- I made custom walnut stairs and risers for my basement stairway. The lumber came from trees we cut down to build my mom's new house. This was my first major project and I am incredibly proud of it.
- "Junction boxes are for the weak" -the previous owner of my house, most likely
- Need help identifying wiring to put in wifi light switches
- Painting a high ceiling over stairs advice? Not sure how to go about this but need any help I can get.
- Temporary Wall
- Best compound for filling in small holes in drywall/sheetrock and painting over
- Repair or replace vintage baseboard trim?
- What are some good methods to blend uneven layers of paint?
- Water damage on patio door sill
- Adding water line to fridge
- Anyone have experience cutting plaster walls?
- Soapstone countertops
- Finishing a basement
- Need help with vinyl to tile transition strip
- Using existing ceiling fan light wiring to wire new lights
- Putting vinyl floor on top of old linoleum and found a bubble, what should I do?
- Tenant complains about noisy ceiling. Possible solution?
- Added a gazebo to my pool area. Cut all of the timber myself.
- Washing machine safety valve
- Tile to vinyl plank height difference for a transition
- Is it the oven or is it me?
- Door jamb extensions
- Got the scare of my life!
- Need suggestions on fixing oven to countertop gap
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 06:11 AM PST A few years ago, my mother started building a house. She had to clear multiple trees, which she always hates to do because she loves trees. She decided that the trees that were cut down, she would have rough sawn and kiln dried. She used that lumber to make the cabinets and some decorative pieces for her new home, but there was a ton of lumber left over. Last year I renovated my basement and took up all of the carpet. This included the carpet on the basement stairs. I had made the decision to make the treads and risers custom out of the lumber from her lot. Since this wasn't really purchased the conventional way, and we had 7 or 8 trees done at once, I really don't have a specific price to share. I dont want to take a guess at it because I don't want to lead anyone astray Very early in the project I learned that this was bot a "cookie cutter" operation. Each stair tread and riser would have to be custom cut for the individual step it would be installed. Since the drywall is not true and square, it created about a +/- 1/8" variation corner to corner of any given piece. I found the widest wall to wall gap i could find on the stairs and then cut the tread boards 1" more than that to give me some excess to shape the boards to the correct dimension I set the stop block on the miter saw to this dimension and had a day of just cutting and grain matching. Once I found boards that went well together I numbered them as a set to prepare for glue up. For glue up, I biscuit joined every joint to help keep the surface true and reduce the amount of surface rework that would be required (the treads were much wider than my jointer capacity) I cut a 5 degree chamfer to help keep the joint tight where the tread meets the riser Once everything was cut to size I put 2 coats of sealer on. I sealed the end grain on both sides that would be contacting drywall to avoid the lumber from wicking moisture from the wall I installed all of the risers first. The treads would be cut to their final depth based on the riser above and below it. I had to shim out the construction risers so that the furnace would be true and the joint would close up nicely Once risers were installed, I installed each tread step by step. Back and forth between measuring and cutting until I had a perfect fit. Repeat X 13 I hope this was a clear enough overview! This imgur album has some pictures that may help explain as well. Please don't hesitate to ask questions or offer feedback! I hope you enjoyed my project! [link] [comments] |
| "Junction boxes are for the weak" -the previous owner of my house, most likely Posted: 09 Jan 2021 03:03 PM PST Every time I try to do a simple electrical repair/upgrade, I find a new naked splice in the wall, or the most terrible hack solution for mounting a receptacle in the wall. Every possible solution except for the correct one of a junction box. Dear God, why?! [link] [comments] |
| Need help identifying wiring to put in wifi light switches Posted: 09 Jan 2021 08:32 PM PST I recently bought a townhouse that was built in 2000. There seems to be some strange stuff done in it. The living room was pre-wired/jboxed for a ceiling light but there wasn't one. I opened it up, and found a purple, blue, and black wire in there. The purple wire had 120V on it. There was no ground, so I connected the ground from the fan to the box. That all works OK. Tonight I opened up a light switch to put a wifi light switch on it. The wifi switch has a Load, Line, Neutral, and Ground required. In the wall, I found 4 wires... a blue, orange, brown, and purple. The Blue has 120V on it. I'm not sure how to identify the other wires to what they should be. In the case of the 2nd light switch in that box, it controls an outlet, I can infer that the purple goes to the outlet (assuming Load). But the switch I want to automate on the left.. It has a Blue, Brown, and Orange connected to it. And the weird thing is, they stripped the blue and brown in the middle, looped them through the screw, then connected them to something else. I've never seen anything like that done. Does my house not have a neutral wire? How can I identify this wiring and figure out the wifi light switch...and potentially future issues too? It really concerns me that downstairs the Purple was Hot, and upstairs on this switch, the Blue is hot.. How did my house ever pass a Building inspection? Pictures of wiring: https://imgur.com/a/k7nkLuS Edit: Added a photo of the breaker panel from the home inspection. It's a bit dark. Breaker #9 (5th down from the top left). Blue wire coming out. