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H110Hawk posted:Congrats on being always broke through the glory of home improvement. We cut the check for the last of our money on Friday. It will be nice not to be living in a construction zone.  The prior homeowners were here for 10-12 years and renovated a ton. But they did it cheaply. So all of the appliances were recent, but were low end junk (already replaced the laundry set, and refrigerator). I've got french doors going out the back that clearly don't seal properly in the top and bottom corners between the doors, and my adhesive-backed foam strips only can do so much there. Windows appear to be okay vinyl units as far as I can tell, but compared to my parents recently replaced ones they're nowhere near as nice. There's some fiberglass laid down over the bedroom ceilings in the attic in the joists that looks haphazardly there. Nothing in between the rafters. No idea what's in the walls. On hot days I don't turn the thermostat below 78 and that's enough to get it running drat near all the time. I don't even know if the A/C unit outside is even that good.
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Oct 19, 2016 19:34
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Pollyanna posted:The problem with that is that I don't have an alibi to fall back on when I'm asked what I did to try and fix the problem, which opens me up to having blame heaped on me. I feel safer having surefire backup when I say hey sorry, I've literally done what I can, you're gonna have to deal with it. Getting into E/N territory here, but it's a compromise. In fact, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the downstairs neighbor putting down rugs in *their* apartment will probably help with sound absorption more. Anyways though, all this is said to be supportive, not to give you a hard time. Good luck with whatever you do.
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Oct 19, 2016 19:48
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Sometimes apartments have a clause in the lease that tenants will cover a certain percentage of hardwood floors with a carpet, so he may not be completely blameless. If that's the case, I would recommend going to ikea for rugs, since they are so inexpensive, and using felt carpet pads underneath for really effective sound dampening. You could also try wearing a pair of crocs as your house slippers, since they are extremely spongy. If you keep food waste in a sealed can under the sink, your trash won't smell. But if you have your own apartment, a garbage can is definitely in order. Similarly, make sure you're rinsing out recycling before tossing that in its respective bin.
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Oct 20, 2016 16:59
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whalesteak posted:Sometimes apartments have a clause in the lease that tenants will cover a certain percentage of hardwood floors with a carpet, so he may not be completely blameless. If that's the case, I would recommend going to ikea for rugs, since they are so inexpensive, and using felt carpet pads underneath for really effective sound dampening. You could also try wearing a pair of crocs as your house slippers, since they are extremely spongy. I checked the lease, there's no such clause. I might get a cheap lovely rug anyway just to have one. And I thought slippers wouldn't actually help, since the issue is any amount of weight at all hitting the floor, and the slippers don't change that? I might as well try, though.
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Oct 20, 2016 17:14
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You would want slippers with padding. Don't get ones with rubber or plastic soles since that'll be just like wearing shoes around, you want the big fluffy kind so your feet don't hit the floor as hard.
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Oct 20, 2016 17:51
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i like nice words
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I'm with Slugworth here - I wouldn't spend any money on something I wasn't already planning on getting, like slippers. If you weren't going to buy a rug before, don't buy one now just because your neighbor complained to you about hearing you walk in your apartment. Your landlord should be responsible for soundproofing (within reason) units. I say within reason because if you were cranking your sub up to 10 and blasting music ridiculously loud then yeah, your downstairs neighbor is right to complain. But to complain about hearing you walking in your apartment? Tough poo poo, comes with renting. Does this same neighbor bitch about people cooking and smells coming out of those apartments too? Edit - holy poo poo didn't realize that post was a month old.
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Nov 21, 2016 18:31
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I lived in a WW2 era apartment in Queens for a few years and I really only had two noise issues: the kids in the apartment next door would bounce a basket ball against the wall that my couch was on. It would make stuff rattle. They would also bounce the ball in the hall against people's front doors. When I asked the father to do something about it he complained that they had no where to play. The other issue was the person above me with a piano. That was maddening.
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Nov 21, 2016 18:42
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So what did happen w the footsteps and the slippers and the downstairs neighbor?
