Really starting to think about redoing a small galley kitchen. Any lessons learned/tips on kitchen renovations?
Here's what I learned during our bathroom reno exploration: I can live with this shit until we get the bug again to move, which tends to be every couple of years.
Pro tip. Plan a move in advance. A year or two in advance is best. That way you can pitch the “do we really need to invest in a house we are only going to be in for a year or two?” Telling my wife we are moving in 6 to 12 months has changed my life considerably.
Losing hot water occasionally while taking showers. Happened in two different bathrooms. Lasts for a minute or so probably. There’s no other appliances running. I have a tankless water heater so this really shouldn’t happen. Maybe the heater is getting overworked?
Are you getting an error code on your panel?Whenever mine has done this it’s because a dirt dobber built a nest and plugged a tiny vent on the device. Happened 2 or 3 times.
I didn’t see anything the most recent time (the only time I went and looked) which also adds to the mystery.
About 4 years ago I installed a hardwood deck and it was great for the first two years.... until it started cupping up last year and creating tripping hazards when it got a lot of moisture. A pic from my initial install Spoiler I realized I made two fatal flaws. I didn't stain the underside of the wood and I used side-mounted (when I should have face mounted) hot dipped galvanized screws to secure the boards. So I decided to begin the process of remedying the issue this weekend. The screw issue was the worst. About 1/3 of the screws sheared off (due to the wood absorbing moisture at a greater rate on the underside than the topside) and so the boards were not secured tight to the joists... thus exacerbating the problem. I had to remove all the sheared screws in the decking, most of them with pliers. I then flipped and sanded the bottom side of the decking and added joist tape to the joists to prolong their life (dumb as shit to not do this 4 years ago). I then stained the underside of the decking with 2 coats of hardwood stain. Later this week on to flipping, cleaning and re installing the boards. Then a sand and finally 2 coats of stain. tl:dr- I fucked up on initial deck install and will end up costing myself a few dozen hours fixing it. Also when installing a deck: -use stainless steel deck screws -stain the underside of the wood -use joist tape
Species? Ipe? We did a large deck last year and the supplier insisted that we glue down the boards, which I found surprising. Hidden fasteners between and plugged at all scarf joints and ends.
Its batu/red balau (basically an economical mahogany) Ipe has greater density so it shouldn't move as much even with an stained underside, but I would keep an eye on it. Also I believe its recommended to reapply stain/oil every year for the first few years. Keep in mind, this is the was the first deck I have built, I did it by myself and with hardwood... so there were some errors along the way. Im sure that your manufacturer knows how to do it much more than my dumb ass.
We put in a total of around 600sqft of ipe in both the front and side/back decks in 2005. 16 years later we've had no problems with cupping. It does expand and contract a bit. We used Australian Timber Oil on it for the first few years but realized that the stuff just wore off after a few months so now I just pressure wash it twice a year and let it silver naturally. Contractor went through a shitload of sawblades and drill bits during installation, but it was worth it
After having this hardwood deck, even with all my fuck ups, I will never use anything else besides hardwood on future decks. Its just such a better looking and operating product.
When we were installing the deck the composite came in limited colors. It was also known to mildew/stain in this area, since we're near the ocean and have a lot of moisture in the air. It was also known to sag unless the joists were placed freakishly close together. Newer composite is better, but I really like this ipe which has none of those problems, looks great after 16 years, is virtually indestructible, and doesn't splinter. I also have two big dogs whose claws can't scratch the ipe
Yeah I think that composite joists need to be 10-12" apart. Composite also gets damn hot in the hot summer days
Insist on sustainably harvested planking as we did, and you can sleep better even if your wallet is lighter this is Santa Cruz, dude
Hey buddy yeah, tell the plumber nice try. He doesn’t know the skillset of the tile guy. Alright then.
Just redid ours. Best advice we got was getting a designer who was separate from our builder. Having flushed out drawings prior to engaging with a builder was cost saving, helps compare apple to apple pricing and it was great to see it go drawing to end product.
Have been in underwriting purgatory/hell whatever you want to call it for almost a month now. I was set to close September 20 and just finally closed yesterday afternoon. It is an incredibly long story and I don't even fully understand what the fuck happened but just to give an idea we were finally set to close last Friday (so we thought). Sat in the attorneys office for 3 hours, which we had pushed closing back so many times that the 2 week gap I had to get out of my current house was over so I need to get the fuck out so had the movers at my house I'm selling loading everything up with my mother in law supervising. After 3 hours I get a call that the underwriter needs some different income statements. By the time I get him those it's too fucking late to close that day. So I have movers with all my shit packed up and a house I have to get out of and no where to fucking go. Very very luckily the owner of my new house moved out weeks ago and allowed us to take buyer possession before we actually closed. That's just a very small part of it, I have probably lost years off my life from the stress and several times I thought I was going to lose a lot of money and my wife's dream house but it's officially ours. Now I get to start a shit ton of renovations. First project was figure out why there's water in my crawlspace under a bathroom. Turns out the mixing valve is bad and was pissing water inside the wall while the shower was on. Going to be a fun few months.
