House remodel - opinions and experiences

[voodoo_man]

Searched and found nothing...

I am going to be buying a house and it will require a complete kitchen replacement and need to replace all the floors (currently carpet) on two floors.

I want to put laminate upstairs and tile on the first floor and kitchen.

What are your experiences and opinions as to best way to go about it. Experiences on tile vs hardwood vs laminate, etc.

What things would you have done if you could do it again?

Ill also be replacing some doors and most windows so security will be something I will be considering.

[UNK]

Are you asking as someone who is going to do the work yourself or as to have it done by contractors?


Searched and found nothing...

I am going to be buying a house and it will require a complete kitchen replacement and need to replace all the floors (currently carpet) on two floors.

I want to put laminate upstairs and tile on the first floor and kitchen.

What are your experiences and opinions as to best way to go about it. Experiences on tile vs hardwood vs laminate, etc.

What things would you have done if you could do it again?

Ill also be replacing some doors and most windows so security will be something I will be considering.

[voodoo_man]

Both?

Ill be doing most of the work - yes ive done it before. More of a question towards what preferences people have and what experiences they have had, what theyd change if they could.

[UNK]

I would say with windows be sure they have UV blocking. But don't go crazy with options. Primarily they are to seal the home not provide R value. You can catch some really good sales on windows. Be sure to have all your openings measured and ready to order so when the sale hits you are ready to go.
I really like tile. On floors I would prefer a dark grout, black would be nice. A liquid silicone mixed with the grout is very nice although it makes the grout aprox a shade darker.

[Malamute]

The floor needs to be pretty rigid for tile to stay tight. Can you get under it and see what the floor joists measure for height and spacing?

[Cookie Monster]

Do as much of the work as you can before you move into the house, being able to tear stuff out and work without living in it and having to move furniture or protect things goes so much faster and with much less stress.

I remodeled my house by installing hardwood everywhere but I am figuring living in the house for forty years. Doing something less expensive would be a good choice if your view is not forty years.

[voodoo_man]

Ill have a good two months to do any work before it's occupied.

I have full access to both floors above and under.

I will probably end up hiring someone to level the first floor out and ill do the tile install.

[RevolverRob]

I agree with making sure the sub-floor and floor support are in top shape, before doing any major floor remodeling. I'm right in the middle of repairing a destroyed shower floor/pan, because whoever did the remodel on my condo did not set it up properly. When I'm all done, I expect it to last forty years, which is probably longer than the building will be here.

A couple of thoughts - I would go laminate or hardwood (preferable, but way more expensive) through the whole house, or tile only in the kitchen and bathrooms. If you ever plan to sell the property, convincing buyers that tile is cool in the living spaces is difficult. Most people don't want cold tile under foot while watching TV in the living room, wood is warm/tile is cold. If you're doing windows, measure all of them and then do what you need to, to make them all standard sizes (hopefully they are already). You'd rather do a minor amount of framing work and exterior trim/brick/whatever work than spend a bundle on a custom window. Particularly if you're looking at higher end windows that gets expensive fast.

Kitchen - You can never have too much counter space and storage space, but you can have too much that isn't useful if you don't plan the layout carefully. Consider your needs carefully. Try mocking out different layouts before you commit to any one in particular. For appliances, I'll just say it, the smallest sizes of commercial grade stuff, will leave you happy for YEARS and likely outlast you. Check out a restaurant supply store near you. You'll never think any name brand appliance is really worth it afterwards.

-Rob

[voodoo_man]

I agree with making sure the sub-floor and floor support are in top shape, before doing any major floor remodeling. I'm right in the middle of repairing a destroyed shower floor/pan, because whoever did the remodel on my condo did not set it up properly. When I'm all done, I expect it to last forty years, which is probably longer than the building will be here.

A couple of thoughts - I would go laminate or hardwood (preferable, but way more expensive) through the whole house, or tile only in the kitchen and bathrooms. If you ever plan to sell the property, convincing buyers that tile is cool in the living spaces is difficult. Most people don't want cold tile under foot while watching TV in the living room, wood is warm/tile is cold. If you're doing windows, measure all of them and then do what you need to, to make them all standard sizes (hopefully they are already). You'd rather do a minor amount of framing work and exterior trim/brick/whatever work than spend a bundle on a custom window. Particularly if you're looking at higher end windows that gets expensive fast.

Kitchen - You can never have too much counter space and storage space, but you can have too much that isn't useful if you don't plan the layout carefully. Consider your needs carefully. Try mocking out different layouts before you commit to any one in particular. For appliances, I'll just say it, the smallest sizes of commercial grade stuff, will leave you happy for YEARS and likely outlast you. Check out a restaurant supply store near you. You'll never think any name brand appliance is really worth it afterwards.

-Rob

Thanks for posting.

It is my idea to do whole floor tile (wood plank look but tile) but my wife wants just the kitchen done. I think I'll end up just doing the kitchen with a nice block tile.

As far as kitchen stuff goes, its a large space we are going to be working on, something like 300sqft for a kitchen + dining room setup. I was considering making a mock of with "work areas" since my wife is a huge into cooking I want her to have good stuff.

For the appliances we are going to do electric - do they make commercial grade electric stove tops/elements? Gata google that later.

Windows aren't a yuge priority but will be something I'll need to get to eventually.

[Shellback]

Buddy of mine just put down bamboo hardwood flooring and it looks really nice. Might be a viable option that will save you some coin over traditional hardwood.

[RevolverRob]

Buddy of mine just put down bamboo hardwood flooring and it looks really nice. Might be a viable option that will save you some coin over traditional hardwood.

I admit, I really like the bamboo flooring installs I have seen. I haven't ever installed any though, so I have no clue how hard/easy it is to install, but most of it looks like it installs just like laminate.

I can recommend Teak for hardwood flooring. Teak not only comes out nice, it is naturally moisture repelling and anti-microbial. Which is nice in humid environments like bathrooms, kitchens, and basements.

[Shellback]

I admit, I really like the bamboo flooring installs I have seen. I haven't ever installed any though, so I have no clue how hard/easy it is to install, but most of it looks like it installs just like laminate.

He said it was a cake job, but he is a carpenter, and built his own house. That being said, from what he showed me, I wouldn't hesitate to give it a go as a novice. His looks very similar to this.

http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/LumberLiquidators/268x350h/Flooring%20Deal%20Sale%20Morning%20Star%201/2%22%20x%205-1/8%22%20Antique%20Strand%20Distressed%20Bamboo~1002 3638_sw.jpg

[The Apprentice]

While you have all the flooring ripped up go through and screw the sub floor down it will eliminate squeaks nails tend to back out over time. Don't use laminate anywhere that has the potential to get wet. I tile all the entrie ways as well as kitchens an baths.

