Home Improvement: Why do kitchens cost so much/take so long? A story on my budget, quickly completed first major DIY project |
- Why do kitchens cost so much/take so long? A story on my budget, quickly completed first major DIY project
- Yellow jackets in the wall
- I have severely overestimated my ability to tile.
- When remodeling, no matter the age of the house, there’re always surprises to find.
- Urgent help needed please with ducting size of hvac. Contractor is here now and I need an unbiased opinion
- Former Hoarder House REEKS of Urine, how can we get rid of the smell?
- Have no clue what to do with these walls. I really need help.
- Help with a shower drain that I cannot get into to clean
- How can I save my Parent's concrete counter tops we just poured?
- Considerations for moving the laundry room?
- Running Ethernet cable
- Would it be dumb to put a ground-level deck in this spot?
- How weird is this air return?
- Cheaper than a tetanus shot
- Lock washer on faucet doesn't fit
- Ceiling light replacement
- Struggling to drill through top plate for wire installation....
- Trying to figure out how to fix/replace this old basketball goal
- I recently muclched an area around a small tree, can i still plant flowers?
- Bracket for 55' TV
- My carbon monoxide detector just went off super loud, then began chirping.
- Circuit breaker pops
- Framing and finishing a basement utility room
- Wiping grout off subway tile?
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 11:00 AM PDT Hello everybody Anytime I read about DIY/Home Improvement, two things are consistent. There is always 1) People trying to do things cheaply 2) People telling them it can't be done When we were 20, my wife and I DIY'd our kitchen. I cannot tell you an itemized price for everything- but I can tell you we spent less than $3500, excluding appliances. We did cabinets, counter tops, flooring, some drywall and electrical, plumbing, garbage disposal, backsplash, ceiling fan, a door, and baseboard. I'm trying to think back to when we did it, I'm certain it was less than 7 days of work. The photos included were taken 7 years after completion, and it spent roughly 5 years as a rental property- all the work held up fine, nothing crumbled despite being mostly gutter-grade materials A few details on the materials- 1) Cabinets we bought the cheapest unfinished plywood cabinets at menards. My wife painted them. None of them were square- we filled the gaps with wood filler, sanded them down, and painted them, and 7 years later you still can't see a seam between the cabinets. 2) Backsplash Restore had enough of one type of tile. My wife DIY'd it. 3) Flooring whatever click-together crap they had on clearance at the time. Perfect condition still. 4) Baseboard and Trim MDF, bought primered, finished by us. 5) Electrical I cheated. Best bud was an electrician. 6) Countertops we went with a laminate countertop, from a countertop specialist. It was cheaper than the big stores and they were much more flexible on install- we called the day I finished the base cabinets and they put the countertops in the following day. Let's talk about the demo and install. I'll just throw out some highlights/things I learned stuff like that. The window you see that has the bar hanging into the entertainment room- I cut this window. It used to be an exterior window that was finished over when they added the addition. MDF trim finished it up- no framing required. The subfloor was extremely uneven. I used an 8 ft level and spent many hours (but less than one day) shimming the cabinets. They were perfectly level in every direction when I was done, and still are today. When the countertop was installed, no shims were needed, anywhere. The laminate was laid over a relatively level linoleum floor- no demo needed here. This flooring is a breeze to install, especially because most of the hard cuts are covered by baseboard/trim. The upper cabinets were extremely easy to install. I put up some 2x4s to support the bottom, held them up, screwed them in. Perfectly level. A few notes about the timeline- It took my wife a lot of time to finish the cabinets. That was a pain in the ass, but they were ready for install prior to beginning the project. I know it took one day to cut the window and remove the old cabinets and a little dry wall. It took one day to do the minor electrical work and replace the drywall. It took one day to install the base cabinets. It took one day to install the upper cabinets. It took one day for the backsplash. It took one day for the flooring. The countertop installed it about 10 minutes. That's about a week. When I say "one day" I don't mean sun up to sundown. I didn't take time off work. There is evidence that this is a DIY cheap and fast kitchen The cabinet doors are not perfect- you can see in the photos. The receptacles, same thing. You can spot imperfections- just look and you will see. That being said, it was functional, and the minor imperfections are only obvious to a professional or a passionate DIYer- and obvious to us, since we created the imperfections. Anyone who saw the completely project was oblivious. As for the style, it is what it is. We were 20, cut us some slack, haha. A few notes about the cheap project 1) No layout changes, though with an unfinished basement and dealing only with interior walls, it wouldn't have been a huge deal. 2) Cheap cabinets were functional, and to be honest, didn't feel that cheap. I can afford nice cabinets now, but I won't buy them for my next project. I'll stick with budget-friendly. If you use choose expensive cabinets THEY WILL BE NICER without a doubt. There's no way around it. It is not worth it to me. 3) Laminate countertop is the biggest area of opportunity for a cheap feeling kitchen IMO. I will be going with a quartz (or similar) countertop for my next project. 