My Remodel Thread

[black2002ls]

Thanks for all of the input. We are pushing to be in by memorial day, and we have already hit a snag with the linoleum in the kitchen. I was hoping to have all of the demo complete tonight, however, with just two of us there was no way. We got all of the carpet and padding pulled up and hauled off tonight. Tomorrow hopefully we can pull all of the tack strip and remove the tile from the bathrooms. That will put us laying tile Thursday. I plan to lay the entry and the master bath, that way we maintain access through a front door and a bathroom to use. The toilet in the master needs re-set, that is the reason I am starting there.

Hopefully my carpet installers can schedule me for next Thursday or Friday, and we can have the laminate down and all of the trim done by then.

[DON SVO]

Thanks for all of the input. We are pushing to be in by memorial day, and we have already hit a snag with the linoleum in the kitchen. I was hoping to have all of the demo complete tonight, however, with just two of us there was no way. We got all of the carpet and padding pulled up and hauled off tonight. Tomorrow hopefully we can pull all of the tack strip and remove the tile from the bathrooms. That will put us laying tile Thursday. I plan to lay the entry and the master bath, that way we maintain access through a front door and a bathroom to use. The toilet in the master needs re-set, that is the reason I am starting there.

Hopefully my carpet installers can schedule me for next Thursday or Friday, and we can have the laminate down and all of the trim done by then.

Russell, I was literally leaving work at 430p, driving to the house, working on whatever we were doing (with a dinner break) until 10-11pm, going back to my apartment, showering, up at 6am and repeating that process for 2 weeks straight. In that time frame I worked around the guys who stained my concrete floors (thanks ACID/Jeff!) and we removed the popcorn from half the house, removed 3 layers of wall paper (yes the lazy asses wallpapered over wallpaper over wallpaper) from kitchen/breakfast/dining/office, re-textured all walls and ceilings, re-painted, replaced all outlets and light fixtures, installed half a dozen ceiling fans, cut and installed new wood blinds, etc etc etc. My point is (besides having home improvement nightmares for weeks afterwards LOL!) that even though it sucked, it was nice to get it done and be done with it.

[black2002ls]

Russell, I was literally leaving work at 430p, driving to the house, working on whatever we were doing (with a dinner break) until 10-11pm, going back to my apartment, showering, up at 6am and repeating that process for 2 weeks straight. In that time frame I worked around the guys who stained my concrete floors (thanks ACID/Jeff!) and we removed the popcorn from half the house, removed 3 layers of wall paper (yes the lazy asses wallpapered over wallpaper over wallpaper) from kitchen/breakfast/dining/office, re-textured all walls and ceilings, re-painted, replaced all outlets and light fixtures, installed half a dozen ceiling fans, cut and installed new wood blinds, etc etc etc. My point is (besides having home improvement nightmares for weeks afterwards LOL!) that even though it sucked, it was nice to get it done and be done with it.

We are doing the same! We aren't bothered by the popcorn really, so it is a non issue. Is it a little careless to update all of the other stuff and not retexture the ceiling? Sure. But to us, it isn't really bothersome. We aen't working quite that late, I am up at 5 and off to work and dont leave until 5 or 6, quick dinner, and work until 9-10P.

I got to looking and ALL of the closet shelves are warped, so I am replacing those now too.

[mustang1200]

All I can say is after doing a partial remodel on a house I was actively living is fuck that. Everything was always dusty, dirty or in the way. If you aren't hard pressed to be in by the end of the month I would stretch it out and the pocket book to fit in as much as humanly possible.

[black2002ls]

All I can say is after doing a partial remodel on a house I was actively living is fuck that. Everything was always dusty, dirty or in the way. If you aren't hard pressed to be in by the end of the month I would stretch it out and the pocket book to fit in as much as humanly possible.

Unfortunately we can't manage rent and a house payment. So the sooner we are in the better. The majority of the big stuff will be done before we move in. I wish we had the budget to do it all now, but we don't. We would love to pull the fiberglass showers and add tub/tile, replace exterior doors, and change all plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, and hardware.

