nickman54 0 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I always love these threads on a few other forums that I frequent. Share your stories and pics of the projects\nightmares that you have done yourself. I am going to upload a few pics of my recent stupidity project tomorrow. I hope we can help each other out with Q and A on certain subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddrhodes 98 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Currently in progress: 8' x 4' x 2' raised bed garden using treated lumber and hugelgarden approach (e.g. put uncomposted compost pile "mix" at the bottom, pour regular compost/topsoil over it, irrigate, plant). Been a fun project and for something so simple, it actually has a few moving parts since I want to automate the root irrigation (no top-level irrigation at all) and build a greenhouse cover to extend the growing season. I'll post up pics when it's done and stained, hopefully with veggies in it but this winter just won't let go. We had a layer of snow this morning. Hardest project was probably a tile backsplash in the kitchen simply because I made my very first backsplash more complicated than I should using inlaid tiles and using a 45* field. If anyone wants pics, I can post them up, the key to that project was laying everything out beforehand exactly how I wanted it on the wall. That made the whole process much easier for a novice such as I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickman54 0 Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 Currently in progress: 8' x 4' x 2' raised bed garden using treated lumber and hugelgarden approach (e.g. put uncomposted compost pile "mix" at the bottom, pour regular compost/topsoil over it, irrigate, plant). Been a fun project and for something so simple, it actually has a few moving parts since I want to automate the root irrigation (no top-level irrigation at all) and build a greenhouse cover to extend the growing season. I'll post up pics when it's done and stained, hopefully with veggies in it but this winter just won't let go. We had a layer of snow this morning. Hardest project was probably a tile backsplash in the kitchen simply because I made my very first backsplash more complicated than I should using inlaid tiles and using a 45* field. If anyone wants pics, I can post them up, the key to that project was laying everything out beforehand exactly how I wanted it on the wall. That made the whole process much easier for a novice such as I. Post that stuff, I can tell you are a man of detail, it must be posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddrhodes 98 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Post that stuff, I can tell you are a man of detail, it must be posted. That's the thing though, I would do great at just *drawing up things.* Me actually doing them? I am the first guy to look for a shortcut at anything and I'm fine with stuff being imperfect. It lets me know I built it, lol. Too dark to get a shot of the garden bed right now but I'll get a few pics of the backsplash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddrhodes 98 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Thanks to a rejuvenated interested in cooking, there's a lot of stuff in front of the backsplash now, including an experiment in keeping fresh herbs with grow lights (no, not that kind of herb). But I got what I could: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishGuy 178 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Currently in progress: 8' x 4' x 2' raised bed garden using treated lumber and hugelgarden approach (e.g. put uncomposted compost pile "mix" at the bottom, pour regular compost/topsoil over it, irrigate, plant). Been a fun project and for something so simple, it actually has a few moving parts since I want to automate the root irrigation (no top-level irrigation at all) and build a greenhouse cover to extend the growing season. I'll post up pics when it's done and stained, hopefully with veggies in it but this winter just won't let go. We had a layer of snow this morning. Hardest project was probably a tile backsplash in the kitchen simply because I made my very first backsplash more complicated than I should using inlaid tiles and using a 45* field. If anyone wants pics, I can post them up, the key to that project was laying everything out beforehand exactly how I wanted it on the wall. That made the whole process much easier for a novice such as I. Flower garden I hope! I just did an 8 X 4 X 2 raised veggie garden made out of cedar. I used homemade compost in addition to some peat moss and local soil. I will take some pics and post them when the F'n snow from last night melts..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddrhodes 98 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I'm intending to use it as a veggie garden. I have plans for another right in front of it, dug into the earth with just 2 x 6's exposed, 8 x 4 ft as well. I just started my own compost pile so it'll be awhile before that's ready to be used. Here's an example of one of my favorite things I've made since kicking up my cooking skills a bit, braised short ribs with leeks, carrots, shallots, onion, garlic, and herbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishGuy 178 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Treated lumber + stuff you will eat = bad news! You even need to be mindful of the screws / nails you use. I do have a nightmare project I am kinda sorta working on (I am on a break cause it sucks so much) I might post some pics one day.....but it will definitely be "after" it is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddrhodes 98 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Treated lumber + stuff you will eat = bad news! You even need to be mindful of the screws / nails you use. I do have a nightmare project I am kinda sorta working on (I am on a break cause it sucks so much) I might post some pics one day.....but it will definitely be "after" it is done. I coated the inside with plastic tarp to prevent contamination and try to ward off rot as much as I can. It's safe plastic, but hell, nothing is "perfect" anymore. I get where you're going with that though. Think I did enough to not have to worry about it? I didn't coat the bottom with plastic as I want sufficient drainage, but I did put down some old carpeting we had lying around to keep moles out. Edit - I just have the wood/grass/leaves mixture as the base composting layer in the box now, it wouldn't be hard to put some landscapers cloth around the inside perimeter to keep the soil off the plastic too but I think the plastic should be sufficient? