The Home Improvement Thread

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by ryeguy252

Anyone have experience with bamboo flooring ? Seems like luxury vinyl plank is more popular? But for resale value bamboo is recommended?

IMO, good luxury vinyl is the best flooring, period.

Durable, impervious to water, easy to install.

It’s available in whatever colour/style you want.

[Deviaant]

Originally Posted by ryeguy252

Anyone have experience with bamboo flooring ? Seems like luxury vinyl plank is more popular? But for resale value bamboo is recommended?

One thing to remember is Bamboo is a grass and as such loves moisture. Our climate is not always kind to wood. If you don't have a humidifier I would personally opt for the lvp. With bamboos linear grain it can be/is prone to cracking if it's too dry.

[AC]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

IMO, good luxury vinyl is the best flooring, period.

Durable, impervious to water, easy to install.

It’s available in whatever colour/style you want.

It's also become the go-to flooring upgrade in the Calgary market.

There are a lot of new developments where hardwood isn't even offered, it's either a cheap laminate wood / 12x12 ceramic tile pairing or a nicer luxury vinyl / 12x24 porcelain tile combo.

[ryeguy252]

Thanks everyone for their input. Would you go LVP as well in basement over carpet which is warmer?

[photon]

If I had vinyl plank in a basement I'd probably put rugs on top of it.

Or you could put something like this under it: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/dmx...2-0/1001513953

We have something like that in our basement (with a think laminate on top) and our basement floors don't feel cold. We didn't get the floor leveled well though so first time going down there after a few days you can hear the plastic hitting the concrete as things shift around on the first few steps.

[Voodooman]

Anyone on here is or knows a professional plasterer/painter? Got a small room in the house that is being converted to an office, and currently has a stippled ceiling and couple of walls (old house, so still some plaster/lathe walls) that I want smoothed out, and then repainted.

I think the ceiling can be scraped, but for the walls, the better solution would seem to be to just plaster over the existing, create a new smooth surface and paint that. In any case, work that is far more of a PITA than I am willing to personally undertake, and will happily hire someone for.

[Torture]

Successful weekend project!

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by Voodooman

Anyone on here is or knows a professional plasterer/painter? Got a small room in the house that is being converted to an office, and currently has a stippled ceiling and couple of walls (old house, so still some plaster/lathe walls) that I want smoothed out, and then repainted.

I think the ceiling can be scraped, but for the walls, the better solution would seem to be to just plaster over the existing, create a new smooth surface and paint that. In any case, work that is far more of a PITA than I am willing to personally undertake, and will happily hire someone for.

To directly answer your question, no, at least no in Calgary.

But to comment on it: It was far easier and cheaper for us to put up drywall on the ceiling than to scrape. Scraping won't necessarily get a smooth surface, and it can take a lot of time. Our contractor was able to quickly bang out the drywall, and have it ready to go. Less mess, less fuss, looks great.

Could be the same thing for the walls. For the sake of 1/2 inch, the time and energy it would take to put up some new drywall over the old stuff could save a lot of headache.

But, I don't know the size of the room, or how feasible that would be.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

We have weeds growing between the road and the curb.

This obviously has been going on well before we got the house. Street cleaning isn't a thing so the sand and dirt from the winter collects. I don't mind sweeping, but I can't get the roots below the road surface/curb.

Any suggestions on how to kill those? Round-up? Cocaine? Blowtorch?

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

We have weeds growing between the road and the curb.

This obviously has been going on well before we got the house. Street cleaning isn't a thing so the sand and dirt from the winter collects. I don't mind sweeping, but I can't get the roots below the road surface/curb.

Any suggestions on how to kill those? Round-up? Cocaine? Blowtorch?

Blowtorch obvs.

[Fuzz]

https://www.lowes.ca/product/weed-gr...eout-max-80001


I relabeled mine "kill all the things". Do not spray it on stuff you don't want dead.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

We have weeds growing between the road and the curb.

This obviously has been going on well before we got the house. Street cleaning isn't a thing so the sand and dirt from the winter collects. I don't mind sweeping, but I can't get the roots below the road surface/curb.

Any suggestions on how to kill those? Round-up? Cocaine? Blowtorch?

Tried blowtorch. Not much help. Makes the neighbours nervous too. I was able to scrape out the dirt with a flathead screwdriver though. Probably should fill it in with something that plants don’t grow in.

The expansion cracks must have miracle-gro. bits embedded when the concrete is poured. I have no idea how plant life manages to thrive in them and throughout winter too. Nothing worse than hitting those with the shovel during winter.

[Ducay]

Use roundup. There is a reason every farmer uses it on their fields to kill everything when they're seeding.

[DoubleF]

I want a cordless reciprocating saw w/ battery. Prices got stupid all of a sudden.

