BG Homeowner and DIY Thread - Out of the Basement Edition

[Jaybar]

Reusing the stone that are set in mortar? You'll spend a LOT of time cleaning them and re-using them especially with no experience in masonry (you'll likely break a lot of them chipping off the mortar). If they are loose-laid you should have no issue removing them, but the soil will come spilling out so :/

Installing an above ground pool will still require a foundation to sit on. If it needs a concrete pad to sit on then I don't think you will be doing this yourself without experience in concrete placement (would also require some minor excavation). You can certainly try, nothing dangerous in this endeavor.

[archibaldcrane]

Doing this yourself is going to be a nightmare.

[Jaybar]

I didn't know you could remove those types of stones and reuse them. I always see them destroyed if they need to be moved. It's not like youre gonna shave off all that grout either? Or maybe you are idk lol.

I work with materials like that and I be super interested in seeing how someone could reuse it, cause I gotta be super rough with it just to remove small pieces of tile/stone and grout.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

This is used a lot for historic work, typically re-using decorative stone pieces or terra-cotta where a replacement is way too expensive. You need a masonry grinding saw to cut out the mortar joints and pull the stone out, then use a chipping tool to clean off the mortar (usually pneumatic, but hand tools work fine too). Tile is harder to do since it's so brittle and you don't get much purchase with a chisel on the exposed mortar.

[Byrthnoth]

* the only bath/shower combo in the house has either its hot/cold water valve installed upside down or has a non-original handle

OK, so far 80% of home repair time has been spent figuring out what is wrong and the right vocabulary to use on google to find a DIY guide to fix it.

This one has been surprisingly resistant, but I think I got a break in the case tonight. It looks like they basically threw together random parts to assemble a faucet / shower set (records show they were cited in 2014 for renovating a bathroom without a permit). This explains why the handle is upside down, but the simplest fix in this case is to get a symmetric handle and orient the hot/cold indicators correctly.

Are there faucet knob/handle standards? This is the thing that I would be connecting to the three-way valve to control water temperature (radial) / whether it is on or off (in/out). I occasionally see people advertising a "universal valve" in their faucet/shower combos, but how do I know if I have one of those?

I ask because I have fuckall interest in doing actual "this involves water" plumbing myself but will happily replace a handle.

[Drai]

OK, so far 80% of home repair time has been spent figuring out what is wrong and the right vocabulary to use on google to find a DIY guide to fix it.

This one has been surprisingly resistant, but I think I got a break in the case tonight. It looks like they basically threw together random parts to assemble a faucet / shower set (records show they were cited in 2014 for renovating a bathroom without a permit). This explains why the handle is upside down, but the simplest fix in this case is to get a symmetric handle and orient the hot/cold indicators correctly.

Are there faucet knob/handle standards? This is the thing that I would be connecting to the three-way valve to control water temperature (radial) / whether it is on or off (in/out). I occasionally see people advertising a "universal valve" in their faucet/shower combos, but how do I know if I have one of those?

I ask because I have fuckall interest in doing actual "this involves water" plumbing myself but will happily replace a handle.

Local BG Plumber here, if you have a picture of the valve or a brand name I might be able to help you. Not sure what you mean by "Universal Valve" but a lot of the manufacturers like Delta or Moen use "Positemp" cartridges in their tub/shower valves which basically won't function without both hot and cold being present, and they're generally universal meaning most of the Moen valves will use the same cartridges and same for Delta, it's when you get to like Kohler or Price Pfister or Grohe that you may need to know the model of valve to get replacement cartridges.

Edit - as for the handle and cartridge, both Moen and Delta cartridges can be installed upside down which would reverse the hot and cold settings on them, and as for the handle most of them are just held on by an Allan Wrench set screw or a phillips screw under a cap, you may be able to just flip it over to it's in the correct position.

[Ksandra]

Got another quote and it's $6k, which is wayyyy better. Gonna try to get one more quote, but worse case going with this current one. I wanted to ask your opinions though. So the guy said they can get the same stone as our mini-wall (sounds like yeah too much effort to reuse the ones we have ). We can either keep a small section or remove all of it. In the photo above you can see a straight, then curved area. Keeping it would basically be making a rectangle out of the straight area. The curved area is where part of the pool would be. Price is about the same either way.

I just. IDK guys. I feel like a designer would say to keep it because I know the two-tier thing is popular. And as you said, what we have is really nice. But in my head, if I flatten it all, that means I get to decide the size and shape of a planter area and I can change it at whim really easily without ever needing a contractor again.

But of course, I really really suck at design stuff, and so I figure whatever I'd come up with won't be as nice as that. I feel like I'd end up with more space flattened, though. WWYD?

[Ksandra]

I've never dealt with pools before. So if I'm understanding correctly, in addition to the work on the wall, you're going to be installing a concrete pad for the pool to sit on, right?

if that's the case, i'd suggest designing the yard to work just as well with as without the pool. so if you take the pool out, you can use the area as, say, a patio. Or whatever. And if you're doing that, it kinda changes the focus of the yard. Right now, the focus seems to be about where you're standing, and you have a nice view of the flower bed. If the focus of the yard shifts to where the pool is going, suddenly the flower bed seems... end-on. out of place. So I say remove the whole mini-wall, and then you can do whatever layout you want and change it as styles/needs demand. if you need to leave some of the small wall intact to support the large wall, i'd do a small curved flower bed in the corner.

