Home Improvement/Projects Thread

[mbonder]

We are about to embark on a full kitchen remo, floors all the way though the house, 2 full baths and every window in the place in that order I think. As much as I hate paying people to do shit I can and like doing my self, I dont think I will have the time to do much if any of it my self this year, and the little woman is growing tired of the old shitty carpets and poorly laid out kitchen. I am wanting to put a good wood stove in while we are at it, and need to add a ton of lighting out in the shop. this is going to be an expensive year ughhh Once we get the flooring in, I will be be building some built ins for the closets

I hear you, time is the most expensive thing these days. Paying a contractor to remodel our master bath. I demo'ed the whole thing and started framing it, had the electrical done, and then ran into time constraints. My wife got tired of waiting so hopefully it'll be done by the end of January.

[Joe G]

If you don't want your shingles to curl up keep an air gap so roof breathes might consider sistering up roof joists for 2x8 so you can have higher R factor up there.

What is your source of heat going to be?

Since I don't want curled shingles, an air gap it is!

Heat/cooling is TBD right now. I have a hollow wall up from one of the downstairs bedrooms (same wall as the bedroom's HVAC duct-work), so in theory I could just run that duct up to the attic. Having said that, I'm not entirely sure I want to go that route. I am considering a second (small) unit for the new attic room.

Yeah, a lot of (cold) places require R-30 or more for sloped roofs. That's a 2x12 rafter depth. The insulation sits flush at the bottom face of the rafter, leaving an air path above the insulation at the roof deck to vent (through the ridge) any condensation or vapor that builds up.

If you don't vent it, the moisture from people and living builds up, condenses against the cold roof deck, drips on the insulation and ruins it, and over time can rot the framing.

<EDIT> You can use high density batt insulation, or the best is spray polyurethane, which has huge R-value numbers and also seals up any air gaps in the building. Quite a bit more money, but it makes a nice roof. You hire a professional applicator to do that, it's not the spray can stuff.

Really appreciate this information/suggestion. I will definitely be leaving a gap - doing more research now.

[M-technik-3]

KC gets how much snow and how warm does it get? You could consider a mini-split that has AC and Heat, but depending on your furnace it may be able to utilise a duct up to your attic. I wished when I renovated my place I had that option. I was able to run ducting in my internal walls up to my second floor for returns but alas i had no supply to it so I had to put a mini split up stairs.

[tim88325is]

Might be hard to get a really good R-value in the space you have underneath the sheathing unless build out into the room.

I am intrigued by this technique of using foam panel and canned spray foam, seems a little ghetto but is cheap and seals out air....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1guAwzyEOQ

[Joe G]

KC gets how much snow and how warm does it get? You could consider a mini-split that has AC and Heat, but depending on your furnace it may be able to utilise a duct up to your attic. I wished when I renovated my place I had that option. I was able to run ducting in my internal walls up to my second floor for returns but alas i had no supply to it so I had to put a mini split up stairs.

Weather in KC (and the KS/MO region) is by far the most inconsistent and unpredictable of anywhere I've lived (NY, NJ, OH and WA). We've had winters with weeks in the single digits with lots of snow and summers with weeks hovering around 100. That said, the past year has been pretty mild - haven't seen much below 20 or above 90ish.

I've been thinking a mini-split might be the way to go, but I'll need to consult an HVAC guy to see what my options are with my existing heat/AC units and duct-work.

I'm less worried about heating the space since it stays around 10-15 degrees cooler than the downstairs in the winter with the door at the bottom of the stairs open and zero insulation/drafty windows. So I'd imagine that once the room is insulated it will stay pretty warm. However, it's going to be hot as balls up there in the summer so a mini-split with good AC capabilities is likely the route I'll go. My central AC unit is pretty damn good, but I'm worried about running it into the ground trying to keep an upstairs room cool.

