What is your next home improvement/repair project?

[waggy]

If you do it yourself and build out of treated pine it shouldn't be too bad, if you want composites or some sort of fancy wood it could really get expensive ....

yeah im going to get treated pine (one of the lumber yards has "kits" to do it).


We thought about a replacing the wood burning stove with pellet stove to help on heating. but the cost might be out of what we are planning for the basement. heating is only about 100 a month anyway.

 

[LookBehindYou]

I'd like to replace the carpeting and hardwood in the house. Even though its only 3 years old, I hate, HATE, berber carpet. I also don't like the pergo floors in the kitchen/living room. Would love a lighter colored hardwood.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Replacing our crappy concrete driveway with a nice new exposed aggregate one.

 

[SearchMaster]

Not home improvement, but I'm going to work on my boat dock this weekend. The previous cables that led to the winch to raise and lower the anchoring poles had rusted away. Now with the water down I should be able to run new my new cables and be able to raise the dock again.

Having it immovable actually causes the ramp to warp a bit - nothing structurally unsound but it highlighted that I needed to move the dock a couple of feet, which I couldn't previously do.

 

[Quasmo]

Bought a home last July, been working on it since. Next project is adding storage to the attic and garage. There is none currently.

 

[highland145]

Replacing our crappy concrete driveway with a nice new exposed aggregate one.

The drive is on my wish list but she's getting the kitchen 1st.

Bought a home last July, been working on it since. Next project is adding storage to the attic and garage. There is none currently.

Make sure you're not compromising your insulation for space. Depending on where you live, R30 or better.

 

[MotionMan]

I would love a new driveway. When we bought the house, we spent a couple months having work done (mostly cosmetic - every surface was painted, installed some hardwood floors, etc.). One of the workers hit a cinderblock wall next to the garage requiring it to be replaced. Apparently, when it was replaced, wet concrete was spilled on the driveway, was not cleaned up well and, by the time I saw it, it was set and no one would accept responsibility (another long story)

So, for 4+ years we have this crappy asphalt driveway with concrete stains on it.

Unfortunately, to replace it would be pretty expensive and not high on the priority list.

MotionMan

 

[Red Squirrel]

Weeping tiles / basement wall seal. I got some leakage last summer after a big rain storm. So there is issues with the walls. I'm either going to get it done professionally which will cost over 13k. Or I might rent the equipment and do it myself. The job itself is not hard, it's the digging that is. I was going to do it by shovel but realistically, that's just insane, especially when it's hot out, and when it's winter, the ground is frozen.

Once that's out of the way, a few other projects on my list:

- Do an air leak check in my house and fix any issues... it gets cold really fast so I have a feeling there are some drafts, need to find where and attack those areas. Thermal image scan is something I want to do too, I might even have walls with zero insulation. I doubt it, but I wont know until I check.

- Server room: Basically just put up the walls around it and also build up the hvac system. I will have a custom water cooled system that just circulates water through a radiator and that water will be circulated throughout the crawlspace. I will use a cold/hot isle approach where the hot air gets sucked through the rad and then gets pushed out to the front. I don't really have that much equipment, but I want to have the capacity for it.

- Garage: Finish the walls, insulate it, drywall etc and put tons of power outlets everywhere. I also want to run a 100 amp sub panel there. In fact I may even run a 200 amp. I only have 100 amp service but at least I'll have the capacity if ever I upgrade. I eventually want to make the garage a shop. I may even add a door so I can access it from inside the house. Not sure why that was not done when it was built.

- Radiant heat for the main floor. Though I want to do the air leak / thermal imaging first because if I find a big issue, maybe fixing that alone will make it so it's not so cold there.

- Office closet: Build shelves/storage unit. Overall I want to organize myself way better than I am now. Right now I have stuff all over the place.

Probably lot of other minor projects as I think of em. The problem is money and time.

My priority is the weeping tiles though. No point in doing any other projects if I have a wet basement.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Can we stop recommending fiberglass batts for attic insulation? I spent days upon days laying this shit in my attic to insulate my house better. I'd leave the attic sweating like a pig and itchy as hell. One day I went back up there and said to hell with this. I wasnt laying one more fiberglass batt in the attic. I hooked the trailer up to the truck and went to Lowe's and bought 30 bags cellulose blown in insulation to finish the job. They let me rent the blower for free since I bought at least 20 bags. I did the rest of the house in about 7 hours. I have no idea why I punished myself for days on end contorting into a fucking pretzel trying to fit fiberglass batts in places.

 

[MotionMan]

Can we stop recommending fiberglass batts for attic insulation? I spent days upon days laying this shit in my attic to insulate my house better. I'd leave the attic sweating like a pig and itchy as hell. One day I went back up there and said to hell with this. I wasnt laying one more fiberglass batt in the attic. I hooked the trailer up to the truck and went to Lowe's and bought 30 bags cellulose blown in insulation to finish the job. They let me rent the blower for free since I bought at least 20 bags. I did the rest of the house in about 7 hours. I have no idea why I punished myself for days on end contorting into a fucking pretzel trying to fit fiberglass batts in places.

I would love to install that expanding foam stuff Homes on Homes always uses.

MotionMan

 

[Squisher]

Drop ceiling in the basement.

I think I'm going to go with this panel

 

[vi edit]

Weeping tiles / basement wall seal. I got some leakage last summer after a big rain storm. So there is issues with the walls. I'm either going to get it done professionally which will cost over 13k. Or I might rent the equipment and do it myself. The job itself is not hard, it's the digging that is. I was going to do it by shovel but realistically, that's just insane, especially when it's hot out, and when it's winter, the ground is frozen.

