Projects/Home Improvement Thread

[koonja]

So... electric? We have a gas set up in our house so I was expecting to go with that.

Also. Not sure why gas would have turned your grandparents house black. Are you talking about an actual wood burning fire place?

 

[GATTACA!]

So... electric? We have a gas set up in our house so I was expecting to go with that.

Also. Not sure why gas would have turned your grandparents house black. Are you talking about an actual wood burning fire place?

Nope gas. They've had several. Idk what was up with this last one.

 

[Irish#1]

So... electric? We have a gas set up in our house so I was expecting to go with that.

Also. Not sure why gas would have turned your grandparents house black. Are you talking about an actual wood burning fire place?

If you have an electrical outlet nearby, plug and play. Your only expense is the fireplace.

If you go with gas, you'll have to have the gas line ran to the location. I'm guessing that's at least a couple hundred right there in addition to the cost of the fireplace. You'll still need electricity to power the fan motor. Also with gas consider vented or non-vented?

 

[koonja]

If you have an electrical outlet nearby, plug and play. Your only expense is the fireplace.

If you go with gas, you'll have to have the gas line ran to the location. I'm guessing that's at least a couple hundred right there in addition to the cost of the fireplace. You'll still need electricity to power the fan motor. Also with gas consider vented or non-vented?

I'm OK paying a few hundred to run a gas line. But not going to do it just to do it if all things equal electric makes more sense.

Vented vs. non-vented? I certainly can't afford to put a chimney on if that's what you mean. And would prefer to not cut out a vent in the roof. Unless there's a good reason to.

 

[Irish YJ]

I'd go vent-less gas. There's no flu, and easy to operate. IIRC, all come with O2 auto cutoffs. It'll look much better than electric. If heating is important to you, get one with a blower.

Find a fireplace specialty store and spend an hour or two asking questions.

One thing that will matter, is how easy it will be to get gas to the corner. Are you on a slab, crawl, basement, etc..

 

[Irish YJ]

just looked at your pic. didn't realize it was a one story (unless you have faux arches). a flu /vent would not break the bank in that corner. you wouldn't need a old school chimney. like i said in the previous post, go to a fireplace store to get an understanding of options. don't purchase quickly as you might be able to get the same exact thing online for a lot less.

 

[koonja]

just looked at your pic. didn't realize it was a one story (unless you have faux arches). a flu /vent would not break the bank in that corner. you wouldn't need a old school chimney. like i said in the previous post, go to a fireplace store to get an understanding of options. don't purchase quickly as you might be able to get the same exact thing online for a lot less.

Its a 2 story. To side of the picture is a staircase running up into 3 beds, 2 baths on the 2nd floor.

And noted on the fireplace store - makes total sense. I'm hoping to do entire job for 2k or less.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

You don't have to vent a gas fireplace through the roof. You can vent through the wall directly behind the location of the new unit if it's not an interior wall.

 

[Irish#1]

Its a 2 story. To side of the picture is a staircase running up into 3 beds, 2 baths on the 2nd floor.

And noted on the fireplace store - makes total sense. I'm hoping to do entire job for 2k or less.

Did you end up getting a gas fireplace?

 

[Irish#1]

My wife and I are having a debate on our master bathroom remodel. Like the upstairs bathroom I did last year, we'll be replacing one of those one piece fiberglass units, which means I can take out the short walls built for the unit and have a larger shower area.

The debate is whether to use stone similar to this pic for at least the main wall in the shower. She thinks it won't dry quickly and cause problems since rock is a little porous. Anyone else do this or have experience with stone in a shower?

 

[Irish YJ]

My wife and I are having a debate on our master bathroom remodel. Like the upstairs bathroom I did last year, we'll be replacing one of those one piece fiberglass units, which means I can take out the short walls built for the unit and have a larger shower area.

