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

Copeman said:
Renovated a small bathroom a few months ago.  Did it all myself.  The shower wall was in bad shape, water getting through to the studs. Had to rip down the wall here all the way around from the bottom to a few feet above tub lip.  Replaced most of the studs, put new vapor barrier and insulation, new walls, then re-tiled.  Was going to stop there but decided to do the whole thing except for some older tile around the rest of the bathroom which pretty much matched the new tile.  New floor, new flooring, new toilet, vanity, light fixture, everything.

Shower after

Replaced the flooring

New light and medicine cabinet going in

Pretty much done

More

ETA: One last one
Click to expand...
I have to tackle this same project now.   Our house is 10 years old, but we noticed the trim around our bathroom door was a little wet the other day.  Started snooping and looked under the tub and the studs were soaked. 

The seal at the bottom of the glass shower door frame failed and the studs have just been soaking the water up.   Our set up is similar to this picture.   

I know i can't do it all myself, but I feel like i can do the grunt work.  The tiles are so wet the come off pretty easy.  When you said you "replaced most of the studs" do you mean you cut out the wet end of the stud and cut a new piece then braced it to the existing?  I haven't gotten that deep yet, but I'm assuming only the bottom 2 ft of the studs will need to be replaced.  Nothing here is load bearing so I'm hoping this should be fairly simple.  I'm pretty handy, but never tackled anything like this on the house. 

I'm hoping to get the bad wood out and replaced and let a good tile guy come in and finish. 

 
Built a bike maintenance rack thingy.  I will get a pic but a 1/2 flange bolted to a leg of my workbench with 12" of 1/2 pipe, and then a pipe clamp attached to it. Linky

 
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jb1020 said:
I have to tackle this same project now.   Our house is 10 years old, but we noticed the trim around our bathroom door was a little wet the other day.  Started snooping and looked under the tub and the studs were soaked. 

The seal at the bottom of the glass shower door frame failed and the studs have just been soaking the water up.   Our set up is similar to this picture.   

I know i can't do it all myself, but I feel like i can do the grunt work.  The tiles are so wet the come off pretty easy.  When you said you "replaced most of the studs" do you mean you cut out the wet end of the stud and cut a new piece then braced it to the existing?  I haven't gotten that deep yet, but I'm assuming only the bottom 2 ft of the studs will need to be replaced.  Nothing here is load bearing so I'm hoping this should be fairly simple.  I'm pretty handy, but never tackled anything like this on the house. 

I'm hoping to get the bad wood out and replaced and let a good tile guy come in and finish. 
Click to expand...
It would look better purple and gold. :wub:

 
jb1020 said:
I have to tackle this same project now.   Our house is 10 years old, but we noticed the trim around our bathroom door was a little wet the other day.  Started snooping and looked under the tub and the studs were soaked. 

The seal at the bottom of the glass shower door frame failed and the studs have just been soaking the water up.   Our set up is similar to this picture.   

I know i can't do it all myself, but I feel like i can do the grunt work.  The tiles are so wet the come off pretty easy.  When you said you "replaced most of the studs" do you mean you cut out the wet end of the stud and cut a new piece then braced it to the existing?  I haven't gotten that deep yet, but I'm assuming only the bottom 2 ft of the studs will need to be replaced.  Nothing here is load bearing so I'm hoping this should be fairly simple.  I'm pretty handy, but never tackled anything like this on the house. 

I'm hoping to get the bad wood out and replaced and let a good tile guy come in and finish. 
Click to expand...
Regarding the studs, I opened the walls up and put a dehumidifier in the bathroom and shut the door and let it run for a few days.  Dried it all out.  I sprayed the wood with a solvent beforehand that kills mold, specifically made for that.  You can also use a bleach solution.  I then tied (nailed or screwed) some new studs into the existing ones. The really wet part of the studs I removed.

 
Well three days of rain has ended. That means time to landscape the usually hard packed dirt and caliche. I have thick crab and bermuda grass weeds everywhere. Cutting and raking clean today (paying for it). Tiller and trencher being rented for the weekend (get a free day this way as they close Sundays). 10 cubic yards of gravel and decorative rock being dumped Monday. I'll be moving it around for a week while changing up the irrigation and adding a few plants, ugh. The curb appeal part of this project (flipping a fixer) will be done. I've been driving around looking at nicer xeriscapes for ideas and it seems harvesting big rocks from the desert is common though legally a grey area. So I grabbed a dozen - black and orange granite - as big as I can carry each with a flat surface. I might keep stealing from the BLM and make a big stone patio or just go with what I have and make a path from the street to the front door. I'm feeling a little old to be humping rocks and too cheap to pay for the labor. Really not looking forward to the next week, but high heat is coming and I need to be done with outdoor labor asap. Temps next week will vary from 40-80 and then it will be in the 90s until goes to three digits. On a side note, the property next door went on the market and sold in three days for a number that will make me very happy and my place is 800 sq ft bigger and will be nicer all the way around. This could work!