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Nov 22, 2016 07:07
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So how difficult is tiling a tub/shower? The tv shows make it look easy but I know better than that. 60 year old house, I gutted and remodeled the bathroom but the framing around the tub is original. What I'm worried about is getting the cement board nice and flat, my understanding is flat goes a long way toward making tiling easier. I'm kinda surprised there isn't a foam product to go between studs and the cement board to compensate for minor variations.
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Nov 26, 2016 22:49
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wormil posted:So how difficult is tiling a tub/shower? The tv shows make it look easy but I know better than that. 60 year old house, I gutted and remodeled the bathroom but the framing around the tub is original. What I'm worried about is getting the cement board nice and flat, my understanding is flat goes a long way toward making tiling easier. I'm kinda surprised there isn't a foam product to go between studs and the cement board to compensate for minor variations. When I did tile jobs, green drywall went on the studs, got mudded and taped, and then cement board on that. We cut the cement board with a circ saw (outside) and vacuumed the edges, and vacuumed a lot inside before screwing anything down. Tile mastic was used to fill seams and touch up any gaps.
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Nov 27, 2016 00:56
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wormil posted:So how difficult is tiling a tub/shower? The tv shows make it look easy but I know better than that. 60 year old house, I gutted and remodeled the bathroom but the framing around the tub is original. What I'm worried about is getting the cement board nice and flat, my understanding is flat goes a long way toward making tiling easier. I'm kinda surprised there isn't a foam product to go between studs and the cement board to compensate for minor variations. Tiling a flat surface is 1% as hard as a not flat surface, yes. Foam would move causing grout to crack.
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Nov 27, 2016 00:59
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wormil posted:So how difficult is tiling a tub/shower? The tv shows make it look easy but I know better than that. 60 year old house, I gutted and remodeled the bathroom but the framing around the tub is original. What I'm worried about is getting the cement board nice and flat, my understanding is flat goes a long way toward making tiling easier. I'm kinda surprised there isn't a foam product to go between studs and the cement board to compensate for minor variations.
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Nov 27, 2016 01:18
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Looked through the last 5 pages and couldn't find a flooring thread. If there is a better thread for this, please point me in the right direction. My girlfriend and I are looking to replace the flooring for almost our entire house, since it is pretty much all 15 year old carpet that looks pretty lovely. The vinyl in the kitchen still looks great, so it's staying. We're currently looking at doing Pergo Outlast laminate for the first floor and stairs (~350 sq ft.) and carpet in the bedrooms/closets ( ~450 sq ft.). There is a landing at the top of the stairs that we are undecided about carpet or laminate. House Info: 2 stories, 1360 sq ft., 3 bed (all upstairs), 2 1/2 bath in Austin, Texas. Built in 1999. We're currently looking at installing the laminate ourselves, and having an installer do the carpet upstairs (super heavy/unwieldy furniture that we don't want to deal with, and Home Depot is offering free carpet installs currently). We've got a few random questions we were hoping some goons could help us out with. - Any recommendations on carpet brands/types? We have pets, so stain resistance/cleanability is important.Willing to go up to $3.50 /sq ft. - Pergo Outlast seems to have been the best reputation for sturdy water resistant laminate we can find. Anyone have any thoughts here? - What resale value considerations are there for carpet vs. laminate in specific areas. Could/should we just do laminate in the bedrooms too? - Anything else that we should be considering that we aren't? Thanks goons. Doom Rooster fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Nov 27, 2016 |
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Nov 27, 2016 16:38
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I've only used Armstrong laminate flooring and it has served me well. I even left a piece outside to see how it would hold up, better than you would expect. My only advice is do the whole floor at once in the same laminate. It's pretty easy to install.
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Nov 27, 2016 18:50
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It might be worth paying for a Consumer Reports website subscription, they have very detailed comparisons of different brands and types of flooring (they test resistance to foot traffic, scratches, dents, stains, and sunlight fading). This website has more details on the differences between Pergo types. You have two main choices for laminate flooring depending on what kind of resistance you care for: Pergo Max Premiere is thicker (12mm planks) so more durable against dents and impact damage. Pergo Outlast+ is thinner (10mm planks) but better sealed against stains and moisture. Personally I'd go with Max Premiere for the additional strength, since it is already rated as having excellent stain resistance.
