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Home-owners...What are your current projects? (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter wilked
- Start date
wilked
Footballguy
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Lehigh98
Footballguy
Changed my mind, firepit can stay on the patio, now I want to build a scaled down (1/2?) version of the Tap Shack in the same spot. Uh, anybody know how? Hoping to get some ideas from Backyard Bar Wars.
Captain Cranks
Footballguy
Finished laying 450 sq feet of cement board on top of my slab to level the master bedroom floor with the common areas (to seamlessly lay LVP).
It was my first experience with a ram set and boy do I have a headache. It was not easy to dial in the shot strength and nail length for the ideal drive into the slab. Many times I was driving nails straight through the boards. Even after I got the right combo, I'd still have a decent variance between too far and not far enough. I guess it's due to the different densities of the slab.
Whatever the reason, the ram set is not my favorite tool to use.
It was my first experience with a ram set and boy do I have a headache. It was not easy to dial in the shot strength and nail length for the ideal drive into the slab. Many times I was driving nails straight through the boards. Even after I got the right combo, I'd still have a decent variance between too far and not far enough. I guess it's due to the different densities of the slab.
Whatever the reason, the ram set is not my favorite tool to use.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
If you have a lot of powder actuated pins to install, check out this tool DFD270. You can dial in the depth a bit easier than other tools, plus it's way faster than single shot tools.
https://www.dewalt.com/products/power-tools/nailers-and-staplers/specialty-nailers/fullyautomatic-27-caliber-powderactuated-tool-magazine-and-single-shot-kit/dfd270mk
If you search, you might be able to rent one (or more likely, the Hilton equivalent), but I gotta pimp the yellow and black. I worked tangentially on that tool BTW.
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unckeyherb
Footballguy
The Z Machine
Footballguy
Mechanical engineer in new products. I've done anchors, dust extractors, automotive air tools, pneumatic and cordless nailers, and now I'm working on laser levels.
Anchors and lasers have been the most fun. Least fun are cordless nailers. They want to beat themselves to death.
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Worked hard and got a lot done this week. Installed the flooring throughout the lower area.
Built the girls bunk beds. Installed the shiplap back wall and painted.
Prepped the kitchen and installed the new cabinets. Also, finished the kitchen soffit and refinished and painted the existing cabinets.
Built the knee wall bar top.
Ran new wiring and j-boxes for the dining room ceiling lights and installed the pendants.
Started the board and batten at the bartop and the crown molding at the soffit.
Also went with my 10 year old helper to select countertops for the kitchen. Template tomorrow and install in a bout a week.
Three weeks to go. Still have the following to accomplish:
Finish laundry area infrastructure and set up washer dryer.
Tile backsplash once countertops are in.
Wet bar in former closet in the living room.
Demo and New vanity in the bathroom.
lots of misc painting, trim, etc.
Every day I’m hustlin’.
Built the girls bunk beds. Installed the shiplap back wall and painted.
Prepped the kitchen and installed the new cabinets. Also, finished the kitchen soffit and refinished and painted the existing cabinets.
Built the knee wall bar top.
Ran new wiring and j-boxes for the dining room ceiling lights and installed the pendants.
Started the board and batten at the bartop and the crown molding at the soffit.
Also went with my 10 year old helper to select countertops for the kitchen. Template tomorrow and install in a bout a week.
Three weeks to go. Still have the following to accomplish:
Finish laundry area infrastructure and set up washer dryer.
Tile backsplash once countertops are in.
Wet bar in former closet in the living room.
Demo and New vanity in the bathroom.
lots of misc painting, trim, etc.
Every day I’m hustlin’.
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Sand
Footballguy
Phil Elliott
Footballguy
Today the stone company called and said a fork lift backed into our marble slab last Thursday and cracked it. Just our slab. It was suppose to be installed this week. It's a marble that is middle cost but high demand. And why are we just hearing about this? "They had other business to conduct."
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Making progress..
kneewall board and batten and bar top done..
