Show us your home reno / weekend Projects

[glaswegian]

Just thought I'll start a thread looking at renos and weekend projects. We ahve been busy this weekend painting our oak staircase in this new house, and I must say it looks good so far.

We sanded down the stairs and used Benjamin Moore cloud white for the spindles, and BM Mink for the banister. This tied in with our berber carpet and pictures on the wall in the hallway. The hallway itself will be getting a BM roxbury caramel after our 1yr inspection.

Before and after pics coming soon


What have you folks been up to lately indoors and outdoors?

cheers

[BuildingHomes]

Going on my 8th month of building my home theatre room.. Got the foundation leak stopped now.

Someday it will be done, but I'm busy working on everyone else's home theatres these days :)

[JetLi]

Over the last 3 years, we've done some major "weekend" projects that have taken us months in some cases, and sometimes, the simplest things, take us a whole weekend. Off the top of my head, the last 3 years of summers have allowed us to

1) Put in a 80' long retaining wall around 2 sides of the house - using allan blocks and pea gravel.
2) Put in a concrete product that looks like slate (3' wide) (between the retaining wall and the walkway, we spent 18 weekends)
3) We also had a friend cement the concrete product to cover the front porch to give it a more majestic look.
4) We've planted about $500 worth of shrubs, plants, and flowers.
5) We built 2 patios and added a shed on top of one of them.
6) Updated the 32' x 16' deck, new railing, new stairs, new lattice to cover the side facing the street.
7) Restained the deck
8) working on stripping and sanding the fence, going to stain it afterwards
9) Re did all the outdoor plumbing.
10) Re-routed some down spouts for 3 rain barrels
11) Put in an out of box Arbour (I don't recommend these, they SUCK!)
12) Put in 3 additional flower beds
13) Built a flower box
14) Refurbished a BBQ (New grills, scrapped off the paint and repainted)
15) Enjoyed everything!

[CompWizrd]

something like two years just to replace a shower and put a new floor in a 10x8 bathroom.. that count as 104 weekends? :)

not my project, obviously. :)

[Quick_lude]

bought a house with a deck and whomever built it before spaced the joists 24" apart AND used 5/4 decking board, all of which makes for a very bouncy deck. Plus they also used regular yellow floor screws which rusted and in some cases disintegrated. So unscrewed most of the deck boards, tried to salvage what we could, added 9 joists. Some decking was a biatch to remove, had to use a wrecking/pry bar on the rusted screws. Tomorrow attach the end board, replace and screw the decking down and if I have time, wrap around stairs.

[glaswegian]

As promised


before:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_0378.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_0377.jpg


after:


http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_0468.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_0469.jpg

[glaswegian]

Don't forget the before and after picture folks, they do help put things into perspective ;)




bought a house with a deck and whomever built it before spaced the joists 24" apart AND used 5/4 decking board, all of which makes for a very bouncy deck. Plus they also used regular yellow floor screws which rusted and in some cases disintegrated. So unscrewed most of the deck boards, tried to salvage what we could, added 9 joists. Some decking was a biatch to remove, had to use a wrecking/pry bar on the rusted screws. Tomorrow attach the end board, replace and screw the decking down and if I have time, wrap around stairs.

[mrcantrell]

I'm in the midst of finishing my basement. So far:

i) 98% of the framing.
ii) Plumbing for sink and toilet.
iii) Ductwork.
iv) Exhaust fan for powder room.
v) Wired all electrical outlets.
vi) Wired and installed 95% of lighting.
vii) Installed central vacuum outlet.

I'm currently on a "summer hiatus"

[trixstar]

i would really like to make a home theatre room as well.. i'm planning to build it in the basement since it has 8ft ceilings.. I have a temporary HT setup in my living room and its not handling well.. There is too much vibration with the subwoofer on. I'll start building once the tarion warranty expires..

[BuildingHomes]

I have a temporary HT setup in my living room and its not handling well.. There is too much vibration with the subwoofer on. I'll start building once the tarion warranty expires..

Is it a sound distrobrion? Could be the cross over is not set up properly and your bass is doubled, or the level for the sub is up too high.

Or is it more of all the stuff in the room is vibrating?

[trixstar]

Is it a sound distrobrion? Could be the cross over is not set up properly and your bass is doubled, or the level for the sub is up too high.

Or is it more of all the stuff in the room is vibrating?

crossover frequency is correct. There is a decent undistorted amount of bass. The walls still shake and something inside is shaking too... I can try listening to music and watching movies with lower bass, but thats not amusing...

[macdonlg]

hi Glaswegian,

I have often looked at the BM paints & thought they are very expensive. Now that you have used them do you think they are value for money considering you can get BEHR or CIL etc premium paints for about 30% less?

[spdztr]

I'm in the midst of finishing my basement. So far:

i) 98% of the framing.
ii) Plumbing for sink and toilet.
iii) Ductwork.
iv) Exhaust fan for powder room.
v) Wired all electrical outlets.
vi) Wired and installed 95% of lighting.
vii) Installed central vacuum outlet.

I'm currently on a "summer hiatus"


Did you do all of this yourself? I'm looking at doing al lof the above in the next year or so, so if you have any contacts of people that helped you it would be appreciated. Do you have any pictures of what you've done?

[kaos25000]

Anyone poured some concrete steps, from your back entrance into your backyard ? We're looking to do this but some contractors told us it's a really big job (6 steps, 7 feet wide, 5 inches deep and 4 inches high each) and offered to do it themselves for 4.5k. Is this hard to do ? Is this price standard ? Anyone RFDer did it on their own ?

[mart242]

i would really like to make a home theatre room as well.. i'm planning to build it in the basement since it has 8ft ceilings.. I have a temporary HT setup in my living room and its not handling well.. There is too much vibration with the subwoofer on. I'll start building once the tarion warranty expires..

Based on the pictures you posted last week, wait at least a year before doing anything since a leaky basement wouldn't surprise me.

[mrcantrell]

Did you do all of this yourself? I'm looking at doing al lof the above in the next year or so, so if you have any contacts of people that helped you it would be appreciated. Do you have any pictures of what you've done?

Sorry, did it all myself. I have lots of pix but I don't know where they are right now. I just bought a couple of books (One on finishing a basement, one on electrical, one on plumbing), you can get them from the library I'm sure.

Make sure you know about all the permits and inspections that are applicable to your manicupality. Some people do choose to ignore these though.

[glaswegian]

Come on people, post some pics for visualization :D

[aleksandar_2000]

Anyone poured some concrete steps, from your back entrance into your backyard ? We're looking to do this but some contractors told us it's a really big job (6 steps, 7 feet wide, 5 inches deep and 4 inches high each) and offered to do it themselves for 4.5k. Is this hard to do ? Is this price standard ? Anyone RFDer did it on their own ?

I think that 4.5 K for this is way too expensive...
you need to build frame and pour cement (which will be delivered mixed)...
you can use big rocks to fill half of that frame before getting cement delivered. The most expensive thing is wood to build solid frame

[Kreez]

6 Steps, 7' wide will require footings.

That's probably why you're getting high quotes. Footings take a lot of digging and forms.

[butter]

6 Steps, 7' wide will require footings.

That's probably why you're getting high quotes. Footings take a lot of digging and forms.

Ya there was an episode of Holmes on Homes of something like this. Big big job. Need to dig to undisturbed soil, depending on how deep the original footings are, plus you'll need to pass inspections and stuff.

[glaswegian]

The thread title reads "show us", not "tell us". A picture tells a ....................:D

[Ray]

Here is my new kitchen that I put in last summer. Entire kitchen area was gutted right down to the joists and studs. I did alot of reading and learning and it took about 6 months for me to complete.

Before:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e157/mbclk320/Kitchen/01-Before.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e157/mbclk320/Kitchen/02-Before.jpg

After:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e157/mbclk320/Kitchen/16-After.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e157/mbclk320/Kitchen/17-After.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e157/mbclk320/Kitchen/18-After.jpg

[CSR]

:arrowu: :arrowu:

Wow can't recognize the kitchen, it's like night/day.

[glaswegian]

Good on you mate, that looks absolute pukka ;)

[jandumm]

wow your kitchen looks absolutely amazing.

[magnum]

great job with the kitchen. how much does it cost to redo a kitchen like that?

[Ray]

great job with the kitchen. how much does it cost to redo a kitchen like that?

I've actually kept a spreadsheet of the total cost. Here is the breakdown:

3 appliances (frig, hood exhaust, stove) 5300
cabinets from HD 6000
granite counters from HD 3100
sink, tap 1000
Floor and backsplash tiles 1000
misc construction materials 1500
TOTAL 18,000

Also, I was allowed to buy 2k of tools which I can use for future projects. Love those power tools! :) Currently, I'm working on replacing the parquet floors on the main floor with oak strip flooring.

