• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

deacphan said:
a little background. we bought a house on 40 acres in wine country that needs a shit ton of work. it was a shortsale that was a steal. my dad, a now retired fireman/contractor that grew up in the construction industry, and mom will be staying the house until march to help with the remodel. we're having a contractor do the floors and roof, but we'll be doing everything else ourselves. really excited to make the place ours (especially the kitchen).
Click to expand...

That is all kinds of awesome. Best of luck with it. Keep posting pics.
 
How much of a pain in the ass is it to reglaze windows? We bought an older house that has original single pane windows. The windows are badly in need of reglazing. I have gotten a few quotes on replacement windows, but the house has a lot of windows, and the windows are big, so the quotes were huge. We also really like the look of the original windows. Anyone done this?
 
KitchinDeac said:
How much of a pain in the ass is it to reglaze windows? We bought an older house that has original single pane windows. The windows are badly in need of reglazing. I have gotten a few quotes on replacement windows, but the house has a lot of windows, and the windows are big, so the quotes were huge. We also really like the look of the original windows. Anyone done this?
Click to expand...

I did this last year, for one window on my rental house, and I didn't think it was terribly difficult. In fact, it turned out to be kind of a fun project. I would start with windows that may not be highly visible (i.e., on the backside of the house and/or high up) as it may take a few tries to get the technique down so your glaze bead is even and consistent - at least that was my experience. I should also tell you, I didn't take the window out of the frame; just repaired a few sections that needed it most. The wood on my windows was in good shape so I didn't have to use epoxy to repair them either.

ETA: I agonized over doing this myself or paying to have it done, but after looking at a few online tutorials I felt confident that I could handle the job and at this point I'm glad I did it myself.
 
wfudkn said:
When my parents bought a house in NY 15 years ago every room in the entire house had a theme color. Living room was brown panneling and brown shag. One bedroom was blue walls with blue shag. Another was yellow and yellow and another was green and green. Master was white and white. The bathrooms too. One was entirely gold, another was entirely pink, another was entirely carolina blue and another was orange. And when I say entirely, I'm including the tile, toilet, tub, sink and counters. The entire place was a hot fucking mess.
Click to expand...

This is a bathroom in my friend's house when they moved in about six years ago:

a3nTOwI.jpg


The other bathroom had green shag up right to the rim of the bathtub. It really must have been the fuck tub.
 
wow, just wow. I would have had a lot of trouble seeing the potential in a bathroom like that.
 
What the hell are you guys talking about? Those colors are beautiful. I'm swelling with pride.
 
leftcoastdeac said:
And yet, somehow I find the red sink and blue countertop to be the most offensive part of it all.
Click to expand...

I think it's the contrast of red sink and blue toilet. at least get those to match.
 
dot com said:
Paneling and shag are suhweeet.
I often wonder if in 2025 people are going to be like "Beige and nuetrals everywhere? Let's throw some olive green up in this shit!"
Click to expand...

this actually kind of worked for my grandparents and all of their avocado green appliances in their kitchen... appliances were all from ~1970 and when they finally sold the place in ~2000 it was something quite a few people really liked.
 
I've been annoyed with my kitchen ceiling ever since I bought my house. It's wavy, and the inspector said it's likely from attic insulation pressing into the plaster for the last 65 years (the slight bowing seems to align with rafters). It's not water damage. Adding to the problem is that the ceiling was painted with a glossy finish, so the imperfections are highlighted instead of masked with a matte paint. I'd also like to replace some track lighting with a pendant lamp over the sink, so I'd need to do some patch work.

Yesterday I saw some tin ceiling tiles being used as an accent wall in a restaurant and started wondering if it would be ridiculous to try a tin ceiling in my kitchen. Then I just learned about some glue-up styrofoam ceiling tiles that give a similar appearance, but a lot cheaper. They're often used to put over popcorn ceilings. I have fairly simple taste so I wouldn't want an elaborate pattern, and actual tin wouldn't fit the style of my kitchen, but some of them seem pretty appealing. Has anyone worked with tiles like these?


guest_bedroom_with_styrofoam_ceiling_tiles__21914.1410990468.800.800.jpg
 
Seen them, never used them. From the description, putting them up is similar to gluing on foam insulation. I've done that and it is pretty easy. Layout work is very similar to putting down floor tiles, except upside down. With the tiles, looks like the only things to watch out for are the same as you would on a floor - getting the pattern even at the walls. There is no way to hide an off-center pattern on the ceiling. The instructions indirectly address this issue, by having the installation start in the middle of the room and work to the walls. None of the instructions talk about what to do if a ceiling light or fan is in the middle of the room (where it should be) and prevents the nice square corner meeting in the middle.

