The Home Improvement Thread

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Tyler

I've got a bathroom sink that won't drain properly and I can only assume that there is a bunch of hair or something clogging up the drain. Tried draino and CLR down the drain and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Do I need a snake or should I just wrench open the pipes under the sink and clear the obstruction? Anything a non-handy person should know before embarking on such a project?

Snakes are cheap. I've seen them at Dollarama for $2 (questionable quality IMO), and Canadian Tire has $4 ones that work excellent. I'd snake before disassembling a drain.

Wear gloves AND safety goggles. Splashing can occur and the smell is awful.


Semi off topic:

https://www.amazon.ca/FACILLA-Black-...ords=hair+ties

These things wrapped around a pop up drain of a shower work great to prevent hair clogging. I swear I read this on lifehacker years ago, but I can't find an article. They work far better than most of the darn $3-8 hair catchers from all the hardware stores IMO and I've probably tested half a dozen of those prevention products and thrown them all out. This is cheaper and more effective. You perhaps could wrap one around a sink drain to prevent future clogs... but it would look really dumb IMO.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by sevenarms

What was the cost per square foot for the hardwood refinishing?

Also interested in this.

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I have heard, that as an alternative, plywood works really nicely in garages. Mine was already dry walled, but if I had to do it from scratch I might go with some 4x8 plywood sheets. It probably won't look as nice as a cleaned up drywall, but it has its own benefits.

Yes this, I am back and forth which I will put up. My front wall and roof are already dry walled as they had to be for code, but the side walls I might go with plywood funny look be damned just for the handiness of it.

I would at least throw some cross sections in that 5-8 foot range, or where ever you think you might be screwing things into, before dry walling to make it easier to basically just place stuff where you want it without worrying about the stud placement.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Yes this, I am back and forth which I will put up. My front wall and roof are already dry walled as they had to be for code, but the side walls I might go with plywood funny look be damned just for the handiness of it.

I would at least throw some cross sections in that 5-8 foot range, or where ever you think you might be screwing things into, before dry walling to make it easier to basically just place stuff where you want it without worrying about the stud placement.

If your screwing stuff into the wall, aren't you looking for studs anyway regardless if you have a drywall or OSB/plywod wall?

Drywall is nicer. And fireproof.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

If your screwing stuff into the wall, aren't you looking for studs anyway regardless if you have a drywall or OSB/plywod wall?

Drywall is nicer. And fireproof.

Not for everything though. Lighter things could be screwed in anywhere that would otherwise just fall out of or damage the drywall. Although, I just put up a 2x4 horizontally so I am not searching for studs all the time when I want to hang up garden tools or something in our garage.

[GreenLantern]

Yea I was thinking along the lines of the garden tools mostly, lighter ladders, bikes, being able to just arrange things how you want it instead of having to mount them according to the studs and/or a board you attach first to the studs makes life easier. It is definitely not life changing, but the pay out can end up being much greater than the effort.

[underGRADFlame]

Okay fella's got a question. The Mrs and I are planning on building a new house, found a builder and a floor plan we love, just going through options on the design and I'm thinking of adding a couple of skylights into the bonus room. But I've been hearing some mixed reviews on skylights, that they leak and that they kill your R value in the attic.. So can anyone give me some feedback?

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

Okay fella's got a question. The Mrs and I are planning on building a new house, found a builder and a floor plan we love, just going through options on the design and I'm thinking of adding a couple of skylights into the bonus room. But I've been hearing some mixed reviews on skylights, that they leak and that they kill your R value in the attic.. So can anyone give me some feedback?

Skylights shouldn't be a problem but they can certainly become huge issues when something goes wrong. If you just want additional light you could consider a couple of solar tubes. They seem to be less problematic compared to skylights.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Tyler

I've got a bathroom sink that won't drain properly and I can only assume that there is a bunch of hair or something clogging up the drain. Tried draino and CLR down the drain and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Do I need a snake or should I just wrench open the pipes under the sink and clear the obstruction? Anything a non-handy person should know before embarking on such a project?

It's a pretty easy/quick job at the end of the day.

I find it needs to be done every second year and honestly disassembling, unclogging, reassembly takes about 20 minutes tops. And I'm far from a handy person. FUZZ's post just below yours is a good place to start. The cost of a monkey wrench pays for itself from not having to call a plumber once.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Skylights shouldn't be a problem but they can certainly become huge issues when something goes wrong. If you just want additional light you could consider a couple of solar tubes. They seem to be less problematic compared to skylights.

I hope I don't offend any solar tubists, but solar tubes suck. It looks like you stuck a daylight LED bulb pot light behind a lens, except your LED pot light can only be used during the day when it's bright out.

A skylight however lets a ton of unfiltered/reflected natural light in, and also lets you see outside and raises your roof height in that spot making a room feel much more airy.

Good skylight blinds can help with the R value a bit but $$$$ especially if you need motorized.

I think for the skylights themselves, it's all about the install. Buy decent ones, make sure they are installed correctly, and you should be good.

[photon]

Anyone ever used Bestar closet organizers? Loews and Costco both have them, but they're online order only, and I haven't been able to find anywhere in town that carries them and don't really want to order them sight unseen. Thinking of ordering the smallest piece first so it's easy to return if I don't like it.

https://www.lowes.ca/home-decor/clea.../brand/bestar/

[Hockeyguy15]

Does anyone know roughly how much it would cost to insulate/poly/drywall a detached garage on your own vs. having someone do it?

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Does anyone know roughly how much it would cost to insulate/poly/drywall a detached garage on your own vs. having someone do it?

To do it yourself the materials will probably cost you around $900 for a standard double garage (assuming it is just the walls and not the ceiling.)

[V]

It'll cost you four times as much to get someone to do it. That's the general rule with DIY projects.

[GreenLantern]

My insulation was $400ish on sale (buy 3 get 1 free) and my poly/tape/acoustic sealant was $110, all bought at Home Depot. That is for a 24 wide by 24x26 deep and 13 foot high high walls. Just side and front, roof and back wall (attached to house) were done for me. And ya, the insulation is so easy I would never pay anyone to do it, just takes time. Just make sure you got a good mask and some gloves, wear long sleeved clothing. The poly is a bit trickier, especially with that messy sealant, but after you butcher part of one wall the mistakes are made and lessons are learned. 3/4 of the garage looks professional at least It helps to have an extra person to hold the poly away from the area you are applying the sealant on, then go back and push it in nice and neat while they hold the other end. That worked way better than trying to apply it as I went. The ceiling would be a bit of a pain though.. I never had to do that so I can't really offer and advice.

[Fuzz]

Just curios what acoustic sealant is for? Obviously not acoustic in garage...unless that's where your band plays.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Just curios what acoustic sealant is for? Obviously not acoustic in garage...unless that's where your band plays.

Seals the gaps between the poly and the framing/floor/door jams.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Just curios what acoustic sealant is for? Obviously not acoustic in garage...unless that's where your band plays.

From what I was looking at earlier, the sealant is used at the top and bottom of the walls to get a proper seal. You can use it on the studs as well, but that seems like overkill to me.

[GreenLantern]

I think Fuzz is bugging me for forgetting the al at the end of acoustic?

[Fuzz]

No, was genuinely curious. I had heard of using it before in garages, I just didn't get why it would need to be sealed from sound....