The Home Renovation Thread
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Plenty as residential is only 1/2" drywall. If you were framing something structural, then 2 1/2 - 3" preference heavier guage.
Go with what makes you feel more comfortable. Overkill is never a bad thing in any type of construction to me.
One thing that many forget is when attaching material to the walls...look for drain pipes from upper floors as best you can. Most know to check for plumbing supply lines and being careful around those areas in case you miss a stud. Even a Brad nailer can cause a leak inside the wall that won't be obvious until it's too late. This is where length of nails can be an issue when lines are routed threw the studs during construction.
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One thing I might also mention on wall material or hanging something. Those wonderful incredibly accurate stud finders...
The better ones may locate a 3" drain pipe. That size pipe in your 2X4 walls will be snug up against both sides of the drywall.
If your finding the 16" pattern across the wall and then it finds something else and doesn't match...may not be a stud.
Obviously windows openings and end studs will fall outside that pattern, but something to think about.
Yes, I found out the hard way but fortunately caught it quickly after the leak started. Could hear a drip when someone showered upstairs as it was in an uninsulated hall closet and sound was amplified. :facepalm:
The better ones may locate a 3" drain pipe. That size pipe in your 2X4 walls will be snug up against both sides of the drywall.
If your finding the 16" pattern across the wall and then it finds something else and doesn't match...may not be a stud.
Obviously windows openings and end studs will fall outside that pattern, but something to think about.
Yes, I found out the hard way but fortunately caught it quickly after the leak started. Could hear a drip when someone showered upstairs as it was in an uninsulated hall closet and sound was amplified. :facepalm:
The floor process has started. Picked our stain and got out of their way. Crashing at a friend's for a couple nights to take no chances with fumes for the preggo
We're going with the lighter brown at the top left.. can't wait for the golden orange to be gone
We're going with the lighter brown at the top left.. can't wait for the golden orange to be gone
Finally picking up the “in-stock” cabinets from Home Depot. Ordered 2/8, pickup 4/1 
golf > cabinets this weekend so probably installing next week 
and then that’s one project down in the laundry/mud room.
golf > cabinets this weekend so probably installing next week and then that’s one project down in the laundry/mud room.
Looks nice! If you want to sleep better at night, you could figure out the heaviest thing you would put in there, put that weight in the oven, and leave it there for an hour or two. Then look for any evidence of pulling out of the wall. I'd attach a magnetic level to the side of the micro. If it drifts from level after the weight test and stays there, you may have a problem. You should be able to detect any change in free play/flex. If you want to be safer, figure out a way to put some boards extending from the cabinet to just below the shelf, without contacting the shelf or support., during your test. That way, if it does fail, the board should keep the whole thing from falling to the floor and ruining your whole day.
Overkill? Probably, but hope is not a strategy.
Better to know now than before the backsplash and countertop go in.But I think you will be OK.
F*** Home Depot. 1.5 months of delays and this is what they give me... I’m now willing to pay more to buy elsewhere.
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We're bouncing around the idea of either refinishing or replacing our hardwood.
Kind of wild that the quotes we got this week from the same company is only a couple grand difference.
I've always heard so many mixed opinions on refinishing but always thought it was crazy cheaper.
Kind of wild that the quotes we got this week from the same company is only a couple grand difference.
I've always heard so many mixed opinions on refinishing but always thought it was crazy cheaper.
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- #3,061
I need more info on this next time you are here
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- #3,062
We have talked about doing this and the few people I talked to said sometimes it’s cheaper to just replace the floors. We never went so far as to actually get a quote so I’m real curious how this turns out for you.
I have put enough hardwood floors down to know I would not want to replace hardwood floors
I can't imagine how much of a pain that would be. I will say refinishing is relatively easy, contractor's must be making a killing do it (I haven't priced the service) It's messy, but easy enough. The refinish jobs I have seen look better than the factory finish because the beveled edges between boards are typically sanded flat and sealed with poly, giving a more cohesive, appearance of a solid floor instead of multiple boards nailed together.
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- #3,064
I think we're at just under 700 square feet of hardwood and got quoted for about 5,800 for the refinish. Looks like it's about 3,500 or so difference between the two.
Our current hardwood isn't anything special.. probably builder grade narrow board.
We've got another company coming out this coming week to give us a number as well.
Now to go do research on engineered vs solid hardwood.
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- #3,065
This is interesting. I will have to explore it further. I always thought refinishing looked awesomeI have put enough hardwood floors down to know I would not want to replace hardwood floors
I've been on about a 2 year cycle of constant updating my house, LED lighting, smart switches, replacing plugs etc. After I swap the lights in my attached garage with the new fixtures next week, I will only have the troffer lights in my basement to replace with new, lightweight led units... which are also the expensive and the most plentiful.
and the most plentiful.
I've put both down for what it's worth. Engineered is easier to work with, more consistent piece to piece, but feels cheaper even better grades. Can't be sanded and refinished.
Solid wood, harder to work with, more inconsistent from piece to piece, but a hell of a lot more solid feeling when finished, can be sanded and refinished.
That's just my experience with it, I haven't put any down in a few years, but I'm getting ready to put down a couple floors at my mom's house.
I’ve installed prefinished solid hardwood and engineered wood. Unless you’re buying the highest end stuff, I’d consider engineered wood to be a 10-15 year max solution. My prefinished solid wood went in two bedrooms and looks great after thirty years. Should they need it, I can have them refinished. I have neighbors who refinished their hardwood floors and they look better than new for the reasons @Qwkz51 mentioned
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- #3,070
yeah, I figured as much. I've helped put down wood floors about 20 years ago, but never remember using anything other than straight hardwood.
Thats this weekends project.. we did some shopping around but ended up with my uncles friends son. He works for a major company and maybe does this on the side. Most places are starting at 3.75/sq ft, but he was at 2.40 sq ft for the top level commercial finish. Not sure if I got a little extra discount but at that price it made sense to have it done .. about 550 sq ft
Before
After
Yeah thats absurd. Was it a a typical size? We just bought a 27" base and 30" bridge, no issue with either
Yup our 30” bridge was fine, but these are standard in-stock 18”x36”. 18’s originally delivered damaged so they reordered. One lost in transit, reordered. Both ultimately redelivered, picked up by me, and still damaged.
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When we looked at the same for our downstairs, we found similar results. To sand and completely refinish the floors pricing to simply replace was worth it.
We replaced our solid hardwood to a very think engineered wood that can be sanded at least twice to refinish. I would expect we could get over 25 years. Yes, it’s not the same as hardwood (crazy that it cost a little bit more), but we wanted much larger planks and the hardness the engineered wood gave to reduce scratching from dog nails.
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- #3,075
Ahh man I love the character in that wood.