DIY Home Improvements
 

There are a few things I need to do...bathroom floor, kitchen floor, cabinets and counters and anything I want, I have a big white canvas to work with!

What have some of you done, any suggestions?

Oh boy! Can we be in the misery loves company club together? We have been in our house for almost 12 years and have never done any improvements. Now we want - no, NEED a bigger house, and have to do some things to be able to sell. The nazssty carpets are being replaced with bamboo flooring. Contractor grade vinyl bathrooms will be tiled. Fresh paint and some new trim everywhere. And hopefully there will be enough wiggle room in the budget to have granite counters and an island in the kitchen. With the exception of the kitchen cabinetry and granite, we plan to do the work ourselves.

I am currently working on an "idea book", where we are collecting pictures, samples, notes, materials lists, vendor information, and pricing. It's been an enlightening experience seeing the true costs of some projects, lol.

DH and I bought a house and completely remodeled it. Then sold it and used the profit to build our new house. :thumbup:

One of the big things I did was remove all carpet and put in tile and laminate floors. We couldn't do the wood floors because of the expense. However, the laminate is very pretty too!

Go granite if you can afford it. If not there are many granite look alikes!

woo hoo!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE DIY!!!

I've gutted my bathroom down to studs & remodeled it all. I've opened up the entryway from my dining area to living room from a single doorway width to a 6 foot width. I've added a sunroom & 'almost' completely finished it. I've tiled my breezeway, sunroom, bathroom, laundry area. I built a laundry closet in the hallway outside my bedroom. I cut out a window & installed a door in my breezeway. I installed new cabinets in my kitchen (hired the granite install though). I installed hardwood in my dining area & kitchen, and refinished the hardwood in the rest of the house. And I framed & finished by basement completely, (other than still need some trim work done & some doors hung to close of storage areas).

Here are links to pics of my breezeway & sunroom projects:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/alb...?albumid=15396

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/alb...?albumid=15395

My most recent project was building recessed shelving in my hallway (where ZoE's potty area is), so I have somewhere to keep her pee pads.

My only suggestion for any project is to do what YOU personally like. Don't be swayed by the "thing" of the moment. You live there, so you should love it! My taste is very traditional. I love trim (lots of it) I love wainscotting, & I like things with a curve/flow not angular looking things. My house reflects me :)

You are an advanced DIY'er! Very nice.

I wanted to be able to tile, but I just couldn't get the grout right.

For tile work and you want it right go here. The Floor Elf ? Help with all your tile needs (and extreme jackassery!)
My shower diy But not my first.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ke86/001-1.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ke86/007-1.jpg

Beautiful! Even the caulk is perfect (another thing I'm not great at).

Thank you for the link.

Oh my Lynzy, the DH and I have completely redone (with help on kitchen and bathrooms) our entire 3200 square foot, Victorian inside and out. We are done and I mean that in a very big way!!!

My DH has re-plastered all the walls, refinished the hardwood floors, on his hands and knees, and had done everything else except the bathrooms and kitchen. Those were done on a time table and even though he did do all the work, he did some of it. So...this could be called the house that Tom rebuilt. I have helped out as well. Hanging wall paper, painting trim on the 2nd floor, tearing out carpet, and oh yes, I designed everything that was done, including the kitchen and bathrooms. AND, you know you've done a good job when the contractor stands back when it's all done and smiles really big and tells you, "This is really something. Nothing we've ever done before and wasn't sure how it would come out but it really is great!"

What would you like to know?

Main thing is to get the sub floor or wall underlayment and any waterproofing around tile if needed. My 1980 bathroom..just a few pics don't want hijack to bad :)

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ps6e40d358.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ps21335b59.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...psd26e1426.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ps958c1028.jpg

Is this "in process" or finished? If finished, share the final picts please. I always like to see what other's are doing.

No not done. I had time off from work because it was slow. I took on to much 2 bathrooms and a closet now I'm busy ..and lazy :D.And can't find the most updated pics but
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ps8848b3bc.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ps792fc7af.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ps99154761.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ps869447c5.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ps399ff3e6.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...ps93e4852a.jpg
The ceiling pic was when I slipped and almost went through the ceiling. =More work:rolleyes: Working on the vents. There two seperate mirrors but I can't find my pics at all????

