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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

If I'm trying to replace some cracked grout in my shower, do I use the original color that was used when the bathroom was updated ~5 years ago, or try and get something slightly darker to more closely match the color it is now?
 
How hard is it to do a kitchen backsplash? Also, is there a common method of connecting the backsplash from the end of your cabinets to the counter? For example, you could bring it straight down from the edge of the cabinet, bring it out above the end of the countertop and bring it straight down, or bring it diagonally from the edge of the cabinet to the edge of the countertop? If that makes no sense I can post a diagram
 
How hard is it to do a kitchen backsplash? Also, is there a common method of connecting the backsplash from the end of your cabinets to the counter? For example, you could bring it straight down from the edge of the cabinet, bring it out above the end of the countertop and bring it straight down, or bring it diagonally from the edge of the cabinet to the edge of the countertop? If that makes no sense I can post a diagram

I would like to see this in MS Paint.
 
How hard is it to do a kitchen backsplash? Also, is there a common method of connecting the backsplash from the end of your cabinets to the counter? For example, you could bring it straight down from the edge of the cabinet, bring it out above the end of the countertop and bring it straight down, or bring it diagonally from the edge of the cabinet to the edge of the countertop? If that makes no sense I can post a diagram

Personally I'd do end of counter up (assuming you're saying the cabinets are hung shorter than the counter extends). I see the backsplash as an extension of the counter, not somethig coming from the cabinet. A diagonal would be weird, don't do that.
Difficulty is going to depend on size/shape of tile used and outlets/things you'd need to cut around.
 
What kind of person would one hire to install an exhaust vent in the bathroom? Electrician? Also, I mentioned this in the chat thread, but my toilet is leaking and I suspect that the subfloor below is damaged. Assuming/hoping it's just the wax seal which I could have a plumber fix, would I need to hire another sort of person to replace the subfloor?

Then I'd need to put down a new floor as well. Since I may need electrician, plumber, and tiling people all for the same project, is this something I'd need to hire a contractor for?

I know this is mostly a DIY thread but I don't have confidence in myself to do those things myself correctly, and I don't really know where to start.
 
What kind of person would one hire to install an exhaust vent in the bathroom? Electrician? Also, I mentioned this in the chat thread, but my toilet is leaking and I suspect that the subfloor below is damaged. Assuming/hoping it's just the wax seal which I could have a plumber fix, would I need to hire another sort of person to replace the subfloor?

Then I'd need to put down a new floor as well. Since I may need electrician, plumber, and tiling people all for the same project, is this something I'd need to hire a contractor for?

I know this is mostly a DIY thread but I don't have confidence in myself to do those things myself correctly, and I don't really know where to start.

Question - if the subfloor isnt damaged, would you still do all of the floor work? Pretty much any handyperson you can hire (or trusted friend) can replace a wax ring. If they do that and you see that the floor's actually ok/can dry out, would you still do the floor stuff?
If yes, find someone who will do the floor (which requires removing/resetting the toilet, which in turn means a new wax ring is going down) and go from there. If the issue is just the wax ring or a cracked flange, they can address that when they reset things. If there's a bigger plumbing issue, you can go from there... but at first thought, it doesn't seem like an actual plumber is necessary over and above what a handyperson would do in doing your floors.
As for electrician for the vent, not sure what NC laws are regarding permits/licensing/who can do what. I feel like an electrician is needed if there is new wire being run? Maybe? Or maybe if there's a new circuit being added? I don't know, but I bet someone on here does.
 
Question - if the subfloor isnt damaged, would you still do all of the floor work? Pretty much any handyperson you can hire (or trusted friend) can replace a wax ring. If they do that and you see that the floor's actually ok/can dry out, would you still do the floor stuff?
If yes, find someone who will do the floor (which requires removing/resetting the toilet, which in turn means a new wax ring is going down) and go from there. If the issue is just the wax ring or a cracked flange, they can address that when they reset things. If there's a bigger plumbing issue, you can go from there... but at first thought, it doesn't seem like an actual plumber is necessary over and above what a handyperson would do in doing your floors.
As for electrician for the vent, not sure what NC laws are regarding permits/licensing/who can do what. I feel like an electrician is needed if there is new wire being run? Maybe? Or maybe if there's a new circuit being added? I don't know, but I bet someone on here does.