Interesting that the illustration shows the light in what looks like the middle of a panel, not where four panels join, as should happen if the light is in the proper place (middle of the room) and the panels are installed using the suggested layout -row on each side of centerline. Looks like that was done the other way - center a row of tiles on the centerline and work from there. Harder to do.

Also, if you have ceiling light fixtures, may need either longer screws or box extensions to accommodate the additional ceiling thickness added by the tiles. None of the instructions I've seen deal with this issue.

Applying and smoothing the caulk between the tiles is going to be time consuming to get it very smooth to look good.

I would measure the distance across the room in multiple places to see if the room walls are straight where they meet the ceiling. If the ceiling has bowed, the walls might have as well. Careful choice of pattern and perhaps installation of crown molding can hide this type of problem and look really nice.

Good luck! and, if you decide to do this, please post before and after pics.
 
Hey fellas,

What's the story with making a nice flat surface with 2x4s and 2x6s (for a work bench/table/desk etc)? It it a matter of getting nice, reasonably flat pieces, trimming them with a table saw and screwing/gluing them together?
 
Do you have a planer? Even though they're "the same size" there will be a little variation. To make it perfectly level, a planer is your best friend.
 
i don't; don't even have a table saw at the moment. trying to figure out if i should get one/keeping an eye on craigslit
 
ImTheCaptain said:
Hey fellas,

What's the story with making a nice flat surface with 2x4s and 2x6s (for a work bench/table/desk etc)? It it a matter of getting nice, reasonably flat pieces, trimming them with a table saw and screwing/gluing them together?
Click to expand...

Just get a piece of plywood and put it on top as the surface.
 
I'm not entirely sure what I expected, but my yard is kind of a mess now because we had sprinklers installed yesterday. Going to be a battle to get it to look pretty good this year I imagine unless I can convince myself and the wife that we should just have sod put in...
 
ImTheCaptain said:
Hey fellas,

What's the story with making a nice flat surface with 2x4s and 2x6s (for a work bench/table/desk etc)? It it a matter of getting nice, reasonably flat pieces, trimming them with a table saw and screwing/gluing them together?
Click to expand...

tsywake said:
Do you have a planer? Even though they're "the same size" there will be a little variation. To make it perfectly level, a planer is your best friend.
Click to expand...

ImTheCaptain said:
i don't; don't even have a table saw at the moment. trying to figure out if i should get one/keeping an eye on craigslit
Click to expand...

2&2 Slider To Leyritz said:
Just get a piece of plywood and put it on top as the surface.
Click to expand...

Another option is to try get your local building supply place to cut them for you. They should have a panel saw that could be set to cut 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch off (how much depends on how big the rounding of the edges is) for however many you need. That should give two very square edges. Very careful gluing and screwing should get you a pretty flat, even top that a sander could even out.

The planer is the best, but also the most difficult. Planing the top of a bunch of laminated boards take some skill, because the grains in all the boards will not be in alignment unless you are the luckiest person on earth.

2&2's suggestion has merit. The building supply company should be able to cut the plywood or oriented strand board (rougher but cheaper) to size for you. If you do this over laminated 2 x 4 or 6, not necessary to trim them. The plywood will get enough support even with the grooves caused by the round edges. However, it may be more difficult to get them all to line up properly with the round edges present. The better you do with the alignment, the better the plywood will be on top. I would use at least 1/2 and probably 3/4 ply.

Another option would be double or triple layer (glue and screw the layers together) OSB or plywood and don't bother with the full 2 x top - just enough for support. No need to laminate 2x4 or 2x6. Put the screws in from the bottom and the top surface is all wood.
 
spiffylubes said:
I'm not entirely sure what I expected, but my yard is kind of a mess now because we had sprinklers installed yesterday. Going to be a battle to get it to look pretty good this year I imagine unless I can convince myself and the wife that we should just have sod put in...
Click to expand...

You can get grass to grow this spring easily with sprinklers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top