The Home Renovation Thread

Bought a new Samsung electric range. We had the original one, which was a drop in, and this is a slide in so we knew some work was going to be required. I thought I had it measured correctly, but I guess I didn't because when this puppy arrived, it's 29.75" wide and the space between the cabinets is 29.5".

So, I figure I need to take at least a 1/4" from each cabinet (or 1/2" from one). Thinking the 1/2" from one may be my easiest option. There is one cabinet I can rip out, cut and put back in. But it's going to make a job that should have taken an hour (need to redo the wiring from the floor to the wall) into something probably substantially more.

Nothing is ever easy.
Measure twice or maybe 3X prior to cutting, or in this circumstance purchasing.
So, the question, is the frame where you are measuring or the box? Maybe you might be able to just cut the “frame” 1/4” on both sides.
 
Working on fixing a few things in the kitchen like a new faucet/garbage disposal and all of that jazz. One thing I am stumped on (I am not a handyman)... one of my cabinets is pulling away from the wall at the top in each corner. It is causing it to separate in the middle (part held by staples) from the back board as well.

What can I do to fix that?
Is this a top cabinet or base cabinet?
If the top one, empty the cabinet take it down and see how badly it failed.
reattach, making sure you over engineer the screws to attach. Make sure they are in studs
If a base cabinet I am guessing it was not properly shimed in the floor
 
Welp a month and a half ago we bought our forever home, brand new build but plenty of projects to get done. Love it so far, just got our driveway paved and added a 12 ft extension for extra parking/our boat. A few highlights since March
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Looks good. Need a tile backsplash, and some insulation and drywall in that garage!
@choppstixxx need help?
 
Getting quotes on three big projects the next couple weeks then picking one.
1) One room add on of a new master suite which would give the three kids all three rooms on the other side of the house and be glorious when they’re older.

2) Kitchen and living/dining remodel.

3) Outdoor stand alone screened in patio with indoor kitchen and fireplace.
@Jman big ticket dollars here!
Get your numbers yet? Sticker shock?
 
Getting our lawn done. Or creating a lawn. Whatever it is called, we are doing it.
 
Another project checked off the list. Budget shiplap wall in the kitchen

Just used 1/5" plywood underlayment, cut down to 4" width
View attachment 8945521

And painted finished product
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Not bad for $45.. vs the few hundred it wouldve been with precut shiplap


Wife is going to paint the walls in there over the week... but I know as soon as I come home from work shell be asking me to get into the difficult spots :mad:
Nice job. I like it. I did a walk in my daughters bedroom with actual 10.75 cedar shiplap that I had from the ceiling in out porch. Same results except on true shiplap the edges are beveled. @greekelite
 
Getting our lawn done. Or creating a lawn. Whatever it is called, we are doing it.
I'm afraid we may have to start over with ours soon. Too many dead spots that may be disease because it seems to be spreading. Not looking forward to what happens if it didn't green back up now that we're getting rain.
 
Measure twice or maybe 3X prior to cutting, or in this circumstance purchasing.
So, the question, is the frame where you are measuring or the box? Maybe you might be able to just cut the “frame” 1/4” on both sides.
I think that pretty much every slide in range requires a 30" gap for installation, so I think we would be in this situation for any decent range that we desired. The drop in rested on a frame, which measures even less than the 29.5 from box to box.

I wish I didn't have to do this piecemeal, but I need to get this range installed prior to the granite guys arriving, so they know how to cut the countertops, and I'm doing it all alone, or with a friend who does contract work on the side when he's not an ER nurse. LOL.
 
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Finished the steps of the deck today. I built the deck last fall but decided to use the old steps until this spring. My better half wanted a composite deck and although the initial cost was higher, I liked the idea of low maintenance. I'm not the handiest guy and this was the first composite deck I've built. Other than some modifications needed for the railings, it went together relatively easily. Since the concrete doesn't extend the full 8' x 8', I decided to use the piers for the deck posts. Not the most aesthetic, but functional, level, and solid. The step posts are screwed into the new concrete. All that's left is to put the endcaps on all the deck boards which simply snap in place.