If the subfloor isn't damaged then I wouldn't need to repair that, but I've already sliced up a piece of the linoleum and found mold underneath, so I'd need to replace the flooring anyway. If this all gets way more expensive than I anticipate, then I'll probably do vinyl/linoleum again instead of tile. I really want tile eventually though, so in a sense it seems logical to do it now depending on the cost differential.

I wouldn't have thought a handyman could do these things, so that is something I will consider.

In addition to the exhaust vent, I would also like an electrical outlet added to the bathroom as well. Currently the only outlet is in the light fixture. I rarely need an outlet but it would be nice to have one.
 
If the subfloor isn't damaged then I wouldn't need to repair that, but I've already sliced up a piece of the linoleum and found mold underneath, so I'd need to replace the flooring anyway. If this all gets way more expensive than I anticipate, then I'll probably do vinyl/linoleum again instead of tile. I really want tile eventually though, so in a sense it seems logical to do it now depending on the cost differential.

I wouldn't have thought a handyman could do these things, so that is something I will consider.

In addition to the exhaust vent, I would also like an electrical outlet added to the bathroom as well. Currently the only outlet is in the light fixture. I rarely need an outlet but it would be nice to have one.

Ehhhh. Unless you get a super cheap linoleum, just go ahead and do the tile now so you're not paying twice. I feel like there are lots of flooring places where you can get tile pretty inexpensively per sq. foot, and since you're not trying to cover a huge area (I'm assuming your bathroom is small) you might even be able to find super cheap leftovers of discontinued tiles and have all you need to complete the floor and have some extra.

If you're adding an outlet, I *think* you need a licensed electrician if you, as the homeowner, are not doing it yourself. Not sure though; check local laws.

eta: obviously it's your money, do whatever you want with regard to the floor (as I know you would), but I just really think there are enough places out there to get very affordable tile that it makes no sense to do lino now and come back in ~5yrs (or less) to do the tile. Plus, the tile is going to affect the level of your toilet (if you run the tile under the toilet, which you should), so it's better to just deal with all of that now as repairs are being made.
 
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Ehhhh. Unless you get a super cheap linoleum, just go ahead and do the tile now so you're not paying twice. I feel like there are lots of flooring places where you can get tile pretty inexpensively per sq. foot, and since you're not trying to cover a huge area (I'm assuming your bathroom is small) you might even be able to find super cheap leftovers of discontinued tiles and have all you need to complete the floor and have some extra.

If you're adding an outlet, I *think* you need a licensed electrician if you, as the homeowner, are not doing it yourself. Not sure though; check local laws.

eta: obviously it's your money, do whatever you want with regard to the floor (as I know you would), but I just really think there are enough places out there to get very affordable tile that it makes no sense to do lino now and come back in ~5yrs (or less) to do the tile. Plus, the tile is going to affect the level of your toilet (if you run the tile under the toilet, which you should), so it's better to just deal with all of that now as repairs are being made.

Let me +1 on all of this.

Doing tile now will save a lot of work in the future - taking up the about to be new linoleum, cleaning up the sub floor, then doing tile. Just do the tile now. Looking for remnants, odd lots etc. Also, Craigslist or local paper may have odd lots of tile available cheap, as may local tile/bath/kitchen shops.

Electrical outlets to be legit, should be installed by an electrician. Depending on how far the wire needs to be run, and what it goes through, it may not be too hard to do it yourself.

Fixing/replacing subfloors is generally a carpenter/handyman project. A good carpenter should be able to pull out the toilet and reset it on a new ring if that is all that is required. If the flange is cracked/broken, or the end of the waste pipe is broken/cracked, then a plumber might be necessary to deal with that issue.

You really do need to find out why you have the mold under the existing floor, and make sure that problem is taken care of. No sense putting effort into a new floor etc. with some continuing source of moisture.

