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

[wilked]

Thanks! I’ll pull the panel cover tonight and take a picture and maybe you can get an idea of what I’m dealing with. 
 

I do need to map out what breakers control what- Ive done a few of them as needed over the years but not all of them. It’s something I should have done many years ago. 

What’s weird is that it’s an older home and a lot of the rooms are on a single breaker so it’s odd that there’s so many breakers. What I’m trying to articulate is that one breaker powers the master bedroom, master bath, 2nd bedroom and hall.

Ive watched a bunch of videos on YouTube trying to learn as much as I can and I’m comfortable working inside the panel but it sure would be nice to bounce my thoughts of a real person. 
 

Thanks again.

Get the photo, but more importantly get the schedule (breaker map) done. With someone else it really only takes an hour. 

I strongly encourage you to not work in the panel, risk reward doesn’t match up. Get all the planning done, do any work you can outside the panel, then hire an electrician to knock out the panel stuff. 
 

when was the last panel upgrade? WhTnos your service, 200 amp? 

 

[needanap]

Bought a house in June.  Got 4 inches of rain last week and found out the backyard drains are pretty much plugged up with dirt and roots.  Looks like clearing them out is my next project -- thankfully no rain in the forecast

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Bought a house in June.  Got 4 inches of rain last week and found out the backyard drains are pretty much plugged up with dirt and roots.  Looks like clearing them out is my next project -- thankfully no rain in the forecast

I just did this. HIGHLY recommend going with 4”-6” pvc over the cheap corrugated  black stuff. Unless you want to do it all again in a few short years.

ETA - You also don’t need the really big catch basins. The small 6 inch ones with the 4 inch outlets are all you need.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Get the photo, but more importantly get the schedule (breaker map) done. With someone else it really only takes an hour. 

I strongly encourage you to not work in the panel, risk reward doesn’t match up. Get all the planning done, do any work you can outside the panel, then hire an electrician to knock out the panel stuff. 
 

when was the last panel upgrade? WhTnos your service, 200 amp? 

STUPID previous owner and his Harry Homeowner sloppy panel. It’s a mess. I haven’t had to open this n a long time so I forgot how sloppy it is. I should probably remove all those phone lines too as we haven’t had a land line for 15 years. 
 

Here she is.  

Wife and I will diagram the panel after dinner. 

 

[wilked]

STUPID previous owner and his Harry Homeowner sloppy panel. It’s a mess. I haven’t had to open this n a long time so I forgot how sloppy it is. I should probably remove all those phone lines too as we haven’t had a land line for 15 years. 
 

Here she is.  

Wife and I will diagram the panel after dinner. 

Can you get a date off the panel? How long you loved there? How old is the house? Is that 200 amp? 

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Can you get a date off the panel? How long you loved there? How old is the house? Is that 200 amp? 

Sorry, 200 AMP, 2003. We bought in 2004

 

[wilked]

Sorry, 200 AMP, 2003. We bought in 2004

OK.  Still life left in it for sure.  

It's a bit ugly, not the ugliest I've seen, but a bit ugly.  Normally want to see closer to this

https://www.doityourself.com/forum/attachments/electrical-ac-dc/84262d1502931126-add-main-shutoff-breaker-sub-panel-20170816_202905.jpg

Particularly, there are lots of in-panel splices, I am not accustomed to seeing so many.  I think it's to code but believe it to be frowned upon by electricians / used as a 2nd / 3rd resort.

 

[berndog]

STUPID previous owner and his Harry Homeowner sloppy panel. It’s a mess. I haven’t had to open this n a long time so I forgot how sloppy it is. I should probably remove all those phone lines too as we haven’t had a land line for 15 years. 
 

Here she is.  

Wife and I will diagram the panel after dinner. 

That is one ugly box with all those splices.  I hope the rest of their work was much cleaner. 

 

[shuke]

it’s hard to tell what’s going on w that photo (reminds me of those old Boys Life photos zoomed in on a beehive and you have to guess what it is). 1-2 more photos, especially zoomed out, would go a long way GB

More context

Some of these have a decent gap, especially near the bottom.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Nice. I went quartz because I'm lazy and didn't want to have to treat granite once a year. Keep posting pics as things come along.

