How many coats of paint did you need to cover the wood paneling?

8/25/2011 10:52:56 AM

two after a coat of primer. probably 3 if you don't prime.

8/25/2011 12:01:17 PM

That is VERY nice and impressive Dubcaps. GJ

8/25/2011 4:15:45 PM

thank you! but i can't take credit for all of it. we've definitely had quite a bit of help along the way.

8/26/2011 10:05:12 AM

It took me one coat of primer and two coats of paint to go over some dark wood paneling too. I actually like the vertical lines routed into the paneling...Looks similar to beadboard once it is painted. Completely changed my dark den into something much nicer looking.

8/29/2011 2:18:00 PM

Ye Olde water heater started leaking this morning. Anyone ever put one in yourself? is it that hard?

9/1/2011 12:51:57 PM

what part is leaking? can you fix it?

9/1/2011 2:09:49 PM

Naw, teh tank is leaking. I got home and the area where the burner is was full of rustish water.

9/1/2011 2:14:42 PM

9/1/2011 2:44:58 PM

Quote :

"It took me one coat of primer and two coats of paint to go over some dark wood paneling too. I actually like the vertical lines routed into the paneling...Looks similar to beadboard once it is painted. Completely changed my dark den into something much nicer looking."

Yeah I'm digging it. The house we're buying the lower quarter of the walls in the living room have that same wood paneling from the 70s. Figure I'll just paint over it rather than waste my time removing it.

9/2/2011 9:28:30 AM

Delta Plumbing ran me a new water heater and brought an electrician (Richard's & Son) to run a line for the panel for it. (We went with an electric instead of another gas WH, for several reasons). Took 'em about two hours, and having watched it, would have taken me bout two days.

Anyways, A+ would use again.

9/2/2011 7:54:46 PM

I need to redo the gutter drains that run underground around the house. There are two spots in particular now that I'm 95% sure have collapsed as they run perpendicular to the paver style driveway. The cars run over the area only; they don't park on top of the drainage pipes. The previous owners went "cheap" and used some terra cotta "pipes" because they were cheap. I'm was planning on going with PVC (if it will work). Would a 2" PVC pipe be able to handle car loads though? I figured I could buy a small 2ft section for like $3 and do a "Myth Busters" with a ~3,500lb sedan and see what happens.

[Edited on September 3, 2011 at 1:08 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on September 3, 2011 at 1:08 AM. Reason : .]

9/3/2011 1:03:35 AM

Sometimes it sucks to have a big yard.

We live on over an acre with 35 year old trees in the yard and we're bordered on one side by woods. Hurricane Irene really did a number on some of these old trees. I just parted with $230 to have the yard cleaned up and broken hanging limbs cut out of the trees. I know we got off lucky, but I would have liked to do something else with that money.

Just about anything else, really.

9/3/2011 12:08:23 PM

^^ PVC isn't all that strong either.

One thing you could try making is a ductbank: http://www.networxusa.com/ductbank.jpg

Find some way to excavate a nice trench, suspend the pipe several inches off the ground with some spacers (something small sort of like what you see in the picture, doesn't have to be that sort of specific hardware though) then cast concrete around it so you've got about 4" on all sides of the pipe in a square configuration. Put soil on top, compact it a bit, put the pavers back in place. Only issue is you need to let the concrete cure for a while before you'll have your driveway back. Probably wouldn't need to be the full 28 days but hey.

As a quicker solution you could try getting your hands on some cast iron pipe or something.

9/3/2011 10:31:41 PM

Two 10' sections of cast iron would be awesome except over time they will clog. Probably no where near as bad as if it in home plumbing, but I imagine over time the effect will be the same and eventually will need replacing... Looks like pvc and concrete is my only "permanent" option...

9/4/2011 1:04:15 AM

My home is 2 years old.

Recently, we have noticed that our hot water is brown... i noticed it when i drew a tub of water the other day. when i drained the water, there was dirt/sediment left over in the bottom of the tub.

cold water is clear, hot water is brown. obviously, it sounds like i'm having an issue with the hot water heater. however, the hot water heater is only 2 years old (as is the house).
What could be going on?

