Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

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Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

stupid puma posted:

Along the same lines, what brand appliances should we go with? We're looking for a separate gas range and oven and probably want to go with the quietest dish washer on the market as our one right now is a loud nightmare. I don't want to go cheap but probably not 10k total for everything either. A bundle deal with a range, oven, dish washer, microwave, and refrigerator might be what we're looking for. Any recommendations?

Dishwasher, I can't recommend Bosch enough. I have an older of their mid-low end 500 series and it is fantastic, with two caveats that some people may consider dealbreakers. It doesn't have a garbage disposal, so if there are any very large chunks of something non-dissolvable, you'll have to empty the strainer after the cycle. Two, it doesn't have a heated dry-- it gets the water to ~160 then uses residual heat in the dishes and steel tub to air dry. If I do a load of almost entirely plastic, not enough heat is retained so some of the dishes come out a little wet and I have to wipe them off. That being said, every dish I put in, even if I'm not careful about positioning comes out clean, and I never pre-wash. Just a quick scrape into the trash.

Fridge, I have the older version of the whirlpool that sweethome likes: http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-refrigerator/. It's quiet, large, and I've had no problems. That fridge and dishwasher are probably ~2k together.

# ¿ May 9, 2016 23:08

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 21:22

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Thufir posted:

I own a house now. Painting cabinets: normal hassle or huge hassle? My wife wants to go from dark brown to off-white.

Depends on if the doors are paneled, and if so how much. I redid my kitchen cabinets and painting the cabinets themselves was easy, but I ended up throwing away the old doors and making new ones rather than sanding/priming/painting them.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2016 18:21

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Selachian posted:

Still hunting. I thought it might be the kitchen drains, so I treated them with bacterial digester. Also ordered a kitchen trash can with a tighter-fitting lid. Wife wants to check the pan under the fridge.

I haven't seen any signs of a wall leak. And we don't have a lot of house plants, so I don't think that's the source.

Do you have a bathroom with a tub/shower that is mostly unused? I had a problem one summer with flies/gnats breeding in my guest bath drain, since it was used less than a couple times a year, and ended up taping over it when it's not in use.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2017 05:58

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Spring Heeled Jack posted:

Real talk, how well do robot vacuums work these days? I would prefer not to spend $Roomba if there are cheaper alternatives.

We have hardwoods throughout the house and cat/dog hair just collects like crazy, I'm constantly swiffering/vacuuming.

I've had a roomba 650 for 2 years now and it's great, does everything I need-- I think it's under $300 now. I have two cats and a small human and it does a great job. It collects enough that I need to clean out the front wheel and brushes each time, so I have it scheduled just two days a week.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2017 19:01

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

kzersatz posted:

I'm currently caught between a rock and an expensive bill.

The long story short, is the wife and I plan on being ready to sell by June/July, I'm currently remodeling the kitchen with a complete rebuild.
I've got cabinets already ordered, tile already picked, but my main issue comes to this.
Do I tile all of the floor and install cabinets or install cabinets and then tile up to them?

I'm leaning towards installing cabinets and tiling up to them for a number of reasons.
Price (Again, selling in June/July)
Not wanting to fight with leveling out the cabinets / counter tops, etc.
It'll allow me to work on the back splash sooner, along with mineral oil soaking the counter tops.

Opinions?

tom seems to think flooring last is fine

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ask-toh/flooring-first-or-cabinets

Qwijib0 fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Nov 28, 2017

# ¿ Nov 28, 2017 21:03

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

cubicle gangster posted:

And here's the front. current on top - but that's actually wrong as there are no pavers where the car is parked. it's lovely gravel overgrown with weeds right now. We didnt think we'd like the full privacy option but kind of dig it. need to check our setbacks and see if we are allowed to put a fence that tall there.

I don't know what your neighborhood is like, but there are a few houses near me that have done this and it really starts to feel like a series a compounds-- and you lose connection with the street.

Some sort of mid option I think works better for everyone- I have a 4' or so high set of hedges that provide delineation of public/private space without totally blockading myself off from the neighborhood.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2018 18:15

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Anne Whateley posted:

I like open neighborhoods, but privacy fences let you swim naked (if you have a pool) or at least gently caress in the backyard, until drones get even more common anyway. A hard choice

I've got a 7' in the back so I have a private outdoor space-- and I think that cubicle gangster's back yard (outdoor room, really) looks neat. You can have both.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2018 15:11

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

alternate.eago posted:

They built townhouses so close to my property that the 10ft privacy fence I fought with the builders for a year to be put up feels like it�s not even there. Here is a pic from when I open my back door and look across my driveway.

