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Home stuff šŸ” Home Improvement

btrage said:
3' x 69.5' walkway and a 17' x 27' patio, with 2-3 poured steps up to the door wall. We like the stamped concrete but think it's a little overkill for our house/neighborhood, especially at the size we want.
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The 17x27 patio isn't much different than the size that we are considering. If you have the inclination to PM me some pictures of the finished product, please do so. If you are happy with the company's work, let me know the name too. We are exploring all options.
 
Damn the endless list of things I want to do to the house, but have no money for!
Still working on the kitchen remodel.
The patio needs to be repainted.
Still have to pull carpet and repaint the stairs.
I have a hundred ideas for the backyard, but no time or money for it.
and after finishing a book on wood window repair, I'm adding refinishing my windows to the list.
I thought I was right, but I've now confirmed that we have double hung windows that have all had the upper sash painted shut. My wife doesn't believe me, but when I get some time I'm going to get those suckers back to working order.

Other than that, it was Easter weekend so I didn't do much house repair other than finally fixing the front hose bibb that froze over the winter. It's amazing how things were repaired in this house. The hose bib itself has two repairs that I can see. At least now I know it was done right.
 
Is there such a thing as a temporary patio or deck? Something modular?

I live in a rental home, but for whatever reason it doesn't have a deck, much less a patio out back. I really don't want to use paving stones because then I'd have to cut into the lawn to make it flush. I just want something that I can put down and pull up whenever I want to. I have a Weber Platinum Performer and I have to wheel it through the house and down a ramp to use it. I don't want to store it on the grass.
 
AG74683 said:
Is there such a thing as a temporary patio or deck? Something modular?

I live in a rental home, but for whatever reason it doesn't have a deck, much less a patio out back. I really don't want to use paving stones because then I'd have to cut into the lawn to make it flush. I just want something that I can put down and pull up whenever I want to. I have a Weber Platinum Performer and I have to wheel it through the house and down a ramp to use it. I don't want to store it on the grass.
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A lot of the restaurants in the downtown where I live will get a permit to rent on-street parking spaces through the spring, summer, and fall and erect modular patios on them for increased seating. The weather is just getting nice enough now that they are putting them back out for the year. Once they unload them from the trucks that take them to wherever they store them, they can have them assembled and operable in a couple of hours. I'm sure you could put together something similar, but smaller for personal use at an apartment or condo.
 
AG74683 said:
Is there such a thing as a temporary patio or deck? Something modular?

I live in a rental home, but for whatever reason it doesn't have a deck, much less a patio out back. I really don't want to use paving stones because then I'd have to cut into the lawn to make it flush. I just want something that I can put down and pull up whenever I want to. I have a Weber Platinum Performer and I have to wheel it through the house and down a ramp to use it. I don't want to store it on the grass.
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Just a thought...
You could get a sheet of plywood, put some 2x4s under it to support the weight and throw some tiles on top and on the sides. Instant 32 square foot patio, although maybe not the fanciest thing in the world. It will also kill the grass if you leave it there to long.
 
dvdneal said:
Just a thought...
You could get a sheet of plywood, put some 2x4s under it to support the weight and throw some tiles on top and on the sides. Instant 32 square foot patio, although maybe not the fanciest thing in the world. It will also kill the grass if you leave it there to long.
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Go to Craigslist and look under "free" for pallets. That is the base for your deck. For a cheap solution, use plywood or cement fiber siding as the surface, or go ahead and tile them.
 
dvdneal said:
Just a thought...
You could get a sheet of plywood, put some 2x4s under it to support the weight and throw some tiles on top and on the sides. Instant 32 square foot patio, although maybe not the fanciest thing in the world. It will also kill the grass if you leave it there to long.
Click to expand...

Cardinal said:
Go to Craigslist and look under "free" for pallets. That is the base for your deck. For a cheap solution, use plywood or cement fiber siding as the surface, or go ahead and tile them.
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Agreed. And use white tile for the finish. You will never regret the choice.
 
I am taking Friday and all of next week off (or at least I will attempt to) in an effort to do a kitchen update.

I built several new cabinets and for my first major wood construction project (well, other than the bunk beds that I built for the kids), they turned out surprisingly nice. Let's see how nice they are once I get them installed and painted though.
 
btrage said:
3' x 69.5' walkway and a 17' x 27' patio, with 2-3 poured steps up to the door wall. We like the stamped concrete but think it's a little overkill for our house/neighborhood, especially at the size we want.
Click to expand...

