Home Improvement: Let's help the laminate flooring redditor feel better about their mistake by sharing photos/stories of our own botched home improvement projects. |
- Let's help the laminate flooring redditor feel better about their mistake by sharing photos/stories of our own botched home improvement projects.
- DIY beginner. I attempted to do my own laminate flooring, and I’m pretty sure I ruined it
- Contractor says they require more than 20% over estimate to complete job; what are my next steps?
- Kitchen reno DONE!
- Do I really need an exhaust fan in a half bath?
- How Do You Pay For Electrical Work?
- Tile Replacement - Identifying subfloor and options, solutions
- Contractor finally installed a new solid-core interior door, and cracked it between the deadbolt and the catch during drilling it out. How big a problem is this?
- Has anyone built a second story? Do you regret it, and how much did it cost?
- Looks like some kind of moisture intrusion around the floor joist. How bad is the repair?
- Replacing cracked kitchen floor tiles, and Ditra has me flummoxed
- Is this yellow mold behind my basement drywall?
- Why is my tile shifting a year after install?
- Speaking of laminate floor. How should I fix this?
- Left 2 granite countertop installers. Both told me my Stainless Steel Kore workstation sink that can be both top and under mount (currently top) will bend if they try to uninstall it.
- Was washing dishes and my sink fell apart! Is this fixable or do I have to replace it?
- Plumber cracked countertop
- Kitchen Improvements
- Finding matching laminate flooring, possible?
- I've got the Knob and Tube. Instead of dismantling walls to pull out and replace, can I just disconnect it and have the home rewired?
- Need a sanity check. Want to make sure I'm not doing unnecessary work. 30/40k in repairs/upgrades
- Stucco repair
- I jammed in a piece of crown and I’m wondering if I should expect it to blow out.
- What is this called and am I going to be opening a can of worms trying this myself?
| Posted: 22 Sep 2020 01:32 PM PDT Personally, I built a small fence around our townhome's backyard when we first moved in and accidentally killed the grass in the process (from the piles of dirt dug out for the post holes). I was just a beginner and didn't realize that in the process of trying to regrow it, it was possible to overapply lawn fertilizer/food and the rest is history (having a dog hasn't helped rehabilitate that lawn, either). [link] [comments] |
| DIY beginner. I attempted to do my own laminate flooring, and I’m pretty sure I ruined it Posted: 22 Sep 2020 04:59 AM PDT Hello, We can't afford to pay someone to install it. So we decided to do it ourselves. I've been obsessing over all the laminate flooring installation videos, and figured that I was ready. I couldn't get the skinny side to fit properly. Only the long side of the planks. So what I did was purposely install the floor with gaps. And then I cut tiny pieces of wood to fit into the gaps. It looks awful. My fiancé went out and bought the mallet with the tool that hooks onto the wood. We managed to literally bang a couple of rows right. But had to stop because of how loud it was and since we are attached to neighbors. But I left huuuuge gaps. Some that I am unsure if I can fix. Did I just ruin it all? Please don't make fun of me. I am a first time homeowner and this is my very first diy project, and it will definitely be my last. I'm too embarrassed to post pictures. But if it's absolutely necessary, I can. :'( [link] [comments] |
| Contractor says they require more than 20% over estimate to complete job; what are my next steps? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 11:45 AM PDT We received an estimate for a bathroom rebuild and entered into a contract for $25,000; now the contractor is telling us that they need another $6,500 to be able to get the plumbing and electrical done - something that was already supposedly budgeted into the contract. I understand that there are usually overages in a project, but more than 20% seems like an awful lot. The contract said additional funding may be needed for unforeseen damages, but this isn't because of damages - it's because of their lowball bid. The bottom line is that I have a couple thousand extra dollars, but I definitely don't have $6,000... what happens when you can't pay the additional amount needed to complete a project? Plumbing and electrical is pretty much required before they can go any further... would they just stop work, take the deposit, and mutually sever the contract, or would they just continue work until they ran out of money? I've never been in this situation before, so I'm