Dining room B&B done and bar top installed. Ended up sistering two boards to get the depth I wanted. Final view.
Floors finished in lower bedroom.
washer dryer hookups and vent run done.  Shiplap up.
countertops installed
sink in.  
kneewall board and batten and bar top done..
Dining room B&B done and bar top installed. Ended up sistering two boards to get the depth I wanted. Final view.
Floors finished in lower bedroom.
washer dryer hookups and vent run done.  Shiplap up.
countertops installed
sink in.  
wilked
Footballguy
Nice work! You learning any new skills on this project or it’s existing knowledge applied?
The Z Machine
Footballguy
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Mostly existing although this is the first time I took down a load bearing wall. Structuring temp walls and piecing in a new beam a first. The temp walls were easy; setting the beam by myself, not so much. The new electric is tedious but straight forward. I’ve found that it’s 60% will to just recognize you can do it and 40% having the tools to make it happen. I enjoy pushing myself, setting hard goals and meeting them. If I could do this for a living, I’d be a happy man. I’m an architect by trade so I have a good understanding of making a space better and building things. This is a sort of test run to see if we can make economically viable as a way of life. I’ll share costs when I’m done but right now we’re just under budget.
also first time I laid luxury vinyl plank. That was…annoying.
Captain Cranks
Footballguy
⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
Sheetrock going up in the attic conversion we're doing. We will have a rec room and an exercise room. Question for you guys. What kind of texture? Leaning toward fine orange peel. Don't want to pay for smooth. Thoughts?
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Well I ####ed up the first room and started with the wrong end facing out, which made it difficult to install, so that’s on me. But also, it took awhile to get the hang of it-installing a piece had an impact on the three previous pieces in the same line. I’d click in the piece and it would pop out the Ones I had just done. Like I said, not hard just…annoying. By the last room I got the hang of it.
one piece of advice, be careful to not get in the groove of same cuts as you work your way down the room. Otherwise you’ll end up with aligning joints every other board and you’ll notice it. I was very cognizant of making some third cuts in order to randomize it as much as possible. You’ll end up using the off cuts at the ends and in closets etc anyways so it won’t lead to too much waste.
berndog
Footballguy
The first time I did it I had the wrong end facing out also
. Embarrassing and frustrating way to get started. I’ve done 5 rooms so I am proficient now. A couple tips I’d pass along
When starting you have to do the first 2 rows together. Having the second row overlap the end to end joints of the first row stops the first row from coming apart.
Pay attention to length of your starting boards so your joints have good, varied overlap and your last cut in the row isn’t a couple inches long.
You can’t tilt and click the joints together when the piece goes under a door frame. Get a micro plane or razor blade and shave off the tongue part of the tongue and groove and apply wood glue. You can tap the pieces together and the glue will hold
=Smackdown=
Footballguy
JJ ! How the hell are you?
Can't help with your question tho.
If I want to connect my Samsung TV to my outdoor Sonos system/speakers do I need a Sonos sound bar or will any sound bar work?
Thx
berndog
Footballguy
I would think orange peel would be fine for an attic. Kids screwing around in rec room are bound to beat up the walls anyway
MAC_32
Footballguy
My home improvement skills are atrocious, to put it nicely. We remodeled our kitchen and re decorated the living room + dining rooms the last couple years, but these were all well established visions (my wife). We're going to begin the planning stages of a '22 outdoor remodel later this summer/fall. She has no vision for this, so we're essentially starting with a blank canvas. So I'm just going to throw out where we are right now and hope the peanut gallery here helps develop a path.
The gist...
*Laying a slab for a to be purchased shed (50some square feet?)
*Re-doing outdoor back patio (400some square feet?) - we rehabbed the back deck a few years ago, but left the rest for another year. Currently have about a 12x12 slab and a 12x8 area beside that's a 'construction site' for our 5 year old. He gets one more year of this then we're demoting him to the back of the back yard.
