Home Improvement: [OPEN DISCUSSION] Weekly thread |
- [OPEN DISCUSSION] Weekly thread
- "Let's get a new washer/dryer" turned into "Let's DIY to save money" and spent ~$9500...but it we love how it turned out!
- I Just got a $500 gas heating bill, Is This Normal in the North East?
- Bathroom reno with cost breakdown
- Don’t ever cross post but hoped this might be helpful here
- Fungus growing where the wall meets the ceiling above my fireplace — how worried should I be?
- Fake james hardie board?
- Having my detached garage insulated, do I need vents between the roof and insulation?
- Sewer line replacement options
- Can you identify this sound?
- Wood Wrapped Basement Posts Project
- I don’t know where else to ask, I’m trying to work on my garage and connect my garage to my car, but I don’t have the garage door openers to sync with my car. Can anyone help?
- Need advice on furnace limit switch
- Appliances not working after Reno
- How to add trim to basement fixtures?
- How to insulate attic/bedroom area with gabled roof and dormers?
- Mouse scratching under stair? Same spot every night?
- Shower sputters when bathroom sink turned on.
- Searching for slats w/ tension rods used as a room divider
- Remediate mold before closing it in.
- Cost to fix hole in wall?
- Really frustrated with my inability to correctly measure around doors/closets for laying down vinyl plank
- Drilling in metal studs
- Water damage caused me to remove drywall and now I am trying to repair it. Can I clean then sand the window sill and skim coat over that area? Any other advice or tips would be great too. I already used Kilz primer on the water damaged area after letting it dry first.
- Removing kitchen cabinets and then re-installing them
- I want nicer counters. Any advice?
| [OPEN DISCUSSION] Weekly thread Posted: 10 Jan 2021 06:52 PM PST Welcome to the (roughly weekly) Open Discussion thread.
We do this for a few reasons. We know some folks are hesitant to create a new post for a small question they may have. Well, this is the place to ask, and discuss. At the same time, with a growing community we find ourselves having to limit the posts that may be off-topic to the primary purpose of the sub (home improvement questions and project-sharing posts). These topics include home warranty companies, general painting advice, room layouts, or rants about companies, contractors, and previous owners. While these may be of interest, we are trying hard to provide a venue that will both allow, and constrain, the conversation. Thus, this thread. Thank you for participating.
Just a reminder to stay away from any personal or disrespectful commentary. From the sidebar:
If you haven't already, please review the sub guidelines.
Have fun and stay safe folks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:23 AM PST I'll preface this to say my wife and I are pretty handy and aren't afraid to change things in our house (we had the controversial $85k kitchen post in 2019). Anyway, we knew we wanted to replace our 15 year old washer and gas dryer -- we just weren't sure of the room design, so we replaced some things piece-meal until we were ready to fully dive in after Thanksgiving -- and start ourselves! We've never tiled before, nor used a brad nailer after cutting correct trim miter angles. Link to Imgur Gallery - first picture is finished: https://imgur.com/gallery/I4uSNf3 Breakdown of costs are below. Mostly everything was purchased from Lowes besides toilet (Kohler website) and the Washer/Dryer from a local appliance store. We hired out the plumbing labor from July to January, along with the Electrical contractor and W/D install. Two different tile companies quoted us $1500-1800 to install our tile WITHOUT Schluter Ditra -- so we splurged for the electrical upgrade needed for the room and did the tile ourselves (Schluter ditra/kerdi/thinset purchased from Floor n Decor). Fixtures / Appliances - $2667.35:
Contracted Out Labor + Materials - $4708.86: Carpentry ($425):
Plumbing ($1245.92):
Electrical ($2820):
We went for the sub panel since it was basically the same labor as running a single line from the basement, over the den in the ceiling, and down into the garage and into the laundry room. Washer Dryer Delivery/Removal/Install: $138.00 Materials - $1351.14 (only going to list the major price items):
Tools - $700.08:
Project Total: $9427.43 We've still got to get new vanity and cabinet knobs plus a mirror, so that's why I rounded up to $9500. We tried our best to do everything the right way, up to code, with the intention of not having to do any more work in this room for a very long time! Edit: Whoops added an "it" in the title :) [link] [comments] |
| I Just got a $500 gas heating bill, Is This Normal in the North East? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 07:47 PM PST I just moved into a 3 story 100 year old home. 1900 sq ft. Has forced air (gas heating). I'm mind blown with this heating bill. It shows we used about $200 of gas and $200 for delivery of the gas (insfrastructure). I'd appreciate the input from other folks living in my geographic area. I live in south jersey. [link] [comments] |