9/4/2011 2:25:15 PM

Since you're in a newer house with rust free pipes and you're probably not on well water, you've probably just got sediment in your hot water heater. The heater turning on or running low will stir up the sediment and you'll see it in your bath water. Just draining/flushing the hot water heater should help. Your hot water heater shouldn't be giving you major problems so early in its life.

9/4/2011 3:06:31 PM

Cool. For someone who isn't that much of a handyman, what is the best way to do that? Does just running the water inside for a while flush/drain it?

One of my buddies suggested hooking a hose up to the hot water heater and running it out in the yard to drain.

9/4/2011 9:14:51 PM

I was doing the same thing a few times before my water heater busted open. (mine was like 13 years old).

What I did was attach a hose to the bib at the bottom of the tank, run it outside, and shut off the water going into the water heater at the cold line going in at the top, open a few faucets on hot to let air in and let it drain out until the water flow slowed way down (tank emptied). Then open the cold line at the top of the tank and let it flush for a while. Draining and then flushing seemed to help stir all the crud up and get it out.

I'd do that a few times and check the water in a white bucket until it starts running clear when you open the cold line back up. The first few times it'd come out like hot chocolate for a few seconds.



Gas or electric?

[Edited on September 4, 2011 at 9:28 PM. Reason : []

9/4/2011 9:26:59 PM

Electric...so let me get this right...

1. turn off power at the breaker
2. hook up hose to the drain bib on the water heater
3. shut off cold water inlet line on top of the tank
4. turn on hot water at faucet inside house
5. open the drain valve...
6. let it drain until it slows
7. open the cold water inlet line to add more water...
8. close it again to drain it completely again.
9. remove hose and turn off drain valve
10. turn on water line so that tank fills up
11. when faucet inside starts running water smoothly again, i can turn power back on to tank

9/4/2011 10:07:36 PM

Yep, pretty much. Power off and on only when the tank has filled so you don't burn up the elements. Steps 7 and 8 can repeat a few times, you don't need to fill it all the way back up each time, you just want to stir up the water in the tank.

There's a pressure/temp emergency valve on the top of the tank on the side, attached to a line on the side of the tank that goes down to the pan (or through the floor). Once you shut the water to the tank off and open a faucet to let the pressure in the tank off, you can open that to speed the draining up. Make sure to close it before you cut the water back on.

9/4/2011 11:19:14 PM

There is a lot of hot air by the attic. I was thinking of buying one of those attic tents that are in skymall, but they are so expensive!!

Has anyone built one from Styrofoam?

9/5/2011 2:31:28 PM

This may seem a bit stupid (me asking this), but have you considered installing an exterior door on the inside of your house leading up to the attic, assuming it is not finished space? It would have a decent seal at least and keep the hot air from just going through the door.

A lot of heat comes from mine as well but I'm in a 1970s house with a pull-down staircase leading into the attic. Gonna take some $$$ or engineering (or both) to seal that up and insulate it well.

9/12/2011 11:01:56 PM

an attic fan does wonders

9/13/2011 9:34:59 AM

Quote :

"This may seem a bit stupid (me asking this), but have you considered installing an exterior door on the inside of your house leading up to the attic, assuming it is not finished space? "

and add stairs up there too? seems like this would be more expense than it is worth.

as far as an attic tent, building one would be pretty simple. make a frame out of 1x1 and then glue foamboard insulation to it. I have seen these in a few of my friends houses.

9/13/2011 10:33:20 AM

I had a sugar ant problem show up a few days ago, put out the terro, and I went under the house to see if I could find them coming in. Didn't find the ants, but I did find a wet spot on the subfloor right under the kitchen sink.

It doesn't look like it's been there for long, and I can't find any water on the floor in the house, or evidence of there having been water. I pulled the insulation away underneath and it seems like it's drying out really slowly.

The only thing I can think of is that we have an A/C vent the penetrates the floor under the sink and stops, and the cabinet under the sink has a vent cover on the toe kick, so the air comes out of the duct, enters the space under the cabinet, and then comes out of the vent into the house. The sink supply and drain lines run through that space. I might be getting some condensation and just haven't been in the crawlspace at the right time to see it.

thoughts/comments/ideas?