[venice_it]

nice job on the kitchen

[Whiplash7828]

That kitchen is beautiful! Good job!!! :cheesygri
Love the backsplash tiles.

[Dr_luv]

Awesome job Ray!

[fireguy9]

I've actually kept a spreadsheet of the total cost. Here is the breakdown:

3 appliances (frig, hood exhaust, stove) 5300
cabinets from HD 6000
granite counters from HD 3100
sink, tap 1000
Floor and backsplash tiles 1000
misc construction materials 1500
TOTAL 18,000

Also, I was allowed to buy 2k of tools which I can use for future projects. Love those power tools! :) Currently, I'm working on replacing the parquet floors on the main floor with oak strip flooring.

Nice job!

Anyone else looking to do kitchen,,,,, should call Fine line kitchen in Cambridge. They will cut your costs from most kitchen quotes by 50%.

If you want undermount sink and flashy faucets? Ebay is the place. Our undermount sink was $100 brand new and our $700 faucet, brand new $90 with shipping included

[glaswegian]

You are right about that, I bought a nice price pfister that sells at home depot for $200 + for about $25. Do you have pics of this faucet and sink of yours?




Nice job!

Anyone else looking to do kitchen,,,,, should call Fine line kitchen in Cambridge. They will cut your costs from most kitchen quotes by 50%.

If you want undermount sink and flashy faucets? Ebay is the place. Our undermount sink was $100 brand new and our $700 faucet, brand new $90 with shipping included

[joshmxpx]

Nice job!

Anyone else looking to do kitchen,,,,, should call Fine line kitchen in Cambridge. They will cut your costs from most kitchen quotes by 50%.

If you want undermount sink and flashy faucets? Ebay is the place. Our undermount sink was $100 brand new and our $700 faucet, brand new $90 with shipping included

Can you recommend sellers? I know a lot of will either kill you on shipping, or they won't ship at all...

[flypretty]

holy smokes, looks awesome Ray!
looks like those kitchens from the movies with rich families, with butcher and maid:cheesygri that's all ur missin!!

[butter]

I've actually kept a spreadsheet of the total cost. Here is the breakdown:

3 appliances (frig, hood exhaust, stove) 5300
cabinets from HD 6000
granite counters from HD 3100
sink, tap 1000
Floor and backsplash tiles 1000
misc construction materials 1500
TOTAL 18,000

Also, I was allowed to buy 2k of tools which I can use for future projects. Love those power tools! :) Currently, I'm working on replacing the parquet floors on the main floor with oak strip flooring.

Woah! Nice!

[phildc]

Nice Job Ray, was that 6 months over the weekends only or weeknights as well?

[Ray]

Nice Job Ray, was that 6 months over the weekends only or weeknights as well?

Thanks! I took 6 months off work to do this full time. I would never have had the concentration to do this if I had to work at the same time.

[George W. Bush]

Ray, the brick like tiles that you used for the wall - how much were they? Is is tile, or small pieces that you have to place them like puzzle?

[Ray]

Ray, the brick like tiles that you used for the wall - how much were they? Is is tile, or small pieces that you have to place them like puzzle?

The tiles are travertine and they come stuck together in a square foot sheet on a fiberglass mesh backing. It makes it easier to install since you don't have to fiddle with spacing. Each individual tile is 2" x 4". It was $10/sq ft.

[patrob]

The tiles are travertine and they come stuck together in a square foot sheet on a fiberglass mesh backing.....Each individual tile is 2" x 4". It was $10/sq ft.

We also plan to also do our backsplash from either travertine or marble (glossy, easier to clean) 2" x 4" brick joint but we have access to get these tiles below $5 per sq. ft.;)

Your backsplash looks good:!:

[hello99]

We also plan to also do our backsplash from either travertine or marble (glossy, easier to clean) 2" x 4" brick joint but we have access to get these tiles below $5 per sq. ft.;)

Your backsplash looks good:!:

Would you care to share how? :)

Can anyone recommend any good stores in Mississauga or West GTA for such kinds of tiles? I find home depot and rona to have limited selection.

Thanks.

[patrob]

Would you care to share how? :)

Can anyone recommend any good stores in Mississauga or West GTA for such kinds of tiles? I find home depot and rona to have limited selection.

Thanks.

Sure I can share...;)

There is a place that sells travertine/ceramic tile products to contractors at a lower price, but in order to open an account, you need to have a company registered. But I remember when we signed up, since hubby is in the business, they only asked for our business card...& I was willing to bring bus. registration papers :D but the guy said it's not necessary.

So technically anyone with a business card can probably open an account there, but you have to sound convincing I guess. Worth a try & nothing to loose but everything to gain.

Here is the company...http://tru-stone.net/ivory.htm but call them first before you go, when they ask how you know about them, say someone referred you:lol:

[Necrosis]

Would you care to share how? :)

Can anyone recommend any good stores in Mississauga or West GTA for such kinds of tiles? I find home depot and rona to have limited selection.

Thanks.

We just redid the kitchen as well and found way more selection at Olympia Tile. I can't remember exactly where it is but I believe it is close to the Orphus road outlets and Yorkdale. The only problem is you have to do a good job calculating how much you'll likely need - they only offer refunds on full boxes and charge a restocking fee (that's the convenience of Home Depot but we definitely didn't find any we liked there). Lots of colours and sizes/materials and the prices were OK too - we ended up using Porcelain tiles that were around $2/sqft and thought it turned out really well.

Ray, were those HD cabinets custom made, or did you buy their available sizes? I've seen those in store before (love it with the black galaxy granite) and assumed they were part of their custom line but the price you posted seems low for what I'd expect for Home Depot custom made.

[fireguy9]

You are right about that, I bought a nice price pfister that sells at home depot for $200 + for about $25. Do you have pics of this faucet and sink of yours?


Can you recommend sellers? I know a lot of will either kill you on shipping, or they won't ship at all...

I can email a pic of the sink and faucet. pm me.

the seller where I bought all the faucets from is on ebay and the seller id is thefaucetdiscounters
At the time they didnt ship to Canada,, now they do,, but I still ship to the U.S and bring it across duty free and cheaper shipping.

[Ray]

Ray, were those HD cabinets custom made, or did you buy their available sizes? I've seen those in store before (love it with the black galaxy granite) and assumed they were part of their custom line but the price you posted seems low for what I'd expect for Home Depot custom made.

The cabinets are the Mills Pride collection, Kingston model with the cherry finish. These are the regular catalog sizes ordered from Mills Pride. The cherry finished Kingston model were displayed prominently in most HD stores and we thought they were good value although they were cheaply made. We had to return many of the doors because of defects but Mills Pride was very good at couriering the replacement doors to us at their cost.

[fireguy9]

we used mills pride in our bathroom,,, and twice had them reship replacement doors etc,,,they are very cheaply made and ended up going complete custom higher end quality for our kitchen cabinets and actually saved $ compared to HD and other suppliers prices. Better quality and price at that kitchen company I mentioned.

[glaswegian]

Got a pic?


=fireguy9;5471881]we used mills pride in our bathroom,,, and twice had them reship replacement doors etc,,,they are very cheaply made and ended up going complete custom higher end quality for our kitchen cabinets and actually saved $ compared to HD and other suppliers prices. Better quality and price at that kitchen company I mentioned.

[Neil]

I've actually kept a spreadsheet of the total cost. Here is the breakdown:

3 appliances (frig, hood exhaust, stove) 5300
cabinets from HD 6000
granite counters from HD 3100
sink, tap 1000
Floor and backsplash tiles 1000
misc construction materials 1500
TOTAL 18,000

Also, I was allowed to buy 2k of tools which I can use for future projects. Love those power tools! :) Currently, I'm working on replacing the parquet floors on the main floor with oak strip flooring.


Wow, what a transformation. At first I wondered why go to the trouble of rerouting the plumbing for the sink and I imagine that could be hassle.

However it looks like the wrap around counter does several things for your design:
- the square footage it used up was basically useless before (2 garbage cans)
- sink now looks over into the next area
- desirable 3 point kitchen triangle layout

I'm curious about the new ceiling lights. I thought such lighting could only be installed from new? That's what my constructor is telling me, and the products I see at the store also say you need to have some kind of insulated box structure in place to avoid fire hazard.

One suggestion I'd make is about the beige duplex sockets - they look kind of ugly & old school. My suggestion is decora type, either white or this new light cream color they have now. It's about 20 minutes & $20 and would put that extra glint into your already polished gem!

PS - what's that thing visible on the living room wall? Is it a 16:2 plasma?

[CSK'sMom]

Neil, are you asking about the recessed lights? There are absolutely recessed lights available for retrofit, we just 6 of them in our kitchen...

