Home-owners...What are your current projects? (2 Viewers)

[McGarnicle]

@Fat Nick

@KCitons

So we've progressed to the design phase and I'm doing a light maple stain with graphics painted over that. I'll do my best to stain around the areas that will be painted, but how much do I need to worry about painting over a stained spot? Will the stain make it problematic for the paint to stick or mess with the colors?

 

[KCitons]

@Fat Nick

@KCitons

So we've progressed to the design phase and I'm doing a light maple stain with graphics painted over that. I'll do my best to stain around the areas that will be painted, but how much do I need to worry about painting over a stained spot? Will the stain make it problematic for the paint to stick or mess with the colors?

I would stain the entire surface, then mask the areas to be painted. Lightly sand the unmasked areas and paint. I would do some research on using water/oil based stains and paints together. If I remember correctly, you need to stick with one type for both. 

 

[McGarnicle]

Makes sense.

Last question, what's the best solution for laser-sharp edges when painting? Is there a painter's tape that can give you that precision, or another technology?

 

[KCitons]

Makes sense.

Last question, what's the best solution for laser-sharp edges when painting? Is there a painter's tape that can give you that precision, or another technology?

I used painter's tape (the blue stuff). As I mentioned, if the board has any grooves because of imperfections in the plywood, the paint will run into that groove and under the tape. I learned early to push the tape down into the grooves. (I'd recommend sanding everything smooth before adding any paint/stain)

Some people use vinyl stencils instead of tape. But, I think those guys have access to high end printing equipment.

 

[Sand]

So I acquired a rental house (long story) a number of months back.  It had been smoked in for 20 years, never cleaned, with dogs that were in residence.  So basically every wall had to be cleaned, anything with fabric in it had to be thrown out (and hopefully burned), every dish/glass/pot/pan had to be scrubbed, etc.  The A/C return closet was... nightmarish.  A big construction dumpster full of general trash and lots of furniture had to be thrown out, as well.  

In totality we (with a decent bit of contractor help) completed: new paint, new floors, new screens, new furniture, big deck repairs, new doors, a host of new fans, and a ton of other little stuff.  Total bill to refit was right at $25k (we came in right on expected budget - amazing).   Lots of new experiences - doors are ####### expensive, dishwashers are awesome for cleaning all kinds of stuff (I figured if it didn't survive the wash it didn't deserve to live), and getting nicotine off of everything is easy, but so damn time consuming.  

The before pictures are embarrassing, but the final pics show how it turned out - pretty darned nice.   

Place is rented out solid into next year, so there is payoff.  Cap rate is very nice - certainly doesn't hurt it is on one of the nicer beaches in the US.

 

[Fat Nick]

I would stain the entire surface, then mask the areas to be painted. Lightly sand the unmasked areas and paint. I would do some research on using water/oil based stains and paints together. If I remember correctly, you need to stick with one type for both. 

If you run into oil/water based compatibility issues, consider shellac as a middle step. Sold in spray cans as Zinnser Sealcoat, it will bond to both oil and water finishes, and everything bonds to it. I keep it around for woodworking and in general it's my favorite tool. 

I did what KCitons did on mine. Stained, then masked and lightly sanded. No issues. 

If you are layering one color over another, spray the base color, tape it up, lightly spray the BASE COLOR again, then spray the light verlay color. Spraying the base color again seals up any gaps with the same color to ensure no bleed. I did a big chevron wall this way in the house and had no bleed. 

If you're spraying your first coat over the stain, just go really light with several coats. Don't rush and put it on thick. Bleeding into the stain will be tough to fix. 

 

[Fat Nick]

...you can also consider doing a few coats of poly before you paint. That helps with the wood grain and bleeding, and also means if you did have bleed under the tape, you can sand a little without taking off the stain. 

 

[KCitons]

...you can also consider doing a few coats of poly before you paint. That helps with the wood grain and bleeding, and also means if you did have bleed under the tape, you can sand a little without taking off the stain. 

This is what I would be worried about. In the few spots that bled under the tape, I took an exacto knife and shaved away the paint. Since there was no stain on the wood, it didn't matter if I went too deep. 

