Home Improvement: Tiler scratched EVERY tile in the new master bathroom, should I get him to re-do the whole thing? |
- Tiler scratched EVERY tile in the new master bathroom, should I get him to re-do the whole thing?
- Any home surveillance systems you would vouch for?
- So simple I'm embarrassed to post it: how do I choose a spot to drill a small hole in the wall separating two rooms?
- How do you even begin a project when needing to hire people?
- How to avoid getting dinged for other things during a permit inspection.
- Creating a trail? Cheap tools (i.e. machete)?
- Mom Bought a house that’s gutted and it gets worse
- Updated living room
- What Can I Do BEFORE Hiring an Architect
- So can I just remove a whole ass radiator from my room?
- Is it possible to trim the edges of my carpeted stairs to make a runner?
- Auto defrost mini freezer?
- Is an expansion plug an acceptable “permanent” fix?
- How do you learn how to remodel and renovate as a beginner?
- How do you align bi-fold kitchen doors?
- Extension Ladder Advice - 3 Section vs 2 Section?
- Feral Cat Repellant
- Larger fridge or panelled fridge?
- Are my hardwood floors salvageable?
- Redoing my shower and came across this drain
- Cabinet hardware hole re-do question.
- Basement ceiling too low for bathroom permit. What do I do?
- Kitchen backsplash replacement
- Rotted subfloor under wall replacement question
- How to clean the inside of a double-paned window?
| Tiler scratched EVERY tile in the new master bathroom, should I get him to re-do the whole thing? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 03:32 PM PDT http://imgur.com/gallery/VLtG2BV So we've been getting our master bedroom fitted with a master bathroom, it's coming out great. However, after inspecting the floors after the tiler finished, literally every single tile has scratches in the surface. (I checked the two extra boxes of tiles we have and both are 100% perfect and scratch free) It's not crazy noticeable unless viewing from an angle, but when the light hits it you can really see them. I've told the tiler this, and he says he can come back to buff/polish all the scratches out- will that even be possible? The tiles have a shiny finish to them, and I have read that buffing these can dull the finish drastically. We've paid a lot for this (still owe them like 50% however) and don't want to be unhappy with the results. Should I request for the entire thing to be ripped up and re-tiled? Or will this be possible to buff out? Is asking for it to be ripped up even a reasonable request? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me, this is my girlfriend and I's first time doing this sort of stuff and are a bit lost. [link] [comments] |
| Any home surveillance systems you would vouch for? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 03:04 PM PDT I live on a Court, so theres a lot of traffic with people driving up my side to get down the other, and i told the wife that with having to park the car on the street, id want home surveillance for any incident that may happen with our cars. Well sure enough, a fencing company backed into my vehicle today. Myself, my wife, and my neighbor all saw it; but point being, my wife is officially sold on the idea of it. Now, i know about nothing regarding this equiptment. Whats a good brand? What features are a necessity, what are just extras? Anything anyone would vouch for? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2020 12:25 PM PDT I need to run an ethernet cable from one room to an adjacent room. The destination room has a closet in the wall which means the wall in the closet there is very thin and I'm planning to drill a hole there to run the cable. Before I drill, how do I make sure I'm not about to bore into a bunch of wires or a pipe or something? [link] [comments] |
| How do you even begin a project when needing to hire people? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 04:07 AM PDT I guess as the title says, we've just moved into a 1930's house (UK) and want to change the cupboard under the stairs into a toilet and sink, there is definitely room and the main waste pipe for the house is the other side of the wall in the garage so I think it's doable. But I don't know what to do next? Everything else we've done DIY or has been a simple fix with one tradesperson (like a rewire) but I've never done work in a house BEFORE and I don't know where I should begin? I'll need an electrician, a plumber, a gas man to move the meter and someone who can plaster. But what do I do? Which do I get to come and look and explain, they'll need to work together so how do I do that? I'm sorry if this just seems obvious or ridiculous but I feel like it's so basic that when I look it up online it's just lots of info about how to physically do it, rather than the process. I have recommendations of trades people from neighbors on our street who have had other work done and know I need to get multiple quotes etc. To figure out pricing but I just don't know how to actually start - or who to start with. [link] [comments] |
