DIY Disaster Avoidance

RSS Feed Homepage

How to Refinish a Deck - Part 2
2007-08-15 17:35:00
Step 1: CleaningSince my deck has no previous finish I luckily do not have to worry about stripping or sanding the old finish. I will simply use a cleaner/brightener. I chose the Behr product no.63. You can find all the information on their website HERE.Basically I bought the cleaner/brightener and a pressurized sprayer from Home Depot. The pressurized sprayer ran about $30 but was definately worth it. I mixed up a gallon of no. 63 with 4 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket and then poured it 2.5 gallons at a time into the sprayer.I sprayed the deck down while my wife scrubbed with a brush in between taking care of the baby. It all worked out pretty well even though she had to bail halfway through to entertain what the DR. refers to as a "Wild man."I finished the deck alternating between spraying and scrubbing. The only problem I had is that you need to keep the deck moist with the cleaner while you are working. I had to rush the deck project through the week to be ready for a ...
More About: Part , Deck , Finish , Nish

How to Refinish a Deck - Part 1
2007-08-06 16:29:00
Alright, sorry to everyone who has been waiting for me to start posting again. I have been through a pretty long span of being burnt out, and coupled with the new baby, I just haven't been able to even watch a home improvement show in months.However, I am back at it now. The first project is to get my deck back in shape. I have a wood deck and it has never been waterproofed. Since it is pressure treated it is not in bad shape, it just needs a good cleaning and then an application of waterproofer.The first name that comes to mind of course is Thompson's so I did a little research. It turns out that Thompson's is just a paraffin wax coating so of course it repels rain, but it does absolutely nothing for UV, the major player when it comes to weathering. Also, it wears off in 3-4 months. I am a big fan of researching products and then doing it right the first time. I decided to stay away from Thompson's Waterseal.The products I decided to go with are made buy Behr, and avail...
More About: Part , Deck , Finish , Nish

Construction Has Haulted
2007-06-07 21:11:00
That is right, all construction on the house has ground to a hault, hence the long pause between postings. It seems that our new Foreman (my 2 month old son) takes the opinion that work is unimportant compared to his attention.Oh well. It is funny because I actually believed I would go on working on the house after he arrived. No matter what I had heard I was confident that I would press on. I still fix things here and there but the combination of the summer along with the baby means that inside jobs are on hold.You won't catch me inside coping a miter or spreading mastic as long as the weather is nice and I can get outside. Besides, I have been training for my 38 mile Charity ride this Sunday (there is still time to donate to the cause, just hit the "Tour de Cure" link on the right). My activities look like this now-a-days: However, I have done a little work in the garden and I will begin to update on that regularly. Stay tuned and the posts will start coming a lot more frequen...
More About: Construction

Home Depot Deals
2007-05-16 14:57:00
As many of you know I like to do my renovation on a tight budget and I am always sourcing from different merchants, both physical and online stores. I have now found a site called CouponChief that allows me to save quite a bit of money on the things I am buying anyway. They even have Home Depot signed on as a partner. Right now they are offering 20% off area rugs and 20% - 50% off power tools, faucets and hardware. You can find the specific page here:HOME DEPOT DEALSAlong with Home Depot , they have a whole home and garden section offering coupons and deals for around 25 different stores. There are even videos and instructions that walk you through getting the deals. It is certainly worth checking out.http://www.couponchief.com/This is a sponsored post.

Xeriscaping
2007-05-15 20:37:00
What is Xeriscaping? It is the process of matching your landscaping to your natural climate in order to conserve energy and water. The word itself is from Greek origin (xero-scape) meaning “dry scene.” Xeriscaping is becoming very popular.Why should you invest in the idea of Xeriscaping? For one, it is fiscally responsible. For two, it is environmentally responsible. Not only will you be saving money on watering and fertilizing. You will not need to worry about pest control and expensive chemicals that may not be the best thing for your environment. There is also less maintenance involved.What is involved in Xeriscaping? The first thing involved is planting. You will want to use many native species that are good at conserving energy. Your local nursery should be able to help you out with this. You will also want to plant in groupings so that if you do have to water, you can water in one area. The second thing involved is water conservation. Drip irrigation systems ...

