What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

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

Congrats on the house.

I'm guessing you'll be a regular in this thread :thumbup:
Thanks, and oh yes. The list of projects is piling up. For some stuff, I'm just going to throw money at and have somebody else do (while trying to save money for the big stuff I'll have to throw money at in the next 3-9 months, like a heat pump and some tree work).

For my personal projects, to start will be a 13 foot wheelchair ramp for the ol' lady. I've built a couple of 8 footers at the current place. I'm not the most handy person, but they were pretty good and confidence builders for this 13 footer that will be my masterpiece. Still got to do some planning. It's not totally necessary when moving in. She can actually get in and out of the house with a little help without the chair for a while, but it's pretty inconvenient for both of us, so I'm going to try to get it done as soon as possible.

That, and some small grading/gutter downspout extension stuff to get more water running away from the foundation will be first, I think.

 
Hmmm, I'd recommend you to include iPads in your 'play set' if my teen girls are any indication of where your daughters interest will be turning the next couple of years.
yeah, duly noted. 

was thinking along the lines of one swing, along with a double seater (mostly for me and gf) - no slide or mini-house, etc .... something a bit more 'mature', so to speak. 

as far as her iPad and phone - she is given allotted time per day, and that's it - they are (and will continue to be) banned from the yard. 

 
@wilked @KCitons

Thanks guys! The screws worked WAY better (I used for the second box, which looks awesome) than the long spikes did.

HERE are some photos of the process and product. The 2x6s (which I had to treat for outdoor weather) are going to go in the ground on the edge of my pits, and then these boxes will go on top of them, where they'll be filled in with a sand/gravel mix. I've got some landscape matting or whatever you'd call it to line the bottoms of the pits to prevent things growing up into them.

For my 2nd solo project ever (I made our nightstands with my fiance also), I'm pretty pleased. Learned a lot.

 
@wilked @KCitons

Thanks guys! The screws worked WAY better (I used for the second box, which looks awesome) than the long spikes did.

HERE are some photos of the process and product. The 2x6s (which I had to treat for outdoor weather) are going to go in the ground on the edge of my pits, and then these boxes will go on top of them, where they'll be filled in with a sand/gravel mix. I've got some landscape matting or whatever you'd call it to line the bottoms of the pits to prevent things growing up into them.

For my 2nd solo project ever (I made our nightstands with my fiance also), I'm pretty pleased. Learned a lot.
Put two layers of landscape mesh just to be sure. As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, weeds seem to be able to grow through anything.

 
@wilked @KCitons

Thanks guys! The screws worked WAY better (I used for the second box, which looks awesome) than the long spikes did.

HERE are some photos of the process and product. The 2x6s (which I had to treat for outdoor weather) are going to go in the ground on the edge of my pits, and then these boxes will go on top of them, where they'll be filled in with a sand/gravel mix. I've got some landscape matting or whatever you'd call it to line the bottoms of the pits to prevent things growing up into them.

For my 2nd solo project ever (I made our nightstands with my fiance also), I'm pretty pleased. Learned a lot.
Those look like drywall screws. Don't use them if all possible, especially for outdoor construction.

 
Ya you want galvanized screws. Deck screws are an easy bet (will be labeled deck screw)   Don't take the drywall screws out, just add the galvis 

 
I would take the drywall screws out actually. Not that aesthetics are the most important thing, but they will rust and discolor the surrounding wood. This is assuming any of that will actually be visible. 

 
Spray painted ceiling fan blades yesterday, and still have a spray painty scent to them today.  Dont want to hang back up and have that smell spread through bedroom when spinning.  Will that smell go away as the next couple of days go by? Have them sitting in garage now. 

 
Spray painted ceiling fan blades yesterday, and still have a spray painty scent to them today.  Dont want to hang back up and have that smell spread through bedroom when spinning.  Will that smell go away as the next couple of days go by? Have them sitting in garage now. 
outside drying down?

gotta think that's your best bet, lest it's raining  :shrug:

 
outside drying down?

gotta think that's your best bet, lest it's raining  :shrug:
They were sprayed yesterday outdoors and brought them into garage overnight. They are dry to the touch, but assuming/hoping still not 100% dried hard with the scent still?