So now we are going with the stamped concrete after a discussion with our Concrete Guy. Plus some extra ribboning down our driveway. And possibly replacing the walkway to the front door with stamped concrete and repairing the brick work on our front porch. Maybe we'll go to Bed Bath & Beyond. I don't know. I don't know if we'll have enough time.
 
The Forced Home Improvements

We had a pipe spring a leak inside the wall between two bathrooms. The plumber estimates that it was spraying about a gallon of water a minute at its peak (at least for a day). However, no water got out to the floors, and we only have had to cut away a bit of plaster to get at it. The industrial dryers and dehumidifiers are running now to make sure everything dries out completely, but my question is where the heck did all the water go? We are on a slab and there was no water pooling on the floors and no basement for it to leak into. Hmmm...

The damage doesn't appear to be to bad, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will result in a new vanity in at least one of the bathrooms.
 
michaelskis said:
I am taking Friday and all of next week off (or at least I will attempt to) in an effort to do a kitchen update.

I built several new cabinets and for my first major wood construction project (well, other than the bunk beds that I built for the kids), they turned out surprisingly nice. Let's see how nice they are once I get them installed and painted though.
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Good luck, it's always nice to have the kitchen closer to looking right. I just have some doors to sand and paint and my refacing job is done. Next is either the bad wallpaper or the peel and stick tiles that are almost as bad as RJs white tiles.

WSU MUP Student said:
We had a pipe spring a leak inside the wall between two bathrooms. The plumber estimates that it was spraying about a gallon of water a minute at its peak (at least for a day). However, no water got out to the floors, and we only have had to cut away a bit of plaster to get at it. The industrial dryers and dehumidifiers are running now to make sure everything dries out completely, but my question is where the heck did all the water go? We are on a slab and there was no water pooling on the floors and no basement for it to leak into. Hmmm...

The damage doesn't appear to be to bad, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will result in a new vanity in at least one of the bathrooms.
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How bizarre. This is always one of my biggest fears, having a pipe in the wall break and flood everything. Good luck on getting the new vanity, Lowes has some nice ones that are easy to install.
 
dvdneal said:
How bizarre. This is always one of my biggest fears, having a pipe in the wall break and flood everything. Good luck on getting the new vanity, Lowes has some nice ones that are easy to install.
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I install nothing. I'm will to exert roughly zero elbow grease and let the insurance company and restoration folks handle everything.

FWIW, the vanity that I hope gets replaced was custom built for the space and, judging from the materials used, probably cost a few thousand dollars. Even though there are aspects about it I don't like, it's pretty high quality. Anything replaced will have to be of the same quality. In the end though, I imagine they will do their best to make sure that they don't have to replace the entire thing.
 
Randoms....

PEX is awesome. :D

Drywall sucks, especially in an old house were everything out of level. :-@:-@

Thank goodness for tool rental companies and drywall lifts. :-$

Noting is scarier than finding an old gas pipe in a wall, with live cloth wires running inside. 8-!

No matter how well you seal off the doorways, heating vents, and other openings, the dust will find it's way from a room under renovation and the clean areas of the house.
 
michaelskis said:
Randoms....

PEX is awesome. :D

Drywall sucks, especially in an old house were everything out of level. :-@:-@

Thank goodness for tool rental companies and drywall lifts. :-$

Noting is scarier than finding an old gas pipe in a wall, with live cloth wires running inside. 8-!

No matter how well you seal off the doorways, heating vents, and other openings, the dust will find it's way from a room under renovation and the clean areas of the house.
Click to expand...

Amen to PEX and those slip on fittings they make now!
 
Finally finished refacing the kitchen cabinets! Now I just need to buy a million little knobs to put on the doors and drawers at a cost of $4 each. Maybe I'll do that after my vacation in June.

Next project, who cares, I'm taking a break!
 
dvdneal said:
Finally finished refacing the kitchen cabinets! Now I just need to buy a million little knobs to put on the doors and drawers at a cost of $4 each. Maybe I'll do that after my vacation in June.

Next project, who cares, I'm taking a break!
Click to expand...

Build your own mounting jig out of plexiglas or press board. That way you can make sure that the spacing is appropriate for your doors and drawers. and your handles.

When our house was built, the owners had built in dressers put into all of the bedrooms. Well over the years those were pulled out, but the drawers were tossed up into the attic. Turns out the drawer handles are the exact same as what they used in the kitchen. So in terms of handles for drawers we are set, but THESE are the latches on the original pantry cabinets doors.

At $26.89 ea, I would need 17 of them. I think I am just going to find the nob part.
 
michaelskis said:
Build your own mounting jig out of plexiglas or press board. That way you can make sure that the spacing is appropriate for your doors and drawers. and your handles.