For the vent fan, probably need an electrician to properly run the wiring for the new fan (assuming you aren't replacing an existing one.) Make sure the fan is vented to the outside, not into your attic. Some will try to do the easy way, into the attic, instead of installing ducting to get the moist air out of the house completely. The vent piping should be solid material, not aluminum "flex" vent (the accordion stuff). Costs a bit more to use decent stuff, but it will last a lot longer. Flex vent gets holes very easily. Also, make sure the vent piping is always going up (from the bathroom to the outside) , or at worst, level. If you have any runs that go down, you risk having water accumulate in them and rotting out the pipe or setting up as a home for mold growth.
 
In laws are moving here and need a new heat pump in the place they bought.. One level ranch on a slab. Approximately 1800 sq feet. We live in SW Virginia (not terribly hot with some cold weather in the winter). Any thoughts on SEER rating? Dual fuel? We got dual fuel at our place but it's 95 years old and about 4k sq ft (not nearly as tight as the in laws house).
 
RTQ - Doing tile is easy. Both Mrs. Karma and myself have put down tile floors and we still have a tile saw somewhere (although you can buy a cheap one for less than $50).
 
My condolences.

I'm probably the only one, but I love my in laws. That might change once they get here, but I enjoy their company and the idea of having a baby sitter a block away seems appealing.
 
I'm probably the only one, but I love my in laws. That might change once they get here, but I enjoy their company and the idea of having a baby sitter a block away seems appealing.

This is my situation. My in-laws are fantastic and the free babysitting 3 miles down the road is money.
 
count me as good with the in-laws; i feel bad for people who have shitty in-laws to deal with
 
In laws are moving here and need a new heat pump in the place they bought.. One level ranch on a slab. Approximately 1800 sq feet. We live in SW Virginia (not terribly hot with some cold weather in the winter). Any thoughts on SEER rating? Dual fuel? We got dual fuel at our place but it's 95 years old and about 4k sq ft (not nearly as tight as the in laws house).

To address some of this, Get as high a SEER rating as budget allows without going totally crazy. Somewhere around 14 or 15 I think is going rate. Dual fuel is the electricity vs gas or oil or coal for the alternative fuel. I don't have a crystal ball about future gas prices. Also, who is your electricity supplier? are you far enough down to be in TVA country, or someone else. TVA has a lot of hydro power, while other companies may be more dependent on coal fired plants, which will be under stricter air pollution requirements, and may need to be retired soon to meet clean air requirements corporate wide. If you have the land, may want to take a look at ground sourced heat pump. That is where the outside unit is underground, and uses the fact that deeper than about two feet, the ground is pretty much 50 deg year round (think cave). Heat pumps can make use of that temp for heating and cooling.
 
We got locked out of our house & had to bust a window out to get in. Now how do we fix this?
 
To address some of this, Get as high a SEER rating as budget allows without going totally crazy. Somewhere around 14 or 15 I think is going rate. Dual fuel is the electricity vs gas or oil or coal for the alternative fuel. I don't have a crystal ball about future gas prices. Also, who is your electricity supplier? are you far enough down to be in TVA country, or someone else. TVA has a lot of hydro power, while other companies may be more dependent on coal fired plants, which will be under stricter air pollution requirements, and may need to be retired soon to meet clean air requirements corporate wide. If you have the land, may want to take a look at ground sourced heat pump. That is where the outside unit is underground, and uses the fact that deeper than about two feet, the ground is pretty much 50 deg year round (think cave). Heat pumps can make use of that temp for heating and cooling.

Thanks for the heads up! They ended up settling on the 15 SEER. Seemed the sweet spot between enough efficiency and decent price. The HVAC guy didnt think with their size house a dual fuel was necessary. We have Appalachian Power for electricity. I'm told it's cheap, but that may be related to our proximity to coal country.
 
We got locked out of our house & had to bust a window out to get in. Now how do we fix this?

Call Pfaff's Glass if you're in Winston.

Hopefully it wasn't double pane. Those take longer to get replaced because they often have to be ordered.
 
Call Pfaff's Glass if you're in Winston.

Hopefully it wasn't double pane. Those take longer to get replaced because they often have to be ordered.

They are great.

Also if anyone has tables that they need/want glass to go on top of, pfaffs does this.

I've had a total of five pieces of glass cut there and have been impressed with every piece. Their prices are quite reasonable.
 
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