I decided the concrete under the base of the steps needed to be re-surfaced and leveled. (Actually, the entire concrete walk needs to be re-surfaced, but that's another project and one I will probably hire out.)

The circular saw I've had since I was a kid bit the dust earlier in the week. So I bought a new Ridgid 15 amp. It's so much nicer than the 40 year old Skilsaw it replaced. Last year, I replaced an equally antiquated table saw that had a wobbly fence with a new DeWalt saw that was on sale. I used those two saws, a mitre saw, jig saw and reciprocating saw for this project. I've gotten to the point in my life where I have some decent tools. Nothing professional, just decent ones that help make these jobs go a little easier.

My wife also re-did a couple of planters this week and the lawn is starting to respond to the work we put into it a couple weeks ago. It was nice hanging outside and working together with her on some projects. I'm trying hard not to let golf take over all my free time as it has in the past.

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I'm afraid we may have to start over with ours soon. Too many dead spots that may be disease because it seems to be spreading. Not looking forward to what happens if it didn't green back up now that we're getting rain.
What will become a side yard is currently a field of weeds.
 
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Put together the furniture and what Menards calls a gazebo today. We just redid the deck this fall. I put in some anchors and cable to hopefully keep the gazebo down in the wind. I didn’t want to drill into the deck.


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What will become a side yard is currently a field of weeds.
I've got about an acre and a half cleared, and the sod was only laid around the house when it was built. The rest is weeds and sand. I have to change mower blades every season because they just get sand blasted the whole time.

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Wrapped up a 550ish sf flooring project at a buddy’s house during the long weekend. Click and lock flooring seems to be my home improvement niche.
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Looks good. Need a tile backsplash, and some insulation and drywall in that garage!
@choppstixxx need help?
Yessir, backsplash is already in motion just waiting on tile stores to open back up to look at a few different styles. Drywall and insulating the other half is def. on my list, will be doing that later this year before winter hits. Was busy the past week or so installing my wheel/tire rack and running a new outlet to the front left of my garage for a wall mount opener. Will free up a lot of space above and allow me to work on my cars easier plus hit some balls in the garage with my new net/practice mat.
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Finished the steps of the deck today. I built the deck last fall but decided to use the old steps until this spring. My better half wanted a composite deck and although the initial cost was higher, I liked the idea of low maintenance. I'm not the handiest guy and this was the first composite deck I've built. Other than some modifications needed for the railings, it went together relatively easily. Since the concrete doesn't extend the full 8' x 8', I decided to use the piers for the deck posts. Not the most aesthetic, but functional, level, and solid. The step posts are screwed into the new concrete. All that's left is to put the endcaps on all the deck boards which simply snap in place.

I decided the concrete under the base of the steps needed to be re-surfaced and leveled. (Actually, the entire concrete walk needs to be re-surfaced, but that's another project and one I will probably hire out.)

The circular saw I've had since I was a kid bit the dust earlier in the week. So I bought a new Ridgid 15 amp. It's so much nicer than the 40 year old Skilsaw it replaced. Last year, I replaced an equally antiquated table saw that had a wobbly fence with a new DeWalt saw that was on sale. I used those two saws, a mitre saw, jig saw and reciprocating saw for this project. I've gotten to the point in my life where I have some decent tools. Nothing professional, just decent ones that help make these jobs go a little easier.

My wife also re-did a couple of planters this week and the lawn is starting to respond to the work we put into it a couple weeks ago. It was nice hanging outside and working together with her on some projects. I'm trying hard not to let golf take over all my free time as it has in the past.

View attachment 8945696
Looks nice, and you got yourself some nice tools that will make the work go better and faster.

What kinds of mods were required for the railings? I'm asking because I'm going to be redoing our cedar deck (below) in composite. Here is a picture of it shortly after I completed it in 2000:Deck 10011.jpg

With low VOC coatings, the entire thing now has to be restained annually, and I'm replacing boards every year, and when the square drive heads get stripped, they're a pain to remove. It's time to change all that.
 