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishGuy 178 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I coated the inside with plastic tarp to prevent contamination and try to ward off rot as much as I can. It's safe plastic, but hell, nothing is "perfect" anymore. I get where you're going with that though. Think I did enough to not have to worry about it? I didn't coat the bottom with plastic as I want sufficient drainage, but I did put down some old carpeting we had lying around to keep moles out. Edit - I just have the wood/grass/leaves mixture as the base composting layer in the box now, it wouldn't be hard to put some landscapers cloth around the inside perimeter to keep the soil off the plastic too but I think the plastic should be sufficient? The plastic should be perfectly fine. I like cedar because it stands up well to weather, and it has some natural insect repelling properties....but it is pricey compared to other lumber. I used chicken wire on the bottom to keep the moles out.....but I really like the carpet idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddrhodes 98 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I don't remember where I saw that but yea, I immediately went downstairs to confirm I did in fact have leftover carpeting for it. I'd think chicken wire is fine too, it's under the weight of several thousand pounds of organic matter, it's not going anywhere. I'm going to install 4 pairs of 1 or 1 1/4" PVC as supports for 8' sections of flexible PVC to serve as a support for a clear plastic tarp to use as a greenhouse to extend our crappy zone 6 growing season. Other than that, I'm just planning on landscaping around the boxes to pretty it up a little, but I think that's a job for next year. All my other DIY stuff is HTPC/whole house audio related, not much interesting stuff for pictures I have pictures of food I've cooked for days, but that's boring too, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTCBND03 0 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I own a couple of rental properties in Chicago area and have helped in renovating them...but to be honest, my two handymen do most of the work. I still love DIY and going to hardware stores though. Especially when you can look up Youtube videos on how to do pretty much anything. Here's some tips I've learned on how to save money: 1 - Handyman. If you need help with your DIY, find a handyman through referrals or craigslist. One of your friends has to know a guy that knows how to build stuff and is lookin to make money on the side. My two handymen have saved me thousands cause I only pay them $20/hour vs the thousands i would pay a contractor. 2 - Gift Cards. Buy discounted gift cards to HD, Lowes, Sears, etc. Save anywhere from 8-12% at major hardware stores. Then get a Lowe's 10% off moving coupon on ebay. Sometimes HD will match. Otherwise, I just go to the HD contractor desk and place one big order out to the bid room. Sometimes you save $1 and I've heard some guys save up to 15-20%. I talked to HD store manager just this past weekend to get 10% off a $4k order. I prefer HD and Menards to Lowes. Combine that with discounted gift cards i got for 10% off and thats a 20% total discount. 3 - Appliances. I've found that craigslist can be hit or miss and often you get appliances that have been used 5 years (about half useful life) and they're still only half off a brand new appliance. So I just buy new to save time/energy/delivery. Sears always has the cheapest appliances. Sears Outlet can be even cheaper especially for fridge, washer, dryer. I've looked at Lowes, HD, Abt, HH Gregg for the past 4 months and have NEVER found their price to be lower than Sears. And I also buy each piece individually cause their bundle packages suck and are inflated. Even though these are rental units I still got all stainless steel maytag/whirlpool microwave, 5 burner gas range, dishwasher all with high reviews....and basic kenmore fridge for $1,400 total. But then I used discounted gift cards to get 10% off that. Got washer/dryers at Sears Outlet. 4. Discover Card. You can get 5-10% cash back at shop discover at Sears. I just use discounted gift cards though. 5. Coupons. Google discounts for anywhere you shop. Slickdeals and Fat Wallet are awesome sites I check everyday. The major hardware stores sometimes offer $5-10 off orders but its rare. Otherwise look on ebay for Lowes 10% coupon. But Sears always has a ton of coupons on appliances. Bought each one individually and used a $50 off coupon for each purchase. Good luck with your DIY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish_Convert 1 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I've been pondering a vegetable garden in the backyard but it would require removing more grass. I did enough of that when I landscaped our front yard a few years back. Between the front yard and the area on the north side of our house between our driveway and our neighbors I removed around 1,300 square feet of turf. I mulched and planted some low growing juniper bushes next to the driveway along with a decorative blue spruce, Rose of Sharon and a couple of hollies. The main part of the front yard is sloped down to the sidewalk so it got a multilayer retaining wall, a couple of weeping ornamental trees as anchors on either end, a small pond with a fountain and assorted perennials. My tip here would be to use a sod cutter for removing the sod or some light earth moving equipment. I removed 500+ square feet next to the driveway by hand and it was a chore. It might not be bad if you're younger and can handle it but I was in my forties and figured out that time had caught up with me a bit. Make sure you get it all or you'll spend time getting rid of rogue grass clumps for awhile. When building a retaining wall, determine your layout and use a line level if you have an uneven grade. I started the layout for my first course with one and also used it to determine the low spot, which is where I did my test layout. It helps to start from the low