Is this a thing?  Have never done any kind of treatment to ours

 

[gianmarco]

If you wanted to go a step further, I would create an upside down trough in the attic that has an open vent at either end.  This would require a room on either side of the bathroom where you could add a vent in the ceiling, hopefully a closet.  I would put plywood across the joists, and then down to the ceiling to create the trough.  With a vent on either end you would have air from the house circulating in that space, basically making it "conditioned".  On top of the trough I would add a bunch of insulation.  Using @Lion to myself idea you are using the heat that transfers through the ceiling to kind of heat the void around the pipe.  With a trough you would have "active" heating of the air and then the insulation above to keep it warm.

I think I'd rather tear the house down and build a new one if this is required.

 

[Orange&Blue]

Thinking about adding some motion lights and/or external cameras.  Any recommendations?

 

[Orange&Blue]

Is this a thing?  Have never done any kind of treatment to ours

Yes, although I do it every other 

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Yes, although I do it every other 

We redid our kitchen like 7-8 years ago and have never done it.  Looks the same as day 1 

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Is this a thing?  Have never done any kind of treatment to ours

The folks I bought the countertops from said so. I don't recall if they went into any detail about what was required.

The cost was about the same either way, so I don't think they were trying to upsell me. 

 

[wilked]

More context

Some of these have a decent gap, especially near the bottom.

Ok. I’d just lay a bead and be done. If you’re curious on energy performance do the candle test on a somewhat windy day or cold day, that will tell you if there’s significant leakage 

 

[wilked]

To be fair though my wife calls me the caulk master. Not in a flattering way….  I abhor gaps, and caulk everything (joke writes itself here) 

 

[Wingnut]

24" x 24" porcelain tile is being installed throughout the house, it's looking real good! Should be finished tomorrow, baseboards go in Saturday.

Day 1

Day 2

 

[sho nuff]

Thinking about adding some motion lights and/or external cameras.  Any recommendations?

Ive got the ring spotlight one I like pretty well.  We already had the doorbell...and later added the alarm system.  Then found a coded deadbolt lock that works with all of it (and alexa).  Its nice being able to lock or unlock the door from anywhere...set the alarms...check cameras (especially while away in WIsconsin...let a neighbor in to drop something off and was able to lock the door back and reset the alarm to away again when they were out).

I guess if you don't have any other "smart" items...you may want something different. 

But look in to what all works together and decide if you are going to add more in the future...then go with what works best for you to integrate multiple things.

 

[SWC]

To be fair though my wife calls me the caulk master. Not in a flattering way….  I abhor gaps, and caulk everything (joke writes itself here) 

my lady calls me the same thing but she spells it different take that to the bank brohans 

 

[wilked]

By the way, not sure if I ever shared the final product of my Master Bath.  This shows the key steps along the way, along w/ the final.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OhxasIpcnspPisOo89BsCGPwJIWMLGa8?usp=sharing

Cost ~35K all in, split out as such:

-Plumber: $6K

-Carpentry/Tile labor: $5K

-Roofer: $500

-Plasterer: $650

-Demo: $1750

-Vanity/Sink: $3K

-Spray Foam: $1000

-Tub: $800

-Tile: $2500

-Lighting: $750

-Plumbing Fixtures: $2000

-Shower Glass: $2800

-Kerdi/Ditra: $1500

-Misc materials: $4000

I did a decent bit of the work, but my primary role was designer and GC.  Designed the whole thing, hired individual trades, lined em up, oversaw their work, etc etc.  My FIL is an electrician and he and I did the electric (I did most of the rough, ran the home runs, he helped place all the boxes and the in panel work).  

Fun project, though glad to be done.  

Generally very happy with the result.  Not much for learnings, but have these:

-The shower pan has a low spot in a corner where water can pool.  No idea how it happened, but it happened.  Only way I can fix it is to retile over it, which is a fine solution but I'm not going to worry about it for a while if it all.  My guy should have checked it, but I wish I would have emphasized to him that the final shower be free-draining / well-sloped to drain.  Best I can figure is the foam in the Schluter shower pan got depressed in that corner from people (me, others) standing on it while working.