3 stories that close? that's unfortunate.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2018 20:18

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

My go to is sketchup, their free version is web based now. It�s pretty straightforward with the added bonus of the 3D warehouse when you want to start adding furniture / fixtures

# ¿ May 2, 2018 04:44

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Jaded Burnout posted:

What's a prehung door?

Also this was supposed to be completed by an actual builder, well, see my renovation thread for why that isn't happening now.

Door that comes mounted with hinges with it to its own jamb.

# ¿ Jun 3, 2018 21:29

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Jaded Burnout posted:

You're gonna have to prune some tree branches though, if they're in your way. I hear there is an art to doing it without killing the tree but that's beyond my ken.

pruning is pretty easy with a grasp of the basics, here's pruning a crabapple tree, but the general theory holds for any tree really. Cut at splits, don't cut too close to the branch collar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09HZ7dp96H4

# ¿ Aug 26, 2018 22:31

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Southern Heel posted:

Looks like I can prune from November onwards. Gravel is possible but I have a greyhound who likes to sprint around like a nutter so that's probably a 'no' - am I stuck with paving or woodchip, in that case?

Do you have decomposed granite over there? Compacted, stabilized DG makes great paths and it's still permeable so it won't cause drainage issues like concrete would.

# ¿ Aug 26, 2018 22:33

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Jaded Burnout posted:

Looks to be quite rare here, or goes by another name.

based on a cursory look, might be called gravel chippings, or "self-binding" gravel.-- it's essentially a 1/4" minus mix meaning it also contains the fine dust from the processing to get it to 1/4" or smaller size. Found a couple references to 0-10mm which would be about the same with a few larger components.

# ¿ Aug 26, 2018 23:13

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Southern Heel posted:

The reason there's that weird diagonal fence is for human access to the garage (please ignore the trash, the garage is being renovated so everything's cleared out and overflowing from anywhere I can store things:

For the rear section, it's on a gradient - won't gravel just slide down and out onto the access road?

Here in Arizona DG (or, as it's probably called there, gravel chippings) is used all over for paths and driveways at various slopes. It holds together and drains well during our monsoons when we get half an inch of rain in 15 minutes so I think it would be fit for purpose if gravel-esque is the look you'd like to go with. Once compacted, it is quite stable.

Here's a pretty thorough article with way too much bolding but you get the idea.

http://technisoil.com/blog/how-to-build-natural-dg-pathways-like-a-pro-and-how-to-avoid-disaster/

# ¿ Aug 27, 2018 15:28

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

eddiewalker posted:

I�d like to air seal and insulate my whole house fan. Right now it�s just the kind of fan with metal louvres that don�t really seal.

It has 24� plywood walls built around the perimeter from when we had insulation blown in. I�m thinking about reinforcing those walls with a 2x2 around the top edge, and putting a ring of foam weather stripping around the top of that.

Then I�d top it with two hinged barn doors made of 1/4� Luan and XPS foam board.

I feel like the force of the fan should be enough to pop those doors up when the fan runs, and if I put on small chain tethers to stop them from flipping completely open, they should fall back shut.

Any critiques on this plan? My attic access hole is only 12�x18� so all materials have to fit through that.

the usual strategy for whole house fans is to just build a big box that sits over the whole opening and seals to the attic floor with some weatherstripping and weight on top. You'd just take it off in fan season and then put it back as part of summerizing/winterizing.

Your plan seems fine in theory, but I'm not sure they'd seal well enough if they're light enough to be blown open.

# ¿ Sep 12, 2018 00:10

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

eddiewalker posted:

Going into my attic sucks. Tiny access hole right at the edge, so it�s a real slither not to get cut up on roofing nails, then a hunt for joists to walk across under the r50.

I�m pretty motivated to make it �automatic,� but I guess if the fan can�t push the doors open, I could hang rope and pulleys I could raise and lower from the access hole.

alternatively, make them light, but use the rope to be able to pull them tight and tied down when you're not in fan season.

