DIY Thread

skijay · May 28, 2014

I did consider the arborvitaes. I need 18 and I was going with the American variety that were 6' tall already. It is double the cost of the fence.

edit: I'm not DIYing the tree removal, planting or a fence install. My only involvement was finding the arborist / fence company.

hammer · May 28, 2014

skijay said:
I did consider the arborvitaes. I need 18 and I was going with the American variety that were 6' tall already. It is double the cost of the fence.

edit: I'm not DIYing the tree removal, planting or a fence install. My only involvement was finding the arborist / fence company.

Didn't realize the cost difference...been so long since we had ours planted I don't remember what ours cost to have planted. We had a few other trees done at the same time.

Also, I should have paid better attention to the span...we only had to screen about 25' and our neighbor only did about 40' or so.

skiNEwhere · May 28, 2014

I got some cement damage from water that seeped in during the spring freeze/thaw cycle.

Normally I patch stuff up myself, but I'm a little unsure about this one. I may be selling my house soon and want to make the color and texture match to a point you can't even tell it was repaired.

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ctenidae · May 29, 2014

We just bought a house and moved in about 2 months ago. The house was built, as near as we can determine, in 1850, still has the vast majority of the original molding, hardware, and character.

So far we've only one a few things- repainted the whole house (4300 sqft), installed new window coverings (30+ windows), replaced a 30" cooktop with a36" one, installed a new washer/dryer, stripped and refinished the front door (double, 8 feet all, stained wood), and put together a playset for the kids, and powerwashed/finished a good sized deck.

Near term projects include removing 3 aged arborvitae and a scraggly plum tree (non-producing), repairing about 10 sash windows(opening and sash weights), spray foam insulating the hose/foundation joint, replacing/reconstructing the sewer lines in the basement (oddly it has been repaired so often it's basically an island of cast iron connected to the house by PVC).

Other things that aren't DIY-able include painting the exterior (next summer) screen and recoat 2 stories of hardwood floors (done), and repairing some missing slate roof tiles.

The house is great, but a boatload of work.

bvibert · May 30, 2014

ctenidae said:
We just bought a house and moved in about 2 months ago. The house was built, as near as we can determine, in 1850, still has the vast majority of the original molding, hardware, and character.

So far we've only one a few things- repainted the whole house (4300 sqft), installed new window coverings (30+ windows), replaced a 30" cooktop with a36" one, installed a new washer/dryer, stripped and refinished the front door (double, 8 feet all, stained wood), and put together a playset for the kids, and powerwashed/finished a good sized deck.

Near term projects include removing 3 aged arborvitae and a scraggly plum tree (non-producing), repairing about 10 sash windows(opening and sash weights), spray foam insulating the hose/foundation joint, replacing/reconstructing the sewer lines in the basement (oddly it has been repaired so often it's basically an island of cast iron connected to the house by PVC).

Other things that aren't DIY-able include painting the exterior (next summer) screen and recoat 2 stories of hardwood floors (done), and repairing some missing slate roof tiles.

The house is great, but a boatload of work.

Just a few things, huh? I'm getting tired just reading that...

Nick · May 30, 2014

I have a laundry list of things I'd like to do.

Replace gravel out the back door with pavers
Install a patio on the back
Extend my deck
Replace deck boards with Trex
Level out my firepit
Plant more on my back hill
Pressure wash the house
Finish the basement w/ bathroom install
Clean and paint the garage floors
Build / install a shed
Build / install a swingset

Long - range - pool??

Ugh.

@skinewhere, not sure about the cement patching, that's a pain I heard. I have some cracks in some walkways I was just going to use cement caulk.

hammer · May 30, 2014

bvibert said:
Just a few things, huh? I'm getting tired just reading that...

+1

Outside stuff's adding into the mix...going to get 6 yards of mulch to spread and we have some leftover stone dust from last year we need to move.

Try not to think too much about the laundry list, especially after seeing Nick's...getting a bathroom and the kitchen remodeled in the past year was a resource drain anyway.

skijay · May 30, 2014

Consider the pool purchase carefully! I'm going into my 12th season with mine and each year the season gets shorter and shorter. Last season, I opened it the week of July 4th and closed the Saturday of Labor Day. The novelty of owning one wears out after a few seasons.

If I could do it all over and choose this option, I'd do a paver patio area with a screen house / gazebo and have a small 15' x 15' concrete slab off of the patio to either place a hot tub or a simple Intex ring pool.

ctenidae · May 30, 2014

bvibert said:
Just a few things, huh? I'm getting tired just reading that...

Reading Nick's outdoor list reminded me of a few other items. Might be getting glad summer is short. Plus, the boy's skiing age next season.

Cannonball · May 31, 2014

I'm in the middle of a whole house renovation. Sometimes I think of it as a list of individual items, sometimes I think of it as one big project.

When we bought our house in NH it had been in foreclosure and unoccupied for at least a year. Pretty much everything was wrong with it, right down to the burst pipes. So far I've done:
- 100% gut and remodel of the kitchen
- 100% gut and remodel of the bathroom
- took out a wall
- tore up 100% of the old carpet and vinyl. Had someone refinish the antique heart Pine floors that were salvageable. I put in new floors were needed.
- replacement windows
- turned open porch into 3 season room (9 new windows)
- built new deck
- install new stockade fence
- lots more

Other than floor refinishing and interior paint I've done it all myself.