 

[rascal]

The spray handle for our jetted tub needs to be replaced along with the metal wrapped supply line....any ideas as to how?   Google has not proved knowledgeable

 

[Mario Kart]

I moved in February and I'm a single guy with a short summer to do extra stuff around my house. I redid a walkway, I painted one room, and I'm now destroying a bar in my yard so I can have more room under my canopy/gazebo that came with the house. The bar took up about half of the canopy area and while one person could sit nicely, it'd be impossible to have a table and chairs to have more company. I'm sure the area will look much bigger than it was before especially if I'm able to put some lawn furniture out here. 

Allow me to clarify about me destroying this bar. I could not budge the thing at all. It was made out of tile but I was not sure how much. I swear to you all that the tile plus grout or whatever the hell they built it with is an inch thick. Plus, they put on some kind of like drywall to hang the tile on PLUS the whole thing has a one piece medal frame. Not b's'ing you here. I can throw away the tile and such but I'm not sure what I'll do with this frame. It's almost remarkable. The thing is about six feet long and four feet wide and bar height plus it was near my house so the wind would leave leaves behind it and it was a pain. I have no idea why someone would build this in this manner but holy hell.  

 

[flysack]

My house came with this former closet in the living room (weird, I know). It has no door, just this open area. I'm in the process of turning it into a reading nook. 

1. Painting the walls.

2. Build a couple simple bookshelves. Paint them too.

3. Putting down a seating area made of wood.

4. Cover the seat with plush carpet.

5. Get cushions to lean against.

6. Install low hanging, shaded reading lamp.

 

[matttyl]

I did basically what was described above - AV Cabinet, projector AND a TV...some key points -

For any HDMI run over 25', you run the risk of signal issues.  Modern stuff has lots of DLNA compatibility issues once the signal starts to get weaker.  Both of my outputs were right around 25' from my AV cabinet.  I worked to mitigate this 3 ways...

1) Buy a Redmere Active HDMI cable.  It has a booster for the signal.  They tend to work well...BUT...the can fail after a while.  I installed one of these.

2) Buy a bigger gauge cable.  I put in a REALLY big one of these too...

3) Run a ton of extra CAT6 and just stuff it in the wall.  You can buy Cat6 Baluns to transfer lots of things over Cat6, and it's cheap.  I ran 4 pair of Cat6 to each of my sources.

I'm glad I ran multiple options, because my TV Redmere started crapping out - I'd be watching something, and the picture would jsut go out.  I switched to the bigger gauge, and it's been fine.

Moral is that it's a lot cheaper to buy a ton of cable and run it now than it is to buy one cable, and need to tear things up down the road.

Thanks for all of these points.  I ceiling mounted the projector over the weekend.  The mount is one where you can dismount the projector pretty easily (loosen 4 hex screws) in case of bad weather, crazy temperatures, whatever.  I also mounted the screen to the wall.  I built the screen myself, very cheaply, from basic 1x4 lumber and some cheap white "blackout screen" material from the local fabrics store (seriously, like $50 in materials and an hour one afternoon with a staple gun).  Trust me, this won't be a THX certified theater by any means. 

This brings me to my (current) projector.  It's old.  Like really old.  It was state of the art when new, but it's like 15 years old now - I purchased it for cheap from an office liquidation sale.  It's an old NEC, but the lamp is rated for 2000 hours and only has about ~600 on it.  Max resolution is 1024x768 (XGA, and also only 4x3 ratio).  It also doesn't have an HDMI input, only VGA (and s-video, but I won't be using that).  Like I said, not THX certified.  That said, I'll eventually get a new projector when this one craps out totally, assuming that the family and I actually use it a lot (and I imagine we will, my 2 year old will love watch moving on it I'm sure). 

So all of that brings me to the point, sort of a question.  I tested the projector with a simple HDMI -> VGA cord this weekend, connected to my laptop, and it got picture (though it altered the resolution and aspect ratio of the laptop).  Brought up netflix and watched about 10 minutes of an episode of Parks and Rec while fine tuning the picture and screen locations.  So it works, at least with a very local source with a 6' cord.  So now the wiring question.  I think I'm going to attempt these (hdmi extenders over cat5).  Simple, cheap, and they don't need to be plugged in) and I already have plenty of cat5e cable in a box.  That can go direct from receiver (where everything is plugged in), over a pair of cat5e cables, to the other where it will end with a male HDMI connector (but still in ceiling, though accessible).  I'm thinking at that point I'll have an hdmi keystone wall plate for it to plug into, and I'll plug the other end of that keystone plate into the HDMI -> vga cord I already have which will connect to the projector itself.  I'll tape everything in the ceiling up well to prevent moisture and such from getting in - and this will leave me with a true HDMI plug for a future projector. 

