DIY home improvements ITT

[rocketfish]

that tile is neutral enough that virtually any color will compliment it fine. if there are any trace colors in the tile, like blue or grey, painting the walls a similar color to those will help bring out those colors a little in the tile. personally, i like a light grey or blue.

I was thinking a grey as well.. seems funky tho with the tile just thinking about it

[cux]

You get what you pay for when it comes to laminate. Also, laminate and water don't mix. I'd recommend tile in bathrooms.

Laminate flooring not for bathroom. Where do you recommend I buy it?

[Oreopie]

Now I wanna pick your brains about lighting. Our garage door opener is plugged into a receptacle where a single bulb used to hang from. Flipped all my 120v circuit breakers and none of them flicked it off. So dunno whats up with that. Regardless, I'd like to use that outlet to wire my overhead lights instead of having to put in a whole new circuit. I was going to go with three two bulb (T8) fluorescent fixtures. They'd be rated at 64 watts each so ~.5 amp. I'm going to assume the circuit is 15 amps, so safe for 12 amps (1440 watts). The garage door opener is 5 amps and can be switched off, so let's say I have 7 amps to work with. Will there be any issue plugging in these lights? Feel like I'm missing a step in the math.

You will be fine adding a few fluorescent lights. One thing to keep in mind about adding on to a garage receptacle circuit is the GFI. If it is GFI protected then anytime you trip the GFI, you'll be in the dark. If it isn't GFI protected then it should be. Where was the old hanging bulb switched from? Was it a pull chain? I assume you will be adding a switch for the new lights. How do you plan on getting from the lights to the switch?

Strange none of your breakers switched off your opener. Do you have a sub-panel somewhere? I'd figure out where it's breaker is first before you do anything else. As far as size, my garage is on a single circuit (minus air compressor). That includes three openers, outlets and lighting. I'm sure you'll be fine.

Definitely need to do some investigating to find out where that circuit is coming from. Not too long ago we were allowed to pull multi wire branch circuits(MWBC). This would usually be a 14/3 to a switch box or recept that would feed two circuits and share the neutral. These types of circuits were required to have a common trip, or a tie handle, just like a 240v circuit does. Look over your breakers and see if there are any two pole 15 or 20a breakers that may be controlling a MWBC. Also look for any larger amperage breakers that may be feeding a sub. I have seen sub panels in every corner of a house from the crawl to the attic. You never know where someone hid one. Another possibility is that the panel you were in is a sub panel itself. Look at where your service is located and see if there is a panel there or if you have a meter/panel combo. Good luck and stay safe.

[Dave P]

Dunno if anyone cares but I have a ton of DIY stuff I did around my house that I posted in this thread

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=152552223


Everything from flooring, painting, new closets, installing a artificial grass/landscaping project etc.

[cajone5]

From when I insulated my garage door. Simple DIY project. Used (2) layers of foam insulation board (3/4" R5) with liquid nails and fit to the channels on the door.



(with the later installed lights)


Then replaced the single light bulb with (6) 4-ft T5HO 2 bulb fixtures.

-- Laid out grid on the ceiling with twine
-- Hung fixtures
-- Ran 1/2" PVC conduit and pulled 12AWG wire (BIACH)
-- Wired to power
-- Boom - daylight inside 24/7







Next steps...

-- Lay down plastic tiles to protect the concrete
-- Daisy chain off GFI outlets to provide power around the sides of the garage
-- Build fold-down work bench

[justlaxin3]

You will be fine adding a few fluorescent lights. One thing to keep in mind about adding on to a garage receptacle circuit is the GFI. If it is GFI protected then anytime you trip the GFI, you'll be in the dark. If it isn't GFI protected then it should be. Where was the old hanging bulb switched from? Was it a pull chain? I assume you will be adding a switch for the new lights. How do you plan on getting from the lights to the switch?

It is switched. Originally it looks like it was just a plain receptacle. Instead of a light bulb an extension was screwed in. Has 2 sockets, slot for a pull chain, and place to screw in a bulb. One side is broken so I'll have to replace that. Wasn't GFI.

