DIY Archives - Page 3 of 7 - reclaimedhome.com

DIY Concrete Countertop

February 7, 2013 RH 6 Comments

Back in December I did a post about DIY concrete countertops. The method doesn’t involve any complicated pouring of concrete so I decided to give it a shot. Whaddya think? Not bad.

The photo above was taken before the sealer was dry so any dark areas you’re seeing are actually still wet. Also, pay no attention to the dirty sink that had been sitting in the backyard since the hurricane.

Would I recommend the Ardex Feather Finish that my husband said was basically thin set? Yes. For 30 bucks including shipping, I got myself a new counter and backsplash. The 10 pound bag wasn’t quite enough to smooth it out completely so I’d suggest getting more. I left the backsplash decidedly rough (I decided that I couldn’t be bothered) and the counter wasn’t completely flawless. This material can be sanded but again, because I didn’t have extra on hand, I didn’t want to go crazy sanding it.

I applied three coats of Ardex and three coats of Aqua Mix sealer, letting them dry thoroughly each time. Does this take any less time than pouring? No, but if you don’t feel like building the form, this is easier.

Started with plywood and hardibacker.

First coat. Thought this would never disappear but it was gone once dry.

Pre-sanded second coat. The counter is much smoother now but I left the lines and patches in the backsplash. Even thought it would be a cool idea to add fossils! But I didn’t have any on hand. Next time.

Chalk It Up

February 6, 2013 RH

Kitchen

Hallway

Dining Room

Bedroom

Bathroom

Living Area

DIY: Installing Kitchen Cabinets

January 30, 2013 RH

Materials:

Level
Pencil
Screw Gun
Tape Measure
Stud Finder
Clamps
3½” long cabinet screws for cabinet to wall
2¼” trim head screw for cabinet to cabinet

*The cabinet is level but the wall isn’t.

1. Measure. Start from the bottom up. A standard base cabinet including the counter is about 36″ high. You want at least an 18″-20″ backsplash. So we’re talking setting the bottom of the wall cabinet at 56″.

2. Mark it and level. In an ideal world with perfectly level floors, I’d tell ya to measure left, right and center for that 56″ and draw your mark with the level. It’s good to do that anyway, but the level overrides the measurement. For instance, my floor had 1/2″ settlement on the right side so we had to shim up the base cabinets. Unfortunately, because the ceiling isn’t level either and the cabinets are, that slopey ceiling is pretty noticeable, but whatcha gonna do?

3. Find the studs. Maybe the guys helping you are studs, but I mean the ones in the wall. You can buy an electronic stud finder but they don’t always work 100%. If the walls are sheetrock, it’s sometimes possible to see screws and tape if there isn’t tons of paint. Also look for the outlets as they are usually screwed into a stud at the side. If all else fails, knock on the wall. Studs should be 16″ apart so if you find one, there is a good chance you can measure 16″ for the next one. Our crazy house was 24″ so we had to add extra support.

4. *Adding support* You need to take this step if your studs are too far apart. What we did was take two strips of plywood cut about 2″ wide and screw them into the length of the wall. Make sure they are fully secured to the studs. Now these strips will take the weight of the cabinets along with the studs.

5. Hang the cabinets. There are two ways to go about this. First way is to screw in a temporary ledger board just under the level line so you can rest the cabinets on it as you’re about to screw them in. Take the first two cabinets and screw them together. You’ll want to clamp the front of them together and make sure they are plumb and level. The second way only works if you have more than two people. Forget the board and hang one cabinet at a time, leveling and plumbing them up as you hang them. I say three people because it will take one to screw the cabinet and two to hold it up and check the level.

A few tips. It’s a good idea to pre-drill holes. Make sure to secure the cabinets at the thickest point. I hope you’re not trying to do this with the doors still on. I also hope you know that you should do the wall cabinets before the base.

