Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

[SmooveDeac]

Congrats on getting to the end of the renovation. Would you share a brief account of what you had done and any lessons learned?

We did everything. Bought a turn of the century row home and had to gut it, basically - it’s a new house in the shell of the old house. And doubled the square footage by extending a bedroom over the kitchen, and then put the main bedroom and en suite on the third floor. That all got done in 2017-18.

This time around we cleaned up some of the work that had been rushed previously; painted/repainted most everything; finished a deck outside the 3rd floor bedroom; completed some shelving in the kitchen; finished the roof; added a back patio and parking pad; put up fencing and a gate in the back, and added tile to the second bathroom and kitchen. It was a lot. But it’s great.

I say make sure you have a good contractor, and make sure you communicate well with them. My wife was the point person for both of ours, and that was great - she always had a handle on what was happening. I also think, if you’re in a position to go away for a few weeks or months and knock several things out, do it. We were out of our house for ten months, so we essentially had to move twice, which sucked, but the alternative was living through renovations with an infant. Hard pass.

 

[bth9673]

How hard is it to hang drywall? I'd imagine it's a bitch, especially in the summer, but can be done by a couple mid-30's guys? Working through insulating my unfinished garage now with batt faced insulation and was planning on hiring someone for the drywall portion and now my buddy is trying to convince me we can do it. I'm most worried about it looking like shit because neither of us has done it before. Thoughts?

 

[Grabs Turds Bare]

How hard is it to hang drywall? I'd imagine it's a bitch, especially in the summer, but can be done by a couple mid-30's guys? Working through insulating my unfinished garage now with batt faced insulation and was planning on hiring someone for the drywall portion and now my buddy is trying to convince me we can do it. I'm most worried about it looking like shit because neither of us has done it before. Thoughts?

It's a whore.

If you have no experience, hire it out.


However, if you really wanna get froggy, see if you can find a local guy who will let you hang it and have him finish it. That should save you a few bucks, and give you a small fraction of an idea about the bullet you dodged doing it yourself. Make sure you ask him if he can stand having you run the corner bead. He might not want to deal with you doing it.

Hanging is extremely physically demanding work. The ceiling should be a fun knot to untie. Finishing is not physically demanding, but it's one of those things where a few months of experience make all the difference in the world. I just don't see it being worth it unless you're going to make a hobby out of it.

 

[tigerswood]

How expensive is it to have a cabinet guy build vanities vs. buying them from somewhere like Wayfair? Our contractor surprisingly suggested we do the latter. Seems like he's not trying to make that much money off us, which is nice (he's a friend). Lot of really nice looking stuff on there.

 

[JuiceCrewAllStar]

kinda crazy they let us drywall and roof people's homes on those high school church trips we went on

 

[Deaconblue]

It's a whore.

If you have no experience, hire it out.


However, if you really wanna get froggy, see if you can find a local guy who will let you hang it and have him finish it. That should save you a few bucks, and give you a small fraction of an idea about the bullet you dodged doing it yourself. Make sure you ask him if he can stand having you run the corner bead. He might not want to deal with you doing it.

Hanging is extremely physically demanding work. The ceiling should be a fun knot to untie. Finishing is not physically demanding, but it's one of those things where a few months of experience make all the difference in the world. I just don't see it being worth it unless you're going to make a hobby out of it.

kinda crazy they let us drywall and roof people's homes on those high school church trips we went on

As GTB said, hanging drywall isn't technically difficult. It is really, really physically demanding because of the weight of the drywall sheets. Those H.S. projects usually beat the weight issue by using half dozen people per panel to lift and hold.

The real key to making a wall look good is the finishing. A good drywall finisher will make it look like one continuous sheet from corner to corner. Also, there would be very little sanding needed before sealing and painting. It is both a skill and an art to finish dry wall properly.

You will get a better finished paint job if you put drywall specific sealer/primer on the wall before the finish color. Drywall paper very much soaks up paint like a sponge if not primed correctly.

Because you are doing a garage, it may be satisfactory to have less than perfect joints, seams etc. If you DIY, premixed drywall joint compound is easier to work with than mix it yourself dry powder. Spend the money for a high quality wide taping knife. The extra few bucks will be paid back in a better quality job.

 

[Grabs Turds Bare]

As GTB said, hanging drywall isn't technically difficult. It is really, really physically demanding because of the weight of the drywall sheets. Those H.S. projects usually beat the weight issue by using half dozen people per panel to lift and hold.

The real key to making a wall look good is the finishing. A good drywall finisher will make it look like one continuous sheet from corner to corner. Also, there would be very little sanding needed before sealing and painting. It is both a skill and an art to finish dry wall properly.

You will get a better finished paint job if you put drywall specific sealer/primer on the wall before the finish color. Drywall paper very much soaks up paint like a sponge if not primed correctly.