Still on the list:

- replace exterior trim (did a bunch today)
- paint exterior
- replace more windows
- new bulkhead
- install second bathroom
Hoping to have most of that done this summer.

I basically did all of the above to our house in MA 10-15 years ago. Now the repairs and upkeep list is growing there and I'm semi-ignoring it while I work on this one.

ctenidae · Jun 1, 2014

We had removing the 3 arborvitaes and the plum tree on the list this weekend.
Ended up taking out 19 arborvitaes and the plum tree, instead. And spread 4 yards of mulch.
And broke a brand new sawzall (Rigid, for those keeping score at home). Went through 9 blades taking out the trees.

Looks good, though. 15 of the trees lined the street in front of the house, and totally hid it, but not in a good way.

hammer · Jun 2, 2014

ctenidae said:
We had removing the 3 arborvitaes and the plum tree on the list this weekend.
Ended up taking out 19 arborvitaes and the plum tree, instead. And spread 4 yards of mulch.
And broke a brand new sawzall (Rigid, for those keeping score at home). Went through 9 blades taking out the trees.

Looks good, though. 15 of the trees lined the street in front of the house, and totally hid it, but not in a good way.

Wow...how much time did it take for all of this? Did you also pull up the stumps?

We moved about a yard of leftover stone dust, put down some edging, and spread some mulch on Saturday. Bought 6 yards, have a lot of topcoating to do this year. Back yard looks somewhat better but it's the dogs' area so it will never look pristine.

xwhaler · Jun 2, 2014

Did 2 small projects this wknd. Rented a Carpet Extraction Cleaner on Sat and spent about 3 hrs doing all the carpets/stairs. Came out better than it looked before and much better than the Rug Doctor cleaner I used a few yrs ago---those are lousy.

Also sanded/primed the trim on the shed my Dad and I are building.

Puck it · Jun 2, 2014

Replace rotted exterior trim boards with PVC. I have one left to do. A soffet board on the main roof above family room. I am need some staging for it to put on ladder.

dlague · Jun 2, 2014

Cannonball said:
I'm in the middle of a whole house renovation. Sometimes I think of it as a list of individual items, sometimes I think of it as one big project.

When we bought our house in NH it had been in foreclosure and unoccupied for at least a year. Pretty much everything was wrong with it, right down to the burst pipes. So far I've done:
- 100% gut and remodel of the kitchen
- 100% gut and remodel of the bathroom
- took out a wall
- tore up 100% of the old carpet and vinyl. Had someone refinish the antique heart Pine floors that were salvageable. I put in new floors were needed.
- replacement windows
- turned open porch into 3 season room (9 new windows)
- built new deck
- install new stockade fence
- lots more

Other than floor refinishing and interior paint I've done it all myself.

Still on the list:

- replace exterior trim (did a bunch today)
- paint exterior
- replace more windows
- new bulkhead
- install second bathroom
Hoping to have most of that done this summer.

I basically did all of the above to our house in MA 10-15 years ago. Now the repairs and upkeep list is growing there and I'm semi-ignoring it while I work on this one.

All work no play make Jack a dull boy! See what summer brings!?

I am sure it will all be worth it in the end!

dlague · Jun 2, 2014

skijay said:
I did consider the arborvitaes. I need 18 and I was going with the American variety that were 6' tall already. It is double the cost of the fence.

edit: I'm not DIYing the tree removal, planting or a fence install. My only involvement was finding the arborist / fence company.

We planted some arborvitaes and during one harsh winter the deer ate much of them.

ctenidae · Jun 2, 2014

hammer said:
Wow...how much time did it take for all of this? Did you also pull up the stumps?

Spent about 6 hours on Saturday, and probably 9 less a run to Home Depot on Sunday (had to replace the sawzall). We removed a couple of stumps, cut the rest down to below grade. Next spring when we re-plant that line, we'll have them pulled out. Or may do them onesy-twosy over the summer.

hammer · Jun 2, 2014

ctenidae said:
Spent about 6 hours on Saturday, and probably 9 less a run to Home Depot on Sunday (had to replace the sawzall). We removed a couple of stumps, cut the rest down to below grade. Next spring when we re-plant that line, we'll have them pulled out. Or may do them onesy-twosy over the summer.

Guessing you used the sawzall on the stumps? That's what I did when I pulled a few a couple of weeks ago.

Not surprised it took that much time.

This is a great time to get yard work done IMO...weather isn't too warm and humid yet. We plan on going back to inside work later in the summer when it gets too hot to deal with outside stuff. Guessing the person who will be patching and refinishing our floors will think we forgot him again.

ctenidae · Jun 2, 2014

Yep, cut them down, and cut the stumps, with the sawzall. It was a beautiful weekend for working outside- about 75, and a nice breeze.

I kept telling myself it was a bit cool to be out on the boat, yet.

hammer · Sep 24, 2014

hammer said:
I just wish I knew enough to tell the installer to take up the baseboard when I had the floor done 10 years ago. Don't like the idea of adding quarter round to fill in the gaps but I'm not sure if I'll have any alternative.

After several months we have all of the baseboard off and the walls are painted (one needs touch up, I stink at painting). Next step is to get the floors patched in the kitchen and refinished throughout. Looks like there are a few small gaps where the walls are wavy. Will have to confirm after the floors are done.

One question I have right now is, for those who have done quarter round, is the current trend to paint it or stain it?

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