Thanks for the advice! I never thought about the focus part. As for concrete, nope, you put sand. Oddly enough these must be going severely out of style or something, as neither landscaper seemed to know this. The first one was pushing concrete until I had to show him online that sand is recommended.

Reason being is there is no "bottom" to an above ground, just the liner. So concrete would a. hurt to step on through the liner and b. probably rip it.

Maybe I can spread the word that more people should get these things. I think people forgot about them or something. Online says they last 5-10 years, but my parents had theirs for 30+ (mom had it removed when my dad died because she didn't want to maintain it). And overall it's gonna cost us about 11k to landscape and put the pool down. Most inground pools that size out here cost about 80k to build. FYI I am getting this kind, not the like cheapy ones you get from walmart:



Someday I wanna get a deck similar to that one, too. But I am not in a rush. I didn't show the other angle but there's a shed we're going to move on the other side, and put our jacuzzi (inflatable) next to it. Goal down the line is to install a deck with a legit jacuzzi and connect it to the pool.

[edit] you can make those pools have a deep end too, but usually adds another 10k to the cost as you have to have someone come and dig the dirt down. But that's something you can do later on if you really wanted to. As a kid I never felt like I needed it.

[Corrderio]

So stupid question but if a house listing with a basement mentions it has a sump pump is that usually a red flag to avoid the house at all costs? I mean I know they're used to get water out of a basement but I'm kind of concerned why it would be there in the first place.

[archibaldcrane]

People don't like them because above-ground pools are considered extremely white trash.

[Ksandra]

People don't like them because above-ground pools are considered extremely white trash.

Why? I am from an upper middle class yankee area and tons of people had (dunno if still do, since I don't live there) them. That makes zero sense.

Area we purchased we saw about 50/50 with them, and this is again an upper middle class area.


Doesn't matter I guess. I'll enjoy saving 60k in costs and not having my taxes increase. So I guess that makes me white trash. XD XD XD

[Ksandra]

So stupid question but if a house listing with a basement mentions it has a sump pump is that usually a red flag to avoid the house at all costs? I mean I know they're used to get water out of a basement but I'm kind of concerned why it would be there in the first place.

I would scout the area and ask the neighbors if possible about it. Do you know if it was added later, or was it originally built when the house was?

[archibaldcrane]

Why?

Cheaper alternative to a "status symbol"

[Kirin]

So stupid question but if a house listing with a basement mentions it has a sump pump is that usually a red flag to avoid the house at all costs? I mean I know they're used to get water out of a basement but I'm kind of concerned why it would be there in the first place.

Not necessarily. In some states they are required I think.

[Ksandra]

Cheaper alternative to a "status symbol"

That's just so dumb. If anyone here thinks that, I recommend rethinking it even if you aren't getting a pool yourself. To me it's a much more economical decision. You get the same experience for like the 3rd of the price, and if you ever find yourself no longer using it, you can dismantle it yourself and thrown some grass down and be done with it. Also, as I mentioned above, if you are in a higher property tax area, inground increases it, but above grounds do not.

[archibaldcrane]

I wouldn't call it the same experience

[Tyche]

Idk, if I had a house that was worth more than 125k, I probably wouldn't put an above ground pool on the lot because...yeah...what archi said.

[Ksandra]

How is it not the same experience? I spent my whole summers growing up in pools both in ours and our neighbors. In particular: 3 (including ours) were above ground, two were in ground. Didn't have a difference in experience at all.

Out here our yards are just so damn small I am not about to have zero play area for the kids to run around in. I have yet to see an inground here that didn't just completely eat up someone's backyard.

And again any difference isn't going to be worth $60k. That's like, a lifetime of Disney for what? Not much.

[Ksandra]

Idk, if I had a house that was worth more than 125k, I probably wouldn't put an above ground pool on the lot because...yeah...what archi said.

Also you have to consider where I live. Houses under 125k don't exist here. The house we previously sold was a townhome and is one of the cheapest ones in the city. We sold it for 400k. TO have both an inground and still a back yard for kids to play in are over a million dollars here. I am a teacher. We ain't getting that ever.


Edit: I should note, I'm not like trying to convince people to get an above ground lol. Get w/e you want. But thinking they're trashy because they are cheaper is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. And I've heard Trump speak.

[Tyche]

How much do below ground installations cost there? If you can afford a 400k house, is a 60k pool installation too much? People that live in nice neighborhoods here with nice houses just typically don't do above ground pools because they really are just kind of...tacky. And I live in coalmining country. Maybe if you live isolated, out in the country, it'll be alright. I wouldn't have one. But I guess I could see some scenarios where it's fine.

And I think archi means the experience isnt the same because the above grounds are limited in depth. You can have large concrete pads around below ground pools. Grills. Chairs all around the pool. Can typically accommodate more people. It is a different experience. I have a friend that has a basement that opens up to his pool. Full bar and margarita maker in the basement. Fridges for days.

[Buffy]

So stupid question but if a house listing with a basement mentions it has a sump pump is that usually a red flag to avoid the house at all costs? I mean I know they're used to get water out of a basement but I'm kind of concerned why it would be there in the first place.

Sump pumps are completely normal....what you want to know is how often they are needed/used, which would indicate a problem with the foundation. Your house inspector would be able to look into this topic.