4) Cheap flooring is durable and functional. I'll be using vinyl planks, unless we decide to use tile. 5) This was a small kitchen, as evident from the photos. Two 20 year olds with no prior experience completed this project. To be fair, my wife took a home improvement course in high school, and I was familiar enough with power tools to be dangerous. Well, there's my take, flame away if you wish. For every "I want to do my kitchen for $350" post we see a "kitchens cost $75,000 and take 6 months, screw your HGTV" and I just wanted to share a story about a happy medium, about $3500 and about a week. Edit: I want to make my motive for this post absolutely clear- if I read what the internet had to say, I never would've started this project. I'm digging in on forums and subreddits with a new kitchen planned next year, and I swear people are convinced my 12x12 kitchen should cost $30,000. Im thrilled for you if you have one of these kickass kitchens- and they are great for inspiration, and yeah, I'm a little jelly about your custom cabinets. But I'm not $25,000 worth of jelly. I'm anticipating no more than $10,000 this go round. I can't wait to share. Edit 2 I'm not pretending this is a high-dollar major super duper quality luxury professional total ultimate renovation Most people cannot afford that and it's common practice to belittle these projects. You don't need to justify your $75,000 kitchen. The results are where you prep your meals. Your $75,000 was worth every penny to you and needs no further confirmation or support. There are people with different needs and different means. The appliances in my house are 15 years old and were less than $2000, for sure. My food is still safe to eat, and my oven still gets to 500F if I need it to. My countertops are still able to be utilized for meal prep. The lights still turn on. People can live here. edit 3 Stop sending me angry messages, please. I'm just offering my story. I don't give a shit that your spent $10,000 on a fridge or $15,000 on a countertop, I don't give a shit that you can afford to pay contractors. This post isn't for you. Final edit I wholeheartedly recommend buying finished cabinets and quality countertops if you can afford it. I really really do. Especially on the cabinets. If you can't afford it, remember hundreds of thousands of laminate countertops are currently being used by mothers fathers sisters and brothers and they are working fine. If you can afford to spend more, do it. You do get what you pay for. An one note about the value of your home- if you want to make money, don't do a damn thing to your kitchen. Research the ROI on kitchen updates- unless your a professional and know what you are doing, this is not a good way to make money. It's just a good way to improve your dwelling. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 10:07 AM PDT Hello all, A few weeks ago I was looking at some thorny bushes that are getting out of control near my house and fence. I saw some bees flying in and out of a hole in the wall. I had never heard or experienced anything like this in the past, so I started freaking out immediately wondering if I was going to have to tear off the siding on my house because of a potential beehive in my siding. A week later we had a local beekeeper come out to look at it. He climbed up on a ladder and got a good look at one of the bees flying in and out and quickly settled my nerves by telling me they were not honeybees but were in fact yellow jackets. Now that I knew I didn't have to rip out my siding to relocate to Honey Bee hive, I quickly started looking around at remedies from calling a pest control company to other home remedies. This morning, I successfully hooked up my shop vac with an inch or two of soapy water in the bottom to a ladder near the entrance of the hole and banged on the wall from the inside to get them to fly out. The trick worked very well. I was extremely nervous about getting stung in the setting up process because I had been stung on that side of the house before, but I wasn't today. I don't condone pointless violence, but in the wise words of the bee keeper who came out to look at them, "I would have no remorse in killing those because they're bastards." Edit - spelling. [link] [comments] |
