This past Sunday I finally got around to putting gravel around my deck and along the back of the house. This area is shaded 90% of the time and the ground rarely dries out. Grass also wont grow there with three dogs coming off the deck and taking off into the back yard.

8/5/2013 7:25:57 PM

i have to do the same thing. did you buy a truck load or just bags and bags and bags?

8/5/2013 8:05:54 PM

Lowes sells 1000 pound bags of the gravel for $34. 1 bag is .33 cubic yards, I bought 3 and rented their truck to bring it home for $20. So it ended up costing me roughly $150 for the gravel, truck rental, and landscape fabric. I already had the timbers at the house that the previous owner used for their garden.

8/5/2013 9:52:25 PM

Quote :

"Do you have really good water pressure or a separate pump for that system? I couldn't imaging doing half my yard on one zone with the water pressure I have."

no dedicated pump. i have a well. the irrigation system comes off the main line right after the pump (before my water softener). the pressure seems average to me. each zone has about 6 pop-up heads on it, iirc. maybe i overestimated the coverage of each zone, but i still feel like i could easily do my whole acre with no more than 6 zones.

8/5/2013 9:55:52 PM

Not a big deal, but just added to my garage organization a bit further. Built a scrap plywood rack (out of scrap plywood); a couple slots for various sizes, a spot for round stock items on the left and small scraps on the right. Light enough to lift with one hand, but strong enough to support all that wood and my weight. Also made some racks for 8' stock and 1x and 2x scraps.

All built to work with my DIY french cleat rail system so i can move them around at will. I like having everything off the floor so I can sweep under easily, and I don't like to let wood rest directly on the concrete anyway.

I know it's not impressive, but I like seeing what other people do storage wise, good inspiration.

8/7/2013 1:42:48 PM

Nice!

I've been wanting to build something like that too....The Wood Whisperer built something like that a while back.

[Edited on August 7, 2013 at 2:15 PM. Reason : .]

8/7/2013 2:14:51 PM

This is what I did today at my parents house, only took a few hours to install the LED's and wire them up to existing light switches. I'm getting pretty proficient at it.

8/12/2013 3:35:40 AM

Can you share what model or brand you are using to do the LEDs? I have under cabinet lighting in my kitchen now but they put off a ton of heat so I was hoping to swap to LEDs.

8/12/2013 8:03:54 AM

^ Got a link for the LEDs you used?

8/12/2013 8:05:50 AM

Sure, NP guys, just pay me $texas for that info...

Anyhow, this is what I've been buying from Amazon and have used them 1/2 dozen times now. This is a DIY project and requires you to solder so if you don't want to go through the trouble to save money. They do sell A type end connectors to connect different pieces without soldering, but they are like a few bucks for a set of four. Soldering isn't rocket science and you can be very liberal when applying the solder, as long as you don't absolutely suck and short the positive with the negatives since the stripes aren't much wider than a pencil.

Hitlights Warm White Flexible Ribbon LED light strip, 300 LED's, 5m
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GL5UG2

You can pair them with any AC to DC 12v power supply, even ones from defunct electronics that I have laying around to save some money in these projects too. But I'm using some generic 2 Amp regulated power supply from Amazon for $7.50 a piece. So far so good. Its small and quiet, so it mounts anywhere. It also has overload, over voltage and short circuit protections, which I was surprised for being such a cheap product, but it looks quality made. Beats all of the plugin AC/DC wall PS that are more expensive.

12v 2A DC power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FH54L6

Also, I've bought a set of these "cool white" that are exactly the same as the hitlights. I say "cool white" because its really in between cool and warm. Warm's are around 2800-3200k, these "cool whites" are labeled as 3500k and other cool whites are suppose to be in the 4k-5k range. I can do some color balance testing tonight and actually make sure. Oh, and its suppose to be waterproof and its like 4 bucks cheaper than the Hitlights one.

Olympic Lighting 300 LED strip light, Cool White, Waterproof, 5m
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EHHLD8

I plan on using the "cool white" LED's for my bathroom and build an entire light panel as the main light, then similar recessed accent lights all the way around the top trim pieces, but I'd have to remove the wall paper and repaint the bathroom first.


I do plan on taking a walk through tour of Cree Lighting later this week or next and hopefully do a partnership with them to design some custom lights for my own purposes, maybe make it a consumer product. I'm very interested in their new 5x5mm LED's that do some 250+ lumens per watt.

8/12/2013 5:52:06 PM

You should make some grow lights and sell them

8/12/2013 10:31:08 PM

I've always wanted to do an indoor veggie garden in like a garage. I'll have to bring that up to them when I meet with Cree. My scoutmaster happens to know the head of the LED indoor R&D department.

