The Home Improvement Thread

[You Need a Thneed]

I have one similar to thus, it turns on my pergola lights on a schedule (programmed from phone, has a manual switch, and you can control by app.

I’m likely going to get a few more for Christmas light season.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/gee...lug/1001300847

[puckedoff]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Exactly. Hard floors are absolutely the wrong choice here, but that’s what she wants. I could mirror the Sistine chapel down there and she’d still be disappointed if the floor was carpet.

So, hard floors it is. Apparently a laminate with good pad is the best choice for comfort and acoustics, so I’ll be going that way I suppose.

Anybody here have hard floors (vinyl or laminate) in their basement? Does it feel cold to the touch?

I am losing this battle on a basement reno also, and have an older home so there is definitely no insulation under the slab. I like the look of vinyl compared to carpet but don't want to be freezing my feet.

[Fuzz]

I put laminate in my basement bathroom, with a thin underlay between the slab. I don't really find it cold. It's no carpet, but it doesn't feel freezing or anything. My home is old and not insulated under the slab(I resume).

[Madman]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

Anybody here have hard floors (vinyl or laminate) in their basement? Does it feel cold to the touch?

I am losing this battle on a basement reno also, and have an older home so there is definitely no insulation under the slab. I like the look of vinyl compared to carpet but don't want to be freezing my feet.

I put Barricade panels down in our last house prior to full development and it was amazing. It felt like you were on a main floor both in terms of foot feel and warmth, best money I spent on the whole development.

https://www.rona.ca/en/barricade-232...02402-01925002

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

Have a question - anyone have any idea how I can easily remove this in case I need to clean the drain in the shower?

3 people in my house with long thick hair, so I know its only a matter of time before I need my snake to pull out some clumps...

Looks like each corner has a little metal clip holding it in place. Shove a screw driver through one of the holes and lever it up a bit. Or a flathead under one of the edges.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Has anyone done their own LED outdoor lighting for their house? Instead of putting up and taking down Christmas lights every year, I want a programmable system that I can use all-year round for various holidays. If possible, I want an all-in-one smart LED strip setup that can ideally hook into my Home Assistant config. Google searching gives me a bunch of stand alone LED strips that can apparently plug into separate controllers but I have no idea on the quality of any of it or how easy it would be to configure

[Hockeyguy15]

I just have those noma smart lights from Canadian Tire. They aren't fancy but they get the job done fine.

[Geraldsh]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

Anybody here have hard floors (vinyl or laminate) in their basement? Does it feel cold to the touch?

I am losing this battle on a basement reno also, and have an older home so there is definitely no insulation under the slab. I like the look of vinyl compared to carpet but don't want to be freezing my feet.

I put laminate in over a hard plastic dimpled vapor barrier, should have added a fiber underlay in the area that never used padded laminate because it’s a bit noisy. Also threw down area rugs to help keep the feet warm and look cosy.

[Wormius]

Does paint change as it ages? I bought some paint to touch up some of years ago and it matched perfectly. I tried to do some touch ups today and it’s a little off, like darker than before.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Does paint change as it ages? I bought some paint to touch up some of years ago and it matched perfectly. I tried to do some touch ups today and it’s a little off, like darker than before.

I've encountered this, too. I've chalked it up to the colour on the walls fading and the can being correct (as in the original colour). I don't know why I think that, though.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I've encountered this, too. I've chalked it up to the colour on the walls fading and the can being correct (as in the original colour). I don't know why I think that, though.

The weird bit is, I also have a can of original paint (different colour) from over 10 years ago. The inside of the can is rusted and I have to be careful not to mix it in to the paint, but it matched perfectly to some areas I fixed. This other paint that was matched from a paint sample is just off now. It almost looks like a shadow. Maybe I should give it some more time.

[surferguy]

Possible the can wasn’t stirred enough?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by surferguy

Possible the can wasn’t stirred enough?

Stirred it pretty good. It was all homogeneous when I started using it. Maybe I’ll need to get a new can matched with the paint on the wall now.

[kevman]

Give it time, the paint is still "wet" for a few days and will show darker.

Also, sometimes the colour is perfect but the sheen from the touch up can throw it off when viewed from different angles. If you brush it on you won't match the orange peel of the original texture and where the brush is a little drier will have a shinier finish than where the paint was wet in the middle. If you roll it you'll get a duller set of dry nap marks on the outside vs. the inside where it was wet.

If you were doing any patching you'll have an area where you've sanded down the orange peel from the original coat which can be impossible to blend into the texture of the rest of the wall. Unless of course you're in a new build with sprayed walls that have never been roller painted. But then your touch up with a roller or brush will have a texture that doesn't match the rest of the sprayed wall.

Long story short, either don't worry about the minor imperfections or paint the entire wall.

[Wormius]

Yes, I had done some patching and sanding in that area, and I am also wondering if I should have also rolled on primer further out from where the patch is. There are some angles where it looks better.

I have to redo it though. I found a can of paint and thought maybe I made a mistake, but that wasn’t the case.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Stirred it pretty good. It was all homogeneous when I started using it. Maybe I’ll need to get a new can matched with the paint on the wall now.

Usually
-Paint goes on darker and dries lighter
-Wall paint will sun-fade. So stores suggest going down a "gloss". i.e. If it was eggshell, get a matte.
-If you can, paint the whole panel. Once the same colour bends at a wall corner, the difference is rarely noticeable.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Does paint change as it ages? I bought some paint to touch up some of years ago and it matched perfectly. I tried to do some touch ups today and it’s a little off, like darker than before.

I've been told the same as Sliver. The UV light fades the wall color slightly as time goes on. Wet paint also looks dark and occasionally has a slightly different sheen so light potentially reflects differently than the rest of the wall.

A guy taught me to feather the touch up area up to several inches from the "dot" to help with the sheen and light refraction from different angles.

[calgarygeologist]

I previously asked about hybrid water heaters because it was listed on the green home renovation program thing from the feds but it didn't seem like a very good option.

It is finally time for me to get a replacement water heater. I want to upgrade to a larger tank as my kids are getting older and will demand more hot water and a 40 gallon seems pretty small. I was thinking of 60 gallons. I guess the other option would be two 40 gallon tanks although I think installation might be quite a bit more for two tanks. Does anyone have experience going from one tank to two?

Any recommendations for installers? Pete the Plumber? Big box stores?

[Shazam]

I'd go tankless these days.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Shazam

I'd go tankless these days.

I'm uncertain about tankless. I've heard a lot of people bitch and complain about the systems and the water delivery. Also the price is considerably higher. Does the energy saved by not keeping a big tank of water hot offset that initial larger price and if it does over what sort of time frame?