Horse Detective
Why the long case?
I like simple DIY projects, however I have a lot of improving to do. I love making furniture. I built my desk and some shelves.
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DIY |OT| "Can We Fix It?"
- Thread starter bennywhatever
- Start date
Big post incoming:
So, back in September, my fiancee and I bought a singlewide manufactured home (built in 2006, if anyone is wondering) off of a private owner for ~$20,000. We had been looking around for awhile for one, exploring whether to buy new or used, what price and size we wanted, etc. We were somewhat set on buying a new singlewide we saw that was 16' wide and 72' long for $50,000. But, man, we really didn't want to get too much into debt just starting out.
However, we saw this for sale while we were driving past one day and looked at it. 16' wide, 80' long. It didn't look great, I can tell you that much. It was pretty darn ugly, in fact. BUT. There was no structural damage, and my fiancee's grandpa that has been in carpentry for decades said he was impressed with the construction. Plus, we figured we could use that extra money to make it look just how we wanted. Her grandpa ended up buying it off of the private owner with cash (he's pretty well off), and we are paying him back. We will have it paid off within about four years, and it feels incredible knowing that I'm not renting or having to start with an apartment or whatever.
So that was back in September. The movers couldn't get it out to our piece of land until the beginning of November, which was a painful wait. It eventually came, though, and we worked on the place for about four months. Keep in mind, all of us that worked on it have full-time or close to full-time jobs, so that hampered our ability to work at a fast pace. Now, I didn't do all of this myself, but it was a huge project nonetheless that I took part in. The only thing we hired outsiders for was installing the new carpet in the bedrooms. Other than that, it was all DIY.
We ended up spending about $7000 in materials. Carpet, laminate flooring, oak trim, paint, etc.
I'll post what it looked like the day we looked at it on the left, and what it looks like now on the right. Keep in mind, we still aren't 100% there, and the kitchen is currently being remodeled by my fiancee and I on a tiny budget. In fact, anything you see in these "after" pictures has been worked on since then and looks a little different. I'm moved in now and have been for a month, but we're taking it a lot slower now since it's basically done.
We ended up doing the same amount of work in all three bedrooms, both bathrooms, and the open space. Nothing went untouched. I'm not going to post pictures of EVERY room, as I don't want to bore you too much.
When I look at the place now, I can't believe what we own for under $30k. We can upgrade sometime down the line when we need more space, but I'm incredibly happy.
So, back in September, my fiancee and I bought a singlewide manufactured home (built in 2006, if anyone is wondering) off of a private owner for ~$20,000. We had been looking around for awhile for one, exploring whether to buy new or used, what price and size we wanted, etc. We were somewhat set on buying a new singlewide we saw that was 16' wide and 72' long for $50,000. But, man, we really didn't want to get too much into debt just starting out.
However, we saw this for sale while we were driving past one day and looked at it. 16' wide, 80' long. It didn't look great, I can tell you that much. It was pretty darn ugly, in fact. BUT. There was no structural damage, and my fiancee's grandpa that has been in carpentry for decades said he was impressed with the construction. Plus, we figured we could use that extra money to make it look just how we wanted. Her grandpa ended up buying it off of the private owner with cash (he's pretty well off), and we are paying him back. We will have it paid off within about four years, and it feels incredible knowing that I'm not renting or having to start with an apartment or whatever.
So that was back in September. The movers couldn't get it out to our piece of land until the beginning of November, which was a painful wait. It eventually came, though, and we worked on the place for about four months. Keep in mind, all of us that worked on it have full-time or close to full-time jobs, so that hampered our ability to work at a fast pace. Now, I didn't do all of this myself, but it was a huge project nonetheless that I took part in. The only thing we hired outsiders for was installing the new carpet in the bedrooms. Other than that, it was all DIY.
We ended up spending about $7000 in materials. Carpet, laminate flooring, oak trim, paint, etc.
I'll post what it looked like the day we looked at it on the left, and what it looks like now on the right. Keep in mind, we still aren't 100% there, and the kitchen is currently being remodeled by my fiancee and I on a tiny budget. In fact, anything you see in these "after" pictures has been worked on since then and looks a little different. I'm moved in now and have been for a month, but we're taking it a lot slower now since it's basically done.