Alereon fucked around with this message at 19:24 on Nov 27, 2016 |
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Nov 27, 2016 19:22
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Thanks for the info. That is a super useful link. That link is showing that both are 12mm though, it's the XP that is 10mm. Outlast+ and Max Premier have the same impact ratings, Outlast just has the better moisture protection, so I think that's what we're going to go with. Anyone have any thoughts/advice on carpet?
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Nov 28, 2016 17:43
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Don't get carpet.
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Nov 28, 2016 17:46
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Doom Rooster posted:That link is showing that both are 12mm though, it's the XP that is 10mm. Outlast+ and Max Premier have the same impact ratings, Outlast just has the better moisture protection, so I think that's what we're going to go with. Alereon fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Nov 28, 2016 |
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Nov 28, 2016 17:47
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Alereon posted:Outlast+ is 10mm of wood with 2mm of pre-attached underlayment, the Max Premiere is 12mm of wood without the pre-attached underlayment (you apply it yourself), so 2mm more wood for more durability. Either are fine choices though. Ahaaaa. That makes sense. We've got a cat with a hairball problem, so I think we'll opt for the improved moisture protection over impact protection. Thanks a ton. coathat posted:Don't get carpet. I hear you. See above about the cat though. Cleanup for laminate will be way easier than carpet. On top of that, while I know that the whole "buyers like carpet in bedrooms." maxim is pretty much gone, my girlfriend much prefers it for her own livability reasons. It's also way the hell cheaper/easier to install than laminate.
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Nov 28, 2016 18:01
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I put down pergo xp throughout most of my house this year...i guess if anything i'm not a fan of how much creaking i get from the flooring and wish it didn't have the underlayment attached because I would have used a higher quality and thicker underlayment if I had the option. I'm also not a huge fan of how cheap the transitions look and feel but they are made by a different company.
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Nov 28, 2016 20:13
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Our flooring got its first real chip yesterday. A sliver the size of a grain of rice. I don't think the baby has been dropping knives in the middle of the kitchen, but toddlers are unpredictable :/
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Nov 28, 2016 23:56
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I'm redoing my backyard. I want to do river rock along the narrow strip to the left of the walkway and mulch in the back along the garage. Where should my border be?
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Dec 1, 2016 15:23
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I want to find a two-seat (65~70" W) sofa for my small apartment, but most of the cheaper ones at IKEA aren't flatpacked, or are way too bulky to fit up my staircase (it's narrow). What kinds of sofas should I be looking for to alleviate this? Do sofas typically disassemble well, or are they just not the kind of furniture that moves well? It's easier for me to manage several smaller boxes than one large box, but it looks like most sofas are just one big block. Are sectionals a good choice to haul up a few floors? Or should I just give up and grab a couple of independent armchairs instead?
Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Dec 1, 2016 |
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Dec 1, 2016 15:53
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I have no idea if they're comfortable or durable, but the giant beanbag company "Lovesac" makes sectionals that come in mix n match pieces.
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Dec 1, 2016 19:21
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Seconding the sectional idea. My current couch is two sectional end pieces (a chaise lounge bit and a regular seat bit) and they're not much harder to move than an overstuffed arm chair. Have you hit up actual furniture stores yet? A high-quality (i.e. not from Walmart or something) futon may also work for you (seriously, there are some really nice ones out there if you go somewhere that doesn't cater to college kids).
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Dec 1, 2016 19:30
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Renovated a 30+ year old trailer we got handed down from family as a bare, mostly disassembled, metal frame. When taking time/materials into account I could probably have bought half a new trailer from what I've spent. But it was a pretty fun process, no regrets. 
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Dec 3, 2016 13:03
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We'll be making our own brick
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Dec 5, 2016 14:50
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Any thoughts on waterproofing products and bathtub/showers? It's your basic bathtub with shower, cement board walls. I taped all the seams and thinset over them. Then for good measure I applied Redguard over the seams and put several coats of waterproofing cloth and Redguard over and around the shower niche. Should the entire thing be roll brush with Redguard too? Seems like overkill to me considering it will be covered in thinset and tile. ??
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Dec 17, 2016 21:18
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I just finished my bathroom in entirety, I applied RedGuard to the entire shower surround for good measure and only used half of the medium sized bucket, but I had leakage and mold issues before hand, so I wasn't about to take any risks, hell, I even shellacked the studs first.