8/13/2013 7:31:31 PM

LED panel grow lights are very popular

they are also very efficient and do a fantastic job with plants

the bright colors of the red and the whites really help for vegging and flowering

They are also pretty damn expensive

8/13/2013 9:58:55 PM

I'd have to do more research on the subject to really figure out the market.

8/13/2013 10:33:20 PM

The market for LED lights for "gardens"? Without doing market research, imma guess there's a market segment that would appreciate a good product that will offer reduced power consumption....

8/13/2013 11:13:18 PM

Research includes engineering and product development. The biggest issue with past powerful LED's is the use of certain fixing chemicals and material finishes that would exacerbate the degradation of the LED light output, specially if we are talking about outdoor applications and encasing the LED.

8/13/2013 11:32:02 PM

I thought you were talking market research. I'm like... Stoners will line up for that shit.

8/14/2013 12:34:16 AM

im talking about indoor friend
trust me, i know the market. you could make some great money these.

8/14/2013 11:00:18 AM

Ask your "scoutmaster" if Cree is hiring any sales reps. That's a great company.

As for doing an indoor veggie garden, it seems like a lot of work. I'm over my outdoor garden after a couple months, I couldn't imagine doing it year-round.

[Edited on August 14, 2013 at 11:54 AM. Reason : a]

8/14/2013 11:52:46 AM

Small pictures, yeah. But went from this:



to this:

8/14/2013 3:23:39 PM

that looks phenomenal!

8/14/2013 3:35:12 PM

^^ looks good!

We're doing out kitchen this fall as well. I've had it planned for awhile (I know exactly what we want except for choosing between a couple shortlisted counters) but I've been out of town for work. Hopefully I'll have something to show in a couple months

8/14/2013 6:12:33 PM

looks good. how long did that take? what'd it cost? i should be embarking on a similar kitchen renovation in the next couple weeks but i'm taking out a wall and cutting a giant hole in another. will be having the heavy construction done by someone insured since im in DC and my house is in raleigh and I haven't done that before. i think the granite alone is gonna be 6k

8/14/2013 7:03:19 PM

Thanks guys. Since we've been doing it ourselves (my father in law is a general contractor), it's taken quite a long time. I'd say the better part of 2 years. Atypical, of course. Since it's all our own labor and we both work full-time, we only have so much time.

Also makes it difficult to estimate cost. Roughly 300 sqft of slate tile, lumber for framing, flooring and cabinets, insulation, butcher block countertops, new appliances...I'd have to estimate close to $15-20k? Maybe more. I'd have to get my father in law to give me an idea of what he'd charge to do a similar job. Naturally, it wouldn't take nearly as long for someone else.

We've more or less renovated the entire house, starting in the summer of 2009. Next thing we'll tackle are the two bathrooms.

8/14/2013 7:29:21 PM

That's a pretty sick ass kitchen.

8/14/2013 7:37:17 PM

I too am doing a kitchen renovation this fall/winter. I'm designing mine in CAD and giving some options to my parents to what they'd like and don't like. This is what I've put into thus far, nothing exciting, just getting general dimensions.



I plan on going to local businesses and other companies to pitch the idea of doing a partnership with them; they either give me stuff for free or a discount and I'll promote their products when I do both "How to videos" on the renovating stage as well as my planned video series of a cooking show with a master chef who works at one of the nice restaurants in downtown Raleigh. I'm designing the kitchen to be a stage.

@smoothcrim: How much granite do you need? 6k in counter tops is a lot of granite.

8/14/2013 9:15:05 PM

depends on the granite. a lot of the cheaper "builder grade" granite is lower than that, but a lot of nice granite can easily be that for a kitchen. We have a small kitchen, with not a lot of counterspace and the quartz options that are in my final 4 are all >$5000 installed.

We could certainly spend a lot less than that but I wanted a very specific product and very specific color / pattern.

[Edited on August 14, 2013 at 9:24 PM. Reason : ]

8/14/2013 9:21:35 PM

I was thinking without installed prices... hehe

8/14/2013 9:40:22 PM

well, our lowest bid on the cheapest material in our final four was $5014 and their installation cost was only $500 of that (including cutouts). Typically on counters, installation costs are pretty small and worth someone else taking the responsibility for coordinating it all - but that's just my opinion.

8/14/2013 9:45:16 PM

Oh ok, I was assuming that cost of installation would be double that. I've only really checked material cost and planned on doing everything myself.

8/14/2013 9:50:08 PM

I think out of the 3 contractors I got budget pricing from this spring, they ranged between $500 and $1000 and the total prices were all over $5000 (12 total prices...3 contractors, 4 materials to compare).

