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French Canadian posted:Is there a magic tool for pulling staples from subfloor? We are theoretically switching to hardwood. The prior carpet installation means that millions of staples are in the floor. Granted, they're in nice rows, but it's a bitch. I have a small deadblow hammer and a tiny pointy prybar that can get under the staples, and then I just whack them horizontally and they pop/slide out. Doesn't really hurt the subfloor. You're probably best off with the lineman or needlenose pliers, or the tiny pry bar that sounds like a cat's paw but you might want to consider the Crescent Nail Puller. I used one of these to remove a poo poo ton of cleats from flooring that I was pulling up so that I could reuse it and the tool was magical. Be sure to use a flashlight as a raking light (horizontally on the floor) to check, several times, for any staples you missed. On old subfloor I'd go with paint over stain. I'd want to sand that old subfloor before staining and it would be a lot of work and dust to deal with. I have a friend at work that did a painted floor a few years ago and I just checked in with her. Overall, she still loves it. She put down new plywood over the subfloor, did 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of "enamel floor paint". She said it was a lot of work to keep it clean while painting and keep pets out of the area. She uses rugs for the barefoot comfort factor. She just does touch up with more paint on any spots that get damaged. Also, paint or stain shouldn't be a problem if you ever do decide to put in hardwood in the future.
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Sep 26, 2016 17:45
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Lawn update: gently caress grubs
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Sep 26, 2016 19:09
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I need to replace the weather stripping under the doors that go out back. It looks (?) like I can literally just pull the old stuff out and put new stuff in, but none of the new stuff looks like the old stuff does where it meets the ground - it looks the same with how it (probably?) attaches to the door (just presses into these grooves); The old stuff has this loosely dry rotted rubber that my son pulled off on the bottom, whereas the new stuff is like stiff plastic. So, my question is a) can i just pull the old stuff out and put the new stuff in? b) do I need to be concerned about the height (?) of it (ie, will it prevent the door from opening & closing easily?) The new stuff I think I can use: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-Ki...UDS36/100566670 As you can tell I have no idea what I'm about to get myself into
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Sep 26, 2016 19:54
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French Canadian posted:Is there a magic tool for pulling staples from subfloor? We are theoretically switching to hardwood. The prior carpet installation means that millions of staples are in the floor. Granted, they're in nice rows, but it's a bitch. I have a small deadblow hammer and a tiny pointy prybar that can get under the staples, and then I just whack them horizontally and they pop/slide out. Doesn't really hurt the subfloor. Use side cutters to remove the staples. Don't just squeeze hard and cut the staples, use moderate pressure and the angled part of the cutters to pry each side of the staple up grabbing them from as close to the subfloor as possible. Works like a charm. Painting the subfloor will look like poo poo. I'd put some cheap vinyl flooring in instead of painting. Easy to remove when you want to install something nicer.
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Sep 27, 2016 22:24
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sirr0bin posted:Use side cutters to remove the staples. Don't just squeeze hard and cut the staples, use moderate pressure and the angled part of the cutters to pry each side of the staple up grabbing them from as close to the subfloor as possible. Works like a charm. Even the cheap laminate looks pretty ok if you dont want to make the investment of wood. Wears really well too. https://m.lowes.com/pl/Laminate-flooring-Laminate-flooring-accessories-Flooring/4294856495 (and, y'know, you can always put it on the ceiling too) \/\/Same! Very dog/cat resistant and easy to clean. Just don't leave it damp, it expands and peels like crazy.\/\/ Suspect Bucket fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Sep 28, 2016 |
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Sep 28, 2016 05:23
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I'd be happy with any of those. We chose our particular laminate flooring because it's resistant to pet (child) damage like spills and scratches.