 
Chaos Commish said:
Well three days of rain has ended. That means time to landscape the usually hard packed dirt and caliche. I have thick crab and bermuda grass weeds everywhere. Cutting and raking clean today (paying for it). Tiller and trencher being rented for the weekend (get a free day this way as they close Sundays). 10 cubic yards of gravel and decorative rock being dumped Monday. I'll be moving it around for a week while changing up the irrigation and adding a few plants, ugh. The curb appeal part of this project (flipping a fixer) will be done. I've been driving around looking at nicer xeriscapes for ideas and it seems harvesting big rocks from the desert is common though legally a grey area. So I grabbed a dozen - black and orange granite - as big as I can carry each with a flat surface. I might keep stealing from the BLM and make a big stone patio or just go with what I have and make a path from the street to the front door. I'm feeling a little old to be humping rocks and too cheap to pay for the labor. Really not looking forward to the next week, but high heat is coming and I need to be done with outdoor labor asap. Temps next week will vary from 40-80 and then it will be in the 90s until goes to three digits. On a side note, the property next door went on the market and sold in three days for a number that will make me very happy and my place is 800 sq ft bigger and will be nicer all the way around. This could work!
Click to expand...
That's a ton of grunt work but sounds like the potential pay day should give you plenty of incentive.

I recommend Advil or Aleve before you start. Don't wait until it hurts because at our age it's not a matter of "if" it will hurt  ... it's a matter of "when".

 
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Bossman said:
That's a ton of grunt work but sounds like the potential pay day should give you plenty of incentive.

I recommend Advil or Aleve before you start. Don't wait until it hurts because at our age it's not a matter of "if" it will hurt  ... it's a matter of "when".
Click to expand...
Good advice. OTC before labor and better after. Google has lots of ideas on moving decorative rock. A hand truck with a diy wood scoop/bucket looks promising. Way less bending and just a little shoveling (compared to a wheel barrel). I have this and an ATV for the gravel.  $100 bucks saves me a couple grand in labor, seriously. I'll design around where it's most easily distributed with that thing. There's a trick attaching landscape rakes that might get me nominated for a darwin award. We'll see.

 
Bossman said:
That's a ton of grunt work...
Click to expand...
Front and back tilled under, mounded, tiered and leveled where I wanted. Trenches open. I'm finished with the rental equipment. Fwiw, I just cut the manifolds free and left the old irrigation in the ground. It was leaky and well sort of ridiculous in the layout - 50 years of people messing with it. So the valves will now make sense and it's all brand new. Pretty cheap project for the results so far. I want to watch these two basketball games so I have an hour and a half to glue up the pvc and line the trenches. Ok bye. 

 
Chaos Commish said:
Well three days of rain has ended. That means time to landscape the usually hard packed dirt and caliche. I have thick crab and bermuda grass weeds everywhere. Cutting and raking clean today (paying for it). Tiller and trencher being rented for the weekend (get a free day this way as they close Sundays). 10 cubic yards of gravel and decorative rock being dumped Monday. I'll be moving it around for a week while changing up the irrigation and adding a few plants, ugh. The curb appeal part of this project (flipping a fixer) will be done. I've been driving around looking at nicer xeriscapes for ideas and it seems harvesting big rocks from the desert is common though legally a grey area. So I grabbed a dozen - black and orange granite - as big as I can carry each with a flat surface. I might keep stealing from the BLM and make a big stone patio or just go with what I have and make a path from the street to the front door. I'm feeling a little old to be humping rocks and too cheap to pay for the labor. Really not looking forward to the next week, but high heat is coming and I need to be done with outdoor labor asap. Temps next week will vary from 40-80 and then it will be in the 90s until goes to three digits. On a side note, the property next door went on the market and sold in three days for a number that will make me very happy and my place is 800 sq ft bigger and will be nicer all the way around. This could work!
Click to expand...
Start hiding rocks?