| I have severely overestimated my ability to tile. Posted: 08 Aug 2020 06:15 PM PDT I've never tiled before. Jeff makes it look so easy! I've been prepping to tile my bathtub for a couple weeks now. Did lots of research, watched lots of videos and took my time to make sure I'm mentally prepared for this undertaking. I'm in finishing stages of the bathroom, last thing I need is to screw up the tile. I figured I could do it in an afternoon (ha!). I dropped my wife at work(1pm), swung by the depot to pickup some supplies(lash spacers) and headed home. Damn! I need a sponge! And might as well get another bucket for water. But before I go, I try to use the grinder my dad let me borrow, an olddd craftsman. Trigger switch was very rigid. I cut myself on a table saw last year, this trigger triggered me. Had to get a new one(excuse for the wife?). There I go to the depot again. I grab a new grinder, and a tile blade and start driving home. Shit I forgot the bucket and sponge!! I turned around and went to Lowe's(I ain't doing another trip to HD, that would be the 3rd in the past 2 hours. I can't look that incompetent). 3:30pm is when I finally get home and start mixing the thinset. Me being a pro, I filled the fucking bucket. 3/4 of the bag mixed in. I can do this. My laser level and ledger board is already setup. I take my trowel and start spreading that shit on the wall. Go about halfway up the wall with thinset, and then flip over and start the notches. First tile goes on. 2nd tile goes on. Put a couple spacers. Next tile goes on. When I get to the wall I gotta cut about an 8th off the tile. Time to use the new grinder that I've no idea how to use. Takes me forever. Rinse and repeat. I get to the 3rd row of tile( almost 2 hours in) and notice the thinset is starting to get tough to work with. I look at the wall and it's starting to set! Ok maybe I've gotten ahead of myself here. I start scraping that shit off the wall. From now on I back butter the tile(I can do this!). I'm getting more thinset on my hands than the tile. This is messy, but it's moving. I'm finally getting into a rhythm. Time flies when you're moving slow. I got 7 rows done by 7:30pm, which is the halfway mark of just the side wall. I had to go pickup my wife from work so that's it for the day. I have about a 1/4 of a bucket full of thinset which is now going to harden overnight and be a pain to remove. Gotta say though, even though it took time, I'm proud of how it's starting to look. I'd imagine another(full) day and I can finish it up now that I know wtf I'm doing. https://i.imgur.com/umEVKOB.jpg Damn you Jeff! tl;dr tiling is hard [link] [comments] |
| When remodeling, no matter the age of the house, there’re always surprises to find. Posted: 08 Aug 2020 03:47 PM PDT We're remodeling our kitchen as part of a much larger house remodel (huge write up with pricing and photos to come once we're done, maybe December). We just took down our over-oven microwave and upper cabinet and found this. This is exactly how it was when we removed the fixtures. Some contractors should just burn in hell. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 08:51 AM PDT rheem RQPM-A060JK000AUA is my HVAC unit, 5 tons. The unit has a 16" return and we were told it needs a 20" return for proper flow by HVAC guy 1 Otherwise the unit is not working as efficient as it should be. The 2nd HVAC guy says the HVAC unit has a 16" hole so changing it to 20" won't affect anything. Which is the opposite of what the HVAC company said. Who's right? [link] [comments] |
| Former Hoarder House REEKS of Urine, how can we get rid of the smell? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 11:49 AM PDT My brother bought a former hoarder's house to fix up and what not. Anyway, we're struggling a lot with getting the smell of urine out. It was mostly carpeted, the carpet has been removed and that took away about 50% of the smell, but it still smells like a public bathroom. We've tried bleaching and putting vinegar on the concrete, still smells. Any suggestions on how to get rid the smell? Thanks so much! [link] [comments] |
| Have no clue what to do with these walls. I really need help. Posted: 08 Aug 2020 03:24 PM PDT I am baffled on what to do with these two angled ceilings. The only thing I can really think of doing is hanging posters, tapestries, and flags. Would anyone know how I could decorate these? All advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Heres the room. https://imgur.com/gallery/ZXGG6iT [link] [comments] |
| Help with a shower drain that I cannot get into to clean Posted: 08 Aug 2020 07:51 PM PDT Yes, I know this is a very basic home improvement question, but my googling has failed me I have a shower drain -- the type that pushes open and close. It's constantly getting clogged with hair and every contraption I've tried to capture the hair doesn't fit into this type of drain. I'm stuck snaking it every few weeks and even that is hindered because I cannot open up the drain any further to fully clean it out. When I do snake the drain, it doesn't take that much hair removal to get the drain running again. I've twice paid a handyman to come out, open the access panel and professional snake the clog. Ultimately I feel like this is just a crappy drain that I want to replace A) Can anybody help me identify this type of drain so I can google more efficiently and begin watching youtube videos? B) Any tips for cleaning this type of drain? I cannot figure out how to take it out beyond just removing the pop top as shown in these photos, and that doesn't get you very far. Yes, there's an access panel to get to the plumbing, but I'd rather not have to open it up regularly. I need a long term fix, one way or another. Even if I could just find a hair contraption that worked on this type of drain, I'd be better off than I am now! Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| How can I save my Parent's concrete counter tops we just poured? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 06:25 PM PDT I just helped my parents pour their concrete counter top earlier this week. My Dad texted me today asking if I can help rip them out. He says the surface is (after sanding) really rough and uneven. Any ideas on ways they could keep them? Would be nice to save them the money they just dropped on them. [link] [comments] |