*New uncovered front porch (8x10?), and expanding the portion of our driveway between the tree lawn and the garage (50 feet?) from single car to two. I wouldn't describe our current (very small) porch as falling apart (yet), but it will be soon. I assume it can't be salvaged, but we would not be looking for anything special to replace it - just something big enough for my wife and I to sit with a small table for our drinks.
We already have $25K ear marked for this, which I assume is not enough. Any guesses on an estimate? what additional info can I share to provide a better estimate? is there anything we need to do before we start doing our homework on contractors? and any tips to avoid a contractor pulling fast ones on us? Our kitchen guy was a friend so I wasn't worried, but we'll be going blind on this project. I'm hoping we just need a concrete guy then recruit help for the front porch, but I could be very mistaken.
There is more on the to do list (i.e. landscaping + garage), but assuming none of it impacts the above I want to punt all of that to '23. TIA WNAY
The gist...
*Laying a slab for a to be purchased shed (50some square feet?)
*Re-doing outdoor back patio (400some square feet?) - we rehabbed the back deck a few years ago, but left the rest for another year. Currently have about a 12x12 slab and a 12x8 area beside that's a 'construction site' for our 5 year old. He gets one more year of this then we're demoting him to the back of the back yard.
*New uncovered front porch (8x10?), and expanding the portion of our driveway between the tree lawn and the garage (50 feet?) from single car to two. I wouldn't describe our current (very small) porch as falling apart (yet), but it will be soon. I assume it can't be salvaged, but we would not be looking for anything special to replace it - just something big enough for my wife and I to sit with a small table for our drinks.
We already have $25K ear marked for this, which I assume is not enough. Any guesses on an estimate? what additional info can I share to provide a better estimate? is there anything we need to do before we start doing our homework on contractors? and any tips to avoid a contractor pulling fast ones on us? Our kitchen guy was a friend so I wasn't worried, but we'll be going blind on this project. I'm hoping we just need a concrete guy then recruit help for the front porch, but I could be very mistaken.
There is more on the to do list (i.e. landscaping + garage), but assuming none of it impacts the above I want to punt all of that to '23. TIA WNAY
berndog
Footballguy
@MAC_32
At first glance I would question the need to put the shed on a concrete slab and 50 square feet is only 5x10 and not big enough area
You have a lot of moving parts so make sure they have some sort of flow or uniform look
I would start taking to contractors now and listening to their thoughts on how to improve your space
Be very wary of any contractor that asks for money up front.
At first glance I would question the need to put the shed on a concrete slab and 50 square feet is only 5x10 and not big enough area
You have a lot of moving parts so make sure they have some sort of flow or uniform look
I would start taking to contractors now and listening to their thoughts on how to improve your space
Be very wary of any contractor that asks for money up front.
glvsav37
Footballguy
operation "Backyard Pavilion" is not done, but I got it show ready enough for the 4th party.
still need to wrap the posts, put facia board around the top and add some tongue and groove panels on the inside roof. But I'm waiting for the lumber prices to come down a bit before I do all that. Then later in the season, once the wood dries out, we will stain the lumber on the TV wall.
Photos show the progress and the old deck we used as our base.
still need to wrap the posts, put facia board around the top and add some tongue and groove panels on the inside roof. But I'm waiting for the lumber prices to come down a bit before I do all that. Then later in the season, once the wood dries out, we will stain the lumber on the TV wall.
Photos show the progress and the old deck we used as our base.
berndog
Footballguy
MAC_32
Footballguy
Not needing a slab for the shed would be a nice cost savings. I wasn't considering anything big (6x8 or 8x8), but if that's feasible I'd pay the extra couple-few hundred for a 10x14. We have a spot in the back corner of the property (200' from the house?) that we don't water and is about 5' elevated from the house, so it's very dry. Didn't realize no concrete was an option, but if I can just plop it on the lawn that'd be ideal.
glvsav37
Footballguy
We just hooked our Samsung TV up to the Beam. Sounds good enough for me. I think if you want to stay in the sonos environment, you have to use sonos products. Only time we don't is with weatherproof speakers/apms–but they are hooked up to the Sonos Ports, and thats what taps into the ecosystem.
berndog
Footballguy
Are you asking about the electric? Looks like there is a box on either side of a stud. Upper one is a switch and lower an outlet.