Definitely need to do some investigating to find out where that circuit is coming from. Not too long ago we were allowed to pull multi wire branch circuits(MWBC). This would usually be a 14/3 to a switch box or recept that would feed two circuits and share the neutral. These types of circuits were required to have a common trip, or a tie handle, just like a 240v circuit does. Look over your breakers and see if there are any two pole 15 or 20a breakers that may be controlling a MWBC. Also look for any larger amperage breakers that may be feeding a sub. I have seen sub panels in every corner of a house from the crawl to the attic. You never know where someone hid one. Another possibility is that the panel you were in is a sub panel itself. Look at where your service is located and see if there is a panel there or if you have a meter/panel combo. Good luck and stay safe.

I am now more learned. Much thanks. I'll have to crawl Sunday and try to find a sub.

[SiZzLaX]

OP I'm a huge fan of all that natural light coming through the front of the house in your living room etc. Good choice on that.

[JDizleSwoleizle]

Did some Faux Painting over the weekend. Came out pretty good. "Antiqued Leather"

[MyManDan26]

Anyone give me a rough idea on how hard it would be to change from carpet to hardwood in a couple 8x11 bedrooms? House was built in 2006, I figure the there shouldn't be much prep work needed to be done under the carpet. I want to rent the nail gun and do it myself, I just don't want to get started on it and not be able to finish.

Also how hard are stairs to do?

[y0lked]

Anyone give me a rough idea on how hard it would be to change from carpet to hardwood in a couple 8x11 bedrooms? House was built in 2006, I figure the there shouldn't be much prep work needed to be done under the carpet. I want to rent the nail gun and do it myself, I just don't want to get started on it and not be able to finish.

Also how hard are stairs to do?

\

If you do it yourself it definitely wont turn out perfect. It takes experience to know where to start and how to get every line straight because your walls are not going to be plumb. You can get nice ass laminate installed for about $4.50 a sq foot. Stairs are the HARDEST to do. Avoid.

[MyManDan26]

\

If you do it yourself it definitely wont turn out perfect. It takes experience to know where to start and how to get every line straight because your walls are not going to be plumb. You can get nice ass laminate installed for about $4.50 a sq foot. Stairs are the HARDEST to do. Avoid.

So where do most people get it installed from?

[y0lked]

So where do most people get it installed from?

flooring contractors. lowes or home depot subs it out. my parents used rc wiley

[bajaboy]

\

If you do it yourself it definitely wont turn out perfect. It takes experience to know where to start and how to get every line straight because your walls are not going to be plumb. You can get nice ass laminate installed for about $4.50 a sq foot. Stairs are the HARDEST to do. Avoid.

No, Just need to do your do diligence and have the correct tools. First time installing hardwood throughout an entire open floor plan condo and it is perfect. Ill post up pictures soon after everything else is completed.

[jasonpullar]

Not hard 2 cuts on the ends, the stone is from Costco I did the entire front for 80 dollars,

Whole thing took a day

[bigdogfarmhand]

Spent all after noon re caulking the bath room and tub

Looks like a brand new bath room srs


I bet if most brahs took all their caulk out and redid it they would be super happy


It is so easy and makes it look like brand new

[rocketfish]

How do you guys decide on type of paint? I'm debating on satin vs flat finish.. I see a lot of homes that people show that look to be a flat finish paint

[gixxer0.6g]

How do you guys decide on type of paint? I'm debating on satin vs flat finish.. I see a lot of homes that people show that look to be a flat finish paint

Female Misc ---->

Painting is women's work. What little experience I have with paint I usually use a satin or semi gloss. Flat looks dull, shows dust and imperfections. I used flat on my screen wall but that was because I didn't want anything reflective.



Set 9 of the 11 posts this weekend. Going with this design. I keep toying with the idea of synthetic decking but it's going to be so expensive. I could replace the decking 3 times before it would offset the cost of it. The deck is about 550 sq ft. Looks about right in autocad but after I set the posts it's pretty huge. It will be nice but my wallet is going to hurt when it's done. I think I'll run all the structure but pace myself with the decking. It's set up so I can do the part just outside the sliding glass (12'x10') door and wait for my wallet to recover then do another portion. I just want somewhere other than the dirt to put my BBQ

[cajone5]

Not hard 2 cuts on the ends, the stone is from Costco I did the entire front for 80 dollars,

Whole thing took a day

Nice -- I'm thinking of doing my island with something like this stuff...



http://www.builddirect.com/Natural-S..._10096036.aspx


Definitely going to check Costco though as $80 is a great price for that square footage. (Guessing ~$3/sf)

[cajone5]

Saturday - Found a neighbor getting rid of GarageDeck tiles and snatched them up for about 30% of what they go for new and replaced my mats in my garage with tile.

