grinder. The chemical etheching neutralizes is with water so just needs to be washed away. What do you say? It's 3 years old almost. Looking to do 2 coats of industrial strength epoxy [link] [comments] |
| Anyone else feel like they have terrible depth perception? Posted: 11 Aug 2020 07:23 PM PDT I have an opportunity to build my first home and I plan to design it as a barn to house my small business food processing company as well as my family. I feel like I have to draw every aspect perfectly to scale because I have no concept of what 30' looks like, Its on a 1.8ac lot and I still feel like i'm completely unaware of the footprint of a 60'x30' rectangle to the point I had to cut out a scale slip of paper (it's about the size of a quarter if you're wondering). I just feel like I have no clue what a kitchen or living room should be in size for what i'm picturing and wondering if anyone else relates? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2020 09:13 PM PDT I live in the northeast in US in a fairly poorly maintained old rental with roomates. My room has two entrances with doors. Both close ok but one door will inevitably open sometime after being closed. It is very common when there is a big temp difference between my room and the rest of the house, when closing the other door, or when someone walls by which happens alot. I think it opens mostly did to differences in airflow and pressure. The house has probably settled and the door is misaligned. I am technically not allowed to have a lock or latch on the door. The handyman for the apartment has yelled at us and does not respect covid precautions (wearing a mask, distancing). Is there any quick fix solution i can put in place myself? Could I add some sort of material between the door and the frame to give it some more resistance? The door.opens when I'm home and and when im not. I'd just like it to stay shut when in close it. But who knows maybe I pissed off the ghosts... please help me. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2020 09:00 PM PDT Hi I'm building a fence on my house that one the is parallel to the house. Now the 2 sides are already there but they aren't the same length (one is 20 the other is 23). Can I build a straight fence connecting them together. I know it will not be straight. Any advice is appreciated [link] [comments] |
| Any idea for cheap roofing? I’m building a tools shed. Posted: 11 Aug 2020 06:33 PM PDT Looking for a solutions that's extremely cheap.. almost finished with my shed and roofing is the final part, u don't want to pay a hundred dollar for a real roof singles. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2020 10:21 AM PDT Interesting (to me anyway) electrical troubleshooting story. Skip to the bottom for the TL;DR; Disclaimer #1: I am not an electrician. Do your own research and/or hire a qualified professional to troubleshoot your home electrical issues. An LED light bulb in my shed wasn't turning on anymore. OK, I figured, bad bulb. Well, a replacement didn't work either. Actually it flickered once as I screwed it in, then didn't do anything. Weird that a brand new one was a dud too. OK, so then I tested both bulbs in a fixture in the house and they both worked! Uh oh. Got out my voltmeter and (carefully!) checked the bulb socket.... 110V at most. Hmmm it should be more like 120V. Went around to the outlets on that circuit and they all were at just about 120V. OK, that's good; no major problems "upstream". Finally (carefully!) removed the plate for the light switch and checked the voltage at both terminals. The live/hot was at 120V, but the switched (when on of course) was at most 110V. "Bad switch?" I wondered. But just to be sure, I removed the switch and tightened the screws on the wires.,* Neither seemed loose, but sure enough, that got the switched terminal up to 120V, and when I put the bulb back in the socket it happily turned on. Victory! TL;DR; If you do any kind of home/DIY electrical work, even just replacing a switch or outlet (which in most U.S. jurisdictions you don't need a permit to do in your own home) make sure all the wires are screwed down tightly!*** Not only will this be a potential problem for any modern electronics, but any loose connection can mean a voltage drop, which can mean HEAT, which can mean FIRE. Today I'm thankful for LED light bulbs which apparently are quite picky about getting 120V, and no less! * Disclaimer #2: Always ensure the circuit breaker is off before doing this. ** I should note that this is a 20A circuit with stiff 12 gauge solid wire, so perhaps a bit more clamping force is required than for more-typical 15A circuits. *** There is such a thing as too tight, where the screw can be damaged, which why a calibrated torque screwdriver is always best. [link] [comments] |
