homebuying fun (caution: stupidly wide .jpg)

[flyboyx]

thank you for the kind comments all of you. that shower door will blow a 1500.00 reno budget to shreds. however, i think its well worth it for your own home. i would never spend that kind of money on a flip.

also, if your toilet is a no name/off brand/or american standard, i would probably replace it while you are in there. maybe its ok if it flushes well, but my advice would be to go the the habitat restore, buy a used white elger, kohler, or toto toilet. you will never have problems with those. also, throw away every part in the toidie that isn't porcelain. put a new fluid master kit in there.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Thank you for that, didn't even think about the toilet to be honest. And I really don't want to go through all this trouble just to be back in there working on a damn toilet in a month lol.

Also I agree on the tile wall. The PO put in the liner that's there now, and it has a couple seams that I don't like. I don't know if it's founded but I feel like it's a perfect place for water to creep in and destroy the wall.

[flyboyx]

you have to be extra extra careful since your floors are particle board. when in doubt, just replace it for the piece of mind if it fits within your budget.

in fact, if i were you, every time you reno a wet area(bathroom/kitchen/laundry), i would spend the extra time and money to rip out the particle board and replace it with the same thickness cdx plywood.

[Stanley Rockafella]

:coolphoto:

[MR E30 325is]

Nice nice work Flyboy!

In the middle of our master bedroom expansion/upgrades at the moment.

Started by removing the old closet completely.

20170715_093123 by MR E30, on Flickr

As a by-product, moved the attic access out to the garage. Excited to have that out of our room. Why anyone would put a hole to a giant space filled with fiberglass insulation right above all of your clothes is beyond me.

20170715_155121 by MR E30, on Flickr

Drywall and mudded up the space. Will do final skip trowel finish towards end of remodel.

20170722_062102 by MR E30, on Flickr

Went to the other wall and tore the drywall down. Redid some wiring and framed out another 2 inches, to add room for insulation and to remove any direct sound transfer from the kitchen into the bedroom (wife likes her quiet)

20170722_113349 by MR E30, on Flickr

20170723_144047 by MR E30, on Flickr

We're pulling down the popcorn ceiling, and removing the carpet as well.

Moved on to the last wall that we are modifying during this phase of the remodel. Pulled down drywall, moved wiring, and added new switches. We removed the traditional door king stud, trimmer, and header.

20170730_120302 by MR E30, on Flickr

Wrapped up the day by installing new king studs, trimmers and triple 2x6 header, as well as the pocket door frame. Went with a pocket door due to the layout of all the swinging doors in that tiny area. Huge upgrade already. We're also taking this from a 2x4 wall to a 2x6 wall and adding insulation to keep the noise down from the living room. Huge improvement already.

20170730_160307 by MR E30, on Flickr

Just need to finish up the sheathing of the pocket door frame to keep it solid, drywall and mud. Then the carpet comes out and we will tile the entire room.

Then when that is done, our plans for our external 80 sqft closet addition should be finished/approved and we can start on that massive upgrade.

My wallet hurts, but the wife is happy. And frankly, so am I. Love the upgrades already.

[flyboyx]

looks you you are getting there. can't wait to see the final result

[mjimport]

Flyboy, great idea on placing the toilet before the tile sets. I admit I have had 2 toilets go in that I wasn't happy with due to uneven gaps.
Great job on that bathroom!

[mjimport]

Any tips on hanging solid core doors? I had to hang 10 of them a few months ago and almost immediately they started sagging and catch the upper corner. I eventually got smart and started to compensate for droop, but was wondering if there's a more consistent method for hanging?
Is it partly due to quality of hinges?

And I was using EZ Hang brackets.

[M-technik-3]

Future reference use Roxol to dampen sound it cost more but it works.

[flyboyx]

Any tips on hanging solid core doors? I had to hang 10 of them a few months ago and almost immediately they started sagging and catch the upper corner. I eventually got smart and started to compensate for droop, but was wondering if there's a more consistent method for hanging?
Is it partly due to quality of hinges?