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Sep 28, 2016 06:42
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It's time to address the storage space under my stairs. Too wide to leave open, too small to be a wardrobe. I was thinking of something like a slatted wood partition like this pallet wall everyone is hating on. There's a central wooden beam that can support anything I need... if I can find the courage to open holes in the wall of a new house. peanut fucked around with this message at 01:05 on Oct 5, 2016 |
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Oct 5, 2016 00:55
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Advice please, goons!
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Oct 5, 2016 01:04
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peanut posted:Advice please, goons! One idea might be to put a set of sliding shelves in the smaller alcove on the left. That would clear up the floor area where the current shelves are. You could also put a shelf in the upper part of the right hand alcove to turn the angled area into a dead-storage area, add a nice looking door for each area. As for the remaining largish rectangular area on the right, do you need a wine cellar of a sort?
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Oct 5, 2016 01:14
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Find a wardrobe or big cabinet that fits well in the alcove. Put all of the existing crap in your new closed storage. It's a bathroom? Stack rolled towels on top of the wardrobe in the angled area.
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Oct 5, 2016 01:18
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i like nice words
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Build drawers into the left alcove, put doors over the hole on the right and have somewhere to hide the vacuum.
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Oct 5, 2016 20:21
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Seconding shelves in the angle-y dead area of the alcove. What's in that little hidden away area? Also, nice choice of wall paper, paint and floor, that could have been a very claustrophobic space. Did you do that?
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Oct 5, 2016 20:57
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Thanks :3 I chose the wallpapers but left the details of the awkward shape to the installation bro. I'm sad to cover it because it looks awesome but all the junk looks bad.
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Oct 6, 2016 00:24
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Comedy option: put wire mesh across both alcoves and turn it into a red panda habitat! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3702007
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Oct 6, 2016 01:52
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If you want to use the space behind the alcove there, you could get a shelving unit on casters. It wouldn't be super convenient to get to the stuff in the little nook, but if you want to squeeze out every last bit of storage...
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Oct 6, 2016 02:05
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Yeah that 60cm bit in the back will be inaccessible once I put a rack in the 120cm space... maybe earthquake response supplies like emergency water? (Right now it's still moving junk like old curtains.) One thing we've decided on is a closet pole just under that triangular spot. As you can see, my husband hangs his work clothes there... we have a fancy walk-in closet in our bedroom, but you can't teach an old dog new tricks. My biggest concern is moisture from the shower. I should have put in a bigger window over the washer.
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Oct 6, 2016 09:20
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So, the wife and I had 1 day at out old house which is still for sale (oh god, get the gently caress sold already), and decided to make one of the rooms more attractive by replacing the old wornout poo poo brown flooring with new wood laminate that we had stored in the attic of that house for years. Well, nothing ever goes according to plan (if you're an idiot, like me) and it turned out the new floor was too high to lay directly on top of the old one, it would protrude over the door step for instance. So my wife triumphantly held of a chunk of the old floor, "hey look it comes off easy, no problem we'll just take this off!", after which she left the room to fix some stuff in the garden. Which was wise because it turned out the corner she pulled the piece off just had bad glue and most of the rest of the floor was just a bitch to get off. Peeling off layers of old floor:  Laying new pretty flooring:  We did complete it in the day allotted, about 13 hours non stop work, and a couple actually showed considerable interest in the house at an open house just days after and is getting approved by the bank (please please), but god drat... My old man's back. On the other hand, once again, it is apparent that kneepads in your work pants are not optional, super happy I had them in.
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Oct 12, 2016 16:22
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Rnr posted:kneepads in your work pants are not optional, super happy I had them in. I just bought kneepad pants; super excited to quit grubbin' around and bashing up my kneecaps on everything.
