Home Improvement: My wife and I put in a patio and redid our backyard this summer. |
- My wife and I put in a patio and redid our backyard this summer.
- My boyfriend wasn’t sold on the green cabinets but I think he’s happy with it now. Central WV
- Structural Engineers are awesome
- Today I'm filling in a trench in my foundation
- How to seal ~3" crack between stone foundation and wood addition?
- Skunk burrowing in my yard!! Should I even care?
- Beam vs Joist vs Wall Stud typical residential house dimensions, strength differences or tolerance and type of wood?
- Shower tile grout is starting to show pin sized holes, what to do?
- Sticky paint on interior trim, doors etc.
- Please help.. before I destroy this out of rage
- Is this a lost cause? (indoor painting question)
- Luxury vinyl plank over tile transition to carpet
- Trouble detaching p-trap from bathroom sink
- Rubber resurfacing for concrete
- Looking for advice. Keeping pet hair out while finishing floors
- Concentrate when painting
- Ok to put a bookshelf in this space with vents?
- Help! New house and mysterious smell in one upstairs bedroom that we can't figure out! The room smells so strongly of body odor we have to keep the door shut and not go in the room. Not from furniture or bookshelves, closet doesn't smell, doesn't seem to be coming from attic. Bad paint? From vents?
- What is this electrical switch called?
- Should I look for new contractor?
- Requesting Advice; Renovation company installed wrong roof
- Can I replace an outdated ceiling fan with a ceiling fan with a light without having to do wire work?
- Replacing HVAC line cover
- LVP fail
| My wife and I put in a patio and redid our backyard this summer. Posted: 03 Oct 2020 03:07 PM PDT So we decided this year after starting our first summer in our newly renovated house that we wanted to be able to enjoy our backyard. This is a long post but I wanted to keep in all of my process and try to be as detailed as possible. If you just want to check out the finished project skip to the last album. With the extra time from COVID and having nothing better to do, I spent countless long hot days working on this project and did maybe 95% of the work myself. For all of the patio material, from the base gravel to the polymeric sand, we spent $8681.23 total. That doesn't include what we purchased from Lowe's for electrical work and plumbing and the drains for the downspout. Let me know if you have any questions! [link] [comments] |
| My boyfriend wasn’t sold on the green cabinets but I think he’s happy with it now. Central WV Posted: 03 Oct 2020 12:22 PM PDT A little paint and new appliances go a long way! The kitchen was the first thing I wanted to do after we bought our house a month ago. Painting the cabinets was a long and tedious process but I love how they turned out! I still have to do some touch ups, but I'm satisfied with the results so far. I didn't sand them. I just used Zinsser 123 primer and Valspar Peacock House paint. We just bought our house about a month ago. The kitchen was the first project I wanted to complete so I got right on it. I removed the cabinet doors and painted them in our basement. I cleaned them, primed them with Zinsser 123, and applied two coats of Valspar's Peacock House. Painting the cabinet frames and island was MUCH easier than painting the doors. The entire process took about three weeks but I have a pretty demanding life (two kids, three dogs) so I didn't get to work on it as much as I wanted to. The hardware is from amazon. I considered gold but with how jewel-toned the green paint is, I thought it was ~too much~ We painted the light blue walls (WHO chose that?!) with some basic white paint the former owners left behind. The sink is a drop-in granite sink from Home Depot, I can't remember the brand. The faucet is Moen and I LOVE it. I would probably hire a professional or invest in a sprayer if I ever chose to do a project like this again. I used brushes and a roller. (Brushed on the first coat to get a nice thick coat, rolled the second coat so there weren't any brush strokes.) There are also drips (specifically on the edges) that I didn't really know how to avoid. It took a lot longer to dry in between coats of both the primer and green than what was advertised on the can so it was a long process. It was $120 for the primer and paint. BUT we only used a gallon of each so it would have been about $60 had I known. 😠For supplies and brushes, it was probably about $50. The sink was $250, the faucet was $200. Re-plumbing the sink was about $40. The hardware was about $30 but we haven't installed it all yet. $0 for labor. 👻 Not including appliances, it was roughly $700. All in all, I really love it but wouldn't personally do it again. 😂 Also, we didn't do the flooring but it is Shaw Matrix Asheville pine. [link] [comments] |
| Structural Engineers are awesome Posted: 03 Oct 2020 01:12 PM PDT At least, ours was. I wanted to share this experience for anyone possibly questioning whether or not to actually go ahead and pay for the expense of a structural engineer's consultation. We have a wall in our 1952 Ranch home that we were 95% certain wasn't structural in the slightest and figured we either needed to ask a good carpenter or a structural engineer if we could remove it without any issue. We decided to go with the structural engineer and we are so glad we did. I found someone who came out for a fee (granted, it was more than we thought - $250). I told him we wanted him to just let us know if the wall could come out, but he actually went and did a thorough inspection of our entire home. And we are more than pleased. It was worth all $250.