6. Base cabinets. Well, this is a breeze since you don’t have to hold them up over your head. As mentioned earlier, not all floors are level so let’s assume yours is not. Start from the highest point to make your level mark and then you can always shim up. You’re pretty much going to follow the same directions as the upper cabinets. Just keep in mind that your sink base needs to be aligned with the plumbing and holes should be drilled before you install. (Duh)

Good luck!

Better than Faux

January 28, 2013 RH

It takes skills or money to hire people with said skills to create a faux aged plaster effect on the walls. But lookey what I uncovered the other day. Yes, it’s the real deal well preserved under wallpaper and skimcoat.

Is it taking just as long to painstakingly scrap down the wall? Yes. But hear me out, man. Cost: Time. Materials: Just a clear polyurethane to seal up that toxic lead paint I’m releasing into the air.

This is just a single, small wall at the top of the stairs. Nobody will ever notice it but I’m taking great pleasure in the process anyway.

How Not To Tape and Mud Drywall

January 8, 2013 RH 2 Comments

We all have our skills and limitations. For me, that limitation is drywall and plastering. I hate it like poison, which is probably why I’m not very good at doing it.

The correct way to tape and mud is to build the joint compound up 3 to 4 times while feathering it out with each coat. But that means 3 to 4 days between dry time and who has patience for that? I’ve learned the correct way to do it. And sometimes I do try. I really do. But it’s not so easy!

You smooth one area out and the adjoining area gets messed up. The mud on your knife gets something in it and leaves a streak in your perfect layer. The tape bubbles.

That’s what sandpaper is for. They say a good plaster or taping job requires very little sanding. Well, at least you can make a bad job look decent with tons of sanding.

Watch the videos below for the correct way to tape and mud. Let’s see how well you do.

Charlie Brown Christmas Trees

December 18, 2012 RH

Paint Stripping Deja Vu

December 12, 2012 RH 2 Comments

Sadly, my Silent Paint Remover ended up under water during the flood. It’s possible that it survived but I’m scared to try it, so I’m waiting for The Husband to fiddle around with it. I’ll stand by to drive him to the emergency room if necessary because I’m a good wife.

Until he takes it apart, I’m stuck using chemical paint strippers. It’s bringing back some bad memories of stripping 5 marble fireplaces and a house full of wood molding with Rock Miracle. Don’t get me wrong, Rock Miracle is a great paint stripper, but since I discovered the SPR, I only use chemicals to smooth out the final (or rather, first) layer of paint instead of sanding.

The clawfoot tub I bought for $100 DELIVERED has at least eight coats of paint. It’s so thick that someone plastered in a patch where the paint had peeled. First I tried Peel Away for 36 hours. I spent half the day yesterday going through layer by layer with the Rock Miracle until I finally said “WTF am I doing? This is the side that’s going to be hidden against the wall.”

Is it nuts that I’m “doing the right thing” where nobody is gonna see it?

Anyway, if you don’t learn anything else from my DIY blog posts, listen to me now and hear me later. The Silent Paint Remover/Infrared Paint Stripper is the most friggin awesomest thing ever invented. It’s like 400 bucks, which is why I’m willing to send Hubby to the hospital rather than buy a new one, but it’s totally worth it! Multiple layers in a 12″x5″ area in one go. Saves tons of time and money spent on bullshit chemicals and make paint stripping a pleasure!

No, I’m not getting paid to say this. But then again, if the company wants to send me a new one, I would not turn it down.

I love you, Silent Paint Remover. And I miss you with all my heart.

Closing Up Windows

December 10, 2012 RH

Light is one of the most desirable things a home can offer. You may ask why someone would want to close up a window. I believe I can answer that now since we actually got rid of not one, but two windows this weekend.

First of all, both windows had a view of the neighbor’s vinyl siding two feet away. It’s my guess that the neighboring house was built after our 1920 2 story. But we didn’t close up the windows because we were appalled by the view of ugly siding.

One window was in the kitchen. At first, there were thoughts of extending the counter and putting in a smaller window. That could have worked. Then we were like “Wait. Why not get rid of the window completely?” We opted for more cabinets instead of a bit of light, making this tiny kitchen that much more practical.