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Oct 12, 2016 17:21
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I have an old house (1909) with a roof that needs to be reshingled in a few years and I was thinking of using this opportunity to improve insulation by adding around 4" of XPS foam panels (two layers of 2" panels). Is this something a roofing company could typically do as part of the overall roof work, or would I need to arrange a separate contractor? Also, is it possible to keep good wind resistance for the shingles with foam boards under them? (I know they actually mount to another layer of plywood.) I don't live in Florida but the house is in a valley that gets high winds, and the house is losing 3-tab shingles during storms. I did look into shingle temperature issues and it should be okay, as I'm using Energy Star shingles that will reflect more solar energy, balancing out the loss of conductivity through the roof. I am aware that I need to make sure I have a ventilation plan before actually doing anything. Alereon fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Oct 12, 2016 |
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Oct 12, 2016 19:02
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What's the substrate? Do you have an attic or other condition where you can't insulate from the inside? It can be done but like the article I'm going to post below there's other considerations. You'll want to have rigid backing IMO. There might be a shingle you can get that'll install over foam, but I'd keep safe to an OSB or plywood sheathing over with really long screws to your rafters or first sheathing layer. Look at this article: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/articles/dept/musings/how-install-rigid-foam-top-roof-sheathing
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Oct 12, 2016 21:43
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xwing posted:What's the substrate? Do you have an attic or other condition where you can't insulate from the inside? It can be done but like the article I'm going to post below there's other considerations. You'll want to have rigid backing IMO. There might be a shingle you can get that'll install over foam, but I'd keep safe to an OSB or plywood sheathing over with really long screws to your rafters or first sheathing layer. My main question is whether it's typical that roofers would be able to do the foam panel installation along with the rest of the roof, or if I should expect to need to involve someone else. I'd do a more thorough review of feasibility and correctness (especially around ventilation) when actually making a plan. Thanks!
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Oct 12, 2016 23:03
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Okay, I have a garage floor question. Garage is attached-ish one car garage, probably built when the house was (so 1948). It sits on a concrete pad that is very old. The pad is whole and without cracks, but in the garage it's very deeply pitted. Some of the pits are greater than a half inch deep(like half circles). I'd like to repair this - if I can - and if I don't have to replace the whole concrete pad. A: Is that possible B: any recommendations on how if one were to DIY it?
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Oct 13, 2016 19:17
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Alereon posted:I have a knee wall attic converted into a bonus room that takes up most of the upstairs floor space, it has fiberglass batts on the outside of the attic ceiling and walls. The "floors" of the unfinished area outside the knee walls are uninsulated, and while I'm not sure what's under the shingles I see wood planks above the 2x4s if I look at the inside of the roof from this area. My main reason for considering exterior insulation was to avoid issues with thermal bridging and keep much of the heat generated by the sun shining on the roof from entering the house in the first place, as well as giving me more flexibility to decide what to do with the attic space in the future, vs just blowing a bunch of insulation in outside the knee walls and calling it good. I had found that article in my Googling, I would be looking at Option 2, where I reach my goal R-value with a combination of exterior and interior insulation, and I do understand about needing the rigid insulation to be a minimum % of the total R-value to avoid moisture issues. Yes, depending on the zone you're in it the point where the temperature change passes the dew point inside the rigid insulation... thus no moisture issue! Someone who deals with "flat" roofing more shouldn't have a problem doing the insulation. It really depends on your area though. I know for me down south I'd have to look at commercial roofers that have experience with exterior insulation.
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Oct 13, 2016 21:09
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beep-beep car is go posted:Okay, I have a garage floor question. Garage is attached-ish one car garage, probably built when the house was (so 1948). It sits on a concrete pad that is very old. The pad is whole and without cracks, but in the garage it's very deeply pitted. Some of the pits are greater than a half inch deep(like half circles). I'd like to repair this - if I can - and if I don't have to replace the whole concrete pad. I'd get a bunch of self-level, and just pour that across the entire floor. Though, getting the primer on is going to be a pain (you'll probably need to use a brush on those holes). If you go the self-level route, definitely rent a mud mixing drill. Trying to do self-level with a normal drill is largely impossible.