The long and short of it is: Pay for a structural engineer. Don't question or try to puzzle something out by looking it up online or even relying on fellow Redditors - no offense meant, since this subreddit is awesome, but the internet and pictures can only go so far and are no substitute for a full, in-person assessment by someone qualified. In the end, for us, $250 is a very small amount to pay for someone who has been a structural engineer with about 50+ years of experience to prevent us from accidentally caving our roof in or one day finding our floor buckling and falling into the basement from things we didn't even know were there. Structural engineers are awesome and I can't recommend them enough at this point. [link] [comments] |
| Today I'm filling in a trench in my foundation Posted: 03 Oct 2020 08:37 AM PDT I've spent the last two weeks jackhammering up a trench in my foundation so that I could tie in to the existing plumbing. Now that the plumbing is all roughed in, I need to fill the area back with dirt and concrete. But I have a few questions... If I use a mix like Sakrete, will it expand at all? Or can I just skree the new concrete to be level with the old concrete and trust that it'll dry the same way I leave it? Or maybe I should only put in concrete and leave it 1/2" shy of level, then use a self leveling concrete to finish? Any tips or stuff I should know before diving in? [link] [comments] |
| How to seal ~3" crack between stone foundation and wood addition? Posted: 03 Oct 2020 08:48 AM PDT There is a 2-4" wide vertical gap between the old stone foundation of our house and an adjacent wood balloon framed addition. We want this hole sealed for insulation as well as to keep out rodents and water (particular runoff down the alley). Appearances don't matter since this faces an alley. Recommendations on sealing this would be greatly appreciated! Photos: https://imgur.com/a/IkIuZeZ Our leading idea is to spray some Great Stuff foam inside some of the more interior cracks to seal off air flow, then put up a layer of hardware cloth to keep out rodents followed by either a layer of patch cement or maybe more Great Stuff followed by a spray sealant. Thank you for your help! Edit: The gap between the more exterior horizontal slats of the house and the stone foundation is ~2", but the gap between the deeper stud and the foundation is 3~ on average. I added a couple photos zoomed in on the top of the crack to show the stud better. [link] [comments] |
| Skunk burrowing in my yard!! Should I even care? Posted: 03 Oct 2020 07:40 AM PDT I had a tree stump removed along the road in front of my house, and of course the grass doesn't want to grow in that spot, at least until the wood completely breaks down.. It's in this area that a good sized hole developed. I was pretty sure it was from a skunk, but I set up a motion camera to be certain. I filled in the entrance to the hole and sure enough, after a couple of nights I saw a skunk out of the hole digging at the entrance. Apparently it has another burrow somewhere else an only uses this burrow some times. I looked up how to get rid of skunks, but while I researched I began to wonder if I should even bother. Outside of the one hole it's dug in a bare spot in my yard, will it go on to do more damage? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Oct 2020 08:25 PM PDT How does a joist's strength compare to the strength of a stud in the wall compared to the strength of a beam? What are the typical dimensions of these and what type of wood is generally used? [link] [comments] |
| Shower tile grout is starting to show pin sized holes, what to do? Posted: 03 Oct 2020 07:41 AM PDT Image: https://imgur.com/a/RWGDHaU Our shower tile grout has started to have a bunch of pin sized holes appear. Grout is about two years old. I was going to do a heavy clean and seal this week (first seal since original install) but now that I'm seeing these holes I'm wondering if I should bother to fill these in first? [link] [comments] |
| Sticky paint on interior trim, doors etc. Posted: 03 Oct 2020 09:17 PM PDT We recently purchased a house, and the previous owner clearly had the inside painted by the lowest bidder. It's not a good paint job. I don't mind so much, but one thing that is really annoying is that the paint is sticky in many places. The doors, fireplace mantel, kitchen cabinets etc are all slightly tacky when touched, and some of the paint is even coming off where it contacts another surface (doors). I had read this can happen if multiple layers are applied without letting underlying ones dry, but this painting must have happened months ago now, so I guess it's not going to improve. What causes this? What can I do to fix it?? [link] [comments] |