[Alembic]

I just finished building our house here in Vermont, from a hole in the ground. Over the years I've remodeled two rental properties, a total of 5 bathrooms and 4 kitchens, some down to the studs, others just to the drywall. I was also real estate broker for 15 years in Colorado. I do the demo, rough interior carpentry, drywall and painting, I pay people to do the skilled work correctly.

In general, for long term value and resale, spend the most money in your kitchen, then the bathrooms, buy good plumbing fixtures. You will use your kitchen faucet over 3,000 time a year. I would buy name brand plumbing fixtures and avoid Home Depot/Lowes branded fixtures, and appliances. In the future a plumber or appliance repair man will not be able to get parts for the Home Depot stuff. For the kitchen, the "Kraft Made" cabinets and other mid range brands Home Depot sells seem to be pretty good quality, for half the price of a custom cabinet maker. We passed on the crown moulding and undercabinet light rail and saved $1,000 on the package. I do think under cabinet lights are functional addition and add value to your kitchen. For countertops in the kitchen, I prefer a solid surface synthetic over laminate or stone. Granite, soapstone etc are crazy expensive. On a budget, laminate counters are just fine, and 30% the cost of solid surface. For solid, HiMac, over Corian. Same material, just cheaper. The Home Depot HiMac is a cheaper finished product than HiMac from Cabinet/Kitchen store, but very functional and nice.

If you like hard surface flooring over carpet, do as much real wood flooring as you can. It's cheaper than tile and is more forgiving with an old subfloor, esp if you do tongue and groove board. I'm not a fan of laminate, it wears badly and even expensive stuff looks cheap in just a few years. The factory finished real wood products are OK, but expensive, and still look, well factory finished. IMO they never have the character of a real sand and finished floor. Hickory is awesome, Maple is cheap in the north east. Pine is dirt cheap. Sure it's soft, but it ages well. Someone can come along and refinish it if they want, but most buyers will prefer the patina. If you want a harder wood, which will be more expensive, just go with a narrower board. 2 inch oak is cheap and hard as a rock. We just did 1,200 square feet of 12 inch wide boards, the whole house, except the two bathrooms for $1,700. in materials and another $2,500 to the finisher, who did two runs with the sander, stained, and two coats of poly. You could rent a sander and finish it yourself. Some may think pine goes yellow, but you just need to use a brown tint stain. Anyway $3,700 for a natural wood floor. If you ever need to sell, it will make the sale. Carpet would have been like $2,500, and, well... we have two German Shepards, 3 cats and one muddy kid. The carpet would have been trashed in 2 years and never been as cool.

Tile can be pretty affordable if you pick out the $0.48 per foot stuff. Of course laminate is still 70% less after the install. I would not do tile in the kitchen if you are doing a laminate or wood floor elsewhere, just run it in the kitchen and call it good, water is not a problem. Save some money with affordable carpet in the bedrooms, stairs and halls.

If you are getting into the walls, rip out any walls you can to open up the floor plan. Nothing worst than a dated floor plan. If you are opening up some walls, try to do some insulation. New studies show fiberglass to be a pretty bad insulator. The easiest, most effective insulation trick is to stop air flow and drafts. Try to can foam every window, door frame, electric outlet and light fixture. For walls and between joists, look at rockwool, brand name "Roxul". A bit more expensive than Fiberglass, but easy to work with, better R-value per squ foot/dollar and way better sound insulation. Insulation for interior walls is nice for sound and will help with air flow and the heating bill. If you are opening exterior walls, look into blown foam insulation. It will give you R-30 2x6 walls, great sound insulation and make the house more rigid. It's not cheap to have installed. For attic insulation, just blow cellulose, 2 feet thick will give you R-40. Cheap and easy to blow in yourself. Our HD rents the machine for free when you buy the cellulose.

Trim is expensive. Depending on the part of the country, some prefer painted trim, some prefer stained trim. Either way, I'd just go with cheap, simple pine. 1x4 boards can look nice without being fancy.

On the electrical end, I assume you'll have an electrician on site for the kitchen. Most building code calls for an outlet every two feet these days, so if you have the walls open, add some outlets, everywhere you can. I can't remember if you said how old your place is, but if you can bring it into the 21st century, it will help your resale value and time on the market. Even if you never plan to sell, this is your best opportunity to make the house functional. Can lighting is an easy addition, even if you are not opening up the ceiling. Cans are seen as much nicer than simple overhead fixtures. You can run their wiring to an existing switch site with power to create lighting over a desk area, dining room table or breakfast area. Lighting can really add value to a home.

To save money there is no reason you can G.C. they whole project and manage the subs. Do all the demo yourself. Do as much rough carpentry as you can then bid each job and ask for a breakdown of time, materials and their margin on each. You can get in trouble buying materials, better to let them buy the right materials, maybe at wholesale prices. Still ask to see material invoices. Know how much they charge per hour for labor and ask how long they think each job will take. You should be happy to pay someone to do a job you can't do, you just want to know where they are making their money.

Good luck. Don't stress the details, nothing turns out exactly as planned when you create. Enjoy the project.

[RevolverRob]

While you have all the flooring ripped up go through and screw the sub floor down it will eliminate squeaks nails tend to back out over time.

Yes!!!

It helps a ton. You'll get so tired of screwing in screws, but you'll be so much happier when the floor doesn't squeak in that one spot you knew was kind of sketchy but you said, "Nah, it's okay." -

[voodoo_man]

I just finished building our house here in Vermont, from a hole in the ground. Over the years I've remodeled two rental properties, a total of 5 bathrooms and 4 kitchens, some down to the studs, others just to the drywall. I was also real estate broker for 15 years in Colorado. I do the demo, rough interior carpentry, drywall and painting, I pay people to do the skilled work correctly.

In general, for long term value and resale, spend the most money in your kitchen, then the bathrooms, buy good plumbing fixtures. You will use your kitchen faucet over 3,000 time a year. I would buy name brand plumbing fixtures and avoid Home Depot/Lowes branded fixtures, and appliances. In the future a plumber or appliance repair man will not be able to get parts for the Home Depot stuff. For the kitchen, the "Kraft Made" cabinets and other mid range brands Home Depot sells seem to be pretty good quality, for half the price of a custom cabinet maker. We passed on the crown moulding and undercabinet light rail and saved $1,000 on the package. I do think under cabinet lights are functional addition and add value to your kitchen. For countertops in the kitchen, I prefer a solid surface synthetic over laminate or stone. Granite, soapstone etc are crazy expensive. On a budget, laminate counters are just fine, and 30% the cost of solid surface. For solid, HiMac, over Corian. Same material, just cheaper. The Home Depot HiMac is a cheaper finished product than HiMac from Cabinet/Kitchen store, but very functional and nice.