 
They were sprayed yesterday outdoors and brought them into garage overnight. They are dry to the touch, but assuming/hoping still not 100% dried hard with the scent still?
gotcha ... would allot more time for fume odor to dissipate before spinning.  

 
Want to build a covered porch off the back of the house.  Currently have a den with a 12 foot wide back wall that has a door in the middle and a window on either side.  Want to knock out that wall and put in a nice double french door with side lights (and maybe top lights), and then from there cover the patio just outside that door (about 12x12 patio).  Just want to put a roof over it, with pillars on the far corners.  Maybe some improved landscaping around it, and perhaps put in a bar somewhere with a stone countertop and some space underneath for a mini fridge and the like.  Want the roof to be vaulted so we can have a nice big ceiling fan.

Not something I could realistically take on myself.  What's this kind of project going to cost me?  I'm assuming $20k or more, maybe as high as $35k if I do lots of high end finishings and the like.  If I were to trust all those HGTV shows, it would be a $5k or $10k project...  maybe I need to move to Waco....

Also, any features folks have in their outside covered porches that I should get?  I considered speakers etc., but that's so dated now -- we just pop our Amazon Tap outside when we're out there and it's great.  I'm thinking a serving station and bar for drinks/electrical to plug in a fridge and some outlets for laptops and stuff.  I also contemplated hanging a TV out there... could imagine hanging out there on a night night and watching, or more likely watching Football out there in the afternoons in the fall etc.  Anything else worth considering?  Considered a stone fireplace but that's probably a bunch more expense and will take up a bunch of space and close it off.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Spray painted ceiling fan blades yesterday, and still have a spray painty scent to them today.  Dont want to hang back up and have that smell spread through bedroom when spinning.  Will that smell go away as the next couple of days go by? Have them sitting in garage now. 
Even if it's not raining, most parts of the country have a level of humidity that is not the best for drying paint. The can should have an idea of normal dry times, I usually add 2-3x to that if humidity is above normal. 

 
Finished replacing the master bathroom tub(rusted out), repainting said bathroom and retiling the area, which is now a shower basin with glass doors. Next up is repainting the master bedroom, and taking down the popcorn ceiling.
Doing this now. I've got everything covered in cement board and the seams taped and/or covered. Next week my plumber changes out the shower fixture and then I can put in the liner and do my mortar base. 

I'm absoutly petrified I don't have my curb perfect for my glass. I've measured dozens of times and I feel good about it but until that glass is lined up and connected to the brackets I'm gonna be worried. 

Thinking about mock setting up my glass on the non tiled curb tonight to just be sure I have the correct angles. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Want to build a covered porch off the back of the house.  Currently have a den with a 12 foot wide back wall that has a door in the middle and a window on either side.  Want to knock out that wall and put in a nice double french door with side lights (and maybe top lights), and then from there cover the patio just outside that door (about 12x12 patio).  Just want to put a roof over it, with pillars on the far corners.  Maybe some improved landscaping around it, and perhaps put in a bar somewhere with a stone countertop and some space underneath for a mini fridge and the like.  Want the roof to be vaulted so we can have a nice big ceiling fan.

Not something I could realistically take on myself.  What's this kind of project going to cost me?  I'm assuming $20k or more, maybe as high as $35k if I do lots of high end finishings and the like.  If I were to trust all those HGTV shows, it would be a $5k or $10k project...  maybe I need to move to Waco....

Also, any features folks have in their outside covered porches that I should get?  I considered speakers etc., but that's so dated now -- we just pop our Amazon Tap outside when we're out there and it's great.  I'm thinking a serving station and bar for drinks/electrical to plug in a fridge and some outlets for laptops and stuff.  I also contemplated hanging a TV out there... could imagine hanging out there on a night night and watching, or more likely watching Football out there in the afternoons in the fall etc.  Anything else worth considering?  Considered a stone fireplace but that's probably a bunch more expense and will take up a bunch of space and close it off.
Have you considered how much light you will lose in the room that enters into the deck? Putting a large roof over what was the door and window will block the sun a bunch.