curious... [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Sep 2020 09:39 AM PDT We bought our home when we relocated to FL in 2018, and in that time we've refreshed 2 of 3 bathrooms, laundry room, and landscaping. We knew the kitchen was going to be a bigger job than a refresh as the cabinet doors and all lower cabinets were all particle board and couldn't be saved, . They were also extremely inefficient uses of space. We first decided on design, and got many quotes. This was hard during the times of COVID, but most of the quotes were within a few grand of each other. Only one contractor attempted to bait and switch, and 2 ghosted us. I did the design myself. I live and breathe in my kitchen, I love to cook and entertain, and knew exactly what I wanted. The old kitchen layout was ok, but they made cheap choices like not putting in a blind/lazy susan in the corner losing all that valuable space. We kept the same basic layout, but changed some features to maximize space and efficiency. We hit a lot of hiccups along the way, with covid shipping issues thwarting our plans for a Bosch cooktop, our original sink, the original garbage disposal, and the wall buildout having to be redone due to stability issues. But it all worked out great and we're very happy with our kitchen. Here is a link to the gallery https://imgur.com/a/wulrzYE Cost breakdown:
Total with incidentals 19.300.00 Here is the final product [Imgur](https://imgur.com/RodIppI) [link] [comments] |
| Do I really need an exhaust fan in a half bath? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 08:05 PM PDT Went to replace my exhaust fan with a new unit and accidentally knocked the exhaust pipe loose at an out of reach connection. https://imgur.com/gallery/nhgfLXY Still plan to proceed with the replacement, but is it really necessary to be that concerned with the actual exhaust line? I'm ok with farts going up just above my ceiling to die. If a proper exhausted fan is essential, any thoughts on how to reconnect this pipe without tearing out ceiling drywall? [link] [comments] |
| How Do You Pay For Electrical Work? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 05:56 PM PDT I'm renovating my first home and have opened up all interior walls to the studs. I'm getting quotes from electricians to bring the place up to code and clean up a lot of the existing wiring which was poorly done originally. I've gotten one quote so far and it includes me paying an hourly rate for the electrician and another rate for an apprentice helper. Is this normal? They seemed pretty open setting up different ways to pay for the work - hourly, by individual job. What do you, friendly Redditors, recommend? I obviously want to make sure that I'm not being overcharged. Is paying hourly risky? Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Tile Replacement - Identifying subfloor and options, solutions Posted: 22 Sep 2020 07:19 PM PDT I am replacing the tile in my foyer/entryway. We are refreshing the living and dining rooms, and the ugly 70s era tile had to go. House was built in the mid-1950s, and I have no idea when the tile was installed. Photos: https://imgur.com/a/GbLHEHL. What the heck am I looking at? Tile came up without a problem. It was attached to a fiberboard underlayment that had an "M" logo and said "underlayment", but I could not make out the brand. There is some sort of black paint/glue between the underlayment and the subfloor - it is not sticky at all and you can see the woodgrain through it. The underlayment was not glued down - just nails. There were two patches in the subfloor, so I pulled up one (see photos). It seems that the subfloor is 1/2" plywood floating on 1/2" stringers on another layer of subfloor. There is also what appears to be some asphalt shingle-type things separating the stringers from the bottom subfloor. Goal is to install 12" x 24" porcelain tile with Ditra. I am thinking I should pull up the first layer of subfloor and the stringers, and then replace it with a sheet of 3/4" BCX screwed to the joists. The prior tile was 4" x 8" ceramic, and it came up very easily, with apparently 50% or less mortar coverage, so everything seems stable. The foyer opens into the living room, which is hardwood, and about 1/8" proud to the current subfloor; I would like to keep them close to even all things being equal, but that isn't important - the prior finished tile was maybe 3/8" to 1/2" proud over the hardwood, and it hasn't been a major issue in the last six years since we bought the house. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Sep 2020 01:32 PM PDT A number of months after we paid the deposit a contractor finally installed the new solid-core interior door we wanted. Unfortunately, after I inspected the work yesterday I noticed it was cracked between the catch and the deadbolt. In terms of security and integrity how much of an issue is this, and should I be pushing for a refund or repair? EDIT: For clarification purposes this door is a solid core laminate composite door, I don't know if that changes anything. All told the cost was 768$. I'm going to call the contractor tomorrow and provide the picture I took, and plan on discussing remediation or remuneration with him. [link] [comments] |