# ¿ Sep 12, 2018 00:27

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Pollyanna posted:

Some Roombas are on sale or something. Since this is the generic homekeeping thread, is there a particularly good option to get (especially for hardwood floors), or is the one on sale at Amazon good enough?

the 600 series continues to be the best bang for the buck-- if it's a fancier one it'll clean as well but you probably paid too much.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2018 00:45

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

tetrapyloctomy posted:

My Bosch dishwasher is amazingly quiet. I just wish it had heated drying.

if you're not already, run with sanitize so it gets to 160F, and that retained heat helps to evaporate the moisture from most things for me.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2018 15:56

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Jaded Burnout posted:

Miele, baby. Mine even opens the door a little after drying to let the moisture out.

I guess another continental difference is we largely got rid of warm water intakes years ago; all of them heat the water internally, so there�s no (need for a) sanitize option.

The US Bosch models also have internal water heaters-- code here requires a mixing valve on hot water to prevent scalds so they'd rarely see an input over 120F.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2018 20:01

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Godspeed on that project. I attempted to repaint mine once.

I gave up, bought wood, and made new kitchen cabinet doors.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2018 04:46

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

I have this one based on a wirecutter review and like it. Because it's basically a small evaporative cooler, it ends up self stabilizing near 50% RH and doesn't risk mist condensing on nearby surfaces.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002QAYJPO

# ¿ Dec 12, 2018 05:45

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Hubis posted:

How much of that is consumption-specific (i.e. how much of your peak production lines up with peak draw)? I work from home and so I'm actually around the house during peak production times. We live in a place hot enough that the HVAC is running pretty consistently during the day and I've been wondering how much of that could be offset by solar.

Most grid-tied system plans, even those without full net metering, only do a true-up at the end of the billing cycle-- so even if your peak load is in the evening you'll still have gotten the full value of the kWh produced during the day.

With demand metering you'd need to time your loads to match the sun-- doing things like pre-cooling the house for the evening in the middle of the day. That's where things like battery storage can help.

I've had solar on my roof for several years now, I'm in basically the best area for it, and I'm on track to break even in the 7 years I planned on-- it's a best case scenario.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2019 03:44

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

front loaders are also more gentle on clothes. As for the cat or child concerns, just look inside as you toss in the clothes? I have both and have never murdered either :shrug:

# ¿ Sep 9, 2019 21:28

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

dreesemonkey posted:

I've anecdotally read somewhere that architects can give you value and touches in a custom home that generic builder-plans may not offer.

It's not just that, architects will be able to non-dumbly solve issues that arise with siting the structure and conforming it to local codes in addition to making optional changes.

Additionally, if they don't have a builder in mind, a local architect will have connections to what are likely the better ones since they won't work with contractors who execute poorly.

# ¿ Sep 10, 2019 14:58

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

I bought some click lock engineered bamboo floor at lumber liquidators and hoo boy was that a mistake.

It's barely 10 years old and has worn awfully.

comically I think it's this stuff there's a class action fishing expedition for

https://www.yourlawyer.com/product-liability/lawsuit-lumber-liquidators/

# ¿ Sep 12, 2019 23:33

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

DrBouvenstein posted:

That reminds me that the bathroom in my parents house when I was kid, before a bathroom remodel, had a small port on the bottom of the P trap. You'd turn it like half a turn counterclockwise, and it would pop off. The hole was maybe nickle sized, but useful if you either think a ring fell into the sink or there's a small clog, or about other reason you have to relive the P trap and wanted an easier way to drain it.

I've yet to see another p trap in the wild with that feature.

it's a p-trap with cleanout, and they still exist but cost a little bit more than a regular p-trap so that's probably why they're not used in new construction

# ¿ Sep 28, 2019 05:41

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

TTerrible posted:

Grover spotted in the UK.

https://twitter.com/tobydavies/status/1190213025464307716?s=20

cannot reccomend the clickthrough enough

it's

every room

# ¿ Nov 1, 2019 18:50

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

El Mero Mero posted:

Just as an update, this is exactly what happened.

nice

# ¿ Nov 11, 2019 15:21

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

devmd01 posted:

Paid the privilege to have someone tell me �hes�s dead, Jim� for my washing machine. It came with the house, so I�m not too broken up about it. There�s a speed queen dealer relatively close by, I�m just trying to convince the wife.

The newest models in CR testing are only excellent in projected longevity, but have poor actual performance (except the low-end TC5, which only has a 3 year warranty).