| Please help.. before I destroy this out of rage Posted: 03 Oct 2020 06:35 PM PDT I've been trying to get this nut off for three hours now. Three. Whoever designed the nut to be like this, I hope they burn in hell. You can see from the pic how I'm starting to strip it. It's stuck on so good that the metal pipe just spins when I try to turn it. I use channel lock pliers to hold the pipe in place. Because of the size of this nut, I just can't get a good grip on it. But even when I do, the pipe turns despite all efforts. Please help.. my sanity depends on it. [link] [comments] |
| Is this a lost cause? (indoor painting question) Posted: 03 Oct 2020 09:25 PM PDT So I have a situation here...I visited my parent's house and my mother tore all of the wallpaper off the bathroom walls in an attempt to do a DIY paint job. The issue is that the wallpaper was very hard to remove and she went to town gouging out the walls with a putty knife trying to remove it. Then she tried to fill in all the holes with wall filler. It looks like an absolute fucking mess (not all the gouges are filled and the ones that are it seems like she didn't care to scrape off the excess filler). It's been like this for months apparently and she refuses to hire someone to fix it (she doesn't like strangers in her house) and is ignoring the problem. So my question is: is this even a project that I can take on myself (no experience whatsoever)? I assume that I would need a circular electric sander? I almost just want to re-wallpaper it but i think you will be able to see all the lumps anyway. The good news is that it's a relatively small bathroom. The bad news is that almost every single inch is covered with gouges and putty like in these pictures here. What is the best plan of action? Thanks for your help! [link] [comments] |
| Luxury vinyl plank over tile transition to carpet Posted: 03 Oct 2020 09:18 PM PDT I'm looking at replacing about 73 sq ft of very good condition tile with LVP. Since the tile is in such good shape (and it's a bathroom which sees relatively little wear compared to living spaces) I'm planning on going directly over the tile. The only issue that remains with this plan is the transition at the doorway to a carpeted hallway. The tile is capped with a 1/4 inch metal piece and the carpet butts up against this cap directly. The carpet was installed after the tile, and I was not here for the install, but it is very firmly held in place. I have no desire to have to re-stretch or reattach carpet. With the LVP in place the carpet and the LVP are basically at the same height. How would one go about doing the transition? Without lifting the carpet I have no access to subfloor to attach a u-track for any transition strips. I could possibly glue the transition to the metal cap on the tile "subfloor", but that's almost certainly going to stick to the carpet and the LVP itself and I think that would make for a messy time in the future replacing either flooring. Any suggestions? [link] [comments] |
| Trouble detaching p-trap from bathroom sink Posted: 03 Oct 2020 09:16 PM PDT Totally newbie to any kind of home repair here, so forgive the basic question! My bathroom sink is clogged, and I want to try removing the p-trap and the area underneath. Even went out and bought a new wrench because the ones I had are too small. But now I'm trying it out, and I can't get the nut to budge! I'm afraid to put more force into it because I'm shifting the whole piping system, and I don't want the area where it goes back into the wall to break. Is there something about this setup that means I can't just unscrew the nuts? Or am I just being a weenie and I need to put more muscle into it? [link] [comments] |
| Rubber resurfacing for concrete Posted: 03 Oct 2020 05:19 PM PDT I moved into a house about 7 years ago. The former owner had a cement pad poured without any ex's panini gaps of cuts. It has split down the middle. I ground it out and filled it with Sikaflex, but it's a bit of an eyesore. I don't have enough height to do something like a paver on top. Has anyone had experiencing with the rubber resurfacing products? I was looking at a product from rubber depot, but it would cost about $1,600. Anyone have any experience with Rubber Deport or similar products? [link] [comments] |
