BG Homeowner and DIY Thread - Out of the Basement Edition

[Boyiee]

Ah it's not flashing but it's similar it's in between wood and siding away from new work so definitely last because the work mishaped it.

[Xno Kappa]

Why are you replacing it? Can't just refinish?

The wood in the game room has some pretty bad water damage from a few years ago. Don’t think it’s salvageable.

[archibaldcrane]

If it's not super widespread they can probably just replace that section. We had a built in bookshelf we removed from our bedroom and it had plywood underneath, the hardwood refinishers replaced that section with new hardwood, and after refinishing everything it's indistinguishable from the 70 year old original hardwood.

[Souj]

So I put an offer in and they accepted and inspection done. Most of it is cosmetic; 1 piece of fascia, popped nail on roof, new vent cover, cosmetic crack in foundation. The roof is about two years away from “average lifespan,” water heater and AC unit are both pretty much right at/just past “service life span,” though inspector says it’s working fine.
Not going to ask them to reroof, as I doubt that’s something they’d go for, but for the water heater and AC... if the seller paid closing costs that would mostly cover the price of both units (but not installation fees), and if I had them pay for a year of homebuyers insurance, but I doubt that would even cover those two things if they did break down since inspector notes them.
Anyone got some opinions to throw my way?

[Malithar]

I'd ask to have an HVAC tech come out and inspect the systems. Inspectors give a general opinion on equipment, but techs can give accurate evaluations. If they identify things like weak compressor or a cracked heat exchanger, that'll need to be documented, so you could use that information to get them to cover replacements or come down in price. Water heater is a bit more tricky. If it's received regular maintenance, then popping it open to check it out would be well within any plumbers repertoire, but if it hasn't, it's usually not worth the risk since build up inside could cause more damage. Being at end of life, I'd wager you're more likely to run into the latter.

[Souj]

Thanks. We reached an agreement on the rest of the stuff. Mortgage company's appraisal was done today, so should get the results of that soon, I think termite inspection was today/tomorrow, and after that, it's just final underwriter approval. After that, I'll have to try my luck at seeing if my apartment will let me out of the lease early without having to pay the early termination fee.

[Kirin]

Little bit of a catch 22 situation.

Wife wants to backsplash the kitchen, but the total square footage of the backsplash is miniscule. Maybe 60 square feet. It's just an oddly laid out kitchen in an older home that was designed to have a smaller kitchen.

In shopping for installers, knowing she wants glass tile, we are getting wildly different quotes with the comments that glass tile is difficult. 2-300$ here, $1200 there for quotes.

I figure at some point somewhere else with 1 bathroom we need to update and 2 we need to remodel, that we would tile at some point. $2-300 bucks in tools doesn't seem too bad to invest in a decent wet saw and just handle it myself. Knowing it is glass tile, and for someone who has not tiled before, how difficult would it be to get this job done right by ourselves?

If we did go with a professional, what would be a good price for this area to get done?

[Jaybar]

It's not difficult, but it is really messy. Expect to fuck up a lot and put that in your budget (time and expense). You should be able to rent a wet saw - if thats relatively cheap I'd practice on that and see if it's even worthwhile. I've laid tile but never cut it myself (but seen the work firsthand).

[Kirin]

Theres a $70 or so wet saw at Harbor Freight I noticed that I had my eye on. I figured I would be breaking a fair amount of tile anyways doing it myself. I've just always heard glass tile is exponentially more difficult than ceramic because of breaks and chipping.

[Roranora]

we need a new roof, and it's weird and atypical what with being flat and bitumen. archi is gonna make fun of me

it could be so cool and unique and.. costly i reckon

i'm not sure if we can afford the whole shebang and doing what we'd most like. we may just settle with bitumen patchwork for now

[Jaybar]

we need a new roof, and it's weird and atypical what with being flat and bitumen. archi is gonna make fun or me

it could be so cool and unique and.. costly i reckon

i'm not sure if we can afford the whole shebang and doing what we'd most like. we may just settle with bitumen patchwork for now

Roof replacement is always costly. I'll take it your roof is well out of warranty and your insurance won't cover re-roofing due to storm damage (this was quite common for my forensics architecture job, getting hired by insurance companies to call out storm chaser contractor bullshit).

That said a built up bitumen roof isn't entirely atypical but definitely old tech. You may want to do some research on single ply roofing like EPDM or TPO. EPDM can come in black and white (so if you want solar reflectivity or absorption) while TPO only comes in white or gray (I think).

If you want it to be cool you can add module tray planters on the roof. They both help with solar heat gain as well as storm water management. They are typically planted with hardy sedum that doesn't require much care.