| Considerations for moving the laundry room? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 08:21 PM PDT My husband and I have been considering relocating the laundry room in our 1977 home. It's currently located in the basement in a tiny half-bathroom/laundry room combo. The hot water heater and furnace utility closet are accessed from this bathroom as well. The space is terrible and non-functional. It's tiny, and the bathroom door plus the utility closet door constantly cause space issues. The dryer is on the left of the washer too, which is exceptionally frustrating. Topped off with the fact that the entire bathroom/laundry room is carpeted! cringe. If we move forward with moving the laundry room, the plan is to later renovate the bathroom, adding a shower to make it a full bath, tile it, and generally update it to be quite nice. The proposed new laundry location is the mudroom on the main level that was part of a back addition built in 2006. The mudroom itself is rather large, and would have plenty of space for the laundry appliances plus cabinetry, a countertop for folding, etc. The mudroom has an exterior wall on one side and the other side shares a wall with a bathroom, (the sink and toilet are against this wall). The mudroom is also directly adjacent to the garage which houses the electrical panel. The mudroom is on slab. From my research so far, it looks like I'll need an electrician to wire for the 240 dryer outlet and washer power. We will also need to cut through the exterior for the dryer vent. Also, we will need a plumber for the water supply and drain lines. Do you think the plumber will suggest utilizing the plumbing in the shared wall with the bathroom? Is there anything we aren't considering in this? Anything I'm missing? Any and all advice welcome! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 04:31 PM PDT Hey all so just a heads up I know nothing about home improvement or construction. I know the difference between a Phillips and a flat head screwdriver that's about it haha. Anyway I live in a 14x80 trailer and I would like to run cat 6 or maybe cat 7 cable from my router down through the floor into the crawl space and run the cables to the living room which is middle of the house and to another bedroom which is at the far end of the house. How would I go about doing this such as tools and sizes and tips. How do I reseal the holes in the floor and what do I do about bugs in the crawlspace. If I use a fogger and come back in 2 hours would I be safe to go in there and would it come up into the house? Any info is helpful. [link] [comments] |
| Would it be dumb to put a ground-level deck in this spot? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 08:06 PM PDT Our house doesn't really have a back yard, but a 4-foot wide section that runs along the side and back. We recently tore up a pretty gnarly brick path that was back there and are planning to put down something that will look nicer and be a bit less muddy. We have mostly been thinking about some combination of pavers and gravel, but I saw some floating deck ideas recently that I thought looked really cool. My thought would be to do an L-shaped deck in the corner that extended 5-7' on each side, and then fill the rest in with gravel. What would you do with this space? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 08:03 PM PDT Our air return is basically just a ductless cavity. I've never seen one like this. It wouldn't concern me as much if my ac didn't run constant. Yes, I know there are more factors than just the return. But it just seems like it needs to be a duct to avoid taking as much heat from the attic area. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:26 PM PDT We have been grading our yard as part of a full yard update and have been finding a ton of rusty nails and all sorts of debris. We bought a 15$ magnet and pulled up two pounds of metal the first day. I think we are finally getting close to 'normal' levels of crap. I just wish there was a magnet for glass. [link] [comments] |
| Lock washer on faucet doesn't fit Posted: 08 Aug 2020 07:33 PM PDT Hi guys! I'm installing a new bathroom sink faucet and it turns out the locking nut hits the sink :( Any options? Sink can't move. Picture for reference: https://ibb.co/FYfpKPz Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 07:29 PM PDT Hello all, first post here. Condo owner and I'm looking to replace the older chandelier in my dining room. I know it's hardwired and I found a great replacement for it. My question: is this something my boyfriend and I could do ourselves or should I leave it to a professional because it deals with electrical stuff? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Struggling to drill through top plate for wire installation.... Posted: 08 Aug 2020 07:24 PM PDT I am trying to drill through the top plate to run ethernet wire from my living room to office. The problem I'm having is that the wall seems to have two top plates. The rooms on either side of the wall have different ceiling heights (living room is taller). I can drill through the top plate for the living room, but then there is ~12 inches of insulation. I can press the insulation down with my bore bit, but it seems like there is some kind of metal plate under the insulation.. What is the best why to get through it? My bore bit doesn't seem to go through. I have double checked just to ensure I'm not trying to drill into a stud, but I can confirm I am not. I have a 1 minute youtube video explaining my problem, see comments below. [link] [comments] |