[Ray]

Wow, what a transformation.
I'm curious about the new ceiling lights. I thought such lighting could only be installed from new? That's what my constructor is telling me, and the products I see at the store also say you need to have some kind of insulated box structure in place to avoid fire hazard.

One suggestion I'd make is about the beige duplex sockets - they look kind of ugly & old school. My suggestion is decora type, either white or this new light cream color they have now. It's about 20 minutes & $20 and would put that extra glint into your already polished gem!

PS - what's that thing visible on the living room wall? Is it a 16:2 plasma?


Neil, in my case, the pot lights do not require an insulated box because upstairs is the 2nd floor and therefore the ceiling is not insulated.

Thanks for the suggestion on Decora switches. I'll keep that in mind. I never even thought about it when replacing them.

That thing is just a sheving unit from Ikea turned on its side. I used it to store my DVD player so it is close to my projector. I'm thinking of redoing it since it looks a bit odd.

[glaswegian]

One of the 1st things I did when we moved in, was go round changing the pole switches to decora ones, looks a lot better. Just remember to switch off the power in the basement ;)

[Neil]

Neil, in my case, the pot lights do not require an insulated box because upstairs is the 2nd floor and therefore the ceiling is not insulated.

Thanks for the suggestion on Decora switches. I'll keep that in mind. I never even thought about it when replacing them.

That thing is just a sheving unit from Ikea turned on its side. I used it to store my DVD player so it is close to my projector. I'm thinking of redoing it since it looks a bit odd.


Well I obviously don't understand this lighting thing. I bought a place that was only partially constructed. The electrician said pot lights weren't an option. The ceiling between main & 2nd is not insulated, but it is finished however. It also has the metal connection boxes already installed. Is that maybe why?

[Neil]

Well technically this has been over a couple weekends, but I'm doing a couple bathrooms and a laundry room. Here's one of the bathrooms:

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6889/ensuiteary0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2181/ensuitebmr6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1281/ensuitectm7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Neil]

Here's the laundry:

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9348/laundryaoc4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1645/laundrybaa7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9524/laundrycfl4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Neil]

On a related subject, is it OK to do grouting over several days? I have some large areas to do and I want to break them up, say do one quadrant one day, another the next.

I'm worried that leaving a dry edge with the grout will be a problem, leaving a seam or other visual problem.

[CSK'sMom]

It's not recommended Neil. More often than not there will be a change in the color of the grout and the dry grout can cause a problem sometimes. Even when using more than 1 bag or box of grout all the powders should be mixed together first to ensure even color throughout.

What's with the split tile in the laundry room? I assume it's a floor drain. Why didn't you cut the drain hole in the tile vs. splitting the whole tile?

[glaswegian]

Nice job Neil, but see if you can take the tile out and just make a hole in the middle

[Neil]

It's not recommended Neil. More often than not there will be a change in the color of the grout and the dry grout can cause a problem sometimes. Even when using more than 1 bag or box of grout all the powders should be mixed together first to ensure even color throughout.

What's with the split tile in the laundry room? I assume it's a floor drain. Why didn't you cut the drain hole in the tile vs. splitting the whole tile?

I was not totally pleased with that either. But I tried many times to cut an isolated hole with no success. Every local tile shop also declined my request to cut the hole on their equipment. The only option I had left was mail ordering a diamond rimmed bit but that was going to cost a lot, take a long time, and wasn't guaranteed to work. The only other option was to change the layout and have the hole naturally fall at the seam, but it would have affected the tile layout in the entrance and the adjoining closet causing other issues.

Considering a pan will be sitting over the drain I was OK with the compromise.

[Neil]

It's not recommended Neil. More often than not there will be a change in the color of the grout and the dry grout can cause a problem sometimes. Even when using more than 1 bag or box of grout all the powders should be mixed together first to ensure even color throughout.
I'd heard that so I am doing some mixing. I just don't see how it would be possible to grout this huge area in one session.

I have noticed already some variation in the dry grout. There is some that looks dark (as it did when wet) and other spots that have a grey haze.

I'm hoping if I apply a grout sealer that will bring the dark/weet look back and keep it that way.

[CSK'sMom]

Neil a trick of the trade.... a grinder with a diamond blade cuts ceramic and porcelain tile(and marble and granite). You could have cut a square from the back of the tile and not had that grout line in the middle of the floor. Diamond bits are available at HD and the like as well.

How many sq feet are you grouting? Hubby routinely does 600+sq in a single day on his own and is home for dinner. You can do it in sections but you can't go days between sections, it should be done at the same time before the previous section dries.

[Neil]

Neil a trick of the trade.... a grinder with a diamond blade cuts ceramic and porcelain tile(and marble and granite). You could have cut a square from the back of the tile and not had that grout line in the middle of the floor. Diamond bits are available at HD and the like as well.How small of a diamond grinder is readily available?

I did all the cuts with diamond blades, but that hole has a diameter of only 1.75 inches and the smallest diamond wheel I could find was 4 inches. Even with careful fiddling cutting from front and back I was not able to get all the way through in the right spots.

Home Depot sold me all kinds of gadgets that turned out to be expensive wastes of time (bimetal hole saw-pointless as the tile just wore the metal down, carbide hole cutter-came close a few times but always fractured, diamond bits that I was supposed to use to cut a ring of small holes around the circle and then just tap out the circle - that was the worst idea ever!)



How many sq feet are you grouting? Hubby routinely does 600+sq in a single day on his own and is home for dinner.He must be a pro, it's taking me longer, pace is about 150 feet in a day's session. I have a 450 foot section to do but with all kinds of corners, closets, areas underneath appliances, etc. I'm expecting these to slow me down. Plus I was hoping to do one area for the appliances to rest on, then move them and do the areas below their normal resting place.

[mart242]

The only option I had left was mail ordering a diamond rimmed bit but that was going to cost a lot, take a long time, and wasn't guaranteed to work.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/SALES-40mm-Diamond-coated-drill-bit-bits-hole-saw_W0QQitemZ180148868648QQihZ008QQcategoryZ61574Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
4$ for a 4cm ones, that guy has bigger ones as well.

I used similar hole saws (but smaller) to drill to super hard ceramic / porcelain and it worked like a charm

[CSK'sMom]

To begin with you shouldn't be putting anything back on the grout for a minimum of 24 hrs after you do it. Time for washer/dryer, etc to sit in the bedrooms or livingroom. ;)

Hubby uses a regular 4 1/2 inch grinder with a diamond wheel. It can be used wet or dry. He says the diamond wheel is about $34 at HD. Basically what he does is mark the hole on both sides of the tile. With the grinder on the finished side of the tile he lays the diamond wheel carefully to not overcut the marks. Basically he scores it from the top. Then he finishes the cut on the backside of the tile where he can overcut the hole and it never shows.

It should only be taking you a couple of hrs to grout, wash and polish 150 sq feet at the most. Corners, etc. should make no difference when grouting. The other thing is if you're getting uneven grout colors it's because of the way you are mixing it, in all likelyhood. It could be that different batches were mixed with different amounts of water or they were overmixed. Every grout bag has explicit instructions about mixing with a paddle on a drill as well as explicit water to grout ratios.... Sealer probably isn't going to fix the uneven color problem. :o

[Neil]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/SALES-40mm-Diamond-coated-drill-bit-bits-hole-saw_W0QQitemZ180148868648QQihZ008QQcategoryZ61574Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
4$ for a 4cm ones, that guy has bigger ones as well.

I used similar hole saws (but smaller) to drill to super hard ceramic / porcelain and it worked like a charm

That would have been perfect! I'm skeptical that it would only cost $7.99 all in to ship from Hong Kong though... seems too low.

[Neil]

Hubby uses a regular 4 1/2 inch grinder with a diamond wheel. It can be used wet or dry. He says the diamond wheel is about $34 at HD. Basically what he does is mark the hole on both sides of the tile. With the grinder on the finished side of the tile he lays the diamond wheel carefully to not overcut the marks. Basically he scores it from the top. Then he finishes the cut on the backside of the tile where he can overcut the hole and it never shows.

I used that technique for some places where the required hole was larger but this hole is really small - less than 2 inches.


It should only be taking you a couple of hrs to grout, wash and polish 150 sq feet at the most. Corners, etc. should make no difference when grouting.
At the corners and edges I'm extra careful so as not to slop grout on the wall or surrounding stuff like cupboard kicks, toilet, etc. Away from the edge I can just slip it down quickly in bigger lumps - so it goes faster.