Open living area:
My office:
Utility room:
Master bedroom:
We ended up doing the same amount of work in all three bedrooms, both bathrooms, and the open space. Nothing went untouched. I'm not going to post pictures of EVERY room, as I don't want to bore you too much.
When I look at the place now, I can't believe what we own for under $30k. We can upgrade sometime down the line when we need more space, but I'm incredibly happy.
I was thinking of building shelves almost exactly like that, but opted for wall-to-wall shelving instead. Looks great though.
Your desk looks just like Altra Furniture's Owen retro coffee table.
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
I really dig that style. What supports the shelves/keeps them level?
Horse Detective
Why the long case?
I think the piping ends are called couplings. I'm sure the boards aren't perfectly level, but as you can see they are enough so to support some glass trinkets. I have reattached it to walls for about a year and a half now. Doesn't really wobble.
Oh wow.
You know I actually debated staining this a grey tone. I really need to sand the top again. It is not smooth enough to draw comfortably.
rykomatsu
Member
Floor flange fittings against the walls
Most likely union fittings underneath the shelves recommended vs rubber couplings would be a suggestion (for better load bearing purposes)
Usually in the galvanized pipe section
Quite simple to make -
1. Drill holes in shelf plank about the same size as the pipe diameter.
2. Grab a galvanized nipple, screw into floor flange, then other side into a 90 degree elbow (x2)
3. Screw galvanized pipe with thread into 90 degree elbow (x2)
4. Slide shelf onto pipe
5. Screw Union onto pipe underneath shelf (x2)
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for all the shelves
7. Add a nipple to last Union, add 90 degree elbow, add another nipple to elbow and finish with floor flange (x2)
Make sure to drill the flange into a stud or use a toggle bolt if you would rather not use a stud for positioning sake.
You can generally get 6, 12, 24, 36 inch galvanized pipes with threads at a home improvement store to determine shelf spacing.
Gloss or semi-gloss black paint the plumbing parts for an added touch. Really simple diy project, but I wouldn't put too much load on it.
bennywhatever
Member
Glad to see this thread taking off! I'll try and dig through the questions to see if I'm qualified to answer any that haven't been addressed yet.
Here was my weekend project. Built the raised beds from leftover cedar pickets from last year's fence project.
Unfortunately I ran out of time and mulch, so it'll be finished throughout the week.
Here was my weekend project. Built the raised beds from leftover cedar pickets from last year's fence project.
Unfortunately I ran out of time and mulch, so it'll be finished throughout the week.
bennywhatever
Member
Hey those are awesome! Well done! I don't want to litter the thread yet with all my old projects, but I built a desk similar to that too last year and had a blast doing it. I think furniture projects are the most fun because they feel like less of a grind.
Those floors look FANTASTIC! I may be going to you sometime in the next year or so for some advice - we'll be scrapping some of our crappy carpeting in favor of laminate flooring, and I've never installed it before.
Definitely spackle. If you can find a cheap putty spatula to help apply it, that'd be best.
Lay the spackle on thick, use the spatula to smooth it out, wait a few hours for it to dry, sand it down.
When I moved last year, I could not find any affordable, great looking chairs for my dining table. Instead I bought four heavily used, cheap chairs and decided to restore them:
This is the result after many hours of grinding off the old paint, replacing the cushion and upholstering them with new fabric:
They don't look perfect (it is extremely difficult to tighten the fabric without any wrinkles) but I am very pleased with the result. However, it was much more time consuming than I imagined. I don't regret doing it, but I will never again dedicate myself to a DIY project with this amount of work. One chair would have been fine, two borderline.
Since I have finished the chairs, I only did cosmetic stuff for decorating my apartment. For that reason, I bough a scroll saw that has already been put to good use.
This is the result after many hours of grinding off the old paint, replacing the cushion and upholstering them with new fabric:
They don't look perfect (it is extremely difficult to tighten the fabric without any wrinkles) but I am very pleased with the result. However, it was much more time consuming than I imagined. I don't regret doing it, but I will never again dedicate myself to a DIY project with this amount of work. One chair would have been fine, two borderline.