I close on the sale of my current house on Friday and still haven’t found a new house to buy or a place to rent. Gonna be fun being homeless. Luckily the buyer gave us until the 20th to move out.
Had a buddy in a similar spot and it’s been nothing but a shit show. Just people dropping the ball all over the place. Took almost two months after their initial date to close. Then mix in a hurricane where we got over ten inches of rain, lives in a flood zone as well. He had to get into a rental on the other side of said river because he assumed he and his family would be homeless. He’s building 6 hours away. Took a week before he could cross the river, all the while assuming either his house, or the couple who was buying his home (contingent for them) was completely flooded out. I got anxiety listening to the guy. He’s finally closed and house is done in under a month. Edit also congrats man!
She was our designer and some project management. Fee was $2500. Well worth it. It was nice to bounce other design choices off her (ex. hardware, hardwood, paint color, cabinet colors, etc).
Question for the thread, another buddy is getting a kitchen renovated right now. His tile mortar was laid on chicken wire. As a result it will be a bitch to get up. Any ideas as to why they would do such a thing?
The absolute fucking worst. Expanded metal lath is Satan incarnate. It was done for strength and to allow working to out of square/uneven surfaces. Wear chain mail and gloves.
Strange he’s in a relatively new build under 20 years old, I don’t think being uneven was even an issue. Thanks though.
I've never seen it in a house built since 1960. No idea why that would be the case in something so new. Is this floor or wall tile?
When I derstroyed our kitchen and dining room doing remodel demo in 2008 I had to use a 48" gooseneck wrecking bar on the floor because the original 6" Spanish tile was put down on thick mortar with chicken wire. I did not have to go to the gym that day
Can someone give me a layman breakdown of steel v. aluminum windows? Is steel worth the premium they command?
Why did you have to redo it and how much is this going to cost me when I have to? House we moved into 2.5 years ago is on septic (only other house I've owned was not) and I keep having to pay for things. Nothing expensive just unexpected
Floor, it’s why I was so confused as well. It’s not an odd shape either and was installed during build. About as cleanly done as you could hope for putting in tile.
New to me. I have no idea why, especially in the floor. Maybe there was a window of time where that was an accepted practice or solution, but IDK. Sorry he's having to deal with it.
Water table in my area has shifted over time and I have a lot of water that now sits in my back yard keeping the ground saturated and over time it has ruined / rendered my field lines useless. Had multiple people review and consensus was I had to move the field lines up the hill which required a new pump tank and new field lines and lots of digging. Cost me $11k not including electrician costs to wire up the pump and re-landscaping the back and front/side yard. Front/Side Back
I sold my 68 chevelle a few months ago with the plan of using that money to buy a 65.....then my wife. In the last month we have redone and expanded flowerbeds ($2k+) replaced a pool liner ($2k+) and are in the process of redoing all the floors ($15k) soon to be followed by a rebuild of the deck ($?). Thus was the story of the time I was going to buy a 65 chevelle.
So far my renovation plan is: Upstairs: - all popcorn ceilings scraped -tons of 80's style brown trim that will be painted white -Every wall currently is some shade of yellow, so those all need to be painted -every door needs to be painted white and brass hardware changed -every single outlet and switch is almond colored and will be changed to white -the entire upstairs floor is yellow pine with a very yellow colored stain, or maybe its natural and just sealed but either way we hate it so going to sand and stain a darker color -the upstairs AC unit is an original beast of a gas unit that I will be replacing myself with a mini split air handler -guest bathroom is all original with black tub, toilet, and some funky cabinet/counter tops, total redo of that. -total master bathroom gut job Downstairs: -same deal as upstairs with popcorn, trim, doors, and floors -total kitchen renovation -half bath total gut -gas pack unit for downstairs isn't too bad but I might change it out for another mini split air handler I'm sure I'm missing some stuff but that's the main projects we will be taking on over the next 4-6 months. I'll be doing some fun one's too as I get time like an outdoor kitchen, whole house dehumidifier, garage make over. Here are the kitchen plans if anyone is interested: