The Home Improvement Thread

[Madman]

Looking for a good place to get a new glass shower enclosure - 10mm frameless specifically.

[surferguy]

I always use cascade glass on McLeod

[Madman]

Originally Posted by surferguy

I always use cascade glass on McLeod

Are you still using that base manufacturer in Edmonton as well?

We have a mold issue in our ensuite and we figure we might as well rip it all out and do it how we want while we're in there.

[surferguy]

Yep, trying to secure a bathroom right now and it was my intention to use him again for the third time. Been happy with the last two I installed.

Simpleshowersolutions.com

[Komskies]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Adding a damper is a big investment

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/volu...er-5-in/911792

$2.54 @ Home depot!

Mind you thats for a 5in, you'd need to measure your ducting and buy the appropriate size (normal would be 6in). Installation is dead easy, just need access to a joint or the end of the pipe. As long as you can get into the pipe you just drill a small hole for the bolt part, slip the damper in and tighten the wing nut and you're done. Tons of how to's online.




Adding an inline blower fan (~$150 for a standard 100cfm Broan one) along with wiring that fan in circuit with every fan & vent in house is not really the most cost effective option. Unless that is done @ construction, its damm near impossible to add, and would be pricey even then.

Cheapest would be to ensure all the cold ducting is well insulated an a $3 damper is added on the makeup air.



Even adding an HRV (or inline blower, or a $3 damper) might not solve your issue, remember even if you have the best HRV or an inline fan, any of the ducting running from the outside up to the point of the HRV is still going to be as cold as the outside, so you kinda have the same problem regardless, hence, insulation.

So upon closer inspection the makeup air duct already has a damper on it (it was hidden in the black insulation), but when I went to adjust it, I noticed that the insulation was pretty wet. I assume it's just residual moisture from over the winter but I hope it isn't indicative of a larger problem. I'm wondering if I should just replace the insulated part running from the outside of my house to the ductwork.

[darklord700]

Has anyone capped/cladded their wooden windows? How much does it cost or who do you recommend? Thanks.

[Wormius]

Thinking of doing a small bathroom renovation. We have a tub in this one bathroom, and we rarely use it. Would it hurt a future home sale if we ripped out the tub and replaced it with a shower only?

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Thinking of doing a small bathroom renovation. We have a tub in this one bathroom, and we rarely use it. Would it hurt a future home sale if we ripped out the tub and replaced it with a shower only?

Depends if you have another bath in the house and what type of house it is. Is it priced/setup as a family's first/second home they'd have when they have children? If so, it might a wee bit, compared to if it were a bungalow. If the house has other assets going for it over comps in the area, I can't see it being a dealbreaker for most families.

But is it really "that" much better than a tub/shower combo if it is just a second bath?

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Thinking of doing a small bathroom renovation. We have a tub in this one bathroom, and we rarely use it. Would it hurt a future home sale if we ripped out the tub and replaced it with a shower only?

We had the same thought and asked our real estate agent about it when we were buying. He said it would likely turn off some people and didn't recommend doing it. Apparently shower/bath combo is much better received that shower only.

[PaperBagger'14]

I have no figures to back this up, but put yourself in the buyers position. What if the next person who buys your house intends on renting part of the house as a separate suite? I personally would keep it.

[photon]

What's the motivation of putting in a shower only? To make the reno easier or cheaper?

I'd agree with the others and I think that it might not impact home resale value, but it might reduce your target market size.

I hate tubs as showers because they're usually cheap tubs with little or even no flat part so they're not comfortable, but to fix that I'd spend extra on the tub and find one that has a much better inside shape, you can even get ones that get wider in the middle to increase the size.

When we built our house I did that with the corner jetted tub, the previous one I had always felt strangely cramped for being a "big" corner jetted tub, so I searched around and found some that had almost double the water capacity for the same footprint because the walls were nearly vertical instead of being hugely slanted... much better for two people. But I digress.

[Wormius]

That's kind of the thing. I have just been looking at small bathroom renos for ideas, and the tubs are not really inspiring. I was hoping a shower-only would make a cleaner design. It's a small bathroom, so it's a bit crowded with the tub.

The bathroom is primarily used. Our kids don't do baths anymore, so it seems like I could skip the tub. I guess if it degrades the resale potential to not have it, I will keep it as part of the bathroom.

[Fuzz]

We put this in, as it is our only bathroom:
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/sydn...ht-hand/917777

Not to expensive, east to install, light weight, lots of standing space (especially with a curved shower rod), textured bottom. I like it, anyway.

[photon]

I guess it also depends on how long you plan on being there. It could hurt resale value/ability, but if you plan on being there for another 20 years to me the benefit outweighs the harm, and you could always re-do it and put a tub back in if it had that much of an impact 20 years from now.

[Wormius]

I will do a bit more digging around then. The current bathtub takes up the entire width of the bathroom. If you get one that isn't skirted is there usually enough room to create a nice tiled skirt, or would it look terrible? I have seen nice examples of tiled tubs, but they usually have a lot of room.

And now that the weather is looking nicer --- the deck boards on my balcony are getting kind of splintery and splitty, particularly around where the screws secure the deck boards. It's pressure treated wood, and I am wondering what kind of deck stain is good for the Calgary climate...

[Fuzz]

If I want to make my driveway about 2 feet wider, do I need to get a permit?

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

If I want to make my driveway about 2 feet wider, do I need to get a permit?

No.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

If I want to make my driveway about 2 feet wider, do I need to get a permit?

I think you do for sure. At the very least you will need to update your RPR which will require a permit.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I think you do for sure. At the very least you will need to update your RPR which will require a permit.

I am taking out a small retaining wall that currently encroaches to the road. So I'd need to get a permit, do the work, then update the RPR, is that correct?

[ozzy]

Would any of you guys recommend me a handy man. We need to fix a few things around the house. We also want to do some kitchen renovation.

Thanks