Since I have finished the chairs, I only did cosmetic stuff for decorating my apartment. For that reason, I bough a scroll saw that has already been put to good use.
n64coder
Member
Why did it suck? Tight working conditions? Too hot?
I completed a 16'x12' shed last year. Here's a pic:
Built it using a set of plans from Better Barns website I modified the plans to remove a side door that would have been between the two windows. I also made it a foot taller. Spent about $5K in materials (cedar siding & azek trim accounted for about 1/2 the cost).
My current project is to remodel the basement. Currently in the demolition phase.
Why did it suck? Tight working conditions? Too hot?
I completed a 16'x12' shed last year. Here's a pic:
Built it using a set of plans from Better Barns website I modified the plans to remove a side door that would have been between the two windows. I also made it a foot taller. Spent about $5K in materials (cedar siding & azek trim accounted for about 1/2 the cost).
My current project is to remodel the basement. Currently in the demolition phase.
That is beautiful. I love it.
n64coder
Member
Here's a picture of the shed that was on the original plans before I modified it:
I didn't care for the T-111 siding look. I also didn't need the extra door.
Has anyone done window treatments? I have an interest in making some cornice boards such as this one:
I looked into have some made and it was around $1000 for a single picture window. The woodworking part will be easy. It's the fabric stuff that I'm unsure of.
bennywhatever
Member
Here's a picture of the shed that was on the original plans before I modified it:
I didn't care for the T-111 siding look. I also didn't need the extra door.
Has anyone done window treatments? I have an interest in making some cornice boards such as this one:
I looked into have some made and it was around $1000 for a single picture window. The woodworking part will be easy. It's the fabric stuff that I'm unsure of.
Holy cow, $1,000 for something like that? I feel like that's a business worth getting into!
I've never really seen those kinds of things before, but it looks like you'd make the base out of wood (particle board would probably work just fine), and then use the kind of upholster you'd use on a chair. Like someone else in this thread pointed out, it's the tightening of the fabric (preventing ridges/bubbles) that is the hard part and requires many hands to get right. Do you have a fabric/hobby store in your area? We have a ton around here, and I've seen that kind of thing run fairly cheap. I'd say you could do one of those for less than $100. Maybe even less than $50.
I could be way off base, though - anyone else have experience with it?
Fenderputty
Banned
I would love to try and build furniture, I need MORE TOOLS. lol
Is that butcher block style on the table? Did you glue and sand flat? I would love a planer, a router and a drill press. My wife wants to get into building furniture so I think I can work my way into more tools easily when the funds replenish. lol
All of the above. It's dirty as fuck and requires a mask on at all times too. Pulling new circuits actually wasn't that bad when compared to running four new switch legs in the walls. I added down lights in every room so I had to add switch legs. Previous owner had half hot receptacles and used lamps everywhere. Anyway when you run a new switch leg you have to come from above if you don't want to rip drywall off. So you have to drill down through the firestops and then fish wire up. I'm lucky my father had this drill bit. http://www.kleintools.com/catalog/flex-bit-augers/flex-bit-auger-38-10-mm-x-72-1829-mm
Has anyone done window treatments? I have an interest in making some cornice boards such as this one:
I looked into have some made and it was around $1000 for a single picture window. The woodworking part will be easy. It's the fabric stuff that I'm unsure of.
Good luck. I wish my wife could sew well enough to make them. Custom window treatments are super pricey. We've actually gone to Ikea (I know) for their window panels and railing because they're cheap and look decent enough. 1000's for one's I like as well ...
EDIT:
We finished grouting and sealing the grout this weekend on that guest bath remodel. I still have to paint the walls and add the plumbing but it's close to done now ...
Looks amazing. I love the clean look.