| Bathroom reno with cost breakdown Posted: 10 Jan 2021 10:03 AM PST My mom wanted a new bathroom and so I did my best. This took around ~130 hours and $6k Canadian. This was my first time doing the majority of the work involved so I made a lot of mistakes along the way. While grey isn't really my thing it's what she wanted and she really likes it. This took place over about 6 weeks as I could only work on weekends and the odd hour during the evening on weekdays. I learned so much from doing this and can't wait for the next one.I'm in Ontario, Canada. Cost Tools [link] [comments] |
| Don’t ever cross post but hoped this might be helpful here Posted: 10 Jan 2021 07:33 PM PST |
| Fungus growing where the wall meets the ceiling above my fireplace — how worried should I be? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:48 PM PST Hey everyone, it's my first time posting here but I love the sub and I appreciate the helpful and patient advice found here. We just moved into a house in the PNW in November. It was built in 1980 and seems in decent condition for its age. In the last day or so we've noticed what appears to be fungi growing in the living room above the fireplace where the wall meets the ceiling. We are pretty concerned by this and are worried it is indicative of wood rot. The chimney for the fireplace has some deterioration as well as staining from past moisture, which was noted in the house inspection report. We have also been getting a lot of rain lately. Additionally we have noticed the paint above the fireplace has bubbles. We haven't used the fireplace since we moved in. It doesn't feel moist to touch. I'm not sure if it is related. Here are three pics (hopefully I've done this right, it's my first time using imgur) https://imgur.com/gallery/5OfFiop Has anyone experienced anything like this? Do you think it is dry rot? Should we work with a chimney specialist, or roofer, or someone else? Thanks in advance! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:44 PM PST I recently had our siding completed. We selected the james hardie board. I noticed on most structures with this material, the siding is sealed under each board or at least the board is thick enough that it does not pull away from the house when I stick fingers under the board. On our home when the boards were delivered they were kinda floppy but it didn't really surprise me because they were long boards. Once applying them to the house I noticed the gaps under each board. I was even able to stick my fingers under a board and pull/ bend it away from the house. This concerned me because even the samples of hardie I had seen were thick board. I don't think I should be able to reach under a board and pull away from the house. Tomorrow I am going to measure the thickness of the boards on the house. I'm starting to think the company I used, potentially installed a fake product. Thoughts? Dos hardie board bend easily like that? [link] [comments] |
| Having my detached garage insulated, do I need vents between the roof and insulation? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 06:15 PM PST I looked into insulating my garage myself and decided I didn't want to deal with doing it solo. Had a local construction company come out and they said they could do it. When I had been researching it sounded like I needed some vent/air gaps between the roof and insulation. But the contractor said no just put the insulation right up against the roof. The garage is detached from the house, 2 car single story. And there are vents in the eves on both the front and back of the garage. So maybe thats all I need? Just want to make sure that I dont need vents/air gaps for the roof insulation before having him put it up? [link] [comments] |
| Sewer line replacement options Posted: 10 Jan 2021 04:54 PM PST Hi Everyone! Partner and I recently purchased a house in Colorado and found out via sewer scope that there is some roots growing into the line. Nothing that is immediately urgent, but something we'd like to get fixed while we are starting fresh there. From the house the sewer line is cast iron for about 10', then clay for the remaining 70' out to the city main. The junction between clay and cast iron seems to be the location of the largest problem. The plumber that we contacted gave us three estimate options: 1) Full trench the yard replace entire existing line from house to street. ~10k 2) Install cleanout at the cast->clay junction, install liner from cleanout to street. ~7k 3) Install cleanout at the cast->clay junction. ~3k So my question are these: 1) Do these estimates seem to be in the ballpark of what one would expect for these jobs 2) Is the jump from the partial liner to full line worth it by longevity/reliability etc Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:33 PM PST Very loud vibrating sound coming from 7yr old home. Pex plumbing. No water running at the time though... Happened at approximately 12am last night, everyone sleeping. Lasted around 5 minutes. Link to sound in comments. [link] [comments] |