The timeline for me is:
10 minutes - make nice with neighbors
15 minutes - set up power and cords for drill, lights, radio
10 minutes - mix up a batch of grout
10 minutes - let grout stand
2 hours - grout about 75 tiles - averages about 1.5-2 mins to pack and form around each tile
25 mins - make another grout batch
2 hours - grout another 75 tiles
2 hrs - cleanup tools, buckets, meal break (seems to be the right amount of time for the grout to set up for washing, 1 hr it was a little soft)
1 hr - wash and form grout lines

Then I return later and take about 15-20 minutes to polish off the haze. Next day another final polish.

[glaswegian]

Neil...it seems you are hijacking this thread :D

[Neil]

Neil...it seems you are hijacking this thread :D

sure just til someone else's weekend project pics get posted!

[Neil]

It should only be taking you a couple of hrs to grout, wash and polish 150 sq feet at the most. Corners, etc. should make no difference when grouting. The other thing is if you're getting uneven grout colors it's because of the way you are mixing it, in all likelyhood. It could be that different batches were mixed with different amounts of water or they were overmixed. Every grout bag has explicit instructions about mixing with a paddle on a drill as well as explicit water to grout ratios.... Sealer probably isn't going to fix the uneven color problem. :o

Hey CSKMom,

How realistic is it to remove grout?

I did about a 50-60 foot area and I'm not happy with the result. The grout was all one batch but it's inconsistent color & finish. I matched the grout color almost exactly to the tile and I'm starting to think contrasted colors would look better and might not show as many defects.

But if I switch colors, I'll need to remove the 50-60 foot section that's already done.

[CSK'sMom]

It's not too bad Neil. You will need a grout removal tool from HD or Rona. Basically the tool has a saw blade that you run over the grout. It's a bit of a PITA job but not too bad for 50-60 feet. You just have to make sure that you get it all out but with the tool it can be done....

[Neil]

It's not too bad Neil. You will need a grout removal tool from HD or Rona. Basically the tool has a saw blade that you run over the grout. It's a bit of a PITA job but not too bad for 50-60 feet. You just have to make sure that you get it all out but with the tool it can be done....

I just got another idea from watching 'Holmes on Homes' today. He talked about using something called a 'tile enhancer'. Apparently it glosses up the tile. That would probably do the trick.

I have some earth brown tiles and I thought using earth brown grout would give a real uniform floor look. The tiles with no grout looked fine, but with grout everything looks dusty.

When I wet it, everything looks sharp. So I'm thinking whatever this tile enhancer is, that might solve things.

Any brands or tips on doing the tile enhancer?

[glaswegian]

You wake up early to watch Holmes? :D Whatever happened to that Jim Carruck guy, I don't see his show on tv anymore?



I just got another idea from watching 'Holmes on Homes' today. He talked about using something called a 'tile enhancer'. Apparently it glosses up the tile. That would probably do the trick.

I have some earth brown tiles and I thought using earth brown grout would give a real uniform floor look. The tiles with no grout looked fine, but with grout everything looks dusty.

When I wet it, everything looks sharp. So I'm thinking whatever this tile enhancer is, that might solve things.

Any brands or tips on doing the tile enhancer?

[Neil]

You wake up early to watch Holmes? :D Whatever happened to that Jim Carruck guy, I don't see his show on tv anymore?

I think it's still on, just nowhere near as frequently. I'm glad my construction is not being done by Carruck. I always had the impression his jobs were running into all kinds of delays and cost over-runs, and he always seemed to be blaming the customer. Even if some of the problems were caused by the customer, a good renovation manager would anticipate and avoid a lot of these.

[glaswegian]

All they ever do on that show, is stand around and whinge, unlike the mike holmes show where they actually get the job done

[BuildingHomes]

All they ever do on that show, is stand around and whinge, unlike the mike holmes show where they actually get the job done

The two shows are very different.

Holmes focus' more on the problem and getting it fixed his way within his own budget.

Jim focus' more on the entire process and having to fulfill the homeowners vision within the homeowners budget which is very difficult.

[Neil]

The two shows are very different.

Holmes focus' more on the problem and getting it fixed his way within his own budget.

Jim focus' more on the entire process and having to fulfill the homeowners vision within the homeowners budget which is very difficult.

I agree, the Mike Holmes budget must border on the ridiculous. He uses products and methods that I doubt the average person could justify.

I see him spray foaming everything, using $200/sheet drywall, and miles of that overpriced Ditra. Hey, instead of cheap tile, how about some handscraped antique reclaimed wood flooring.

But then again I guess it's useful for people to learn that cutting corners to save money can also impact the result.

[glaswegian]

I understand that, but what am saying is, nothing actually gets done in the half hour slot, just Jim and Neil standing around whinging



The two shows are very different.

Holmes focus' more on the problem and getting it fixed his way within his own budget.

Jim focus' more on the entire process and having to fulfill the homeowners vision within the homeowners budget which is very difficult.

[BuildingHomes]

I agree, the Mike Holmes budget must border on the ridiculous. He uses products and methods that I doubt the average person could justify.

A lot of the stuff is donated in exchange for just being used on the show.

It's been stated a few places before.. if one were to build a house using his methods, they would cost 10x as much.

It's not a bad thing, just not a practical thing.

[BuildingHomes]

I understand that, but what am saying is, nothing actually gets done in the half hour slot, just Jim and Neil standing around whinging

I can relate to them whining on several points for some of the larger projects that I do. I see it happen every day.

[Neil]

People... post your project pics or I'll be forced to post more of mine

[glaswegian]

Apart from taking pics of the jets flying over the house

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3191.jpg


I have just been working on the backyard really and got a pic of an hummer

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3179.jpg


A visit from a little friend

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3186.jpg

[3weddings]

Apart from taking pics of the jets flying over the house


I have just been working on the backyard really and got a pic of an hummer

A visit from a little friend





How cute....where do you live G? I like how far apart your homes are spaced!

[glaswegian]

Thanks...same space as the jets don't you think? :D

[glaswegian]

Any new projects? ;)

[nelsonmp5]

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff139/t48709/927aeda0.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff139/t48709/aa1f82c2.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff139/t48709/cbd8432a.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff139/t48709/1ea05263.jpg
and the backsplash from a little while ago
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff139/t48709/292a1926.jpg

[glaswegian]

You are missing a step in that patio mate :D Also did you use the HPB gravel for the base ?

[nelsonmp5]

Yeah, still looking at making a step or buying a prefab one.
Gotta plant some bushes to hide the ac unit, make some planters or just mounds that cover over some of the patio (real casual like).
I did use HPB. A few days ago, talking to a civil engineer, he says its garbage. He's very opinionated and a real talker, so who knows. He does work with contracters laying municipal pipe. We'll just have to wait and see if anything heaves.

[tataynik]

Before was just a 6' X 8' builders wood deck.

Used HPB as suggested by the manufacturer (stonelink). The project is not yet complete, 3' wide walkway will wrap around the house from the front steps to backyard patio.

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/8201/dscn1405jr6.th.jpg (http://img513.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn1405jr6.jpg)
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/7396/dscn1399ed8.th.jpg (http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn1399ed8.jpg)
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/8313/dscn1403xz1.th.jpg (http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn1403xz1.jpg)

[glaswegian]

Very nice mate.....how the hell did you get those stones big stones fitted into place? How much are you guys paying for a yard of HPB?

[tataynik]

Very nice mate.....how the hell did you get those stones big stones fitted into place? How much are you guys paying for a yard of HPB?

lol, brute strength (aka backpain), some ingenuity and 1 wicked gash on my index finger. Those things weighed about 240 lbs. a piece. I used a dolly and 3 pieces of 6" diameter pvc pipes to roll then in position (just like how they moved stones for the pyramid:) )

I think I paid about $24/yard (last year) and $28/yard (this year) plus $65 delivery plus taxes.

[glaswegian]

Here is what I have been up to today Sunday the 23rd of sept. I had the posts put in, and am now going through setup for the boards. It's a lot of work with all the measuring, grading and cutting using a circular saw


http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3210.jpg


http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3209.jpg

[Evil Baby]

I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow. Well the before pics anywho. Re-doing all of the wiring in a house I just bought. Original plan was to just get rid of the knob and tube but some knob already did electrical in that house and wow was it bad.

[deep]

Here's a recent upgrade - the old peninsula was tiny and poorly placed. Full sized people couldn't actually fit between it and the wall, you couldn't open the cabinets beside it, and it killed the space of the kitchen. Plus, the tiny doorway in the wall made the kitchen feel closed in. The new peninsula wraps around the jutting wall to acommodate more seating, has about 40% more surface area, and the place seems very open and large now.

The job took more than a weekend, as I had to order the new countertop, but my dad and I knocked out the wall (almost the entire wall, but had to leave the cold air return) between my kitchen and dining room. I then rebuilt the cabinet that had been under the peninsula from 36" to 48", and built it back into the demi wall that now exists where the full wall was. I also removed the completely useless hanging fixture there, and installed 2 pot lights above the peninsula, as well as 4 more throughout the kitchen. I also had to move a couple of outlets and switches on the wall we cut down.