Because you are doing a garage, it may be satisfactory to have less than perfect joints, seams etc. If you DIY, premixed drywall joint compound is easier to work with than mix it yourself dry powder. Spend the money for a high quality wide taping knife. The extra few bucks will be paid back in a better quality job.

This guy fucking drywalls.

 

[JuiceCrewAllStar]

in a separate pay vs. DIY project, I'm trying to decide if I want to install this new kitchen backsplash myself or pay someone

leaning toward paying someone to get it taken care of faster

 

[Grabs Turds Bare]

How expensive is it to have a cabinet guy build vanities vs. buying them from somewhere like Wayfair? Our contractor surprisingly suggested we do the latter. Seems like he's not trying to make that much money off us, which is nice (he's a friend). Lot of really nice looking stuff on there.

If you're near Raleigh, check out J and K cabinets. It's basically wholesale custom cabinets. Phenomenal product that is high value.

 

[Grabs Turds Bare]

in a separate pay vs. DIY project, I'm trying to decide if I want to install this new kitchen backsplash myself or pay someone

leaning toward paying someone to get it taken care of faster

All the way around?

The answer to your question will probably hinge mostly on one data point that should be easy for you to solve. Get a 6 foot board that has a very straight edge or (even better) a 6' level. Put it against where the back splash is going - are there huge gaps/uneven wall? If so, let someone else do that shit. If your wall is relatively flat, then installation will be way easier (I'm assuming some rock or synthetic product?).

 

[JuiceCrewAllStar]

it's only on one wall, about 35 to 40 square feet total but not conventional rectangle shape

using larger tiles -- 8"x8" painted concrete


think I'mma hire out -- it's an old building and walls almost certainly not ideal for an amateur DIY project

 

[tigerswood]

If you're near Raleigh, check out J and K cabinets. It's basically wholesale custom cabinets. Phenomenal product that is high value.

Charlotte - assume they wouldn't ship/travel?

 

[Grabs Turds Bare]

Charlotte - assume they wouldn't ship/travel?

You could always just go pick them up. Last job I used them on was in Pinehurst (fuckin' nice home). I picked them up.

 

[Grabs Turds Bare]

it's only on one wall, about 35 to 40 square feet total but not conventional rectangle shape

using larger tiles -- 8"x8" painted concrete


think I'mma hire out -- it's an old building and walls almost certainly not ideal for an amateur DIY project

Eh...with that material and that wall, you can probably do it. As far as DIY goes, that's on the low-risk end. It's fairly hard to screw up, and even if you do, there's a lot of window to fix it. As long as it's not round or something crazy like that.

I get that I call you a pussy a lot, but I think you can actually do this. <3

 

[JuiceCrewAllStar]

I know I can do it -- just trying to figure out if the cost to have somebody else do it might be worth it


circling back on cabinets, I'm a fan of using the cheaper cabinets and painting them bold colors to give the kitchen a fun look

 

[Deaconblue]

I know I can do it -- just trying to figure out if the cost to have somebody else do it might be worth it


circling back on cabinets, I'm a fan of using the cheaper cabinets and painting them bold colors to give the kitchen a fun look

Cost for a pro probably will be more with the "not conventional rectangle" shape. More cutting and fitting = more time/cost.

Only way to know is to get an estimate. Maybe somebody is hungry and will give you a good price.

 

[tigerswood]

I know I can do it -- just trying to figure out if the cost to have somebody else do it might be worth it


circling back on cabinets, I'm a fan of using the cheaper cabinets and painting them bold colors to give the kitchen a fun look

This is kind of what we're thinking - buy pre-built Jhina cabinets and paint them. Met with a good ol' redneck boy named Jeff today who is supposed to be giving us a custom quote shortly.

 

[Deaconblue]

I know I can do it -- just trying to figure out if the cost to have somebody else do it might be worth it


circling back on cabinets, I'm a fan of using the cheaper cabinets and painting them bold colors to give the kitchen a fun look

One thing to watch with cheap cabinets is depth of wall cabinets. If you have bigger plates, some wall cabinets aren't deep enough for a stack of dinner plates or for serving platters/bowls etc. May not be an issue for you, but something that is easy to check before you buy.

 

[JuiceCrewAllStar]

I had the existing cabinets in my kitchen painted and it was pretty expensive, but looks a lot better (to me, at least)

my brother and SIL did IKEA cabinets they hung and painted themselves -- it looks nice, but make sure you're using the right paint as it's not traditional latex that's best for cabinets

 

[lbE08]

kinda crazy they let us drywall and roof people's homes on those high school church trips we went on

As someone who worked on staff for the organization you likely volunteered with, it always made me cringe a little to know we were going to have to do drywall on a project. Not because of the hanging, but because of the finishing. Roofs are a lot easier.