| Wood Wrapped Basement Posts Project Posted: 10 Jan 2021 11:57 AM PST I just completed my weekend project wrapping the posts in my basement. See below for project overview, images, materials, and cost information. Link to Imgur Pictures: Basement Posts Project Project Overview: My wife and I wanted to update the posts in out basement as the previous ones had these ugly plastic coverings on them that didn't match our newly painted walls. We wanted to go with a stained wood wrapped look to give them some character. I started by removing the plastic coverings corner moldings. I had to use a crow bar to remove these from the flanged brackets behind them. This exposed the screws. I kid you not there was probably 100+ screws holding these things on. I used my impact driver to remove all of them. Then, I removed the coverings that were just secured with adhesive. Once that was done it was just exposed drywall and the tile "baseboard". I then removed the tile at the bottom with a chisel and a crow bar. I then measured the height and width of each side to determine what size boards I needed to buy. I wanted to wrap these with hardwood, but with how expensive wood prices are right now I decided to go with Select Pine. If I went with Oak it would have more than doubled the cost of this project. So I went to Lowes and picked up (4) 1x12s and (4) 1x10s of Select Pine boards. I made sure these boards had no knots, dings, or scratches as well as made sure they were all straight. Now it was time to begin cutting them to size. I did all of these cuts with a 7 1/4" circular saw. I wanted to try and miter the long cuts, but decided that butt joints would be way easier and less chance for errors. I ripped all of the boards length-wise to the proper widths. Then, I cut them width-wise for the proper height. Using a circular saw for these cuts requires you to use a straight edge. For straight edges I used left over 1x4s with clamps for the rip cuts and a speed square for the width cuts. Once I finished cutting, I started attaching the boards using my pneumatic brad nailer with 1 1/2" brad nails. I also added (4) 2" finish nails in the corners on each board for some added rigidity. These would be covered up later by the trim pieces. With the left over pieces of wood, it was time to make some trim pieces. After measuring, the first layer of trim was cut to 5" widths. I wanted to "miter" these cuts for a more refined look. To do this with a circular saw, I set the angle of the saw to 45-deg and used my speed square to cut the miters. I then went down and attached these to the boards, again with brad nails. I measured again for the final trim pieces. I cut the widths of these pieces down to 1 1/4" and "mitered" those again with my circular saw. I attached those the same way as the other trim with brad nails. Now the construction part was complete. There were a couple spots on the trim where the miters weren't perfect, so I used some DAP wood filler to fill in the gaps. I then used the same wood filler to fill in the brad nail holes. Next, I sanded each post down with 150 grit and then 220 grit with my orbital sander. If you use this wood filler, make sure you sand thoroughly, as left over wood filler will not accept the stain the same as the wood and will creat unsightly spots. After sanding, I used a shop vac and wiped the posts down with a damp cloth to remove the wood dust. Now it was time to finish them up. To help the pine accept the stain better, I applied a Stain Conditioner by Minwax using a clean rag. This is a must if you are staining soft wood types. After drying for 20 minutes, I started to stain. I used a Minwax Dark Walnut oil based stain for this. I applied the stain going with the grain in long, even strokes using clean rags. I let the stain sit for 4-5 minutes before wiping the excess with a clean rag. I let the stain dry overnight. The next day I applied the first coat of Minwax Polyurethane Clear Satin. The poly protects the finish as well as gives the wood a nice sheen. This was applied using a 4in foam brush. I applied a thin, even coat going with the grain. I let this dry overnight. The next day I applied the 2nd and final coat of poly and let that dry for 4-5 hours. Now the project was complete! Next project on the list is to stain the cabinets and wood trim around the bar to match. Materials List and Costs: - Select Pine Boards (Lowes) - $215 - Minwax Dark Walnut Stain (Lowes) - $8 - Minwax Wood Conditioner (Lowes) - $13 - Minwax Clear Satin Polyurethane (Lowes) - $12 - Foam Brushes (Lowes) - $6 - Wiping Clothes (Lowes) - $5 - 2" Finish Nails (Lowes) - $3 - 1 1/2" 18gauge Brad Nails (HD) - $10 Sorry for the lengthy post. Thanks for looking! [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:30 PM PST Can anyone point me in the right direction? I bought a house and want to sync up my car to open the garage doors. YouTube videos keep telling me I use the existing garage door openers, but the previous owners didn't leave those. Is there a way I can sync up my car to my garage door (craftsman diehard, relatively new) to the garage door? Who in the world do I even ask this question to? Lol. [link] [comments] |