| How to avoid getting dinged for other things during a permit inspection. Posted: 15 Sep 2020 12:57 PM PDT I'm looking to redo the piping in my basement so that it's flush along the wall (versus running below my joist across the ceiling) so that I can finish one side. In an opposite corner, through what will remain unfinished, is an old toilet where I want to enclose into a half bath layout. Ideally I don't want to pull permits at all (who does) but I've come to conclusion I may have to. House is 130 years old and a lot of it is probably cast iron just as old mixed in with also old galvanized, and not quite as old copper water and gas lines. I realized I probably don't have the skill set to not do more damage to my water and gas lines than I set out to do. So I'm outsourcing some rerouting work to a plumber. First estimate comes in fine, work can be done, no permits needed, everything is to code, and prices are okay. Second estimate comes and he explained that with the age of what everything could be, working on one thing could destroy something else, even as little as rustling an old pipe out could break a corroded cast iron pipe 2 floors up. He also laid on thick about permits I needed to pull for the work, plus the past permitless work from the previous owner I'll probably be dinged on. If I do end up going this route, how do I keep the city inspector focused on the things I'm changing and avoid them noticing the things that are wrong but not changing? Also, is this disastrous domino effect common? The first is from a reputable local company so I'm not concerned about sketchy work, but now I'm worried my affordable work will triple with one small accident. [link] [comments] |
| Creating a trail? Cheap tools (i.e. machete)? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 12:38 PM PDT Hi all! I want to create a trail on my property. Maybe 8 acres of it is wooded, and I'm trying to acquire tools to make it happen. My budget isn't very high, but I don't want to buy junk if possible just for the sake of being cheap. Do you guys have any recommendations on a good machete (or any other tools, for that matter) that can be used to blaze a trail through woods? I am going to avoid chopping down full grown trees, so this would be for smaller trees, branches, vegetation, etc.. Love me some Amazon, if anyone has any recommendations. I also don't have a sharpener, so not sure if there's a good budget option there if one is recommended. This trail would be mainly for walking and jogging, but I would love to be able to bike on it too. There's a bit of a slope, but nothing too substantial. Edit: I went to take a shower, and came back to a TON of awesome responses! Thank you guys so much. If anyone has info on cheap (but good!) tools that Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon carries, I'd be much obliged. I cannot wait to make this trail a reality. [link] [comments] |
| Mom Bought a house that’s gutted and it gets worse Posted: 15 Sep 2020 05:08 PM PDT My mom just lost her husband of 40 years this past spring and wants to move out East. After some research she found this 1830s house in upstate New York for a good price. Roof is new. Foundation is secure. Everything is down to the studs and exposed. Brand new unconnected septic tank. 4br 3 bath. So what she wants to do is have a sort of minimalist job to take place. She wants electrical, plumbing, insulation, and dry wall to make the house functional, and as she's really handy she wanted to finish some jobs herself. So as long as she has hookups she can do light fixtures. Painting she wants to do herself. So functional, but the decorative aspects like flooring and tile work she would do incrementally as a hobby in retirement. From the get-go, there's been some difficulty talking to contractors. We expected there would be like at most 100k to put into the cost of getting it up to speed, but so far she has had figures come back almost double that budget. I suspected that from a long distance and because of our collective ignorance she's getting the runaround and it just doesn't make sense because the demo has already been done. The jobs are straightforward. We even talked to a surveyor to be certain about property lines and for .6 acres they asked for 3 grand. This feels so frustrating to have this markup. I've looked online at different specs but if there's anyone out in the ether what to expect from a spartan remodel like this... like I said the roof is new. One contractor said the foundation needed to be more secure but prices I saw for that in a house of this condition capped at 10 grand. Are we being too pie eyed? Or are contractors looking at my mom like a mark? She is selling her house in Arizona and is retired on social security so she has some capital but she doesn't have a quarter of a million dollars to sink into this place without eating into her retirement savings. Help?!? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2020 08:46 PM PDT Figured I would give this another shot at sharing. Renovated my living room as it was very dated. Was beige and this weird green color with carpet. Drop ceilings had been added in the 1980s is my guess. I have a line of credit at homedepot and I use my veteran discount. Everything I bought came from there. We used THD-B3 color schema from PPG paints. Accent walls are UFO and most of the house is painted elemental. Trim and doors were painted white (ceiling paint). Will likely repaint with behr ultra white cabinet paint when we freshen up. Fireplace inside was spray painted with rust oleum black. Used white ceiling paint on exterior as it's $28 for 2 gallons (as opposed to $40/gallon for premium white). The accent wall with the fireplace originally had a texture to it, which when painted UFO gave it a 3D chess board look. We removed the carpet and found original hardwood from 1915 was still in decent shape. There were patches of mixed wood, which meant that we couldn't restore everything to original luster and would need to do something to hide the cheaper wood (or we were going to have to harvestwood from other parts of the house). We decided originally to use walnut stain, but it was too light and ended up using ebony which was amazing. The ebony stain not only hid everything but it also was able to stain the red tile that was hidden under the carpet in front of the fire place. To cover edging areas we installed 1x4 trim for a farm house look. Ceiling and light fixtures were ripped out and I installed drywall directly to the fir strips on the ceiling. To cover imperfections and corners and keep a craftsman/farmhouse look we put in crown molding. Original room had two light fixtures, one which was a ceiling fan and light and the other a weird light at the bottom of the stairs. Required the light at the bottom of the stairs into recessed lighting and replaced fan / light with a smart fan/light fixture. Lastly, replaced all of the outlets and installed one outlet with USB connectors so that we can charge electronics without the blocks. Hardest part was where the ceiling meets the stairs. We didn't originally remove the trim on the stairs and it made a gap. I had to build a corner using mud and tape then cover it with trim and fill in caulk and paint. It was painful because we were rushed and didn't take our time. Had we ripped out the trim and ran the drywall flush it would have saved me a couple days of finishing work. Before and after pictures can be seen here Hope everyone enjoys and the mods like this post better. Total all in cost for restoration was about $1000 including sander rental, paint, crown, trim, drywall, vent covers, fan/light, recessed lighting, outlets and wall plates. Wood logs as decorations are real, found them in the house free. Edit: progress pics here [link] [comments] |
| What Can I Do BEFORE Hiring an Architect Posted: 15 Sep 2020 10:06 AM PDT Hi folks, A while ago, I posted about a problem I am having where two walls that meet at a 90 degree angle seem to be separating*. I hired a licensed structural engineer last week (still waiting on the report), but I was told that the problem is not structural, but is instead architectural. I now need to hire an architect to tell me how to fix the problem, and then hire a contractor to implement the fix. What do I need to do before having the architect come over? I don't want to have them come over, charge me $$, and then tell me that they can't do anything without opening the walls (or something). Can I prepare for this, and if so, how? * Here is a pic of a corner in the third floor, and here is the same corner on the second floor. This is a townhome where each floor is the size of a small one-bedroom, hence the number of floors. The structural engineer said that the problem is that my wall is not attached to the wall that encloses the fire escape stairwell. He thinks it likely that the support beam in my wall (stud?) is too far from the corner and therefore the original contractor did not bother to attach it to the masonry of the stairwell. I don't know if he used the word "stud" or not, but it is the closest that comes to mind - agains, still waiting on the written report. [link] [comments] |
| So can I just remove a whole ass radiator from my room? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 02:47 PM PDT I'm in the process of doing my bedroom up all snazzy like. My room is tiny, its about the size of a bed lengthway and widthway and I want to put my bed against the window wall. The problem is there is a thick radiator under the window. I have never once switched this radiator on in the past 9 years that I have lived in this room excluding the few times in winter where my mum switches it on when I am in school and I have to sleep on the sofa as my bedroom is the literal temperature of the sun. I will not miss it. So can I just get rid of it entirely or is the existence of this radiator crucial to the inner workings of the house? (I would get a friend who knows what he's doing to do it if its possible) [link] [comments] |
