buzzard767
golfaknifeaholic
You mean you actually got through the process of choosing the wallpaper?
No way. She chooses and I hire someone else to do the work. I tried it one time - never again.
Home Improvement - The DIY Thread
- Thread starter Fisher's Mom
- Start date
No way. She chooses and I hire someone else to do the work. I tried it one time - never again.
Wart
Banned
My biggest problem is I can't see paying someone to do what I can do for myself.
What can I do? If I don't know how to do something I'll study up on it.
Far as this house, Wife and I made a deal, I get a garage she gets a deck. I get my garage ...
The goofball who built this house used a 2x4 over a 2x6 and called it a 2x10 joist, and put these 'joist' 24" on center, over a 14' span. It was like walking on a spring board, and the bathroom was in this section of house. Sagging and less than solid floor, toilet ....
To replace the joists required the removal of the mud board because that was about the only way to get a 14 foot long piece of lumber into the basement, and the mud board in question was where the deck was going.
And replacing the joists required the removal of the plumbing as all the plumbing ran through that section of hte house in one way or another.
Since the plumbing came out why not redo the kitchen and bathroom, we were never happy with either.
Snowballing ...
Angled part of a wall so there wouldn't be a sharp turn to go out the back door, put hte bathroom sink in the angle, moved the toilet to where the tub use to be, moved the tub into a wall that use to be my darkroom, plumbing, venting, ... put a courtesy sink by the back door and used the tubs old drain pipe so I would have a place to wash up other than the bathroom sink, moved the kitchen sink, built the cabinets, opened up another wall .... built a pantry over the basement steps, an alcove for the range ...
Problem with doing your own work in a place such as this is each improvement makes living so much better that you tend to take a break after each improvement.
IE: We started what is now the master bedroom, got the old carpet up, had to put down a second sub floor. Put down some 1/2" BC, quick coat of urethane, started looking for hardwood. Quickly discovered that the whole house could get a second subfloor and urethane for about the same price of finishing the bedroom. Didn't take long to get use to a finished plywood floor.
What can I do? If I don't know how to do something I'll study up on it.
Far as this house, Wife and I made a deal, I get a garage she gets a deck. I get my garage ...
The goofball who built this house used a 2x4 over a 2x6 and called it a 2x10 joist, and put these 'joist' 24" on center, over a 14' span. It was like walking on a spring board, and the bathroom was in this section of house. Sagging and less than solid floor, toilet ....
To replace the joists required the removal of the mud board because that was about the only way to get a 14 foot long piece of lumber into the basement, and the mud board in question was where the deck was going.
And replacing the joists required the removal of the plumbing as all the plumbing ran through that section of hte house in one way or another.
Since the plumbing came out why not redo the kitchen and bathroom, we were never happy with either.
Snowballing ...
Angled part of a wall so there wouldn't be a sharp turn to go out the back door, put hte bathroom sink in the angle, moved the toilet to where the tub use to be, moved the tub into a wall that use to be my darkroom, plumbing, venting, ... put a courtesy sink by the back door and used the tubs old drain pipe so I would have a place to wash up other than the bathroom sink, moved the kitchen sink, built the cabinets, opened up another wall .... built a pantry over the basement steps, an alcove for the range ...
Problem with doing your own work in a place such as this is each improvement makes living so much better that you tend to take a break after each improvement.
IE: We started what is now the master bedroom, got the old carpet up, had to put down a second sub floor. Put down some 1/2" BC, quick coat of urethane, started looking for hardwood. Quickly discovered that the whole house could get a second subfloor and urethane for about the same price of finishing the bedroom. Didn't take long to get use to a finished plywood floor.
Calicolady
New member
Oh, I've often thought of using BC for flooring. The bank that owned this house (why I got the deal I did) had someone carpet the whole place with PEARL colored carpet - cheep shit. I used to have carpets cleaned every 6 months til they told me the same stains kept re-appearing because it was synthetic material and could never be totally removed and that walking barefoot made the problem worse. That ain't gonna change, so I do them, spot/area clean myself. I still hate it though.
Fisher's Mom
Mother Superior
I am completely blown away by all you you knowledgeable people!!! And lots of you have old houses so you are dealing with the same things I am. I will definitely be asking lots of questions here.
My next project will be to jack up a small room on the back of the house. It used to be a back porch but was enclosed years ago. It's definitely sagging toward one side and I need to address that. It's pier and beam of course (cedar posts) and I do have access to the posts via a crawl space. What did you do when you jacked up your house, High Cheese? Did you shim the posts or did you use those metal jacks?
BTW, all the pics are just fantastic! I have a tip for those of you that hate wallpapering but have a spouse or child that wants that. You can use fabric and liquid starch with spectacular results. It's very easy to apply and trim and the best part is, you can just peel it off later with no damage to your wall. I've hung a lot of wallpaper in my life but I will never do it again since I learned the fabric/starch trick.
My next project will be to jack up a small room on the back of the house. It used to be a back porch but was enclosed years ago. It's definitely sagging toward one side and I need to address that. It's pier and beam of course (cedar posts) and I do have access to the posts via a crawl space. What did you do when you jacked up your house, High Cheese? Did you shim the posts or did you use those metal jacks?
BTW, all the pics are just fantastic! I have a tip for those of you that hate wallpapering but have a spouse or child that wants that. You can use fabric and liquid starch with spectacular results. It's very easy to apply and trim and the best part is, you can just peel it off later with no damage to your wall. I've hung a lot of wallpaper in my life but I will never do it again since I learned the fabric/starch trick.
buzzard767
golfaknifeaholic
Instead of wall paper you use fabric? Any special kind? Do you use a roller to wet the walls with the starch?
homecook
New member
I helped my brother do that in his house. It was actually fun! You're right about easy to take down!
Barb
Deadly Sushi
Formerly The Giant Mojito
I live in a apartment. I really cant change much except the color of the walls and change out the door knobs. In my LAST place they let me change the cheap plastic tiles to wood flooring in the kitchen and bathroom! Plus I bought new light fixtures and faucets. The place was GREAT!!! Alas I only lived there for 3 years but I felt it was worth it.
Fisher's Mom
Mother Superior
The way I have done it is to wet the fabric completely by submerging it into a basin filled with the starch and then smooth it onto the wall. It dries clear and leaves no residue. That technique wouldn't work with velvet as it would flatten the nap. (Although you might be able to do it like you mentioned by applying the starch thickly to the walls and then apply the fabric.) Generally, I choose fabric that is fairly tightly woven and that doesn't shrink greatly, although I have seen it done with burlap. Also, I would think that a very thin or sheer fabric wouldn't be a good choice. But like Homecook said, it's fun and easy to apply and there are no headaches later when you want a change.Instead of wall paper you use fabric? Any special kind? Do you use a roller to wet the walls with the starch?
Fisher's Mom
Mother Superior
Here are a couple of sites with good descriptions of how to do this:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/75326/temporary_wall_treatment_adding_color.html?cat=30
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chi...kr-finds-meg-and-ross-updated-bathroom-045518
Oh, and even though they describe this as temporary wallcovering, it is very durable and will stay in place. It's just great for renters, etc., because you can remove it easily without any damage to the walls underneath.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/75326/temporary_wall_treatment_adding_color.html?cat=30
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chi...kr-finds-meg-and-ross-updated-bathroom-045518
Oh, and even though they describe this as temporary wallcovering, it is very durable and will stay in place. It's just great for renters, etc., because you can remove it easily without any damage to the walls underneath.
buzzard767
golfaknifeaholic
Thanks for the links FM. I had never heard of this before. We do more than cook on this site. ;-)
