►►►►Official House/Apt Thread for DIY'ers, Interior Designers, Landscapers etc.◄◄◄◄

[Dave P]

In the past couple months I've been on the path to owning my first home and I've become a bit of a DIY/HGTV addict constantly reading/watching stuff about designing and remodeling. I thought it would be cool to have a thread for people that share interest in home-related projects like do-it-yourself projects, interior design, landscaping, construction, carpentry and so on and so forth.



Purpose of this thread is for people to discuss these various topics.



So come on in, post pics of your current setup, post pics of your projects, post pics of your home, discuss designing that living room, and tell us about that sod you just laid in the backyard.







Some resources:


General everything related to home-design - www.houzz.com

Some good furniture websites for ideas - http://www.lafurniturestore.com/ www.opulentitems.com http://www.avetexfurniture.com/

Good software for designing - www.sketchup.com/ (that is not my house and I did not draw it)




Will add more as more get posted.




So lets see what you're working on or what you've got planned!

[Vexidi]

In.
Currently in the middle of year two of remodeling my house. Stripped the walls down to the studs and re-wired, sheetrocked, new floors. Also rebuilt the kitchen and did polished concrete floor in there. Next is bathrooms and kids rooms.

[gixxer0.6g]

In and sub'd. Great idea.

Probably my favorite DIY project I did around the yard was concrete curbing. It typically costs $5/ft to have someone come it with a curbing machine. I think mine is more robust and looks almost as good.

Needed -
80 lb of quickmix will get you about 10-12' of curb.
3" Expansion joints. They come in 8-10' lengths. They're your forms. They bed easy for making curves.
And some wood stakes to mold the curbing

Pics

[IPAfan5]

Dave P, got any pictures of your finished backyard, I remember a few weeks ago you posted some progress pics after putting up a fence.

[Dave P]

Just signed my paperwork yesterday.


Dat feel when you're going to be in debt for 30 years

[richard noggin]

in, still living college apartment style but landscaped for 2.5 years and curious to see everyones projects.

[Turd Ferguson]

In and sub'd. Great idea.

Probably my favorite DIY project I did around the yard was concrete curbing. It typically costs $5/ft to have someone come it with a curbing machine. I think mine is more robust and looks almost as good.

Needed -
80 lb of quickmix will get you about 10-12' of curb.
3" Expansion joints. They come in 8-10' lengths. They're your forms. They bed easy for making curves.
And some wood stakes to mold the curbing

Pics



wait for it....words cannot express how much I hate the new photobucket

I am about to do some curbing in my front yard for the flower beds. I have over 60' so I'm calling in a truck with premixed. Tell me more about your forms?? I don't quite understand what you're talking about.

[Coolhandsluke]

Just signed my paperwork yesterday.


Dat feel when you're going to be in debt for 30 years
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/rrJ24Tu.jpg[/IG]

I know this feel

[Dave P]

Yea this is the progress of the fence I had put in.


I was originally going to do it myself but my backyard has a grade and I realized how much of a fcking pain in the ass it was going to be...we have bigass dogs so we didn't have the time to wait for me to spend a month building the thing, had to be done so we got it done.


Before:








The Plan:








aaaaaand....

























































wait for it.....

[gixxer0.6g]

I am about to do some curbing in my front yard for the flower beds. I have over 60' so I'm calling in a truck with premixed. Tell me more about your forms?? I don't quite understand what you're talking about.

I'm having trouble finding pics. Basically you clear the area of grass and weeds where the curbing is going. Take a pair of the 8' strips of expansion joint material and shape them how you want the curb to route. Pound a stake every 16" or so on each outer side of the form. Never mind, found a pic. It's worth a 1000 words.

[richard noggin]

really like the color brah, looks great. I really like the stairs to the second level.

[ihs]

Congrats on the new house! We're on the flip side, looking to sell ours next spring, after living here for 10 years (first home). Trying to get closer to family.

[Dave P]

Its huge because the master bedroom is on the 1st floor right there at the sliding glass doors.




Thats just staged furniture but you can see what i'm talkin about.