If you like hard surface flooring over carpet, do as much real wood flooring as you can. It's cheaper than tile and is more forgiving with an old subfloor, esp if you do tongue and groove board. I'm not a fan of laminate, it wears badly and even expensive stuff looks cheap in just a few years. The factory finished real wood products are OK, but expensive, and still look, well factory finished. IMO they never have the character of a real sand and finished floor. Hickory is awesome, Maple is cheap in the north east. Pine is dirt cheap. Sure it's soft, but it ages well. Someone can come along and refinish it if they want, but most buyers will prefer the patina. If you want a harder wood, which will be more expensive, just go with a narrower board. 2 inch oak is cheap and hard as a rock. We just did 1,200 square feet of 12 inch wide boards, the whole house, except the two bathrooms for $1,700. in materials and another $2,500 to the finisher, who did two runs with the sander, stained, and two coats of poly. You could rent a sander and finish it yourself. Some may think pine goes yellow, but you just need to use a brown tint stain. Anyway $3,700 for a natural wood floor. If you ever need to sell, it will make the sale. Carpet would have been like $2,500, and, well... we have two German Shepards, 3 cats and one muddy kid. The carpet would have been trashed in 2 years and never been as cool.

Tile can be pretty affordable if you pick out the $0.48 per foot stuff. Of course laminate is still 70% less after the install. I would not do tile in the kitchen if you are doing a laminate or wood floor elsewhere, just run it in the kitchen and call it good, water is not a problem. Save some money with affordable carpet in the bedrooms, stairs and halls.

If you are getting into the walls, rip out any walls you can to open up the floor plan. Nothing worst than a dated floor plan. If you are opening up some walls, try to do some insulation. New studies show fiberglass to be a pretty bad insulator. The easiest, most effective insulation trick is to stop air flow and drafts. Try to can foam every window, door frame, electric outlet and light fixture. For walls and between joists, look at rockwool, brand name "Roxul". A bit more expensive than Fiberglass, but easy to work with, better R-value per squ foot/dollar and way better sound insulation. Insulation for interior walls is nice for sound and will help with air flow and the heating bill. If you are opening exterior walls, look into blown foam insulation. It will give you R-30 2x6 walls, great sound insulation and make the house more rigid. It's not cheap to have installed. For attic insulation, just blow cellulose, 2 feet thick will give you R-40. Cheap and easy to blow in yourself. Our HD rents the machine for free when you buy the cellulose.

Trim is expensive. Depending on the part of the country, some prefer painted trim, some prefer stained trim. Either way, I'd just go with cheap, simple pine. 1x4 boards can look nice without being fancy.

On the electrical end, I assume you'll have an electrician on site for the kitchen. Most building code calls for an outlet every two feet these days, so if you have the walls open, add some outlets, everywhere you can. I can't remember if you said how old your place is, but if you can bring it into the 21st century, it will help your resale value and time on the market. Even if you never plan to sell, this is your best opportunity to make the house functional. Can lighting is an easy addition, even if you are not opening up the ceiling. Cans are seen as much nicer than simple overhead fixtures. You can run their wiring to an existing switch site with power to create lighting over a desk area, dining room table or breakfast area. Lighting can really add value to a home.

To save money there is no reason you can G.C. they whole project and manage the subs. Do all the demo yourself. Do as much rough carpentry as you can then bid each job and ask for a breakdown of time, materials and their margin on each. You can get in trouble buying materials, better to let them buy the right materials, maybe at wholesale prices. Still ask to see material invoices. Know how much they charge per hour for labor and ask how long they think each job will take. You should be happy to pay someone to do a job you can't do, you just want to know where they are making their money.

Good luck. Don't stress the details, nothing turns out exactly as planned when you create. Enjoy the project.

Good stuff right here. Thanks

[The Apprentice]

I would never use laminate wood flooring in a kitchen I have seen to many laminate floors ruined by water. If there is ever a leak on a sink or dishwasher you will have buckled floors with water stains. Also I have seen where the water got between the laminate and underlayment and started growing some funky stuff. I dont like even leaving snowy boots on them which is why in my own house I tile the entryways as well.

[UNK]

Right now sounds like a good time to look at running the wiring for a security system. I would run to all windows and doors. Hard wired switches are much cheaper to buy and you don't have the ongoing expense of batteries for wireless switches.

Another option for flooring in the kitchen is cork. It is quiet and is not cold. I believe they used to put it in libraries,

[David S.]

If you choose laminate/engineered, do NOT go super cheap. I don't necessarily mean get "name brand" or whatever, but get the thick (10mm or more) stuff and get a good sound deadening underlayment. This will substantially reduce echos and foot noise.

[hufnagel]

I finished up a laundry and powder room remodel a couple months ago. I can concur things NEVER go as you plan them. The thing I'd like to suggest is, consider bracing from underneath.

http://manybrightdots.com/twg23/cache/Family/projects/2015%2520remodel/SAM_1578.jpg.small.jpg

We ripped down 3/4" plywood to fit each joist bay, glued and screwed it from below, and sistered 2x4's to each side of the joists. The floor originally had a vinyl overlay and 2 layers of 1/2" plywood, which was damaged and rotted. Since we wanted to put down tile and eliminate a transition between the laundry room and the family room we had to go down. If you look carefully at this picture, the right hand joist has a visible not at the bottom of it; it had opened up and the floor was sagged 1" at that point. we couldn't jack it up either as it has a non-load bearing wall above it and we'd remodeled the bathroom above 10 years ago.


The result looks like this.

http://manybrightdots.com/twg23/cache/Family/projects/2015%2520remodel/SAM_1618.jpg.small.jpg

It was a TOTAL pain the ass (and back, and hands, and head as i whacked some nails and screws sticking down) but the results are impressive. There's no vibration transmitted from the washer into the rest of the house, and the basement no longer sounds like the inside of a gong.

If you're interested I'll PM you a link to the gallery of the pictures so you can maybe get some ideas. I got really creative with the plumbing to make it all work too. :D

[LittleLebowski]

Congrats, voodoo_man!

[LSP552]

We did a complete remodel about 8 years ago. Went with tile in the kitchen, bathrooms, living room. Laminate in the dining room and foyer, and carpet in the bedrooms. A large area rug in the living room works well to maintain the softness over tile in the living room.

[LSP552]

I need to add that our remodel cost a good bit more than originally intended....because wife. Adding a fudge factor to the budget might be helpful. Like someone mentioned, we used the remodel to open up the floor plan and rase some ceilings and I highly recommend those if you can. We removed a non-load bearing wall and cut window frames into another to open up the living room and dining room areas.

Going to a 10 ft ceilings in the kitchen and dining room were real improvements.