Have a Blog, Want to make money with it?
2007-05-09 20:19:00
I have a new option on this site that I think is pretty exciting. At the end of each post you will see a button that says "Get paid to review my post". If you have a blog, and you want to make a little extra money, all you need do is click the button and then write a post about whether or not my post was any good. You get to put your opinion out there, I get positive or negative feedback on my blog so that I can modify the site to what users like, and you also get $7.50 and the opportunity to make much more.So, if you have a blog, and you want to make a quick $7.50, pick a post that strikes your fancy and hit the button. You will be taken to directly to the opportunity.Until next time,Clint
More About: Money , Make Money , Blog , Make

The Stanley Pry Bar
2007-05-02 14:07:00
Ode to The Pry BarThe time has come to set a dateTo pry, and pull, and mutilate.I pick up my tool and go to workWherever old trim and wood may lurk. Together we will conquer all,And laugh as the the dust will fall.When the dust clears at last we will seeA room that will be rebuilt by me.A clean clear pallet expunged from old,A new room ready for all to behold.It may not be shiny, not worth a lot.But it is the hardest working tool I've bought. That is right folks, I love my pry bar. In every home improvement project there are two parts, demolition and construction. This little $10 tool will take care of every bit of demolition you may need to do. It is absolutely worth the money. I had to buy my wife one of her own because she was always taking mine. That is why the Pry Bar is one of my favorite tools. Next up: Finishing the closet.
More About: Stanley

How to Build a Coat Closet - Drywall
2007-05-01 15:53:00
After you have all of the framing complete and have test-fitted the door, you are ready to start finishing the closet. The first step in finishing the closet is to drywall the inside and outside. Here you can see the drywall on the outside of the closet. It covers to flush with the rough-in framing of the doorTo the right you can also see the back view of the drywall.Below is my coat closet with the drywall hung. I have also used a outside corner piece. The next step will be mudding and sanding, then priming and painting.
More About: Closet , Build

How to Build a Coat Closet - Framing the Door
2007-04-24 17:11:00
The first step in framing the door is attaching the door frame to the studs already in place. Cut (2) 2"x4"s to the length of the door rough-in height. Nail these to the side studs that were already in place. The distance between this rough door frame should equal the rough-in width of the pre-hung door. Next, nail the header plate to these framing studs. Cut 2"x4"s to fit between the header plate and the top header. These are called cripple studs. Toenail three of them between the header plate and door header plate, one on each side, and one in the middle. Below you can see where I am framing out the new coat closet. I have the door frames in but have not yet put in the cripple studs. This is a test fit of the door to make sure the rough in dimensions were correct.
More About: Closet , Build , Door

Houseblogger Rides For Charity
2007-04-20 14:48:00
Welcome to everyone from the houseblogs community along with anyone new reaching my site. I have decided to ride in a bike tour for the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes affects 7% of the US population and costs $132 billion/year, and that was in 2002. In 2005, Diabetes was the no. 6 killer in the US, and it is rapidly on the rise.Because of these reasons, I will be riding in the Tour de Cure on June 10th in Connecticut to raise money for Diabetes research. I will be doing 50K, and I am asking that anyone who has learned something or been entertained by this site drop by the URL below or hit the Tour de Cure logo on the right and consider making a small donation for this cause.Every little bit helps, thanks in Advance,ClintMy Tour de Cure Site
More About: Charity , Char , Hari