I could also use these, but they require power, and are a bit more expensive.  They do, though, have an IR repeater and only require one cat5e cable.

Thoughts?  And thanks again for the help!

ETA: Found these.  Look to be everything I'd want!  No power needed, IR repeater for remotes, cat5e -> HDMI and keystone wallplate all in one!  The hdmi extenders over cat5 above were $16 on their own and didn't have IR repeaters, and would still need wallplates and keystones - so all in I'm likely about the same money anyway, and this will be much cleaner.  I'll start with these and report back.

 

[offdee]

I made wood lockers for the kids in my mudroom area (entryway area between the garage and the kitchen).  Anyways, I'm at the point where I'm going to paint  it out and I fully realize the kids are going to be throwing books into these, stepping up on the bench area to reach for cubbies, etc....basically gonna take a wear and tear beating over time.

I no doubt will put primer down first, then paint....but I'm wondering if I should add some sort of protective sealant coat on top of the paint to try and avoid scratches, chipping, etc.   If so, what would be the best/easiest option for this?

 

[belljr]

I made wood lockers for the kids in my mudroom area (entryway area between the garage and the kitchen).  Anyways, I'm at the point where I'm going to paint  it out and I fully realize the kids are going to be throwing books into these, stepping up on the bench area to reach for cubbies, etc....basically gonna take a wear and tear beating over time.

I no doubt will put primer down first, then paint....but I'm wondering if I should add some sort of protective sealant to the paint to try and avoid scratches, chipping paint, etc.   If so, what would be the best/easiest option for this?

Polyurethane

 

[KCitons]

I made wood lockers for the kids in my mudroom area (entryway area between the garage and the kitchen).  Anyways, I'm at the point where I'm going to paint  it out and I fully realize the kids are going to be throwing books into these, stepping up on the bench area to reach for cubbies, etc....basically gonna take a wear and tear beating over time.

I no doubt will put primer down first, then paint....but I'm wondering if I should add some sort of protective sealant coat on top of the paint to try and avoid scratches, chipping, etc.   If so, what would be the best/easiest option for this?

I used this to cover a small sign I made for my brother's outdoor bar. It allows for quick recoating and left a durable, glossy finish.

(Disclaimer: KCitons is in no way affiliated or compensated for his statements by Rust-Oleum or its representatives)

 

[El Floppo]

So I acquired a rental house (long story) a number of months back.  It had been smoked in for 20 years, never cleaned, with dogs that were in residence.  So basically every wall had to be cleaned, anything with fabric in it had to be thrown out (and hopefully burned), every dish/glass/pot/pan had to be scrubbed, etc.  The A/C return closet was... nightmarish.  A big construction dumpster full of general trash and lots of furniture had to be thrown out, as well.  

In totality we (with a decent bit of contractor help) completed: new paint, new floors, new screens, new furniture, big deck repairs, new doors, a host of new fans, and a ton of other little stuff.  Total bill to refit was right at $25k (we came in right on expected budget - amazing).   Lots of new experiences - doors are ####### expensive, dishwashers are awesome for cleaning all kinds of stuff (I figured if it didn't survive the wash it didn't deserve to live), and getting nicotine off of everything is easy, but so damn time consuming.  

The before pictures are embarrassing, but the final pics show how it turned out - pretty darned nice.   

Place is rented out solid into next year, so there is payoff.  Cap rate is very nice - certainly doesn't hurt it is on one of the nicer beaches in the US.

where is that? pretty fantastic...!

 

[glvsav37]

I made wood lockers for the kids in my mudroom area (entryway area between the garage and the kitchen).  Anyways, I'm at the point where I'm going to paint  it out and I fully realize the kids are going to be throwing books into these, stepping up on the bench area to reach for cubbies, etc....basically gonna take a wear and tear beating over time.

I no doubt will put primer down first, then paint....but I'm wondering if I should add some sort of protective sealant coat on top of the paint to try and avoid scratches, chipping, etc.   If so, what would be the best/easiest option for this?