Are you covering your entire deck? Do you have an area that would not be covered for grill(s)?

We were considering something similar and decided not to do it. I will post what our plan was in a bit. Might help with $$$.

 
Closing on the house tomorrow. Gonna go pick up a $180 push mower today, and push mow that thing like a real man right after closing tomorrow night.
For anybody in the market for a self-propelled push mower, go to Sam's right now. I had settled on a Troy-Bilt with a 160cc Honda motor for $250 from Lowe's. Not self-propelled. I literally put the mower in the van, and head to Sam's to buy #### for the restaurant. I get in, look over when buying something else and see a Honda mower, self-propelled, 160cc motor for $199. I pick up my #### (already have Lowe's mower in the van and have to load a bunch of other stuff), go do a few hours of work and come back to Sam's to buy the mower. It rings up at $149. It's this little guy. Listed at $300 online and out of stock. Any similar mower is about $330 at Lowe's/Home Depot. But rings up at $150 at the register at Sam's. Must be a Labor Day sale or something. 

 
Trying to reclaim about 40% of the back yard which has always been a jungle. Call a bush hogging master to give me an estimate. Looks at it and says he needs a chainsaw crew to cut everything down 1st. Then bush hogg to get rid of stumps. Then plow or till so grass could then grow. Said he would text me an estimate. Im scared of the estimate and he is probably scared of the yard.

 
I would take the drywall screws out actually. Not that aesthetics are the most important thing, but they will rust and discolor the surrounding wood. This is assuming any of that will actually be visible. 
These are things I never would have known. I just dug through the tool chest and found the only screws that seemed long enough to go through. HA. Thanks.

 
Have you considered how much light you will lose in the room that enters into the deck? Putting a large roof over what was the door and window will block the sun a bunch.

Are you covering your entire deck? Do you have an area that would not be covered for grill(s)?

We were considering something similar and decided not to do it. I will post what our plan was in a bit. Might help with $$$.
Thanks, would love to see the plans. 

Yes we have another area for the grill, so should be OK. This is just a hangout area, which we use pretty frequently now and I believe will use all the time once we cover it and can roll out some nicer furniture, an outdoor rug, etc. 

You make a good point about the light, which I had considered, but the room is a fairly narrow office/den, not a main room, and we will mostly just lose morning light (when we are rarely ever in there). So I think worth the trade off. And another reason I want to make the whole wall basically windows, to minimize the openness/light hit as much as possible. 

Thanks for the offer on the plans, would love to see them. 

 
Want to build a covered porch off the back of the house.  Currently have a den with a 12 foot wide back wall that has a door in the middle and a window on either side.  Want to knock out that wall and put in a nice double french door with side lights (and maybe top lights), and then from there cover the patio just outside that door (about 12x12 patio).  Just want to put a roof over it, with pillars on the far corners.  Maybe some improved landscaping around it, and perhaps put in a bar somewhere with a stone countertop and some space underneath for a mini fridge and the like.  Want the roof to be vaulted so we can have a nice big ceiling fan.

Not something I could realistically take on myself.  What's this kind of project going to cost me?  I'm assuming $20k or more, maybe as high as $35k if I do lots of high end finishings and the like.  If I were to trust all those HGTV shows, it would be a $5k or $10k project...  maybe I need to move to Waco....

Also, any features folks have in their outside covered porches that I should get?  I considered speakers etc., but that's so dated now -- we just pop our Amazon Tap outside when we're out there and it's great.  I'm thinking a serving station and bar for drinks/electrical to plug in a fridge and some outlets for laptops and stuff.  I also contemplated hanging a TV out there... could imagine hanging out there on a night night and watching, or more likely watching Football out there in the afternoons in the fall etc.  Anything else worth considering?  Considered a stone fireplace but that's probably a bunch more expense and will take up a bunch of space and close it off.
I have you in for at least $50k. Think you are way off on your numbers 

 
These are things I never would have known. I just dug through the tool chest and found the only screws that seemed long enough to go through. HA. Thanks.
Yea, it is something that most people don't think about. A screw is a screw. Except when it isn't :)

Also - I always go with torx head screws these days (star shaped). So much better

 
Have you considered how much light you will lose in the room that enters into the deck? Putting a large roof over what was the door and window will block the sun a bunch.