Taking out the wall was easy, re-drywalling, taping, mudding and painting is not really my bag and took quite some time, enlarging the cabinet took about an hour as I was able to turn the old back into the new front section, and installing the 6 pot lights was dead easy - just took a while to get across the joists to the far side of the kitchen.

Before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/deepthot/P3290470.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/deepthot/P3290471.jpg

After (avec mood lighting, no less):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/deepthot/P9230866.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/deepthot/P9230870.jpg

Now I just need to re-do the tile around the stove and counter, and a little trim work, and the kitchen is done.

[samab]

I guessed that there is no way for you to move the stove?

I used to live in a home where the stove is right next to the wall --- the lack of counter space on both sides of the stove drove me crazy.

[Dynomite2910]

I actually did this last Sept but I will take the opportunity to show my work - I amazed myself with what I was able to pull off!

I wanted to add a large lower deck to the existing upper deck on the back of my house:


http://lh6.google.ca/david.adair/RRgnoKaJABI/AAAAAAAAADQ/mjrWyfNNDag/s400/IMG_6046.jpg

This was the end result - we have since landscaped the yard:

http://lh4.google.ca/david.adair/RU1Y8IC2ABI/AAAAAAAAAFo/Zj7pQrpAGpE/s400/IMG_6115.jpg

I even managed to wire it up with some nice accent lighting:

http://lh3.google.ca/david.adair/RU1ZFyWSABI/AAAAAAAAAGo/dhEIiWVqz2o/s400/IMG_6127.jpg

[glaswegian]

Very nice

[nelsonmp5]

Good stuff everyone.

Glaswegian, finish your fence?

[3weddings]

Deep, what a difference in your kitchen!! Good stuff!!

I can't wait to start adding to this thread, now that we're in sell this house mode.

I hate that our home is only 11 years old and 'needs' work...lol..

Most are simple:
replace stair railing and pickets with rod iron and new railing
recap the now carpeted stairs
hardwood the upper hallway
regrout tiles and replace the damaged ones
paint paint paint...and then paint some more! :D ( love to paint!!)

[glaswegian]

Yes mate.....I need a good massage now after all that hectic work though.;)



Good stuff everyone.

Glaswegian, finish your fence?

[glaswegian]

You love to paint? I should get you to come do our house, with the lovely benjamin moore paint :D You will need a scaffolding though for the hallway



Deep, what a difference in your kitchen!! Good stuff!!

I can't wait to start adding to this thread, now that we're in sell this house mode.

I hate that our home is only 11 years old and 'needs' work...lol..

Most are simple:
replace stair railing and pickets with rod iron and new railing
recap the now carpeted stairs
hardwood the upper hallway
regrout tiles and replace the damaged ones
paint paint paint...and then paint some more! :D ( love to paint!!)

[monomono]

replace stair railing and pickets with rod iron and new railing
recap the now carpeted stairs

I am in the process of doing this, although I decided to remove the stair treads and put new ones on. The result looks nicer IMO and the stair height doesn't change. I also got the existing pickets and stringers painted white and had the railings refinished to match treads and risers.

If you do decide to paint your pickets, remove them and spray paint them - nicer finish, less work. Of course if you prefer the look of iron then it's easier :)

[patrob]

Here is our last weekend project.... Staining our unfinished oak stairs :) Started prepping Saturday morning with sanding/taping & finished late Sunday evening with 1 coat of clear coat. We will still need to apply 2 more coats but the worst is over :D But what a dramatic difference...& I just love the colour...now on to the next project :)

BEFORE PIC:
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8386/img5083pv2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

AFTER PIC:
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9465/img5145kf8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[dolphie]

that new lower deck looks fantastic~!

[3weddings]

Patrob....lmao....that is one of the things on OUR list to change...I presently have white pickets and we're changing it all out to rod iron, recapping the steps and hardwood(ing) the upstairs hallway!!

Same page as usual eh?

[patrob]

Patrob....lmao....that is one of the things on OUR list to change...I presently have white pickets and we're changing it all out to rod iron, recapping the steps and hardwood(ing) the upstairs hallway!!


Yes iron will look very nice...:)

[glaswegian]

Nice job mate

[3weddings]

You love to paint? I should get you to come do our house, with the lovely benjamin moore paint :D You will need a scaffolding though for the hallway

I won't do anything high up...lol...this is why my white (aka primed) ballisters have been primed since 1996!!! I stained my railings but have never gone back up there to paint the pickets!!! Now that we're selling something needs to be done...that's when I came up with the idea of replacing the entire two stair cases!! Yeah...I am afraid of heights!!

But give me a paintbrush, I am in heaven! Just about to redo the kids PINK ...and I mean PINK bathroom for sale!

[glaswegian]

Please no pink, you will have problem getting buyers to see pass that. What if they don't have kids?

[3weddings]

Please no pink, you will have problem getting buyers to see pass that. What if they don't have kids?

Sorry...I wasn't clear...LOL....I am getting rid of the Barbie pink!!! Although most people LOVE the room, I can't imagine selling a pink garden bathroom!! haha:lol:

[Tjalfe]

I redid the bathroom back in March.

Before:
http://www.pilested.com/gallery/d/3494-2/P3310025.JPG
This was as much as you could turn off the water in the shower.
http://www.pilested.com/gallery/d/3507-2/P3310028.JPG
Seems the solution to a leaky, moldy shower was to just glue a shower surround in
http://www.pilested.com/gallery/d/3548-2/P3310039.JPG
Oops.. it all came out :D
http://www.pilested.com/gallery/d/3556-2/P3310043.JPG
.. skipping a few pictures.. don't want to bore people with too much detail
Cutting the marble shelves for the shower, and the window sill. Free marble scrap from a local granite counter place .. Wetsaw from Home Depot and polishing pads from ebay :)
http://www.pilested.com/gallery/d/3660-2/P4140083.JPG
.. and the finished product.
http://www.pilested.com/gallery/d/3794-2/P4290110.JPG
http://www.pilested.com/gallery/d/3798-2/P4290111.JPG

The vanity is standard Ikea kitchen cabinets, which are a tad taller /deeper than standard vanities. We use the extra space next to the sink as a change table :)
Total cost was close to $5K..

[Justin C]

Thanks looks awesome Tjalfe, nice job!

[glaswegian]

Like the butterrum counter top ;)

[Tjalfe]

thanks :o
I can't say what the name of the counter top pattern is, but it could be butter rum. cheapo Home depot laminate one, until it was decided if leaving the sink off center with room to change the baby next to it was the way it should stay. Alternatively the sink could be centered, or we could add another sink. Once She finally decides, I will see about getting a stone top :).. got to like free stone left overs :D

[glaswegian]

Still have to post pics of my finished fence, but the latest on the issue, is that the neighbour called the city on me, telling them that the fence was too high.

Inspector turned up yesterday from the city and my wife was home to show the guy the fence, they measured the fence, and the inspector said "I don't see anything wrong with this fence, if anything, it's a well made fence for a first-timer".

The neighbour must feel like a moron now am guessing, when he still has to look at the fence everyday ;) To think one would build something like that without doing their research, I have seen enough mike holmes shows to know better

[secret-_-angel]

Im wondering about your basement flooring, is it slanted?
I was told this is normal (floor not level)

[glaswegian]

Basement floor slanted? Mine isn't

[mcclutz]

Just finished a 3 month reno of the entire house....

Before
http://www.shaughn-mccluskey.smugmug.com/gallery/3491780#196778241

after
http://www.11glos.picturelink.ca/

house sold for 103% of list as a result...

[deep]

Did this:

http://www.shaughn-mccluskey.smugmug.com/photos/196780176-M.jpg

turn into this?

http://www.11glos.picturelink.ca/images/02_Living_Room.jpg

The changes are so drastic, it's hard to tell what was where! Excellent looking work!

[mcclutz]

yes, you grabbed the correct pics. My mother unfortunately passed away, and she had a lot of "stuff". What you see in the first picture is probably month 1.5 out of 3 months of clearing out the "stuff".

[patrob]

Just finished a 3 month reno of the entire house....

Before
http://www.shaughn-mccluskey.smugmug.com/gallery/3491780#196778241

after
http://www.11glos.picturelink.ca/

house sold for 103% of list as a result...

Great job:!: :!: Does not look like the same house inside.

Looks like one of those HGTV shows;) So how much did the reno end up costing in the end approx.?

[glaswegian]

What....Like a Colin and Justin show? :D Nice job by the way for that reno. :!:



Great job:!: :!: Does not look like the same house inside.

Looks like one of those HGTV shows;) So how much did the reno end up costing in the end approx.?