How to Build a Coat Closet - Framing
2007-04-18 19:48:00
The next step to building a closet is the framing. Prior to this step you will want to buy a pre-hung door so that you know what the rough in dimensions are.You are then going to cut a frame to fit in between the header and the footer every 16 inches on center. Remember, frames closer than 16" are ok, but frames further apart than 16" are not. I have used my extensive solid modeling skills to build the mock-up that you see below (glad to see that that almost $300,000 engineering education is not going to waste). Notice how the corners are double framed. Also notice, that the header to footer frames that the door will fit in-between are 3" wider than the rough in measurement. This is for good reason and I will show you why in the next post about framing the door. Below: With footers
More About: Closet , Build

How to Build a Closet - Header and Footer
2007-04-17 21:13:00
After you have marked out the closet on the ceiling and transferred the measurements to the floor using a plumb bob, it is time to start the framing.You will want to lay out the framing on your ceiling and floor first. Screw the 2x4 frames into the ceiling and flooring joists and into each other. Above I have illustrated how to frame the top of the closet, this is called the header. The bottom of the closet will be framed in the same way except for the opening left for the door. This is called the footer. Below is a picture of my header installed. Since I am using an existing alcove to build my closet my framing is a little easier. My project is more of a how to build a coat closet.
More About: Header , Closet , Build , Footer

Narrowly Avoiding Disaster
2007-04-17 15:54:00
The Nor'easter that has blown through here over the last few days has caused quite a bit of flooding damage. Living on the water makes you really pay attention to the tides and storm surges. As of yesterday our high tides were about 4-5 feet over normal. This lead the normally peaceful cove that we live on to overflow its banks, washing all sort of debris up on the road. Luckily the water did not get anywhere near our home, the last time that happened was during a hurricane back in the '30s. Here are a few pictures I snapped as my wife and son and I took a walk last night to survey the damage.The cove as it normally looks, nice and peaceful.Check out the knocked down trees straight ahead and the fence to the left.
More About: Disaster , Aster

My Favorite Tools - Arrow ET200 Electric Nail Gun
2007-04-16 19:00:00
Another one of my favorite tools is the Arrow Nail Master ET200. This is an electric nail gun and I think it is one of the most powerful and readily available electric nail guns on the market. I have put up 1000s of feet of trim with this baby and it still works like the day I bought it. I was looking for a cost-effective alternative to buying a compressor and pneumatic gun for light duty. I found this at Lowes for $60 and decided that since it could handle brads up to 1 1/4" I would give it a try. When I went to look at all of the electric nail guns I found that at Lowes, this one was the most powerful that didn't cost close to $300. That was almost a year ago. Since then I have used it to hang crown molding in every room, install wainscoting in the nursery and trim out a wine bar in the cellar. It has a nice rubber guard on the nose that keeps it from marring the trim and two safety switches. I was surprised with the amount of power that this little electric nailer has. I have ...
More About: Tools , Electric , Favorite , Favor

Don't Shoot Yourself in the Foot
2007-04-14 16:00:00
A study just out by the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that somewhere around 37,000 people went to the hospital this past year due to shooting themselves with a nail gun....not cool.Non-professionals (aka DIYers) accounted for approximately 14,000 of those visits. Now even though that is only 40 percent the number of injuries stood at 4000 a year a little over a decade ago.75% of the injuries were to the hands, fingers, and arms.This leads me to plead with everyone to be careful. I worked as a furniture maker for about a year so I have seen some nasty accidents, (think 5/8" drill bit through the hand), and those are professionals.Remember, nail guns are guns, they shoot things, they are usually loaded, and they also have trigger guards, use them. If you need to buy a nail gun, learn how to use it. I have an electric nail gun that I purchases at Lowes about a year ago. Mine has two safety switches. It has a switch on the nose and also a thumb safety at the...
More About: Foot , Shoot