[bradmer]

never ending home improvement

I bought a LG mini split on Ebay last Spring for $2,200 and installed everything up to the line set between the compressor and head unit. No supply house would sell me the line-set due to the gas charging, so I had to hire a local h.v.a.c. contractor who did it for $500. It took him 4 hours to install it and included the line-set cost and a puff of the gas. The unit is very quiet, no ducting required and it uses almost no energy (26 seer) to cool or heat 1,100 sq ft of living area. It is also a humidifier, de-humidifier and a fan with filters that require periodic cleaning. The hvac contractor said that I could have mounted the compressor up to 38 feet from the head unit indoors, which mounts 12" from the ceiling.
I'm still ahead on my electric bill after using it for almost a year because it cost almost nothing to run the thing, and heat pump heat is much nicer than forced air heat IMHO.

I just floated the shower walls using Aquabar paper over green board, then covered that by nailing expanded metal lathe face up and run through the corners. I used a mixture of 5 parts washed sand to 1 part pure Portland cement to 1 part Type S lime, mixed it dry then added water. The premixed stuff just isn't the same when it comes time to push it up the wall, it's just not as creamy. I used lattice pieces (2 x1/4") to screed the float up the walls, and made a paste of lime and water to set the screeds plumb over the rough float. I pull the screeds while the mud's still wet, carefully scrape out the lime paste, then fill the void with mud and do a final screed horizontally and vertically.

The thinking behind the float is that there will never be mold in the shower because the corners will not require caulking, only a non sanded grout touch up when a hairline crack appears in the corner after an earthquake. Also, lime is a natural bacteria-mold-mildew-moisture inhibitor and will not allow them to take hold.

Photo of final float on the valve wall with the screed removed, lime exposed and ready to be removed. Back wall with only the rough float and the screed set.

[flyboyx]

its a shame the pic is so small. its really hard to see what is going on there.

it sounds like you did a lot of hard work by reading your description above.

i have never hand to worry about earth quakes, but personally, i like to use 1/4" or 1/2" hardibacker. i fill all the joints with thin set and mesh sheetrock tape. the corners get a bead of good masonry caulk and then a coat of Mapie waterproof sealer. the tile goes over that with latex fortified thin set. the porcelain tile is grouted and sealed. i have never had a problem with this setup and have been doing showers just like this for about 12 years now. you definitely need special tools to deal with the hardibacker in an efficient way but i have those.

[bradmer]

its a shame the pic is so small. its really hard to see what is going on there.

it sounds like you did a lot of hard work by reading your description above.

i have never hand to worry about earth quakes, but personally, i like to use 1/4" or 1/2" hardibacker. i fill all the joints with thin set and mesh sheetrock tape. the corners get a bead of good masonry caulk and then a coat of Mapie waterproof sealer. the tile goes over that with latex fortified thin set. the porcelain tile is grouted and sealed. i have never had a problem with this setup and have been doing showers just like this for about 12 years now. you definitely need special tools to deal with the hardibacker in an efficient way but i have those.

Must be the orientation of the cell phone, the second photo is landscape...I like the Hardie backer stuff, with that being said I like to float concrete whenever possible because it has proven durability and is relatively cheap. It does require some effort to install correctly but that is true of most things.

Here the walls have the finished float applied and the screed slot filled. The aluminum box edge in the pic is what scrapes the walls down. I had to pass a city inspection on the shower pan holding water for 24 hours and the nail pattern on the lathe.



Bottom of the walls at the shower pan with the screed removed and filled, the shower pan is made of hot mop roofing material ($150 for the guy to do it). The curb gets wrapped with metal lathe (factory edge to the pan) and mud once the walls are set with tile.



Top of the float, you can see the rough areas in the float where the aluminum edge has been in contact. I got lazy and didn't set a screed on the top of the float, it is easily filled in when the trim is set. You can make out where the screeds were in the wall.

[flyboyx]

it looks good. it still looks like a shitload of work. would it be a good idea to paint a waterproof membrane over the cement walls?

i usually like to run my backerboard and tile all the way to the ceiling when i do showers. definitely takes more time and material to do so however.