 
If I was going under concrete or some other hardscape the bullet mole for sure, but the ground saw was incredibly fast . 75' in a few minutes a half dozen times with a handful of shorter runs. I'd rather glue up the lines while standing at a workstation and then set them in open trenches for burying rather than dig holes and hook up the risers on my knees cursing irrigation saws. I have 6 of the 8 stations done. Trenches filled with some light raking. I haven't been on my knees for anything but hooking up the manifolds. 30 minutes tops. This has been a $500 two day breeze. I was quoted $2500 and $3200 by landscapers who said it would take them three to four days with a crew. Neither could start until midweek. I'll finish between games and at halftime. :shrug:  

For the rest of this I'll need help. 200 pavers, a pile of sand, a cubic yard of pea gravel, a cubic yard of 3/4" gravel and 3 cubic yards of decorative rock will be here first thing in the morning. I'm pretty tired and really haven't done that much thanks to the equipment.

 
Chaos Commish said:
Hopefully the rakes mounted to the gravel drag/grader will at least distribute the gravel where needed while riding the atv. I'm probably going to stare at this delivery for awhile tomorrow morning before making a plan. Then take a nap.
Click to expand...
Lol, your probably going to do the same the next morning after barely putting a dent in it j/k good luck

 
Just had plans drawn up, and variance approval from the zoning board, to put a covered porch on the back of the house in place of a slate patio.  Was surprised to price it out and learn it’ll cost me 70 grand—was thinking more like 40 — but that’s the price of poker on Long Island.  Also requires pouring foundation, and we are knocking out a back wall of our den/my office and replacing it with a wall of sliding doors.  I’m sure it would cost 30k in another part of the country. Oh well.  

also we’ll add on a paver patio at the foot of the covered porch at the step down (not priced in, but I figure another 7-8k for that)  

It’ll be nice and will add to our enjoyment of the house and the value of the house.  So we’ve decided to go for it.

 
For what it’s worth, original contractor quoted 90k+. Insane. But my buddy who is also the architect is going to CM it for me for more like 70. 

 
I had four options for getting this material delivered. Home Depot is by far the most expensive and only delivers bags on pallets. A local mom and pop builder's supply that was expected to go out of business 30 years ago because of Home Depot, not cheap. A regional aggregate supplier with 6 locations and a couple quarries - cheap but the product was filthy and growing weeds. National Ready Mix company had the best prices, but the guy was a jerk I guess because I'm such a small account that messed up his schedule for peanuts. In a rare instance of not being cheap af, I went with mom and pop. The guy who sold me reminded me of Walter White Jr. He wasn't on crutches but he had health issues and an impediment. He woke me up around 6:30 this morning verifying that I did not want "The Hopper" for an additional $50. It was loaded by mistake so he thought he'd call. Tbh, I wasn't paying attention to what "The Hopper" was and declined it like an extended warranty. They keep selling until you stop buying. He explained it holds 1/3 yard of material and let's him place it more strategically on a property. He could do a little extra this morning as he had time and if I wanted. Fine, bring it. What the hey, this guy and this thing were fantastic. I explained how I designed the project and he started rubbing his fingers together asking for money. Kind of funny, so I stuffed a 100 bill in his shirt pocket. He put the gravel down for a walkway and patio that I had mostly leveled with the drag before he had Hopper loaded for the next dump. He then put the sand on top and tamped it with the bottom of the scoop on his little tractor fork lift. A little leveling and I'm setting pavers without touching a shovel. He spent an hour and a half "strategically delivering" the material and practically finishing off the decorative rock parts of this landscape project. I'm a hardworking illegal from knocking this thing out today. On my way to get some plants and see if there's any stray labor hanging out at Home Depot. My back hurt just thinking about this last night and I can't wipe the smile off my face this morning. 

 
I don't know if this counts or not but here goes.  So, a couple of weeks ago the main TV in our living room (52-inch LED Sony Bravia) decided it didn't want to start up.  I checked power, blah, blah, blah but (this is first thing in the morning and I had not had coffee yet) after a while I noticed that while it didn't power up, I was getting a blink code.  If you ever get a check engine light in your car or you have a computer that won't start up, etc., you will "generally"  get some sort of blink or beep code and this is the device's way of saying "I have power but something is wrong, google this code"  If it simply won't turn on, that's generally power related (power supply, power strip, outlet, circuit breaker, etc.)

I google the blink code (I think it was 5 red blinking) and that code was all over the place depending on the very specific model. I mean I found it could be one of several things from a bad circuit board to a bad LED panel, etc.  I moved a TV from our den/guest room (also a 52-inch but older Samsung) into the living room and moved the broken Sony into my office.  I did some research and found the TV has 3 circuit boards in it, two of them I could not find new, one I was able to find still being sold new.  I bought two used boards on e-bay and one new board from China, total cost about $150 for the three boards.