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Dec 20, 2016 06:16
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Yeah I ended up covering the whole thing, not like I had any other use for it. It took about 25% of a gallon for the shower niche, seams, and screw heads; and almost all the rest to do the walls. There is just a little left. I'm glad I doubled coated the seams and screws because rolling it on didn't leave a very thick coat. I'll get started on the tile over the holidays, gonna be plain white subway tile.
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Dec 21, 2016 04:38
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Not sure if this is really the place for it, but where's a place to get towels, bed sheets, etc., that isn't outrageously expensive?
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Jan 2, 2017 19:22
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10 Beers posted:Not sure if this is really the place for it, but where's a place to get towels, bed sheets, etc., that isn't outrageously expensive?
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Jan 2, 2017 19:40
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10 Beers posted:Not sure if this is really the place for it, but where's a place to get towels, bed sheets, etc., that isn't outrageously expensive? Ross, TJ Maxx, similar stores. Ours have lasted several years, I know because they are up for replacement. We have 3 sets of sheets which are changed every other week. They're the same stuff that the big department stores carry but at Target/Wal-Mart bargain prices.
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Jan 2, 2017 20:35
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Can anyone recommend a good how-to book for new homeowners? I'm looking for something that would have checklists with detailed instructions for things you should do right after taking ownership (eg changing locks), monthly, quarterly, yearly (eg cleaning refrigerator coils) as well as seasonally (eg how/when to flush external spigots). I'd rather not have to learn those things the hard way when lack of maintenance causes a problem.
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Jan 5, 2017 13:51
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wormil posted:Yeah I ended up covering the whole thing, not like I had any other use for it. It took about 25% of a gallon for the shower niche, seams, and screw heads; and almost all the rest to do the walls. There is just a little left. I'm glad I doubled coated the seams and screws because rolling it on didn't leave a very thick coat. I'll get started on the tile over the holidays, gonna be plain white subway tile. A bit late for this, but glad to hear you covered it all. Tile and thinset aren't a vapor barrier or even really waterproof when new and leak more as the grout ages and cracks. traditionally tar paper behind the thinset would act as the waterproofing layer. I recently did a bathroom using Kerdi membrane and while it worked ok I think for the next one I will just use the standard polyethylene over the studs covered with cement board. Also modern best practice seems to point toward no gypsum board(even green/blue/purple) anywhere in a shower/tub.
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Jan 6, 2017 03:17
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Bibendum posted:A bit late for this, but glad to hear you covered it all. Tile and thinset aren't a vapor barrier or even really waterproof when new and leak more as the grout ages and cracks. traditionally tar paper behind the thinset would act as the waterproofing layer. What was your problem with the Kerdi? I'm about to do a shower with it.
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Jan 6, 2017 05:03
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No particular problem, just pretty expensive and the requirement for unmodified thinset complicates things a bit. It was my first time really doing tile so i felt like it steepened the learning curve a bit. Also the corner pieces are thick and make getting a flat clean corner tricky. It will help if you have a partner to mix for you, I found that even mixing thin and doing small portions fast the thinset would be going off before I used it all and I found a few spots I had to clean and retry the next day.
Bibendum fucked around with this message at 06:08 on Jan 6, 2017 |
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Jan 6, 2017 06:05
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Are prefab bathrooms uncommon or just unkawaii? Our Toto shower & bath unit is amazing.
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Jan 6, 2017 06:33
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peanut posted:Are prefab bathrooms uncommon or just unkawaii? Our Toto shower & bath unit is amazing. I don't think we have those in the States, I had to Google it. Big bathrooms are the fashion here so they probably wouldn't sell.
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Jan 6, 2017 07:59
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wormil posted:I don't think we have those in the States, I had to Google it. Big bathrooms are the fashion here so they probably wouldn't sell. Shower + bath inserts are totally a thing here, but are most commonly seen in rapid construction tract homes/condos. They give you only one point to seriously leak (the drain) and are incredibly easy to install if you have level surfaces. Or based on the condo we rented for a while, not level surfaces. It made loud creaking and popping noises if you stood in one section.
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Jan 6, 2017 17:44
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