The Home Improvement Thread

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Shazam

You can most certainly carpet just a stairwell. I can't recommend anybody because everybody I've ever had to do carpet has sucked.

The bannister will cost a ton. Probably at least $10K. They're all done by hand still and is very labour intensive, and usually only the best carpenters get to work on them. I imagine glass bannisters would cost around the same.

Dang, I'll have to do some measurements on the current bannister when I get home... but I sure hope I'm not looking at $10k, I may just stick with the rusty POS that's on there now in that case.

[Shazam]

You want metal bannisters? I think that's even more. Paint them perhaps instead?

It cost me $9000 back in 2002 to get wood bannisters put in our new house build.

[Regular_John]

I measured the current bannister and it's roughly 43" wide at the top level (aka the second floor of my place) and 60" along the run of stairs before the landing.

If 43" x 60" is gonna cost $10k, I'd expect it to be comprised of old growth forest and rare earth magnets.

[Fuzz]

What do you live in, a house for ants?

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

What do you live in, a house for ants?

Roughly 1,100 square foot townhome... honestly for the two of us we could go smaller.

[GullFoss]

Anyone have an idea of what closed form spray foam insulation should cost per board ft (installed)?

I thought the going rate was $1.25 or less. But am seeing a quote at $1.50 per board ft and the job is a decent size (5000 board ft +/-)

If you have any leads on solid guys who charge a fair price please let me know.

[Shazam]

It's expensive.

If anything their workload has picked up as virtually all residential and commercial builds now have some spray foam component to them.

[Weitz]

It appears the "foundation parging" (excuse me if thats the wrong term, got it from a quck google) appears to be falling off at different points around my house. Is this something i should be worried about in regards to my foundation? I notice there is a little bit of exposed wood now in one part.

[kevman]

Does anyone have recent experience with a 2nd story addition in Calgary that can share their $/sq. ft. cost? Just trying to get a sense on whether or not it's worth moving this idea out of the day dream faze.

[sa226]

Originally Posted by Weitz

It appears the "foundation parging" (excuse me if thats the wrong term, got it from a quck google) appears to be falling off at different points around my house. Is this something i should be worried about in regards to my foundation? I notice there is a little bit of exposed wood now in one part.

Not really, no. Parging is mainly decorative to give the exposed foundation more of a decorative look. You could patch it pretty easily. Not sure why wood would be exposed though. Usually the tyvek house wrap comes down a bit over the foundation, then the parging covers that.

Under my 2 foot deck, I had a rotting ledger board that needed replacing, but with the close quarters under the deck, I couldn't get the new one in without ripping down the parging. Nobody can see under there, so I didn't bother replacing it.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by kevman

Does anyone have recent experience with a 2nd story addition in Calgary that can share their $/sq. ft. cost? Just trying to get a sense on whether or not it's worth moving this idea out of the day dream faze.

It depends on your existing bungalow. In Toronto for example, second story additions are quite common because a lot of the old houses have structural brick that can accommodate the load of a second floor. In calgary it's not so common because we have a lot of 2x4 construction that is not sufficient for the second floor load. It sort of comes down to that. If your house can handle it, it is a great way to add footage and value...you're typically building bedrooms and a bathroom...no kitchens so it's relatively cheap. If not you're pretty well looking at a tear down and new build. At least that was the case ten years ago. Not sure if things have changed recently.

[topfiverecords]

2x4 can handle second floor load just fine. The only reason 2x6 came into use was for extra insulation thickness.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

2x4 can handle second floor load just fine. The only reason 2x6 came into use was for extra insulation thickness.

It depends on the build. Mine was 24 on center so that was insufficient for a second floor. They have to be 16. And there has to be extra support added in different places.

[topfiverecords]

2x4 @ 24 is uncommon.

[Sliver]

Hey - I find the PVC pipes that stick out of my wall for my HE furnace to be kind of ugly. Anybody know of a sleeve or cover or something that could go over them to make them look nicer?

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Hey - I find the PVC pipes that stick out of my wall for my HE furnace to be kind of ugly. Anybody know of a sleeve or cover or something that could go over them to make them look nicer?

Paint?

[TorqueDog]

We have three hardwired and interconnected Kidde combo smoke/CO alarms in the house that are ready to be replaced, and I've sourced three Nest Protect hardwired models to swap them with.

However, I am having one hell of a time finding what circuit the smoke alarms are on, no thanks to the lazy incompetent f&$% who labeled the utility panel in 2008 (and yes I removed the backup batteries). Are smoke alarms in Alberta required to be connected to the mains, or is it possible they share a circuit with something else? I'd prefer not to have to cut the principal power if I can.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

We have three hardwired and interconnected Kidde combo smoke/CO alarms in the house that are ready to be replaced, and I've sourced three Nest Protect hardwired models to swap them with.

However, I am having one hell of a time finding what circuit the smoke alarms are on, no thanks to the lazy incompetent f&$% who labeled the utility panel in 2008 (and yes I removed the backup batteries). Are smoke alarms in Alberta required to be connected to the mains, or is it possible they share a circuit with something else? I'd prefer not to have to cut the principal power if I can.

They will typically be on a hallway light circuit I cant remember but I think it is code it's a safety measure so you will know when the circuit is out by trying to turn on the light but I would buy a voltage detector to make sure the circuit is dead before doing any kind of electrical work

[PaperBagger'14]

Robo is bang on, just remember though that the smoke alarm is not switched, it shares the same hot wire but isnt connected downstream of your light switch. Basically means you have to use the breaker as your isolation point.

It will be on one of the lights/plugs or general breakers more than likely.

[OMG!WTF!]

Oh my. Exel Homes must being using cheap nails...


https://globalnews.ca/news/5916734/c...deck-collapse/