-I'm loving the washlet/bidet.  Adding an outlet near the toilet was a late addition (neighbor recomendation), but a good one

-A 40x40" shower is very big, spacious.  I was worried it would be a little tight but I was wrong, that's a nice size

-We got our wall tile online from Cali.  1/4 of it showed up broken.  I will never get tile from a non-local supply again.  Delayed the project 2 months to re-stock it.  

-A 60" soaking tub is a little tight for a grown man (me).  Not that I take a lot of baths, but in retrospect bigger might have been better.  But I was space constrained so probably wouldn't change it anyway

-I should have laid good strong protection over the floor the moment it was installed.  Ended up having to do a lot of work to clean it at the end, especially being porous slate.  That was dumb of me.

-

 

[Fat Nick]

Thinking about adding some motion lights and/or external cameras.  Any recommendations?

I have Ring cameras.  4 total.  I've been happy.

Mine are the kind-of-hard-to-find Power over Ethernet "Stick-up Cameras."  If you have slower wifi or want to maximize reliability, I'd highly recommend POE.  These things take up a ton of bandwidth on your internal network, even if not transmitting outside your local network.  If you are running more than one, or want to have high resolution or more frequent imaging, you'll slow everything down wirelessly.

I ran some Cat6 to my locations and run over POE.  Super reliable, can use the highest resolutions without problems, and leaves my wireless bandwidth free.

 

[Lion to myself]

By the way, not sure if I ever shared the final product of my Master Bath.  This shows the key steps along the way, along w/ the final.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OhxasIpcnspPisOo89BsCGPwJIWMLGa8?usp=sharing

Love it!  Looks beautiful and functional in the space.  Going with the frameless shower stall was super smart from a design prospective IMO.  I can look at pictures like this all day, thank you for sharing!

 

[Wingnut]

24" x 24" porcelain tile is being installed throughout the house, it's looking real good! Should be finished tomorrow, baseboards go in Saturday.

Day 1

Day 2

Tile done. The original estimate said 9 business days from demo to finish, and it only took them 5 days. Gotta love projects that finish ahead of schedule.

Baseboards going in this weekend. Kitchen cabinets and countertops next week. It's been a crazy few weeks planning, hiring, coordinating, operating on very little sleep, stressing...can't wait for all of this to be done.

We bought this house 3 years ago and it's up 65% or so before these upgrades, curious what the appraisal next month will be.

 

[wilked]

Tile done. The original estimate said 9 business days from demo to finish, and it only took them 5 days. Gotta love projects that finish ahead of schedule.

Baseboards going in this weekend. Kitchen cabinets and countertops next week. It's been a crazy few weeks planning, hiring, coordinating, operating on very little sleep, stressing...can't wait for all of this to be done.

We bought this house 3 years ago and it's up 65% or so before these upgrades, curious what the appraisal next month will be.

Appraisal? You getting a refi? 

 

[Wingnut]

Appraisal? You getting a refi? 

No, just curious to know what it's worth and how much equity we have.

 

[Steady Mooobin]

So the wife says before I can buy another car I need to build a garage. This spring I am going to build this exact garage to the T. I’ll get somebody else to pour the slab and connect the electric but I’ll be doing everything else. 

Any advice on where to get some drawings/plans? The guy in the video said he used “CAD solidworks”. I checked and it looks like that’s a program for builders and there’s no pricing on their website. 
 

TIA!

 

[Uruk-Hai]

So the wife says before I can buy another car I need to build a garage. This spring I am going to build this exact garage to the T. I’ll get somebody else to pour the slab and connect the electric but I’ll be doing everything else. 

Any advice on where to get some drawings/plans? The guy in the video said he used “CAD solidworks”. I checked and it looks like that’s a program for builders and there’s no pricing on their website. 
 

TIA!

84 Lumber used to sell garage packages, but I have no idea if they still do. You'd get the plans and all of the building material (lumber, windows, shingles, etc.. - no mechanicals, though, if i recall correctly ) from slab on up.

 

[Osaurus]

We are getting new 175 mph impact resistant windows for the house including a triple slider in the family room. That thing costs as much to replace as all the other windows combined. Right now the estimated install is 20 weeks out (that’s mid-June) because they can’t get raw materials for manufacturing. Oof. 

 

[Uruk-Hai]

We are getting new 175 mph impact resistant windows for the house including a triple slider in the family room. That thing costs as much to replace as all the other windows combined. Right now the estimated install is 20 weeks out (that’s mid-June) because they can’t get raw materials for manufacturing. Oof. 