Fenderputty
Banned
Thanks man. Im pretty proud of the results. I've never set a tub , never laid tile on a wall or done this a Subway pattern. Conceptually I got it, but you can't tell until you see the results.
rykomatsu
Member
Looks awesome - I'm beginning to plan out our bathroom remodel. Because plumbing is a pain to get to behind the walls, will most likely go the claw foot tub route with exposed pluming through the floor...have a basement that the plumbing runs through so makes repairs a cinch...and no wall to demolish and get into.
Did you use cement board or kerdi-board or anything like that for the walls aside from your bathtub area? Or just plain drywall for most of the bathroom? A little worried about moisture in the bathroom...
Ace Harding
Member
How hard is it to re-tile a bathroom? I'd like to do at least one bathroom this year and I'm thinking about doing it myself. And are tiles super expensive? What are the required tools?
Does anyone have a good tiling guide they can link to?
How much am I really saving doing it myself?
Sorry for all the questions!!
Does anyone have a good tiling guide they can link to?
How much am I really saving doing it myself?
Sorry for all the questions!!
I noticed it looks like you have pex coming out for your tub faucet? Please tell me you aren't using sharkbite fittings?
Fenderputty
Banned
Cement board wall in shower area only. Even that has to be waterproofed though. We used Redgard. The rest of your walls are drywall. You're supposed to do a semi gloss or gloss paint to seal drywall in a bathroom. Flat paints absorb water. Glosses do not.
Fenderputty
Banned
Tiling a wall is tough. Floors not so much. Tiling itself is all in the prep work. Like how level of a surface can you make before you start. A tile saw is easy to use though. It's blade is diamond coated and isn't serrated. You can actually touch the blade while the saw is in use. A wood saw would take your hand with it.
Basically there's steps
1. Prep
2. Tile
3. Grout
They all require tools like trowls and such. It's not hard but I had family show me growing up. NOt sure I would take this without doing a small test project before hand.
Tile itself isn't much. The tile in my bathroom was $3 a SQ FT. So I think the whole bathroom cost me about $300 or so in tile. You have to consider all the plumbing and fixtures though. If you can do it, you'll save a grip. Labor is soo much in DIY.
If I were you I would start Youtub'ing videos on each of the three steps.
That's blue masking tape covering the shower valve. Below it is an 1/2"x8" copper stub. There is not pex or sharkbite in that wall. I can solder my own joints. Though I'm not opposed to sharkbite fittings when they make sense. I never use pex pipe though. All copper.
nice. Yeah the tub spout looked like red pex. At my work we usually use pex/copper with the expensive brass rehau fittings. Copper in the wall to keep everything rigid and pex in the crawl space. Pex can be better in a garage run to a hose faucet, or anyplace you might be worried about freezing, since the plastic will expand and contract better then copper. Sharkbites really shouldn't be used unless for a temporary fix. Seen too man just blast off and cause water damage, or that can be pulled out with a tug.
Fenderputty
Banned
The red on the copper is me getting sloppy with Redgard lol.
That stuff is terrible though.
That stuff is terrible though.
This past fall and winter, I did a lot of projects in our crawl space. I plan to finish some of those, and a few more, when the fall rolls around again and our lovely Oregon rain prevents me from doing outdoor projects.
The one I'm most worried about is leveling the floor. The house is on a post and beam system, having been raised onto its current foundation around 50 years ago. The old growth beams are in great shape, but the floor in the house is decidedly wavy, as many posts have settled and been reshimmed many times over. Some rooms drop well over an inch and back up again in places. I plan to do some work leveling the waviest parts of the house, after which I'll put down a proper vapor barrier; the current one is thin, torn and patchy, showing lots of dirt (and thus moisture).
Online sources like Youtube are great for showing you how to jack up and shim individual posts or around the foundation, but I have yet to find any sources that show you how to properly level a whole house, one post at a time. Issues like identifying the high or low areas, measuring whether a room is level, how much a floor can change before you start cracking walls and breaking windows. We're especially worried as we have lathe and plaster through most of the house, which is more brittle than sheetrock. I picture really breaking up some of the walls if I move the floor enough to properly level them.
We had a structural engineer evaluate the foundation shortly before gathering estimates for having some contractors do the work, and he found it to be very sound, just in need of leveling. Naturally the contractors wanted to sell us a new beam system as well, which came in at over $30k. When I asked for an estimate excluding the new beam system, they never responded.