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 09:03 PM PST We have a high ceiling over our stairs that we are going to repaint with ceiling paint and then down the sides of the stairs will be an off white we are painting all over the house. Do you suggest any products or things to get for us to do it tomorrow? It's going to be me my dad and my significant other and I'm worried one of them will fall. We bought a ladder called little giant m22 with wheels and it's 22 feet. It's a multi position ladder. Is this enough and is this safe? I wouldn't want anything to happen like a fall or something. Edit. We cannot currently pay a professional to do it as we payed a lot for carpet and paint and other renovations for the home already. Thanks so much for any assistance. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 08:26 PM PST Is it possible to build a wall that could be removed when I want to sell the house? There is beautiful tile that I don't want to replace if I remove the wall. So my question really is can you secure the wall without destroying the tile? [link] [comments] |
| Best compound for filling in small holes in drywall/sheetrock and painting over Posted: 09 Jan 2021 07:27 PM PST I currently have been using Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty but i'm less than fully satisfied. EDIT: Thanks for all the suggestions!! [link] [comments] |
| Repair or replace vintage baseboard trim? Posted: 09 Jan 2021 06:53 PM PST My wife and I just bought a beautiful but poorly-maintained condo in a near suburb of Chicago and have about 7 weeks before we have to be out of our apartment. While we love the vintage character and look, we are looking to update a few aspects (primarily because my wife hates the feeling of things that are crumbly and "can never get clean"). Unfortunately, our baseboards and crown molding fit into that category. We already know we are going to refinish and re-stain the original hardwood floors and got good quotes and info from contractors today. Then the painting contractors came in and shocked us, quoting $10,000 for labor and materials to repaint the unit (about 900 sqft, 6 rooms + hallway, walls + trim). Partially this is because the trim is in such bad shape- pictures here. Those cracks run along the molding on every wall in every room. We are thinking we want to just replace it all, but both painters were really against it - saying it would be more expensive and that there "isn't anything wrong" with the baseboards. However, they've been painted over so many times, and badly - the paint is thick, splotchy, and totally uneven. We have a couple more people coming tomorrow and we are thinking about pivoting our ask- saying that we will demo all the baseboards and trim, and have them just paint the walls and install pre-painted white trim. My FIL works at a local hardware store and can get us molding and trim at cost. My questions are:
Thanks so much in advance for your help! [link] [comments] |
| What are some good methods to blend uneven layers of paint? Posted: 09 Jan 2021 04:59 PM PST I've been butting my head against a wall trying to figure out how to blend this before the next coat of latex based paint. Any ideas? [link] [comments] |
| Water damage on patio door sill Posted: 09 Jan 2021 06:30 PM PST Hi all. Bit of a mystery in our new apartment that I'm hoping ya'll can help solve. We live in a wet climate (Vancouver, Canada), and we've had a particularly rainy and humid winter so far. Cleaning up our patio today, I noticed water pooling on the wood sill and some saturation in the wood, and I'm worried about it rotting eventually. The seals around the door seem fine, so I can't think of where the water is coming from. The door is also on the inside corner of the large patio so I can't imagine rain directly hitting anywhere around the door. Maybe it's moisture from the humid air accumulating around the door and pooling at the bottom? Here are a couple photos of it: https://imgur.com/a/fbjJ3LY Any thoughts on what is causing this and what I could do about it? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 06:11 PM PST I want to add a water line to my fridge. I see two options for doing this, the first is to run a line through cabinets and behind stove from the sink (following red line). My worry with this is having a line get damaged by things in the cabinet or the heat of the stove. The second option is that underneath my kitchen is an unfinished part of the basement (red circle) with laundry and hot water heater. I could potentially find a water line and come up from the floor. My worry for this is finding the exact spot to drill through the floor and connecting it to a water line. What is the best and easiest way to do this? [link] [comments] |