Everything else looks centered to me.
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Very nice. I am considering some sort of shade element out by our pool as well. Tv is a nice touch. Is it an outdoor tv or did you just throw a regular one up there?glvsav37 said:
glvsav37
Footballguy
thanks. just a regular TV. Wife wants the outdoor one but we spent enough on the structure, I'll use this one until it dies. We have a cover for it when not using it.
@wilked no worries. If you are talking about the items on the wall, they are based on the studs and intentionally inset from the outside edge for weather reasons. The electrical box up top is just for the TV/components and its hidden with the TV on the wall. The other is an access box b/c we have some extra electric inside the wall for future things like lights and heaters going inside the roof. We will need to access that at a later time. Its also hidden behind the TV so location wasnt important.
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⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
Hey man! I'm well. Busy with work and house projects! Still playing COC? I quit just before COVID, thankfully. Time spent working on the house much better spent than sucking at a video game!=Smackdown= said:
Good Sonos question. I'll have similar integration questions at some point.
wilked
Footballguy
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wilked
Footballguy
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Big projects are wrapping up..
ripped out the old vanity in the bathroom. New double vanity installed. I lucked out on the flooring. When I bought the house I looked at the base trim and it appeared that the tile was run prior to the original vinyl being installed and thank god I was right. That made install easier. Still had to cut back all the plumbing infrastructure and reinstall as it was too far out. Pain in the ### but to be expected.
Also installed the floating shelves and tile backsplash in the kitchen. Final shots
also finished up the laundry room.
box out of the offending sanitary stack done.
Still have some touch up here and there but I’m basically wrapped up with everything. Four days to spare. It’s been a crazy month but I’m really happy with how everything turned out. Next post will be final shots and I’ll include cost stuff for reference.
ripped out the old vanity in the bathroom. New double vanity installed. I lucked out on the flooring. When I bought the house I looked at the base trim and it appeared that the tile was run prior to the original vinyl being installed and thank god I was right. That made install easier. Still had to cut back all the plumbing infrastructure and reinstall as it was too far out. Pain in the ### but to be expected.
Also installed the floating shelves and tile backsplash in the kitchen. Final shots
also finished up the laundry room.
box out of the offending sanitary stack done.
Still have some touch up here and there but I’m basically wrapped up with everything. Four days to spare. It’s been a crazy month but I’m really happy with how everything turned out. Next post will be final shots and I’ll include cost stuff for reference.
wilked
Footballguy
Moving along on my bathroom project…. It’s been a long series of begging to get a roofer but a guy is supposedly coming out in 90 mins. And now for some reason my drill is missing. I saw a Dewalt that looked just like mine in my carpenters bag yesterday, almost asked him on it. I need to use my hole saw to send the stack pipe up through the roof. I’ll assume the plumber has one I can use for now
Finish wallboard today also, plaster tomorrow. After that it’s really just tile and trim, then finish plumbing/electric. Add some paint (and the shower glass) and call it done
Finish wallboard today also, plaster tomorrow. After that it’s really just tile and trim, then finish plumbing/electric. Add some paint (and the shower glass) and call it done
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Thanks!
Nah we went back and forth and in the end felt that the mirror right down to the sink was a cleaner look.