Given that cost though, I'm doing it solo. But if anyone has any experience or ideas of what to do, I'd love to hear them. The structural engineer suggested making a level map of the house using a water level, which I have not yet investigated.
The one I'm most worried about is leveling the floor. The house is on a post and beam system, having been raised onto its current foundation around 50 years ago. The old growth beams are in great shape, but the floor in the house is decidedly wavy, as many posts have settled and been reshimmed many times over. Some rooms drop well over an inch and back up again in places. I plan to do some work leveling the waviest parts of the house, after which I'll put down a proper vapor barrier; the current one is thin, torn and patchy, showing lots of dirt (and thus moisture).
Online sources like Youtube are great for showing you how to jack up and shim individual posts or around the foundation, but I have yet to find any sources that show you how to properly level a whole house, one post at a time. Issues like identifying the high or low areas, measuring whether a room is level, how much a floor can change before you start cracking walls and breaking windows. We're especially worried as we have lathe and plaster through most of the house, which is more brittle than sheetrock. I picture really breaking up some of the walls if I move the floor enough to properly level them.
We had a structural engineer evaluate the foundation shortly before gathering estimates for having some contractors do the work, and he found it to be very sound, just in need of leveling. Naturally the contractors wanted to sell us a new beam system as well, which came in at over $30k. When I asked for an estimate excluding the new beam system, they never responded.
Given that cost though, I'm doing it solo. But if anyone has any experience or ideas of what to do, I'd love to hear them. The structural engineer suggested making a level map of the house using a water level, which I have not yet investigated.
n64coder
Member
For a small window, the cost would be around $500. The $1000 quote is for a picture window, around 2 ft by 7 ft.
We have some drapes made a few years back and it was like $2000 for 4 windows. They were very good quality, with nice backing. I got them from a local chain or store called Calico Corners. They specialize in window treatments and upholstery. I can't sew for shit but I think I can do these cornice boards. Worse case,I'm out $100 in materials if I good it up. The other limiting factor is time. I'm good at carpentry, wiring, and programming so sometimes I think it's best to let someone else make the window treatment and use my time for stuff that I'm good at. Still it kills me how much it costs.
rykomatsu
Member
Oh man, you have balls...I won't touch any foundation related issues...
Contractor leveled our home (plaster and lathe walls) and basically ended up with about $10k in wall damage
It sucks, plaster provides more insulation and soundproofing than drywall (since it's pretty much cement) but cracks really easily...Oh man, you have balls...I won't touch any foundation related issues...
Contractor leveled our home (plaster and lathe walls) and basically ended up with about $10k in wall damage
Yeah, we have a lot of cracking in the walls currently, from posts settling. We can see the gaps between the toe boards and the floor in places and so know where along the edge to jack the wall up. Quite a few of the cracks are opening as the floor settles, so we're hoping to just close those back up and repair them later in the year when we repaint.
The foundation itself is fine - if we had issues I wouldn't touch that either. It'll mostly be jacking up a bit and adding a shingle or two, but I won't do much more than that. The scale of wall damage you describe is exactly what I'm worried about. Ouch.
Fenderputty
Banned
Get a BIG level if you're going to check stuff like that.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XUHEM4/?tag=neogaf0e-20
On a per room basis you should be able to see where your low and high spots are and be able to see if a room leans one way or another.
Maybe get a laser level to help mapping your house from below? The Laser automatically levels itself and projects a plane. You can use that plane to measure your room edges off of and see where you sag.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002W7Q2V0/?tag=neogaf0e-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XUHEM4/?tag=neogaf0e-20
On a per room basis you should be able to see where your low and high spots are and be able to see if a room leans one way or another.
Maybe get a laser level to help mapping your house from below? The Laser automatically levels itself and projects a plane. You can use that plane to measure your room edges off of and see where you sag.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002W7Q2V0/?tag=neogaf0e-20
bennywhatever
Member
I wanted to go back to this, because I've done a bit more research. I showed this to a friend of mine, and he wanted me to build him one, yet I've run into a little snag.