[hufnagel]

Heh. Yea, whatever budget you come up with, triple it. :D

What was supposed to be a simple $3000-ish laundry room remodel (move a little plumbing, get some new appliances, a new door, call it "DONE") turned into a $10,000 extensive gut out of both the laundry room and the bathroom adjoining it. Each time we peeled back a layer we found more damage, so we'd have to peel back more, find more damage, lather, rinse, repeat. We weren't going to do the bathroon too, but when you discover the floor dips 1" because of a defective joist, things get expensive quick. In the end it turned out fantastic, but man it sure looked like total fail and AIDS as certain points.

Mind you that dollar figure included me doing about 50% of the work. I hired a contractor/friend who does these things and we worked together. If I'd had a contractor doing it exclusively it could easily have been $20,000 total.

[voodoo_man]

Don't congratulate me yet! Nothing is written in stone until it is.

Thanks again for all the info. The total estimate for everything is pretty liberal and we planned on doing it even before this house so we have enough saved up to do exactly what we need and no be hurting.

[TGS]

We had a limited remodel last year. 1 of our bathrooms and 1 of our bedrooms along with getting an outdoor brick patio.

We went with the laminate flooring for the bedroom as that's what our other bedroom, office and den has and we have no complaints. We had the ceiling pulled out and replaced, but kept the walls and had them repainted.

We helped insulation with the house by replacing all of our window blinds throughout the house with some really nice ones that feature a honey-comb structure.

The bathroom was a complete remodel. We did tiling. Not sure on the specifics of the tiling or grout, but everything seems to be A-okay as of right now. At my fiance's behest, we had a compartment built into the wall to hide a pistol.

We had a contractor do all of that, who also did my fiance's mothers house where they did a MUCH nicer job, as we were looking for lower cost materials and styles. If you're looking for custom carpentry like ornate wood trim, that's right up his wheelhouse. At the very least we trusted them and they did well for us, talking us out of pricier options we were considering but wouldn't have served our goals (ruggedness, reliability, maintenance costs and what not). Given most contractors are fucking scum bags, we feel confident enough recommending them based on these ethical qualities alone. If you need their info let me know, they are in your AO.

__________________________

Now for the patio. Different company, much different heartache that resulted in me telling him that he was a pathetic excuse for a man and I'd never even heard as many excuses from a compulsive lying 6 year old. He was a "friend" of my fiance (her working definition of friend is much looser than mine), working as a firefighter in the same town she's on the rescue squad of. The patio wasn't level and such was apparent to the naked eye, which would result in pooling of water against the house. I pointed it out, and it took some convincing for him to finally pull it up and re do it. About half of the plants he moved have died, and he has not replaced them. All of the work was only supposed to take 1 weekend, but 5 weeks later our yard was still torn the fuck up like a construction site with no end in sight. He continually fed excuses.

Overall, our experience with him has prompted us to consider having certain information in the contract for future jobs, like paying for shit they fuck up and kill, times for completion of the job, ect.

[Clobbersaurus]

When we remodelled our condo we did tile in the kitchen and industrial laminate in the living room and dining room.

Our current house has hardwood throughout the kitchen/hallways/dining/living rooms. Hardwood is NOT young kid friendly and at this point I would love to have my old flooring back. Kitchen it the worst. Every dropped knife, bowl, spoon, cup causes dents in the flooring.

[JAD]

I've done a six figure remodel, a twenty k set of touch ups, and we're trying to decide if we like this place enough to dump thirty on it. I don't know which end of the nail to put the screwdriver in, but I write checks like a mofo. I also made two years' salary on the last house, so not so bad at cashing checks either.

Wood everywhere. Including the kitchen. Tile is tolerated in the southwest but you're not there -- wood is warm and easy on joints. Not engineered wood and not laminate -- good wood that looks good. Huuuge resale value and eye grabbing to buyers.

[Luke]

My parents place has tile in the kitchen and they hate it. If you drop anything like a plate or pan or even a heavy type cup (coffee cup?) it cracks.

[JTQ]

Buddy of mine just put down bamboo hardwood flooring and it looks really nice.
I don't know a lot about bamboo, but I've followed the subject somewhat as I think the idea has a lot good behind it as it is a fast growing product and is pretty durable. However, there has been a awful lot on this product in the news dealing with toxic chemicals (glues mostly) used in the production of the product, and since I suspect most bamboo comes from China, I'd be very leery of it and make sure I researched it thoroughly before using it.

[Dagga Boy]

Plan on finding all the shortcuts the builder took, and fixing them. Every time I have done this, a bunch of shortcuts were found. It can get costly to fix and do it right.

The only other thing.....when it comes to the bathroom, go fricking HUGE on the shower. I gave up some room on my side of the bathroom for my "shower room". Best thing I ever did.

[Drang]

am going to be buying a house and it will require a complete kitchen replacement and need to replace all the floors (currently carpet) on two floors.

I want to put laminate upstairs and tile on the first floor and kitchen.

What are your experiences and opinions as to best way to go about it. Experiences on tile vs hardwood vs laminate, etc.

What things would you have done if you could do it again?

Ill also be replacing some doors and most windows so security will be something I will be considering.
We've remodeled baths and kitchens in two houses. In both cases we opted to have a contractor do the work, as "all thumbs" would be an improvement when it comes to home handyman stuff for me. One of the big home remodeling outfits here in the Seattle-Tacoma Metro area is set up so they come in and take measurements, run up their design, you pay them a third, and they tell you a date they'll start. In the meantime they make the cabinets and countertops, and either you or they acquire all other items. (Appliances, flooring, etc.) When The Day comes, they show up and you pay them another third. The guy(s) assigned to do that job then work only on that job until it is done; in both cases for us, the work was done in two weeks.
The initial estimate, and the first two payments, are deliberately "padded" to cover unforeseen contingencies such as, for example, they rip out the wall in the bathroom to install a new shower surround, and discover that the framing is rotted and needs replacement. So that final payment will likely be much lower than expected, and you'll have money left over from the loan you'll probably be taking out to pay for the work...

Laminate in the kitchen and baths. (Tile should be OK in the bathroom, if you don't mind cleaning grout.) Hardwood elsewhere, looks great, but needs some maintenance.

On the last one we made some choices on appliances that turned out not so hot. Hard to predict that one.

One window contractor tried to tell us that we "had" to get triple-pane windows, definitely not needed for either code or the local climate, and also tried to tell us that code required that at least one window in every bedroom had to have it's sill no more than 32" (or was it 36"?) from the floor. (Which, at the time, was going to be code for new construction later that year.)

So if you hire the work done, definitely do your research and get a variety of bids. I ass-you-me that a policeman does not need the advice on security.

One thing we learned the hard way is that sometimes there's a natural order that work should be done in; I wish we had had the electrical work done first, before the roof, for example, because in order to bring the electrical up to code, some roof work was necessary, and the roofing contractor had to come back and clean it up.

Concur with the advice that, if you're having any electrical (or plumbing) work done, consider having the entire house re-done. I let the electrician talk me out of running Cat 5 throughout the house, wish I now wish I hadn't. (Actually, he had me convinced that it would be easy to DIY.)