| Need advice on furnace limit switch Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:21 PM PST I have an American standard freedom 90 furnace that is giving me an error code for the limit switch. I've turned it off at the breaker box for 15 minutes based on advice from just answer. It didn't work. Am I crazy to replace the limit switch myself? I have medium DIY skills, for example, I replaced my garbage disposal. [link] [comments] |
| Appliances not working after Reno Posted: 10 Jan 2021 04:35 PM PST Our kitchen renovation is almost complete. Yea! Most of the appliances were put back on Friday, but the refrigerator and oven (gas, if that matters), are not working. Not yea. If an appliance is not working after a reno, does the repair land on the owner or the contractor? [link] [comments] |
| How to add trim to basement fixtures? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:16 PM PST So I'm finishing a room in my basement and am about at the point where I need to do finishing work. I get the basic idea and have watched some video, but I'm unsure how to deal with some of the odd placements I've created. The basement window meets the ceiling how would I trim the top to make everything look flush? I was thinking just a piece of wood the thickness or the trim painted the same color. Same issue with the door pictures where it matches the left wall. Thanks for the help.https://i.imgur.com/UiBl0Ge.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ERCv5R2.jpg [link] [comments] |
| How to insulate attic/bedroom area with gabled roof and dormers? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 06:38 PM PST Hi Reddit, A few weeks back, I asked for guidance on insulating my 1930s home. A user recommended that I address the lack of insulation in the attic/3rd-floor bedrooms before attempting to insulate my walls on the first and second floors. The 3rd-floor bedrooms have their own dormer and sit under a gabled roof. I've taken a number of photos of the attic/bedroom area for clarity. They can be found here: https://imgur.com/gallery/0XltQN1. That same user recommended that I use foam board to cover the pitch of the roof. I'll link a video of what he has recommended in the comments section. Before beginning this project, I had a few questions about the attic/dead space and the area behind the knee walls. For the attic, if I run foam board along the slanted portions of the roof in the bedroom, do I need to run foamboard to the very top of the attic? Or, would I be able to stop once I've reached the ceiling of the bedroom and then convert to batt insulation and lay that across the entire dead space area? Regarding the foamboard, I plan to glue blocks to the roof and rafters so that proper air ventilation will carry from the soffits to the vent found on the apex of the roof. For the area behind the knee wall, do I need to insulate every wall/cavity found behind it? For example, can I install fiberglass batts (with vapor barrier) in the floor joists cavities and call it a day, or would I need to run the foam board (on the slanted portion of the roof) down to the soffits as well? There would be a gap in insulation on the knee wall itself, therefore, if I installed foam board on that as well, would that solve the issue? Appreciate any guidance on how to best approach this. [link] [comments] |
| Mouse scratching under stair? Same spot every night? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 01:58 PM PST Hello, around 3 months ago We noticed scratching under the stairs. We have a 3 story, firewalled townhome. We heard the scratching one night then nothing for 3 months until the past two weeks in which we've heard scratching or gnawing under the second stair on the top floor almost every night. Never anywhere else, just there. Ive found no droppings inside the home, in the garage, nor have I found any signs of our food being touched and we have a toddler so despite my best efforts crumbs are abundant. Last week we called an exterminator that found and patched external holes in the home as well found a possible entry in the ac unit which was discovered to have a very loose seal to the house. Bait blocks and traps were set and so far uneffective. The roof was replaced in 2018 and the exterminator despite not examining the attic is confident thaunaffected. And breach is not from the attic. There is also no other reachable human access. We live in Minnesota so the mouse is unlikely to scurry out into the cold embrace of death outside. How would you reccomend getting rid of the mouse/mice since so far it has been undetectable from anywhere aside from the second to top stair on the top level of the home? [link] [comments] |
| Shower sputters when bathroom sink turned on. Posted: 10 Jan 2021 06:21 PM PST Have noticed sink water pressure (in the same bathroom) is low lately. Water pressure OK in the rest of the house. We didn't have any issues like this when we bought the house 1.5yr ago. Thoughts? [link] [comments] |