| Removing an old phone jack (installing backsplash) Posted: 11 Aug 2020 08:15 PM PDT Hi all, I'm going to undergo a backsplash renovation in the kitchen next week. To limit the amount of cutting around outlets (especially one I'll never use), I was wondering how to safely remove the jack and install drywall to lay my tiles over. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| How would you clean and get rid of cat pee smell on concrete basement floor? Posted: 11 Aug 2020 05:53 PM PDT I just bought a house and because of COVID we had to keep our masks on while doing the tour. We noticed an animal smell downstairs and there was a machine running in the basement that we thought was a dehumidifier since there was condensate on the furnace. We figured we'd have to replace the carpet down there to get rid of the smell and disinfect it. Now that we bought it the basement really smells like cat pee and ESPECIALLY when you lift the carpet. There are dark spots on the concrete and the machine is actually an air purifier not a dehumidifier! Not sure how to go about this or to even clean concrete... Link for dark spots http://imgur.com/gallery/bVYpmAx Any help is appreciated! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2020 07:55 PM PDT Hi everyone, We have a water softer because we have very hard water. I never really figured it out and let it do its thing. Anyway, we reno and didn't live in the house for a year. I was looking at it today and there is a pool of water about 3 feet high in it with salt at the bottom. I don't know if this water has been there for 2 hours or 3 months given we just moved back in. The bypass to the water softner is open, but so is the valves to the softner Should I just turn it on and see if it does its thing, or could this water make us sick? Edit, below is a pic [link] [comments] |
| Expansion gaps for floating floors Posted: 11 Aug 2020 07:41 PM PDT Do I need an expansion gap around a cabinet/ vanity for laminate flooring? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2020 06:55 AM PDT I'll try to make this brief. We have a new construction home, and we have been dealing with the warranty supervisor and a plumbing company they have a contract with to help fix this issue. 2 months into living in the house things were fine with the water. One day, out of nowhere, I was taking a shower and noticed the water temp kept rising and rising. Eventually I had the knob turned to 2 and it was barely warm but better, 3 mins in I lose all hot water. Turn the knob back, and it take 2-3 mins to get hot water back. My family cannot take a comfortable shower because of this. If you first turn the shower on, turn it to 12, it's kinda warm (slightly hotter than I like, but manageable) for a few minutes. The temperature steadily rises until 100-101 degrees. Turn the knob to cold a bit, again, it drops a few degrees, then slowly goes right back up. Eventually when hitting around the 2-3 mark on the knob, it stabilizes at warm for a few minutes, then all hot water is lost. The plumbing company has already replaced the tankless hot water heater, and change some of the pipes in my HVAC closet. Nothing has changed other than an initial leak with the first unit (leaking has stoppped). They told us to turn the unit from 120 to 115 for more management temp. It does jack shit considering the water is never stabilized for more than a few minutes at a time. They have no idea what it could be, and i'm fighting with these damn warranty people telling them I can't give my kids a god damn comfortable bath, let alone a puppy we just adopted that's 8 weeks old. It is miserable trying to shower. Does anyone have a fucking clue what this issue could be, considering they REPLACED the entire unit already? I bought a damn thermometer off amazon and had my wife record when I was in the shower to prove what's going on. Here's the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VQYIHrNtnwf91vcbpGNKWAZGIOoRv4OH/view?usp=sharing I crossposted this in a few subs because I seriously need some help here. Edit: This happens in every sink and shower in the house and is consistent. Also I have tested this with using another appliance such as the dishwasher or washer, and it doesn't matter if a single shower is the only thing running or another appliance is running. Edit 2: thanks for the comments everyone. I'm gonna test some with the advice I got here later tonight and I'll update after. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2020 05:00 PM PDT My shower head started leaking recently while we shower and for the love of god I can't get it to stop leaking... I took it off, cleaned it, washer/gasket still intact and is fine. Used a shit ton of teflon tape and it still leaks. Even tried using only a little bit of Teflon tape too and it leaked. At this point I already ordered a new head. I hate water and plumbing in general because it's so frustrating. Is there anything else I can use to help secure the leak with the new head? Pipe dope? Super glue???...jk I honestly wanna thread lock it but I know that's a dumb idea. What do y'all think? [link] [comments] |
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