[voodoo_man]

Thanks again guys. One of my coworkers moonlights as an electrician, so Ill get him to check it out. I was going to run cat5 cables for a few things but more so just create a guide for the rooms for when I want to do more.

I think ill end up doing the kitchen myself and hire someone to tile it. Kitchen install isnt hard im pretty handy.

Bathroom isnt going to be touched other than a new vanity or two and maybe some decorative tiles for accents.

I know one tub either needs to be replaced or refinished so Ill outsource that.

[UNK]

I am trying to figure out why you need to run computer cable? Everything Is wireless and Bluetooth now. And Cat 5 isn't the fastest any more.


Thanks again guys. One of my coworkers moonlights as an electrician, so Ill get him to check it out. I was going to run cat5 cables for a few things but more so just create a guide for the rooms for when I want to do more.

I think ill end up doing the kitchen myself and hire someone to tile it. Kitchen install isnt hard im pretty handy.

Bathroom isnt going to be touched other than a new vanity or two and maybe some decorative tiles for accents.

I know one tub either needs to be replaced or refinished so Ill outsource that.

[voodoo_man]

I am trying to figure out why you need to run computer cable? Everything Is wireless and Bluetooth now. And Cat 5 isn't the fastest any more.

Easy answer is I'd like to be able to have a wifi router above ground, somewhere in the center of the house and I'll have my desktop in the basement which will be below ground, running a cat-6a would be pretty easy with the floors removed for that - I don't wifi my desktop for security / connectivity reasons.

Furthermore having recessed outlet plates that can allow me to run whatever wire I need through it to another outlet plate may be an easy setup early on, especially if many internet-ready items can still be connected via cat cable.

[UNK]

I'm not sure I follow on the outlet plate but I will say if you plan to run something later on then install a pull string. Some sort of light nylon string, in the trades called jet line.


Easy answer is I'd like to be able to have a wifi router above ground, somewhere in the center of the house and I'll have my desktop in the basement which will be below ground, running a cat-6a would be pretty easy with the floors removed for that - I don't wifi my desktop for security / connectivity reasons.

Furthermore having recessed outlet plates that can allow me to run whatever wire I need through it to another outlet plate may be an easy setup early on, especially if many internet-ready items can still be connected via cat cable.

[Chuck Haggard]

We put down bamboo "hardwood" flooring in most of the house, looks great, easy to care for, easy to get to cat and dog hair up. Did the install ourselves, lots of work but not technically tough to do skill wise

[Jim Watson]

In my new build of five years ago (replacement for the one that burned in The Incident) I went with good quality laminate in LR, DR, BR, tile in kitchen and baths.
I rented a place with hardwood in kitchen and bath and it was not holding up well.

I have helped friends with DIY laminate and it is not a hard job if the base is in good shape. This was in an older house built by the owner's parents and it was overbuilt and solid. Same folks did it in a cabin over a concrete slab. It looked nice until a water leak damaged a substantial area.

I also helped on DIY solid tongue and groove bamboo. Lots of work, but it is tough.

If I win the lottery, I will have an office with cork flooring like my agency's technical library. And radiant heat throughout.

[voodoo_man]

Update.

Closed on house this morning. Ripped down two walls and half he carpet. One of the walls is not load bearing and the other one has half metal beam installed and the other half is just wood but it is load bearing so half a wall is cheaper than a full wall (gives me about 15 more feet of open concept.

All windows need replacement. Any opinions and suggestions?

Two bathroom fans need to be replaced and both bathtubs need new controls and outlets, on top of that bathtubs will probably get resprayed.

[orionz06]

I worked on the engineering side of the window world for 18 months. Lemme know what your options are.

[NEPAKevin]

Re Bathroom Fans. We just did our bathroom and when I was looking to get one with more flow, I almost didn't notice that the super duper suction models have a larger outlet which would have required either replacing the hose and roof rent or using a reducer and hoping it didn't screw things up. Wound up finding one, Nutone IIRC, with a 4" outlet that still had over a hundred CFM. Also had a night light, which is nice feature.

[voodoo_man]

Re Bathroom Fans. We just did our bathroom and when I was looking to get one with more flow, I almost didn't notice that the super duper suction models have a larger outlet which would have required either replacing the hose and roof rent or using a reducer and hoping it didn't screw things up. Wound up finding one, Nutone IIRC, with a 4" outlet that still had over a hundred CFM. Also had a night light, which is nice feature.

Got a link?

There are two ceiling fans which I have top and bottom access, each one has a hose that runs in he attic to a vent.

[orionz06]

Can't go too big on a bathroom fan.

[voodoo_man]

Can't go too big on a bathroom fan.

Yeah, this is essentially my train of thought, I figure a silent one with some serious sucking power...maybe bluetooth or wifi?

[orionz06]

Yeah, this is essentially my train of thought, I figure a silent one with some serious sucking power...maybe bluetooth or wifi?

Requirements for wife or fan?


Sent from my Nokia 3310 using an owl

[voodoo_man]

Requirements for wife or fan?


Sent from my Nokia 3310 using an owl

Har Har

[Clusterfrack]

Congrats on the house! We're right in the middle of a massive remodel and are living like pioneers. It sucks, but will be awesome when it's done. You've had a ton of good advice so far, and I'll add a few comments here.

Kitchens can't be too big, and we found that no one but the dogs used the dining or living rooms. We combined kitchen, dining room, and living room into one giant eat-in kitchen.

Electric stoves--I hate them. If you can afford it, get duel fuel with a convection oven (gas cooktop, electric oven).

We switched to LED lighting throughout. There are a shit ton of options and it took me a while to find quality bulbs to fit various fixtures. I've got it figured out now, and it looks great. Let me know if you want suggestions.

[Alembic]

Windows, we did Anderson 400s, from the Home Despot, unfinished pine. We did one coat of stain and two of poly matches the trim. They have been in for 6 months now, zero issues. It was a mild winter in VT but insulating value seem good. Wood windows are nice and help resale, but modern vinyl window work great, are maintenance free, and are way cheaper. Casement design gives a much better weather seal vs. double hung or sliders, but the style of the house may dictate what makes sense.

On the bath fan you might look at a attic mounted fan which keeps the noise down, and allows you to use one fan for two bathrooms via duct work. More importantly make sure you install a timer. Without a timer you will invariably leave it on and blow your heat outside while running up your electric bill.

Find your bath fixtures at a whole sale plumbing supply store. They don't care if you just walk in and ask to look at the Moen or Delta catalog. Order and wait the 3-5 days vs big box plastic internal parts. I didn't take my own advice. We bought a few online, reputable ebay sellers, but they still may have been resale from home depot, or similar low tier offerings from name brand makers. Freguson's or FW Webb Company are good wholesalers who sell to the general public.

