If your local Home Depot/Lowes store has a rental department, go get yourself one of the big carpet cleaning machines, and a couple big carpet/floor fans. It won't cost much to rent them for a day or two.
I'm re-grouting the floor tiles in my living area at home. The grout is stained pretty much everywhere, and broken or crumbling in places, and has been since before I moved in. It hasn't gotten any worse since I've been here. Not knowing anything about tiling, would this be because the grout wasn't sealed properly? Or could it be an inferior grout? I'm just going to cut the bad bits out, scrub it all up and grout/seal over it. It's a large area and I'm going to sell this place soon, so I'm not looking for perfection.
How much bathroom is too much bathroom? I'm strongly considering re-doing my master bathroom and stealing some space from a all but empty 36x30 room/walk-in closet on the other side of the wall. The major concerns are (1) that the bathroom can only be expanded lengthwise as an exterior wall and a hallway restrict its width. (2) Part of my plan involves either deleting the door from the master bedroom or having that door lead right to a whirlpool tub. Right now the room is roughly 9x16 w/ a 6'x3' tiled shower/steam closet, and a 5'x3' depth closet eating up space. The closet is useless to me as I store toiletries and cleaning products in it but not any linen. What I want to install is a larger body jet shower stall (8'x6') and a whirlpool tub which if it lays out the way I think it will, equals about 24' feet of bathroom space lengthwise. multi-jet stall
I'm not sure if anyone here is experienced with this kind of work, but I thought I'd throw it out there and see: I'm looking to have a window installed in my basement where there currently is no window. Aside from excavating the dirt in the area and cutting the concrete, I also need to install a standpipe that drains to the weeping tile. Any idea how difficult this would be? If it'd be too difficult for me to do myself, do you guys have any idea how much this would cost to have someone come in to do it? Of course, if needed, I'd bring in a professional--for the work and the quote--but I'm currently at the 'is this financially possible' stage so far, so just looking for general ideas. I guess my main question is whether or not the standpipe would have to tie in to the weeping tile itself, or if the standpipe can just end at the weeping tile. It'd be really easy to auger down to the weeping tile and just put in a pipe, but if I have to actually attach it to the weeping tile, it's more work than I'd be willing to do myself. Thanks guys.
Mounting a ceiling fan to a beam/solid ceiling Just bought the condo and the first thing we want to do is put up ceiling fans in the bedroom, living room, and kitchen. Problem is, I can't get up into the ceiling to mount it between joists or anything, as my ceiling is someone else's floor. With the ceiling, I've got about 3.5 inches worth of wood to mount to before I start getting into the floor of the condo above me. For the fan mount in my bedroom and the kitchen, that's my only option. In the living room, I've got a huge beam (probably 1' wide by 16" deep) that I'd like to mount to. 1st Question: Having done some brief research, I discovered that there are beam mount fan boxes that I could use. Apparently, the only downside is that they are not recessed into the ceiling like a pancake box, so there will be a gap between the ceiling and the fan housing. This doesn't bother me at all. Does anyone have any experience mounting a fan to a beam or solid ceiling? Are there any better alternatives? In each space, there's a light that I'm getting rid of and using the existing wiring to run to the fan. However, in the living room, the light is relatively far away (about 5 feet) from where I want to mount the fan. I was planning on removing the light and replacing it with a junction box, then running a new electric line from the junction box through a conduit that will be mounted in the space where the beam meets the ceiling and then down the side of the beam with a couple 90ยบ pieces, hooking into the fan box. 2nd Question: Does my idea for wiring up the living room fan sound alright? 3rd Question: Does any of this make sense without a picture?
Is there any reason to spend money on nice tool chests (i.e. a $50 model vs. a $200 for a similar capacity/seemingly similar design)? All I need is a simple bench chest so I can easily keep the myriad hand tools I use often in one place and not all over. Same goes for little organizers to hold little parts (i.e. springs and pins and 6x40 screws, etc).
It depends on what you are using the tool chest for. If you are a professional mechanic and you are moving the box all day long and constantly opening and closing the box, then you are going to want something that will hold up for years. If you are a homeowner, the box stays in one place and is going to be opened once a week, then get the cheapest box that will do the job you need it to do. Just my opinion.
Also, what are you going to put in it? If you're going to load up a couple of drawers with heavy items then it might be worth it to get the ball bearing drawers.