*Don’t look at my bad taping job. It will be covered by cabinets!*

The second window was in the bathroom. A small window looking out, again, on to the neighbor’s siding. There is a normal sized window right next to it with an unobstructed view of the bay. The sheetrock was already finished but this small window looked totally weird butted up against the wall built around the pipes and sewer line. When we took said sheetrock down to let the plumbers get at the gas lines they were replacing, we thought that was our window of opportunity (You like how I did that there?) to make this area look less…what’s the word I’m looking for?….stupid.

The window in question sits behind the bathtub. I was thinking about some built in shelves which still would have looked uneven. Then hubby was like “Eh, what if we get rid of this one too?” Fine.

So, what’s the process of taking away a window? Skipping over the DOB legalities and heading right over to the how-to: It’s not as bad as I thought. Of course, it was Hubby doing all the work. And I should let you know that you shouldn’t try this if you don’t consider yourself a handy person. Bottom line is that you need to know what you’re doing enough to keep the moisture out of your house or you’re opening up a world of problems.

1. Take out rotted wood (in our case) and re-frame. Oh yeah, take out window first. Duh.
2. Build studs.
3. Plywood exterior side.
4. We have vinyl siding on this house so in this instance it’s plywood, tar paper, rigid insulation and siding. If you have brick or brownstone, it’s more skilled. Eh, chances are you’re in an attached house anyway and don’t have to worry about it.
5. Interior. Insulate between studs.
6. Sheetrock.
7. You know the rest. Tape, paint, done.

Cheater DIY Concrete Counter

December 6, 2012 RH 3 Comments

I tend to go with tile countertops because they are inexpensive and easy to do but sometimes one needs a change in life. So, I’m researching. You can stick just about anything in resin but the problem with that is that heat will melt the epoxy. So what’s a DIY gal to do? I’ve always wanted to try a concrete countertop. Hell, why not? I’ve done concrete floors.

Then I came across Kara Paslay Designs’ blog post on a DIY concrete counter that you don’t have to pour. Duh! Why didn’t I think of that? I could never be bothered with pouring a countertop because you have to build a mold for the pour first and let’s be honest…Who wants to do that?

So all’s ya gotta do is skimcoat any roughed up and prepared surface with Kara’s recommended product called Ardex Feather Finish. A few coats, sand and seal.

Sounds too easy. I’ll let you know if it’s idiot proof since I’m pretty sure this idiot will give it a shot pretty soon.

Two Steps Back. One Forward.

December 4, 2012 RH

As of last weekend, we finally hit the reset button on the renovation. The house has heat and electric. The basement is cleaned out. Now, where were we before the storm?

Oh yes, I was down in the basement painting the kitchen cabinets I intended to recycle. Ok, so those were trashed. I ended up finding 2 cabinets to recycle at a PA ReStore and then I caved and bought new unfinished ones at Lowe’s. The good news is that I don’t have to clean maple syrup and mouse shit from the insides of the cabinets. New has it’s charms. So I’m doing the cabinets again. How deja vu.

As mentioned, twas only our basement that flooded, so all of the new sheetrock was fine. I say “was” because since we had licensed competent plumbers over to install a new boiler, we had them run new gas lines throughout the house. That means cutting into some sheetrock. We hate doing sheetrock but we’re not getting the schmuck back who did it in the first place. That didn’t end well. It never does. That’s why we DIY.

So where’s this step forward? Got a clawfoot tub! Yay! It needs some work. “Some” is an understatement. Oh, and I finally bought some bathroom tiles. New slate. No overstock or discounts but like $1.48 per square foot. Not bad. Again, Lowe’s. So much better than Home Depot. The bathroom will be ready to tile once we re-frame and sheetrock that pipe area we demolished.

Funny. Don’t know if I ever mentioned that this house is my project and the hubby wanted nothing to do with it. Now here I am all “we” this and “we” that. Guess I dragged him into it, huh?