The stack is a 4” run so I’d have to fit out the wall to make it work. But obviously if I decided to move it there is work transitioning below the floor and penetrating the roof at the vent location. In the end it was work I wasn’t willing to do and would have cost about $3,500 if I I had to guess. Being that this is a guest room we were willing to look past it.
belljr
Footballguy
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Nice. Brigantine specifically or a different shore town?Well
I guess I'll have to check out the house when I'm down in a few weeks
belljr
Footballguy
We do brigantine every year. I was married on the beach outside what is now the Laguna. I only live about an hour away
I forgot what it was called back then
Kind of jealous at your handy work
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unckeyherb
Footballguy
Nice. Took my old man to Laguna two days ago.belljr said:We do brigantine every year. I was married on the beach outside what is now the Laguna. I only live about an hour away
I forgot what it was called back then
Kind of jealous at your handy work
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Final shots of the whole house.
First tenant moved in yesterday morning for a month long stay. Was literally touch-up painting at 7am, but got her done. All told I was there from June 1 until yesterday, with a couple of weeks of no work happening. Touched every room in the place, pulled out major walls in more than half of the house, lots of new light fixtures, electric, plumbing, finishes, etc. Was getting stressed at the end when a lot of the little things started to build up, but just kept trucking.
For reference, the budget I came up with prior to closing on the house for all this work was $15k with another $12k for all the FFE (furniture, TV's, wall decor, pots/pans, etc.)
FFE cost came in a little higher at $13,187
Big Construction Costs and Stuff I paid someone else to do) as follows:
All in all we went over budget by $2,016.
Thanks all for following along on this project and the kind words. The wife and I are really proud of what we accomplished in a little over a month. Most rewarding is that it looks almost exactly how we'd drawn it up.
First tenant moved in yesterday morning for a month long stay. Was literally touch-up painting at 7am, but got her done. All told I was there from June 1 until yesterday, with a couple of weeks of no work happening. Touched every room in the place, pulled out major walls in more than half of the house, lots of new light fixtures, electric, plumbing, finishes, etc. Was getting stressed at the end when a lot of the little things started to build up, but just kept trucking.
For reference, the budget I came up with prior to closing on the house for all this work was $15k with another $12k for all the FFE (furniture, TV's, wall decor, pots/pans, etc.)
FFE cost came in a little higher at $13,187
Big Construction Costs and Stuff I paid someone else to do) as follows:
- Refinish Floors-$3,000
- Countertops-$3,900
- HVAC guy to run new dryer vent-$1,750
- Trash Removal (three trips)-$1,550
- Kitchen Cab Purchase (Ikea)-$1,105
- Bathroom vanity and Counter (Ikea)-$550
- Soft Costs (everything I had to buy to make this project work-tile, mortar, grout/paint/lumber/lighting/wiring/switches/jboxes/nails/screws/etc.) -$3,974
All in all we went over budget by $2,016.
Thanks all for following along on this project and the kind words. The wife and I are really proud of what we accomplished in a little over a month. Most rewarding is that it looks almost exactly how we'd drawn it up.
unckeyherb
Footballguy
Yes. On the north end of the island. Golf course runs just west of our house, about 2 blocks away
Leeroy Jenkins
Footballguy
Just had a new flagstone patio done. Looks great and makes my yard so much more usable.
HOWEVER, the contractor used some type of polymeric sand between the joints, as opposed to mortar. And 10 days later I am still having wet/soft/spongy spots. I think it was too humid when he did the joints and then we got rain. He is coming back tomorrow to redo some spots, but I am tempted to make him redo the whole thing. Problem is that it is still humid, but there doesn't appear to be rain in the coming week.
HOWEVER, the contractor used some type of polymeric sand between the joints, as opposed to mortar. And 10 days later I am still having wet/soft/spongy spots. I think it was too humid when he did the joints and then we got rain. He is coming back tomorrow to redo some spots, but I am tempted to make him redo the whole thing. Problem is that it is still humid, but there doesn't appear to be rain in the coming week.
BigJim®
Footballguy
Anyone ever work with Oxygen barrier pex in concrete? I'm having a new basement sump system installed that will require trenching the interior/perimeter of my basement. I mentioned previously in this thread that I was worried about a 25' span of 1963 copper piping I have encased in concrete... just waiting for it to fail. Since this run of old copper will be torn out in the process of sump excavation, I'm using this opportunity to replace with pex.
