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Home improvement thread

Chris@RT

Chris@RT

Banned
HAHA, finish every day at like 11-12 at night thinking I didn't do anything and have so much more to do, if you ask the GF she would probably say the same thing about nothing getting done. Not that she is lazy but when it comes to home improvement I have more knowledge and a bit more motivation than she does so i keep getting annoyed she keeps adding to the list like I'm not doing stuff already. I told her to buy me a dry erase board hang it up somewhere and silently add stuff then i can also erase stuff as it gets done and feel like I'm moving forward....

Garbage disposal from my parents for christmas just showed up, I was told I can't open anything until christmas but I told my mom that since i have to take apart the sink drain to figure out why the dishwasher isn't draining that its going in today or tomorrow but i won't power it up until christmas :), need to run power to it anyway which won't happen until this weekend.

I was going to seal the garage doors but they don't come close enough up top to warrant bothering to seal the sides or bottom, they appear to be original or at the very least need to be replaced, thin wooden non insulated doors. I adjusted them the best I could but even with the roller/bracket fully extended they are about 2 inches away from the jam on the top. I bought some stuff to seal my front door but its not sitting right. Checked the frame and the door they are level but the door is visibly crooked in the frame. Looks like PO tried to space out the bottom hinge to push it up in the latch side top but didn't work. Probably try and chisel out the upper hinge a bit on the frameside to see if I can get it to sit square.

I did get the GF to approve (my money my house so wouldnt' matter anyway..) a 15ft extension to the back of the garage. Will allow for one door coming in from the side with a lift to fit 2 more cars that won't be used on a regular basis! Turn will be a little tight to a retaining wall but doable. Figure plan to redo siding and roof in the spring little extension probably only 15K or so might as well try and roll it in.
 
nhbubba

nhbubba

CEL free until 48,398 mi
Yeah, now you're really pissing me off.

15' more garage space... a lift?! Yeah, GTFO. You, Cryptic1911, and Panda_man can go have your little "we have lifts" party somewhere else. :paddle:
 
Chris@RT

Chris@RT

Banned
Lift is a little ways off, as long as i have the space to eventually add one I'll be happy.

Current garage is 20X20 which is fairly small especially for what I need/want. I could go 3 wide but then I lose an easy path to the back, with the steep ass driveway I like that i currently have the option if need be to put 2-3 cars on the side. If space in the garage went only to cars I really wanted to keep inside then I would have to move cars around constantly. Right now A3 needs to be in once its back together, A4 I am buying I want in, Leaf I plan to get in the spring should be inside for charging. Plus rabbit pickup should be in once painted and we still have the GFs TJ. We'll rotate A4 and leaf for dailys, caddy and A3 can be in the extension and her jeep can be on the side. I may when redoing the roof raise one side and extend it into a carport for the jeep. Plus if I raise the one side roof I may be able to fit a 4 post in the front bay that can be raised high enough to park under it everyday.

I like the house way to much that I don't want to think of moving so might as well make it exactly how I want it for years to come.

This is exactly why I bought a cheap foreclosure. I can still spend way too much doing stuff people other than me don't want without putting more into it than I would ever recoup. If I spend 20K adding onto the Garage it just means I have 80K difference between what I paid last month and what it sold for 5 years ago :) Well that and its GA.. I can find a buyer who wants a 3-4 car garage with 2 lifts and a car port, They'll just be pissed the driveway is too steep for their race car trailer.

I did think about adding a small 2 car in the front lot since it is so long but of all the things they get picky about in this county the ordinances for a detached garage in front of the main dwelling is semi strict from what I saw. If it was the garage you use everyday its fine but if its just for holding extra cars they consider it a shed from the little looking i did.
 
nhbubba

nhbubba

CEL free until 48,398 mi
Can't add onto my garage without some seriously inconvenient house surgery. I have kicked around the idea of adding a detached barn on a ~24' square slab. My dad did this at his place, looks/works great. Keeps his '56 TR3 in there, plus the bikes, plus a season and a half's worth of firewood, plus the yard tools, canoes, kayaks, extension ladders, and a bunch of other stuff. Now he'll be stuffing his recently acquired classic mini in there too. My beef is that he didn't bring power out to it. But then that'd be relatively easy to add.

Couple of the larger (richer) houses down the road have this kind of setup too. They have a detached 2-car with a double wide door setup to look like a barn. Couple of them look badass; have stove pipe chimneys off the back (so they must have heat) and everything. They fit in nicely with the rural farm-country look of the area.

I'm actually not sure I could do that legally tho. There is a covenant attached to my deed that says no more than 3-car garages. Maybe a barn with a single door counts as one. Although the covenant says plans must be approved by the original developer, who went under like a decade ago.

Not that I have the cash to do any of that. Kitchen and master bath come first.. those'll take me a couple years anyway.
 
utekineir

utekineir

Banned
Been working on this lately at one of the apartments, just about finished. Pretty much have to shim the counters, glue them, glue down and hook up the sink, hook up the dishwasher, and fish the power cord that was going to a garbage disposal up above into a junction box in cabinets to power some led under counter lights. Plus attach the linoleum once it flattens a bit more.

From decaying particle board and etched floor tiles:


To:



Not bad for clearance sink, clearance cabinets, scratch and dent fridge, linoleum, etc. Should be looking at less than a grand cost wise including fridge once done.