The living room is upstairs at that other set of doors so it was crucial that we put in stairs going from the deck to the backyard otherwise the dogs and people would have to walk through our bedroom

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm having trouble finding pics. Basically you clear the area of grass and weeds where the curbing is going. Take a pair of the 8' strips of expansion joint material and shape them how you want the curb to route. Pound a stake every 16" or so on each outer side of the form. Never mind, found a pic. It's worth a 1000 words.

OK, I gotcha. I guess I've never seen expansion joint material. Is it like a piece of 1X3 wood that flexes? I orginally laid my forms with 1/4 hard board and the next day it rained and ruined them (we never get rain out here by the way). But I wasn't all that happy with the way that it looked, so it kind of worked out (except for the wasted money). I'm going to look for this expansion joint stuff becasue I like the thickness of it and it looks like it bends well.

EDIT: Oh are these the things you see in the expansion joints of driveways? That kinda weird looking material?

[PieceAMind]

Awesome job by both of you on your projects

[Crease1234]

subbed this thread. I love house projects

[Dave P]

So my first big project is going to be installing new floors and painting the house. The current floors are new but they are this weird grey/brown kind of flooring that I'm just not a fan of. We are going with white-laminate floors because we both love that modern-style house.

The walls are that light-lime green color that home builders use to just have a nice light color but I can't stand it. Going to be painting everything white but I'm going to be doing the base boards black so they have some contrast.

Also there is carpet in the bedrooms and I hate carpet.

We can't move in until the floors in AT LEAST the bedroom are done because I don't feel like assembling/disassembling/assembling the bed.



Here is the floor layout. For those unfamiliar with Sketchup I highly recommend it for planning renovations etc.

[Dave P]

Ordered the floors from www.bestlaminate.com


This is the one we decided on






Nice white with a wood grain pattern.





My girlfriends birthday is on the 23rd. For the last month I've been telling her we would move in on the 30th but I'm going to try and get the bedroom finished next week so that I can surprise her and move in on her birthday. I've got the floors arriving Thursday/Friday so that will basically give me 36 hours to put the floors and baseboards in.

The rest of the week leading up to it I'll be prepping it by ripping out the carpets, painting the walls, painting the baseboards etc.

[gokubrah]

Subbed.

I've posted pics of my house here before, but don't have any pics of any "projects" yet. My first project will be complete next weekend when I get my media room complete.

Future goals are to put a pool in the backyard (managed a pool retail company for 7yrs, still have contacts) and build a putting green, possibly build an extension on the back of the garage to install a golf simulator. But those are a few years away.

[gokubrah]

Also, mirin the view, Dave P.

[FreeRadicals]

Finally a DIY thread, I'm currently re-tiling my kitchen.

Here's another awesome resource for tiling: JohnBridge.com

The forum on that site is awesome.

[Dave P]

Subbed.

I've posted pics of my house here before, but don't have any pics of any "projects" yet. My first project will be complete next weekend when I get my media room complete.

Future goals are to put a pool in the backyard (managed a pool retail company for 7yrs, still have contacts) and build a putting green, possibly build an extension on the back of the garage to install a golf simulator. But those are a few years away.

Sa'll good man. I plan on putting a hottub in the backyard along wtih a deck and some artificial grass but like you said its probably a next-summer type of project. Need to get the inside up to snuff first.

[Dave P]

Also, mirin the view, Dave P.

View is kind of what sold the house for us.


The sunsets are pretty epic.

[Dave P]

Furniture ordered and set up to be delivered next Saturday.


Bought this for the bedroom...Ashleys was having a sale and I got all pieces for 1k. Bedframe, nightsand, mirror, and drawers.



Bought this Duvet Cover



+ Black Sheets for the mattress, 2 black pillow cases and 1 white pillow case for dat contrast from IKEA....IKEA is the spot for stuff like sheets/pillow/towels/comforters.


With the white floors and the black baseboards it should look slick as fck.

[cbclassics]

in & subbed. thread is off to a great start, renovations look great Dave P & gixxer!

bought my first home just over a year & a half ago, will post pics some time.

[AussieLB]

congrats on the new house man! It feels so amazing coming home and walking in going "this place is mine!".

I bought mine three months ago. I just put in hardwood floors, removed a wall, put in an island, painted the indoors, covered the brick fireplace, built a firepit, ran everything in my home theater into the wall closet etc. Took three weeks off work (and six weeks in total) to do it all with my old man. The hardest part for me - track lighting. It's been painful buying and running the wires.