It's too expensive to reserve having the plumber on site that afternoon waiting for the right time to lay pex, so he suggested I install the pex myself when the sump guys are pouring new concrete - just leaving liberal pex above floor for him to work with. He will then come on a different day to reconnect to circulating pipes.
Something that he suggested though has me a bit baffled. He suggested setting the pex in a corrugated 1" sleeve. Looking on youtube, I don't see anyone using corrugated sleeve on pex encased in concrete (mostly radiant floor heating tutorials). I can see a possible benefit in sleeving if I ever need to replace the pex... maybe replacement pex can be threaded through a sleeve rather than re-excavating - though this oxygen barrier pex is pretty rigid. I'm not understanding any other rationale, as I understood pex is supposed to solve the 'contact with concrete erosion' I've experienced with copper.
Anyone have experience with this?
It's too expensive to reserve having the plumber on site that afternoon waiting for the right time to lay pex, so he suggested I install the pex myself when the sump guys are pouring new concrete - just leaving liberal pex above floor for him to work with. He will then come on a different day to reconnect to circulating pipes.
Something that he suggested though has me a bit baffled. He suggested setting the pex in a corrugated 1" sleeve. Looking on youtube, I don't see anyone using corrugated sleeve on pex encased in concrete (mostly radiant floor heating tutorials). I can see a possible benefit in sleeving if I ever need to replace the pex... maybe replacement pex can be threaded through a sleeve rather than re-excavating - though this oxygen barrier pex is pretty rigid. I'm not understanding any other rationale, as I understood pex is supposed to solve the 'contact with concrete erosion' I've experienced with copper.
Anyone have experience with this?
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wilked
Footballguy
I noted somewhere in here that I am building a new bath. Part of that bath was a 40x40 corner shower (not neo angle).
I built the shower using the Schluter system, including a Schluter pan (like this Link ). The pan is premade and slopes to the drain.
I added curbing around it, waterproofed it all, and also did a drain test (ie filled it up 4", let it sit overnight, level held, then drained. It drained clean, nice and fast, no water left.
Fast forward, I have since hired out a finish carpenter who tiled it. I filled with water after he was done, drained, and one corner has standing water (not free draining), maybe 1/8-1/4" of water, just the one corner. Not happy. You can kick the water over with your foot but I would rather not...
Told my guy, he said he'll look at it, said we'll fix it. Thing is, only 2 12" mesh tiles left, not enough. And it's stocked out everywhere til at least Dec per the mfg.
Thoughts? Wife says we can live with it, no big deal. I am not as excited. Think we will have to live with it til then or rip the whole lot of the tile out which I am also not excited about.
Thoughts? Small deal or big deal? Live with it or focus on getting it fixed once tile is in?
edit to add - we will have frameless glass around it and will expect everyone to squeegee glass once finished, so wife says just squeegee the corner while you're at it
I built the shower using the Schluter system, including a Schluter pan (like this Link ). The pan is premade and slopes to the drain.
I added curbing around it, waterproofed it all, and also did a drain test (ie filled it up 4", let it sit overnight, level held, then drained. It drained clean, nice and fast, no water left.
Fast forward, I have since hired out a finish carpenter who tiled it. I filled with water after he was done, drained, and one corner has standing water (not free draining), maybe 1/8-1/4" of water, just the one corner. Not happy. You can kick the water over with your foot but I would rather not...
Told my guy, he said he'll look at it, said we'll fix it. Thing is, only 2 12" mesh tiles left, not enough. And it's stocked out everywhere til at least Dec per the mfg.
Thoughts? Wife says we can live with it, no big deal. I am not as excited. Think we will have to live with it til then or rip the whole lot of the tile out which I am also not excited about.
Thoughts? Small deal or big deal? Live with it or focus on getting it fixed once tile is in?
edit to add - we will have frameless glass around it and will expect everyone to squeegee glass once finished, so wife says just squeegee the corner while you're at it
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