How to Build a Closet
2007-04-13 15:40:00
When it comes time to sell your house one of the first things that buyers look at and sort by when searching is the amount of bedrooms and bathrooms the home has. A room cannot be listed as a bedroom unless it has a built in closet. Because of this you may want to add a closet to increase the value and marketability of your home along with having more storage for your clothes.Measuring for the Closet You will need a minimum of 24” of depth for hanging clothes. If coats will be hung in the closet you will want to plan for 28” of depth. You will also need 48” of length for each person using the closet. These are the inside dimensions, you will need to add 4.5” for each wall you will be building, this will allow 3.5” for the stud and another 1/2” on each side for the drywall. I had a small niche in my master bathroom wo I will not be framing the walls. I will be framing just the opening for a door.Marking out the ClosetIf you have the space it is time to start marking out t...
More About: Build

Welcome Wikihow Users
2007-04-12 16:34:00
Wow! I have seen an incredible spike in traffic over the past 24 hours. Thank you to everyone coming over from Wikihow. As I write this over 22,000 people have read my featured article on how to tile a shower. Of course, it is a brief article explaining how I completed it. You will want to do a little more research before you attempt a project like this yourself.I read and learned as much as possible before my shower renovation. Below is a list of a couple resources that I found extremely helpful:John Bridge's Ceramic Tile ForumDo it Yourself Tile PageHome Improvement TipsIf you are like me and you are more of a visual learner than I suggest purchasing the "Tiling Made Easy" videos. They are the best instructional DVDs I have found on the subject. Not only are they concise, well put together, and 0.6% of the cost of having a professional tile your bathroom, but they have a money back guarantee. There is nothing to lose. You can check out a sample of the videos at the folowing U...
More About: Users

Artistic Tiling With Natural Slate
2007-04-11 16:00:00
Artistic Tiling with Natural Slate By Joey LewitinEvery slate tile in the world is unique, due to the naturally occurring chaos which creeps into its appearance during formation. This gives the material a certain amount of power, and makes every installation a one of a kind experience.When putting natural slate into a floor, countertop, or backsplash, it is important to lay the tiles out first, to get a sense of the overall picture that will be formed in the final installation. Each tile is a unique portrait that will have to be coordinated with all of the others, to develop a montage which is complimentary and fits the overall ambience you are trying to achieve.Like laying out a giant puzzle, where you determine what the outcome will be, you should rearrange the tiles several times to get a feel for your different options. If you are lucky, your contractor will have had the foresight to order a couple of extra tiles. This will allow you to choose the absolute best, discarding any wh...
More About: Artistic , Ural , Artis

Price Analysis for New Shower
2007-04-10 17:47:00
There are two reasons that I like to do things myself. The first reason is that I am cheap. The second reason is that to be quite honest, I don't like paying what contractors charge, which translates into I am cheap. I also like to get my supplies at the lowest prices possible. Below is a spreadsheet detailing what I spent in the remodeling of my shower. I came in under $700 which I think is pretty commendable.The shower pan along with most of the other supplies came from Lowes. Things are a little more expensive there but I am paying for convenience. The whole body jet set I got from Ebay through a company called Senry. I am an engineer involved in the distribution of solenoid valves so I have a little insight into the quality of these types of products. I can honestly tell you the casting and parts used in these Senry faucets are extremely high quality. They use better materials than your standard Moen or Kohler faucets. Hey I like to save money, but I don't cut corners. ...
More About: Analysis , Price , Shower , Anal

Master Bath Shower Project Summary
2007-04-09 21:04:00
There is nothing more satisfying than completing a project, except for maybe having a record of what you did. Thanks to the world of digital cameras and blogging it is easier than ever to relive a project and to see how far you have come. My shower took a lot longer than I expected but it was completely worth it. Nothing is more relaxing than having all the sprayers going. I look forward to waking up in the morning just so I can shower.Here is a summary of the work I did:1. Ripped the old shower out along with the walls, ceiling, old pan, and subfloor.2. Put in a new GFCI outlet and switch to run the fan/light combo.3. Installed the fan/light combo and replaced the ceiling.4. Took out the old plumbing and replaced it with a new mixer, body jets, and rainfall shower head.5. Installed a new subfloor.6. Installed the new swanstone shower pan.7. Put up hardibacker.8. Tiled the walls.Here are some before and after shots: In the next post I will outline the total cost of the remodel a...
More About: Bath , Project , Master , Shower , Summary