Meanwhile, my wife says, why don't you just go get a new TV for the living room?  You know you've wanted a larger TV in there for some time, you've been talking about 4K, go get whatever you want but I would like to keep that stand, it ties the room together (movie reference) but she did want to keep the stand.

I looked, I measured, I wanted to get a 75-inch Samsung but it was too wide for the stand so I settled on a 65-inch Samsung. It took me a little while to figure out how to get the Audio Return Channel (ARC) working (from TV back to audio receiver) but I got that squared away and everything is good to go.  Fast forward to yesterday, my T-Con board (for my Sony TV) finally came in.  I removed about 25 (or so it seemed) screws, carefully took out the bracket holding in the T-Con board, removed and replaced the faulty board, a snap, crackle a few sparks and a whiff of ozone (another movie reference) and the old TV comes to life!  So it was a $70 board I found online, 45 minutes of my time and now I get a 52-inch TV for my office, whoo hoo or :chills: as it were. . .since I've been married for 22.5 years, this is how I get my chills now.  :)  

 
Chaos Commish said:
Good advice. OTC before labor and better after. Google has lots of ideas on moving decorative rock. A hand truck with a diy wood scoop/bucket looks promising. Way less bending and just a little shoveling (compared to a wheel barrel). I have this and an ATV for the gravel.  $100 bucks saves me a couple grand in labor, seriously. I'll design around where it's most easily distributed with that thing. There's a trick attaching landscape rakes that might get me nominated for a darwin award. We'll see.
Click to expand...
Any awards coming your way?

 
msommer said:
Any awards coming your way?
Click to expand...
No. I didn't try it since the little tractor and hopper did 98% of the heavy lifting. The front is done but for cutting a dozen pavers though my sis thinks I should repaint the fascia to match the new landscape. Meh, it's so clean the last thing it needs is paint drips or worse a spill. The back needs detailing and a small lawn. Sod or seed decision next week. 

 
Amazon has a good deal on a black & decker drill for $35.  I just bought it a few months ago for $46.  It's a lithium battery, and works great.  It's a 3rd of the price of the other brands.

 
I get to put up a ceiling fan and string some lights to our outdoor porch.  There is a light in the middle of the porch, but it's a piece of junk and the wife wants a ceiling fan.  I figured I could use the existing wiring for the fan.

There is an outlet already outside, but it's the only one in the backyard and I don't want to use it.   it So I'd like add a circuit to the top of the porch and then use that for these lights (https://www.amazon.com/Brightech-Ambience-Commercial-Outdoor-Hanging/dp/B00K0VTVTA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1522286375&sr=8-5&keywords=outdoor+string+lights).  I'd hook it up with this as well (https://www.amazon.com/Woods-32555WD-Outdoor-Wireless-Weatherproof/dp/B001Q9EFUK/ref=pd_bxgy_60_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B001Q9EFUK&pd_rd_r=YK00DMRSV6EQG0ZS7H79&pd_rd_w=lFeF1&pd_rd_wg=D4HxM&psc=1&refRID=YK00DMRSV6EQG0ZS7H79)

Thinking about it, I'd like to add another motion light (on each side of the porch instead of just the one).  

I don't know how to add an extra outlet (house is brick BTW) or the extra motion light.

Thoughts?

 
rascal said:
I get to put up a ceiling fan and string some lights to our outdoor porch.  There is a light in the middle of the porch, but it's a piece of junk and the wife wants a ceiling fan.  I figured I could use the existing wiring for the fan.

There is an outlet already outside, but it's the only one in the backyard and I don't want to use it.   it So I'd like add a circuit to the top of the porch and then use that for these lights (https://www.amazon.com/Brightech-Ambience-Commercial-Outdoor-Hanging/dp/B00K0VTVTA/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1522286375&sr=8-5&keywords=outdoor+string+lights).  I'd hook it up with this as well (https://www.amazon.com/Woods-32555WD-Outdoor-Wireless-Weatherproof/dp/B001Q9EFUK/ref=pd_bxgy_60_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B001Q9EFUK&pd_rd_r=YK00DMRSV6EQG0ZS7H79&pd_rd_w=lFeF1&pd_rd_wg=D4HxM&psc=1&refRID=YK00DMRSV6EQG0ZS7H79)

Thinking about it, I'd like to add another motion light (on each side of the porch instead of just the one).  