Somewhat Habitable

November 28, 2012 RH

After a slight hurricane setback on the Rockin’ Rockaway Rehab house, things are back on track. As you know, we were without heat and electric for a solid three weeks but it’s all good now.

The basement was gutted and cleaned up immediately. It took LIPA (LI Power Authority) ages to get people back to normal. There were rumors that nobody’s electric would be turned on until each and every home was inspected. Nah, they couldn’t do that. Folks needed to get a licensed electrician to certify the panel or it had to be okayed by LIPA for that individual home to get powered up. I was lucky enough to be around the day LIPA came by to inspect. They okayed me even though, between you and I, I knew that the panel had to be changed, which it was before I turned my power on.

I thought that once I had lights and outlets working I could get back to the renovation, but I wasn’t too happy working there in the cold. I hired the boiler replacement plumbers the same way I hire any contractor….went with the only one who showed up. Kew Forest Plumbing came, supplied an estimate and started work the day after I agreed to the price. Again, luck was on my side that I have a steam system. Hot water boilers are on back order, so there are plenty of folks still waiting for heat. Got me a new water heater too. Too bad we haven’t installed a shower yet.

Have I ever mentioned that we’ve had the gas turned off since August? Every time we turned it on, we discovered a new leak. It was at leak number five and at this point I’m totally freaked out by those old pipes. While the basement is open and while the plumbers are around, I’m having them run all new gas lines. Take that, Sandy. I meant to do it anyway!

After all this time, we finally set up a temporary sink on the first floor! There is a lone toilet sitting in a demoed bathroom on the second floor. We were running down to the basement sink to wash our hands. Or not. A sink in the living area? Only 1 flight from the toilet? How luxurious. And there’s warm water. What a concept. Living the good life!

Accessorizing with Stencils

October 26, 2012 RH 1 Comment

I always think of stenciling as a finishing touch to dress up a home after the renovation is complete. After having some setbacks in the house that I’m waiting on for repairs, I found myself there yesterday with nothing to do, so I decided to get to some of those finishing touches.

There’s the correct way to stencil and then there’s my way. Since I was anxious to get something done without running to the store to get more supplies, guess which way I did it?

To stencil properly, you should have the following materials on hand.

1. Paint & Stencil. Duh.
2. Stencil brush
3. Blue masking tape
4. Pencil
5. Tape measure
6. Level
7. Paper towel
8. Water or denatured alcohol
9. Stencil adhesive

If you don’t have these items on hand, you can do what I do and use your fingers and a foam roller.

1. Have your base coat down and have the stencil paint on hand. You may use as many colors as your little heart desires.

2. Measure out where to start and the distance between stencils. You’ll most likely be using the same stencil over and over. That’s where the pencil comes in but you can also mask off where it will go. Personally, I like to get this step over with so I can just paint my stencil, but you can stop and measure/level each time. Whatev. Up to you.

3. The spray adhesive will keep the stencil in place. If not on hand (I’ve never had it on hand.) you can tape the stencil but honestly, it pops up and if you’re sloppy like me, there will be some touch up. That’s where your fingers come in. You have to hold it down and you’re literally painting your fingers.

4. Dip the stencil brush or foam in paint and dab it off on a paper towel. You don’t want too much paint.

5. Stipple the brush into the cut outs. Do not, repeat: do not use strokes or it will bleed underneath the stencil. Been there, done that.

6. Carefully remove it without smudging the paint all over.

7. Take off the tape, blah, blah, blah. Beautiful, huh?

8. Repeat over and over again, cleaning the paint off the stencil each time.

9. Touch up with small brush as needed. If it looks perfect, well la-di-da….aren’t you superior?

The stencil you’re looking at has dressed up a boring newly sheetrocked archway between rooms. After the setbacks, it made me feel a bit better about the house. She cleans up real nice.