Care to share any photos? I'm going to be doing this soon. how hard were they to make? Whats your "Home Handiness Offdee score"? lol

 

[Sand]

where is that? pretty fantastic...!

Fort Morgan, AL.  The north gulf coast (Dauphin Island extending well into the Florida panhandle) has some of the nicest white sugar sand beaches you'll see.  You can find everything from the most commercial areas (Destin, etc.) to very residential areas like the one where we are.

 

[Nugget]

TIFU today.  Rather than pay $1800 for a pair of chairs for the formal living room, I may have volunteered to renovate the kitchen.  She took me up on that offer pretty quickly.  

 

[Quez]

I moved in February and I'm a single guy with a short summer to do extra stuff around my house. I redid a walkway, I painted one room, and I'm now destroying a bar in my yard so I can have more room under my canopy/gazebo that came with the house. The bar took up about half of the canopy area and while one person could sit nicely, it'd be impossible to have a table and chairs to have more company. I'm sure the area will look much bigger than it was before especially if I'm able to put some lawn furniture out here. 

Allow me to clarify about me destroying this bar. I could not budge the thing at all. It was made out of tile but I was not sure how much. I swear to you all that the tile plus grout or whatever the hell they built it with is an inch thick. Plus, they put on some kind of like drywall to hang the tile on PLUS the whole thing has a one piece medal frame. Not b's'ing you here. I can throw away the tile and such but I'm not sure what I'll do with this frame. It's almost remarkable. The thing is about six feet long and four feet wide and bar height plus it was near my house so the wind would leave leaves behind it and it was a pain. I have no idea why someone would build this in this manner but holy hell.  

Put it by the curb someone will pick it up for the scrap metal.

 

[Mario Kart]

Put it by the curb someone will pick it up for the scrap metal.

Took a  couple pictures of it and put a post on craigslist. Thing was gone in less than 60 minutes with five people inquiring about it.

 

[Fat Nick]

Thanks for all of these points.  I ceiling mounted the projector over the weekend.  The mount is one where you can dismount the projector pretty easily (loosen 4 hex screws) in case of bad weather, crazy temperatures, whatever.  I also mounted the screen to the wall.  I built the screen myself, very cheaply, from basic 1x4 lumber and some cheap white "blackout screen" material from the local fabrics store (seriously, like $50 in materials and an hour one afternoon with a staple gun).  Trust me, this won't be a THX certified theater by any means. 

This brings me to my (current) projector.  It's old.  Like really old.  It was state of the art when new, but it's like 15 years old now - I purchased it for cheap from an office liquidation sale.  It's an old NEC, but the lamp is rated for 2000 hours and only has about ~600 on it.  Max resolution is 1024x768 (XGA, and also only 4x3 ratio).  It also doesn't have an HDMI input, only VGA (and s-video, but I won't be using that).  Like I said, not THX certified.  That said, I'll eventually get a new projector when this one craps out totally, assuming that the family and I actually use it a lot (and I imagine we will, my 2 year old will love watch moving on it I'm sure). 

So all of that brings me to the point, sort of a question.  I tested the projector with a simple HDMI -> VGA cord this weekend, connected to my laptop, and it got picture (though it altered the resolution and aspect ratio of the laptop).  Brought up netflix and watched about 10 minutes of an episode of Parks and Rec while fine tuning the picture and screen locations.  So it works, at least with a very local source with a 6' cord.  So now the wiring question.  I think I'm going to attempt these (hdmi extenders over cat5).  Simple, cheap, and they don't need to be plugged in) and I already have plenty of cat5e cable in a box.  That can go direct from receiver (where everything is plugged in), over a pair of cat5e cables, to the other where it will end with a male HDMI connector (but still in ceiling, though accessible).  I'm thinking at that point I'll have an hdmi keystone wall plate for it to plug into, and I'll plug the other end of that keystone plate into the HDMI -> vga cord I already have which will connect to the projector itself.  I'll tape everything in the ceiling up well to prevent moisture and such from getting in - and this will leave me with a true HDMI plug for a future projector. 

I could also use these, but they require power, and are a bit more expensive.  They do, though, have an IR repeater and only require one cat5e cable.

Thoughts?  And thanks again for the help!

