How'd you improve your home today?

[gorcorps]

Just curious if anybody wants a thread for the little projects we all do that might give people ideas. Maybe people post their own threads, but some projects aren't as big but still might be worth showing. We have a garden thread, so why not a home thread?

I've been on a kitchen organization kick lately. Today I made a magnetic spice rack on a cabinet door. Went to the craft store and found a large magnetic sheet, and found some tin containers. The containers were in the wedding department and were called "favor tins".

cabinet

supplies

magnet installed

finished

The magnet isn't very strong, so I have to be a little careful not to slam the cabinet door. If I did it again I'd probably go with velcro as it would hold on better. Still a good use of previously useless space.

 

[DrPizza]

I purchased some contractor packs of baseboard molding & molding around doors today. Then, I stared. And stared. I want to remove the doorway from the former dining room into my living room. I need some schooling on steel I or H beams. 12 foot span, one story house, the wall has a 4 1/2 foot wide doorway, roughly 3 1/2 feet of wall on either side of doorway. Presumed 2x6 header above doorway, 2x4 walls - originally the exterior walls of house before the living room addition. Wall supports the ceiling joists of former dining room (12'), and 2x6 roof rafters for the original roof above dining room. It does not support the rafters of the addition, except where the addition is tied in. Low ceilings - 7 foot, so a 12" wooden beam would drop too low. Steep learning curve ahead.

 

[shortylickens]

Yesterday I replaced a few outlets with modern version. Rectangle shape with built-in surge protection. Today I cleaned the bird house, put hooks on the strings and hung it up (hanged it up?)
Then I cleaned up some of my rusty tools and found a proper place for them in the garage.

This week I intend to take out all the hinge pins in the house, clean the dirty nasty graphite off them, and put some lithium grease in place.

 

[NutBucket]

Graphite is awesome because it is dry and doesn't attract dirt or moisture. If the hinges aren't noisy I would leave them be.

 

[pcgeek11]

Gutted the laundry room, paint, lay new flooring, install new electrical outlets / switches and a new washer for the wife.

 

[CA19100]

Installed those SnapPower nightlight covers on some outlets throughout the house, and they're actually really cool!

 

[gorcorps]

Installed those SnapPower nightlight covers on some outlets throughout the house, and they're actually really cool!

Never heard of them before, but that definitely seems useful.

 

[Charmonium]

Just curious if anybody wants a thread for the little projects we all do that might give people ideas. Maybe people post their own threads, but some projects aren't as big but still might be worth showing. We have a garden thread, so why not a home thread?

I've been on a kitchen organization kick lately. Today I made a magnetic spice rack on a cabinet door. Went to the craft store and found a large magnetic sheet, and found some tin containers. The containers were in the wedding department and were called "favor tins".

cabinet

supplies

magnet installed

finished

The magnet isn't very strong, so I have to be a little careful not to slam the cabinet door. If I did it again I'd probably go with velcro as it would hold on better. Still a good use of previously useless space.

Get some N45 rated neodymium magnets. Even very small ones can securely hold a tea tin although for heavier cans like soup, you'd need one of the larger ones. Also, having the magnets work directly against gravity is easier than if you put a shearing force on them. So to suspend a can from the top will require less force than to hold it securely from the side.

United Nuclear has a very nice selection of N45's for pretty good prices. Not sure they're the absolute best price but they're good. You just have to be careful not to crack them. They're not really fragile but if you have something slam into them, which tends to happen because they're so strong, they WILL crack.

Also note that the bigger ones, over say 1/2" square, are so powerful that you can easily injure yourself or someone else.

Back on topic though, I'm thinking about getting a second toilet installed. This is an old house with only one bathroom. It's fine right now since I'm the only one here. But at some point I expect that to change and a second toilet would be very useful. Especially in those situations where the primary gets clogged.

 

[gorcorps]

Get some N45 rated neodymium magnets. Even very small ones can securely hold a tea tin although for heavier cans like soup, you'd need one of the larger ones. Also, having the magnets work directly against gravity is easier than if you put a shearing force on them. So to suspend a can from the top will require less force than to hold it securely from the side.

United Nuclear has a very nice selection of N45's for pretty good prices. Not sure they're the absolute best price but they're good. You just have to be careful not to crack them. They're not really fragile but if you have something slam into them, which tends to happen because they're so strong, they WILL crack.

Also note that the bigger ones, over say 1/2" square, are so powerful that you can easily injure yourself or someone else.

I thought of it, but I wanted to stick the tins wherever I wanted. I could have put up a steel sheet on the cabinet and put some more powerful magnets on the tins themselves, but then they wouldn't sit flat as easily when I'm actually using them and I don't want to make a mess.

For this situation, Velcro really would have been the better option. As cool as magnets are, they aren't always the solution

 

[mizzou]

won't those go flying off if someone slams the door shut?

 

[spacejamz]

painted my kitchen cabinets using the rusteleoum Cabinet transformation kit...also added new cabinet/drawer pulls and the soft door closers

Before:

After:

 

[MustISO]

Wow, cabinets came out great. Much nicer color IMO. Pulls make them more modern looking.

 

[gorcorps]

painted my kitchen cabinets using the rusteleoum Cabinet transformation kit...also added new cabinet/drawer pulls and the soft door closers

Before:

After:

Wow, cabinets came out great. Much nicer color IMO. Pulls make them more modern looking.

Agreed. They look nice... I have similar starting cabinet color and now am curious how the kitchen would look painted like this.

