Partly in honor of the fun little melly is going to have decorating her soon-to-be new home and partly because of my own frustration and minor success with a home improvement project I thought I would start this thread to share horror and success stories about home improvement projects.
My current project is a utility room facelift. This room is below grade and even though we were assured there were no water problems when we bought the house, every time it rains/snows we end up with riverlets of water on the floor. It is a concrete floor and does go to a drain, so we mainly have to keep anything off the floor but it is still a pain in the ass when doing laundry, which is the main reason we go into the room.
Anyway, after completely gutting this dungeon-like room last weekend, I began the process of attempting to stop the water. My first attempt was UGL Drylok latex masonry waterproofer that I had the store tint a lovely shade of yellow called "coconut scent". It smelled nothing like coconuts and gave me a headache. It also didn't stop the water when it rained last Sunday.
BUT, since the room was gutted and walls exposed I was able to pinpoint the source of the most significant leaks. The biggest being where pipes penetrated the wall. One was the main water supply line, the other an unknown pipe with a spigot on it. These were seeping water around the pipe/concrete joint so I bought some Drylok Fast Plug for attempt 2. This worked (I think) around the main water line and a few other suspect spots, corners, cracks, holes. The unknown pipe with spigot continued to seep after multiple attempts over the past several days.
Last night, after chipping away the previous attempts, I opened the unknown spigot... nothing. So I decided to remove the pipe to get a cleaner hole for the fast plug. I hacked sawed/sledge hammered the unknown pipe out of the wall. No large gush of water or explosions occured. There was a rather odd noise coming from the open pipe, no screams for help or anything, but kinda an amplfied ocean/sewer pipe sound. So, I quickly mixed up a fresh batch of fast plug, slapped on a coat, came back 30 minutes later for a second generous slug. This morning...DRY BASEMENT!!!!! So far the plumbing all still works, too.
Full Version: Home Improvement
| Bitter But Brilliant > WHAT'S THE BUZZ? > Random Thoughts |
A dry basement is a good thing. I live in a low-lying area that actually used to be a pond, but as long as the sump pump doesn't die, the basement stays dry.
I'm thinking about re-doing the basement/den too. It's finished, but very dated. For budget reasons, I'd like to do it in phases, rather than gut the whole thing. But I would like to start by turning the half bath into a full bath, and I've never tackled anything that complicated before. Not that I'd be doing the work myself, but I'd like to do the demo work to save $$. I guess my first step would be to get some people in to give me estimates, but I feel insecure about starting the project when I know so little about it. I'd like to use as much recycled material as I can: Habitat Restore stuff or countertops made of recycled materials, etc. Anyone have any tricks for saving money and sanity on a project like this?
I'm thinking about re-doing the basement/den too. It's finished, but very dated. For budget reasons, I'd like to do it in phases, rather than gut the whole thing. But I would like to start by turning the half bath into a full bath, and I've never tackled anything that complicated before. Not that I'd be doing the work myself, but I'd like to do the demo work to save $$. I guess my first step would be to get some people in to give me estimates, but I feel insecure about starting the project when I know so little about it. I'd like to use as much recycled material as I can: Habitat Restore stuff or countertops made of recycled materials, etc. Anyone have any tricks for saving money and sanity on a project like this?
xii, we have a great salvage store here that has all sorts of treasures from houses that have been demolished. You can find solid wood doors (that need stripping and refinishing), old hardware, sinks, tubs, cabinets, shutters, etc. It's completely random and you never know what they'll have, but it's possible to save a bundle if they have what you need.
So, my point is....check and see if there are any salvage stores in your area!
So, my point is....check and see if there are any salvage stores in your area!
| QUOTE |
| Anyone have any tricks for saving money and sanity on a project like this? Your sanity will most likely go out the door along with everything you've removed. I know this after having done just a minor remodel on the bathroom.
xii, my suggestion on the tub/shower installation is to hire a plumber yourself. You could hire a general contractor to do the whole thing, but the plumbing is by far the most difficult, risky part IMO. I've also found that a good plumber can do in an hour what takes me a weekend since they have the tools and know how. Also, many of them are so used to doing just the install work, that they have no desire to do the demo and will be happy to advise you on how/what to demo to make the space ready for them to work. The tricky part could be if you need to remove and build walls/electrical to expand the bath, then you might be stuck hiring a general contractor.