Are you covering your entire deck? Do you have an area that would not be covered for grill(s)?

We were considering something similar and decided not to do it. I will post what our plan was in a bit. Might help with $$$.
Thanks, would love to see the plans. 

Yes we have another area for the grill, so should be OK. This is just a hangout area, which we use pretty frequently now and I believe will use all the time once we cover it and can roll out some nicer furniture, an outdoor rug, etc. 

You make a good point about the light, which I had considered, but the room is a fairly narrow office/den, not a main room, and we will mostly just lose morning light (when we are rarely ever in there). So I think worth the trade off. And another reason I want to make the whole wall basically windows, to minimize the openness/light hit as much as possible. 

Thanks for the offer on the plans, would love to see them. 
We were thinking of doing this because here in DC, having an enclosed area would be positive because of the huge amount of the year that we can be outside, and having something shaded would be nice and extend that part of the year during our hot sticky summers. The shade and a fan or two would make that space useable.

I don't think we ever got to the point where they drew up 'plans;' it was more to the point of a proposal that we ended up thinking was too expensive, and was going to affect the lighting in the main room of our house.

We have a roughly 12x20 deck that is about 10' off the ground that we were going to enclose. All that we would need to do would be add the roof, and the supports in the corners. We were then going to add about 8-10' off one side to make the deck almost the whole width of our house. The addition was going to be open, and that is what I was going to use as an area to grill. We were going to have to relocate the stairs, and were deciding whether to replace the flooring on the original area. We also were going to add a french door from the house out to the enclosed area.

The price was in the neighborhood of $15k+, more if we replaced the flooring, and more depending on what material we used. We decided that it was too much $$$ and that having it blocking light would be an issue. The room that it is off is our Great Room, kitchen, eating area and living area.

I hope this helps. And if I remember any more, I'll add it. You are near NYC, correct? Not sure, but that might raise pricing some. DC is fairly expensive, but not NYC expensive!

 
Want to build a covered porch off the back of the house.  Currently have a den with a 12 foot wide back wall that has a door in the middle and a window on either side.  Want to knock out that wall and put in a nice double french door with side lights (and maybe top lights), and then from there cover the patio just outside that door (about 12x12 patio).  Just want to put a roof over it, with pillars on the far corners.  Maybe some improved landscaping around it, and perhaps put in a bar somewhere with a stone countertop and some space underneath for a mini fridge and the like.  Want the roof to be vaulted so we can have a nice big ceiling fan.

Not something I could realistically take on myself.  What's this kind of project going to cost me?  I'm assuming $20k or more, maybe as high as $35k if I do lots of high end finishings and the like.  If I were to trust all those HGTV shows, it would be a $5k or $10k project...  maybe I need to move to Waco....

Also, any features folks have in their outside covered porches that I should get?  I considered speakers etc., but that's so dated now -- we just pop our Amazon Tap outside when we're out there and it's great.  I'm thinking a serving station and bar for drinks/electrical to plug in a fridge and some outlets for laptops and stuff.  I also contemplated hanging a TV out there... could imagine hanging out there on a night night and watching, or more likely watching Football out there in the afternoons in the fall etc.  Anything else worth considering?  Considered a stone fireplace but that's probably a bunch more expense and will take up a bunch of space and close it off.
one of these is on my radar as well...after we put the pool in (hopefully next summer) this will go over the patio. 

I think you are right on the cost of the structure (we are on LI as well...def not Texas prices), I think when you start adding outdoor kitchen elements that could swing the price upward a bunch. 