[glaswegian]

Where did all your furniture come from? You seem to like that wicker chair, is that the same one being moved around, or you just went to town in every room with it?

It sure looks nice mate, you lot did a good job.




Just finished a 3 month reno of the entire house....

Before
http://www.shaughn-mccluskey.smugmug.com/gallery/3491780#196778241

after
http://www.11glos.picturelink.ca/

house sold for 103% of list as a result...

[patrob]

What....Like a Colin and Justin show? :D

Something like that:lol: .... I wish I would be able to watch HGTV, but since I have no cable TV, no such luck >:(

[glaswegian]

The finished fence

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3221.jpg

I started the veggie garden bed this morning, ready for spring next year.

Am yet to finish the pergola

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3222.jpg


The I mention the crazy dog fella next door called the city on us to complain that our fence is too high? We had an inspector turn up on Thurs, he said someone complained about the fence, but he can't tell us whom. Go figure, I think we know the culprit :!:

Anyway...inspector said there is nothing wrong with the fence, and that it's even below the allowed height :D


The moron next door, has to look at the pic below, to remind him how long it's been up

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3216.jpg

[tlamm]

Looks good. Aside from the spray paint ;)

If I was your neigbour, i'd pressure wash the fence. Whats the worst that could happen. Someone shows up and says you washed graffiti off your neighbours fence?



The finished fence

The moron next door, has to look at the pic below, to remind him how long it's been up

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3216.jpg

[patrob]

If I was your neigbour, i'd pressure wash the fence. Whats the worst that could happen. Someone shows up and says you washed graffiti off your neighbours fence?

I don't think he has any right to touch the fence, especially wash anything off of it, since it's not his & the fence is not even on his property :idea:

I wonder what the neighbour will do if he ever wants to put up a gate on that side:confused: I guess he would have to build something on his property side to support that gate :|

[tlamm]

I'd assume he will just attach to the fence when he builds his own. If he doesn't the people that build a house behind them will.

Where I live people stain thier sides of the fence, even if they did not build it.

He should have complained about the spray paint instead of the fence hight.

I'd be washing that fence if it faced me. I really doubt a judge would find against the guy in this case.



I don't think he has any right to touch the fence, especially wash anything off of it, since it's not his & the fence is not even on his property :idea:

I wonder what the neighbour will do if he ever wants to put up a gate on that side:confused: I guess he would have to build something on his property side to support that gate :|

[glaswegian]

The inspector said, as it's nothing rude, am good. It's only if I had written something offensive that I'll have got into trouble. Now if he goes touching my fence, I'll be calling the police or the city ;)

[Jay1234]

The inspector said, as it's nothing rude, am good. It's only if I had written something offensive that I'll have got into trouble. Now if he goes touching my fence, I'll be calling the police or the city ;)

Maybe the fence inspector says all is ok, but I wouldn't be surprised if the property standards committe has a different tone.

Just glad I don't live next to you.


Jay

[Ryan]

Enough, if the both of you (glas and dustbunny) don't stay away from each other, you'll both be banned.

Glas, enough with the fence. Move on.

[klayman]

Here's a woodworking project I just finished and moved in last weekend. It was modeled after a jewelery cabinet I built for my then-girlfriend (now wife) as a Christmas gift... Now we have two matching pieces of bedroom furniture, so I have to build a pair of night tables and a AV cabinet for the TV next...

King Bed Frame:
http://mikeandkatslife.ca/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8924&g2_serialNumber=2
http://mikeandkatslife.ca/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10695&g2_serialNumber=2
http://mikeandkatslife.ca/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10713&g2_serialNumber=2

Jewelery Cabinet (Built 2 years ago):
http://mikeandkatslife.ca/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10704&g2_serialNumber=2

[joshmxpx]

Here's a woodworking project I just finished and moved in last weekend. It was modeled after a jewelery cabinet I built for my then-girlfriend (now wife) as a Christmas gift... Now we have two matching pieces of bedroom furniture, so I have to build a pair of night tables and a AV cabinet for the TV next...

King Bed Frame:
http://mikeandkatslife.ca/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8924&g2_serialNumber=2
http://mikeandkatslife.ca/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10695&g2_serialNumber=2
http://mikeandkatslife.ca/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10713&g2_serialNumber=2

Jewelery Cabinet (Built 2 years ago):
http://mikeandkatslife.ca/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10704&g2_serialNumber=2

very nice. what kind of wood did you use? was this your first project?

[klayman]

thanks joshmxpx. The bed frame and jewelery cabinet are both made out of pine (all small mouldings/dowels are spruce).

The bed was my most recent project, I've built a waterbed frame, AV cabinet, hexagonal ottoman/bench (just waiting for it to be covered), and a "floating" window frame aquarium (in an open window between a livingroom & kitchen, spanned the width of the window frame with 3 small fish tanks, including lights & air lines fished into the basement below).

I'll be the first to admit that my finish carpentry could use some work, and I need more patience with stain/sanding however the overall look/effect of the finish on this one is just how I wanted it... It looks a little rough and the coloring of the stain isn't 100% smooth, has almost an antiqued look to it just as intended.

[joshmxpx]

do you design all the pieces yourself, or do you work off plans?

i am currently building some furniture for our new house, and i'm always looking for good plans/designs. how much in total did you spend for the bed (just materials/paint, not including tools and such which you probably already had)?

[klayman]

I drew up the designs by myself, and just used google images for some inspiration at times... I don't draw full-blown CAD plans, rather just a basic 3D sketch of the final product and some of the sub-assemblies to know how I want to structure it. From that I build a core materials list, and start building!

I usually have 3 extra trips to HD or Rona for bits and pieces, especially since I typically change the design several times mid-build as I get new ideas or things don't look the way I had hoped.

For the bed my total materials cost was around $450... $275 in lumber, $100 in glass/frost spray/etc, $25 for hardware (magnet latches, biscuits, etc) and about $50 in stain/prep/brushes/etc.

In contrast the jewelery cabinet was around $300, about $200 in lumber (squared dowel and trim bits aren't cheap) and another $100 in hardware/glass.

[Menace]

Good work Klayman! It really shows the love to your wife (then-girlfriend).

[Dr_luv]

Just finished a 3 month reno of the entire house....

Before
http://www.shaughn-mccluskey.smugmug.com/gallery/3491780#196778241

after
http://www.11glos.picturelink.ca/

house sold for 103% of list as a result...

That is an amazing transformation! 10/10! o_0
How much did the whole thing cost (furniture, paint etc), if you dont mind me asking?

[glaswegian]

very nice mate ;)

[glaswegian]

Before


http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3248.jpg




After


I am quite proud of myself :D

front of gate

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3255.jpg


back of gate

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3256.jpg

[deep]

Very nice, Glas. The backside actually looks nicer than the front, with the "black iron" hardware.

[beerbaron105]

I don't think he has any right to touch the fence, especially wash anything off of it, since it's not his & the fence is not even on his property :idea:

I wonder what the neighbour will do if he ever wants to put up a gate on that side:confused: I guess he would have to build something on his property side to support that gate :|

how is it not on his property? dont you divide the property with the fence...why would you put it on your property and leave a "no-mans land" between the two of you? or maybe i completely misunderstand.

either way i think you are a prick, wash that off immiediately, nothing like trying to rub salt onto a wound....next thing you know your house is torched to the ground...jus sayin.

[mart242]

how is it not on his property? dont you divide the property with the fence...why would you put it on your property and leave a "no-mans land" between the two of you? or maybe i completely misunderstand.

By leaving a no man's land, it means that the neighbour can't touch his fence.

[beerbaron105]

By leaving a no man's land, it means that the neighbour can't touch his fence.

ok...but that sort of taunting leads to things such as: torched house...dead pets....keyed car....etc.

and with no way to prove the neighbour did it...is it really worth the potential risks just to "stick it to the man"

what ever happened to agreeing to disagree, or let bygone's be bygone's

[Red_Army]

ok...but that sort of taunting leads to things such as: torched house...dead pets....keyed car....etc.

and with no way to prove the neighbour did it...is it really worth the potential risks just to "stick it to the man"

what ever happened to agreeing to disagree, or let bygone's be bygone's

and the point of doing such things would be??

he can just as easily do the same things

[Red_Army]

I don't think he has any right to touch the fence, especially wash anything off of it, since it's not his & the fence is not even on his property :idea:

I wonder what the neighbour will do if he ever wants to put up a gate on that side:confused: I guess he would have to build something on his property side to support that gate :|

this is true, but if he were to wash it off in order for him to know he would have to trespass onto his property

[beerbaron105]

and the point of doing such things would be??

he can just as easily do the same things

did u see the pic big taunting spray paint on the neighbours side of the fence? Now answer your own question!