And I was using EZ Hang brackets.

hmmm.....

i don't honestly know what ez hang brackets are. i usually install hollow core doors for interior use. that is what people normally use in these parts. i have installed a lot of exterior doors and they are always solid and much heavier.

my first question is: are you installing the door and frame together as one unit or are you installing the door into a pre-existing frame?

when installing door and frame as a unit, my method is to start with the hinge side of the door. get a good level and plumb that end of the frame both forward and aft, then sideways. this is by far the most important step. if its a hollow door, i usually just shoot in a few 16 gage air nails through the shims i would have used between the door frame and the stud in the wall. i always use at least 3 shim stacks. one at the top, middle and bottom. i try to put them pretty close to the height of the hinges. if the door is solid, i will run a deck screw through the jamb instead of air nails. i think perhaps your problem is that the door frame is moving on you as you install the door because of its weight. have you tried the deck screw method?

once the hinge side is secured, i check it again both ways for plumb. only then do i start working my way around the frame. on the latch side, i close the door and check that the clearance is even all the way around. sometimes i will stick a shim or two under the very bottom of the frame in the hinge side so that the gap at the top of the door is even. when that is in place, i put a shim stack about 4" down from the top of the frame on the latch side. once i am sure everything is lined up and the gaps are all even, i will put a screw or nail though the frame so that it impales the shims. i put a shim stack by the latch and then another shim stack about 4" from the bottom of the door.

you will notice that i didn't mention putting any shims between the top of the door frame and the header. normally this isn't necessary. the trim will usually hold it in place just fine once it is installed. occasionally there is a gap issue at the top. in this case, i will make a shim stack and use the appropriate fastener to even out the gap.

that should be good enough to hold in place until you nail on the trim. be mindful of the gaps as you nail on your trim. you can sometimes adjust the gap a little with a pry bar as you are nailing on the trim. put a finish nail about every 8 or ten inches in the trim that will go through the door frame and also the wall stud right next to the door you are installing.

hope that makes sense and helps you out.

[jeffnhiscars]

If your door is drooping it's likely that the stud you secured it to on the hinge side is flexing. If you have access to the framing id double the stud and maybe even block it over to the next stud in a couple of places

[M-technik-3]

Last room in the house I completed 3 years ago



Whole house has been gutted and gone through, Money Pit! Moved a bedroom and kitchen and basement staircase. Made first floor bathroom double the size, 5x5 walk in tiled shower 2nd floor tbd will be Master Suite or 2 bedroom making house a 4 bedroom from an original 2 bedroom.

Need to put a dormer on the second floor in the back of house to allow me to redirect the staircase and put a proper entry as right now it has this funky door cut into roof line


see door at far end, the sheetrock area is a full bath, house was built in 1908 I can't believe it didn't burn or fall down. It had numerous things I had to correct over the last 8 years.

[mjimport]

hope that makes sense and helps you out.

All makes sense, thanks! Yes they were all pre-hung doors.
I think I may need to pay more attention to my shim stack at the bottom of the hinge side(compression) especially with the solid doors. It may be that they weren't tight? Or maybe they just compressed due to the weight and being soft wood shims.

Do they make hardwood shims?

[flyboyx]

the door wouldn't be heavy enough to compress the shims. you do have to make sure the frame is tight against them. i am guessing this is your problem. i suggest you take out one screw from each hinge and replace it with a screw long enough to go all the way into the wall stud. put a shim stack there to make sure you don't bow the frame. they do make plastic shims but i don't think they are necessary. i generally prefer the wood version because they thickness of each shim varies a bit. sometimes you need a thicker one, sometimes thinner.....

m-technic 3, looks like nice work you are doing on your home. i bet after all this time, you are getting tired of renovating. that is an interesting solution you have come up with to place your doors tangential to the sloped roof line. i have had that occasion once or twice and all i did was cut an angle on the corner next to the roof instead of making the angle even on both sides. also, houses of that era usually need tons of wiring work. often plumbing too.

the home my wife and i live in is a tract home that was built in the late 70's. every other home in the neighborhood was built with galvanized water pipes. for some reason, mine came with copper. i thank my lucky stars for this every time i work on it.

[M-technik-3]

The door stairs and the door were pre-existing, I have just redirected the bottom half next will be the top. If I can get a home improvement loan I plan to add a dormer on the side where you see the door. Adding a full height ceiling will boost the house value when it comes time to sell.

All the improvements have been cash and bartering.