ETA: Found these.  Look to be everything I'd want!  No power needed, IR repeater for remotes, cat5e -> HDMI and keystone wallplate all in one!  The hdmi extenders over cat5 above were $16 on their own and didn't have IR repeaters, and would still need wallplates and keystones - so all in I'm likely about the same money anyway, and this will be much cleaner.  I'll start with these and report back.

I was about to comment that using one of the extenders you initially linked, THEN into a Keystone, could cause issues.  I love the look and concept of the keystone plates...but in my installation, every keystone plug caused me issues.  The signal just didn't transmit well across the keystone jack, which is essentially a male-male connector in most cases.  For all of my stuff, I switched to brush plates and just pulled cable through the plate straight to the plug.  Eliminated a source of possible signal degradation. 

In your case, the ones you linked in your edit look to solve that by basically eliminating a connection by BEING the plate.  Nice find.

 

[parasaurolophus]

Polyurethane

I actually wouldn't put down a urethane. I would use a cabinet and door paint that is high gloss. This way when it is chipped you can just touch it up easily. So I realize it is slightly more likely to be chipped, it is just a ton easier to fix when it does. I also don't like how a urethane can seem slightly yellow on certain colors. 

 

[rascal]

Thanks for all of these points.  I ceiling mounted the projector over the weekend.  The mount is one where you can dismount the projector pretty easily (loosen 4 hex screws) in case of bad weather, crazy temperatures, whatever.  I also mounted the screen to the wall.  I built the screen myself, very cheaply, from basic 1x4 lumber and some cheap white "blackout screen" material from the local fabrics store (seriously, like $50 in materials and an hour one afternoon with a staple gun).  Trust me, this won't be a THX certified theater by any means. 

This brings me to my (current) projector.  It's old.  Like really old.  It was state of the art when new, but it's like 15 years old now - I purchased it for cheap from an office liquidation sale.  It's an old NEC, but the lamp is rated for 2000 hours and only has about ~600 on it.  Max resolution is 1024x768 (XGA, and also only 4x3 ratio).  It also doesn't have an HDMI input, only VGA (and s-video, but I won't be using that).  Like I said, not THX certified.  That said, I'll eventually get a new projector when this one craps out totally, assuming that the family and I actually use it a lot (and I imagine we will, my 2 year old will love watch moving on it I'm sure). 

So all of that brings me to the point, sort of a question.  I tested the projector with a simple HDMI -> VGA cord this weekend, connected to my laptop, and it got picture (though it altered the resolution and aspect ratio of the laptop).  Brought up netflix and watched about 10 minutes of an episode of Parks and Rec while fine tuning the picture and screen locations.  So it works, at least with a very local source with a 6' cord.  So now the wiring question.  I think I'm going to attempt these (hdmi extenders over cat5).  Simple, cheap, and they don't need to be plugged in) and I already have plenty of cat5e cable in a box.  That can go direct from receiver (where everything is plugged in), over a pair of cat5e cables, to the other where it will end with a male HDMI connector (but still in ceiling, though accessible).  I'm thinking at that point I'll have an hdmi keystone wall plate for it to plug into, and I'll plug the other end of that keystone plate into the HDMI -> vga cord I already have which will connect to the projector itself.  I'll tape everything in the ceiling up well to prevent moisture and such from getting in - and this will leave me with a true HDMI plug for a future projector. 

I could also use these, but they require power, and are a bit more expensive.  They do, though, have an IR repeater and only require one cat5e cable.

Thoughts?  And thanks again for the help!

ETA: Found these.  Look to be everything I'd want!  No power needed, IR repeater for remotes, cat5e -> HDMI and keystone wallplate all in one!  The hdmi extenders over cat5 above were $16 on their own and didn't have IR repeaters, and would still need wallplates and keystones - so all in I'm likely about the same money anyway, and this will be much cleaner.  I'll start with these and report back.

Nice!

I got a projector, Acer h5380bd, I intend to use for outdoor movie viewing, but I need a cheap sound system as the thing has no speakers.  Outputs are:. HDMI, vga, A-line, rca Jack, USB, composite video cable.

Thoughts?

 

[wilked]

Thanks for all of these points.  I ceiling mounted the projector over the weekend.  The mount is one where you can dismount the projector pretty easily (loosen 4 hex screws) in case of bad weather, crazy temperatures, whatever.  I also mounted the screen to the wall.  I built the screen myself, very cheaply, from basic 1x4 lumber and some cheap white "blackout screen" material from the local fabrics store (seriously, like $50 in materials and an hour one afternoon with a staple gun).  Trust me, this won't be a THX certified theater by any means. 