| Trying to figure out how to fix/replace this old basketball goal Posted: 08 Aug 2020 10:38 AM PDT I am buying a house where the precious owned installed the basketball goal and a concrete pad in the photo. I love the extra pad since it offers a nice level space that isn't on my patio. I think I'd be happy to keep the basketball goal, since I would definitely get use out of it...but it's a bit rusty and learning. Initially I was hoping to replace it in some way, but it sounds like I'd need to remove the goal entirely and then reinstall a new one with fresh concrete. Is there any decent way to salvage what is already there, or is starting over from scratch pretty much the best option? I'm trying to limit costs and I see some decent goals I could buy for $300 or so, but I'm not sure how much to factor in for the installation process. I'd most likely need to hire someone as this isn't really my strong suit [link] [comments] |
| I recently muclched an area around a small tree, can i still plant flowers? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:56 AM PDT Completely naive to all landscaping/lawn care outside of basic mowing. My first project at my new home was creating a 'bed' around the small tree in my front yard. I had to dig up all the old unmaintained mulch and de grass/weed it, then put down new mulch. I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. I would like to go to the next step and plant some flowers around the tree, but I'm realizing now that there is much if any soil under the mulch. How should I go about planting flowers in this situation? What wound have been the ideal way to do this? Please go into as much detail as you'd like as, again, I am very new to this type of thing. Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 10:20 PM PDT Hello, I just moved to a new home and I'm currently looking to see if is possible to mount a 55' TV to this wall mount that is currently installed? If so, What is the bracket that goes with it? https://imgur.com/gallery/9WZzTwG Thanks, [link] [comments] |
| My carbon monoxide detector just went off super loud, then began chirping. Posted: 08 Aug 2020 10:13 PM PDT Manual said it would chirp once ever 30 secs if low battery. Twice every 30 seconds if danger. It chirped every 23 seconds. I replaced the battery and now no chirping. Manual never said anything about super loud alarm happening once and never again... Should i be worried? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 06:24 AM PDT I had a 3 season room turned into a real insulated addition. There was existing electric connected to my kitchen. The re did the outlets and installed a ceiling fan and can lights. A mini split is also out there but on a different circuit. Now if I use my microwave ant toaster oven the 15 amp breaker pops... Even if everything in this room is off. TV in standby. The electrician came back and replaced it with a different breaker and it's better but not good. A)can I replace it with a 20. B are there really different types of breakers. Some more sensitive than others? [link] [comments] |
| Framing and finishing a basement utility room Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:52 PM PDT So my home has a basement that is mostly finished (though the previous owner didnt do the best job). With the exception of the utiility room. So I am looking to finish it so it looks a little less gross. I am up north, so I would need insulation, vapor barrier etc I think? I have seen tutorial that say to put foam insulation onto the walls first. Some Say just use a house wrap. What would be the best way to do it? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:50 PM PDT I am an extreme entry-level tiler (resume consists of floors in two bedrooms). Floor tile was pretty straightforward EXCEPT the bit about wiping off the excess grout with a wet sponge, but not wiping so hard that you yoink the grout out from between the tiles. Everything I read said carefully use a wet sponge, rinsed out frequently, and then come back after everything's dry and use a dry cloth to wipe off any glazing. Yeah, that. That... was close to impossible. Ended up with a bucket of vinegar/water solution, a green dish scrubby, and blood pressure readings in six digits, and the haze still didn't completely come off the tiles. Now I am contemplating a subway tile kitchen backsplash and am terrified of the same thing happening. The videos all make it look straightforward, but it was not in my experience. Is the procedure different when you live in the desert and everything dries in seconds? Help [link] [comments] |
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