And ultimately, I got the stain on today. So as clear as I can figure it I have to throw a couple of coats of clear on and I should be good to go... If you dig purple furniture I think it turned out pretty good.
I'm considering building a BBQ pit/pizza oven, but have never laid brick before. Is this something a novice should attempt?
It's not as hard as you might think-- especially if you buy a "kit", but if you aren't familiar with working with your hands- tools, mortar and the like you may need at least help. In my limited experince, laying brick takes a little practice to get good at especially the amount of mortar you spread on a brick before laying it down-it's a lot more mortar than you think. You want the mortar to swueeze out or "bleed" from under the brick so you know it's air-tight. Also, make sure you buy the right brick if doing this on your own. The wrong bricks will be annihilated by the fire heat in no time, or even explode. From what I remember, you'll need a small arsenal of specific tools: hammers, chisels, trowels, groove tools, all necesary. If you haven't laid brick, I suggest practice a little with some cheap, shitty ones or know somebody that's done it. It's not easy to learn off the bat like drywall or laminate. However, you CAN learn basics from DIY books, they can't hurt to flip though. I'm not afraid to say that. DIY books come in more handy than you may think, there's no shame in using them.
This is more an aesthetic question than a "how do I" question, but I figure it applies. We're remodeling our kitchen and putting in a backsplash, but we're not really sure where to "end" the tiles. The kitchen counter runs the length of one wall, with ~18 inches between the counter top and the cabinets. There's an additional ~18 inch gap of empty space above the sink (where we could install shelving), as well as the additional space between the stove and the range hood. My question is, do we tile the whole area including all the empty spaces, or just take the backsplash up to the 18 inch mark and make the tiles all one uniform height?
I need to get an electrician out and the guy I use doesn't really speak English and carries only his tools so I need to pre-order any parts. Basically I have a burnt out wire that leads from my fuse box to the fuse switch for my electrical shower. One of these jobs: http://www.delightful-uk.com/shower...-pull-cord-ceiling-switch-with-neon-359-p.asp The wiring had previously burnt out and I had it cut off and the existing wire cut down. This now appears to have also been burnt. In anticipation of the electrician coming I want to buy the correct wiring to replace it. Does anyone know the type of wiring I would need to buy? Below was the catalogue I was looking at. Thanks and apologies for the vagueness, I am a pretty handy guy but electrics scare and confuse me. http://www.screwfix.com/c/electrical-lighting/cable/cat830108
So doing laundry and go into the basement to find the floor covered in water. After investigating, it seems there is a partial block somewhere in the main line, ie in the concrete or outside before the connection to the city lines. I don't think it backs up to the point of flooding except for when the washer is draining, but either way, need to fix this. Landlord's handyman is swinging by tomorrow and we're going to see what we can do, but figured it never hurts to have other opinions. Everything is definitely draining to the Y in the 4" line going into the floor, but when the laundry tub is full/draining, the water level creeps up until it floods. Old house, so I'm fearful about clay lines outside being busted by roots. I think the handyman only has hand fed snakes though. Anything we should try/look for/suggestions would be appreciated.
First, cover the area you are drilling through with a single layer of masking tape to greatly help prevent cracking (trace hole mark on tape with pencil). Tile drill bits are best, they look like spear heads and are small. Large hardware stores have ample supply, ask a flooring guy there for the best suited to your tile. Is is ceramic tile? Stone? Cork? Granite? Specifics are important. KEEP THE DRILL LEVEL WHEN YOU PLUNGE. Offsetting the angle on the drill means death, as in tile death. Tiles are brittle and unforgiving, you only get one strike. Use two hands. One on trigger, one on back holding the neck end to straighten.
Who wants to check out a $400 bathroom reno? Witness the awesomeness that was 1972: Spoiler Now, check out 2012 (on a razor budget) in this bad boy: Spoiler As you can see, those nasty brass shower doors went the way of the dodo. Next I spent 14 hours removing all the silicone, because the people who installed those doors were idiots and absolutely slathered it on, even though it made no contact with the actual doors. The big job, though, was four coats of white epoxy to re-glaze the tub. Holy toxic, Batman. If you ever find yourself reglazing your own bathroom I strongly recommend having an open window and someplace else to stay while it's going on. Anyhoo, more pictures: Before: Spoiler Now: Spoiler I had planned on re-using the cabinet over the toilet. Alas, my big dog knocked it over and shattered it, so a new cabinet had to be bought. Probably for the best, because the new one fits better than the old one would have. Stupid dogs. Spoiler Spoiler Like I said...grand total came in around $400, even with the surprise cabinet and the 3rd and 4th coat of epoxy that wound up being required. Success! And, better yet, it's done!
