DIY Home Improvement Thread..

[stoshuaj]

14 hours ago, Fergasun said:

We are calling pest control as soon as reasonable.  Again though... it smells like its inside... 

@stoshuaj

Love the barn door and I need that...

thanks, it took a little time w all the sanding and shellacking but not too expensive or hard to do.  Got the hardware from EBay or Amazon for ~$50.  Search “sliding door hardware”.    I think the door knobs/hardware may be a little pricey if you want to go authentic but idk bc I already had it.   Habitat ReStore will sometimes have that stuff laying around though.
 

The biggest concern was ensuring that the rail was level.  That was a little tricky doing it by myself while up on a ladder.

 

And you’re doing it wrong w the mouse.  Watch the movie, Mouse Hunt, for some pointers.  😀

Edited April 12, 2020 by stoshuaj

[steve09ru]

Did backsplash today 

 

 

And did a couple wooden valences a couple months ago- want to do a few more windows in another room

Edited April 26, 2020 by steve09ru

[steve09ru]

Posted the deck at end of last summer I redid but had the pool added and grill area

[steve09ru]

And play area (I don’t want quarantine life anymore)

 

[stoshuaj]

1 hour ago, steve09ru said:

And did a couple wooden valences a couple months ago- want to do a few more windows in another room

Like those.  May unabashedly steal that idea to cover some of the hardware on the sliding door pictured on the previous page.

[steve09ru]

6 minutes ago, stoshuaj said:

Like those.  May unabashedly steal that idea to cover some of the hardware on the sliding door pictured on the previous page.

Really easy to make too

[PCS]

9 minutes ago, stoshuaj said:

Like those.  May unabashedly steal that idea to cover some of the hardware on the sliding door pictured on the previous page.

 

Same here,(while I consider banning him for thinking of that great idea before I did.  ) 

 

 

[stoshuaj]

Also those grout lines are tight on that subway tile backsplash.  Those are a pita.

 

I paid for a pro to do one thing in my bathroom, the subway tile bc I knew it was tricky.  The one thing that looks like **** in my bathroom?, the subway tile in the shower.  Yes I’m half-ass anal but gotta look at the crap whilst trying to clean the nether regions.

 

[steve09ru]

12 minutes ago, stoshuaj said:

Also those grout lines are tight on that subway tile backsplash.  Those are a pita.

 

I paid for a pro to do one thing in my bathroom, the subway tile bc I knew it was tricky.  The one thing that looks like **** in my bathroom?, the subway tile in the shower.  Yes I’m half-ass anal but gotta look at the crap whilst trying to clean the nether regions.

 

Yeah they are, we got a tile with glitter mixed in and the directions mentions to try and not get on glitter which the whole damn tile.  Started with a grout bag and that was a pain and just said screw it and went over it all

24 minutes ago, PCS said:

 

Same here,(while I consider banning him for thinking of that great idea before I did.  ) 

 

 

Cheap too- was $7-8 a window

[skinfan2k]

@steve09ru Did you do the deck/patio on your own? My parents are looking for a company to do theirs.  

 

 

Also, does anyone know how to stop a shower door from sliding open as soon as i try to close it. 

[steve09ru]

13 hours ago, skinfan2k said:

@steve09ru Did you do the deck/patio on your own? My parents are looking for a company to do theirs.  

 

 

Also, does anyone know how to stop a shower door from sliding open as soon as i try to close it. 

The deck was initially built with the house and we had it painted, I refinished it and updated railings and put in the side boards.  For patio, we had a local company in Richmond (Oakdene Landscaping) but believe he either sold the business off or stopped doing it.

[stoshuaj]

Not sure if this fits here but has anyone purchased a home from Hubzu?

 

Backstory, tried to make my latest home purchase through Hubzu.  On line, foreclosure auction and all that.  Ended up with the winning bid and it covered the reserve.  Sign contract, luckily w the stipulation that the seller must’ve able to provide clear title.  I had 5 days to challenge.