We're planning on doing some renovations to my fraternity's house - kitchen floor and possibly cabinets/countertops, and living room carpet. What type of flooring would you suggest? It sees a lot of traffic, abuse, and spills. Right now there is some pergo in the entryway, which has surprised me with how well it's held up. Especially in the winter, where it is almost always soaked in slush/salt/snow. There is some swelling at some joints, but not nearly as bad as I'd expect considering it's been there 6-7 years. Not sure how I feel about linoleum. That's what we've got now, and it is horribly dirty. The washer/dryer closet is attached to the kitchen, and moving the washer rips up the floor. Same thing with moving the fridge. I don't know if there's stronger/better linoleum type flooring that would work or not. Cost really isn't a huge factor. The owner pays for materials, we provide the labor. For the living room, I don't know if I want to keep it carpet or not. I've never done carpet before, any tips? It's just a rectangle, so fairly easy. Hell, if we do carpet I might just have it installed. Thanks for any suggestions/advice
Hand tools. Rasps, files, screwdrivers, chisels, pliers, small hammers, etc. Nothing too heavy, but a pile of metal anyways.
I have a cheaper box without ball-bearing drawers. The only issue with drawers that I ever have is the one deep drawer that has like 8 sets of sockets and a bunch of socket wrenches and stuff. It opens and closes fairly easily, but it would be nicer with ball bearings because of all the weight in it. If you're not putting like 50lbs in any of the drawers, I don't think you'd need ball bearings.
Have it installed. Unless the following looks familiar for tools/materials, have it installed: Tack strips Carpet stretcher Carpet kicker Carpet seaming iron Carpet seaming tape Stair tool No? Yeah, have that shit installed. By the time you rent all of this equipment you could have paid someone to do it and not had much of a hassle at all with them doing it twice as fast. Lowes has about the cheapest installation prices around.
Call me crazy, but I say build your own. Not sure how big you're talking, but if it's like a 3-4 drawer topper on a 2-piece tool box, that's what I'd do. I've seen your woodworking skills in the guns/ammo thread, and unless you're in a real rush, I don't see building your own wooden one as being much of an issue for you. You can pick up some quality drawer hardware for cheap, and pick/choose your poison for wood and stain. Something like this: One of my prized possessions is my Grandfather's wooden tool chest that he made himself. It's stained walnut, cut at his own saw mill he ran, and has no drawer hardware. It's lined with a fine (now very well worn) green velvet cloth, and is a treasure. Not saying I don't lust after my dad's top-end Snap-On rollers (ex aircraft maintenance engineer), but that wooden one is at the top of the list. Failing that, cruise Craigslist... there are a ton of mechanics (and complete shops) unloading stuff for cheap. Also, the older Sears/Mastercraft stuff that you can find in estate sales and the like are top quality, and usually go for cheap. Otherwise, just hit up your local Harbor Freight dealer for the typical piece of shit that'll fall apart in a couple of years.
Installing carpet is not something you can do on the fly, and not something you can self-teach without paying the price at least once (unless you loose-lay the carpet, and I highly NOT reccomend it unless the room sees harldy ANY traffic). It's worth is to get somebody who knows what they're doing. However, LAMINATE you can lay yourself, it's very strong, and you can get it for cheap. If you can't afford an installer, you could rip up the flooring and put that dow. (DO NOT FORGET UNDERLAY for either carpet OR laminate). Carpet installers are many and you can find fly-by-nights in the phonebook or on the net easily. They'll have a base rate, or charge anywhere from $0.60-$1.00 per sq. ft. installed.
So it was obvious this past winter that there were some drafts and leaky areas in the basement of my house (first winter here) but I just couldn't find them. Now there are some spots where water is very obviously leaking in- a tiny amount, but it still is. Would jamming the nozzle of a can of Great Stuff (Big Gap) into a crack and letting 'er rip until foam starts flowing out be an okay temporary solution? I've already got a can sitting around...
If it's a window pane use the small filler instead. Big Gap will leave a monstrous fucking mess, and that stuff is NOT fun to remove once it's unleashed.
I use it to fill gaps in factory riflestocks... I have learned the hard way how messy that shit can get.
I started working for a custom home builder a couple of months ago after selling cars for five years. I have mostly been borrowing a friends tools but recently started buying my own. My favorite purchase so far is a Makita 10.7v drill and impact driver set. I picked them up for about 180. The battery life obviously isn't as good as an 18v but for installing door hinges, bathroom hardware or anything besides building a deck they are great. Small enough to fit in your pocket but can put 3" screws through pressure treated lumber. I highly recommend them if you do things in tight spaces or don't need a fullsize drill all day.
Im at the tail end of a major reno, this is the kitchen before and after, I'm pretty happy with the results. Shortly after the before photo was taken that whole rear wall fell down Laurel and Hardy style. Was a bad day that one. Edit: What do you think of my sideways doors/windows?