The guide tells you to just "use a 2" drill bit," but what he doesn't say is what kind of bit, because those are kind of rare. A normal Spade bit, which is what I showed originally, only goes up to 1 1/2", so those are out of the question. You'd be best off using a Forstner bit, and it definitely needs to be done on a drill press and not a standard hand drill. Drilling a hole that wide requires a lot of power.
I felt that was important to share, since it was an oversight on my part in the beginning. Those bits can range anywhere from $15 - $60, depending on what kind of material or what brand you go with. Most shops don't keep them around.
You can drill holes that large by hand, but it requires the item being drilled to be clamped down tight so it doesn't shift during the operation of the drill. A drill press is still a good idea if you are drilling something that needs to be perfectly straight, such as if it's receiving a dowel or leg. A hole saw would work too, but it's a rougher cut and is also pretty expensive.
Scooter155
Member
Found the same info after digging a bit, thanks. Now I'm trying to decide if I should buy a 2" Forstner or plan on cutting the boards in half, sawing a 2" hole with a hole saw, then gluing them back together... keeps getting more complicated and I haven't even started yet
Dimensions are another sticky point, my pie in the sky plans called for a 6" tall stand, only to find that you can't really buy a piece of wood that big. Lowered it to 5.25 so that a 6x6 would be big enough, but most of the ones I can find are dark and pressure treated for outdoor projects like decks, that seems like overkill for this, any recommendations on where to get the wood I need? Should I plan on buying smaller and doing a lot of gluing? I have a Home Depot and an Ace Hardware in the area, nothing else.
rykomatsu
Member
Don't forget the versatility of a router too
You can get plunge bits with a 3/4" shank and 2" dia.Lumber yard - ask for oversized lumber. They may make you buy a long length though...
bennywhatever
Member
Found the same info after digging a bit, thanks. Now I'm trying to decide if I should buy a 2" Forstner or plan on cutting the boards in half, sawing a 2" hole with a hole saw, then gluing them back together... keeps getting more complicated and I haven't even started yet
Dimensions are another sticky point, my pie in the sky plans called for a 6" tall stand, only to find that you can't really buy a piece of wood that big. Lowered it to 5.25 so that a 6x6 would be big enough, but most of the ones I can find are dark and pressure treated for outdoor projects like decks, that seems like overkill for this, any recommendations on where to get the wood I need? Should I plan on buying smaller and doing a lot of gluing? I have a Home Depot and an Ace Hardware in the area, nothing else.
I wouldn't recommend cutting them in half just for a cut like that and then gluing them back together - you're better off breaking down and getting a Forstner bit.
For the second part, I recommend doing what I did. I got a 1" x 10" x 72" oak board, cut it into 14" sections, and laid them out one on top of the other. Then measure out how wide you want each tier to be, and just cut them that way. Like in my original picture:
Those boards aren't very expensive and can be found easily at Menards, Lowes, or Home Depot. The way the guy in the guide did it uses really odd dimensions of lumber. It makes it a lot more complicated.
Scooter155
Member
I wouldn't recommend cutting them in half just for a cut like that and then gluing them back together - you're better off breaking down and getting a Forstner bit.
For the second part, I recommend doing what I did. I got a 1" x 10" x 72" oak board, cut it into 14" sections, and laid them out one on top of the other. Then measure out how wide you want each tier to be, and just cut them that way. Like in my original picture:
Those boards aren't very expensive and can be found easily at Menards, Lowes, or Home Depot. The way the guy in the guide did it uses really odd dimensions of lumber. It makes it a lot more complicated.
Cool cool, looks good, makes a lot of sense. My only tiny issue with that is I'd like the levels to be a little larger, maybe 1.5 to 2 inches tall, just so the figures aren't hiding behind each other, you know? I'll check at Home Depot for a 2x10x72 or something comparable.
I'd love to see yours when it's done.
Thanks again!