 

During the title search it was found that the current auction proceedings were for a lien in 2nd position.  There was still an outstanding lien from ‘95 in 1st position and this for almost almost twice as much.  (That was the initial loan amount from ‘95, who knows if it has been accruing interest since then)

 

My closing co lady says, Mr Stosh are you willing to pay off the lien in position?  Stosh says: I’m willing to tell them to pound sand.....void the contract.

 

So I get out of that relatively unscathed BUT, then I start getting emails from Hubzu about “a property you have shown interest in”.  It’s the same damn house, relisted.  The seller KNOWS that there are multiple liens in this thing that are going to be uncovered by any title search so, what is the potential gain by relisting?

 

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by stoshuaj

[TheGoodBits]

Hello DIYers. Advice requested regarding the desired installation of a shower door. See pics... Is there anything available that would allow me to mount a door directly to the tile, given the absurd angle the builder elected to use? Really trying to avoid having to redo the walls. 

[Elessar78]

Laid down 600 sq. ft of landscaping rock this afternoon in under 4 hours including cleanup. Lucked into an impromptu crew of 3 college-aged neighbors who were willing to work. Compensated them well and they thought they were just volunteering. Loved how they did a great job.

 

 

[Elessar78]

Washer broke and leaked a ton of water into the basement. The drain hose separated from the pump internally, so instead of it going into the outflow tube it went into our floor. Water was cascading into our garage below it.

 

Got a couple of industrial dehumidifiers going to suck out the moisture. Tested most of the affected drywall below and most of it wasn't mushy. There are some areas of concern. 
 

Should I cut some sections of drywall away to get air circulating down there? 
 

Also, main concern is mold growing between subfloor and the drywall below—any ideas?

 

What type of professional to cal in for this? Are there water damage specialists?

[skinny21]

37 minutes ago, Elessar78 said:

Washer broke and leaked a ton of water into the basement. The drain hose separated from the pump internally, so instead of it going into the outflow tube it went into our floor. Water was cascading into our garage below it.

 

Got a couple of industrial dehumidifiers going to suck out the moisture. Tested most of the affected drywall below and most of it wasn't mushy. There are some areas of concern. 
 

Should I cut some sections of drywall away to get air circulating down there? 
 

Also, main concern is mold growing between subfloor and the drywall below—any ideas?

 

What type of professional to cal in for this? Are there water damage specialists?

Yes.  Don’t know who you have in your area, but they’ll do all sorts of moisture testing, industrial fans and will remove drywall etc. to get it done.  If you go through insurance, they cover the cost of the drying, and any fixes.  Last house had like 8 water damage claims put in.  Complete nightmare, but insurance was great (and wound up with new paint, new floors, and so on).

[Elessar78]

1 hour ago, skinny21 said:

Yes.  Don’t know who you have in your area, but they’ll do all sorts of moisture testing, industrial fans and will remove drywall etc. to get it done.  If you go through insurance, they cover the cost of the drying, and any fixes.  Last house had like 8 water damage claims put in.  Complete nightmare, but insurance was great (and wound up with new paint, new floors, and so on).

Because of coronavirus, I don't relish the idea of bringing people into the house unless I really need to. Can this be done DIY?

[The 12th Commandment]

3 hours ago, Elessar78 said:

Because of coronavirus, I don't relish the idea of bringing people into the house unless I really need to. Can this be done DIY?

Removing drywall and setting up fans should be pretty easy.  Replacing the drywall and finishing things can wait once it's dry and not moldy.  YouTube is sure to have plenty of vids addressing this.  Had a similar type situation a couple months ago from a leaky shower fixture and that's what I did.  Looks messy now but will be a quick fix.

Edited July 11, 2020 by KAOSkins

[Elessar78]

1 hour ago, KAOSkins said:

Removing drywall and setting up fans should be pretty easy.  Replacing the drywall and finishing things can wait once it's dry and not moldy.  YouTube is sure to have plenty of vids addressing this.  Had a similar type situation a couple months ago from a leaky shower fixture and that's what I did.  Looks messy now but will be a quick fix.

I cut away a section of soft drywall ceiling and found that space is stuffed with insulation. I worry that's going to make it harder to dry things out. Thoughts?

