DIY Home Improvement Thread..

[Elessar78]

It's probably a case by case basis but, I have to ask...

 

What's your philosophy on "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?" My toilet had a small leak, flush valve needed to be replaced—so I had to take the whole tank off the toilet. The nuts were rusted onto the bolt but not leaking (it's about 20 years old, orig with the house). The new assembly I bought came with new bolts so I decided to change them out. It turned into a bigger project because I know have to cut one bolt off because it's rusted so badly and I stripped the screwhead applying torque. 

 

Anyway, would you have just left it alone? I had to remove the bolts because I couldn't access the lock nut. 

[PCS]

Nope. I have a 'Since" I'm already here" type of philosophy when it comes to stuff like that. Going to have to be done sooner or later might as well do it while you're there. Speaking of which. As mentioned earlier,we decided to add change all the flooring in the main part of the house including the hallway to the ever growing list of things to do by around April,(2 decks,patio,outdoor living space,seal and resurface driveway,ect.). Yeah,that turned in to change all the drywall in the hallway and fix any issues we find behind say drywall,(which we knew had to be there just looking at the way the drywall bulged and rolled in some spots).  Here's two examples of what we found.  First pic has a few things not quite that obvious. That's the sewer exhaust pipe on the left.  Among a few other things wrong,the collar right there before the 45 bend rests on a 2x4 on the flat,(I can only surmise that it's nailing for the drywall in the bathroom....maybe). This pushed it out into the hallway and they just drywalled over it. Yeah. Evidence of some leaking,(possibly severe in the past),and repair done. Yep. That's run of the mill drywall they used in the bathroom. Second pic. Yep. that my crawlspace you see down below the bathtub drain line. They elbowed it at floor level. That means 1/2 the pipe is above the subfloor and 1/2 is below. Ginormous hole they created to accommodate that.  Sigh.  Now I know where some of those bugs have been coming from,(including the younger black widow that made a home near my tool bucket just outside of picture 1.  Next up,the messed up header and king stud above the entry to the living room. 

 

 

[PleaseBlitz]

My TV sort of crapped out a few weeks ago, so I replaced it.  Now i have a 75" TV that mostly works that I need to figure out what to do with it.  My first thought is to hang it in my garage, but the wall has metal studs.  The thing weighs roughly 80 lbs.  So the plan right now is to use a **** ton of drywall anchors like this.  Please post additional thoughts if you have any. 

 

 

[TheGreatBuzz]

55 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

My TV sort of crapped out a few weeks ago, so I replaced it.  Now i have a 75" TV that mostly works that I need to figure out what to do with it.  My first thought is to hang it in my garage, but the wall has metal studs.  The thing weighs roughly 80 lbs.  So the plan right now is to use a **** ton of drywall anchors like this.  Please post additional thoughts if you have any.

Why not drill through the metal stud and use toggle bolts?

[Fergasun]

I just mounted 2 TVs... one on an interior wall in a bedroom and another on a common wall.

Interior wall mounting had no problem and I did it first to build my confidence. I used both magnetic and edge studfinders to map out the studs, drilled pilot holes which were clearly going into wood studs and had no problem with lag bolts.

Common wall was not as simple. I was able to map out the drywall nails/screws, however there was something also running horizontally at about 40 inches and below that area there were drywall screws/nails offset. The edge studfinder also gave off strange indications.... seemed like the studs were wider.

Nevertheless, studs did appear to be on 16 inch centers based on drywall screw/nail locations and I could not find any indication that studs were at anyplace other than those 16 inch centers. Additionall there was a stud directly to the right of outlet.

Drilled in... changed the bit to a titanium longer one and it seemed to drill better than the brass one I used. I changed it because the brass bit I used wasnt long enough because there were longer pilot holes. The ease with which the drilling went inn made me doubt the stud.... at the same time every other piece of info I had was that there was no where else studs would be.

Lag bolts went in just as the other mount and TV feels secure. They were torqueing in pretty tight... not sure if it was only drywall if that would happen... I have screwed stuff into drywall and you can feel screw not grabbing onto anything.