MS Paint sketch:

9/13/2011 10:40:48 AM

is there a gap between the duct and the subfloor? Is the duct insulated?

my first guess is that the cold air comes out of the duct and some of it gets back in the crawlspace. The cold dry air from the duct meets the warm moist air from the crawlspace and condensates around the opening/on the joists.

You can use expanding foam to seal around the duct to the subfloor. then ensure that the duct in the crawl is insulated and taped up well.

9/13/2011 11:13:51 AM

Good call. The sink drain line is sealed with mineral wool and leaks a little cold air, and the duct penetration leaks a little as well. I'll foam em both up and see what happens.

9/13/2011 2:54:03 PM

Posting this here, because I don't want a ton of attention over this. This is kind of an advertisement for services, but if you're going to be spending some money on lighting/accessories and possible furniture, this could be a big benefit.

My brother has design accounts with a lot of major furniture makers and lighting/accessory companies. Since he is not advertising prices, he is able to significantly reduce the price of the items to end users. I was particularly impressed by the mark-ups on things like lighting. Seems like lighting is marked up 2.5 times the wholesale price.

For those of you that need lighting upgrades/etc, please view this vendor for some examples. Google the prices and you'll see these fixtures are high-end.

He is going to end up selling you the product at wholesale plus a buyers premium + shipping + sales tax (that amount of the buyers premium will be determined by what you buy). He is also working on getting contracts with companies like Baldwin door locks.

I am probably going to be spending a good amount of money at CYAN, and you'll save more if you order with me (orders under $500 add a shipping surcharge), so if you are interested, look at the products, send me the model number, and I will tell you his price. Don't be scared of the google prices. It will be much better.

http://www.cyandesign.biz/

For furniture, it would be a more involved process. That would mean meeting my brother, going over options, and getting the pricing later. The furniture, while much cheaper than what you would spend retail, will still be expensive as the stuff he sells is high end/custom (look at Hickory Chair furnture for example)

[Edited on September 15, 2011 at 12:51 PM. Reason : ,]

9/15/2011 12:39:16 PM

I am debating doing a high end shower/bathroom renovation since I am now able to get wholesale pricing on anything bath related. Anyone done a rain shower renovation? I am looking at doing a rain shower with a couple body sprays in a nicely tiled shower with framless glass.

9/18/2011 10:59:55 AM

I have rain head with body sprays in my shower. Love the rain head. Don't use the body sprays often but really like them when I do.

9/18/2011 7:08:12 PM

Did you plumb in just a rain shower, or do you also have a regular shower head as well? Trying to decide if I should have both.

9/18/2011 7:50:00 PM

Ugh, just found out I've had a possum living under my house for several months...waste stains everywhere and he's torn down a lot of my insulation

Have any of you redone a crawl space? Since I've got to do the work, I was thinking of just replacing all of the moisture barrier, and then replacing a good chunk of the insulation to make sure it's plenty thick.

I just hate getting down there, it's such a pain in the ass.

9/19/2011 4:47:52 PM

^^just a rain shower. the house I'm building now has a rain head and a body sprayer on a hose thats connected to a bar. thats more for the ladies...

9/19/2011 8:59:35 PM

Our mortgage loan officer is really pissing me off. We were supposed to be closing today and suddenly he needs all this additional paperwork. And it's really dumb basic shit that you can't convince me that he didn't know a month ago we would need to do. So it looks like if we're lucky, the closing will be tomorrow. I'm gonna be hella pissed if we lose the weekend to move.

9/22/2011 10:48:50 AM

^My closing go dragged on for two months because of shit like that. A lot of it seemed legit, like my cosigner having to change (my mom was the original one...but she had just retired from teaching and was now a personal trainer, but hadn't been incorporated long enough than their required two years...blah blah blah).

But every time they asked for something different from my co-signer, they had to ask for the same updated shit from me (I had to send them about 6 "most recent pay stubs" and printouts of my bank accounts, etc.).

Easily the most ridiculous financial/contractual shit I've ever been through.

