DIY Home Improvement Thread..

[frostyj]

After two weekends the patios at my dads house are finished. Still one to go, but waiting until spring it's slate 25x12. Also built the two brick planters.

[zoony]

Frosty, awesome job. That is a ton of work, anyone that's done a patio knows just how tedious it can be. Looks great I like the centerpiece

[Koolblue13]

Yeah, pat your back on that one. Looks great man.

[zoony]

You even got a nice slope so it will weep properly, looks like a 1/4 inch of fall every 4 feet or so when compared to the mortar line on the brick wall. Very nice! And a pain in the ass to get right

[frostyj]

Thanks guys. My Brother-in-law and I did the work. 12 years ago we did it and both levels were all brick and no design with packed sand as a base. This time we removed the sand and laid a concrete foundation. It was a chore, we had to pull up all the slate once as it settled too much. it does have a slope, can't recall what it is, but water runs off nicely. Also, nothing is square!! We had to work with what was there and and it did come out very nice. Still doing some clean up.

[Park City Skins]

Well done. That's a lot of work there,(and tedious at that). And square can be overrated.

As for the cost of that remodel above,I'm unsure of building costs there,but it very well could approach zoony's estimate. There is a lot of work in something like that. And that's not including if there needs to be a few things an engineer would have to look at.
Re-models can be a real *****,(and I was saying that before DIY thanks ),and many times folks tend to either underestimate what needs to be done. Not their fault many times,because many don't know any better,(though there are the few that think they do). Demolition,(if part of the contract),costs. Tools,the labor,garbage removal and the container its going in. Material for possible temp walls/posts during the demolition,(that bearing wall thing). Plumbing,electric,framing,(if there are bearing walls,that will increase the costs there),drywall,paint,ect. Even a small project can be a pain with any of that in mind.

[LD0506]

Hey, I've got a question for you guys with more experience concerning this stuff. This is not a DIY project, just something my wife and I are pondering in conjunction with a potential move down the line. How much does it cost to move a kitchen? etc

Don't be surprised if zoony is pretty close, that's a major job. Just going off what you mention I'd have to wonder if there was somewhere to relocate the bath to and expand into that space? Might be more manageable (relatively speaking).

And PCS, don't forget the ever entertaining "surprise!" when you open a wall or something and find some previous owner's attempts at being handy that need to be completely undone before the real work can even begin. 2 years in and I'm still undoing stuff.

[Park City Skins]

I was just touching on the high points there. Yep. There are those. My first day in this house I was "treated" to one of those surprises. Just crossing fingers that I continue to find things that aren't structural.

[LD0506]

I was just touching on the high points there. Yep. There are those. My first day in this house I was "treated" to one of those surprises. Just crossing fingers that I continue to find things that aren't structural.

Doesn't have to be structural to give ya brain cramp. I had to rehang gutters because someone stuck them up w/ LiquidNails and discovered the bedroom vents had been "fixed" by connecting them to the furnace return, then since it was still cold (go figure) said dingbat stuck a big wood burning stove in the livingroom, etc, etc and so on.

Some people should just have a restraining order to keep them away from HomeDepot

[zoony]

Doesn't have to be structural to give ya brain cramp. I had to rehang gutters because someone stuck them up w/ LiquidNails and discovered the bedroom vents had been "fixed" by connecting them to the furnace return, then since it was still cold (go figure) said dingbat stuck a big wood burning stove in the livingroom, etc, etc and so on.

Some people should just have a restraining order to keep them away from HomeDepot

Truth

My old boss was installing some drain pipes in his lakehouse. He took a recip saw and cut out about a 4" x 4" notch out of every floor joist in order to run the pipe. I wonder if the cabin is still standing, I haven't been back out in several years

I of course said to him "nice job!"

[Park City Skins]

Doesn't have to be structural to give ya brain cramp. I had to rehang gutters because someone stuck them up w/ LiquidNails and discovered the bedroom vents had been "fixed" by connecting them to the furnace return, then since it was still cold (go figure) said dingbat stuck a big wood burning stove in the livingroom, etc, etc and so on.

Some people should just have a restraining order to keep them away from HomeDepot

Those are definitely brain cramp causing issues to be sure,(a lot of discovered DIY projects can be). Lock them out of Lowe's or Home Depot stuff for there. But for me,the brain hurting,wtf?cause me to reach for the whiskey kind of thing is the structural. What zoony just described just causes all kinds of stomach gymnastics with me. People just cutting in to stuff. Ranks just above the holy **** electrical and plumbing DIY **** one finds around the house,(especially during a remodel).

[Park City Skins]

So since I last went in to the sub basement,something's been bothering me. So this time I went down there and gave the place a good once over. Gee. Can't imagine what's wrong there.






Go figure. These and the ones next to them are where the sagging happens big time. Sigh.

[pointyfootball]

Go figure. These and the ones next to them are where the sagging happens big time. Sigh.

Yeah that HVAC line isn't NEAR strong enough to hold up those beams...gonna have to beef that baby up!

[Park City Skins]

Yeah that HVAC line isn't NEAR strong enough to hold up those beams...gonna have to beef that baby up!

No doubt. Gee I look forward to that,(though I have worked out how I want to do it. I think. Yikes). I'll be checking out the building codes here of course,but I'm pretty sure that was never code. Every last one of the near 18 posts underneath are built just like that one. Actually,except where the breaks in the 4x's happen,they used 4x4 posts. On top of a piece of 2x8 or 2x10 cedar half buried in the poorly poured concrete. On average,there are 3 nails driven in to the cedar through posts and 3-4 driven through the 4x10 beams in to the post. Sigh.

[Forehead]

Alright, new question. My wife and I are planning on getting new kitchen flooring put in, but we're having a company do it because we want it done in a day, and it would take us longer because we're slow doing these things. We just got a quote from one company for $3,375, and I want to know if that's a good price.

If I'm reading the invoice correctly, that price includes removing the old vinyl floor and quarter rounds in four rooms (kitchen, foyer, laundry room, downstairs bathroom), uninstalling all the appliances, sink and toilet, installing new vinyl flooring, quarter round, and transition strips, and re-installing all the appliances. I don't have the room dimensions handy here at work, but the bathroom is your standard size main floor bathroom (no shower) the foyer is probably 8x5 with a small hallway, the kitchen is a larger country kitchen, something like 24x13.

Does this seem reasonable, including materials and labor?