The Home Improvement Thread

[Ravvenn]

I am so jealous of people with REAL yards. Coming from Ohio to California was a bit of a property shock. I went from homes coming with acres, to thinking 10,000 square feet is HUGE. I feel sorry for my dogs.

I feel more at 'home' where we are now though versus the beach areas. I like being more secluded and seeing mountains, trees and wildlife - the people seem more 'fun', too. Only downside is the insurance boost due to the stupid fires here.

[aychamo_aycono]

Originally Posted by Black_Death

In the back of the yard you see a wall of bamboo. It is awesome for 10 months out of the year, but during May and June I am out there every day dealing with the rhizomes that shoot out and sprout up. If I miss a day those fuckers get to be about 4 feet tall.

I only know this because I happened to see it on a tv show the other night. There is some species of bamboo that looks like the others, but it doesnt shoot out those runners. I've been wanting to plant some bamboo, are they really a big pain in the ass?

[IruleYcauseImSweet]

Ravvenn,

What part of Ohio? I know Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati with their surrounding suburbs are hard to find homes with a lot of property. However, the boonies in between those hubs do offer a lot of land, but with all that land comes distance from the civilized world (Appalachia!).

[Ravvenn]

Boonies in Cincinnati.

[Black_Death]

Originally Posted by aychamo_aycono

I only know this because I happened to see it on a tv show the other night. There is some species of bamboo that looks like the others, but it doesnt shoot out those runners. I've been wanting to plant some bamboo, are they really a big pain in the ass?

They are only a pain in the ass for a couple months a year. There are steps you can take when you plant it to contain it that involve digging a trench a few feet deep and filling it with plexiglass sheets perpendicular to the ground. That way the rhizomes hit it and go up towards the surface where you can easily cut them.

Ive heard of the kind you are talking about but the problem with it is that it doesn't grow as fast. One of the main benefits, and the main problem, is how invasive normal bamboo is. You can plant a couple patches and you will have what amounts to a fence before the month is over...you will also have some pissed off neighbors if it isn't contained.

I talked to a landscaper last summer about how much it could cost to put the trench in after the fact and he quoted me $3k. So if you want to do it, do it right the first time or be prepared to be out there with clippers every day during May and June keeping the sprouts in check.

[Aulirophile]

Originally Posted by Ravvenn

I am so jealous of people with REAL yards. Coming from Ohio to California was a bit of a property shock. I went from homes coming with acres, to thinking 10,000 square feet is HUGE. I feel sorry for my dogs.

I feel more at 'home' where we are now though versus the beach areas. I like being more secluded and seeing mountains, trees and wildlife - the people seem more 'fun', too. Only downside is the insurance boost due to the stupid fires here.

That's so weird... my fiance grew up in Ohio (Dayton boonies), and we moved to California! She's horrified at house prices here. We could've afforded a house in Ohio, we're renting in Santa Barbara atm.

[kegkilla]

[Erronius]

I can tell you what's lacking.

Two words: Duct Tape.

[Xantium]

Pic 1 shows the texture of the paneling I had to deal with, Pic 2 shows how smooth the wall is after the liner/painting, Pic 3 shows the full effect, please excuse mess I am a pack rat, also cell phone cam the color of the wall in 3 should be the same as in 1 and 2. I really need to take those built ins to the ceiling and frame that window in delicious books.

[Ravvenn]

Alright, so I had a mishap. During the initial taping, I realized my window is crooked (we put a level on it, it's pretty bad). This made taping a tricky thing, so we could try to 'hide' where the lines would look crooked. I decided to put the biggest, most obvious line under the window and I'm going to put the bed or his dresser there (it's a long short one).

Anyway, it forced us to shrink the lines to a fraction under 2" and 3" (was 4, 2" lines and 1, 3" line). Retaping for the final lines was a goddamn mess resulting in me having to freehand line gaps on the entire wall.

Having that said, the white and orange are finished. The closet interior is going to be charcoal grey, the rod will be orange and eventually custom built in's will be installed and those will be glossy white like the trim, doors and shutters.

Retape:



New stripes:



Tape comes off!!








You have to imagine the doors are white, and the outlet covers are diamond plate (stainless steel).

[Heylel Teomim]

Looks good! You've got a ton more patience or painting than I ever will.

Hell I plan on having my mom do most of the painting at my place :P She loves it.

[chaos]

I am horrible at taping. It took me a while to figure out how to get the tape off my living room without peeling the paint off. BTW, there is nothing more frustrating that spending 50+ hours painting a room, prepping it, getting everything just right, to then be finished with the job, sitting back admiring your work, go to take the tape off and it peels the fucking paint off the wall. One of those "live and learn" things I guess, but that's something they DON'T show you on HGTV.

[Ravvenn]

I bought the retarded expensive tape that lasts like 2 weeks. HOWEVER, I had some leaking so I need to touch that up. Tiny spots, really, but I get kind of OCD about that stuff. I had one spot peel a small piece but it was my fault for peeling when it was half wet (and kind of like rubber). I'll blame the tape though.


Edit: W T F! This dude just told me it's $750 to do moulding and baseboard in a 11x12 room.

[chaos]

Molding is expensive. Learn to do it yourself and you can save serious cash though. You can get a powered miter saw for like 100 bucks, I got a Hitachi one off Amazon, has excellent reviews (for a 100 dollar miter saw, you know), it was on sale though. You could just use a miter box, will take forever but that cuts down on a power tool purchase. Check out some videos, basically all of the work is the measurments, it's really easy.

[aychamo_aycono]

Originally Posted by chaos

Molding is expensive. Learn to do it yourself and you can save serious cash though. You can get a powered miter saw for like 100 bucks, I got a Hitachi one off Amazon, has excellent reviews (for a 100 dollar miter saw, you know), it was on sale though. You could just use a miter box, will take forever but that cuts down on a power tool purchase. Check out some videos, basically all of the work is the measurments, it's really easy.

I agree 100% with chaos. The $100 miter saws are totally fine. My buddy and I got one and did some basic wood work with it. If you measure carefully and hold the trim correctly in the miter saw, you can make flawless cuts your 1st try. After you do the miter cuts you come back with paintable caulk and fill in the gaps between the trim and the wall, and in the gaps between adjacent pieces of trim. It makes it look like one solid piece wood, and then paint it. It looks *perfect.*

It seems scary as hell, but just try it, you'll kick ass at it!