This brings me to my (current) projector.  It's old.  Like really old.  It was state of the art when new, but it's like 15 years old now - I purchased it for cheap from an office liquidation sale.  It's an old NEC, but the lamp is rated for 2000 hours and only has about ~600 on it.  Max resolution is 1024x768 (XGA, and also only 4x3 ratio).  It also doesn't have an HDMI input, only VGA (and s-video, but I won't be using that).  Like I said, not THX certified.  That said, I'll eventually get a new projector when this one craps out totally, assuming that the family and I actually use it a lot (and I imagine we will, my 2 year old will love watch moving on it I'm sure). 

So all of that brings me to the point, sort of a question.  I tested the projector with a simple HDMI -> VGA cord this weekend, connected to my laptop, and it got picture (though it altered the resolution and aspect ratio of the laptop).  Brought up netflix and watched about 10 minutes of an episode of Parks and Rec while fine tuning the picture and screen locations.  So it works, at least with a very local source with a 6' cord.  So now the wiring question.  I think I'm going to attempt these (hdmi extenders over cat5).  Simple, cheap, and they don't need to be plugged in) and I already have plenty of cat5e cable in a box.  That can go direct from receiver (where everything is plugged in), over a pair of cat5e cables, to the other where it will end with a male HDMI connector (but still in ceiling, though accessible).  I'm thinking at that point I'll have an hdmi keystone wall plate for it to plug into, and I'll plug the other end of that keystone plate into the HDMI -> vga cord I already have which will connect to the projector itself.  I'll tape everything in the ceiling up well to prevent moisture and such from getting in - and this will leave me with a true HDMI plug for a future projector. 

I could also use these, but they require power, and are a bit more expensive.  They do, though, have an IR repeater and only require one cat5e cable.

Thoughts?  And thanks again for the help!

ETA: Found these.  Look to be everything I'd want!  No power needed, IR repeater for remotes, cat5e -> HDMI and keystone wallplate all in one!  The hdmi extenders over cat5 above were $16 on their own and didn't have IR repeaters, and would still need wallplates and keystones - so all in I'm likely about the same money anyway, and this will be much cleaner.  I'll start with these and report back.

You are being penny wise pound foolish in my opinion. Spring for the new projector, you don't need to spend much. $500 can get you a nice unit. My opinion is to get it set up right now and then enjoy it for the next 10+ years. Protecting 4x3 is a joke (no offense), that's like setting up an old CRT because the lamp hasn't burnt out yet 

 

[matttyl]

You are being penny wise pound foolish in my opinion. Spring for the new projector, you don't need to spend much. $500 can get you a nice unit. My opinion is to get it set up right now and then enjoy it for the next 10+ years. Protecting 4x3 is a joke (no offense), that's like setting up an old CRT because the lamp hasn't burnt out yet 

Oh, I'll eventually get a new projector.  I have no doubt about that.  I literally just finished off the ceiling in that area two weeks ago, though, still haven't puttied the nail holes or painted (the boards were pre-primed, though, so it does look white).  I'm just using what I have for now.  Just looking for options that will work now with that unit, as well as already have everything in place for when I do upgrade the projector.  The porch ceiling did set me back around $4k, and last year's deck replacement with Trex and the rain barrier and new railings and such was about $14k.  I'm on the lookout for a good projector deal, though it might be a few months before I pull the trigger on a new one - maybe black Friday.

 

[Fat Nick]

I actually wouldn't put down a urethane. I would use a cabinet and door paint that is high gloss. This way when it is chipped you can just touch it up easily. So I realize it is slightly more likely to be chipped, it is just a ton easier to fix when it does. I also don't like how a urethane can seem slightly yellow on certain colors. 

If you've got a sprayer, I highly recommend Target EM6000 water based lacquer.  If you don't have a sprayer, and have an air compressor, just get a sprayer from Harbor Freight.  It's like $12 and it works very well. 

The EM6000 can be tinted at most paint shops or places that use universal dyes.  You get the best of both worlds.  It's super strong and durable, AND touch-up can be done by quickly re-shooting it with another coat.  Each coat burns into the previous coat, even after time.  The stuff is great, and it's water-based, so clean-up is easy.  I built a toy box for my son a few years back and used EM6000.  It's held up fantastically.