9/22/2011 12:19:56 PM

I aerated and seeded on Tuesday. Last night I watched all of the seed, lime and fertilizer wash away. First World Problems!!!!!

9/22/2011 12:32:15 PM

^^ It wouldn't annoy me nearly as much if they had asked for this shit weeks ago. Like I give them my paystubs and then two days ago they decide, "Oh we need a verified statement from your HR department saying you work there." Because my paystubs and the direct deposits with my employer's name in my bank account aren't enough?

9/22/2011 2:02:06 PM

Yeah...I forgot about that little shit too. In my case, they hired a new girl and put her in charge of my file and she had no idea what the fuck she was doing. I let her have it one day (which is not like me...at all). I don't envy your situation at all.

9/22/2011 2:04:28 PM

This guy's lucky his office isn't in Durham otherwise I would have used my lunch break to drive to his office and ream him a new one. I might take off from here a bit early to do it anyway.

9/22/2011 2:05:36 PM

sounds like every closing ive ever had too.

pretty run of the mill from what i understand.

9/22/2011 3:23:10 PM

Just planted a bunch of leyland cypress trees along the back of our lot at the base of the retaining wall. I'm going to pick up some soaker hoses this afternoon. How often should these be watered at first? They are about 5' tall currently and are planted in clay in a sloped area and surrounded by a bed of pinestraw.

9/24/2011 2:21:56 PM

look out for bagworms

i hate those trees...

back in the day, i had to cut down and dig up the stumps of about 12 that had been growing for about 10 years. ice storms caused a couple to split in half, so it looked like shit.

[Edited on September 24, 2011 at 5:06 PM. Reason : should provide you some quick privacy from your dick neighbors though]

9/24/2011 5:05:06 PM

Thanks to the unsticking power of PB blaster, my hall shower now has a new pewter pipe extension coming out of the wall. It went from looking like a shitty thing with paint all over it to looking new, well worth the $12. Also, screw whatever shower head came with this house in the 70s.

9/24/2011 6:31:40 PM

^^ funny you remember that

But yes, they aren't my favorite either and this is the only place we are putting them. I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for pests with these things, I'm just hoping it will provide some privacy back there like you said.

Got them all planted today, edged by some natural river rocks, and put them in a bed of pinestraw as stated before. They have a bit of mushroom compost at the bottom of the holes and I also put some slow-release evergreen fertilizer stakes into the ground about 2 feet from the trunk. I got the soaker hoses set up and they seem to work well; I'm just not sure how much to actually water right now. I've poked around online a bit and it really seems to vary a lot.

9/24/2011 6:41:07 PM

^^ As a followup to that, when I turn on the hall shower and gently press on the handle, water comes gushing out of the wall. When I don't, it just leaks out around the handle.

SOOO, looks like I need to clean up the underside of the house now and gain access to the water heater shutoff valves. Plumbing is fun.

9/24/2011 11:11:28 PM

want to get my fireplace going this year.

anyone got a recommendation for chimney sweep service?

9/25/2011 2:27:37 PM

not that i have a ton of chimney maintenance experience, but i had this guy come out a few months ago for chase cover and a routine inspection/cleaning if necessary

friendly guys, showed up on time, didn't charge me for the inspection since everything looked fine, probably because i was paying for the chase cover

http://www.yourashismine.com/

9/25/2011 4:36:21 PM

I need a pretty big load of metal edging. Lowe's and Home Depot both sell 8 ft lengths for 9.97 (1.36/ft). Anybody know of anywhere to get it cheaper? I need 250+ ft. I want to try to go ahead and layout some new planing beds this fall so that they are ready to plant this spring.

9/25/2011 5:44:40 PM

My current home ownership woe is that there aren't any good ones for me to buy down here in FL.

You can get a big, nice house if you spend a shitpile of money. You can get a little crappy house for cheap. You can get a large crappy house for a little more. It appears that there is no such thing as a moderately sized, nice house, though. I don't need 2200 or 2500 sq ft...but I don't want vinyl floors, laminate countertops, and cheap cabinetry and appliances.

9/25/2011 6:06:05 PM