Some advice and statements I have (I know VERY little and I am sure you guys know much better than I will).
- You will end up going to Lowes / Home Depot three times a day. You will need a new tool, new parts etc. Make sure you get their cards such as the MyLowes card to ensure you are covered if you lose the receipt.
- Buy more than you need and return it. These stores have EXCELLENT return policies. Buy 10% more than you need. Nothing more frustrating then needing three extra nails to finish the job. If you are unsure which part - buy both.
- Make sure you write down and store what paint you use when painting AKA the paint color code, brand, type etc. Much easier than matching it later on.
- When buying tiles, wood floors - make sure you account for storing more just in case in the future you need it. I broke 3 tiles bringing up the old floor - I have extras so it not a big deal. If I didn't have those I would have been screwed.
- Do all the prep work yourself for even the complex tasks. Remove the wallpaper, lift up all the old floor, prep your own floor etc. It is amazing how much this saves you even if you get contractors in.
- Remove wallpaper by using white vinegar. In fact most of the time just spray on water and leave it for 15 minutes. TSP is amazing for removing glue (I love this stuff).
- Save all receipts. Sort them by store and date. Buy clips to keep them together. You don't have a receipt you are in trouble.
- Painting is pretty easy and makes a HUGE difference. Well it's easier than I thought. Take your time in the prep. Go over it many times to make sure you have all nicks and grooves the covered.
- Ask for "cash prices" - it is amazing how much contractors will remove when you tell them all the prep work is done and that you will pay cash. I only got an electrician and a flooring guy. Both are excellent and doing work for cash.
- Make the change YOURS. Everyone has an opinion but it only matters that YOU like it. I like that OP has a style (that I don't necessarily like) but he likes and is executing it. You matter and no one else does.
- Paint looks MUCH darker on the walls. Buy samples and put it on the wall you want to paint. Put samples in different areas under different lighting.
- Borrow tools. Save your money. Buy only the essential (good impact drill, level, hammer etc).
- Get the right tool for the job. Saves you endless frustration.
- Plan as much as possible. Get the order of things done. Order online where possible.
- Youtube is the best reference. I learned how to hang drywall from it. My dad and I watch it eating dinner. We learned so much.
- Realize - you will never do as well as a professional. I have such respect for these guys. They work so fast and at such a high level. However - if you take your time you will get something similar but it will just take you 5 times as long.
- The best advise I got was - start it - the hardest part is going passed the point of no return. Most of the time you will succeed but even if you screw up - get a professional to fix it up. I was so afraid of them laughing at my efforts but I make sure I read and try my best. The contractors are often very impressed with your efforts and appreciate you bringing them in. Every fix was much cheaper and faster if you hired the contractor from the start.

I look forward to this thread. Any advise on lighting, decorating are greatly appreciated for me. Good luck guys - hope your houses become homes and their style becomes yours.

[Dave P]

Good post.

[Vexidi]

So my first big project is going to be installing new floors and painting the house. The current floors are new but they are this weird grey/brown kind of flooring that I'm just not a fan of. We are going with white-laminate floors because we both love that modern-style house.

I had white laminate in my last place and it does look really killer and contemporary but it takes a lot of work to keep it clean. I had a pair of DC's with black soles that would skidmark it with the slightest amount of pressure. We usually mopped it at least twice, sometimes 3 times a week to keep it looking good.

[Dave P]

I had white laminate in my last place and it does look really killer and contemporary but it takes a lot of work to keep it clean. I had a pair of DC's with black soles that would skidmark it with the slightest amount of pressure. We usually mopped it at least twice, sometimes 3 times a week to keep it looking good.

Here is the way I've convinced myself that it wont be so bad.


It isn't that it gets dirtier than other floors...its that you can see the dirt easier.


So in theory it will just make us keep a cleaner/more sanitary house rather than being lazy and just letting sh!t get nasty.

[Vexidi]

So in theory it will just make us keep a cleaner/more sanitary house rather than being lazy and just letting sh!t get nasty.

Oh yeah, very true. We also got in the habit of taking our shoes off a the door.