The Home Improvement Thread

[calgarygeologist]

Does anyone know what the cheapest place is for buying that rubber/plastic baseboard stuff? I need about 30 to 35 feet of it.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Does anyone know what the cheapest place is for buying that rubber/plastic baseboard stuff? I need about 30 to 35 feet of it.

I bought a 20' roll at Home Depot not that long ago. Was probably $20.

[V]

If I'm doing it myself I'm not going to pull the floor until I'm ready to install it. Renos always take longer than you think, and then you're living on plywood for too long. I also can't trust myself to keep paint off the floors, so I'm not putting in the nice floor until I'm done painting. Also, installing engineered hardwood flooring should have no impact on your paint job. There's no reason to scratch up your walls doing that.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by blender

The correct order would be remove flooring, paint walls and pre-paint baseboards, install flooring, install baseboards and caulk tops, fill nail holes and face roll.

Agree - Why are we still arguing on permutations and combinations when obviously any order would get you to the end result. Sure some trades like to go earlier or later (who doesn't like not having to tape off baseboards, or not have to worry about gouging walls when laying carpet), but the above post is the preferred order for most generals given it minimizes risk and has highest efficiencies.

[Wormius]

I am about to start demolishing my guest bathroom today. Wish me luck.

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I am about to start demolishing my guest bathroom today. Wish me luck.

Spoiler alert - demo is the easy part!

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by surferguy

Spoiler alert - demo is the easy part!

Maybe... Those old sinks that are built into the countertops are heavy and unwieldy as heck. I had to split it apart with my rotozip so I could move it. Thankfully they still seem to shatter when dropped on concrete, so easy manageable pieces for the garbage day tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be the base cabinet and the toilet, maybe try to salvage the mirror that is somehow adhered to the drywall. A little worried about the mirror, from a safety perspective. It's 3' x 4' and not sure what to expect if I manage to free it. Not looking at severing any limbs or being crushed.

[blender]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Maybe... Those old sinks that are built into the countertops are heavy and unwieldy as heck. I had to split it apart with my rotozip so I could move it. Thankfully they still seem to shatter when dropped on concrete, so easy manageable pieces for the garbage day tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be the base cabinet and the toilet, maybe try to salvage the mirror that is somehow adhered to the drywall. A little worried about the mirror, from a safety perspective. It's 3' x 4' and not sure what to expect if I manage to free it. Not looking at severing any limbs or being crushed.

Lots of videos on you tube with good instructions

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Maybe... Those old sinks that are built into the countertops are heavy and unwieldy as heck. I had to split it apart with my rotozip so I could move it. Thankfully they still seem to shatter when dropped on concrete, so easy manageable pieces for the garbage day tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be the base cabinet and the toilet, maybe try to salvage the mirror that is somehow adhered to the drywall. A little worried about the mirror, from a safety perspective. It's 3' x 4' and not sure what to expect if I manage to free it. Not looking at severing any limbs or being crushed.

Most likely just construction adhesive. use something long and flat to slide in behind to start loosening it, preferably plastic, hopefully the paper from the drywall tears and goes with the mirror. It's hard to get off without scratching the mirror though, and mirror glass is relatively cheap if you are planning on just putting up another flat piece.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Maybe... Those old sinks that are built into the countertops are heavy and unwieldy as heck. I had to split it apart with my rotozip so I could move it. Thankfully they still seem to shatter when dropped on concrete, so easy manageable pieces for the garbage day tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be the base cabinet and the toilet, maybe try to salvage the mirror that is somehow adhered to the drywall. A little worried about the mirror, from a safety perspective. It's 3' x 4' and not sure what to expect if I manage to free it. Not looking at severing any limbs or being crushed.

For a 12 square foot mirror I'd just smash it and save yourself the headache. You're going to thank yourself later when you meet many more headaches down the path of reconstruction. In the end buy a framed mirror from Home Sense for $50, and hang on wall.

[PaperBagger'14]

This is the quietest I've ever seen this thread for electrical questions.

[wooohooo]

Anyone built a patio before? Just moved into a new house that has no deck or patio just the builders stairs to grass.