| Searching for slats w/ tension rods used as a room divider Posted: 10 Jan 2021 05:01 PM PST Where can I find a room divider like this one with the tension rods at the top and bottom. I saw online they are slats used as a room divider but I still haven't been able to find this or similar anywhere online. I just moved into a studio apartment in Austin, Tx. room divider [link] [comments] |
| Remediate mold before closing it in. Posted: 10 Jan 2021 07:56 AM PST So, in will preface this with the lumber has been part of a covered porch for almost a year. Over thanksgiving, I installed walls and windows with the intention of having a three season room. After allowing a few weeks to monitor for leaks or moisture (indicative of the confidence I have in my work) I decided to start insulation. Now, there is no water that has shown over this time. The space has not been completely done or conditioned. Meaning, it's pretty much as cold in the space as it is outside. To me, this is not the environment to encourage mold. But, here I am. The treated 6x6 posts have mold on the north side of them. I am hoping you all can give me an idea if my plan can work to resolve this. 1. I cleaned with vinegar 2. I'm going to get mold inhibitor to coat the lumber with 3. Remove insulation and treat 4. Close in the space 5. Run a heater to dry out the wood 6. Put up wall covering Tell me what I'm missing! I have reviewed previous posts, but I did not see one that addresses new construction and how to address. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 09:47 PM PST https://imgur.com/gallery/1LvEv7W How much would it cost to fix this hole? I have a few others I'm trying to fix myself but I'm scared to fix this one because it's so close to the outlet. Any suggestions? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 03:31 PM PST I was able to do my bedroom without much issue because it's a rectangle and not many weird angles. But now I'm trying to do my hallway and I can't seem to figure out measuring and translate it to cutting around the doors and closets in the hall. I'm really frustrated with myself and the fact that I've already wasted a couple of planks just trying to even get started. Does anyone have any helpful tips that aren't overly mathematical? Being able to draw the cuts on a paper pattern and then translate the pattern onto the board would be the most helpful I think, but I'm not even sure how to manage that. Thank you so much in advance [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:49 PM PST I am installing a TV mount in drywall with metal studs. I bought some 1/8" toggle bolts (the all metal kind, no plastic), and the packaging said to use a 3/8" bit. HD was out, so I got a slightly larger one 25/64" thinking that would be just fine. Wrong. It's not big enough. Come to find out the butterfly part is almost a 1/2" in diameter. So my question is, do I have to go shell out nearly $20 for another bit that I'll never use again? I tried to see if I could widen it but the bit doesn't seem to do anything since it's not the tip doing the work to take out the metal. Any ideas would be appreciated. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 10 Jan 2021 08:40 PM PST I am looking for advice on how to restore the window sill area. The other locations I can just patch and tape as necessary and then skim but the corners and the window sill are giving me anxiety. [link] [comments] |
| Removing kitchen cabinets and then re-installing them Posted: 10 Jan 2021 04:49 PM PST I had a leak that damaged the drywall behind my kitchen cabinets and backsplash. We need to remove that drywall so the cabinets, counter tops and backsplash will all come out. Is there any way to re-use the same cabinets and counter top once we are ready to build back up the kitchen? Or is that something that's not usually done? [link] [comments] |
| I want nicer counters. Any advice? Posted: 10 Jan 2021 04:48 PM PST Alright so my kitchen has 72 square feet of counters. It's a good sized kitchen. I bought the house and it had formica counters in a color I hated. So I decided to tile em myself for cheapish, after I had previously put contact paper so at least they weren't quite as ugly. The island used to be penis shaped, I cut the corners and attached wood. Here is an album of the kitchen, the first photos are current and the others are as I was doing projects. The tile is on top of the contact paper applied formica. https://imgur.com/gallery/ne0DyWF So, as happy as I have been the past year to have these counters, I want real solid counters WITHOUT grout that I have to clean monthly because no matter how much I seal it it still gets gross. I never hire contracters- I got majorly screwed by one, so now I just youtube everything and DIY, and hire someone off craigslist for 12 an hour when I need extra help. I do not think I can DIY giant slabs of marble/granite/quartz. Also, I'm finding conflicting info online about which material is best? Any reccomendations on what to do? I do not want to hire Lowes for this. How do I know if I'm getting overcharged? [link] [comments] |
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