# ¿ Nov 14, 2019 14:55

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Going to note in PaintChat for people in the US southwest to look at Dunn Edwards. Because they're regional they rarely get tested in big roundups, but the quality is as good or better as the ultra-premiums from SW or PPG, and you can get it in a no VOC formulation for ~$40/gal.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2020 16:45

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Applebees Appetizer posted:

We have decided to completely redo the floors in our house in Florida which is about 1300 square ft and currently has half tile half carpet. The carpet is horrible and the tile is cheap. We are trying to decide between Bamboo, nicer bigger tile, or some of the new vinyl waterproof flooring that's available now.

Also love the bamboo but it's costly and have heard horror stories about improper installation and it expanding and bowing up having to be completely torn back up again

I did a floating bamboo floor almost 10 years ago, and I wouldn't do it again. It hasn't really held up that well and it's kind of noisy to walk on (though this may be the case for a lot of floating floors).

# ¿ Jan 15, 2020 19:41

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

peanut posted:

what happen

His Divine Shadow posted:

somebody set him up the snow

# ¿ Jun 8, 2020 19:22

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Motronic posted:

While I know what you're saying, the modern Bosches dry pretty well - they boost the heat at the end of the cycle and use the tub as a heat sink. The Benchmark series and Thermador units have some additional heat sink in them with a funny sounding marketing name and it works quite well. Even plastic stuff gets completely dry.

the high end ones now pop the door a bit at the end, too which also helps.

I love no heated dry so I don't have to worry about top/bottom rack for plastic.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2020 17:35

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

Sirotan posted:

Also I made the opening taller and finally got a good look of what my walls are really made of. It's about an inch thick:

Ah good ol rock lath.

# ¿ Jun 27, 2020 03:25

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

I swear by the terro borax baits, I've had several instances inside and out where I've had to use them and they always do the job in a couple days

# ¿ Jul 5, 2020 03:22

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

H110Hawk posted:

How many motorcycles can one person possibly own?

# ¿ Jul 18, 2020 05:31

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

for a mid-sized job, a concrete-on-demand truck is also a good option if they're in your area. You just pay for the volume you use, down to partial yards.

edit: didn't even read the complete post above.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2020 17:58

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

BonerGhost posted:

What constitutes a "remodel" for the purposes of permitting, generally?

My locality has it listed as something that requires permits along with plumbing and electrical work on branch circuits, but how far does that go down? Do they expect permits for swapping out an outlet or a sink?

Most don't, but you are at the mercy of your locality. Here's the exemption list for my area--swapping a breaker or receptacle/switch does not require one.

quote:

Portable motors or other portable appliances with factory installed cords ( Must utilize factory cord and plug assembly)

Painting, floor covering, cabinetry, or interior trim work

Temporary decorative lighting (Must utilize factory cord and plug assembly to existing electrical receptacle suitable for exterior exposure)

The reinstallation of a switch or receptacle (Must be in the same location)

The replacement of a circuit breaker or fuse (Must be the same rating and in the same location including main breakers under certain conditions)

Low voltage electrical (Must operate at less than 25 volts and is not capable of supplying more than 50 watts)

Stopping leaks in a drain, soil, waste, or vent piping (Does not include pipe replacement)

Replacement of toilets (In the same location)

# ¿ Sep 24, 2020 23:46

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

DrBouvenstein posted:

Speaking of doors, is there a good/decent door brand to look into?

I really like the looks of those modern-style doors similar to the one posted a couple pics above and have been wanting to replace my front door for a while.

Problem is I live in a regular old, boring, beige vinyl sided crap of a ranch home and I'm wondering if trying to put on some more modern aesthetics will work? Or if it would just clash?

I guess it goes back to the discussion earlier that certain styles of home always look dated?

Doors in my recent experience are one of those things like cabinetry where you get what you pay for. I needed a door for a guesthouse and wanted solid wood, ended up with an Escon based on price, spent about $1K on slab only and some of the joints weren't great, fasteners weren't puttied over, etc. If you go steel or fiberglass there's probably less potential for that kind of fit and finish issue.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2020 01:22

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 21:22

Qwijib0: Apr 10, 2007; Who needs on-field skills when you can dance like this?; Fun Shoe

if only you had the backing of a pile of donated time and materials. Looks like this season is a real dump to start

https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorTOH/status/1320841602567426055

# ¿ Oct 26, 2020 23:39

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Home Zone: I see a baseboard and I want it painted black.

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