[The 12th Commandment]

12 minutes ago, Elessar78 said:

I cut away a section of soft drywall ceiling and found that space is stuffed with insulation. I worry that's going to make it harder to dry things out. Thoughts?

It's probably more humid where you are.  I just opened the window with a fan on and in a week it was bone dry.  Insulation and all.  You may have to remove the insulation.  Pita but not hard.  Wear gloves and long sleeves.  Just so I'm up front about it, I'm not an expert or anything.  Just a DYIer out of necessity for the most part.

[EmirOfShmo]

8 minutes ago, KAOSkins said:

It's probably more humid where you are.  I just opened the window with a fan on and in a week it was bone dry.  Insulation and all.  You may have to remove the insulation.  Pita but not hard.  Wear gloves and long sleeves.  Just so I'm up front about it, I'm not an expert or anything.  Just a DYIer out of necessity for the most part.

Fellow DIYer - only exterior walls & ceiling (including garage ceiling) will have insulation*. 

Unless the insulation is soaking wet, I wouldn't remove it. Put a fan blowing on the ceiling where you think the water might be. It will dry pretty quickly unless it's soaking wet/dripping water. 

 

Black mold needs constant moisture to survive. A one time water leak shouldn't lead to black mold problems. It's the slow leaks that last over a period of time that can cause mold problems. 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm

 

*I had a friend who insulated every wall & ceiling in his house when he built it. He did it to reduce the noise between rooms.  

[Elessar78]

37 minutes ago, EmirOfShmo said:

Fellow DIYer - only exterior walls & ceiling (including garage ceiling) will have insulation*. 

Unless the insulation is soaking wet, I wouldn't remove it. Put a fan blowing on the ceiling where you think the water might be. It will dry pretty quickly unless it's soaking wet/dripping water. 

 

Black mold needs constant moisture to survive. A one time water leak shouldn't lead to black mold problems. It's the slow leaks that last over a period of time that can cause mold problems. 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm

 

*I had a friend who insulated every wall & ceiling in his house when he built it. He did it to reduce the noise between rooms.  

Thanks. This is a quasi-exterior wall—our garage isn't insulated. When I step into the garage from the (climate controlled) basement, there's at least a ten degree difference.

 

I talked with a friend who is a contractor, his brother does mold remediation—echoed your statement. Takes 48-72 hours of constant water for mold to start growing. So it was good we got dehumidifiers up quickly. It's not soaking wet and I'm cutting open the areas where the drywall is mushy to increase air flow.

 

We're up in PA, it's pretty humid today and yesterday, but generally less humid than say DC-area.

[TheGoodBits]

4 hours ago, Elessar78 said:

Thanks. This is a quasi-exterior wall—our garage isn't insulated. When I step into the garage from the (climate controlled) basement, there's at least a ten degree difference.

 

I talked with a friend who is a contractor, his brother does mold remediation—echoed your statement. Takes 48-72 hours of constant water for mold to start growing. So it was good we got dehumidifiers up quickly. It's not soaking wet and I'm cutting open the areas where the drywall is mushy to increase air flow.

 

We're up in PA, it's pretty humid today and yesterday, but generally less humid than say DC-area.

Yep. Had about 2 inches of water in my basement after Hurricane Florence. Just needed to take off the bottom 12” or so of drywall and let the rest dry out. Just take out the wet parts and you should be fine. 

[stoshuaj]

Mouthed off and told a tenant that I’d put up a privacy fence for them.

 

Holy balls lumber is expensive, jesus.

[PokerPacker]

1 hour ago, stoshuaj said:

Mouthed off and told a tenant that I’d put up a privacy fence for them.

 

Holy balls lumber is expensive, jesus.

You know, I started considering that when I finally bought a house, I'd like a nice privacy fence, but realized it was probably expensive and not THAT private if your neighbors have two-story houses.  My new want is to use plants to create a wall of privacy.  Maybe get some cheap low fencing to keep people from wandering into your domain, but then a combination of trees and bushes (or maybe bamboo?) to really boost the privacy, plus give you some nature to look at.  Maybe even include something fruit-bearing to get something out of it.