The common walls are pretty soundproofed as well, so I wonder if there is double drywall layers on either side...

[PleaseBlitz]

2 hours ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

Why not drill through the metal stud and use toggle bolts?

 

I think I'm going to do both.  

[PleaseBlitz]

Now I can watch porn while I grill. #LivingTheDream

 

Edited March 8, 2019 by PleaseBlitz

[Pwyl]

Looking at buying a house built in 1976.  Should I be worried about lead paint or pipes?  

[China]

2 hours ago, Pwyl said:

Looking at buying a house built in 1976.  Should I be worried about lead paint or pipes?  

 

Lead paint wasn't banned until 1978, so you might want to check that.  Lead supply pipes mostly stopped being used after the 1920's although codes prohibiting lead pipe use didn't fully come into effect until the 1980's.  They might have also used lead solder.

[skinfan2k]

I did 3 bathrooms this year and a new laundry room.  I'm exhausted. 

[The Evil Genius]

Admittedly I'm not a handyman guy.. any suggestions on a quick fix? Or do I need a new door jamb built?

 

The front door jamb where the strike plates for the deadbolt and thumb latch (non locking) handleset are cracking. This has resulted in the strike plate for the thumb latch to get loose every few days (the crack is through the middle of that strike plate).

 

 

Edited August 22, 2019 by The Evil Genius

[Going Commando]

Does the crack go all of the way up and down the jamb?

[The Evil Genius]

2 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Does the crack go all of the way up and down the jamb?

 

Tbh I'm not positive. I believe it extends about a foot in either direction from the lower strike plate but not the entire jamb. 

[Going Commando]

1 minute ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

Tbh I'm not positive. I believe it extends about a foot in either direction from the lower strike plate but not the entire jamb. 

 

Do you think you might be able to remove the strike plate and pull the cracked piece of jamb off clean and then glue it back on?  That way you wouldn't have to cut anything or replace the whole jamb.  If it's not too big of a crack, you could also use an oscillating saw to cut the broken portion of the jamb off and replace it with a new piece of wood and then wood putty the seams, but that's going to be a lot more work.

Out of curiosity, did someone kick in your door?

[The Evil Genius]

4 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

Do you think you might be able to remove the strike plate and pull the cracked piece of jamb off clean and then glue it back on?  That way you wouldn't have to cut anything or replace the whole jamb.  If it's not too big of a crack, you could also use an oscillating saw to cut the broken portion of the jamb off and replace it with a new piece of wood and then wood putty the seams, but that's going to be a lot more work.

Out of curiosity, did someone kick in your door?

 

Tbh again I doubt I could even do that. Like I said..I suck at DIY stuff. Even remedial shop stuff. 😳

 

We had a thumb handle problem where the latch was sticking occasionally. One time it stuck and I barely pushed and the thing cracked. I replaced the thumb handle and the problem was solved but not without the damage to the door jamb. Lesson learned on that one. 

 

Thanks for the suggestions though. Perhaps I can find a local handyman to do that.

[tshile]

You can replace that one area but it requires being handy

theres just a lot going on to get that particular piece out. It’s not a big deal if you’ve removed/installed doors before. I wouldn’t recommend trying if you haven’t. Not worth the headache 

[Going Commando]

Using an oscillating saw and pry bar to remove pieces of molding and framing takes some practice and care to get a feel for it.  It's a lot easier than you think to damage the surrounding molding.  That's why I was thinking the fastest and easiest thing would be to gently pull off the cracked part of the jamb and then glue it back and then apply a filler to the surface.  But unfortunately it looks like it may have cracked in a way that makes that quick fix difficult.

 

And if your jamb cracked from only a small amount of pressure, then it could be rotted.

 

I think you've got the right idea to hire a handyman to fix it for you.

[The Evil Genius]

So I'm looking on Angie's List now...anyone have success hiring off of that? Definitely want someone licensed (bonded too or is that overkill)?

