Where to learn to do Basic Renovations

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by rotten42

Exactly this. ...and it is the difference from a job looking good and a job looking like an amateur did it.

Exactly and this is what I'm trying to tell a friend right now. He's renovating his basement and it's going to cost him about $15,000 and he's hired someone to do everything except for one thing. The dry walling and mudding. Why would you spend so much money and then cheap out on one of the most important things in your home. If the walls don't look 100% I don't care how nice your tiles and hardwood are, it'll look like an amateur did it.

[You Need a Thneed]

I enjoy doing my own electrical, have done quite a bit in my house. Drywalling is pretty easy, Taping is harder, but generally if you screw up, you sand and try again.

I'm also glad that the previous homeowner did a terrible job at installing tile, because it has been pretty easy to remove.

The cost of tools required to do everything adds up.

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

I enjoy doing my own electrical, have done quite a bit in my house. Drywalling is pretty easy, Taping is harder, but generally if you screw up, you sand and try again.

I'm also glad that the previous homeowner did a terrible job at installing tile, because it has been pretty easy to remove.

The cost of tools required to do everything adds up.

the thing is sometimes you don't know you've screwed up until months later when the tape starts cracking and puffing out. I painted a ceiling for someone after they finished the drywall on the ceiling. Guess who got a call back months later because the taping seams were cracking and showing?

[kevman]

Buy the right tools.
Practice.
Make mistakes.
Learn from those mistakes.

Mudding is definitely one of the harder things to get used to. My first job mudding I only had to hang a sheet of drywall for a repair so I bought some mesh tape, some pre-mixed compound and a 4" drywall knife. Suffice to say I can definitely see that repair as the mud sticks out and the mesh tape has cracked a bit. Moving forward next time I had a few panels to do and I learnt to use paper tape, setting compound and buy a proper 6" and 10" knife to feather it out. The joints look great painted and you can't see them but if I hold a flat edge against them I can definitely tell I built them up too much. Attempt 3 was a complete bathroom and I did the same thing but focused on thin coats of mud and really took my time at that step. The results were very little sanding and perfectly flat joints where even a flat edge and a flash light won't give away my secrets.

Long story short. Practice and learn from your mistakes.

[DuffMan]

Another suggestion.
About 5 years ago or so I took some weekend courses at NAIT, which they probably have at SAIT too.
-plumbing
-electrical
- the 3rd was "framing a basement:, I think, but included drywalling.

all good courses for reno beginnners. look into it.

[jwslam]

So... as much as all the replies so far are useful information, it's a lot of advice on what to do / what not to do, as a opposed to where I can go to get this experience without tearing apart my recently developed basement.

[ken0042]

Start asking friends if they have any renos planned, and offer to help.

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by jwslam

So... as much as all the replies so far are useful information, it's a lot of advice on what to do / what not to do, as a opposed to where I can go to get this experience without tearing apart my recently developed basement.

Do what most inexperienced people do, become a professional on kijiji.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Do what most inexperienced people do, become a professional on kijiji.

This thread got you all salty and insulted, I see.

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by Reaper

This thread got you all salty and insulted, I see.

Jelly is the right word.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Jelly is the right word.

Oh, totes mcgoats.

[V]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Start asking friends if they have any renos planned, and offer to help.

This is how I learned most things. The other thing is just ask a friend with experience to come over and teach you a few things. I've learned quite a bit that way too.

[OMG!WTF!]

Wait until 12 months before the calgary real estate market takes off...see 2005. Then buy a couple dumper houses. Watch Holmes on Homes daily, then gut, reno, and fix all your mistakes as per Holmes. Sell the horrible mess at a huge profit and never look back.

[dubc80]

How about volunteering at Habitat for Humanity?

[CaptainCrunch]

Measure once cut twice, what else do you need to know.

Besides #$%# #$%#$ #$%#@@^%#$ my thumb.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by jwslam

So... as much as all the replies so far are useful information, it's a lot of advice on what to do / what not to do, as a opposed to where I can go to get this experience without tearing apart my recently developed basement.

Don't you think you need a wet bar, and spruce up your home theater room with some crown molding and custom shelving?

That should keep you occupied

[surferguy]

Your own home must become your canvas. If you royally screw something up, you do it again until it is correct.

If you are really serious about learning - then learn the details of finishing the project. Always finish the project down to the last dirty detail. Always

[puffnstuff]

I learned what not to do by watching my dad. And then the guys he hired to fix it, I watched them to learn.

[WhiteTiger]

When I worked there, I got to read all the Home Depot 1-2-3 series of books (and they had a lot of them). They were quite informative, set up so that they'd stay open to the page you opened them to and covered a lot, step by step. These days, I'd likely use those books and youtube videos for basic stuff.

[8 Ball]

Originally Posted by jwslam

So how does someone start learning to do renovations.

I'd like to become somewhat competent in doing bare-bones stuff like laminate flooring and drywalling. I don't currently need any of this stuff done in my house, and I don't know of any friends that need this stuff in the near future.

Where would I go to start learning these skills in a real-world practice scenario? Obviously I could sit at home and watch youtube all day thinking "hey I can do that!"

Are you planning to do this for a living? If you have no experience, then you have to start at the bottom and gain experience. Are you unemployed and looking to change careers?