| Is it possible to trim the edges of my carpeted stairs to make a runner? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 07:52 PM PDT I want to keep the carpet but only on the middle of the stairs, just enough to form a runner. Once I've cut out the edges of carpet (maybe with a super sharp knife?), I plan on sanding and refinishing the edges of the exposed wood on the edges. Since it's a built in the early 90's, I doubt there is real hardwood underneath. Have you ever heard of this before? The last piece of the puzzle will be figuring out how to keep the edges of the carpet neat and tidy, I'm thinking some sort of embroidery and staple gun? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2020 04:40 PM PDT Can anyone suggest a good auto defrost mini freezer? As far as I can tell they simply don't exist. [link] [comments] |
| Is an expansion plug an acceptable “permanent” fix? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 10:59 AM PDT I recently found my basement floor soaking wet and tore everything apart looking for the culprit. I discovered a floor-to-ceiling metal pipe in a closet that had an outlet gaping open and dripping. There was an expansion plug on the floor under it. I put it back in and cleaned up the mess but now it's leaking. Can I replace it with a new one or do I need a different solution? This is a newly purchased home and we're realizing how horribly the previous owner f-ed up their diy plumbing. We're going to have to do a complete overhaul eventually ETA photos [link] [comments] |
| How do you learn how to remodel and renovate as a beginner? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 08:26 AM PDT I don't know anything about home renovations honestly. Sometimes I just look at some part of my house like the tiles, countertop, cabinets, etc. that I just want to take apart and change up. I usually hire people to do this but it's very expensive, especially for someone like me who changes their mind and is indecisive all the way around. How do I, as a beginner that knows essentially nothing, learn how to do it myself? I'm a little bit of a perfectionist so I feel like it would be best for me to be hands on and redo my own bathroom completely or even learning how to properly paint home interiors. I'm not sure where to look in order to learn and practice hands on? I literally don't know how to rip out flooring or taking apart different components of a house. Do I look into technical school or can I enroll in some specialized classes somewhere? It's kind of weird to explain since I'm not trying to learn this for a new career, I just want to learn some new skills for myself as a hobby. Thanks for taking the time to read my post, I'd really appreciate any advice and please feel free to share your own story of how you learned everything. [link] [comments] |
| How do you align bi-fold kitchen doors? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 12:34 PM PDT Hello All! Just moved into my first house and these doors being misaligned bothers me. Links to the misalignment can be found below. I've made sure the hinges are screwed in tight and it seems the other screws are for moving the door in and out, but not up and down. I hope nothing similar has been posted. I see a lot of regular bi-fold doors, but not for the kitchen. [link] [comments] |
| Extension Ladder Advice - 3 Section vs 2 Section? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 01:09 PM PDT Looking for some opinions on what style ladder to invest in. I am going to be doing some stucco work (minor patching/sealing cracks) on my home and will be investing in a 32' Fiberglass Type 1A Extension ladder. I'm torn between a standard 2 section unit or a more compact 3 section unit. Does anyone have any experience with a 3 piece? I see the 3 piece is about 13lbs heavier but I don't expect that to be an issue - I mainly want to know if the 3 piece feels as secure and stable as the standard 2 piece. Thanks https://imgur.com/BGAfm5W - 3 Section https://imgur.com/BWn4Wxe - 2 Section [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 15 Sep 2020 04:54 AM PDT Not entirely sure if this is the right place to ask this, but it seems about as good of a sub as any. Long and short of the situation is that I recently overhauled a landscape bed a couple weeks ago - cut out all the overgrown plants, dug out the excess dirt, laid weed barrier fabric, and re-mulched. Looks great, but now I have a problem I never expected... A feral cat (or two - no clue) have now decided that this freshly laid landscape bed is their personal litter box and have been leaving huge piles of dookie. It's really pissing me off now given all the work that I put into making that look nice only for some asshole cats to ruin it. I've started reaching out to local community resources about the cats but ultimately I don't expect them to go away. Anyway - what options do I have about trying to make the area less "appealing" for them? I had a friend recommend spraying/dumping ammonia in the area as a repellent, but not entirely sure whether that's going to be effective or detrimental to any nearby plants. The landscape bed turned impromptu litter box only has one Hosta in it and I'd rather not kill it if I could avoid it. Open to any suggestions anyone may have. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Larger fridge or panelled fridge? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 09:26 PM PDT Hi there! First time poster here. I'm looking to renovate my condo kitchen, and currently have an apartment sized refrigerator at 24 inches wide and 24 inches deep. We've been looking into getting a counter depth fridge that's closer to standard size, but they all come at 33-36" wide. The other option is to get another compact fridge (tall, but skinny and shallow) but have it panelled with the same cabinet fronts we are getting. My question to you: What is more important to you? Or, what would you prefer if you were buying a one bedroom condo? A larger fridge, or a streamlined look with a smaller fridge that blends into the cabinetry? Thank you so much for any input! :) [link] [comments] |