[voodoo_man]

Thanks for the info.

[SD]

Hey Voodoo, first I'm happy you purchased a money pit, now maybe you will sell off some of those nice looking toys you post in the gallery section. Myself currently on my second home. First one was a 1830s farmhouse in Western NY last updated in 1940s. lots of sweat equity we did ok selling it, only because i put to much expensive stuff into it. The current one is a 10 year old expensive piece of crap in Columbia GA. This one is getting some cosmetic upgrades and put back on the market. On the first house I wanted to level the kitchen and a small room we turned into a laundry to put ceramic tile down. Floor guy said kitchen was way to big and i would need to brace it to pour that much concrete. The laundry room was a go. Room 7.5' x14' when the pouring was done it was 3" deep floor turned out great, really quite down the washing machine. Bathroom fans broan will get noise after a year, try panasonic much better.

[Alembic]

Yep, money pit... You will learn to know, "The Joys of Home Ownership". But cut corners when you can, spend in other places, and if your neighborhood grows in value, you'll make money. If not, still way better than renting. The mortgage interest deduction is enough to justify it.

On windows, we did "off brand" Acorn windows in our place in Colorado. Just sold last summer, after 15 years at 9,000 ft. they were still great, zero issues. Alum clad, wood windows. Not as nice as Anderson, esp. the screens, but much lower cost.

Congrats on the home, just making it through the loan process is a major accomplishment, as much as it's a pain, I still think it's amazing someone will give you $100s of thousands of dollars if you promise to give them a few thousand a month. Private property is how America has created wealth and one of the backbones of America, in my simple minded, limited experience based opinion.

[BN]

Ferguson's

Al Bundy would say buy a Ferguson. :)

We just replaced all the wooden windows on the weather side of the house with vinyl. They had rotted out after 20 years.

[luckyman]

I worked on the engineering side of the window world for 18 months. Lemme know what your options are.

Please don't tell me it was at TRACO. :)

[orionz06]

Please don't tell me it was at TRACO. :)

No, but I did learn all about them. Or enough about them.


Sent from my Nokia 3310 using an owl

[voodoo_man]

Thanks again for the posts.

We have a good bit of work but we aren't cheaping out on anything...we saved a good bit so we can technically pay someone twice over to do all the work but we rather do a lot of it ourselves

[Alembic]

We just replaced all the wooden windows on the weather side of the house with vinyl. They had rotted out after 20 years.

Yep, vinal can be very nice esp. if you live in a humid climate. I think bathroom windows must be vinyl.

[NEPAKevin]

Got a link?

There are two ceiling fans which I have top and bottom access, each one has a hose that runs in he attic to a vent.

Can't find it on Home Depot (http://homedepot.com)'s website so it might be discontinued. FWIW, I got it when bath fans were the "special buy of the day (http://www.homedepot.com/SpecialBuy/SpecialBuyOfTheDay)" and just picked one that had the features and size I wanted. Main things I was looking for were more air flow than our old fan, 4' exhaust duct, 110v and a quiet fan. The night light and getting it half off price were nice bonuses.

ETA: We were doing a full remodel so size wasn't that important but if you are just swapping them out, you want one the same or smaller is usually easier to install for the obvious reasons.

[SD]

Is adding moister into the attic from the bathroom a good idea?Just because they sell a product means it right. OSB and moisture don't mix well.The vent is going to the outside correct?
Got a link?

There are two ceiling fans which I have top and bottom access, each one has a hose that runs in he attic to a vent.

[voodoo_man]

Is adding moister into the attic from the bathroom a good idea?Just because they sell a product means it right. OSB and moisture don't mix well.The vent is going to the outside correct?

Two bathroom fans have hoses which come out of each and directed to an outlet on either side of the attic. Also attic has vent fan which auto-turns on on a specific temp.

[NEPAKevin]

While I generally try to avoid cutting holes in my roof, for the bathroom exhaust, I did use something like this (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Broan-Roof-Cap-636/202191718) and good roof sealing cement on the top and side seams leaving the bottom open as a drain and have had no leaks in over ten years. In winter, you can see the steam almost pouring out.

ETA: The people who had the house before me just had the duct hose running to the soffit and coincidentally or not the sky light above it rotted out. Was not impressed to discover this. Truth be told, all their "custom made" skylights had some leaking and the money spent getting rid of them when we had a metal roof installed was worth every penny.

[voodoo_man]

Few updates.....

Just got all the windows in (10 total) and a sliding screen/patio door with the mini blinds built in, this is going to be fun...

Kitchen is on its way to being reinforced, cabinets will be delivered after windows/floors are done.

Experience tip: When you go to order a "wood look" porcelain tile plank from home depot or lowes, make sure they are all the same "shade" or "lot" number. Especially if you are ordering more than they have in that particular store and/or if they have to order from other stores.

I ordered about 70 boxes (about 3 pallets) of tiles for my first floor, they were all different shade numbers. This blows because the serial numbers are all the same but the shade colors can be off so drastically that they won't match. I had get a full refund from home depot and go over to lowes who could actually fill the entire order with the same shade number, or so they promised they could, delivery is in the next few days and I'll see what happens.

Had to buy hardiebacker boards for the first floor and reinforce the floor from the basement as it'll be getting at least twice the weight it normally had on it for the last 30 or so years.

On the bright side, the pergo floors look really good and the range hood my wife picked out is 900cfm for a 200sqft-ish kitchen, which should be cool.

Anyone have any insights or tips to security camera installs? I bought this Samsung 1080p 4 camera dvr (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GVT80U0/) and will be installing soon.

[NEPAKevin]

Anyone have any insights or tips to security camera installs? I bought this Samsung 1080p 4 camera dvr (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GVT80U0/) and will be installing soon.

For outside cameras, its a good idea to try to take into consideration how the sun can effect the cameras at various times of the year and avoid direct exposure as this can result in burning out a camera. The same is true for weather as its better to avoid having to defrost or knock icicles off a poorly located camera. Trial and error works, but its frustrating, sometimes dangerous and often expensive.

ETA: It also helps to have either a small portable monitor or I assume with the Wifi systems a tablet or smart phone, to aim the cameras so you get them just how you want them. If you ever have to install an old school camera that is manually focused, do it at night as he focus with the auto iris on low light works in daylight but not the other way around.
Don't expect much range from the IR lights in the camera. If you want more low light range, motion lights are cheap or they make IR light fixtures for that purpose.

[voodoo_man]

For outside cameras, its a good idea to try to take into consideration how the sun can effect the cameras at various times of the year and avoid direct exposure as this can result in burning out a camera. The same is true for weather as its better to avoid having to defrost or knock icicles off a poorly located camera. Trial and error works, but its frustrating, sometimes dangerous and often expensive.