I was going to make it alot nice but we decided we are going to move within 10yrs so I didn't want to put all my effort. kept the same configuration. If I was going to stay I was gonna knock down some walls. But it was a a remodel to turn the out dated bather nicer and make the closet more functional. I moved walls there.

I hear ya! Not a great caulker myself :(.
Looks so simple when I see others do it, but I always end up with too much in some places & thin spots in other places, then I try to smooth it with a wet finger & make a bigger mess.

Huge Victorian...sounds lovely!

You totally lost me with the "done on a time table". What's that mean? :p All my weekend projects are going on 2-3 years...isn't that normal? :D

We are getting bids this week to remodel the master bath, paint the whole interior house and carpet/flooring the entire house. Plus other odds and ends that need to be done. I'm excited but dreading it at the same time. I'm sure all of you feel my pain. I especially dread cleaning out the closets... :(

Well the "done on a time table" means we had everything planned out for about two and a half years from beginning to end with the major remodel done in the last six months for our oldest daughter's wedding. That included one year of me playing around with a computer planning program to just figure out where things needed to be (we had two rooms we were turning into three distinct places, moving and rerouting everything. Then there was about one year in planning and design with the cabinet makers and 6 months for a complete tear down and rebuild. It was a mammoth remodel but so happy we did it! This kitchen will sell this house!!

I am afraid however that I have hijacked this thread. I want to apologize to the OP for that and to everyone for my bragging.

Yes beautiful job, can you come for a visit??? lol!!!

I should have added, I have very low resources, I'm looking for cheap diy!

OOOH, we need pics!

As for caulking...you have to have no finger nails that hang over the end of your fingers if you want to get it right and be sure to lock your finger so it's really stiff. You can also go over it more than once with a wet finger as long as you don't remove too much caulk the first time. It takes practice but if I can learn how to do it...LOL...anyone can. Have fun with your remodeling projects they were some of the happiest times in our lives so far!!

Very impressive, unfortunately I couldn't pull this off! I think I'm going to have to save more money...

I don't think I should post picts on this thread as it isn't the photo section. Will I get in trouble??

I would like to know can I borrow your DH! :D

Post 'em! Please!? I dunno about Lynzy, but I could use massive amounts of inspiration. The most ambitious project we've taken on so far has been adding chair rail and laying carpet in a bedroom.

We are working on our Colonial Home built in 1784. We have new windows and siding, the two rooms and hall way upstairs is done and the hallway down stairs. We are working in the living room. The new ceiling is up and painted. We just have to paint the walls. Then the kitchen, which is going to be a big remodel. The tile needs to come up and wood floor put in. New counters and the walls all have original bead board so that needs to be stripped. Then last the bathroom. It never ends.

And beside that in the spring and summer the outside gets worked on. In my infinite wisdom I decided to do an 18th century period garden. . . I thought it would be great having period gardens to match the house . . I know . . what was I thinking . . Lots and lots of research. Since the plants are all hybrids now, most of my plants I have to grow from seed, that I have shipped from England, Canada, Oregon. I also got some seeds from Thomas Jeffersons Monticello. It is a combination of medicinal herbs and flowers. Then we have a culinary herb and vegetable gardens. I am hoping to find period bulbs to plant for the fall.

He is completely self-taught. When we first moved to this house, he went to the library to learn how to do electrical work. He's done almost all the electrical work here except for major hook ups. He's amazing but he's been working 12 hour shifts for the last two weeks and I don't even want to ask him to anything more on our old house. LOL

I see by some earlier posts that pictures were shared on this thread so if it's ok, I will share what I can. It may take more than one post though. Bare with me!!

Ok these are the "before" picts.

Let's try this again!

These are "after" shots with the same views as the "before" shots.

Also note that behind the desk area is a new laundry room with cabinets, sink, sorting bins.

We also moved the door to the right side of the room with french doors.

No photo section is for themz Yorkies!!!! Pic away!

Look at the two posts above yours and tell me what you think.

OH my god these gardens sound lovely...um pics? I'm not touching the gardens this year, next year though the neighbors will be jealous as hell! I'm putting all my money into my house (bought and moved in 7 mos. ago.