One thing we would add to ours is a sliding track for mosquito netting. Something that you can slide them away and tie to one of the supports when not using it. But at night it would be a must with our Long Island biters. We currently have a 10x12 gazebo tent with screens that we hang out in at night in the summer. This would just be a permanent, larger version of that. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Trying to reclaim about 40% of the back yard which has always been a jungle. Call a bush hogging master to give me an estimate. Looks at it and says he needs a chainsaw crew to cut everything down 1st. Then bush hogg to get rid of stumps. Then plow or till so grass could then grow. Said he would text me an estimate. Im scared of the estimate and he is probably scared of the yard.
To cut trees and bushes, de-stump area, and bring back yard to grade with 2 loads of topsoil ... $2500
Without topsoil... $2000

 
That would be too much for me to pay, mostly cause I would see the yard work as exercise and I'm cheap but seems fairly reasonable if you think about how much manpower is involved plus hauling away. 
Gotcha. Well the hauling away they will have easy, the neighborhood spot for that is the next lot over.

 
shifty i think it really depends on how many stumps you are talking how big they are and if you are having them remove the grindings and how much grading you are talking if it is going to involve serious work and a blade or anything with tracks and you do not have access to equipment or know a buddy that does not sound too bad to me take that to the bank brohan 

 
the moops said:
Yea, it is something that most people don't think about. A screw is a screw. Except when it isn't :)

Also - I always go with torx head screws these days (star shaped). So much better
Found some good deck screws (with a star bit, actually) and put them in. They were actually a bit longer too, which was nice. Thanks again.

 
extension is almost all sided, windows in, and looking like a house from the outside again.

Inside is another story. The new part is completely bare still, kids rooms were extended, so 1/2 of their rooms are torn up. So right now they are sleeping in our room (can't finish up that side of the job fast enough) 

Pouring the basement floor today

and the other trades are starting to show up. Plumber is there moving the heat and such. Electrician next week and then hopefully sheetrock and spakle in the kids room by the week after. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
extension is almost all sided, windows in, and looking like a house from the outside again.

Inside is another story. The new part is completely bare still, kids rooms were extended, so 1/2 of there rooms are torn up. So right now they are sleeping in our room (can't finish up that side of the job fast enough) 

Pouring the basement floor today

and the other trades are starting to show up. Plumber is there moving the heat and such. Electrician next week and then hopefully sheetrock and spakle in the kids room by the week after. 
Looking good!

 
shifty i think it really depends on how many stumps you are talking how big they are and if you are having them remove the grindings and how much grading you are talking if it is going to involve serious work and a blade or anything with tracks and you do not have access to equipment or know a buddy that does not sound too bad to me take that to the bank brohan 
Taking out stumps is a horrible activity.  I agree with STEADY that I'm cheap and view yard work as exercise, but taking out stumps isn't worth it.  I've taken out ~18 white pines around our property that were anywhere from 3" to 10" in diameter.  I took out about the first 8 smaller ones by hand with an axe and digging iron, then used a hi-lift jack to pull out about 4 more.  I finally gave up and had a guy come with a little bobcat.  For $200 he ripped them up and graded the spots for the last 6 in like 30 minutes.  Money well spent. 

I've got ~75 more (yeah...the whole back property line is a double-line of them, WAY too close together) that I'll have to take out in the next few years.  With some jobs, you start to reach a threshold where you can almost justify renting the equipment and doing it yourself.  I'll price out what it'd cost to have them removed, but my guess is it'll be $7-8K.  I can probably rent a dumpster for the stumps, and a back-hoe for a weekend and rip them all out myself for $4K. 

 
nice work parasomanylettersphus that is a really nice looking job contgrats brohan take that to the bank

 
To cut trees and bushes, de-stump area, and bring back yard to grade with 2 loads of topsoil ... $2500
Without topsoil... $2000
this sounds like a steal

depending on where the trees are, proximity to other homes or power lines, etc. tree removal can get spendy. 

getting them down, stumps out and the yard leveled for 2500 seems totally reasonable. especially when considering how long that would take a normal person and family/friends.

 
Marble? You'll want to seal it first if you haven't already
Oy. I have gone back and forth on this so many times. I did a test tile of each a while back to see if the grout color would soak into the tile. It does not. I was very nervous about sealing first since i was concerned about bond. Its a shower that is on an outside wall and i am in wisconsin. So i am worried about expansion and contraction causing grout joints to fail.