| Has anyone built a second story? Do you regret it, and how much did it cost? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 03:44 PM PDT We're looking to add one more bedroom to our split-level (walkout basement bar and laundry room, not much else and no space for a bathroom). This whole time we've been thinking that the car port adjacent to the basement bar is the one, but it's proving to be too much even at the theoretical stage - electric and gas meters to be moved, deck as the roof, cutting through the concrete walls to make a door and removing all windows. Plus losing the carport, with no garage. Doesn't really seem worth it. We were then discussing the idea of building a second floor. My spouse maintains that it will cost $40-50k to rip off the roof, build another floor, install a staircase, set up the water and electrical connections for a new bathroom and lighting, and put on a new roof, on a ~1750sqft structure (main level is ~1750). I feel like it would cost more than that. Not counting bathroom fixtures themselves, and maybe not drywall, it still seems like a much pricier project, plus we'd be getting a new roof. Then again, building a house from scratch is what, $300k, assuming our setup? Maybe $50k is reasonable. Any experience with this? Anywhere I should look for a practical opinion? This would be a few years down the line if we go that route, so I don't want to bother people for detailed quotes when I won't be hiring them for a while. [link] [comments] |
| Looks like some kind of moisture intrusion around the floor joist. How bad is the repair? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 07:29 PM PDT https://imgur.com/gallery/ihuwx1T I noticed some moisture and pulled the fibreglass batts that were badly stuffed in there. In a different shot that I stupidly forgot to upload, it seems that there's some kind of house wrap / flashing. So my guess water is getting in there, among other things. Now I live in a condo, and the exterior should be the condo managements responsibility. I might be able to push them to fix the subfloor and joist. But I want to get an idea what the fix would be and how bad is it? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Replacing cracked kitchen floor tiles, and Ditra has me flummoxed Posted: 22 Sep 2020 03:21 PM PDT Hello HI, this one has me confused. Preparing our house for sale and we had a few cracked tiles on the kitchen floor, but I had some left over so I figured not too big a job to replace. I cut out the grout, drilled some holes in the middle of the first one and got chiseling. They came up a dream because they were laid on Ditra, but it seems that the Ditra is loose from the subfloor in a number of places. It has also torn in a few spots, possibly from me lifting the tiles, and so now I don't know what to do. Here are some pictures: I'm thinking my options are: a) chip out all the old thinset, nail the Ditra down to the subfloor with some flat head nails and lay the new tiles, b) cut the Ditra out, lay a new piece on thinset, then lay the tiles over that, or c) cut the Ditra out and lay the new tiles straight onto the subfloor. Any thoughts? The one thing I really don't want to do is remove the whole floor and lay a new one, for reasons of cost and time - we're getting ready to sell the house. Help, advice and mockery all appreciated. [link] [comments] |
| Is this yellow mold behind my basement drywall? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 09:18 PM PDT These things looks kind of weird. Please click on it with caution. https://imgur.com/gallery/aEzrE6w I just found these yellow things behind my drywall in the utility room in my basement. Behind the drywall is a bathroom that has never been in use (we just bought the house). The stuff looks like some yellow cotton wrapped in plastic. I wonder what it is, I googled yellow mold, and the stuff behind my wall does not look like that. Please help. Thank you. [link] [comments] |