We are using the existing cabinets and layout with some modifications where we could without affecting the cabinet layout (cutting down a bar-height portion, adjusting overhangs and some angles etc.). I put it all in AutoCAD and Sketchup to plan it. We've already bought the pendants and I have our sink and faucet each narrowed down to two choices. We will be doing any demo work, providing the fixtures, installing the lighting, and possibly installing the backsplash. But, I am having someone else install the counter. It's by far the most expensive piece and I like having the perfection and liability of that work put off on someone else.

8/14/2013 10:28:37 PM

I'll have somewhere around 100sqft of counter top, so ~$60/sqft installed isnt too far off. i, too, want a very specific material/pattern. looking for galaxy granite with the copper dust swirl in it to match the wood. I'll probably do slate tile until I move back but I'd like to do a floor of all pennies and have the copper match the granite.

8/15/2013 8:56:56 AM

I think that granite can definitely look really nice in the right context( coordinating walls cabinets etc), but I have to say I am not a fan of the penny floors other than maybe a small commercial bathroom (restaurant, bar, etc.). I think it is too cutesy-diy for its own good in a home. what color or stain are the cabinets?

Edit: I do actually like penny tile, just not actually pennies. Just my opinion though, not trying to be a dick or anything.

[Edited on August 15, 2013 at 10:27 AM. Reason : ]

8/15/2013 10:11:24 AM

And by "that" I meant the specific granite you liked can look cool.

8/15/2013 12:17:28 PM

cherry cabinets with a "honey something or other" stain. its an medium to light brown with a hint of pink/red, like copper

8/15/2013 2:34:43 PM

Perhaps all the people in here who plan on doing their kitchen should come together and combine our purchasing power and see if we can get discounts.

8/16/2013 4:34:27 AM

it's not a bad idea for people who live close. But a lot of the best pricing on this stuff comes through local suppliers so it wouldn't work well for me. For others that are considering doing it around Raleigh or something it may be worth looking into.

8/16/2013 8:07:12 AM

I'm currently in the middle (Well, beginning) of my first masonry project. I have these 2 steps to cover, plus 2 more steps at the other side of the walkway. That shit's harder than I thought it was going to be. I'm sure that someone that knows what they're doing could knock it out in a day. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. At this rate I might be finished by Christmas, lol.

8/16/2013 9:37:13 AM

Deck is complete!

[Edited on August 27, 2013 at 9:30 AM. Reason : big pic]

8/27/2013 9:29:55 AM

^ very nice. Sweet that you have that light pole right there too. We had Duke Power put one in at the end of our driveway near our garage, and it only costs us $10/mo. Well worth it.

8/27/2013 11:16:20 AM

Yea, the deck was for the in-laws, and the back yard light used to be about where I took that picture. The father-in-law didn't like the way the power line was sagging over the pool deck, so, he decided to move it farther away from the house to it's current location. Jones-Onslow did the work, and I think I remember him saying it was like $10/mon. It really lights the deck up with the amber glow at night.

8/27/2013 12:04:28 PM

I hate sodium lamps

8/31/2013 5:51:41 PM

so, a few years ago on here when we first moved into our house, we took an empty TV nook over the fireplace, added some shelves to it, trimmed out the opening and just threw some paint on it to spruce the space up. Finally this weekend, about 2 years later, we took the time to finish the project further like we originally intended

We cut foam-board to size to fit inside the opening and adhered foam-board to the wallpaper (this way if we ever want to change the wallpaper or remove it and just repaint the back wall or something, it won't be a pain in the ass). Luckily I made the shelves removable too (just the "cleats" are anchored and the shelves rest on the cleats).

This is what it looked like when we bought the house:


This is what it looked like today when we finished the wallpaper:




[Edited on September 1, 2013 at 4:59 PM. Reason : ]

9/1/2013 4:59:43 PM

looks great! was it hard finding that curved trim?

9/1/2013 8:56:09 PM

That turned out well.

9/1/2013 8:59:26 PM

Thanks!

I actually ordered a piece of "flex" trim from Home Depot and it worked out well. Since it's painted you cant tell it's not wood like the vertical pieces.

9/1/2013 10:50:52 PM

^Looks fantastic, dude! Nice work.

9/2/2013 1:36:00 PM

I built a built in shoe rack/ shelving in the master clost today. The shelves are 11.5" deep. This is a large cavity where the AC runs between the floors and to the attic. They left a lot of extra space during construction, so I decided to use some of it.

The unit is 16" wide, and 70" tall.

9/2/2013 4:41:50 PM

^^ thank you! We were glad to finally finish it.

^ that looks great. Our house is the same way regarding random leftover/wasted space. Especially in the master closet, that's a lot of storage you added.

9/2/2013 5:52:36 PM

almost got all the hardiebacker installed in our master bathroom renovation, and the tub installed. ran out of mortar to finish the joints, so we won't get to apply the waterproofing tonight.

9/2/2013 7:39:11 PM