 

[Nugget]

I need to take down a popcorn ceiling in an area about 11x20 feet. I also need to wire for additional lighting and run wire to a pair of new switches.  Does it make more sense just to completely cut out the existing ceiling, add the wiring and lights, and then put up new drywall?  Or should I just scrape,repair, and refinish existing ceiling and add lights during the process?

 

[matttyl]

Nice!

I got a projector, Acer h5380bd, I intend to use for outdoor movie viewing, but I need a cheap sound system as the thing has no speakers.  Outputs are:. HDMI, vga, A-line, rca Jack, USB, composite video cable.

Thoughts?

Nice projector!  I'll likely be getting something similar (not crazy expensive, but still "HD").  When you say "outdoor movie viewing", do you want to set up something permanent (like what I have), or something that's easy to set up and take down a few times a year?

If it's the latter, maybe use a laptop for the input (they all have DVD players now), and get a set of computer speakers?  That way you don't have to worry about a receiver or anything like that.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

I need to take down a popcorn ceiling in an area about 11x20 feet. I also need to wire for additional lighting and run wire to a pair of new switches.  Does it make more sense just to completely cut out the existing ceiling, add the wiring and lights, and then put up new drywall?  Or should I just scrape,repair, and refinish existing ceiling and add lights during the process?

Yes

 

[matttyl]

I need to take down a popcorn ceiling in an area about 11x20 feet. I also need to wire for additional lighting and run wire to a pair of new switches.  Does it make more sense just to completely cut out the existing ceiling, add the wiring and lights, and then put up new drywall?  Or should I just scrape,repair, and refinish existing ceiling and add lights during the process?

I'd go new ceiling, personally.  If it were me, and I spent an hour or two scraping and then gouge the ceiling needing even more patchwork done, I'd be pissed.

 

[matttyl]

I was about to comment that using one of the extenders you initially linked, THEN into a Keystone, could cause issues.  I love the look and concept of the keystone plates...but in my installation, every keystone plug caused me issues.  The signal just didn't transmit well across the keystone jack, which is essentially a male-male connector in most cases.  For all of my stuff, I switched to brush plates and just pulled cable through the plate straight to the plug.  Eliminated a source of possible signal degradation. 

In your case, the ones you linked in your edit look to solve that by basically eliminating a connection by BEING the plate.  Nice find.

Thanks.  I'll start with those (not crazy expensive and I already have plenty of Cat5 cable).  If they end up not working I'll likely go the long HDMI cable route, but in looking around for ones that are rugged enough for outdoor use and that won't have signal loss over a ~50' run I was looking at $80 or so.  I also love the idea of the IR repeater built in - didn't want to have to go back inside every time I wanted to change the channel, or input or even adjust the volume. 

 

[SWC]

Yes

i agree with this that is not a big area and if you are going to run wiring you will be cutting and patching all over so just take it down start over and do it right from the top down take that to the bank brohan 

 

[El Floppo]

Polyurethane

I actually wouldn't put down a urethane. I would use a cabinet and door paint that is high gloss. This way when it is chipped you can just touch it up easily. So I realize it is slightly more likely to be chipped, it is just a ton easier to fix when it does. I also don't like how a urethane can seem slightly yellow on certain colors. 

this. or, if you want to learn a time-intensive touchy method- lacquer finish.

I'm not a painter, but I've never had our painted work covered in poly. never seen it done in any of the projects I've worked on.

 

[parasaurolophus]

I need to take down a popcorn ceiling in an area about 11x20 feet. I also need to wire for additional lighting and run wire to a pair of new switches.  Does it make more sense just to completely cut out the existing ceiling, add the wiring and lights, and then put up new drywall?  Or should I just scrape,repair, and refinish existing ceiling and add lights during the process?

I weep for you. 

 

[wilked]

I remember Family Handyman had an article on it

https://www.familyhandyman.com/drywall/ceiling-texture/how-to-remove-a-popcorn-ceiling

 

[Nugget]

Popcorn sucks. I have removed over 1000 square feet over the past 3 years. I added wire and can lights in the formal living room during the process and it basically sucked. I have never just removed a ceiling before, but I think it will be easier. Having full access to the joists will give me lots of options. I can rent a scissor lift and put up new 1/2 drywall with a nail gun. Taping and muddin should be easier with new drywall.  I will be using crown moulding as well so the seams don't need to be aesthetically perfect. 