I am having the same issue. In mid-2020, I had gotten a quote to replace siding/shingles/gutters/decking on my house. I had to put that on hold while dealing with the aftermath of my flood. By March 2021, I was ready to go. By that time, the material cost had almost triple and stock Trex decking was out at least 16 weeks (shingles were like 12 weeks and the siding was  ). I could have held the contractor's feet to the fire on the cost (they had no "good through" date or escalator clause in their quote), but I wouldn't have felt right - these folks had done other work for me in the past and always treated me fair.

I'm going to check in with them this coming week, but - given what I see in my corner of the construction universe - I'm not hopeful pricing or lead times have improved.

 

[Wingnut]

In the process of replacing crappy laminate floor throughout the house with nice 24" x 24" porcelain tile, and getting new kitchen cabinets (as well as changing the footprint a bit)

Kitchen pre demo

Kitchen post demo

Island wall being built

Can't wait for all this work to be done.

Tile and cabinets done. Just countertops and sink left.

New cabinets installed

New island/step up bar

 

[Osaurus]

Tile and cabinets done. Just countertops and sink left.

New cabinets installed

New island/step up bar

Looks really good. 

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Finished up our attic renovation. Did a lot of the work myself, subbed out a lot of it too. Two rooms: a rec room and an exercise room. Weren't much to speak of beforehand; storage mostly.

It's been a game-changer for me and the family. 

Pics

 

[Steady Mooobin]

Finished up our attic renovation. Did a lot of the work myself, subbed out a lot of it too. Two rooms: a rec room and an exercise room. Weren't much to speak of beforehand; storage mostly.

It's been a game-changer for me and the family. 

Pics

Wow that looks great. Probably will help with the heating/cooling temps and bills too. Way to get an two extra free rooms! 

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Wow that looks great. Probably will help with the heating/cooling temps and bills too. Way to get an two extra free rooms! 

Yeah you're right, it's all about the added space, especially helpful during COVID. Prior to this, we  didn't really have a rec space, just a pretty nice living room that we occasionally turned into a lounging space.

Live in the Bay Area near the coast, so don't really need to heat or cool, although the attic got really hot before we put in the spray foam insulation. We put the mini-splits in because, due to code, we have to condition the space in order to add the square footage to the house. 

Sitting up there watching the games yesterday with my 8 year old makes every splinter, every hardware store trip, every missed contractor appointment, every mess up painting, totally worth it.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Another concurrent project, one in which I did pretty much zero work, though I did serve as sort of a co-GC. A kitchen remodel, also recently finished. Kitchen had been last remodeled in 1974 (house built in 1907). Kitchen absolutely sucked, and COVID made being in it all the time significantly worse, so we bit the bullet. We knocked down a wall and took out a "useless" room. The remodel was 7 months of hell. We set up a makeshift kitchen in our mudroom, we cooked on a hot plate and in a toaster, we did dishes in a bucket. Again, totally worth it, but easy to say now.

Pics

 

[wilked]

Another concurrent project, one in which I did pretty much zero work, though I did serve as sort of a co-GC. A kitchen remodel, also recently finished. Kitchen had been last remodeled in 1974 (house built in 1907). Kitchen absolutely sucked, and COVID made being in it all the time significantly worse, so we bit the bullet. We knocked down a wall and took out a "useless" room. The remodel was 7 months of hell. We set up a makeshift kitchen in our mudroom, we cooked on a hot plate and in a toaster, we did dishes in a bucket. Again, totally worth it, but easy to say now.

Pics

Am I missing something? I see two different kitchens in those photos 

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Am I missing something? I see two different kitchens in those photos 

before and after

 

[Steady Mooobin]

before and after

Which is which? Both look pretty nice but I like one more than the other.

I figured it out. White was the older kitchen. Not my style but the work looks great. 
 

(that’s not a knock, colors are subjective to the individual) 

 

[wilked]

before and after

I gotta be honest - that white one may well have been an “after” photo set for most people’s renos 

edit to add - minus the floor, that had to go 

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

I gotta be honest - that white one may well have been an “after” photo set for most people’s renos 

edit to add - minus the floor, that had to go 

Not my pics, realtor's staging photos. Fresh paint, new but cheap "marble" countertops that chipped easily, old appliances, 1970s era electric cooktop. Lipstick on a pig.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Not my pics, realtor's staging photos. Fresh paint, new but cheap "marble" countertops that chipped easily, old appliances, 1970s era electric cooktop. Lipstick on a pig.