| Are my hardwood floors salvageable? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 06:57 PM PDT Quarantine has us a little stir crazy, so we decided to pull back the carpet and take a look at the hardwood floors underneath. I don't know much about hardwood restoration, so I'm curious about all of your thoughts? Are these salvageable with a sand and stain, or is it impossible to tell from just a picture [link] [comments] |
| Redoing my shower and came across this drain Posted: 15 Sep 2020 08:38 PM PDT Does anyone know how to remove this, I unscrewed the screws but not sure what this is. I would like to replace with something new, but didn't see anything at the store [link] [comments] |
| Cabinet hardware hole re-do question. Posted: 15 Sep 2020 08:28 PM PDT I have been on this house for almost 3 years now and I am finally getting around to doing some updating. First on my list is updating the cabinets. The previous owner attached the cabinet handles on the center. There are 30 cabinets total - is there a way to fill the holes without having to paint the doors? I can maybe stain the doors but not paint. I am also not installing any door handles. Here is a picture for reference: https://imgur.com/6GFXdRm Thank you in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Basement ceiling too low for bathroom permit. What do I do? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 08:18 PM PDT Looking for advice. We want to add in a small half bath in our finished basement. The only issue is that 20yrs ago when the previous owners finished the basement, they didn't dig out the old cellar floor. So our ceiling height is only 6'3". Code says non habitable spaces need to be at least 6'8". I spoke with one of our local inspectors and he told me tough luck. Ceiling is too low to pass inspection. Anyone have experience with a situation like this? I would like to get the project permitted so we don't run into issues down the road when we sell, but I don't know if that is possible simply due to the ceiling height. Is it possible to have a work around for the ceiling height? Again, this is just a toilet and sink. Everything else will be within code besides the ceiling height by 5". [link] [comments] |
| Kitchen backsplash replacement Posted: 15 Sep 2020 03:14 PM PDT Replacing backsplash in the kitchen. I don't want to cut, remove and replace the cement board. Any reason why I can't spackle & sand significant divots, and then put the mortar on the wall? Interwebs isn't clear on what to do. [link] [comments] |
| Rotted subfloor under wall replacement question Posted: 15 Sep 2020 01:09 PM PDT Hi, I'm having trouble finding exact information about replacing rotted subfloor underneath an exterior wall. I am replacing the subfloor in a 5 foot wide room on the second floor of my house. It was badly water damaged. I noticed that this damage extended under the bottom plate of the exterior wall. The 2x4 bottom plate is still structurally sound and the joists below do not have any rot damage. A contractor told me I can just leave the subfloor between the joists and bottom plate of the wall, but I do not feel comfortable doing that since the subfloor is deteriorated within a 2 foot section. The rotted subfloor is 3/4" plywood. How can I brace the wall so I can dig out the remaining subfloor? Do I need to make sure the new subfloor comes out from under the wall a couple of feet into the room or can I replace the strip underneath and continue from there? There is a video I saw on Youtube that explains that last part a little, stating 24" inches may be required. Should I instead put 2x4 or 2x6 blocking underneath that section of wall and subfloor between joists? [link] [comments] |
| How to clean the inside of a double-paned window? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 07:24 PM PDT How would you go about cleaning the inside of a double paned window? I recently moved into a rental apartment that has double paned windows. It looks like water and dirt got between the two panes at some point and left residue. The water has since dried. I tried finding a latch or something, but I can't seem to find a way to "open" the window to clean the inside. Any ideas of how to do this? The window: https://imgur.com/gallery/12CoNvh Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
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