When our house was built, the owners had built in dressers put into all of the bedrooms. Well over the years those were pulled out, but the drawers were tossed up into the attic. Turns out the drawer handles are the exact same as what they used in the kitchen. So in terms of handles for drawers we are set, but THESE are the latches on the original pantry cabinets doors.

At $26.89 ea, I would need 17 of them. I think I am just going to find the nob part.
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I used some scrap wood to create my jig. Worked well enough for me.

Fancy latches, mine are just knobs from Lowes with a hammered nickle look and I'm dreading spending about $100 on them. I'm just a tight wad, but have fun trying to find a matching know for yours.
 
My parents have a couple boxes full of similar old latches, pulls, and hinges from various old doors and cabinets that were in their house when they moved in and have changed over the years. I would offer them up but I doubt they even have three matching sets. I have a feeling that whoever originally put them in when the house was built about 150 years ago used stuff salvaged from other houses even back then.
 
btrage said:
We're having a concrete patio/walkway poured next Monday. $3200. It would have been $5000 for the stamped concrete, but I didn't think it was worth it.
Click to expand...

btrage said:
3' x 69.5' walkway and a 17' x 27' patio, with 2-3 poured steps up to the door wall. We like the stamped concrete but think it's a little overkill for our house/neighborhood, especially at the size we want.
Click to expand...

WSU MUP Student said:
The 17x27 patio isn't much different than the size that we are considering. If you have the inclination to PM me some pictures of the finished product, please do so. If you are happy with the company's work, let me know the name too. We are exploring all options.
Click to expand...

Due to the weather, and things going on with us, our patio project was pushed back and is now scheduled to start on Monday. Here is what will be happening. Much more than what we original intended.

3' x 69' stamped concrete walkway going from the driveway down the side yard and connecting with the new patio.
Approximate 17 ft. x 27 ft. stamped concrete patio
2 ft. stamped concrete ribbon down either side of driveway
Replace existing concrete walkway in front with stamped concrete
Cover existing concrete front porch with stamped concrete cap

Total will be $6,800. I'll PM pictures when it's done.
 
A pallet of St. Augustine sod was delivered today. Lots of work ahead for us to improve the appearance of the front yard. It will be worth the effort.
 
Have fun with that and take care of it - not like the last person who let the lawn go at my house.
 
Richmond Jake said:
A pallet of St. Augustine sod was delivered today. Lots of work ahead for us to improve the appearance of the front yard. It will be worth the effort.
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Just think, in just a few hours you will be able to kick back with a nice glass of wine and tell the neighborhood kids to get the hell off your lawn.
 
Speaking of sod - I was at a friend's newly constructed house a few years back when a truckload of sod was delivered for the front, side, and backyards. His lot is pretty small (I'm guessing maybe 18,000 sqft minus the 1,800 sqft house footprint) and the driveway) but it only took the crew of four guys about 45 minutes to lay it all down. I'm always impressed when I see professional landscaping types do work so much faster than it would take me do the same kind of job.
 
btrage said:
Way too much rain. But I'll take my rain problem over your plumbing problem.
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That sucks. I remember being delayed nearly 3 weeks during and after Sandy to pour a slab. Meanwhile there was a pretty good mud pit to wallow in while waiting for the sunshine.

Yeah, I am not particularly happy especially since the plumber did not show up today. He will be there tomorrow. Good thing for me he's waiting on a major payment from a house we just finished so I am going to hold it hostage til he figures out and fixes my issue.
 
btrage said:
Way too much rain. But I'll take my rain problem over your plumbing problem.
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Sorry about the rain... but at least it is not snow! Although it is going to be cold enough here tonight...:-@:-{:-@:-{:-@:-{:-@:-{:-@:-{:-o:-{:-@:-@:-{



I have developed a new hatred for plaster repairs and dust that accompanies such a repair. I need to get it all cleaned up before I can start on the new hardwood flooring.
 
michaelskis said:
I have developed a new hatred for plaster repairs and dust that accompanies such a repair. I need to get it all cleaned up before I can start on the new hardwood flooring.
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I feel for you, plaster sucks.

I'm going to get my friends old cabinets tomorrow and see if I can make a kitchen island out of them. I'm thinking I could paint the cabinets the same and put on a hardwood counter top for looks.
 
dvdneal said:
I feel for you, plaster sucks.

I'm going to get my friends old cabinets tomorrow and see if I can make a kitchen island out of them. I'm thinking I could paint the cabinets the same and put on a hardwood counter top for looks.
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I have seen this done. Are they base cabinets or wall cabinets? For our island I am using 2 36-inch base cabinets put them side by side, and rapping the outside in bead-board paneling. We did something similar in our condo and they turned out very nice... so hopefully these will do the same.