| Anyone have experience cutting plaster walls? Posted: 09 Jan 2021 08:22 PM PST I'm in mid-thought of rewiring one-half of my house. I say one-half because for some unknown reason the HO (take that as you will) before me decided to only rewire half the damn house (kind of). I say kind of because they tied new wiring into the old knob and tube wiring. I'm well aware of what an undertaking rewiring a house is. But, I will not be making the connections to the panel. I figured I'd save 5 house payments and run the wire, mount boxes, and get it all inspected myself. Anyways, we have plaster walls. And it's in pretty good shape for being 100 years old. I'd prefer to drywall, but I've removed plaster before and I don't really want to do it again. I'm planning of just cutting channels in the plaster and then patching the channels after everything is good. I've seen people use knives, circular saws, and reciprocating saws. But, I don't want the plaster to separate from lath. Is there a blade or a way to keep this from happening? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 02:22 PM PST Anyone have soapstone counter tops? We want them but I don't want an all black look. We have laminate matte black now and it seems silly to spend thousands on essentially the same look. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 08:08 PM PST Hello. I am finishing my basement and looking for a bit of guidance. I just finished taping and mudding. I still need to do the following: Tile bathroom Install toilet Install vanity Prime and paint Subfloor Laminate Find something to do with the pine stairs Install doors Trim What should my next steps be? Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Need help with vinyl to tile transition strip Posted: 09 Jan 2021 07:20 PM PST New to the sub. I have a property in Joshua Tree, CA and have been struggling with finding the right transition strip going from vinyl flooring in the master bedroom to tile in the master bath. A prior contractor who laid down both flooring didn't get around to it and now my current contractor is stating that it would need something custom due to the height differential. Unfortunately the current con"tractor has went MIA so trying to figure this out on my own now. The dimensions of the gap are as follows: Width 1 5/8" Length 32" Height difference 1/2 Vinyl to tile transition strip needed https://imgur.com/a/4rHKRMc [link] [comments] |
| Using existing ceiling fan light wiring to wire new lights Posted: 09 Jan 2021 06:52 PM PST I currently have a Hampton bay ceiling fan with a light fixture in my living room. The fan and lights are wired to 2 different switches. I want to put an end cap on the fan and remove the light fixture but keep the fan. If I do that, does the fan still need the lighting wiring to function properly, or can I use that wiring (since it is already wired to a switch)to add slim led recessed lighting? [link] [comments] |
| Putting vinyl floor on top of old linoleum and found a bubble, what should I do? Posted: 09 Jan 2021 11:51 AM PST Hi everyone, I recently bought an RV and finally get to join the home improvement world! I am planning to put peel and stick vinyl flooring over existing laminate in my RV so I don't have to take out the furniture (it goes underneath the furniture). I saw a youtube video and, while not the best method, it seems like the easiest thing that will work for my RV. However, I discovered yesterday there is this bubble in the existing laminate and I don't want this flaw to carry over to my new floor. Photo Does anyone have any advice? Since the bubble is at the edge, I'm wondering if I could peel up the carpet and then glue down the bubble but that only works if it simply came unglued rather than being poorly laid in the first place. Or maybe it's a non-issue, I don't know. Thank you! [link] [comments] |
| Tenant complains about noisy ceiling. Possible solution? Posted: 09 Jan 2021 06:31 PM PST Downstairs tenant is complaining about noises from neighbours above. Older hardwood floors are not the best at stopping sound and thumping from movement above. People above out down a heavy rug, but it's still somewhat loud. Would it be advisable to get rubber mats and put some wood on too to help dampen the noise? [link] [comments] |
| Added a gazebo to my pool area. Cut all of the timber myself. Posted: 09 Jan 2021 10:12 PM PST A couple of years ago, my brother and I went halves in a second-hand Lucas Mill. As he lives in Mt Morgan which is around 8 hours from where I live in Brisbane, I took some leave and spent a few days sawing up Ironbark felled on his 1490 acres for this project. My son, an electrician, added the led lights and power sockets. Roofing iron is recycled Has been a great place to " work from home". Pretty happy with how it turned out [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 10:07 PM PST I recall reading a home improvement post once upon a time (one of those best bang for your buck home improvement posts). One of the recos was to purchase a safety valve of sorts for your washing machine - one that you flicked or switched every time you did a load, and when the load was done would switch off. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Tile to vinyl plank height difference for a transition Posted: 09 Jan 2021 09:51 PM PST The base tile in front of my fireplace is 1" off the subfloor. I am laying vinyl plank now to it. But the vinyl is only 6mm thick. What are some ways I can make this a clean transition? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 09:47 PM PST Our house came with an Amana brand range. Pretty sure it's this one. And anyway this thing is god awful. I have never hated an appliance before this one. It takes forever to bake anything. My cook times are always longer than the recipe calls for. I started a 1.5-ish lbs roast at 3ish this afternoon. The recipe was for a 6.5-8 lbs roast and had a cook time of 4-8 hours. It's almost 10 here and my little roast is still no where near done! We have this issue with everything we bake. Bread, cookies, lasagna... everything always takes longer. And the stove top sucks too. My husband uses a big stock pot to boil bottles for the kombucha he makes. We can't get the stock pot to boil. I have to use a butane burner. We can't even get liquids in regular sized pots to come to a boil in a decent amount of time. I'm wondering if this is something that can be repaired or if it's just the range. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 06:01 PM PST Is it detrimental to use a door jamb extension? Found a cheaper version of a door with 4 9/16 jamb but don't want to use it if it means the door won't hold up over time, or will be susceptible to water damage, etc. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2021 05:57 PM PST For the past few days I have been smelling a smell in our 2nd floor bedroom each time that the furnace turns on. The air feels heavy and I might even have a headache. Our furnace is 19 years old so it is probably at the end of it's life. My neighbor has the same furnace and same age as both houses were built at the same time. He just replaced his furnace because the heat exchanger had a crack on it. The smell that I smell smells like exhaust fumes, like when you are behind a car and their exhaust is sucked in by your heater fan. The filter was replaced a few days ago and the unit is maintained regularly. I have been so worried that carbon monoxide is getting into the air but everything that I read online says that you can't smell carbon monoxide. We have a CO detector in the basement where the furnace is and one in each floor. The one on the second floor has a digital readout and it is two years old. It reads 0%. None of the CO2 detectors have activated. Well, as you can imagine, I am so worried about CO and this smell that my wife and I went and bought a new CO detector with a digital readout for the room where the smell is just to be sure. Well, this thing plugs into the electrical outlet and has a battery backup as well as a digital readout. I take it out of the box, and while I am doing this, my hands are shaking because I am very nervous about what it is going to find. I plug it into the electrical outlet and I see it go through it's boot process and all the lights test out as soon as I plug it in, then goes to 0%. Good so far. Well, about a minute after I plug it in, this thing starts beeping every few seconds and it shows 97 on the digital readout. Oh no, I was right!!! There is CO2 in the house! My heart starts pounding, my blood pressure shoots up, I start sweating and my hands are shaking uncontrollably. I start to have a panic attack. What are we going to do? Spend the night in a hotel and call someone tomorrow? Call 911? I can't shut off the furnace as it is freezing outside and the pipes will freeze. I pull the unit out of the wall so it stops beeping. I notice the battery that came with it with the instructions and other stuff in the box. so I look at the instructions and this is what it says... "when the battery is low, the unit will beep once every 15 seconds and display Lb." What!!! So what I saw was the display showing Lb (97) but backwards! Oh man, almost had a heart attack! I have since installed the battery and plugged it into the wall. The reading now shows 0% and I think my blood pressure is coming back to normal. After talking to my wife, she thinks that the smell is coming from the paint that we used to paint two rooms a day or two ago. She noticed that it smelled when we painted the rooms. I sure hope that is what it is. I am still going to call someone during the week to come and inspect the furnace just to be sure. [link] [comments] |
| Need suggestions on fixing oven to countertop gap Posted: 09 Jan 2021 03:44 PM PST My wife and I bought our first house this September. Unfortunately the real estate agent made a contract mistake and we ended up having to buy a new oven and fridge right away even though appliances were supposed to be included. We measured out the space in the countertop and were able to pull an old gas line and upgrade to a natural gas stove. The stove we replaced was an electric range that had a lip that sat on top of the counter. Our stove fits dimension wise but now we realized the countertop was not cut square and have an uneven gap between the stove edge and counter edge. Looking for suggestions please on some kind of gasket or way to fill the gap in a neat looking way. [link] [comments] |
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