| Looking for advice. Keeping pet hair out while finishing floors Posted: 03 Oct 2020 08:33 AM PDT Just curious how others are handling this. In the process of refinishing my first floor. Did a small spare bedroom, expecting this to be a learning experience. Sanding went really well. I vacuumed multiple times, wet wiped and clean wiped to get all dust off floor. Thought it was clean. Started to do the first coat of poly, and noticed a few hairs. Not a lot, but really don't know how to 100% keep them off the floor while finishing. I even put on new clothes, so no pet hair there (or thought so). But I think some might tracked in from the hallway carpet right out side the bedroom entrance, on the bottom of the socks I wore? After this room, I have 3 more to go, so if there are additional precautions I can take, want to learn about them before I start those other rooms. Thanks for any advice. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Oct 2020 08:26 PM PDT Nothing major. I gave the main room and a little corridor its second coat of paint today. Lost an hour due to daylight saving kicking in (Sydney) and its pretty hot. Nowhere to put furniture so I rotated it all around as I went. Finished just after lunch. Cleaned everything up. Had a shower. Put the furniture back. Cracked a beer. Then I realised I had skipped past a whole panel. Screw it I'm going to the pub! [link] [comments] |
| Ok to put a bookshelf in this space with vents? Posted: 03 Oct 2020 10:36 AM PDT I want to put a bookshelf in the space shown in the link below. The bookshelf would cover some of the vents. The vents don't blow air. As you can see from the linked photos. The other side of the vents is a closet with a furnace. However, I don't know the purpose of the vents or whether it would create a hazard to cover them. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Oct 2020 06:02 PM PDT Hello - I am in desperate need of help! We moved into a new house in June and I noticed no funny smells (I have a very sensitive nose) in this second floor bedroom (which we are using as an office). In mid-July - after my husband painted the room and after a vent cleaner came, a strong body odor like smell started coming from the room. We figured it would go away but it has only gotten stronger! We have deep cleaned the room, emptied the closet (it doesn't smell in the closet), bleached the walls, put vinegar and hydrogen peroxide on the walls, used an air purifier and fan, sprayed lysol and sprinkled baking soda down the vent. We have an odor eliminator in the room but it doesn't help. I can't quite identify the exact source of the smell but it's not the two bookshelves or the desk in the room (all of which we had in our old house and which never smelled). It seems like the walls? I have gone into the attic and smelled all around the area right over the room and I notice nothing. Could it be a bad batch of paint that somehow smells like body odor? What smells like body odor/smelly socks?!? I haven't found anything about a body odor type smell, especially one that is definitely not from body odor. Please share any and all ideas! I am willing to try anything. [link] [comments] |
| What is this electrical switch called? Posted: 03 Oct 2020 11:16 AM PDT (USA) It goes to a motorized retractable awning. The top switch resets to neutral after being released from being pressed left or right, opening and closing the awning. The bottom switch is just a standard on off light switch. Any idea what this type is called if where i could get a replacement? thank you EDIT: if i forgo the bottom switch( which is currently just going to an exterior socket which i could just wire to be always on) then i think i could use this based on replies [this switch](Leviton 56081-2W, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003AU6I5S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fab_bGmEFb1SBSCBR) [link] [comments] |
| Should I look for new contractor? Posted: 03 Oct 2020 07:58 PM PDT I got an email quote for my kitchen at $6000. I told him everything that I wanted. Once he came out the price changed to $8500. Meanwhile he kept saying when we went over everything during the visit "that was factored in the quote". Nothing changed except he added in the cost to get the materials and paint and some fixture changes. I called him and asked to please send me a breakdown of the labor cost. He said that he would need me to pay 15% of the price for him to do that. What? $1300 for you to explain what you're charging me? Am I missing something here, or am I just not stupid? [link] [comments] |
