My Remodel Thread

[ram57ta]

I'd like to ask about your electrical inspection report...I notice from the pics the kitchen outlets don't appear to be GFI outlets...could be a bad pic...but if so...what else was on it? Bringing old electrical up to code is my specialty.

[black2002ls]

I'd like to ask about your electrical inspection report...I notice from the pics the kitchen outlets don't appear to be GFI outlets...could be a bad pic...but if so...what else was on it? Bringing old electrical up to code is my specialty.

The kitchen and all bathrooms are GFI protected. I will have to pull the report and see what was on it. I don't recall anything worrisome. The only major issue is the breaker for the garage/exterior outlets is missing. We are also planning to install some can lights in the kitchen/nook and in the hallway, as well as replacing all outlets, fixtures, and covers with new white ones to update it a little

[talisman]

as well as replacing all outlets, fixtures, and covers with new white ones to update it a little

lol. That's one of the first things I've done to every property I've owned.

[black2002ls]

lol. That's one of the first things I've done to every property I've owned.

This place has a mixture of old ivory colored outlets and a few newer white ones. New paint calls for bright new switches! Hopefully tonight we can get the rest of the flooring pulled out. It is the last of the demo, save for removing/replacing light fixtures. Then we can start laying tile and the laminate.

Any comments on thinset vs. mastic? A guy I work with keeps saying mastic. It appears to be more expensive and I am reading a lot of places that say it isn't good for wet areas.

[talisman]

Agreed, especially when painting. It's a cheap way to really update a place. No idea on the tile.

[black2002ls]

I am also trying to make some energy efficiency improvements. Foaming around door jambs, caulking where it is needed, when I get into the attic for the can lights I plan to seal any wire penetrations through the top plate that I see. I wish new front and back doors were in the budget as they are a littl off in their jambs. I definitely need to re do the weather stripping on both.

Any other suggestions?

[DON SVO]

Did you go ahead and knock out any ceiling popcorn? With the shit carpet in there, now is the best time to do it.

[black2002ls]

Did you go ahead and knock out any ceiling popcorn? With the shit carpet in there, now is the best time to do it.

No. We didnt want to mess with that nightmare. Scraping the popcorn would mean re texturing the ceilling. It doesnt bother us that bad

[DON SVO]

No. We didnt want to mess with that nightmare. Scraping the popcorn would mean re texturing the ceilling. It doesnt bother us that bad

It will... and by that point you'll have new carpet and furniture.

I've removed 2/3rds of our popcorn at this point.

[talisman]

It will... and by that point you'll have new carpet and furniture.

I've removed 2/3rds of our popcorn at this point.

It hasn't bothered me in any of the places I've ever lived.

[DON SVO]

It hasn't bothered me in any of the places I've ever lived.

Understandable... Popcorn is MCM.

[mstng86]

were they mexican? did they barely speak english? If so, send me their info.


I wont give a white man my money when it comes to home repairs

Well, it was a white guy, but he was about $800 less than all the other quotes. And I needed a lot of gutters.


Op, on the exterior pole, what about some Austin stone or maybe brick to cover it up. Don't know if there is room in that space from the pics.

[talisman]

Understandable... Popcorn is MCM.

I hadn't even pinpointed I liked MCM until about 3 years ago. Then I moved into an apartment without popcorn ceilings.

[black2002ls]

Well, it was a white guy, but he was about $800 less than all the other quotes. And I needed a lot of gutters.


Op, on the exterior pole, what about some Austin stone or maybe brick to cover it up. Don't know if there is room in that space from the pics.

I had thought about stone or brick and I kept coming back to two problems.

1. With the house being circa 1996, I would have to try and match the brick for it to integrate into the look of the house. Stone is VERY easy for me to come by with left overs, however, with there being no stone on the house what so ever, it would again, look out of place.

2. There just isn't enough room there. Without pouring additional concrete, there isn't enough concrete on the outside edges to support the stone, that and we would lose 6-8" minimum on the inside of the pole and the walk way is ~24" (just a bit wider than the large IESI/Progressive trash cans)

We are planning stone flower beds, however, I still don't feel that is enough to tie in a stone column. Jenn wants a decorative post, however, I don't think we can get one big enough to support that corner. There is a 4x6 post there now that has some splitting and a slight bow in it. I think cedar will look the least out of place with the right stain.

The other option is to use some dimensional lumber and wrap it in siding then trim it and paint it.

[bcoop]

I'll second the popcorn. It's easy as hell to get off, just makes a big mess. And it looks soooooo much better when textured. The only place I've got popcorn left is in my master bedroom, and that's only because I haven't started remodeling in there yet. Probably the most simple thing I've done on the house. Texturing the ceiling wasn't a big deal at all since we were already doing the walls. We sprayed both ceilings and walls with a simple orange peel. Nothing fancy, no work involved really.