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Oct 14, 2016 00:51
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Hello house bitching thread. It appears our insulation contractors broke the spool pin off my wife's sewing machine while closing the vent. This is fine assuming they hadn't neglected to tell us.  The machine was threaded, and the spool was laid neatly on the table apart from the pin. Nothing neat comes from dropping a spool that is threaded into a machine. Now they get to wake up to a calm, rational email explaining how overnight shipping of a replacement from Amazon is the correct solution so my wife can finish the babies costume for the weekend fair. Edit: The new panasonic bathroom exhaust fan they installed is magic. Our old one was LOUD, moved very little air, and exhausted into the attic. This is none of those things. H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 14:49 on Oct 18, 2016 |
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Oct 18, 2016 06:22
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H110Hawk posted:Now they get to wake up to a calm, rational email explaining how overnight shipping of a replacement from Amazon is the correct solution so my wife can finish the babies costume for the weekend fair. Quoting myself because the guy called me first thing to make it right. Only to have his crew drill through the one section of wood siding we told them 6 ways to sunday not to drill, including twice today. They didn't want to drill it due to the nightmare of patching it. He also says they will make that right. They come from a personal recommendation, we see them all around town doing work, and their yelp reviews are great. (Barring one nut job who was paranoid about the guy sketching his house, taking pictures of key mechanical appliances, etc, during an energy audit.) 
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Oct 18, 2016 16:59
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H110Hawk posted:Edit: The new panasonic bathroom exhaust fan they installed is magic. Our old one was LOUD, moved very little air, and exhausted into the attic. This is none of those things. +1 for the Panasonic exhaust fans. I installed two of them, and they're awesome.
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Oct 18, 2016 17:15
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I don't own a house, but I am renting an apartment in an old converted one with hardwood floors and exactly 0 noise insulation and people are talking about hardwood floors here so here we go. I received a complaint today from the downstairs neighbors, basically it sounds like I'm constantly stomping and making noise. This is after someone started banging on the floor last night so this is basically 100% my own fault, which is it's own E/N thing I don't wanna get into. I'm super sensitive and self-conscious about this awful loving apartment so I really, really don't want to gently caress this up further. What are my options for noise-insulating a hardwood floor? Do rugs work well enough, or should I use some kind of speciality item? The major complaint is "your steps cause a lot of noise" which 1. yes I know I'm fat and 2. I tiptoe loving everywhere in this apartment because this isn't the first time the issue has been raised and up until now I didn't think there was a problem anymore. What causes that, and what's the best way to alleviate it? We also don't have a dumpster or anything, so there's nowhere to place garbage until collection day. I can't put it in the hall, cause it gets smelly and neighbors complain about the smell, and obviously it'll stink up my own apartment. What do I do, get a garbage can or something? And yes, I know I'm an idiot. I wasn't born knowing what to do in these situations. At least I'm asking for advice.
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Oct 18, 2016 20:51
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You can do rugs and it will probably help a little but I mean, people walking on wood floors above you is always going to be loud, kind of tough poo poo for the people below you. What do you do on garbage day, just put bags on the curb? Sure you can get an outdoor garbage can for like $15 (though really this should probably be a landlord thing). Depending on where you live the city might provide cans and maybe yours went missing.
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Oct 18, 2016 21:50
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Thufir posted:You can do rugs and it will probably help a little but I mean, people walking on wood floors above you is always going to be loud, kind of tough poo poo for the people below you. This is kind of what I'm thinking. I don't know how to get across "I'm doing everything I can, walking on the balls of my feet, only thing left I can do is put rugs down everywhere, it might just have to come with the territory" without coming off like an rear end in a top hat, though. All I can really say is that I'm trying to keep the noise down and am making sure I don't make unreasonable amounts of noise, but I'm kinda doing all I can here and there's not much else for me to do. quote:What do you do on garbage day, just put bags on the curb? Sure you can get an outdoor garbage can for like $15 (though really this should probably be a landlord thing). Depending on where you live the city might provide cans and maybe yours went missing. Bare bags, yeah. The entire building does this (and the trash collectors seem to switch up which day they collect on every once in a while which is really irritating). We aren't given trash cans or a dumpster or anything at all, and my landlord hasn't said anything aside from "the last guy put his bags in the hallways idk". I'll talk to him again and ask what I'm supposed to do.