In that case, I'd get three bids and hire the highest bidder. The highest bidder, in my experience, is the most competent and accurate about the cost of the job, and in the long run, cheapest. Low bidders end up coming in WAY over budget, and often their work is inferior. As for recycled fixtures and materials, I second the salvage yard recommendation. My best find ever was when I lived in PA, somebody told us about an Amish junk dealer outside Lancaster. We had to stop several times for directions but once we got there it was fantastic. If Fred Sanford were Amish, this would have been his home. At first he didn't have what I wanted, but a few weeks later, he called me from the community store and I ended up with a dozen hardwood shutters for $4 a piece.
xii, re-doing a bathroom is the single most foolhardy thing I've ever done in my life. And I played with a lot of fire as a kid.
In attempting to replace a toilet, vanity, and shower enclosure myself, I spent a freaking ton of money, endured hours and hours of back-breaking work, and..of course...ended up calling in professionals to finish the damn thing. Never again. And as for the risk factor, as pinruT was talking about, I got a facefull of rancid water while draining a pipe that ended up putting me in the Intensive Care Unit for a couple of nights. I contracted a parasite that didn't manifest itself until a month later, when I threw up a half-gallon of blood and passed out in the living room. Let the pros do your bathroom work.
I expect I'll have to use a general contractor, since it'll need new walls. I'd love to be able to avoid a GC and have a handyman do the walls and floor, and a plumber do the plumbing installation. But there will also be electrical stuff, so there's probably no way around it.
I never considered vomiting blood and passing out to be a risk involved in a bathroom re-do. They don't ever mention that on HGTV.
We've already decided when we buy a house, we're taking a road trip to Canada to get one of those magical full-flush toilets.
We have magical toilets now?
Have you ever used a low flush toilet? Takes three times to...ahem. Well, you get the idea. Regular toilets are verboten in the USA now for new construction and remodels. If a plumber puts one in for you, he can lose his license. So, yeah. You have magical toilets. Send me one! Please! You can make it C.O.D.
Yeah, I gotta agree w/ Turnip on this one. As cheap as I am, the easiest remodel projects (which have been admittedly few) involved the highest bidder (who was almost always the most experienced, as well).
And for anything with bathrooms/plumbing, my only suggestion is to draw a picture of what you want or find it in a magazine and hand it to a contractor, write a check and wait patiently. It's just better that way.
In the spirit of counting my chickens before they are hatched...and no, we are not talking plumbing here, the fixtures seem nice, it's just the walls and floors that are a mess.
The first thing I will need to do, provided the appraisal goes ok, is fix the bathroom floors and walls. It has semi warped, stained, crappy and ugly linoleum, and dry wall that may have to be replaced, but at the very least needs covering. I need the waterproof thing behind the (pretty cool!) tub and shower. So, I am open to all ideas. It turns out that the ready to fit/overlap semi tacky bath enclosures may be the easiest and cheapest way to go, provided I can save the dry wall. They range from $100, to $250, and then with a bit of crown molding and paint I would be done with that. Too tacky? Other ideas? Keep in mind I will still have to do other floors, hook up to sewer, etc, so I need live-able and cheap, hopefully with some cool touches elsewhere. There is some nice pergo tile-like stuff that might look good, also some river rock (and other) actual tile for the floor??? There are nice hardwood floors in the living room, but I suspect the bedrooms and kitchen will need to be done. Pergo? Carpet? Some of the nicer looking linoleum that is out there looking like off-white tiles? I need to get a dishwasher and stove, and I hate Sears--and again, price will count here. Open to any and all thoughts and ideas, including where the cut off is between buying tools and going broke that way, or just hiring it done.
Depending on how long you need tools, you can always rent them; I guess the cut off would be if the rent price exceeds the buy price, and how often you would use the tools. I myself would kill myself with tools, so I wouldn't buy them. However, even if you wouldn't use the tools much, you could always sell 'em when you're done of them.
As for bathrooms, my parents put the whole cut to fit bath enclosure thingys in their bathroom, and it looks great and works fine. And as a bonus, there's no grouty tile to clean, so woohoo! As for floorings, I hate carpet for two reason: my allergies (you wouldn't believe how much better allergies become when you get rid of carpet), and my laziness - I hate vacuuming! Hardwood is super easy to clean. God bless the swiffer. Hardwood can be expensive, though, but laminate is a pretty decent option, I think, and you more than likely could install it yourself. My dad installed the laminate in his bedroom, and trust me - if he can do it, so can you. This is the man that put vice grips on for taps for 2 years in our kitchen. Love him dearly, but he's not so much handy! Woodstove, I'm getting ready to move into a new place in a couple of months, so when I get all the details ironed out I'll join you in your excitement. 
Cool!
I am going to post this in useful websites, but I may as well put it here too. Moving Company scams...very scary.