| Requesting Advice; Renovation company installed wrong roof Posted: 03 Oct 2020 01:03 PM PDT Hi everyone, I wanted to make this post as this situation has caused me great stress and I was hoping to get insight from others who may have either had experience with something similar or can inform me if I am being unreasonable. We have contracted a local home renovation company to replace our roof, siding/trimming, and gutters (with guards). In short: we decided on a black roof and blue siding but when our roof was installed over 2 months ago... it was blue. We did not want to have blue on blue from the beginning and made this clear, but my husband talked with the president of the company who asked what they could do to have us keep the roof, in which we responded that a discount would need to be applied. I have been asking for a new invoice and updated information on this matter and yesterday they have informed me that they will give us a $1,100 discount. I responded to them saying that 1k discount for them installing the roof is unacceptable and have asked for either a larger discount or for them to replace the roof at no cost. Am I being unreasonable? We have a 2 story home at 1720 sq ft, and were provided an estimate of $41k for the roof, siding/trimming, and gutters with helmets. Payment does not occur until after all of the jobs are complete. $41k is the cost after the discount, this is a lot of money so $1k discount for something that is not our fault feels insulting but I am trying not to be ridiculous and let my frustration overtake me or come off as rude. Will provide deep dive details with current timeline in comments in such case that anyone is interested. TLDR: Home renovation people installed a blue roof after we have in writing that we wanted a black roof. Our siding will be blue, and our concern has always been blue on blue. In lieu of them fixing it, we have accepted their offer of a discount, but have discovered, 2 months later, that this discount is only $1100. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Oct 2020 07:49 PM PDT In one of the rooms in my home, I have an old ceiling fan (early 90s/late 80s) and there is no light. The room would benefit from an overhead light and the fan in place is super ugly. I have never done any electrical work in my life. But I was wondering if I already have the mechanism to connect a ceiling fan to this spot, could I buy a replacement fan that also has an overhead light and hang it in this location? Or, is there a different kind of wire or something that would be needed to add and run? I feel like this is probably a really dumb question, but I would love to replace the fan. I probably can't replace the fan now if I have to do wire work now. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Oct 2020 09:38 AM PDT Okay so I realize this is a super easy question but I'm a total novice at all-things home improvement. I need to replace the cover on the HVAC line (I presume with coolant?) that goes into our house. I bought something that is basically a pool noodle but is that the best material? I live in Central TX with really hot summers and cold-ish winters. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 03 Oct 2020 05:05 PM PDT We replaced the flooring in our kitchen in January. Went from sheet laminate that was poorly glued down to vinyl plank. We bought the cheapest stuff available at Lowe's because we are first time home buyers/DIYers and we don't plan on being in this home very long term. Well within a very short time frame we realized our mistake. Installation went ok for the first time, some gaps and flaws were noted but nothing major. The edges began cracking and we dropped a few things that left scratches but a few weeks ago my dogs knocked over an end table that left a huge crack all the way across a plank. Not wanting to rip up the flooring and re do it, we found a cheater way. That was to cut off the lip on the new piece and put it in with some silicone adhesive. Now it looks almost worse than the giant crack. As we were putting in the replacement planks, pieces of the existing planks began chipping off and leaving us with many small holes. We are obviously unhappy and frustrated and this has turned in to a giant "I told you so" for my husband who wanted to pay to have it installed originally. Now I'm thinking the only solution is to rip it out and do new flooring completely, or simply ignore it until we move. I just wish there was an easier less technical way to replace these. Or we should not have gone cheap not sure which one would have made the most difference. Anyways, thanks for listening to my rant. [link] [comments] |
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