Edit : Home Depot has Douglas Fir boards that are 2 by 10 by 12 feet, and the actual size of a 2 by 10 is more like 1.5" by 9.5", right? that's perfect for me, even if 12 feet is a little ridiculous, it's only 12 bucks, so sounds like that's what I'll go with.
Fenderputty
Banned
You'll note that his plan only has a 1" step between each trophy section. So it's not going to be exact to the one you're looking at.
Home Depot won't have 6x6 boards in decent wood. They'll only have rough building materials. You'll have to go to a lumbar yard specifically.
EDIT: Looks like you found 2" planks that will work. Nice.
bennywhatever
Member
Awesome. What I'm doing to alleviate the problem with them being on top of each other is I'm staggering them. The bottom tier will have 5 spots, the middle with have 4 spots in between the other tiers, the top will have 5. That way they'll all be visible. Idk how many total Amiibos there are, but my buddy doesn't plan on getting nearly that many.
Project is on hold, though, until I can get a 2" Forstner bit! I'm asking all of my friends and family if they have one, because I really don't want to shell out $15 for a bit I'll only use once.
Fenderputty
Banned
You never know when you'll need it again! When you do need it you'll be glad you dropped $15 bucks on it way way in the past.
Anyone have experience finishing basements? I'd like to turn mine into a livable space, even if it is not completely finished. I've painted the ceiling rafters white and put drylok over most of the walls. Floor is a disaster, covered in paint and glue. There is a nice finished bathroom from one of the previous owners. Lots of condensation under anything left on the ground. Wanted to stain but the concrete appears to be sealed.
I'd prefer to leave the floors and walls as concrete. Looking for ideas on how to best make the floor attractive and functional. Original plan was to use the basement as my primary media space, but I don't think that's going to pan out... Too much moisture, too much risk. Still would like to utilize it as best I can.
Thought about putting in a raised subfloor but I don't think that'll work for two big reasons
1.) I plan to use the basement as a home gym, and the ceiling is not high enough to allow me to do so if the floor is raised
2.) cost
I'd prefer to leave the floors and walls as concrete. Looking for ideas on how to best make the floor attractive and functional. Original plan was to use the basement as my primary media space, but I don't think that's going to pan out... Too much moisture, too much risk. Still would like to utilize it as best I can.
Thought about putting in a raised subfloor but I don't think that'll work for two big reasons
1.) I plan to use the basement as a home gym, and the ceiling is not high enough to allow me to do so if the floor is raised
2.) cost
You have several options for the floor, but make sure that whatever you do, you get a good, sealed vapor barrier down on the concrete before you put anything else down. Moisture coming up from it is a huge red flag that there is not a vapor barrier under it, and you have moisture coming up through it from the ground. Anything you put down will trap that moisture and create rot, or at least cause the bond with the ground to fail unless it's properly sealed.
I would start your research with how to properly seal a concrete basement floor. There may be some options there; I'm not that familiar with it but something like drylok might work as a base coat for a finish to be applied.
Didn't put anything in before painting the drylok, but didn't notice moisture collecting through the walls. Floor is frustrating. If I spill water on it, the water beads. Nothing goes through. But if I leave something on the floor, like foil, condensation will build underneath it. And there are puddles where it appears moisture is wicking up through hairline cracks. Not much, but enough to worry.
Previous owners had carpet glued and tacked onto the concrete. Tore up the entire perimeter ripping up the tack strips. Found a few dark patches that look like mold, but might be dirt somehow pressed into the concrete.
The house is less than 15 years old. I expected the basement to be in better shape. Maybe that's naive.
Another thing that bugs me: I can't see how the bathroom downstairs was finished, and considering a lot of other half-assed improvements by the previous owners I wonder if there's mold or moisture between the drywall and concrete.
bennywhatever
Member
Menards has their 11% off sale right now, so I went ahead and got my 2" Forstner bit (along with lots of gardening stuff which I will post later once it's done).
Unfortunately, my poor cordless drill just doesn't have the power to drill very far. I went ahead and carved out where everything is going.
Will need to use a drill press to finish it up.
Unfortunately, my poor cordless drill just doesn't have the power to drill very far. I went ahead and carved out where everything is going.