Thought about just being careful and sealing just the faces using a small paint brush, but figured why waste the time since there are no worries of discoloration and the grout wipes off super easy. 

Is there anything else i would need to worry about?

 
My first ever homeowner project wasn't what I had in mind. Replacing a busted window pane in the basement door. My new home had to be broken into, by my FIL, before I even moved in.

He was very kind and gracious to get the floors refinished as a housewarming gift. Awesome to do, but the floor refinisher locked himself out of the house. Busting a window was the only option. 

But, the floors look fantastic and it gave me an excuse to go over to my new house and have a couple cold pops while fixing the window (why the floor guy didn't do it, I don't know, but I've never met the guy).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Oy. I have gone back and forth on this so many times. I did a test tile of each a while back to see if the grout color would soak into the tile. It does not. I was very nervous about sealing first since i was concerned about bond. Its a shower that is on an outside wall and i am in wisconsin. So i am worried about expansion and contraction causing grout joints to fail.

Thought about just being careful and sealing just the faces using a small paint brush, but figured why waste the time since there are no worries of discoloration and the grout wipes off super easy. 

Is there anything else i would need to worry about?
Not that I know of--the grout discoloration was my first thought. It's been awhile since I've worked with marble though so maybe that's old school. 

 
Officially moved in. By some miracle (meaning a lot of help from family and good friends), we got it all pretty much done yesterday. The honey do list is still fairly long, but nothing urgent (at least, from my perspective) and the yard is mowed (pushing wasn't too bad, and self-propelled really comes in handy). 

Closed the restaurant tomorrow too to give myself time to get the ol' lady and the dog fully settled in. Now, I'm trying to muster up the energy to throw some ribs on grill. Well, first, I'm going to have another cold beer and toss some of the fresh batch of tennis balls I got the dog as a housewarming gift. 

 
what should i be looking for when purchasing a used trailer?

something to haul yard waste, etc. 

wheel size? weight rating? a certain width/depth? swinging gate?

 
So the previous owners left the ducts into the crawl space wide open.  I was able to close most of them with some extra bricks that were left over in the back yard. However, I discovered another opening which was behind a bush and I now know that there is something living in there.  I've put a door mat leaning up against the hole 3 nights in a row and each morning it has been removed.  Any advice?  

I can't close up the hole and have the creature die in there.   I think It might be a skunk or a possum...possibly a raccoon.   There is a pop door on the floor in one of the closets that goes down there, but I'm not about to go in there with the possibility of a skunk.  

 
So the previous owners left the ducts into the crawl space wide open.  I was able to close most of them with some extra bricks that were left over in the back yard. However, I discovered another opening which was behind a bush and I now know that there is something living in there.  I've put a door mat leaning up against the hole 3 nights in a row and each morning it has been removed.  Any advice?  

I can't close up the hole and have the creature die in there.   I think It might be a skunk or a possum...possibly a raccoon.   There is a pop door on the floor in one of the closets that goes down there, but I'm not about to go in there with the possibility of a skunk.  
You probably need to pay somebody to set a trap outside the entrance.  We just did that (first a skunk, then a couple of possums), and the cost was about $75 to set it.  I tried all the homegrown remedies (including spraying my piss into our crawlspace with a $2 Target squirt gun  :P ), but eventually needed to go with the trap.  

 
Our current project is gutting an extension to redo it (9' x 18' space).  But project A leads to project B, and so with that rehab we're having the 70 year old house rewired.  It's a good feeling to know we'll have all new wiring and electrical box, but it's still $5K to get it done.

 
You probably need to pay somebody to set a trap outside the entrance.  We just did that (first a skunk, then a couple of possums), and the cost was about $75 to set it.  I tried all the homegrown remedies (including spraying my piss into our crawlspace with a $2 Target squirt gun  :P ), but eventually needed to go with the trap.  
Couldn't he just buy a live trap, bait it and set it himself? Rather than pay someone? I've got a bunch of live traps and have caught 3-4 rats, a couple squirrels, a possum, and a woodchuck that had dug a massive hole under a shed. Think they're maybe 20 bucks.

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top