[bradmer]

it looks good. it still looks like a shitload of work. would it be a good idea to paint a waterproof membrane over the cement walls?

i usually like to run my backerboard and tile all the way to the ceiling when i do showers. definitely takes more time and material to do so however.

I've heard that's how they make residential shower stalls in other parts of the world, paint the mud then a bull nose sanitary base tile down on the pan. And yes, it is very much a shitload of work. But no need paint, the aquabar paper is behind the mud, meets code and gets inspected prior to the concrete.

Low pressure steam unit, the ultimate home improvement. I think that's where this is going.

[mrsleeve]

Spent a couple hours last night installing a New 6 stage RO filter set up. Not hard just a little time consuming trying to get all the bits of the old system out of the way and be able to reuse things like the waste water drain hole and leak checking everything

2018-01-18_08-31-49 , on Flickr

[mbonder]

Looks badass, what's something like that cost? Also, what are the filter change intervals? I'm in the process of renovating our bathrooms and have thought it'd be a good time to install water filtration to avoid hard water deposits on my newly install fixtures.

I realize this is only in one location, but I'm sure they make whole house units as well.

[mrsleeve]

Yes there are whole house kits but they are quite costly, to have the needed capacity for a entire homes water supply needs. This one was about 230 bucks off of amazon and has some of the best directions and tech support from anyone, its supposed to make up too 75gal a day but we have cold water and pressures on the lower side so we are likely in the 45-50 gal a day at most. We have really great water in general, but we have a bit of a nitrate issue for some reason its a few PPM over whats considered potable, so hence the only way to get rid of Nitrate is with an R.O. and we have a very very hard water so here we are.

The 6th and last stage adds needed minerals back into the water so your not drinking 100% stripped water and is PH balanced to perfection, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference from any premium bottled water to what comes out of my little tap on the kitchen sink now.

Filter changes depend greatly on your incoming water supply, the initial sediment filter might need to be changed once a month or every 6 just depends. Manufacturer says 6 months in sediment and mineralization stages and 1 year on the 3 carbon units and 2-3 years for the R.O. membrane but ymmv depending on your water supply.

For just a hard water issue just get a water softener...... and plumb a hard water line to a fixture or 2 that you drink from if you have good water anyway

[mjimport]

Very cool setup! From what i know about bottled water, I would bet you are getting better quality than 99% of bottled water out there. Few companies actually use RO treatment at all (basically tap/well water).
Thought about installing a larger reserve tank? 100+ gallons?

[mbonder]

Yes there are whole house kits but they are quite costly, to have the needed capacity for a entire homes water supply needs. This one was about 230 bucks off of amazon and has some of the best directions and tech support from anyone, its supposed to make up too 75gal a day but we have cold water and pressures on the lower side so we are likely in the 45-50 gal a day at most. We have really great water in general, but we have a bit of a nitrate issue for some reason its a few PPM over whats considered potable, so hence the only way to get rid of Nitrate is with an R.O. and we have a very very hard water so here we are.

The 6th and last stage adds needed minerals back into the water so your not drinking 100% stripped water and is PH balanced to perfection, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference from any premium bottled water to what comes out of my little tap on the kitchen sink now.

Filter changes depend greatly on your incoming water supply, the initial sediment filter might need to be changed once a month or every 6 just depends. Manufacturer says 6 months in sediment and mineralization stages and 1 year on the 3 carbon units and 2-3 years for the R.O. membrane but ymmv depending on your water supply.

For just a hard water issue just get a water softener...... and plumb a hard water line to a fixture or 2 that you drink from if you have good water anyway

Thanks for the description. I'm going to have my water tested before purchasing anything, what company manufactured that system?

A relative of mine put in a whole home system and said that they plumbed it so that the waste water was run through the lawn sprinklers so that they wouldn't be "wasting" any water at all, which I thought was a good idea.