Will need to use a drill press to finish it up.
HisshouBuraiKen
Member
Nice! How're you planning on finishing it?
Lionheart1827
Member
I've been wanting to replace the ceiling and floor molding in my condo because the previous owner did a pretty crappy job. However, the ceiling is kind of bowed. How would you do molding on a ceiling like that?
bennywhatever
Member
I have some nice Dark Walnut stain that I used for a different project (same wood) that turned out really good. I'll still need to fill some holes/cracks, sand it down a lot, then stain it. I'll probably just poly it afterwards.
Fenderputty
Banned
Molding comes in 16' and 17' lengths. It will bend with the ceiling bow. Use caulking to clean up gaps. Shims too.
I just finished my crown on the vaulted ceiling. There were some bowed sections.
Edit: good luck sealing that basement. I live Cali so you're describing a nightmare to me lol
sir_kevith
Member
I don't have much advice for home repair but I'm into repairing old ghetto blaster boomboxes and other electronics.
I work in IT but I always feel much more accomplished getting old stuff like this working. I think troubleshooting the issue accurately is one of the most important parts. Being aware of what goes wrong with older stuff. If you're repairing old electronics the things to look for are universal:
-Rubber components withered away into goop
-Broken brittle plastic
-Failing capacitors
-Broken solder joints
-Corrosion
-Power supply issues (Also, fuses. You never know what a prior owner plugged into something so it's always good to check for a blown fuse)
Being able to track down and fix these things is doable for any laymen and you really don't need to know any advanced theory or anything to get a job done.
That said, if you truly want to fix old electronics and bring them into perfect working order you have to track down the service manual from the manufacturer. Sometimes you might even have to break down and buy a printout of a PDF on ebay or something because they can be incredibly difficult to track down and people use that opportunity to make money. Just recently I fixed some convergence issues on a K7000 arcade monitor even though I have no experience doing such a thing. I was able to read how they did it in the service manual and that was enough. It's not perfect yet but good for a first try.
Track down those service manuals!
I don't have a decent picture but under these boards is a mess of goopy melted rubber that needed to be cleaned and the belts replaced to get the tape deck working properly.
It wasn't an easy task but replacing those belts to the specification in the manual made this 34 year old boombox work great.
I work in IT but I always feel much more accomplished getting old stuff like this working. I think troubleshooting the issue accurately is one of the most important parts. Being aware of what goes wrong with older stuff. If you're repairing old electronics the things to look for are universal:
-Rubber components withered away into goop
-Broken brittle plastic
-Failing capacitors
-Broken solder joints
-Corrosion
-Power supply issues (Also, fuses. You never know what a prior owner plugged into something so it's always good to check for a blown fuse)
Being able to track down and fix these things is doable for any laymen and you really don't need to know any advanced theory or anything to get a job done.
That said, if you truly want to fix old electronics and bring them into perfect working order you have to track down the service manual from the manufacturer. Sometimes you might even have to break down and buy a printout of a PDF on ebay or something because they can be incredibly difficult to track down and people use that opportunity to make money. Just recently I fixed some convergence issues on a K7000 arcade monitor even though I have no experience doing such a thing. I was able to read how they did it in the service manual and that was enough. It's not perfect yet but good for a first try.
This is what text looked like:
This is what the test-screen was showing me:
The service manual showed me how to adjust the yoke on the back of the CRT to get better convergence. I didn't even know what a yoke was before
Now the text is much cleaner and easier to read at the edges and the overall picture quality is much improved:
Track down those service manuals!
Fenderputty
Banned
That's pretty cool that you fixed up those boom boxes and shit man. DIY is a broad brush and you've specialized in an area most will shy away from. Very cool.
It would be good if a mechanic would enter this thread and school us all on fixing up cars lol
It would be good if a mechanic would enter this thread and school us all on fixing up cars lol
Attention DIYers:
Humble Bundle is currently hosting a deal on MAKE magazine. MAKE is an excellent resource for those who like building things, especially electronics.
Humble Bundle is currently hosting a deal on MAKE magazine. MAKE is an excellent resource for those who like building things, especially electronics.