[beerbaron105]

this is true, but if he were to wash it off in order for him to know he would have to trespass onto his property

i cant believe people are siding with the owner of the fence!! yes he won the battle as far as the height was concerned and IMO it was an overly annoying neighbour to begin with the complaining....but now he has to kick a dead horse and play "neener neener" with his neighbour by having a rather ugly graffiti on his side of the fence....and being unable to wash it off??

at the very least id get a powerwasher and stand 5 feet on my yard crank it up and wash the paint off....at the very most id torch down buddies house and probably spray paint the date of the torched house on HIS side of the fence...



am i being psychotic? lol

[deep]

If I were the neighbour, I'd probably pressure wash it as well, and say it was a freak thunderstorm. Glas is completely within his rights....but that doesn't mean he has done "the right" thing.

[Menace]

I have the feeling his neighbour may do it. Not right now (he is probably still thinking about his next move), but in the near future.


If I were the neighbour, I'd probably pressure wash it as well, and say it was a freak thunderstorm. Glas is completely within his rights....but that doesn't mean he has done "the right" thing.

[Red_Army]

i cant believe people are siding with the owner of the fence!! yes he won the battle as far as the height was concerned and IMO it was an overly annoying neighbour to begin with the complaining....but now he has to kick a dead horse and play "neener neener" with his neighbour by having a rather ugly graffiti on his side of the fence....and being unable to wash it off??

at the very least id get a powerwasher and stand 5 feet on my yard crank it up and wash the paint off....at the very most id torch down buddies house and probably spray paint the date of the torched house on HIS side of the fence...



am i being psychotic? lol

im not siding with eiter...all i said was in order for the owner to know that it has been cleaned, he would have to trespass

[Red_Army]

did u see the pic big taunting spray paint on the neighbours side of the fence? Now answer your own question!

yes i did...and like i said...they guy can just as easily do the same retalitory actions that you mentioned....where does this get them???

essentially you would be just breaking your own window, or car if you were to do that....because you know he would do the exact same thing right after

[Red_Army]

The inspector said, as it's nothing rude, am good. It's only if I had written something offensive that I'll have got into trouble. Now if he goes touching my fence, I'll be calling the police or the city ;)

is the fence the property divider? or is it completely on your side?

[patrob]

is the fence the property divider? or is it completely on your side?

The fence is about 1 to 2 ft. onto his property from what I remember...so not dividing the property.

[Red_Army]

The fence is about 1 to 2 ft. onto his property from what I remember...so not dividing the property.

what a moronic and childish thing to do

the dumbest thing you can ever do is to feud with your next door neigbour (whether you are right or wrong)

[glaswegian]

Ryan has asked for this issue to be put to bed, if you want to get yourselves banned, keep it up. I have reported the offensive posts by the way. That is all I have to say :!:

[nelsonmp5]

If you guys have read the thread you'd have read Ryan's feedback.

btw Glas, nice gate! I may have to steal your idea (shamelessly)!
I haven't made up my mind yet on my gate. Still got to do the other side when the new neighbours are settled.

[ego]

Closed on my house on September 6th and have already done the following:

Painted the living, dining, family rooms, the main entrance and stairwell.

Installed hardwood in the living, dining, family rooms and one upstairs bedroom to be used as a home office.

Ripped the carpet off of the first half of the staircase and have started to install hardwood on the stairs.

Some pics:
Family room before/after:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2157/1619043766_b16fe6ff12_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2189/1619042380_f7fe5b4374_o.jpg

stairs before/in progress:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2271/1619045822_47c9b1e51f_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2025/1619131714_58d0f93eab_o.jpg

dining room before and after:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2317/1619044272_14201e2b93_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2253/1619044848_068aec3602_o.jpg

[Red_Army]

nice work..i would have gone with a lighter colour in the living room, but it still looks nice


Closed on my house on September 6th and have already done the following:

Painted the living, dining, family rooms, the main entrance and stairwell.

Installed hardwood in the living, dining, family rooms and one upstairs bedroom to be used as a home office.

Ripped the carpet off of the first half of the staircase and have started to install hardwood on the stairs.

Some pics:
Family room before/after:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2157/1619043766_b16fe6ff12_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2189/1619042380_f7fe5b4374_o.jpg

stairs before/in progress:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2271/1619045822_47c9b1e51f_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2025/1619131714_58d0f93eab_o.jpg

dining room before and after:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2317/1619044272_14201e2b93_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2253/1619044848_068aec3602_o.jpg

[glaswegian]

Variety is the spice of life :idea: If we all did what the other person did, how boring would that be?

[kt11]

ego: the sofa doesn't match
and the carpet in the dining room is far too out of place.

[deep]

ego: the sofa doesn't match
and the carpet in the dining room is far too out of place.
Says one particular hominid.

[ego]

ego: the sofa doesn't match
and the carpet in the dining room is far too out of place.


Says one particular hominid.

Lol. I can take the criticism.

The seating in the living room is all black, and I think it's actually quite nice.

I agree that the carpet seems out of place in the dining room, but that room is incomplete as of yet. I'm going to wallpaper that back wall with a damasck pattern in red (I think)

[CSK'sMom]

The carpet in the dining room looks "out of place" ego because it's too small. The rule of thumb is that the carpet under a dining table should be big enough that when the chairs are pulled out they are still on the carpet.

[ego]

The carpet in the dining room looks "out of place" ego because it's too small. The rule of thumb is that the carpet under a dining table should be big enough that when the chairs are pulled out they are still on the carpet.

Ahhh I see. Now that's what I call constructive criticism. Thanks for the tip.

[bobsackamano]

ego-if you dont mind me asking where did you get your tv stand (white) ?:cheesygri

[ego]

ego-if you dont mind me asking where did you get your tv stand (white) ?:cheesygri

hehe. It's an IKEA product.

[bobsackamano]

hehe. It's an IKEA product.

Thank you.....nice work btw!

[secret-_-angel]

ego, nice job.
If you don't mind me asking you: how much and how long did it take you to do the painting and flooring on your new home?

It seems alot of work but I might do it when I find a reasonably priced home.

[secret-_-angel]

What needs to be done to the floor when there is carpet and hardwood floor at the bottom yet still "SQUEAKING"???

Is this type of home worth it to buy? I'm not sure how much extra it will cost if I do buy such home. (im talking about east york bungalow home - small home)

[Starkicker]

Just finished a 3 month reno of the entire house....

Before
http://www.shaughn-mccluskey.smugmug.com/gallery/3491780#196778241

after
http://www.11glos.picturelink.ca/

house sold for 103% of list as a result...

This is by far the most impressive thing i've ever seen.
Simply awesome transformation!

[ego]

ego, nice job.
If you don't mind me asking you: how much and how long did it take you to do the painting and flooring on your new home?

It seems alot of work but I might do it when I find a reasonably priced home.

The flooring was the most time consuming, especially for that family room due to subflooring that needed to be leveled. Also, I had to run the plank at 45 degree angles to the walls since the floor joists changed direction midway. That room took 24 hours of work to do.

If your floors are level, your walls are square and you have the proper tools, you should be able to do a 15x10 room in 8 hours.

The painting was very quick, I bought a wagner airless paint sprayer and masked everything off then just went over everything. I did one coat of primer and three coats of paint. Actual painting time was less than 30 minutes per coat.

ego

[ego]

What needs to be done to the floor when there is carpet and hardwood floor at the bottom yet still "SQUEAKING"???

Is this type of home worth it to buy? I'm not sure how much extra it will cost if I do buy such home. (im talking about east york bungalow home - small home)

if you have access from below, you could try driving screws up through the joists into the subfloor and the hardwood above. Mind the length of the screws though as you don't want to expose the tips.

[patrob]

What needs to be done to the floor when there is carpet and hardwood floor at the bottom yet still "SQUEAKING"???

Is this type of home worth it to buy? I'm not sure how much extra it will cost if I do buy such home. (im talking about east york bungalow home - small home)

You are probably talking about the 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" x 3/8" thick strip flooring. If it's squeaking there is nothing you can do to fix it unless you remove the old flooring & install new floor.

If you like the house & are willing to spend some extra money on the new floor, etc., then it might be worth it.

[mcclutz]

Thanks glaswegian. I like to consider myself a deal finder...leather couch, Bauhaus, from the Bay clearance store $half price at $1249. two leather chairs, from the bay sherway, manager special $425 each from $599, coffee table, Loblaws when they were clearing things out, $49 I think.

Wicker furniture we bought intending to put it on the deck in the backyard, as a lounge like area, however our other special order furniture didn't come in time. It's Pier one, 4 club chairs, two end tables and two ottomans. a steal at $224/chair, regular $800, ottomans $80 regular $299, side tables $68 regular $250 i think. end of season sale. Dining table and chairs, loblaws $49 table, $29 per chair.