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Oct 18, 2016 22:18
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Do you wear shoes indoors? Buy a garbage can.
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Oct 19, 2016 07:10
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No, I don't wear shoes indoors. Either socks, sandals, or barefoot. I suspect it's a gait thing, like my heel striking the floor, but that doesn't explain why there's still an issue when I walk on the balls of my feet. Slippers might help, but I don't know if they will.
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Oct 19, 2016 12:56
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*joke about goons having bad posture/gait and unusually smelly trash* Yeah maybe an area rug in areas you walk the most and/or soft booties (lol). I think flip flops could be the problem. I'm having a flashback to my college dorm where the guys above me always dribbled a basketball in the hallway...
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Oct 19, 2016 13:04
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Oh, I'm definitely nothing like that. I'm clumsy as poo poo, though. I drop things occasionally...but not so often as to cause problems. Looks like a rug and soft slippers is about all I can do. Thanks!
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Oct 19, 2016 14:32
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Pollyanna posted:Oh, I'm definitely nothing like that. I'm clumsy as poo poo, though. I drop things occasionally...but not so often as to cause problems.
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Oct 19, 2016 17:04
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Alereon posted:Crazy idea: invite one of them up to walk around normally while the other stays in their apartment and listens, then have them switch positions. That won't help the noise but maybe it would help their attitude if they realized you aren't being unreasonably loud. Next I see them and once I get a rug, I'll propose this.
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Oct 19, 2016 18:17
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Not to sound like an rear end in a top hat, but don't buy a rug. And stop walking around on eggshells. You're not at any fault here assuming we're literally just talking about normal footsteps, and not like, you recently installing a trampoline. Explain to them that you are not doing anything unusual, and that they should contact the landlord about insulating the ceiling if it's an issue. I can't imagine being such a miserable bastard that I complained to my upstairs neighbor about the physical laws of accoustics.
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Oct 19, 2016 18:32
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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.
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Oct 19, 2016 18:35
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My home to-do list, now that I have a job that pays enough to where I can start to pay off my debts: Rip out disgusting carpet, lay hardwood or that fancy laminate posted earlier (create a thread asking for help/advice, since I know nothing beyond ripping up the carpet) Seek advice on best course of insulating my attic, as it seems like I'm losing a ton of my heating and cooling, which I'm assuming is partially due to it being poorly insulated and turning into an oven in the summer, to being a duplex built in 1940 and having the central air/heat retrofitted with as far as I can tell only 3 return vents in the second floor ceilings (create another thread as I'm clueless about this stuff too) Build a platform for my front load washer and dryer to get them off the ground without paying $absurd for the matching drawer pedestals (probably create a thread before I build it to make sure my half rear end 2x4 frame and sheet of plywood won't collapse under the weight of the units, breaking the flexible gas line and sending my house up in flames) Replace the awfully lovely plain white easily-staining counter tops with something else Finish the walls and rip out the drop ceiling in the oddly shaped closet Build a platform bed frame for a future king bed purchase
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Oct 19, 2016 19:03
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metallicaeg posted:My home to-do list, now that I have a job that pays enough to where I can start to pay off my debts: 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. Call a local energy efficiency company if those exist. They will tell you a lot of this stuff for free, handle rebates if they do the work, etc. Our attic and walls were effectively uninsulated and it led to our AC unit running 100% duty cycle from noon-9pm if it got above 90 degrees outside. Today is our first day completely insulated and it's also supposed to get up into the high 80's low 90's so my smart meter should let me see the savings by this time tomorrow! The company charged us like $6250 out of pocket, but they're fronting us like $2500 in rebates, and I get $500 back at tax time.
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Oct 19, 2016 19:21
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