| Why is my tile shifting a year after install? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 08:57 PM PDT See photos: https://imgur.com/gallery/DwUjN31 We had installers put these 48 inch wood look porcelain tiles a year ago. There was only one spot that had any kind of lip, I made sure to check. Now, a year later, one section of the hallway (not where the one lip was originally) has several tiles that have shifted. Why is this happening? Should it be covered by the installers? How bad will it get? [link] [comments] |
| Speaking of laminate floor. How should I fix this? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 06:30 PM PDT We bought a house this summer and it has a detached room I'd like to turn into a WFH office. The prior people DIYd some laminate floor but it's popped up and I don't exactly like the look of it. I ripped a few pieces out today and saw the subfloor looks like a deck with gaps between the boards. What should I do before trying putting down a new click and lock floor? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Sep 2020 02:40 PM PDT I just bought this sink like 3 months ago and it was expensive and it's gorgeous. These installers said they even though it's capable of under mount, that it's going to bend and break when they take it out. They then tried to show me their sinks. Is this a ploy to have me try and buy a sink from them? Or is there truth to what they are saying? [link] [comments] |
| Was washing dishes and my sink fell apart! Is this fixable or do I have to replace it? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 08:25 PM PDT |
| Posted: 22 Sep 2020 11:28 AM PDT If a plumber cracked a Corian countertop trying to replace a kitchen sink, is the plumber or homeowner responsible for the damage? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Sep 2020 07:48 PM PDT What can I do to improve my tiny kitchen? Short of ripping out the cabinetry and starting over, what can I do to make my kitchen better? What are your top kitchen diy, especially for a small space? [link] [comments] |
| Finding matching laminate flooring, possible? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 07:43 PM PDT My flooring is laminate, and I'm installing an underlayment during my renovation. Some of the pieces may have been compromised during the removal process by the workers, so I may need to buy a few extra pieces. Is there a way to match laminate flooring at a store if I bring a piece in? And what kinds of stores can I possibly go to? Home Depot, Lowes. I'm not much of a handy person, so I have no idea about these things, and this is my first home renovation. I was not the person to install the flooring, so I have no idea where it was from, and there are no markings of serial numbers, etc. of any kind. I would prefer not to buy new flooring because the entire house is matching currently. I'd have to renovate all the flooring. Thanks!! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Sep 2020 07:42 PM PDT Basically title. I'm trying to a avoid spending 10k and punching holes all through my walls, especially since my house has three people working from home and we aren't trying to undertake huge renovation projects during Covid. I've read lots of things online that if you replace it, it's a major project. However, I read one site that suggested essentially disconnecting the K&T completely, leaving it in the walls, and having a modern rewire done which uses much smaller tactical holes to insert new wire. Is this a cheaper/better option than ripping the whole thing out? [link] [comments] |
| Need a sanity check. Want to make sure I'm not doing unnecessary work. 30/40k in repairs/upgrades Posted: 22 Sep 2020 07:33 PM PDT I could use some other homeowners' opinions. I want to make sure I'm not digging myself any deeper than necessary. My house started to have moisture issues this summer. We first noticed a small quarter-sized piece of drywall that had become water damaged from condensation dripping off the ducting ran between our first and second floor. It got worse quickly with all of the drywall seems bubbling/ peeling off and visible damage beneath almost all of the ducting. After several HVAC contractors, the answer was the ducting needs to be insulated at the minimum. Since it's 40 years old and requires ripping through much if the first-floor ceiling to get to, it seemed prudent to have the ducting replaced now, and there was mold growing in the ducts/air handler. During the HVAC troubleshooting, we checked the crawl space and found everything, every last inch, to be covered in mold. It wasn't last summer/fall when we replaced the dryer vent / cheap vapor barrier. Since we had to have the mold remediated, we decided to encapsulate as the house had issues with pests, specifically rats and the large outdoor American Roaches. It would also ensure we didn't have any further mold or wood rotting fungus. As I was demoing the