I could do something about the walls and outlets, but eh, its an apartment in the shit part of town. Would be stupid to go too nice (i.e. buying new stove to match for no reason). Plus the new tenants weren't expecting any of it, finding the cabinets on clearance is what motivated it all they're all real wood (plywood frame) much better than the particle board shit that was there.
 
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utekineir

utekineir

Banned
Well aware it would look far better. Bought that stove less than 2 years ago as a scratch and dent. Actually have a black/stainless one sitting unused atm. But it won't be going in there. Have done enough. Tenants are plenty happy the way it is.
 
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panda_man22

Go Kart Champion
nhbubba said:
Yeah, now you're really pissing me off.

15' more garage space... a lift?! Yeah, GTFO. You, Cryptic1911, and Panda_man can go have your little "we have lifts" party somewhere else. :paddle:
Click to expand...

haha i like parties :happyanim:
but honestly the lift i put in had given me no problems with its low pad height i can lift lowered vehicles no prob. Have had about 20 different vehivcles on it and i think my gti was the biggest pain to lift. At this rate the hoist will pay for itself within the next year.
chinese hoist and us hydraulics FTW
 
P

panda_man22

Go Kart Champion
utekineir said:
i was amazed at how cheap lifts can be online, seems like shipping would cost about half what the lift itself does.

was that the case for you?
Click to expand...

i bought it for $2300cdn and had it shipped 500km br freight to a local shipping company for $178. From there i was able to load it on a flatbed trailer and bring it home

edit -- where i bought it ---- http://www.liftsuperstore.com/
 
Chris@RT

Chris@RT

Banned
utekineir said:
The energy you running nuts have is just plain baffling.
Click to expand...


I hate running, I really really hate running. But I have to do it or you don't get credit for the bike and swim part of the triathlon.

But that being said maybe there is some drive...

Pics will come when I get them off my phone but over the last week I did the following:

-Finished running all network drops including garage, just need to terminate at the patch panel.
-Finished running all TV drops cable and antenna to all bedrooms/offices
-Setup wireless routers as access points
-recovered bricked main router and installed tomato so it can double as a print server, my stupid printer is wifi (unreliable) or usb only no wired network..
-Mounted one access point behind TV, other being used in network closet until switch shows up tomorrow then second access point will go in garage
-Installed outlet in network closet
-Installed light and switch in network closet
-Ran power from panel to network closet
-Redid some wiring in the panel that had no clamps when entering panel
-Removed switched outlet in garage and added outlet in place of switch
-Moved most garage outlets to another circuit which previously was only a single outside outlet (using for low voltage driveway lights) since they were on one overloaded with half the lights in my house
-Installed second Garage light fixture (need to fully redo and add a ton but works for now)
-Installed garage door outside keypad
-Installed Garbage disposal and switch
-Redid dishwasher drain which was on an outside wall outside the insulation and apparently was freezing hence not draining!!
-Found faucet leaking after installing disposal so replaced kitchen faucet
-Redid wiring for dishwasher and added disposal wiring
-Redid insulation and sheetrock behind dishwasher and sprayfoamed
-patched (no tape or mud yet) hole i made to fix washer connections
-patched (no tape or mud yet) hole i made to fix electric panel
-Tracked and noted every outlet/fixture in house back to panel need to make a sheet to store with panel
-TPR valve leaking on hot water heater, so replaced that which led into..
-installed Expansion tank for hot water heater, which now my water is all foamy and i have no clue why so have to redo some of that tonight
-Bought pieces to make doggy septic/compost tank in back yard need to locate where I want it and dig hole
-installed yellow bulbs in lights on either side of front door, to match light on garage
-setup guest room bed (with GFs help)
-repaired leak in duct work where someone added a section to go
-taped off registers to unfinished basement.. glad they set it up to later have heat and AC but why have the registers all open to nothing??
-removed some phone lines to no where that were making my network and TV runs look sloppy.
-modified and installed garage door knob that is keyed like rest of house.
-repaired main attic knock out bracing with metal retainers and screws nails were slowly pulling every time i climbed the ladder.
-slipped and put knee through front hallway ceiling.. oh way that is unimprovement and more work for me..:mad:

24port switch should arrive tomorrow and patch cables by end of week so hopefully have network closet all buttoned up this weekend. Need to get a shelf for UPS and printer

Short list for this week:

-fix foaming hot water some how
-pick kitchen cabinet color and start prepping cabinets, the brown is killing me and making me not want to cook.
-build human food scrap compost pile in place dogs can't get to (got indoor scrap container for christmas)
-Rake and clear backyard to start fresh on landscaping come spring and get better idea of property
-decide on yard waste compost pile to put backyard clearings in.
-Figure out where fence is going and slowly start installing posts
-Bury dog poo composter
-setup gym/office (while trying not to spend money on "toys" for it)
-clean fishtank, repaint stand and setup... not really home improvement but still needs to get done...
-clean fireplace insert, order new log grate (its cracked and bent), order new hinge pins/bolts which are currently some cheap screws several sizes too small so door
-schedule chimney cleaning (ok probably not I'm broke)
-locate septic tank
-install slide out garbage and recycling bin kits when they arrive:
http://homehardwareoutlet.com/p-14269-35-qt-pull-out-waste-container.aspx

I'm sure I did more this past week that is all i can think of.. and plenty more to do this week.
 
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