Option 1: $100 at Costco
https://www.costco.ca/king-canada-20...100405070.html

Option 2A/B: Ryobi combo kit $200 - Comes with saw, drill x 2, 2x batteries, flashlight
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ryo...bag/1001411526

I actually want this one for $135 (2x saw, 1x drill, 1x flashlight, 2x batteries), but it seems like it's sold out/might be hard to find:

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ryo...ies/1000751344

Option 3: Buy a Milwaukee 18V starter kit (5Ah and 2Ah battery) for $280, and can select a Milwaukee Sawzall for free.
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/mil...bag/1001538774


Thoughts on what I should consider? The Costco one seems like it's good enough for my purposes (basically cutting thick branches on a softwood tree and other quick uses here and there) and looks like it's slightly better than a $105 Black and Decker.

The Ryobi has a little bit more value in the extra stuff if I can find a good combo kit. I'm the occasional DIYer so Ryobi would be fine for me (yes, I know it's more toy than big boy tool) and I wouldn't cry a river letting them collect dust. I borrow drills on a regular basis, so for a tiny bit more, it would be nice to have my own (even though it's no problem to borrow).

The Milwaukee seems like a great deal, but way overkill for me.

Thoughts on how to proceed? I've looked around and it seems like in general a cordless reciprocating saw is generally around $130-140 with battery for a decent one, so for a little bit more, I'm unsure if it's worth it to either nab extra tools/get a better saw or spend a little less and get the one from Costco.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I want a cordless reciprocating saw w/ battery. Prices got stupid all of a sudden.

Option 1: $100 at Costco
https://www.costco.ca/king-canada-20...100405070.html

-Can't tell if this uses a standard blade socket; so I'm not sure where you would get blades from
-I've not heard of this brand, so down the road how will you get replacement batteries? And be wary that the battery can only be used for this tool.

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Option 2A/B: Ryobi combo kit $200 - Comes with saw, drill x 2, 2x batteries, flashlight
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ryo...bag/1001411526

I actually want this one for $135 (2x saw, 1x drill, 1x flashlight, 2x batteries), but it seems like it's sold out/might be hard to find:

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ryo...ies/1000751344

The Ryobi has a little bit more value in the extra stuff if I can find a good combo kit. I'm the occasional DIYer so Ryobi would be fine for me (yes, I know it's more toy than big boy tool) and I wouldn't cry a river letting them collect dust. I borrow drills on a regular basis, so for a tiny bit more, it would be nice to have my own (even though it's no problem to borrow).

I bought Option 2A at the end of May for $178. Looks like they drop it to a sale price for their non-existent stock. Seems like a common trend they do for these Ryobi kits.

If you get some other Ryobi set without the recip saw, look around on Kijiji. Ryobi guarantees (currently) that the batteries are all compatible even back to the 20+ year old blue tools. Because of this you can have 40 tools and 2 batteries... the quality is good for average home DIYer. I guess buying a kit is also dependent on will you need that drill, which seems to be included in all kits.

[Fuzz]

If you go cordless you definitely want something from a brand you can get matching tools. So for me that eliminates option 1. If you don't plan on getting drills or anything, and this is just occasional use, have you considered corded? Much cheaper, you can find used ones for around $50. Yes, you deal with a cord, but it's not that big a deal, and you get more power. Otherwise the Ryobi is probabyla good way to go.


https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ryo...bag/1001343396


This is an incredible deal, thoguh everywhere says limited stock.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

If you go cordless you definitely want something from a brand you can get matching tools. So for me that eliminates option 1. If you don't plan on getting drills or anything, and this is just occasional use, have you considered corded? Much cheaper, you can find used ones for around $50. Yes, you deal with a cord, but it's not that big a deal, and you get more power. Otherwise the Ryobi is probabyla good way to go.


https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ryo...bag/1001343396


This is an incredible deal, thoguh everywhere says limited stock.

Hmm... If I can't pick up the $135 deal for Ryobi, maybe I should sit on my hands and and wait for some type of Ryobi deal and scoop up more tools...

[Ducay]

Ya, go Ryobi. Basically all the tools are made by 3-4 conglomerates anyways, so its certainly not like you're getting junk quality or manufacturer. They're way more than "toys", and I've got plenty of their tools I use and abuse regularly, including the recip. Good quality and value. Keep an eye open for sales, or usually in-store there are mark downs or clearances you might not see online.

[Nufy]

A while back I decided to standardize in 18V Dewalt for my cordless tools.

Meets all of my needs for home use and I can swap batteries as needed.

Lately I have been completing my collection via auction sites where you can get things way cheaper then retail. Used obviously but still in good shape.

For home use its worked out really well for me.

Pick a brand and run with it.

[Swayze11]

I have Ryobi everything and have never had any issue with any of their tools. The only tool that I haven't been 100% satisfied with is their battery powered circular saw. It is good for small things but it just doesn't have the power that is needed.