Home improvement dilemma. Our kitchen floor, counters and backsplash are covered with real linoleum that's over 50 years old. It looks like hell and I hate it. I'm not sure at this point what to do about the floor, other than cover it with tile. We don't want to remove it because the adhesive most likely contains asbestos, which is fine if it's just sitting there but will contaminate the house if we pull up the linoleum. Too bad really, because some of it has chipped away all the way down to the wood, so I know what's under there.
My real problem is with the counters and backsplash. We can't afford to replace the entire countertops but we do have tile to put over it. I assume we need to put something on the counters between them and the tiles, but I'm not sure what. I've spent some time looking online for some answers and haven't found anything useful. I swear no one knows anything about real linoleum anymore. Any suggestions?
Asbestos mastic will not contaminate your whole house. You can hire a licensed asbestos contractor that will come in and scrape it up and properly dispose of it. And if you aren't sure if it contains asbestos, you can have the tile and mastic tested to determine whether or not it is. Maybe pinruT can come over and remediate? If it's already chipped away, taking a sample will be easy.
Msquared, I asked my guy about your problem (he's a woodworker, so know whereof he speaks).
You definitely need something on top of the linoleum before you tile. He says you can get some Durock (cement board) and just nail it to the countertops and backsplash (with the nails specific to cement board) or some masonite type board (underlayment) which you would also just nail to the countertop. He recommends the cement board as a first choice for the counters and backsplash and the underlayment for the floor.
Thanks OffTopic. That is a big help. We have some cement board. Now I just have to get my husband to do it.
I'm having a helluva time figuring out what to do for window treatments in my new place. I have 2 windows in my bedroom that I definitely want good light blocking blinds/curtains for....does anyone know of any good light blocking blinds besides the rollup kind? What about those faux wood slat things?
The living room is a big problem, too, because I have a big patio door I need to cover up (don't want everyone looking in), and one other window as well. The patio door is about 60 X 80, and all the other windows are 48 X 64 (and have inner windowsills). I was thinking of putting up some blue suede tab tops I found today at Wicker Emporium in all windows in the living room, but I'm not really sure yet what I want to do. Of course, it would be nice if I knew how to put the effing things up, too.
Well, little melly didn't receive responses, but I'm still going to give it a shot. I'd welcome your ideas on window treatments for my new home. I've checked out JCPenney.com and Target.com, but nothing is really jumping out at me. All of these measurement are for the inside of the window. The bedroom/living room windows are 30"x64" or 34"x64". I'm having a hard time as the standard widths are 27", 31", and 35" - so which do I pick for my windows? There's also a sliding patio door which is 70"x81" that is near the living room.
I'm partial to warm earth tones and would like the look of a darker brown bamboo Roman shade for the living room & master bedroom. I'm open to other colors & materials/styles throughout the rest of the place. The wood trim throughout the home is white. I'd appreciate decorating ideas as well as suggestions for vendors/stores. I'd like to avoid custom coverings as I need to have them ready for my move next week. Otherwise, my neighbors will be talking about me like buffyvol's neighbors do all the time.
I didn't respond to the earlier window treatment post because I typically hate window treatments and therefore have little advice for anyone. I got lucky with my house when I bought because it came with plantation shutters on the windows, which is the only thing I can stand, really.
It's not that I walk into people's homes and go "yuck", but I've never found anything I like well enough that I'd want it in my house. So how about some plantation shutters? Or, Overstock.com has some 30x64 silk Roman shades. They also have other materials if you browse around.
What do buffy's neighbors say about you cops?
QUOTE (weejie+Oct 25 2007, 05:45 PM) What do buffy's neighbors say about you cops? |
Heh - that sentence sounded so much better in my mind.
I ran across some plantation shutters online after I posted and I do like them. I'll have to hook up with Google later to see what I can find available in my area. I'd not thought of Overstock.com, thanks.
I ran across some plantation shutters online after I posted and I do like them. I'll have to hook up with Google later to see what I can find available in my area. I'd not thought of Overstock.com, thanks.
I like the look of Roman shades. I think Laurie on Trading Spaces got me hooked on them.
My daughter just got some dark bamboo roman shades at World Market. You might check them out if they are in your area.
swtrboy about had an orgasm over this item on a Lowes commercial. swtrSS and I went there to get it Saturday but they didn't have them in stock. I'm ordering online. WONDERFUL for around the house stuff so you don't have to move/hook up the huge air compressor and/or drag a nasty hose through the house.
[swtrboy is a skilled carpenter by profession so it's a doubly good thing]
[swtrboy is a skilled carpenter by profession so it's a doubly good thing]