The Home Improvement Thread

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by peter12

Yeah, I was going to ask why in heaven's name you would board up such a lovely little fireplace. It looks way worse.

Mostly because the way the room is currently functioning, it's acting as a toy room for the kids. The hearth was huge and taking up a good chunk of the room. I didn't oarticularly care for the style either. We still have another fireplace in another room that we use all the time.

Someday, when the kids don't need a toy room, I'll put a more modern fireplace into that space, it's just not a priority right now.

And it's a really cheap project, to add a little bit of functionality for the time being. i sold the freestanding fireplace on kijiji, and will pretty much break even on the whole project (flooring patching to be done at a later date).

[Wormius]

I must have been either entirely lucky or something that for all of the deadlocks that I replaced, they were all Weiser ones. A few days ago I bought a Schlage electronic doorlock and it has been a nightmare trying to get it keyed to work with my Weiser key. Locksmiths refused to change it, so I ended up Frankensteining the cylinders of the Schlage and Weiser together to work. Then after getting it all working properly and removing the old deadbolt, I find out the electronic doorlock requires a larger cutout in the door. Any suggestions for drilling a larger hole with a hole saw? I was thinking of sticking a block of wood in the existing hole so I can centre the hole saw. My past experience has been that if I don't centre it. The hole saw will be all over the place until it eventually digs in. So would the block of wood in the hole be the best way, or has anybody used a different method?

[surferguy]

You can also take a scrap piece and cut the new hole size in it. Then clamp the scrap into your existing work piece and then proceed to make your cut. Make sure it is clamped tight so that it won't skip or slip though. Also be sure to clamp a scarficical piece to the backside of the door to prevent blowout.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by surferguy

You can also take a scrap piece and cut the new hole size in it. Then clamp the scrap into your existing work piece and then proceed to make your cut. Make sure it is clamped tight so that it won't skip or slip though. Also be sure to clamp a scarficical piece to the backside of the door to prevent blowout.

Thanks. That worked like a charm. Also let me test fit the assembly with was nice.

No problem with blow out, only issue was the layer or steel. Took a bit of filing afterwards, but that was all.

[OMG!WTF!]

This might be a new thread. Not sure. But I saw the worst renovation I've ever seen in my life last night. I'm tagging along with a friend who is looking for a house to rent so we went to a "renovated bungalow" in a nice nw community. I guess it sort of matters that it wasn't actually a bungalow but a split level. But whatever. The main floor was "complete" and not horrible. The kitchen floor tile was actually a collage of tile and when I asked, the guy said he had collected tile samples from stores around the city and actually completed the entire floor from samples. He started at the perimeter and worked his way concentrically to the middle of the floor where the last row went from no grout lines to a one inch gap. But hey, it was free.

So the basement is still a catastrophe in progress. It's hard to estimate progress because everything is done in bits and pieces but the guy promised to finish by the end of the month. So, firstly the new laundry room is 38 inches wide. The front load laundry machines are 26 inches. Plus a 14 inch door. Oh, and plus about six inches for venting and plumbing and an inch for drywall. But whatever.

Second, no cold air returns in the whole basement. Not as big a problem as you'd think though because there was only one heat vent in one bedroom. And I quote, "If you don't use vapour barrier you don't need cold air returns because the whole place breaths much better".

Third, the whole house, 1300 feet up and full developed down, had eleven circuits, three of which were aluminum.

The bedroom has no windows. The bathroom has one boarded over window. The toilet stack cuts through the bath door that isn't hung yet....no big deal because he's just going to swing it outwards, not inwards as per code.

The walls that hadn't been boarded yet were 2x4's but 48 inches on center meaning one 2x4 horizontally across the middle. One verticle stud every 8 feet. Gobs of wiring floating in the wind and insulation duct taped to the concrete.

So I was just wondering if anyone else has a funny story like that. It's amazing what some people do to their houses.

[Fuzz]

That's incredible. I wish you had pictures. I think the city will do drop by building inspections if you report it. I'd imagine at bare minimum the electrical is a major issue.

[OMG!WTF!]

I was wondering about that. I tend to mind my own beezwax but it was such a terrible job. It would cost the guy 30k to get permits, drawings and proper trades up and down. It's not a suite so hopefully it just becomes cold/luke warm storage for whoever rents it.

[Wormius]

I haven't had anything too bad. My new floors are a pain. The installers didn't put much effort in and some edge pieces aren't nailed down. Pretty much gravity, the tongue / groove, and baseboard holding some pieces in.

[Fuzz]

Is it laminate? You aren't supposed to nail those down, they need to be able to expand/contract.

[Wormius]

^^ No hardwood.

FlamingPotato (not the original installer) helped clean up a few other issues with the floor; the gaps between some planks were horrible. At least that is my view. I live there so I can't help but focus in on the details that annoy me. I probably wouldn't be as nitpicky if it was somebody else's floor.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Mostly because the way the room is currently functioning, it's acting as a toy room for the kids. The hearth was huge and taking up a good chunk of the room. I didn't oarticularly care for the style either. We still have another fireplace in another room that we use all the time.

Someday, when the kids don't need a toy room, I'll put a more modern fireplace into that space, it's just not a priority right now.

And it's a really cheap project, to add a little bit of functionality for the time being. i sold the freestanding fireplace on kijiji, and will pretty much break even on the whole project (flooring patching to be done at a later date).

I am the son of a bricklayer.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by peter12

I am the son of a bricklayer.

You probably would have hated this brick. A combination of real brick and veneer brick (sometimes together), thick layers of mortar, etc.

[mrkajz44]

I can't seem to find whomever suggested this to me, but a big thanks to the person who suggested the vinegar in the dishwasher. Dishes are much cleaner when the come out now, and the filter seems to have less stuff on it when I take it out to clean.

EDIT: I guess I need to improve my ability to use the search function. Anyway, thanks Bill!

[Fuzz]

Twas Bill Bumface
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpos...&postcount=813

[EverfresH15]

Wondering if anyone has installed a rubber driveway, that could shed some positives and negatives on it. We are thinking of using these guys.

www.urbanrubberpaving.com

[blueski]

Originally Posted by EverfresH15

Wondering if anyone has installed a rubber driveway, that could shed some positives and negatives on it. We are thinking of using these guys.

www.urbanrubberpaving.com

I don't think it would be as fun to do brake stands and burnouts on as regular cement or asphalt.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by blueski

I don't think it would be as fun to do brake stands and burnouts on as regular cement or asphalt.

Think of the rubber driveway as a mattress for your house :P.

[Canehdianman]

Hiring surferguy to do a bunch of renos I was too lazy (and incompetent) to do is the best home improvement I've ever done.

[GreenLantern]

I am starting to look into quotes for AC installation for the spring and just curious if anyone has a ball park figure on the total cost. Everything is roughed into the furnace room/side of the house, but I will need the unit + installation. House is 1575 square feet as I imagine that matters for how big of a unit I need to buy? I am in Saskatoon so Calgary prices might be higher (or cheaper actually given the economy) but just curious to see what I should expect.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

I am starting to look into quotes for AC installation for the spring and just curious if anyone has a ball park figure on the total cost. Everything is roughed into the furnace room/side of the house, but I will need the unit + installation. House is 1575 square feet as I imagine that matters for how big of a unit I need to buy? I am in Saskatoon so Calgary prices might be higher (or cheaper actually given the economy) but just curious to see what I should expect.

Home Depot has units on line for sale. The general rule of thumb for any big install is that labour and material should be split roughly 50/50.