spot. I also used what may be a somewhat unorthodox method for plotting the wall's layout. I went up on our roof, held my camera out pointing down, took a picture from the north and south ends of the roof, stitched them together on the PC with Paint Shop Pro, then used the shape tool to determine the curves for the rough layout. This was the result, taken a couple of days ago when the s#@& started falling yet again. It obviously looks better when everything is in bloom. The small round block structure used to house the pond but I moved it out to the planting bed. http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h49/DaveK913/landscape_zpsadf9ebee.jpg Oh look, I just noticed the sidewalk needs a good power washing. I also did extensive renovations to the house in the summer of '08, including the kitchen, both bathrooms, halls and the foyer along with painting the house. That in itself is quite the process with old aluminum siding but it was worth it. It cost less than $250 in the end and improved the appearance tenfold. I'd elaborate but I need to get moving at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickman54 0 Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 Our house is in a semi rural area and we are on a well. The water that we have is pretty hard and has a trace of sulphur in it. The house was built in 1973 and it is on a slab, I started to notice that some of the copper pipes that feed water to all of the fixtures in the house were really deteriorated, so I decided to replace everything with pex pipe this year. The nightmare part of this is getting the pipes where they need to go without breaking up the slab concrete. I finished the plumbing side of it this weekend, now I just have to fix the drywall and put up wainscoating. I also opened up a entry way two feet while I had everything ripped apart. [/img] [/img] Sorry about the bad iphone pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddrhodes 98 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 That's a pretty serious project! My sister had to have all of the Pex replaced in her former house because a contractor unknowingly nicked the line with a screw while installing cabinets. The affected area was out of sight due to cabinets, sinks, etc... They noticed mold growing and when they dug deeper, figured out it all had to be replaced to the tune of 30k, not covered by insurance. So yea, if you needed any justification, there you go. Just don't drive a screw into it and you're good, but the same can be said for any piping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDIrishFan 607 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 My wife and I built a house six years ago and did a lot of the finish work, all the tile work and deck ourselves. The basement was also unfinished and I did all of it myself with the exception of roughing in the plumbing and laying the carpeting. Finishing the basement took me a few months as I have a full time job and young son. The hardest thing for me was taping the sheetrock seems. That's an art that takes lots of practice and patience. My big project for this summer is a 150+ foot privacy fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickman54 0 Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 My wife and I built a house six years ago and did a lot of the finish work, all the tile work and deck ourselves. The basement was also unfinished and I did all of it myself with the exception of roughing in the plumbing and laying the carpeting. Finishing the basement took me a few months as I have a full time job and young son. The hardest thing for me was taping the sheetrock seems. That's an art that takes lots of practice and patience. My big project for this summer is a 150+ foot privacy fence. Im going to be hiring that portion of my little project out. I hate mudding and taping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corysold 0 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 My wife and I built a house six years ago and did a lot of the finish work, all the tile work and deck ourselves. The basement was also unfinished and I did all of it myself with the exception of roughing in the plumbing and laying the carpeting. Finishing the basement took me a few months as I have a full time job and young son. The hardest thing for me was taping the sheetrock seems. That's an art that takes lots of practice and patience. My big project for this summer is a 150+ foot privacy fence. I'm starting one of these today buy digging posts. Had it all marked out, then found out all the electic/utility lines run right where I want the fence. Have to figure out how to adjust it. Though DIY is a huge money saver for me. I've done my basement, a patio, closed a loft to a bedroom, a pergola, outdoor fireplace, planted all my own trees. Gives me something to do and saves money, what isn't to like? Here is the fireplace I did on my patio: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roarcity269 0 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 (edited) Working on turning the basement into a bar/lounge area. It's already finished so I more working out the financials, TV setup (thinking about going with a 50' and 32' on each side.) has anyone ever had experience with installing a putting Green? Also going to build a built in bar. taking the easy way and buying two pre-built cabinets from Ikea then putting a mini fridge in between them the putting a countertop over it. Edited April 16, 2014 by roarcity269 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corysold 0 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Working on turning the basement into a bar/lounge area. It's already finished so I more working out the financials, TV setup (thinking about going with a 50' and 32' on each side.) has anyone ever had experience with installing a putting Green? Also going to build a built in bar. taking the easy way and buying two pre-built cabinets from Ikea then putting a mini fridge in between them the putting a countertop over it. Scour the internet for bar backs. You can usually find them pretty cheap or even free as places go our of business or people just get rid of them. Can make a huge difference in the look of a bar if you can find a nice one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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