Sixteen Thousand

September 26, 2012 RH

$16,000. That’s what’s left in my renovation budget. With that, I have to put in two kitchens and two baths. I’m not including the floors which will be $1900 to sand and poly and the deck that being rebuilt this week which may run about $2000. So, really, that’s $12,000 I have to work with.

Normal people spend $12k on a single bathroom. With my recycled materials and sweat equity, I’ma gonna try to make it all happen. I predict that I will go slightly over budget by about $5k.

This is where the blogging will get more fun. Blogging about plumbing, electric and new sheetrock = Boring! Now the house is going to start looking livable. I’ve even been making coffee and eating there again. There is one working sink in the basement and one working toilet on the second floor. Which reminds me, I need more wet wipes.

Today I will hopefully get some color on those walls. At least they are primed.

I’m seeing the low budget as a an opportunity to learn some new skills since I can’t afford to pay anyone. They say that this Jesus guy was a Jewish carpenter, so I figure what’s he got that I ain’t got?

I Want to Renovate Again.

September 21, 2012 RH 1 Comment

Hello. My name is Phyllis and I’m a renoholic. Yes, we’ve already established that, which is why I have this blog and why flipping…or Phlypping (™ Miss Wit) is the most fitting career move for me.

But I’m not talking about the investment property I’m currently working on. I’m knee deep in renovations with that and I’m sitting here looking around my own house thinking that I want to rip into it again.

In my defense, it’s not just that I want to re-renovate. I kind of want to use some of the materials from my Bed Stuy house and put it into the Rockaway house because I was never in love with said materials anyway.

Check it out. During the renovation of my own house, I was hemorrhaging money and had to finish as quickly as possible to get tenants in here. Items were installed that I never would have wanted if it was not so rushed. New stuff, like Home Depot doors (solid, with panels, of course), new door knobs, stainless appliances instead of beautiful antique ones, typical oak flooring….you get the picture.

Now, these things are not horrible by any stretch of the imagination but if it was up to me, I’d replace them with historic materials. I have the chance now. I can remove my HD doors and use them in the other house. The appliances, the kitchen cabinets!

But who am I kidding? That’s too much work, because then it’s like I’m doing two houses at once.

Right??

Crimes of Homeowners Past

September 14, 2012 RH 2 Comments

This is what happens when you don’t prime first.

This is my fifth major renovation and I’ve seen it EVERY. TIME. Why do people just cover up what needs to be repaired? Money issues? I don’t get that. Those band-aids aren’t cheap. Instead of fixing some holes in the plaster, is it really less expensive to drop the entire ceiling?

I found a piece of cardboard used to patch a hole in the wall the other day. Like, cut out from a box. That was nothing. I can fix that. What bothers me about this house is that there is a new roof and vinyl siding. Although that’s not bothersome in itself (well, the vinyl is), it worries me that there were no repairs made to the wood rotting beneath the new protection.

I was a bit torn. As an environmentally aware salvage freak, I wanted to keep materials out of the landfills. As someone on a tight a budget, I couldn’t afford to gut the entire house down to the studs. So, I fixed what I saw but I know that there are things I missed behind those walls I didn’t remove. And I kept and re-covered the holey ceiling plaster myself after removing the drop ceiling.

I’m not completely concerned because, as I stated in a previous post, most of the rot seemed to be under each window and I did take those areas down to the studs.

But what about crazy plumbing fixes….or just letting pipes leak? So much damage from leaky pipes! And gas leaks? And electrical issues? Is it better to save a few bucks and risk your life and the life of the house?

Here’s the deal. You don’t have enough money for repairs? Fine. Nobody can fault you for that. But how’s about you learn some DIY skills and fix this stuff yourself? Seriously, if you would cover the gaping floor hole from your leaky toilet with sheetrock rather than just fix the damn toilet, you shouldn’t own a house. Apartment buildings with supers are wonderful things. I know. That’s the way I grew up. Call this a rebellion against my parents.

It’s not going to repair itself on it’s own, whether you cover it up or not.

Just do the right thing. For you. For the house. For the next owner.

Page Header

Primary Sidebar