The debate is whether to use stone similar to this pic for at least the main wall in the shower. She thinks it won't dry quickly and cause problems since rock is a little porous. Anyone else do this or have experience with stone in a shower?

cleaning will be a pain.

 

[koonja]

Did you end up getting a gas fireplace?

We haven't gotten one yet, but I expect we'll get a gas.

 

[Irish#1]

cleaning will be a pain.

Someone else mentioned that. Is your maid available? lol

 

[Irish YJ]

Someone else mentioned that. Is your maid available? lol

lol. a place i used to frequent (AI resort on the Mayan Riviera) had outdoor showers with real stacked stone a lot like that. The owner said it was a huge mistake installing it. Keeping the mold/mildew off of it was a huge time/$ factor. Looked awesome though. If your wife is a good maintainer, I'd go for it

 

[Bluto]

My wife and I are having a debate on our master bathroom remodel. Like the upstairs bathroom I did last year, we'll be replacing one of those one piece fiberglass units, which means I can take out the short walls built for the unit and have a larger shower area.

The debate is whether to use stone similar to this pic for at least the main wall in the shower. She thinks it won't dry quickly and cause problems since rock is a little porous. Anyone else do this or have experience with stone in a shower?

Did an outdoor kitchen and some seat walls with similar cladding several years back. Making the corners with that type of cladding and keeping the lines straight is pretty tricky/a major pain in the ass unless the manufacturer happens to make them. The stone can be sealed but that would need to be reapplied on a semi regular basis. Waterproofing the pan and a couple feet up the wall in the entire shower using a continuous application of elastomeric would be the way to go.

 

[Wild Bill]

Did an outdoor kitchen and some seat walls with similar cladding several years back. Making the corners with that type of cladding and keeping the lines straight is pretty tricky/a major pain in the ass unless the manufacturer happens to make them. The stone can be sealed but that would need to be reapplied on a semi regular basis. Waterproofing the pan and a couple feet up the wall in the entire shower using a continuous application of elastomeric would be the way to go.

I used a similar product recently and the manufacturer makes the corners so you can avoid the issue. It would be tricky without them, that's for sure.

I installed it on a fireplace but would not use it in the shower. It would be a pain in the ass to clean and it's just not a great texture for a shower, IMO.

 

[wizards8507]

In line for the damn saw at Home Depot and an idiot millennial woman is asking a million questions about how to build a shelf out of pine studs and plywood. Would have been way faster if I had just dug the snow away from my shed and pulled out the miter saw.

She has a nose ring, sweatpants, and she's wearing slippers as if they're real shoes.

 

[NDBoiler]

In line for the damn saw at Home Depot and an idiot millennial woman is asking a million questions about how to build a shelf out of pine studs and plywood. Would have been way faster if I had just dug the snow away from my shed and pulled out the miter saw.

She has a nose ring, sweatpants, and she's wearing slippers as if they're real shoes.

You should have planned ahead and had the saw out of the shed before the snow hit

On a serious note, I’m assuming your shed isn’t temperature controlled, in which case it’s not good for power tools to be kept there over the winter (especially cordless). Definitely at least let them warm up before using them. I like to move all my power stuff out of my shed to the basement for the winter.

 

[wizards8507]

You should have planned ahead and had the saw out of the shed before the snow hit



On a serious note, I’m assuming your shed isn’t temperature controlled, in which case it’s not good for power tools to be kept there over the winter (especially cordless). Definitely at least let them warm up before using them. I like to move all my power stuff out of my shed to the basement for the winter.

Yeah our basement is fully finished so I'm very limited on storage. I keep the blades inside and the moving parts are very well lubricated.

 

[wizards8507]

The plan today was to replace the over-the-range microwave. Unfortunately, the assholes at GE have their specifications listed incorrectly on their website, and when they say the unit requires 16.5 inches of clearance below the cabinet, what they actually mean is that it needs 18 inches of clearance below the cabinet. So my 30 minute job turned into an entire Saturday of ripping out a row of my tile backsplash, scraping adhesive, sanding, patching, spackling, sanding again, painting, and sanding one more time.