Hello all, I bought my first house last August, and have now made it through a Midwest winter. I have a small back yard that is fenced in. My two dogs have made kind of a mess of things back there over the winter. My question is when do I plant grass seed in the areas where the damage is the worst? Sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but like I said, first time homeowner.
You shouldnt put down seed until frost season is over. First, wound the damaged area entirely with a fan rake, pulling fresh soil from underneath the surface. Put fresh top soil over the damaged area and tamp it. Then put LOTS of grass seed over the soil, then water it LIGHTLY. You basically have to keep it damp all the time until the grass sprouts, so water it whenever possible. Water too heavy and the grass seed floats away on the water. Birds will eat the seed, so you'll need detterant for them, a fake owl or mink oil usually works.
After you put down the seed, go over the area lightly with the back of your fan rake. This cover the seeds so they don't get washed away. Don't get too crazy or you'll cover them too deeply and they won't sprout. Add some fertilizer with a high phosphate number to the soil before you spread the seeds to help root growth.
When we had an in-ground pool put in when I was a kid, our entire backyard was torn to shit and we had to grow a ton of grass. Soaker hoses (the flat misting kind, not the round weaping ones that you bury) work magic. It doesn't sound like the area you're working with is terribly large, so a couple 50' hoses should do just fine. You can connect them together in a line, or buy a Y spiltter and run them in different directions off of a regular hose. You can pick up a garden hose timer for a few bucks and set it to run at night and maybe for a little while during the day to keep things damp. Since the hoses are flat, they have a tendency to curl back up, so grab a few fist-sized rocks to place intermittently along its length to hold everything in place. With a similar setup (which included 15 soaker hoses and a central manifold that looked like a mangled octopus), we had inch-high grass in a week.
It's time to replace the fence in our backyard, and I'd like to go with a vinyl siding solution instead of using the picket fence that is currently installed. Since the 4x4 posts are still in good condition, I was wondering if anyone knows of any solution out there that would allow me to use the current posts, but slide a vinyl cover over it to allow me to then use vinyl slats between the posts. And, if anyone knows of such a solution, how well does it work?
They actually make vinyl post covers to slide over 4 x 4's. Any Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, etc., should have them. The vinyl slats come in sections, and it actually works well.
I'm buying a house that has a stucco exterior. Real stucco, not that synthetic stuff. I believe the exterior is 10-15 years old. There is one window on the third floor that has a stain under it that the owner (who is an 80 year old former contractor) says is environmental debris he washes off every year. I'm an idiot and didn't get this checked out by a mason before I made my offer. Now I'm scared as shit after reading about stucco on the internet. We already have painters and floor guys lined up to work on the interior once we move in in June, and I'm thinking that alone is going to cost around 10-15 grand. I don't have a lot of dry powder left, but guess there is always home equity lines if the exterior is a real problem. First I know I gotta get it checked out by a stucco guy, but can anyone here help me ballpark what it would cost per sq ft to restucco a 2200 sq ft, three story colonial house? What if I wanted to mix in some stone at parts? Here is a pic of the stain I'm worried about... The house inspection said the house was in great, "mechanically brand new" shape. I think these owners have really taken care of the place, so I'm hoping I can take the guy at his word.
To qualify my background with stucco, my step dad has a stucco company and I worked there every summer through high school and college so I've been around it a while. If the stain is all you are worried about you can try power washing it, those stains are common around windows due to rain water washing out of the metal window frames. You may be able to lighten it up with a muratic acid/water mix, but you better know what you are doing or you could bleach out the color of the stucco. If you want to recoat and finish your existing stucco, I had my house done last year it's a 2 story 2300 sq ft, I got a family deal, but retail would have been around 8k. Stone is slower, so your labor goes up and the material cost more, so depending on how much you want to cover with stone (assuming you go with stone veneers, real stone is much more expensive) you can ballpark 3 or 4 grand. If your stucco has been painted you may not be able to re-coat with stucco, and if you are considering painting it keep that in mind. Once stucco has been painted it will need to be redone every 7-10 years or so. A recoat should last quite a bit longer.
My mom recently got a new shower head when she had her whole bathroom redone. Though it is high pressure it blows through the hot water in about 10 minutes. This has jacked the gas and electric bill to constantly be heating it. Is there a way we could throttle the water pressure to the shower to help prevent this?
Sounds like they put in a high flow shower head. You can replace the shower head with a low flow version. It'll be around $30-50 for a fancy massaging one at a plumbing store.