ETA: It also helps to have either a small portable monitor or I assume with the Wifi systems a tablet or smart phone, to aim the cameras so you get them just how you want them. If you ever have to install an old school camera that is manually focused, do it at night as he focus with the auto iris on low light works in daylight but not the other way around.
Don't expect much range from the IR lights in the camera. If you want more low light range, motion lights are cheap or they make IR light fixtures for that purpose.

Yep I've gone through this before with other people's installs.

All cameras will be either covered by little weatherproofed housings or under the roof and out of direct sunlight.

I am considering putting up IR floods.

[voodoo_man]

yay updates...

tile plank wood look floors are down with a light/same colored grout, looks fantastic.

kitchen is going up now

finishing painting upstairs

going to start laminate floors upstairs today

had to run camera wires on top of plywood floors which will be covered by laminate floors - stapled the wires onto the plywood.

questions for people:

Whole house water filters - I thinking of getting this 3M system (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BRHWQSE) or this Aqua-Pure system (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009OIEG4/). Does anyone have any experience with this or this type of thing? I don't believe it needs it but I've seen these installed in several friends homes and they do not have any issues with water quality. I also ordered a digital water quality test meter (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009OIEG4) to check the quality at random spots in the house.

Water pipe warmers/heaters - in the winter time it gets cold here, easily under freezing so I'd like to get the pipes warm during that time - I saw at home depot some contact wrap AC powered heating elements - anyone use these? Recommendations?

Was considering putting together a "magic mirror" (https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/magic-mirror/) - anyone has one and could give their experience with it? The coding/software part isn't the difficult part, just wanted to know if its something that is actually use-able in the method it appears to be?

[DMF13]

I want to put laminate upstairs and tile on the first floor and kitchen.

What are your experiences and opinions as to best way to go about it. Experiences on tile vs hardwood vs laminate, etc.

What things would you have done if you could do it again?IMHO, tile is good for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and entryways. Wood, not laminate, for areas other than bedrooms, and carpet in the bedrooms. I would not want tile in places like a family room, or great room.

[voodoo_man]

IMHO, tile is good for kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and entryways. Wood, not laminate, for areas other than bedrooms, and carpet in the bedrooms. I would not want tile in places like a family room, or great room.

I just assume we are from different parts of the world...

Where I grew up and every place I have ever lived in before I moved out on my own we have always had tile everywhere and wood, now laminate, in the bedroom areas/hallways. Carpet is a very crappy western invention that people cling to. The former owners of this property had wall to wall carpet for nearly 2k sq ft. It smelled like death on top of dog shit. There was no way to get it out without removing the entirety of it, which was a seriously difficult pain in the ass.

Tile gives you a lot to work with and if you can find the look you want, it'll hold up much longer than any other flooring.

My wife is from southeastern europe and the first time she has ever seen carpet is in the US. She's never seen wood floor other than stores either, she has always lived with tile.

[voodoo_man]

yay updates...

Kitchen cabinets are installed, counter is installed, sink/fridge/range/dishwash are installed, contractors are going to start the backsplash soon and the range hood.

upstairs laminate is installed but we hit a problem because I ran the camera wires along the baseboard and during install one of the contractors must have snipped it, yay! Now I have to run a new wire through the wall in a different direction without taking up the laminate.

Wife is the slowest painter in history.

Re; window curtains - anyone have a modern solution for this? I really, really, don't want to buy some stupid shit. I have blackout curtains in my bedroom that are a holdover from my midnight working years, but my wife is dead set on removing them. I'd like a better solution that will appeal to both of us - one way mirror tint?

Re; rugs/area rugs - Wife went out and bought a massive 10 person kitchen table (no chairs...) which matches the kitchen cabinets as well as a big sectional L-shaped thing, and a large (70 inch) ottoman. I need two rugs to put the table on and to put between the couch and the TV cabinet. Both should be 7.5' x 8.5' ish in size or bigger - suggestions?

Re; Front motion sensing light - anyone have good experience they can recommend?

Other stuff: Finally got the Nest thermostat to start working and installed a Nest smoke/co2 detector thing. My current old router (6+ year old linksys jobby) needs updating I was thinking something new and exciting with all sorts of wires - recommendations from experience? Router will need to handle 5 phones, three tablets, a hardwired LAN, wifi DVR and be gigabit, also want phone control over it via app.

Re; concrete / basement finishing - I want to paint my basement walls with masonry paint to keep the water/mold/etc to a minimum. Also would like to paint basement concrete floors with a nice stain, maybe do a tile pattern with masking tape - do not want to finish it right this moment. Suggestions on either?

[Chuck Haggard]

The wife and I did almost our whole house in bamboo flooring, highly recommended.

https://www.calibamboo.com/bamboo-flooring.html

[voodoo_man]

The wife and I did almost our whole house in bamboo flooring, highly recommended.

https://www.calibamboo.com/bamboo-flooring.html

I looked into it, hell I looked into everything.

Close friend of my wife's has them upstairs in her home, and they've been a nightmare. Split randomly, break and bulge when stuff is dropped, she even had a room re-done professionally with the same floor thinking she did something wrong and it continued to happen. She got higher-end laminate (similar to the high end pergo we got from HD) and its been a breeze.

[Chuck Haggard]

I looked into it, hell I looked into everything.

Close friend of my wife's has them upstairs in her home, and they've been a nightmare. Split randomly, break and bulge when stuff is dropped, she even had a room re-done professionally with the same floor thinking she did something wrong and it continued to happen. She got higher-end laminate (similar to the high end pergo we got from HD) and its been a breeze.

We installed it ourselves, absolutely zero issues, and it has held up much better than the original refinished wood flooring (house is over 100 years old...), or any other wood flooring I've lived with in the past 50 years.

[Duces Tecum]

Two minor things. (1) If you put laminate upstairs, be sure to soundproof it. (2) Many times, firemen work skilled construction trades on their days off for reasonable prices.

[voodoo_man]

Two minor things. (1) If you put laminate upstairs, be sure to soundproof it. (2) Many times, firemen work skilled construction trades on their days off for reasonable prices.

We played down floor muffler padding. I stomped around for a bit while my wife was downstairs, couldn't head a thing.

[Drang]

Re; window curtains - anyone have a modern solution for this?
"Yes, dear, that looks just fine."
(Unless it's so hideous you puke thinking about it...)

Was there a specific issue, or are you just trying to get in touch with your inner interior decorator? NTTAWWT

[voodoo_man]

"Yes, dear, that looks just fine."
(Unless it's so hideous you puke thinking about it...)

Was there a specific issue, or are you just trying to get in touch with your inner interior decorator? NTTAWWT

Just trying to get a head of whatever my wife is going to do

[Poconnor]

Did you ever get the piper wrap heater? I asked my plumber about it for my house but he advised against it citing a fire risk

[voodoo_man]

Did you ever get the piper wrap heater? I asked my plumber about it for my house but he advised against it citing a fire risk

No. I am still looking at it though.

