Any SLY Do-It-Yourself Guys? (I mean home improvement......)

[buuckkweet]

Today marks 6 weeks on my living room remodeling project.  I work at my day job 6 days a week so my progress is painfully slow.  

By tomorrow night I'll be finished with all of the mudding.  Then things will pick up quickly, sanding, caulking, priming, painting, and trim work.

Yes it's a monotonous process, but still a necessary evil if you like doing things yourself.  

   

[Tyler]

I'm not big on doing huge projects as I just don't make the time.  Though, I love fixing things.  I have a knack for being able to fix things, like when our washer broke.  I took it apart and found out that I could fix it with a $5 part and about 45 min.  When I called to get an estimate over the phone they said that it would be $150 to fix. 

[buuckkweet]

I hear you loud and clear!  

In my profession, I have many friends in the home improvement industry and the average quote to remodel my living room was well over $1500.  Tools and materials cost me around $120.  

I'm very fortunate to have many skilled friends who are only too happy to share their knowledge and tricks of the trade with me.  

[CraftyGuy]

I make Tim Taylor look like Bob Vila

[BaldBradley]

Well I live with my grandma so if there is ever anything the house needs done I'm the one to do it

[Natedawg]

I do some things around the house here and there, but I'm gonna have to step it up after the holidays. The wife and I are tired of living in a tiny condo, and we really want a house. However, since it's anything but a seller's market right now, we're gonna try all we can to spruce it up and add value. Like, putting actual tile over the laminated crap in the kitchen; painting; adding more storage space (wherever possible); switching out a dying toilet for a new one; etc. Should be quite an adventure. Luckily, I know a guy who's practically a home improvement guru, so I won't be totally in the dark.

[Mikekoz13]

I don't pay anyone to do something that I can do safely myself. I fixed a dryer about a year ago for the grand total of $12. Everyone I knew told me to trash it..... that it would be too expensive to fix. HA!

[Stu]

Sadly the handy gene was not passed along to me although once in a while I venture out of my comfort zone.

[Noodles]

Not a real handy person, but I have quite a few co-workers who specialize in different areas of home improvement!

After Hurricane Katrina, I was approved for home elevation. After the house was raised (which was a nightmare of a process within itself), the garage door was useless since it was about 3 ft above the ground. I should mention that it is extremely common among many of the houses here in the New Orleans and surrounding areas to close in the garage of a home and turn it into a home office, playroom for the kids, extra bedroom, den extension, etc...

So the decision was made to attempt to remove the old garage door, frame the opening, throw in a window (or two), and match the brick and brick the opening to make it seem as if it was part of the original construction. Ran into a few "bumps" along the way, which "threatened"  to halt progress once or twice, but it all seem to come together at the end... somehow!!!

Funny part about it was that after closing the garage in, I then needed a place to put all the junk that USED to be in the "old" garage.

The extra little 8x10 storage shed I had on the side of the house was already filled to capacity, so I had to then build a 10x12 garage (with a storage loft) that would hold all the junk from the two garages combined!

Quite a challenge, but, as I said, it all came together in the end for the better!!  

 - Cap'n Noodles -

BEFORE



GARAGE OPENING FRAMED, WINDOWS ADDED IN, BRICKING IN PROGRESS



DONE (TA-DAAH!!)

[zzaapp]

Our previous home was a "handyman special", which was all we could afford at the time.  The previous owners were a family of ten, and with eight kids, there was never enough money for routine maintenance and repair, much less upgrades.  It turned out to be a seven year project just to get it to the point that we felt it was comfortable enough to live in.  

The first thing we had to do was "fix" the bathroom.  We started pulling up floor tile, and found that the floor was rotted out.  We ended up tearing the walls down to the studs, and the floor down to the joists.  To get all the bad flooring out, we had to remove the old 280 lb cast iron tub. 

Unfortunately, we had moved 400 miles away from any family that could help.  Fortunately, I am an engineer, and I can read plans, prints and instructions.  I also thank my dad for giving me, what I refer to as "the Attitude".  He used to say, "Sometimes you just have to look at a thing and say to yourself, 'How hard can it possibly  be?'."

My wife and I did all the work evenings and weekends, with breaks between projects.  At times we surprised ourselves with what we could do.

[hairless joe]

do almost all of the work around the house. not too fond of heights though. find i'm too busy hanging on to be able to do anything else. so i will pay for outside second story stuff

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Nothing like Noodles, but although taken with Katrina I completely remodeled our camp in Waveland in three years, one bedroom for each of the first two winters--when we didn't stay there much, then in the third winter opened up the rest of the place into a large open area with a fireplace at one end and a kitchen at the other.  The people we bought it from repaired the damage from Hurricane Camille in 69, but the force of the water took the place off the foundation and nearly crushed it flat.  Now vacant land. 

[customdoors1]

I run a door & window installation company . I have done alot of different kinds of home remodeling . If you have any questions let me know
Good Luck

[Nonick]

customdoors1, I have a question or two for you.  As a homeowner, I am the quintessential do it yourselfer . (I didn't say I was good, just that I try to do most everything  ).  I need to replace a couple of windows this year.  The old wood frames are starting to rot.  I was thinking about replacing with vinyl windows.  Can you recommend a brand of window, and/or a place to get them e.g. Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Also, what is the best way to seal around the windows.  The last time "I" changed out a couple of windows, I ended up enlisting ($$$) the aid of a former window installer, who used this super sticky tape like stuff around the outer edge of the window frame, and it held up just fine.  So what's good vs. "cheap"?

[customdoors1]

Nonick the best windows you can get are called ViWinco Vinyl Windows the model is the Cambridge
Go to their website and find a manufacturer near you www.ViWinco.com
They are the best only vinyl window I will install. Lifetime warranty also

As far as sealing the window I don't use the tape because eventually it loses its stickiness. I use a caulking product called Quad sold at lowes or home depot. Run a nice bead down the stops it wood and then push the window into it. After I set it I then use R-13 insulation and fill in any spaces. I then put stops or trim up inside and caulk and then cap any wood outside and then seal with Quad also. Airtight!  Quad also has a lifetime warranty it wont crack shrink or turn yellow.

Good Luck