I don't know how to add an extra outlet (house is brick BTW) or the extra motion light.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
The three dollar solution you probably already decided against.

Goes without saying, but shut things off and use the right tools. Be safe.

You can add an outlet by getting power from the switch or that outlet you don't want to use or the light socket or a nearby interior outlet. In each case you run conduit and locate the outlet where you want it. Looks fine outside, imo. If the outlet you don't want to use is two pronged you can easily make it four. Youtube is pretty thorough on this topic. Biggest issue is whether or not you're overloading the circuit. In most cases the answer is no.

I needed to move my washer and dryer to the back patio because the hookups were in the guest bathroom with a plumbing leak inside the wall. I didn't want to move them back and forth since the bathroom is being renovated eventually and that empty space is useful for now (a paint station) so I temporarily ran extension cords through the fireplace cleanout to the machines. :lol:  

After a couple weeks of that I simply flipped the nearest interior outlet converted to gfci to the outside following the second link above. Even brick isn't a major project but you have to drill through it to mount the exterior parts. 

 
I just cleaned my dryer vent.  Not the most exciting project but something every homeowner should do once a year.

It's cool to see how much lint comes out and the added benefit of clothes drying quicker.

 
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Adding built in ceiling heaters to my outdoor porch project. Flip a switch and you can comfortably sit out there on colder nights too. Genius. Will be usable 3/4 of the year, if not more. 

 
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Replaced a garbage disposal yesterday.  

ONE trip to Home Depot.  ONE.

Everything done right the first time.  Works like a champ. No leaks.  

I am a man.

ETA did it solo too.  That’s not that easy if you’re also replacing the flange.

 
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berndog said:
I just cleaned my dryer vent.  Not the most exciting project but something every homeowner should do once a year.

It's cool to see how much lint comes out and the added benefit of clothes drying quicker.
Click to expand...
On my list of projects to do.

Wife also wants to redo the half bath.  She wants a new vanity, new paint, light fixture, and to take out the cabinet above the toilet.  Fortunately, she knows the floor is out (will have to do connecting rooms and that's outside our budget). 

Not sure I want to take out the cabinet... thoughts?  If I take it out, I'll put it on a wall in the garage.

 
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Otis said:
Wait you keep your washer and dryer in your yard?
Click to expand...
Shore do. I ain't got no dryer vent to worry bout cleanin' neither. I just peel off my stinky clothes and load the warsh without bringin' in the dirt. Then I can have a little nekkid target practice while gettin' my duds cleaned all the while waterin' them perdy flowers with conservational grey waters. 

 
Otis said:
Adding built in ceiling heaters to my outdoor porch project. Flip a switch and you can comfortably sit out there on colder nights too. Genius. Will be usable 3/4 of the year, if not more. 
Click to expand...
By "adding", you mean "paying someone to add", right?

 
Guys, I haven't cleaned/emptied or whatever I'm supposed to do to my water heater for 12 years. 

Tell me what to do.

 
FYI on water heaters, don't rush to swapping out a bad water heater before checking the warranty.  Many models have up to 12 year warranties. All you need to do is get the numbers off of the side and make a phone call & you could have a free replacement.

 
Some other helpful tips I learned recently from an appliance repair man.  

- don't set your fridge to the coldest setting.  You want it a little above the lowest setting.  

-run 3 cups of vinegar in wash every month.

- put a cup full of vinegar on top rack of dish washer every few months

 
shuke said:
Guys, I haven't cleaned/emptied or whatever I'm supposed to do to my water heater for 12 years. 

Tell me what to do.
Click to expand...
The big thing is to replace the anode. I did it myself a couple months ago - very easy

figure out where your anode is in the heater via google. Order one online (got mine from supplyhouse I think. - 20 bucks) 

you might need to cut a pipe to access. - buy a shark bit coupling and a pipe cutter (pipe cutter was $10 and fitting was $5)

cut pipe, pull out anode. One of two things at this point - either anode is completely gone or there is a little left. 

If a little left you are good - install new anode (may need to cut a little off with a sawsall if you don’t have the clearance) and you just doubled your heater life. If not you are likely going to buy one soon, but keep up with the monthly flushes our the drain

Everyone reading this should be replacing anodes every 8 years or so 

 
Gonna put a touch lock on the door by the garage. If the garage opener breaks we don't have to search for a key to open it. Kid was stuck outside for 6 hours (well he's 20 and has a car) because he didn't have a key. 

 
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