Looks great.

The biggest issue to me with the "before" version is where the refrigerator was. That would drive me crazy. Much better layout now.

 

[Steady Mooobin]

Not my pics, realtor's staging photos. Fresh paint, new but cheap "marble" countertops that chipped easily, old appliances, 1970s era electric cooktop. Lipstick on a pig.

The stovetop gave it away. 
 

I love the gold pulls on the new cabinets. 
 

My SIL redid her kitchen- if anyone is doing theirs - drawers on the lower cabinets over cabinets all day long. So much more useful space. 

 

[Steady Mooobin]

If anyone is planning a garage- Menards has an incredibly useful free online program to help design your garage. 
 

Credit to @Eggs for the link. 

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

I love the gold pulls on the new cabinets. 

Thank you. I'll tell my wife.

Rejuvenation.com. Amazing stuff on that website. I think we spent about a grand...on hardware. Sheesh.

 

[Wingnut]

What breed of countertop are you going with?

Granite

Nice. I went quartz because I'm lazy and didn't want to have to treat granite once a year. Keep posting pics as things come along.

Actually found out the stone we chose, Fantasy Brown, is more of a marble/quartzite hybrid/combo stone. It has characteristics of marble, quartz AND granite, and will indeed need to be sealed every year or so.

https://www.thegraniteplace.net/blog/fantasy-brown-stone/

"Fantasy Brown, which is quarried in the Northern India region of Rajasthan, is technically a sedimentary stone. It is therefore erroneous to call it granite. Technically, it is a combination of marble and quartzite. According to the Natural Stone Institute, Fantasy Brown is made of layers of marble and quartzite that have been fused together over time."

 

[Chadstroma]

I have a wall that I need to patch the drywall for (basement leaking that needed repair). 

I am looking at a 22" x 30" needed. I can only find 23" x 23" or 4' x 8', I rather not buy a full sheet of 4' x 8' to cut the piece I need and then waste the rest. Any good ideas? Is there a special place that might sell 4' x 4' at least? 

 

[ChiefD]

I have a wall that I need to patch the drywall for (basement leaking that needed repair). 

I am looking at a 22" x 30" needed. I can only find 23" x 23" or 4' x 8', I rather not buy a full sheet of 4' x 8' to cut the piece I need and then waste the rest. Any good ideas? Is there a special place that might sell 4' x 4' at least? 

If you have any new construction going on around you drive to a subdivision and grab some from a dumpster.  Or just go in and ask the drywall guys if you can have some scrap.

 

[AAABatteries]

Looking for some advice.  I have an upstairs bedroom that was my oldest son’s.  He had a puppy who did some light damage in the room with the carpet - enough where the carpet probably needs to be replaced.  My son moved out recently and we want to turn the room in to a spare room/workout area.  It’s a large enough room to hold the bed a couple pieces of furniture and then a treadmill and some other workout stuff (could even have a bench).

So, I’m trying to figure out what to do with the flooring.  Options seem to be:

- Repair the carpet - probably by far the easiest and cheapest if I can find a small bit of carpet to match.

- Hardwood - this seems like it would be the option I’d like the most aesthetically but would be the most expensive.  Concern is also damaging the hardwoods with work out area

- workout flooring - this would maybe be temporary but I’d like to pursue option here because long term once another kid moves out I would think we would make it a full workout room and convert other bedroom to guest room.  But we’d want something that still looks ok.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I have a wall that I need to patch the drywall for (basement leaking that needed repair). 

I am looking at a 22" x 30" needed. I can only find 23" x 23" or 4' x 8', I rather not buy a full sheet of 4' x 8' to cut the piece I need and then waste the rest. Any good ideas? Is there a special place that might sell 4' x 4' at least? 

If you have any new construction going on around you drive to a subdivision and grab some from a dumpster.  Or just go in and ask the drywall guys if you can have some scrap.

What Chief Said, though some local mom-and-pop HI stores sell half sheets (48" x 48").