 

[gorcorps]

won't those go flying off if someone slams the door shut?

Yes, if you slam it shut. But nobody should be slamming those doors so if they do, we have other issues =P

But yes, yet another reason that Velcro would have been a better choice.

 

[spacejamz]

The picture doesn't really do it justice...I still can't believe how much nicer it looks now...

Here is a link to the kit:

http://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-26...ations-Espresso/dp/B006Z6ADT6/ref=pd_sim_60_5

I would recommend just getting it at Home Depot (same price) so they can add the tint (you can pick from 24 different colors) on the spot..

Watch the video that comes with it and take your time...

Also, based on the reviews I read, I just put two coats of polyurethane instead of the top coat that comes with it...apparently some people had issues with it drying to fast...

 

[gorcorps]

The picture doesn't really do it justice...I still can't believe how much nicer it looks now...

Here is a link to the kit:

http://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-26...ations-Espresso/dp/B006Z6ADT6/ref=pd_sim_60_5

I would recommend just getting it at Home Depot (same price) so they can add the tint (you can pick from 24 different colors) on the spot..

Watch the video that comes with it and take your time...

Also, based on the reviews I read, I just put two coats of polyurethane instead of the top coat that comes with it...apparently some people had issues with it drying to fast...

What color did you get?

Also, what is that silver thing on the left side of the pics mounted under the cabinet?

edit: also, did you do the inside of the cabinets too?

 

[spacejamz]

What color did you get?

Also, what is that silver thing on the left side of the pics mounted under the cabinet?

edit: also, did you do the inside of the cabinets too?

I chose Espresso...

the silver thing is an auto paper towel dispenser....it rocks....

http://www.amazon.com/Innovia-WB2-159S-Automatic-Dispenser-Silver/dp/B008HDREZ6/ref=sr_1_1

not inside the cabinet but the backs of the doors...also painted the edges going into the cabinets as well...

 

[spacejamz]

I also put some LED accent lighting above the cabinets...

http://www.amazon.com/SUPERNIGHT-Waterproof-Flexible-300leds-Changing/dp/B00ASHP1CM?ie=UTF8

I drilled a hole above the cabinet over the microwave which has an outlet to run power for it (so you can't see wires at all for it....

you can see the lighting effects in my pics above...

 

[TechBoyJK]

I purchased some contractor packs of baseboard molding & molding around doors today. Then, I stared. And stared. I want to remove the doorway from the former dining room into my living room. I need some schooling on steel I or H beams. 12 foot span, one story house, the wall has a 4 1/2 foot wide doorway, roughly 3 1/2 feet of wall on either side of doorway. Presumed 2x6 header above doorway, 2x4 walls - originally the exterior walls of house before the living room addition. Wall supports the ceiling joists of former dining room (12'), and 2x6 roof rafters for the original roof above dining room. It does not support the rafters of the addition, except where the addition is tied in. Low ceilings - 7 foot, so a 12" wooden beam would drop too low. Steep learning curve ahead.

Have you drawn up plans to visualize everything yet? I know you see it in your head, but it's even harder for me to visualize.

 

[Charmonium]

As cool as magnets are, they aren't always the solution

Blasphemer!!!

 

[gorcorps]

I chose Espresso...

the silver thing is an auto paper towel dispenser....it rocks....

http://www.amazon.com/Innovia-WB2-159S-Automatic-Dispenser-Silver/dp/B008HDREZ6/ref=sr_1_1

not inside the cabinet but the backs of the doors...also painted the edges going into the cabinets as well...

Huh, I wondered what would warrant a paper towel dispenser being so expensive but I saw a video in the reviews and it's pretty slick. Not necessarily worth it for me still but that's cool.

 

[herm0016]

drpizza: make a drawing and I cN run the beam calcs. for you I just need the Sq feet of roof supported and local snow load specs with span.

we are working on a full Reno, gutted the kitchen and new wood flooring in about 1300 Sq feet. removed 2 walls (one structural). new island is 5 x 6 feet of reclaimed bowling ally wrapped in 1in thick walnut. working on the 100 year old iron for the railings and wrapping the new post and beam in Colorado blue stain ponderosa pine that I had custom milled. lots going on!

still working on the cabinet doors. we have done everything but build the cabinets ourselves.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[shortylickens]

Graphite is awesome because it is dry and doesn't attract dirt or moisture. If the hinges aren't noisy I would leave them be.

the hinges have graphite on them and they are noisy.
I dont know why. White grease seems to do a better job.




Today I mow the neighbors lawn.
Asshole went on vacation and never came back. Grass is so tall its collecting bugs and tiny neanderthals. For the sake of the street I need to do something.
Hopefully the embarrassment will shame him into either taking care of his household, or moving away for good. Either is fine with me.

 

[Homerboy]

the hinges have graphite on them and they are noisy.
I dont know why. White grease seems to do a better job.




Today I mow the neighbors lawn.
Asshole went on vacation and never came back. Grass is so tall its collecting bugs and tiny neanderthals. For the sake of the street I need to do something.
Hopefully the embarrassment will shame him into either taking care of his household, or moving away for good. Either is fine with me.

Does your city have a lawn ordinance of any sort? Grass can't be over X" or you get fined?

 

[slag]

Our front entryway faces west and there's a huge window over the door. It lets a lot of light in, but unfortunately, in the summer during the evening, it streams right in and blinds us when we are watching TV. Picked up some custom cut blinds at home depot and now it's so much better. Easy to close to block out the light and makes a huge difference.