We're debating on doing a deck but it's not a huge space so that might cut a lot into the space so we thought doing a patio would be better. Looks like a lot more work and also a lot more expensive? How difficult is it doing it myself?

The space we're thinking of is probably a 10'x12' with a 13' walkway to the garage. Potentially of doing a wood landing onto the patio?

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

Anyone built a patio before? Just moved into a new house that has no deck or patio just the builders stairs to grass.

We're debating on doing a deck but it's not a huge space so that might cut a lot into the space so we thought doing a patio would be better. Looks like a lot more work and also a lot more expensive? How difficult is it doing it myself?

The space we're thinking of is probably a 10'x12' with a 13' walkway to the garage. Potentially of doing a wood landing onto the patio?

One consideration is that a deck requires a permit and a change to your rpr. That's a lot of hassle for a do it yourselfer. A patio (less tha 24 inches off the ground) doesn't require that.

A deck would also require concrete filled holes four feet deep for the posts...not a small job.

I'd rather build a deck but I think a patio would be much cheaper and easier.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Maybe... Those old sinks that are built into the countertops are heavy and unwieldy as heck. I had to split it apart with my rotozip so I could move it. Thankfully they still seem to shatter when dropped on concrete, so easy manageable pieces for the garbage day tomorrow.

Tomorrow will be the base cabinet and the toilet, maybe try to salvage the mirror that is somehow adhered to the drywall. A little worried about the mirror, from a safety perspective. It's 3' x 4' and not sure what to expect if I manage to free it. Not looking at severing any limbs or being crushed.

Safety glasses and gloves for the mirror and a long sleeve shirt. Most of mine came down easy. On piece exploded shooting pieces everywhere. Glad I had safety glasses on.

[Cube Inmate]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

Anyone built a patio before? Just moved into a new house that has no deck or patio just the builders stairs to grass.

We're debating on doing a deck but it's not a huge space so that might cut a lot into the space so we thought doing a patio would be better. Looks like a lot more work and also a lot more expensive? How difficult is it doing it myself?

The space we're thinking of is probably a 10'x12' with a 13' walkway to the garage. Potentially of doing a wood landing onto the patio?

It is a lot of work, and good and expensive. Having done 2 about that size in the last few years, the biggest hassle is...everything. Excavating, getting gravel (road crush), hauling gravel, leveling, compacting with a rented machine, leveling sand, setting and resetting stones, vibing the sand into the gaps, and getting rid of excavated dirt.

Also, my latest 9x13' cost somewhere from $1200-1600 in materials and deliveries...I kind of stopped counting. YMMV, but when pricing it out don't forget delivery charges, if applicable.

But if you're into that sort of thing...

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by GGG

Safety glasses and gloves for the mirror and a long sleeve shirt. Most of mine came down easy. On piece exploded shooting pieces everywhere. Glad I had safety glasses on.

Managed to get it down safely. The heft of it was a bit surprising. I noticed a few chips though, so I might end up scrapping it anyway.

The toilet though... not as disgusting as I thought. But why does the wax ring have to resemble the same colour as poo? Can't they make it like neon green or something?

Oh well. Accomplished 3 things today. Tomorrow can get around to breaking up the drywall and tile.

Is it common to pull up the plywood over the subfloor or reuse it?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

This is the quietest I've ever seen this thread for electrical questions.

Give me a month or so when I get to that point on my garage.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Give me a month or so when I get to that point on my garage.

Have you poured your concrete yet? There's one tip I can give you if you're running conduit (I highly advise running conduit) to the garage.

[indes]

Originally Posted by V

Yeah, it's crazy how much you can save by doing your own deck. I'm pricing one out now and I think I'll be able to build it for under 5 bucks a square foot. I hear that a contractor will charge you 25 bucks a foot. That's insane.

Not sure about 5$ I built my own as cheap as I could (treated wood no Trex) and I'm about 10-15$. Not sure where I could have shaved any costs. Wood is ####ing expensive.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

Have you poured your concrete yet? There's one tip I can give you if you're running conduit (I highly advise running conduit) to the garage.

Not yet, tip away! I will do some conduit.