How to Grout a Tile Shower
2007-04-05 18:06:00
The first step in grouting the tile is to choose which type of grout you want to use. They all have their advantages.Sanded grout is good for spaces greater than 1/8” and for high traffic areas such as floors.Unsanded grout works well in spaces less than 1/8”. It also provides a smooth surface that does not take as many coats to seal. I recommend this for backsplashes, showers, and countertops.Another option is epoxy grout such as Latipoxy. I have used this before to grout floor tile underneath a stove. It is expensive but very strong and durable. Plus, epoxy has a 100% solids content so it is impermeable when set. This means it does not need sealed and will not stain. However, it is not the easiest thing to work with. It must be cleaned with a vinegar and water combination and special sponges. There is no room for error once it sets up.The next step is to make sure you buy enough grout. On the back of the bag or box will be a table that tells you how many square feet it will co...
More About: Shower

How to Tile Shower Walls
2007-04-03 20:25:00
Once the Hardibacker was up it was finally time to get to the tiling. This is the fun part and my wife (8 months pregnant) decided to join me.A few things to note before getting started:1. Do not use Mastic, use a thinset and stay away from the premixed stuff.2. You want to dampen the cement board prior to troweling thinset on. If you do not, the cement board will draw the moisture out of the thinset too quickly, making for a brittle set that is susceptible to cracking.3. Pick out the right trowel for your thinset and tile size, also pay attention to spacing recommendations and use the right spacers. I recommend 1/8” or less spacing so that you can use unsanded grout (easier to seal).4. Remember you are not going to grout at the corners, you are going to caulk so try to maintain an even spacing.I used 9x12 ceramic wall tiles. According to the directions on the thinset a ¼” V-notch is called for. The first thing I did was to measure up 11 ½” from the bottom of the cement back...
More About: Shower , Walls

Installing Hardibacker for the Tiled Walls
2007-03-29 14:37:00
The next step in tiling the shower is to put the cement board up. You can find all you need in the tile section of your local home improvement store. I was able to use 1/4" thick hardibacker and I love it. I also picked up a scorer while I was there to aid me in the cutting of the hardi backer. Putting up cement board is just like putting up drywall. You cut it to fit, and then screw it to the studs. I left a 1/8" gap between panels. I also used a hole saw to cut the holes where my shower head and handles would come through. I found that a saber saw also worked well on he hardibacker allowing me to cut an oval for the body jets that I was installing.The first problem I encountered is that I needed the cement board to finish flush with the tile lip of my shower pan so that I could come back and tile over it later. I used shims again behind the hardibacker to bring them out to the desired thickness. Here you can see a quick sketch of how it should look when mounted. The space between ...
More About: Walls

How to Install the Shower Pan
2007-03-26 15:47:00
Well I am back from a week of vacation spending time with my wife and new son. It was very relaxing. This is the next step in installing a tiled shower stall.Once I had the solid plywood subfloor screwed down it was time to put the shower pan in. The first step is to connect the drain to the pan. You can follow the directions from the manufacturer but basically you put a bead of 100% silicone caulk on both sides where the drain will seal against the pan. You then place the two halves of the drain on either side of the pan and screw them together. This will allow a flange to tighten against the pan on both sides with the silicone completing the seal.The next step is to make sure the drain in the shower pan will sit nicely into the waste pipe in your floor. I just placed it in the shower stall and dry-fitted it. Since my shower drain was self-sealing I did not have to worry about any further installation details.I removed the shower pan, spread a layer of thinset morter with a notched...
More About: Shower

Our Greatest Project
2007-03-21 12:29:00
I haven't posted in a few days, I will continue the series on tiling a shower soon. I just wanted to explain that I have been in the hospital with my wife and our new son, Everett. I have not, and never will, be able to create anything as beautiful as this.
More About: Project , Greatest