There will be more items in the next 12-18 months we take care of. I want to do granite in the kitchen and new marble tops in the bathrooms. I am hoping my vendors can hook up employer pricing on those. As small as the tops are in all areas, it shouldn't be too bad.

The rest is outside, fence work, yard work, fixing the grade, etc.

Anywho, I am just rambling now.

[mstng86]

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.

Well I want to stone our entry way. I know who to go to now.

[talisman]

I agree it is advantageous to do as much as possible before you move in, but sometimes it just isn't practical. Paint and floors are the big things to get done now, then try to confine your work to one room at a time. I tried that with this house and still failed miserably. The nice thing about moving a little slower is you aren't making rush decisions about things you might decide later you aren't in love with. Take a hard look around and prioritize projects based on how big of a PITA they would be to under take once you're moved in. I would also suggest going as far with the master suite as you can now. It is nice to have a comfortable relaxing area to sleep, fuck, and rest in that isn't in remodel chaos.

[mustang1200]

Unfortunately we can't manage rent and a house payment. So the sooner we are in the better. The majority of the big stuff will be done before we move in. I wish we had the budget to do it all now, but we don't. We would love to pull the fiberglass showers and add tub/tile, replace exterior doors, and change all plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, and hardware.

There will be more items in the next 12-18 months we take care of. I want to do granite in the kitchen and new marble tops in the bathrooms. I am hoping my vendors can hook up employer pricing on those. As small as the tops are in all areas, it shouldn't be too bad.

The rest is outside, fence work, yard work, fixing the grade, etc.

Anywho, I am just rambling now.

That's the primary reason I choose to live in the mess for a year. Just mentioning I wouldn't make that decision again. Also one of the deciding factors in buying a brand new house when we did. I still chopped it up to add the theater and pool though.

[black2002ls]

I agree it is advantageous to do as much as possible before you move in, but sometimes it just isn't practical. Paint and floors are the big things to get done now, then try to confine your work to one room at a time. I tried that with this house and still failed miserably. The nice thing about moving a little slower is you aren't making rush decisions about things you might decide later you aren't in love with. Take a hard look around and prioritize projects based on how big of a PITA they would be to under take once you're moved in. I would also suggest going as far with the master suite as you can now. It is nice to have a comfortable relaxing area to sleep, fuck, and rest in that isn't in remodel chaos.

This was our mindset. Do the big things that just aren't possible with furniture and stuff in the house.

[black2002ls]

More progress tonight. My older brother and one of his sons came over and helped with the Demo. We got all of the kitchen tile cleaned up and the 2 layers of laminate removed. It pulled up pretty easily. A few sprays with water, and what was left scraped right off.



The kitchen and laundry room are both just about ready for tile.

All that is left for demo is remove the tile from both bathrooms and finish removing the old tack strips for the carpet. Clean the dust and debris and its time to lay tile! Hopefully we can get that started Friday night or Saturday and be ready to start the laminate on Sunday. Carpet is scheduled for next Friday, hopefully I can get all of the flooring down and the trim installed/painted by then!

We just ordered all new GE appliances, hopefully we are ready to move them in when they deliver.

[KBScobravert]

I would love to take a hammer and scrapper pole to all the cheap contractor grade tile in our house.

[Back N Black]

I would love to take a hammer and scrapper pole to all the cheap contractor grade tile in our house.

do what Ive done, use a air hammer with Chisel! much more fun!

[KBScobravert]

do what Ive done, use a air hammer with Chisel! much more fun!

I have enough loose ones (hollow when tapped on) that I am certain I could bust it 90% of the way in a short time with little effort.

[bcoop]

I have enough loose ones (hollow when tapped on) that I am certain I could bust it 90% of the way in a short time with little effort.

lol, in my experience, nothing takes little effort when it comes to ripping out tile. It's even a bitch with an air chisel depending on tile type. I just busted out some slate with an air chisel, and it wasn't fun.

[black2002ls]

Granted, our kitchen was laid on linoleum, however, all tile was busted out in less than an hour