[PCS]

Flat head screw driver,(smaller size),phillips head driver,utility knife,wood glue and either a couple of clamps or some tape,(if using the blue painters tape careful not to to tear it). If this is water damage related,then you probably have more issues than that cracked door jamb and they probably would have revealed themselves by now. Looks like the crack started at the strike plate,(specifically at the screws). While a gentle shove may have cracked it,that was probably the finishing move after enough pushing the door open for awhile.  Licensed and bonded is okay and preferable if you don't feel comfortable with the diy thing and go that route. No guarantees there,but at least it put the odds a bit more in your favor,(though it will cost a bit more). 

[Elessar78]

1 hour ago, The Evil Genius said:

So I'm looking on Angie's List now...anyone have success hiring off of that? Definitely want someone licensed (bonded too or is that overkill)?

Several times. I'm pretty happy. There's Home Advisor in my area too, another review/recommendation site/app. 

[skinfan2k]

anyone have experience with luxury vinyl flooring?  im debating to do my whole house and what to do on the stairs?

[tshile]

51 minutes ago, skinfan2k said:

anyone have experience with luxury vinyl flooring?  im debating to do my whole house and what to do on the stairs?

yup, just put it in my basement.

 

they make treads for stairs. make sure you get it right when you do your order, don't try to come back later and get it. it may be discontinued or unavailable, or you may get a batch that doesn't match (and you may only be able to tell if you're sensitive to those things...)

 

It's nice... I like it. The other options were wood or carpet and neither are recommended for a basement if you can help it. They don't appear to scratch easy, we watched a dog for a week that scratched the hardwood floors but didn't hurt the LVP. Kids haven't scratched it either. Stuff cleans up easy.

 

It's easy to install. Make sure you get a quality vapor barrier. 

 

My only complaint is I prefer the feel of carpet or hardwood over LVP when you're walking. But... everything's go pros and cons.

 

[skinfan2k]

14 minutes ago, tshile said:

yup, just put it in my basement.

 

they make treads for stairs. make sure you get it right when you do your order, don't try to come back later and get it. it may be discontinued or unavailable, or you may get a batch that doesn't match (and you may only be able to tell if you're sensitive to those things...)

 

It's nice... I like it. The other options were wood or carpet and neither are recommended for a basement if you can help it. They don't appear to scratch easy, we watched a dog for a week that scratched the hardwood floors but didn't hurt the LVP. Kids haven't scratched it either. Stuff cleans up easy.

 

It's easy to install. Make sure you get a quality vapor barrier. 

 

My only complaint is I prefer the feel of carpet or hardwood over LVP when you're walking. But... everything's go pros and cons.

 

thank you tshile.  Did you get the LVP with the tread on it already?  Some pieces come with it already, so wondering if i need to get a vapor barrier. 

[tshile]

6 minutes ago, skinfan2k said:

thank you tshile.  Did you get the LVP with the tread on it already?  Some pieces come with it already, so wondering if i need to get a vapor barrier. 

I don’t understand the question, we may be confusing terms. 

 

When i said treads I mean “pieces specifically designed to go together around stairs and landings”. I’ve always heard them called treads but that may not be the right word. 

 

I dont understand the concept of planks coming with a vapor barrier. 

 

Think about the functionality of a vapor barrier. It keeps moisture from coming off concrete into your planks. You don’t want seems. They only make vapor barriers in certain sizes, so a large enough room (and it doesn’t have to be that large...) will require seems. But you certainly don’t want 4 seems for every plank you install. If that’s what they’re pitching I’m inclined to be skeptical. 

 

I didnt install it in my current house, the builders did, I just watched. But I installed it in my old house and I recall the seems required a rather large overlap (I want to say 12-16 inches but maybe it was 6-8 and my memory is exaggerating it)

Edited August 22, 2019 by tshile

[skinfan2k]

so sorry.  on the bottom of each plank, they come with underlayment (aka a vapor barrier already attached)