 

[Irish#1]

The plan today was to replace the over-the-range microwave. Unfortunately, the assholes at GE have their specifications listed incorrectly on their website, and when they say the unit requires 16.5 inches of clearance below the cabinet, what they actually mean is that it needs 18 inches of clearance below the cabinet. So my 30 minute job turned into an entire Saturday of ripping out a row of my tile backsplash, scraping adhesive, sanding, patching, spackling, sanding again, painting, and sanding one more time.

If you’re not replacing with the exact same unit it’s never going to be as quick as you think. There’s always a gotcha.

 

[Irish YJ]

If you’re not replacing with the exact same unit it’s never going to be as quick as you think. There’s always a gotcha.

It's pretty close within brand too. I gutted my kitchen 10 years ago, and the guys doing my cabs told me ALWAYS get actual measurements if possible, and regardless, pull the spec/dimension diagram. If I were him, I would have just changed brands/models instead of doing all that tile work. no thank you.

 

[wizards8507]

If you’re not replacing with the exact same unit it’s never going to be as quick as you think. There’s always a gotcha.

It's pretty close within brand too. I gutted my kitchen 10 years ago, and the guys doing my cabs told me ALWAYS get actual measurements if possible, and regardless, pull the spec/dimension diagram. If I were him, I would have just changed brands/models instead of doing all that tile work. no thank you.

It was the same exact brand and line, and the dimensions of the microwave itself were exactly the same. But the damn mounting bracket was about 1 inch taller.

 

[Irish#1]

That's why I said exact model. They change things all the time even within lines. Too bad the old bracket wouldn't work on the new one.

 

[SouthSideChiDomer]

Don't know if this is the right place to post this, but I could use some help and advice. It looks like our above ground pool has just sprang a leak. There is a rust spot that we have had for a while at the base, but it just started leaking water and creating a little ice build up on it. I realize the pool is probably done, but I just want to know if there is anything I can do to stop the leaking so it doesn't slowly turn our yard into a skating rink. I'm also a bit worried about the walls caving in if too much leaks out and the weight of the ice on the cover is too much.

 

[Irish#1]

If it were me, I wouldn't worry about turning the yard into a skating rink. Think about the fun the kids could have. Since you don't want that, I would be curious as to how far it has dropped? I'd mark the current level and check it every day for a few days to see how fast you're losing water. Maybe it's slow enough that you can wait until the weather stays warm enough to melt the ice. Can you break up the ice on the cover? The only way to address this is to let it run its course or drop a pump in and start lowering a little at a time.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

Thought I’d give some of you who might not be aware some advice on your HVAC systems. Most HVAC systems manufactured before 2010 contain r22 Freon. Due to its environmental hazards it’s been being phased out for some time now. We’re told now that in 2020 it will no longer be available. If you can find someone who has it, it’s going to be VERY expensive. If your current system contains r410a(Puron) your fine. However, if your r22 system needs refrigerant after the cut off, your only option is to replace the ENTIRE HVAC SYSTEM.
If you have a home warranty, ensure that your current plan covers this. If you don’t have a home warranty and have a system with r22, get a home warranty!

 

[Irish#1]

Getting ready to build a small brick retaining wall approximately 18ft long and about 30" high. It will extend perpendicular to the garage and is to be more decorative than anything. Never have built something like this and have looked at some videos. Any mason's out there with any advice?

 

[Irish#1]

Well, here it is minus the cap to go on top. I have a little mortar to clean off but overall I'm happy. Saved myself close to a thousand bucks. Mason's make it look so easy!

 

[NEIIrish]

Well, here it is minus the cap to go on top. I have a little mortar to clean off but overall I'm happy. Saved myself close to a thousand bucks. Mason's make it look so easy!

Nice work!