ceiling for the HVAC contractor, I discovered ALOT of rat droppings. Luckily I taped off, and air sealed the area, and put the area I was working under negative pressure before starting to contain any contaminates/ possible diseases from spreading throughout the house and filter all the exhaust air. As it got worse, I decided to pull the ceiling down completely to be clean and inspect for any damages to electrical wires. Luckily none. There were 9+ dead rats, either skeletons or impressively mummified. Many were on top of my kitchen cabinets. I sprayed everything with a bleach solution to mitigate dust and to disinfect. I followed on with an enzyme cleaner to remove the smell. The bastards had unhindered access through the entire house. To me, it seemed necessary to address the issue and to clean and disinfect. When we noticed rat droppings in the crawl last winter, we immediately hired a professional company to come through and block their access in. My assumption would be the dead rats have been there for years. House was built in 1980. My question is, am I unreasonable? A little nickel-sized patch and aftermath have lead to 30/40k between the new HVAC install, encapsulation, and associated drywall replacement/ finishing. Part of me feels that we are unfortunate, but we have addressed the problems as they should. Another part of me feels like maybe these issues are just expected? Perhaps most other homeowners wouldn't rip their entire first-floor ceiling down to be able to clean/disenfect/ neutralize the waste. The thought of a gang of dead rats on my cabinets makes my stomach churn. Is it worth replacing the rat damaged fiberglass insulation? Or is that an unnecessary expense? Do I have unreasonable expectations not to have literally 4 gallons worth of rat droppings and dead rats in their ceilings? Am I pissing money away for absolutely no reason chasing my idea of what a home should be? Would it make more financial sense to bandaid/ do the bare minimum addressing the mold/HVAC and pest issues and through all the money into a blinged-out kitchen and redo the bathrooms? I'm worried I'm wasting money to make myself happy and not actually doing what should be done if that makes sense. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 22 Sep 2020 05:00 PM PDT I live in Toronto and can't for the life of me find a product to quickly patch a hole in stucco, there's a DAP stucco patch and a quickcrete stucco patch, premixed available but aren't available in my area (according to home Depot website) I see them on other hardware stores websites but non are every available in store. Is there something weird about these products that I can't buy them in my location??? [link] [comments] |
| I jammed in a piece of crown and I’m wondering if I should expect it to blow out. Posted: 22 Sep 2020 07:06 PM PDT Hey folks, Did my first crown install this weekend and tried to cut longer on long stretches. When I got to one of the last pieces, I fastened in the coped corner and then went to knock in the butt edge, only to realize it was pretty bowed out by the time it was at the right spring angle. I wanna say based on crude geometry maybe it was 1/4" - 3/8" too long for a 134" run. It didn't fight back terribly when I pressed it in place, but it did feel a bit wobbly. Now looking back at it I'm wondering whether I should expect the thing to bust out within a year. It's MDF board (instead of wood, by accident) with 2" brad nails driven into the studs. No adhesive. I'm not completely finished up in there so if there are any suggestions to make sure I don't have catastrophic failure, I'd love to hear it. Mainly, I'm just trying to feel out how badly I messed up. I'm attaching some pics of the piece in place. https://i.imgur.com/zOuYL35.jpg (part of its already caulked hence the appearance of a gap a few feet down) https://i.imgur.com/tTHFUMm.jpg https://i.imgur.com/HMtRn4v.jpg Thanks for your input! Feel free to call me crazy for any of this. I tend to do a diy then perseverate over the worst case scenario (brad nails popping out of the wall into our newborn's crib, for example) [link] [comments] |
| What is this called and am I going to be opening a can of worms trying this myself? Posted: 22 Sep 2020 02:01 PM PDT Above our back door is a board. This board is rotting. I want to get it taken care of before the weather starts turning but I can't seem to find a handyman by me. The only person I found quoted $225 plus materials. Not doing that. Is this just a matter of cutting this and putting a new one in? Should I spray some foam in the void? Is wood even a good choice here in the first place? [link] [comments] |
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