[Roranora]

yeah we would love some planters and maybe some rock beds too

it's much more a home renovation than roof repair but we'd ideally like to create rooftop access and a lounge area up there too. you wanna be our architect for that one? :D

[Gadritan]

Little bit of a catch 22 situation.

Wife wants to backsplash the kitchen, but the total square footage of the backsplash is miniscule. Maybe 60 square feet. It's just an oddly laid out kitchen in an older home that was designed to have a smaller kitchen.

In shopping for installers, knowing she wants glass tile, we are getting wildly different quotes with the comments that glass tile is difficult. 2-300$ here, $1200 there for quotes.

I figure at some point somewhere else with 1 bathroom we need to update and 2 we need to remodel, that we would tile at some point. $2-300 bucks in tools doesn't seem too bad to invest in a decent wet saw and just handle it myself. Knowing it is glass tile, and for someone who has not tiled before, how difficult would it be to get this job done right by ourselves?

If we did go with a professional, what would be a good price for this area to get done?

I have probably 1,000+ hours logged doing tile. It's more so tedious than difficult. The size of the tile is crucial. The smaller, the more difficult. Just go very slow to avoid chipping.

If you pay for it, $2,000 sounds about right. Don't go cheap or you'll have $8/hr Larry throwing chipped up ugly uneven pieces up there. Spend the extra money to get it done right.

A pro can do that in a single day np. Without experience it will probably be a 2-3 day ordeal from what I've encountered when we've had to fix DIY gone wrong. Also on that note, if you get into it and realize you're fucking it up, don't be too proud to call for help. Stop where you are and let an expert take over. It's cheaper than having them remove the mistakes.

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[Melena]

Dumb question. Step mother didn't remove a rug from the lower deck of the house my brother and I are trying to sell all through the rain season, so it has a stain I want to try to scrub out. What's the best way to remove that kind of stain from a deck without a power washer?

[Jaybar]

yeah we would love some planters and maybe some rock beds too

it's much more a home renovation than roof repair but we'd ideally like to create rooftop access and a lounge area up there too. you wanna be our architect for that one? :D

That would be quite pleasant to have. Your roof probably isn't structurally rated for people to be on there continuously, so that could be a factor in how far you can *legally* take it. Of course...you could roll the dice and not apply for a permit...but don't do that.

Funny story, my architect buddy out in Kansas City was building his own deck. He didn't apply for a permit because "I know how to build a deck". Of course an inspector came by, placed a stop work order, and fined him.

Also I charge 90/hr. 85/hr for BG, though Also I'm only licensed in Illinois and Indiana - so sad.

[Kirin]

I have probably 1,000+ hours logged doing tile. It's more so tedious than difficult. The size of the tile is crucial. The smaller, the more difficult. Just go very slow to avoid chipping.

If you pay for it, $2,000 sounds about right. Don't go cheap or you'll have $8/hr Larry throwing chipped up ugly uneven pieces up there. Spend the extra money to get it done right.

A pro can do that in a single day np. Without experience it will probably be a 2-3 day ordeal from what I've encountered when we've had to fix DIY gone wrong. Also on that note, if you get into it and realize you're fucking it up, don't be too proud to call for help. Stop where you are and let an expert take over. It's cheaper than having them remove the mistakes.

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$2000 for 60 square foot of backsplash tiling? That seems highly excessive. Labor costs can't be that high for that size a job, can it?

[archibaldcrane]

Buy a wet saw from Harbor Freight, watch some YouTube videos and DIY it. You'll save money and learn something useful.

[Gadritan]

$2000 for 60 square foot of backsplash tiling? That seems highly excessive. Labor costs can't be that high for that size a job, can it?

Do you want skilled labor or not? You're not just paying for their time. You're paying to have someone install it that has all the niche tools and experience to make sure it's perfect. You're paying for quality assurance. To be frank about it, we charged significantly more, but we also specialized in fishbone, Versailles, etc, for high end clientele.

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[Gadritan]

And I think you're misunderstanding me here. IF you're going to pay someone, be willing to pay more to have it done correctly. If you want to save money, take Archie's advice and learn a little. You'll do a better job than the cheap guys because you actually give a shit what it looks like. They won't.

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[Kirin]

Do you want skilled labor or not? You're not just paying for their time. You're paying to have someone install it that has all the niche tools and experience to make sure it's perfect. You're paying for quality assurance. To be frank about it, we charged significantly more, but we also specialized in fishbone, Versailles, etc, for high end clientele.

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I had a quality licensed plumber install a whole new water heater for half of that.

I have no problem paying someone to have it done correctly. All for that. 2k for a small backsplash just seems so off to me, even if I went and got the best option in my area. Not trying to say you're wrong, but that just seems so off for 60 square feet of drywall. It doesn't even have but one outlet to cut around.

Yeah, for 2k id rather break 2k worth of tile and do that myself.