 

[offdee]

Care to share any photos? I'm going to be doing this soon. how hard were they to make? Whats your "Home Handiness Offdee score"? lol

Copied from an earlier post in thread....

1) Took a regular coat closet off entry of the garage and turned it into mudroom lockers.   Opened up the closet to the ceiling and made wood locker built ins and bench with bottom opening for kids to kick shoes under and out of sight.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/145687765@N04/shares/z1g6Kx

Handiness scale:

7:  Handyman that gets recognized at the club, in classes, at work, in apt building. Definitely has a makeshift workbench in his garage and a table saw at the ready, but not top handyman locally.

 

[glvsav37]

Phew....after weeks of more delays, the crew has finally arrived at the house and begun framing the extension. Floor joists going in now.

I'm watching from my desk at work via the web camera I installed on my shed....lol

such a relief to finally start. I almost had to have my wife forcibly committed...we still have 2 more phases off this project and I promised her it would be done by Christmas....we started this process back in December.  

 

[doowain]

Copied from an earlier post in thread....

1) Took a regular coat closet off entry of the garage and turned it into mudroom lockers.   Opened up the closet to the ceiling and made wood locker built ins and bench with bottom opening for kids to kick shoes under and out of sight.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/145687765@N04/shares/z1g6Kx

Handiness scale:

7:  Handyman that gets recognized at the club, in classes, at work, in apt building. Definitely has a makeshift workbench in his garage and a table saw at the ready, but not top handyman locally.

@gianmarco

1:  Handyman that doesn't get recognized anywhere. Owns 8 different phillips screwdrivers of the same size, but no hex drivers.  Routinely visits Home Depot looking at their circular saws like people visit pet stores looking at puppies. One day dreams of owning a compound miter saw.

 

[glvsav37]

Extension is taking shape.

the kids rooms—the 2 windows on the second floor on the left—will be extended out to almost the front of the lower level and will get the same reverse gable treatment as the extension.  

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Current project: Yelling at contractor.

 

[glvsav37]

Current project: Yelling at contractor.

I want a recording if you are doing it in your avatar's voice. 

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Sir! I say, now I say, Sir! Lookie here, son! This here is supposed to be a load bearing wall, now don't you hear me? Whatchoo trying to do to, naw, naw, now see here, you see, this wall won't never now hold up this here ceiling like this. You gotta, I say, you gotta put a brace in here son. You gotta brace that joist. Job like this you gotta have the know-how, now, you know, brace that joist. Kids these days, I swear, kids you see these days, they don't know how to properly set a load-bearing wall. Why, in my day, son, I say, in my day, we'd check the darn blueprints before going on and taking down a wall you see? You see? Why, I don't know kids these days I swear. 

Nice boy, but doesn't listen to a word I say.

 

 

[El Floppo]

Current project: Yelling at contractor.

You need to yell at the architect, so that they yell at contractor. 

 

[rascal]

Have a three piece shower wall (one on each side) and the one that the door mounts to has started peeling from the wall.  Also means the door sags and won't close.  Tried putting some liquid nails where I could and clamping it for 24 hours but that lasted 24 hours.  Thoughts?

 

[El Floppo]

Have a three piece shower wall (one on each side) and the one that the door mounts to has started peeling from the wall.  Also means the door sags and won't close.  Tried putting some liquid nails where I could and clamping it for 24 hours but that lasted 24 hours.  Thoughts?

Liquid nails and clamp for 10 years.

 

[parasaurolophus]

You need to yell at the architect, so that they yell at contractor. 

Luckily the inspector did it for me. 

 

[ChiefD]

 put up new 1/2 drywall with a nail gun. 

Use screws. Especially on a ceiling.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Have a three piece shower wall (one on each side) and the one that the door mounts to has started peeling from the wall.  Also means the door sags and won't close.  Tried putting some liquid nails where I could and clamping it for 24 hours but that lasted 24 hours.  Thoughts?

Is there water damage?  Or just not properly glued to begin with?

Not sure if you could try gluing again but wedge something heavy against it?

Or depending on how much you care about aesthetics put a few nails / screws and putty / caulk over them?