BEFORE









AFTER








Sunday - Daisy chained an extra outlet in my garage and moved my AT&T internet box up and out of the way to free up the outlet. This was more of a "proof of concept" to make sure I could successfully do this. Next weekend I plan to daisy chain off the other outlet to add outlets over by my future work bench area and by the garage door.

[nutsy54]

Now I wanna pick your brains about lighting. Our garage door opener is plugged into a receptacle where a single bulb used to hang from. Flipped all my 120v circuit breakers and none of them flicked it off. So dunno whats up with that.

Since it's a garage, it may be tied to a GFCI (ground fault) circuit somewhere else in the house. I once had a home where the garage outlets were on the same circuit as a 3rd floor bathroom....

Also, since you're in PA - if the garage isn't heated, the fluorescent lights may be very dim or flickering in the cold. Might want to look into equivalent LED lighting.

[cajone5]

Since it's a garage, it may be tied to a GFCI (ground fault) circuit somewhere else in the house. I once had a home where the garage outlets were on the same circuit as a 3rd floor bathroom....

Also, since you're in PA - if the garage isn't heated, the fluorescent lights may be very dim or flickering in the cold. Might want to look into equivalent LED lighting.

Or high-output fluorescent fixtures. They fire up better in the cold.

[gixxer0.6g]

Saturday - Found a neighbor getting rid of GarageDeck tiles and snatched them up for about 30% of what they go for new and replaced my mats in my garage with tile.

BEFORE

[img]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7428/16549669672_af3b57657f_z.jpg[mg]

[img]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7435/16549080691_562d61f1e5_z.jpg[img]

[img]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7367/16524761756_ba306c1086_z.jpg[mg]



AFTER

[img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8602/16364861267_5144b90663_z.jpg[img]

[img]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7326/16364479279_48dc93a1de_z.jpg[img]




Sunday - Daisy chained an extra outlet in my garage and moved my AT&T internet box up and out of the way to free up the outlet. This was more of a "proof of concept" to make sure I could successfully do this. Next weekend I plan to daisy chain off the other outlet to add outlets over by my future work bench area and by the garage door.

[img]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7356/16363466790_df9ea867c3_z.jpg[img]

That's one clean looking garage.

[Oreopie]

Saturday

Sunday - Daisy chained an extra outlet in my garage and moved my AT&T internet box up and out of the way to free up the outlet. This was more of a "proof of concept" to make sure I could successfully do this. Next weekend I plan to daisy chain off the other outlet to add outlets over by my future work bench area and by the garage door.

Looks good. As long as you used the load side terminals on the GFI you should be straight. Also, any time you wire up a GFI make sure you give the wires a good tug. Often times when you wire one up, even if you tighten the fk out of the screws, the wires will pull right out. GFIs are pieces of sh*t, every brand.

[phikappa]

Finally got my washer/dryer riser done. Sorry about the Photobucket links.

[phikappa]

Built this little DVD storage thing last weekend. We had DVDs all over the place, in various storage boxes or stacked all over. I didn't tell my wife I was building it, since it was a pretty quick (and temporary) solution.

She said it looks "cluttered".

[JDizleSwoleizle]

Built this little DVD storage thing last weekend. We had DVDs all over the place, in various storage boxes or stacked all over. I didn't tell my wife I was building it, since it was a pretty quick (and temporary) solution.

She said it looks "cluttered".

]

Just buy all Blu Rays, they take up way less space, not srs

[jasonpullar]

Nice -- I'm thinking of doing my island with something like this stuff...



http://www.builddirect.com/Natural-S..._10096036.aspx


Definitely going to check Costco though as $80 is a great price for that square footage. (Guessing ~$3/sf)

yeah it was in around that price! i assume you are doing the front? i really like that color

[phikappa]

Replaced cabin air filter today

[gixxer0.6g]

Replaced cabin air filter today

[img]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/zyzzbro1/D8BEC950-84C7-4D56-8871-F308657D8795_zpsxoa9rvwx.jpgimg]

Nice. Time to reset your maint intervals from 10 years to 6 mo.

[phikappa]

Nice. Time to reset your maint intervals from 10 years to 6 mo.

LOL! Very true. Who ever thinks about their cabin air filter? I never do.


Which reminds me...I need to replace our house air filters!