[JAD]

Plantation shutters. When properly done they feel like fortifications. Most durable and easiest to open and close.

[voodoo_man]

Floors done. Look good.

Kitchen is done mostly. Looks good.

One thing...the range hood duct is visible and I need to find a solution. I'm thinking a valance and some crown molding but am open to ideas....if people have any...


Also still trying to figure out basement solution. I don't want to do a drop ceiling but might have to...any opinions?

Also have ability to make a secure safe area, hidden type of thing. Anyone have experience with this?

[voodoo_man]

Moved.

Was a shit show, thankfully my buddies didn't mind too much.

Still setting stuff up and my wife left a few projects not finished on purpose.

One thing that started creeping up which we didn't notice was the water doesn't get really hot in either shower. I turned up the temp on the water heater to 120, it was at 100. I don't know what else to do either that open the walls and put an inline heater. Suggestions?

[LittleLebowski]

Moved.

Was a shit show, thankfully my buddies didn't mind too much.

Still setting stuff up and my wife left a few projects not finished on purpose.

One thing that started creeping up which we didn't notice was the water doesn't get really hot in either shower. I turned up the temp on the water heater to 120, it was at 100. I don't know what else to do either that open the walls and put an inline heater. Suggestions?

I always crank my water heater up all of the way, seems worth trying for you but Tom's suggestion is probably The Answer.

[Cookie Monster]

I always crank my water heater up all of the way, seems worth trying for you but Tom's suggestion is probably The Answer.

During our remodel, we did a shower. Had a plumber install the shower head/assembly. He plumbed it wrong, so I had to hit the backside of the shower to switch the hot/cold. During the process I found the system had a "I am a wuss, don't scald me" limiter/child safety thing on it. I had to turn that off so I am actually happy the plumber messed up.

Also, don't use a plumber that smokes a lot of weed.

[voodoo_man]

My contractors swapped both showers and that may the culprit. I gata mess with them...which I will do...both are now delta branded jobbies and seem to work well...will try...

[voodoo_man]

And fixed...

Looks like the contractors didn't set it correctly to allow the hottest water to be dispensed.

Google actually was the right way to go hahahahha, thanks Tom.

[UNK]

I don't know what you are trying to do with the basement ceiling but if you want access to that area I have a very good looking solution that uses strips of wood and drywall. Let me know I can get some photos if you are still in need of an answer.


Floors done. Look good.

Kitchen is done mostly. Looks good.

One thing...the range hood duct is visible and I need to find a solution. I'm thinking a valance and some crown molding but am open to ideas....if people have any...


Also still trying to figure out basement solution. I don't want to do a drop ceiling but might have to...any opinions?

Also have ability to make a secure safe area, hidden type of thing. Anyone have experience with this?

[voodoo_man]

I don't know what you are trying to do with the basement ceiling but if you want access to that area I have a very good looking solution that uses strips of wood and drywall. Let me know I can get some photos if you are still in need of an answer.

Vdm@vdmsr.com

[Lex Luthier]

Or, he could post them here. I always like seeing cool solutions to annoying problems. :cool:

As do I. Please do post 'em publicly, UNK!

[UNK]

OK I will post them here.


Or, he could post them here. I always like seeing cool solutions to annoying problems. :cool:


I didn't mean it in the douche-bro LMGTFY way, but rather that makes and models differ in how they are adjusted and if you know what you've got it's pretty easy to find he correct instructions via Google. :)


Vdm@vdmsr.com

[voodoo_man]

I didn't take it as such. I didn't install it so I didn't know what setting were set.

[Malamute]

One thing that started creeping up which we didn't notice was the water doesn't get really hot in either shower. I turned up the temp on the water heater to 120, it was at 100. I don't know what else to do either that open the walls and put an inline heater. Suggestions?

You may want to turn it up a bit more so long as it doesn't get scalding hot at any closer faucets.

If the pipes are exposed in their run, the foam tube pipe insulation may help some.

What Tom said. Most mixers are set pretty conservatively for temp mixture. If the sink faucets at each bathroom are acceptably hot, its the mixer valve on the shower. Nobody I set a shower up for was happy with the default setting.


ETA:OK, that was weird, you fixed it,...but the link that notified me of this didn't take me to the end, there was a page missing.

[UNK]

Here are the photos of examples for being able to access. 11257112581125911259112591125911260112611126211263 11265

[UNK]

two different methods. The stained wood is attached directly to firring strips which are attached to floor joists. This gives room for the drywall pieces. each stained piece is attached with screws and must be taken down to remove the drywall to have access.
The second painted method the pieces are nailed to the floor joists. The drywall is like a drop ceiling and removable. I moved one piece so you could see a gap. The only exception is when there is duct work in that cavity or you want to install a recessed light then one piece of wood must be screwed in. The grating hides a four foot fluorescent light fixture.
Notice the edges and ends of the stained pieces are cut on a table saw. This provides a much nicer appearance and is the only way I would do it now. you might want to consider using a clear tubing and water level method to shim if you are doing a whole basement. Joist, unless they are the manufactured type will not be even. The cut ends will hide a lot of this. but a basement is a big area.

[voodoo_man]

That looks good. My particular situation won't allow that to work as there is a large section of heating/cooling box pipe that is in the middle of the basement. On top of all that I need access to the wires since there are the AC lines/thermostat wires, cable and power lines as well as water lines. All of which I need access to and can't cover up with anything semi rigid.

I'm thinking a few nice canvas tarps would work well for what I need...maybe some moving blankets for sound deadening and insulation both sound and temp.

There is also a main water pipe type thing that runs into the street that is exposed into the basement. It's hanging off a few thin wire hangers that are connected to some of the floor supports. I'd like to build a shelf into the concrete wall to help support it so there isn't pressure on it - since if it breaks it'll flood my whole basement. Suggestions?

[UNK]

You box that in and the drywall it. Or you can do it with wood. You see the grating photo? At the end of the grating is a box that covers pipes I need to access. You just need to box it in then build panels that are attached to the box.
I think you need to post some photos.


That looks good. My particular situation won't allow that to work as there is a large section of heating/cooling box pipe that is in the middle of the basement. On top of all that I need access to the wires since there are the AC lines/thermostat wires, cable and power lines as well as water lines. All of which I need access to and can't cover up with anything semi rigid.

I'm thinking a few nice canvas tarps would work well for what I need...maybe some moving blankets for sound deadening and insulation both sound and temp.

There is also a main water pipe type thing that runs into the street that is exposed into the basement. It's hanging off a few thin wire hangers that are connected to some of the floor supports. I'd like to build a shelf into the concrete wall to help support it so there isn't pressure on it - since if it breaks it'll flood my whole basement. Suggestions?