Looks nice, and you got yourself some nice tools that will make the work go better and faster.

What kinds of mods were required for the railings? I'm asking because I'm going to be redoing our cedar deck (below) in composite. Here is a picture of it shortly after I completed it in 2000:View attachment 8945759

With low VOC coatings, the entire thing now has to be restained annually, and I'm replacing boards every year, and when the square drive heads get stripped, they're a pain to remove. It's time to change all that.

Now THAT’S a deck. Beautiful.

I used UltraDeck brand from Menards... kind of their lower-end composite. The modifications were to just barely increase the groove in the top railing so that the spindles would fit snuggly instead of impossibly tight.

When I first started I would have had to pound them in place with a rubber mallet. Looked it up in YouTube and saw there was a solution. Just had to set the table saw blade at about an inch or so and shaved off less than the width of the blade on one side of the groove.

The fasteners are cool. They’re just clips that hold the deck boards down from in-between the boards. You can opt to screw them in as you would wood boards, but I thought this option looked better.
 
My memorial day project was installing a home security camera system. Per usual it took longer than expected and its not completed yet :ROFLMAO:. Got all 3 cameras physically installed and connected, and build a rack in a network cabinet for the DVR, but missing a few pieces of equipment. So can't finish until this week when a new power adapter gets here, but went pretty well. I'd call it 50% done and I enjoyed it. Looking forward to having the new system set up! Had a few amazon packages go missing.
 
This is the week I take on a major home improvement project. Major roof over haul. Since buying the house I removed the grass and xeriscaped the front yard and replaced the front door. During that time, it's become obvious that the level of roof insulation is very lacking. Turns out it was much worse than I thought.

My house was built in 1971. It's a bit unique in that it has no attic. Instead it has a major beam down the middle with large beams instead of rafters. In over half of the house has those beams exposed. When it became time to replace the shingles, I investigated the best way to solve the insulation issue. Close cell Spray foam rose to the top of the list. However to add that, it meant a complete rebuilding of the roof. So Thursday, the shingles get removed. Ripped 2x10 will elevate the center 9.5 inches and repitch the roof line to create a space for the spray foam.

This gives me an opportunity to add recessed ceiling lights and ceiling fans to the bedrooms. but hiding the wires above the "old" roof deck. Once that is done they will spray foam 3 to 6 inches to add a minimum of R21 to the existing insulation. I have a roof top Heat Pump...so a new one of those gets installed as well. While rain is not in the forecast.....three days of 110F are.

Once that's done....time to repaint the house.
 
Weekend of projects are finally done, pulled off the tape and did our final touch ups, and re-hung everything.. hopefully banked enough credit to get some super guilt free golf soon
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Wife wants to tackle painting the bottom cabinets... can anyone offer any advice on what type of paint to use? Also, any certain type of roller/brush that has been used and liked?

We have used chalk paint redoing vanities, but I was not sure if that was the best bet for actual kitchen cabinets.
 
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Wife wants to tackle painting the bottom cabinets... can anyone offer any advice on what type of paint to use? Also, any certain type of roller/brush that has been used and liked?

We have used chalk paint redoing vanities, but I was not sure if that was the best bet for actual kitchen cabinets.
I'd probably use semi-gloss. Much easier to clean. I've been happy with Behr Ultra which is what I've painted my whole house with. On the built-in desks, I've always used Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 All Surface Primer as an undercoat. I prefer brushes (I honestly just grab a general use 2" brush for the bulk of the painting) over rollers.
 
I'd probably use semi-gloss. Much easier to clean. I've been happy with Behr Ultra which is what I've painted my whole house with. On the built-in desks, I've always used Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 All Surface Primer as an undercoat. I prefer brushes (I honestly just grab a general use 2" brush for the bulk of the painting) over rollers.
This is what we did to make our old oak cabinets white. Then some polyurethane to finish.
 
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