Silly question, but have you checked your downspouts and gutters? Are you able to move water away from the house effectively?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I would love to install that expanding foam stuff Homes on Homes always uses.

MotionMan

That's expensive. I had a neighbor buy a new house with that in there and it was amazing. It was summer in Texas and the attic was nice and cool. I couldn't believe it.

I spent maybe $500 to add the blown in and fiberglass batts insulation to my house total.

 

[MotionMan]

That's expensive. I had a neighbor buy a new house with that in there and it was amazing. It was summer in Texas and the attic was nice and cool. I couldn't believe it.

I spent maybe $500 to add the blown in and fiberglass batts insulation to my house total.

I am sure it is really expensive. Everything Holmes uses looks like it is the Rolls Royce of whatever it is. The color-coded flex water pipes they use look so awesome, but they must cost ten times what normal plumbing runs. His electrician must also make a killing from that show.

MotionMan

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I am sure it is really expensive. Everything Holmes uses looks like it is the Rolls Royce of whatever it is. The color-coded flex water pipes they use look so awesome, but they must cost ten times what normal plumbing runs. His electrician must also make a killing from that show.

MotionMan

I think what you're talking about (plumbing) is pex. It's actually way cheaper than copper which is why it's used so much. It's supposed to have 50 year life where copper has 30 year life. To me copper is the way to go if possible. It's a proven commodity. But say the plumber wants $5000 to do it in pex vs $12,000 for copper I'm going pex.

 

[MotionMan]

I think what you're talking about (plumbing) is pex. It's actually way cheaper than copper which is why it's used so much. It's supposed to have 50 year life where copper has 30 year life. To me copper is the way to go if possible. It's a proven commodity. But say the plumber wants $5000 to do it in pex vs $12,000 for copper I'm going pex.

Really? It looks so awesome.

MotionMan

 

[Red Squirrel]

Silly question, but have you checked your downspouts and gutters? Are you able to move water away from the house effectively?

The slope does need a bit of work but it's not bad and the downspouts do lead away. But with proper weeping tile and basement wall setup, I should be able to empty a fire truck against the house and not have it leak, so while sloping away from the house is good, it's not the #1 solution. It's inevitable that in spring when snow creates a dam, and during big rains storms, that lot of water will accumulate no matter how slopped it is.

A proper basement should be built like an inverted pool. :biggrin: You still need good drainage and try to minimize the water going to the wall of course, but that's the second defense.

 

[vi edit]

I think what you're talking about (plumbing) is pex. It's actually way cheaper than copper which is why it's used so much. It's supposed to have 50 year life where copper has 30 year life. To me copper is the way to go if possible. It's a proven commodity. But say the plumber wants $5000 to do it in pex vs $12,000 for copper I'm going pex.

I had PEX run in my house and it really didn't save me much. The fittings are a lot more expensive than copper ones that brought the cost much more in parity.

Where PEX really makes up ground in cost is that just about anyone remotely handy can work with it and run their own. It's very easy to install and is a serious threat to the old copper plumbing way of doing things. It's no longer "skilled" trade to install it.

 

[paperfist]

I had PEX run in my house and it really didn't save me much. The fittings are a lot more expensive than copper ones that brought the cost much more in parity.

Where PEX really makes up ground in cost is that just about anyone remotely handy can work with it and run their own. It's very easy to install and is a serious threat to the old copper plumbing way of doing things. It's no longer "skilled" trade to install it.

There's another version of PEX called Shark Bites/Gator Bites which is suppose to be cheaper.

I would love a new driveway. When we bought the house, we spent a couple months having work done (mostly cosmetic - every surface was painted, installed some hardwood floors, etc.). One of the workers hit a cinderblock wall next to the garage requiring it to be replaced. Apparently, when it was replaced, wet concrete was spilled on the driveway, was not cleaned up well and, by the time I saw it, it was set and no one would accept responsibility (another long story)

So, for 4+ years we have this crappy asphalt driveway with concrete stains on it.

Unfortunately, to replace it would be pretty expensive and not high on the priority list.

MotionMan

ZEPP (Home Depot) makes a product called concrete remover that might help you out. I don't have a bottle near me so I'm not sure if it will damage the pavement.

 

[Chaotic42]

Probably insulation in my attic. Some places have almost none. I need to get to it before June or so.

 

[ussfletcher]

There's another version of PEX called Shark Bites/Gator Bites which is suppose to be cheaper.



ZEPP (Home Depot) makes a product called concrete remover that might help you out. I don't have a bottle near me so I'm not sure if it will damage the pavement.

muriatic acid.

 

[TrueBlueLS]

Gutting and completely rebuilding the bathroom in my basement is my 2012 project. The DIY job the previous owner did was horrendous. The bad part is that once I'm done with that, I know I will have to redo the ground level bathroom.

 

[paperfist]

Hey anyone doing landscaping?

I have a deep back yard, about 100' and last year I built a pressure treated lumber 'box' with some terrible angles to it going from 2' to 4' wide. It looks like ass. I'd like to redo it with stone, but it would be expensive. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Ha here's a shitty shot of my shitty landscaping box:

 

[Red Squirrel]

There's another version of PEX called Shark Bites/Gator Bites which is suppose to be cheaper.

Sharkbites are actually really expensive. Id you will be running lot of PEX you are better off coughing the 200 bucks for the crimper tool and use the crimp on fittings which are cheaper. Shark bites are great for quick fix projects where you don't have the tools though.

 

[iGas]

Really? It looks so awesome.

MotionMan

Who house is that?
It look like the copper main is way undersized, unless the area aren't that cold with little to no heat lost.