If you use wall cabinets, you can put them back to back and have doors on both sides.
 
Yay! The Man just called and said the plumbers found and fixed the problem and are finishing up. We can use our washer tomorrow!
 
michaelskis said:
I have seen this done. Are they base cabinets or wall cabinets? For our island I am using 2 36-inch base cabinets put them side by side, and rapping the outside in bead-board paneling. We did something similar in our condo and they turned out very nice... so hopefully these will do the same.

If you use wall cabinets, you can put them back to back and have doors on both sides.
Click to expand...

I saw something like this on This Old House or one of the actually good home shows. They put 2 wall cabinets back to back and mounted casters and a wine rack. I'll see what my friend has for me. It sounds like base cabinets, but our kitchen is big enough that I might be able to put 4 base cabinets back to back as one giant island. I think the kitchen was originally designed (badly) as an eat in kitchen, bit why would I need that with the dining room right next door.

kjel said:
Yay! The Man just called and said the plumbers found and fixed the problem and are finishing up. We can use our washer tomorrow!
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It's always nice to have clean clothes once a month or so.
 
ZG finished putting the sod down this morning and it looks great. (I didn't lay a single square :-$.)

Now, get off my lawn!! :-{ :-@



EDIT: I'm left to dispose of the pallet, so I guess in the big picture, I did help.
 
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Funny, I just spent the weekend tearing grass out. I now have a little less yard for you to stay off, but I do have a future rose garden when I decide to plant a few.
 
dvdneal said:
Funny, I just spent the weekend tearing grass out. I now have a little less yard for you to stay off, but I do have a future rose garden when I decide to plant a few.
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Did you use a sod cutter? I want to expand the flower beds in the front of my house and rent a sod cutter (I think I really just want an excuse to go rent a big power tool) to help widen them out into the lawn, but I've just been too lazy to do so.
 
That would make life a lot easier, but no, I just used a shovel and scraped it up. It's not like the area was huge, but a sod cutter would have done it in maybe two passes. Besides, I dug up some nice iris bulbs that I replanted. I don't think a sod cutter would have found that.
 
The concrete pour scheduled for today has now been pushed back to Thursday. I hope it's ready by Sunday because a bunch of my friends and family are coming over.

This project was originally scheduled for APRIL 1ST.

Thanks weather.
 
btrage said:
The concrete pour scheduled for today has now been pushed back to Thursday. I hope it's ready by Sunday because a bunch of my friends and family are coming over.

This project was originally scheduled for APRIL 1ST.

Thanks weather.
Click to expand...

You live in Michigan... are you surprised?

I am installing my appliances today. It will be nice to use a real dishwasher again and not do dishes in the bathtub.
 
michaelskis said:
You live in Michigan... are you surprised?

I am installing my appliances today. It will be nice to use a real dishwasher again and not do dishes in the bathtub.
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If you're doing the dishes in the bathtub, where do you make your gin?
 
Planted some shrubs and petunias in the little patch of dirt in front of the house. Looks nice. Hopefully they won't fall victim to doggies peeing on them.
 
Has anyone used that wall paper that looks like tin ceilings? I am pondering that or the PVC option for the ceiling in my kitchen.
 
Not my style, but I would go with the PVC or actual tin so it has some depth and actual texture to it. I'm sure they can work miracles with wallpaper, but nothing beats the real thing (or at least a close imitation).
 
dvdneal said:
Not my style, but I would go with the PVC or actual tin so it has some depth and actual texture to it. I'm sure they can work miracles with wallpaper, but nothing beats the real thing (or at least a close imitation).
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This.

My parents have a tin ceiling in their dining room and part of the kitchen and after seeing "good" examples of the faux version, there is really no comparison.
 
The sod ZG laid is looking great. The irrigation and recent rains has it growing like crazy. That's the problem. Do I mow this weekend if I'm not sure the root systems are established or do I use the string trimmer? I don't want the code compliance folks giving me a correction notice for too tall turf.
 
Richmond Jake said:
The sod ZG laid is looking great. The irrigation and recent rains has it growing like crazy. That's the problem. Do I mow this weekend if I'm not sure the root systems are established or do I use the string trimmer? I don't want the code compliance folks giving me a correction notice for too tall turf.
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If it's only been down a week or two, I'd be hesitant to mow it yet. I don't know how big your lawn is but using the string trimmer sounds like waaaay too much work. If it were me, I'd let it go until I'm really at risk of a visit from code enforcement or if I really must mow it, I'd set the mower at the absolute highest height possible.
 
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