Where did all your furniture come from? You seem to like that wicker chair, is that the same one being moved around, or you just went to town in every room with it?

It sure looks nice mate, you lot did a good job.

[mcclutz]

all in for everything, ~$65K including labour, material, furniture, appliances, windows, furnace, deck, garage door and opener, sod. end result, we felt the house before reno, was worth about $410k. spent $65k, and it sold after 4 offers for $535K, so we made $60k.


Great job:!: :!: Does not look like the same house inside.

Looks like one of those HGTV shows;) So how much did the reno end up costing in the end approx.?

[glaswegian]

after tax?

[mcclutz]

yep.

[glaswegian]

To answer the last part of your question there, his wife gave a letter to my wife in the driveway as she was returning from work, looks like they were waiting for her to come back >:(

Just to summarize the 2 pages........they are apologizing for the way they have behaved, with the calling of the inspector and dog poo, they totally respect our privacy, they are looking to build a relationship with us, they will like to paint over the writing, and add boards to the fence, they want a receipt of the cost so they can pay half, and they want a signature on the letter.

Looks like they've spoken to a lawyer, and he or she has advised them to go this route and said since the fence is on my property, am entitled to the writing, the neighbour acknowledged this in his letter.

With everything that has gone on, am not in a mood for this right now, especially with the wife expecting early next year. They can wait, and until then if anything happens to the fence, at least we have their intentions in writing, signed by them






I don't think he has any right to touch the fence, especially wash anything off of it, since it's not his & the fence is not even on his property :idea:

I wonder what the neighbour will do if he ever wants to put up a gate on that side:confused: I guess he would have to build something on his property side to support that gate :|

[patrob]

To answer the last part of your question there, his wife gave a letter to my wife in the driveway as she was returning from work, looks like they were waiting for her to come back >:(

Just to summarize the 2 pages........they are apologizing for the way they have behaved, with the calling of the inspector and dog poo, they totally respect our privacy, they are looking to build a relationship with us, they will like to paint over the writing, and add boards to the fence, they want a receipt of the cost so they can pay half, and they want a signature on the letter.

Looks like they've spoken to a lawyer, and he or she has advised them to go this route and said since the fence is on my property, am entitled to the writing, the neighbour acknowledged this in his letter.

With everything that has gone on, am not in a mood for this right now, especially with the wife expecting early next year. They can wait, and until then if anything happens to the fence, at least we have their intentions in writing, signed by them

Wow...that's very interesting that suddenly they 'came around' & admitted they were wrong this whole time :rolleyes:

Good luck with your decision...;)

[glaswegian]

I don't really need his money, and honestly he can shove it where the sun don't shine. They think they could just turnaround, and everything is all good, after the way they've behaved.

[deep]

I don't really need his money, and honestly he can shove it where the sun don't shine. They think they could just turnaround, and everything is all good, after the way they've behaved.
Well, at this point in the game, what better move could they have made? At least there has been some effort on their part, however late.

[glaswegian]

Well, at this point in the game, what better move could they have made? At least there has been some effort on their part, however late.

Like I said, they can wait till my family is ready, we are not going to do things on their terms. As you are not the one that went thru all we did, it's easy to pass judgement from your rose tinted glasses

[deep]

Like I said, they can wait till my family is ready, we are not going to do things on their terms. As you are not the one that went thru all we did, it's easy to pass judgement from your rose tinted glasses
Wow, you really are quick to snap here. Where did I pass judgement? Where did I suddenly say you were wrong? I only commented that at least this is SOMETHING from them, even if it's too little too late. You need to relax a little, and/or re-read my post. Of course, you're always welcome to shove my rose coloured glasses if you'd simply prefer to antagonize everyone.

[glaswegian]

Everyone? You have lost the plot mate!

[macdonlg]

hey Glas,

I say take the moral high ground here. Accept the appology, get them to pay half of the cost AND to move the wall to its rightfull place at their cost.

It takes a big person to admit a mistake and to applogise for it. Also keep a copy of the letter as this will prove fault in time to come if it does not work out.

If you refuse to accept the appology you are only making yourself look like the trouble maker, not them.

And you get to get your total piece of land back as it should be so no devaluation in case you want to sell the place.

All in all I think this is a great outcome for you.....much better than it could have been. I just think it is much better being on good terms with someone than having to worry about what they are going to do to your property when you are away.

Just calm down & patch things up - you definitely won the battle and the war.

[glaswegian]

I hear you macdog.....but they are not looking to move the fence to it's rightful space, they just want to paint over the words, and put boards up on their side, to look like the finish side I have, they also want to attach a gate to the post that already hold my gate up.

Now if I let them do that, they will be claiming that little spot between the houses

[nelsonmp5]

Hey I hear ya. I'd want them to foot the bill to move the fence if they really want to make amends. Plus a new gate to bridge the gap. That's better than paying half your costs.
I say don't let them get away with a little bit of money. You lost a foot of your backyard, how many sqft is that? If they're serious, they'd comply. This can be seen as negotiations. I'm sure their lawyer would agree that its the right thing. Half the costs is too easy.
The alternative is they put up a fence on their property and things remain sour between you guys. By allowing them to put boards on your fence on your property, with a letter in hand doesn't do squat about useable space, you still have lost those sqft and they've still gained. Moving it is the best possible outcome. I would hope they see it that way, since they're the ones extending the olive branch.
Not an easy decision, but considering you've already compromised your bit of land for the fence, it is your decision.
My advice is don't beat yourself over it, in the end, you should be happy with the decision, not angry about it.
Peace brother!

[glaswegian]

Thx for that Nelson.....you are the voice of reason, and I appreciate the fact that you see things from the same angle we are seeing it from. Like you said, if they really want to put boards up, then they should foot the whole bill like I did, to move the posts and fence right to the middle of the houses.

It's kind of like a slap in the face really, to be asking if they can put boards over my fence, having done all the work and paid for the whole thing myself. Right now, the only thing on my mind apart from work, is looking forward to the baby we are having early next year.

I have got a whole lot of things to get ready, fence issues is not one of them.

[Jay1234]

Thx for that Nelson.....you are the voice of reason, and I appreciate the fact that you see things from the same angle we are seeing it from. Like you said, if they really want to put boards up, then they should foot the whole bill like I did, to move the posts and fence right to the middle of the houses.

It's kind of like a slap in the face really, to be asking if they can put boards over my fence, having done all the work and paid for the whole thing myself. Right now, the only thing on my mind apart from work, is looking forward to the baby we are having early next year.

I have got a whole lot of things to get ready, fence issues is not one of them.

Like I said before, had you talked to your neighbour nicely, I am sure they would have been willing to split from the get go. You went off the deep end and took drastic action. Had you listened to the voice of reason from the beginning, you wouldn't be in this situation now.

Jay

[glaswegian]

What situation am I in then muppet? Didn't you read the posts above where they are asking to paint over my fence and want to share costs? I don't need their money and am quite happy with the status quo

Please point out the situation to me because am missing it, even though they wrote us a letter 2 days ago begging. You really need to start talking out of your mouth, as supposed to where all you are writing now is coming from!




Like I said before, had you talked to your neighbour nicely, I am sure they would have been willing to split from the get go. You went off the deep end and took drastic action. Had you listened to the voice of reason from the beginning, you wouldn't be in this situation now.

Jay

[joshmxpx]

I thought the fence topic was supposed to be dropped a long time ago. Lets see some other renos people!

[tlamm]

I hear you macdog.....but they are not looking to move the fence to it's rightful space, they just want to paint over the words, and put boards up on their side, to look like the finish side I have, they also want to attach a gate to the post that already hold my gate up.

Now if I let them do that, they will be claiming that little spot between the houses

You should let them know now what you are looking for. You know what you want, so why wait?

Just tell them flat out. I appreciate your note, however I do not agree with your terms. If you want to modify my fence I require that you move it to the property line at your cost. If you do not wish to do this feel free to build your own fence on your property.

There is no point in waiting. You have a child coming soon, if you think your busy now, wait until then :)

[Decker]

Did this:

http://www.shaughn-mccluskey.smugmug.com/photos/196780176-M.jpg

turn into this?

http://www.11glos.picturelink.ca/images/02_Living_Room.jpg

The changes are so drastic, it's hard to tell what was where! Excellent looking work!

Beautiful stuff. I'm quite jealous of everyone in this thread. Just bought my first house and my budget for fixing stuff up isn't anywhere close to you guys :) Calling in all the favours I can get. Although I'm only 24 and live on my own, so I suppose it isn't that bad :)

Need to get the place fixed up to get some roommates in to help with the bills...or should I say to help buy more useless crap I don't need :P

[Ryan]

This thread has been poisoned. Please start a new reno thread and refrain from discussing glaswegian and his 'situation'.