Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[liv2ski]

Fuck, just got a $12k estimate for a new 2400 sq ft roof. Lifetime warranty on a composition shingle. Seems pretty high.

[iceman]

Depends how long you plan on living I guess.

[Danno]

Oh Danno, I've finished 2 remodels, am half way through another, been down the Grand Canyon and skied about 40 days since you started. Bunch'o go getters down in the Republic huh!

Eh, we're ok with the pace, mostly. He worked fast on the job, it's just that when he neared completion, and was left with essentially punch list items, he focused on his next job and forgot about us. Still owe him money so he'll come around.

We're happy enough that we're using him for the kitchen. Just now am I starting to wade into thinking about some of the small design details, like distance from island to countertop, width of island given we have a gas range in the middle and want seating on the other side (including now thinking about whether we want a raised bar on that side, because of the range). Also range ventilation; I got excited hearing about in-ceiling options, but after further research it seems like they don't work well, so now trying to figure out a vent option that doesn't completely fuck up the new open floorplan, shit like that. May end up paying for a kitchen designer's time to figure out some of the little details (and in the case of ikea, all the ordering details).

[BigDaddy]

More on wallpaper over old plaster--
In our 30's house where we've removed wallpaper, the plaster underneath is fairly rough--they didn't both getting a nice smooth skim coat if they were going to paper over it. OTOH most of the wallpaper in our house is still in great shape after 80 years--we've just painted over it with no problem. The one room where we stripped it is the entry way where it was peeling due to the fact that the roof was a nearly flat wood shingle over skip sheathing and leaked.

What did you prime or paint it with? I've seen latex paint cause it to peel. And then it's a bear to strip. Obviously it worked for you, so kudos.

[Nobody Famous]

Most jetted tubs are nasty. When I demo them I always cut the tubes open and they are always full of moldy filth. I'm not sure if there is anyway to really flush them.

Isn't the mold and filth going to be there even in stand alone "spas?" And in the drain pipework of any shower or tub?

I'm just saying.

[RootSkier]

Yeah but it's not being forcefully injected into your lady parts in a conventional tub.

[Nobody Famous]

Yeah but it's not being forcefully injected into your lady parts in a conventional tub.

Yea, that puts it in a new frame of reference. I think I'll pass on the tub as a jacuzzi idea.

[Danno]

My house had a jetted tub when I bought it. Previous owner said that it worked but she never used it (I didn't really care either way, TBH). But when I went to use it, black crap came shooting out of the jets. I tried to clean it using all tools that the googles provided, but could never get it completely clean (ie, some crap always came out when I turned it on). So glad to be rid of that thing, would never install one.

[Below Zero]

Also range ventilation; I got excited hearing about in-ceiling options, but after further research it seems like they don't work well

Huh? They work fucking fantastic if designed properly. You just don't want a put int he biggest one you can find, because hoods that run at a high CFM, when activated, can depressurize your house and at worst backdraft any natural draft appliances you may have, like a water heater. A gas range in an island with a hood covering the entire range is one of the best designs, IMO, you can get.

What's the problem?

How much are you willing to pay a designer to design this kitchen? I'll do a basic floor plan for you at the maggot discount, if you send me a sketch of the existing space.

[Danno]

Huh? They work fucking fantastic if designed properly. You just don't want a put int he biggest one you can find, because hoods that run at a high CFM, when activated, can depressurize your house and at worst backdraft any natural draft appliances you may have, like a water heater. A gas range in an island with a hood covering the entire range is one of the best designs, IMO, you can get.

What's the problem?

How much are you willing to pay a designer to design this kitchen? I'll do a basic floor plan for you at the maggot discount, if you send me a sketch of the existing space.

I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't talking about a traditional island vent hood, those do work well, and that's what we'll get. I meant something like this, sorry for the size:



Consensus seems to be that they're just too far above the stove to capture steam/grease/etc. We're going to go the traditional route, like this:



As for design, thanks! We have the basic floor plan mapped out. We just need to figure out nitty gritty details. Some of which I am piecing together, like size of countertop, distance between island and other counter, etc. But some of the cabinet and countertop details are best left to professionals, like what kind of cabinets to put where, putting all the pieces together conceptually to come up with a precise cabinet design. And my wife doesn't trust our design abilities, so she wants to pay someone to do some of this, even though I think we've done pretty well so far. May go with an Ikea kitchen designer, I know Ikea offers this service (but then you're stuck with whoever they give you), or we may go with these folks: http://www.thedesigncouple.com/index.html Or we may go with a designer my wife likes, who is good, but I think will end up costing us a fortune and will push us down the non-Ikea route (which will end up costing us a lot more, I think).

[iceman]

The flush ones can work fine Danno, but it has to be the right situation: Not too tall of a ceiling (8' preferably, 9' max pretty much), not too much cross breeze (nearby ac registers and returns can be an issue, as can nearby windows that you keep open a lot), sized at least as big as the cooktop, and plenty of cfm. I tried to put one in in the house we just finished but had issues venting it to the outside because of the way the joists for the floor above ran and ended up going with a worse option, a downdraft, instead.

[Danno]

The flush ones can work fine Danno, but it has to be the right situation: Not too tall of a ceiling (8' preferably, 9' max pretty much), not too much cross breeze (nearby ac registers and returns can be an issue, as can nearby windows that you keep open a lot), sized at least as big as the cooktop, and plenty of cfm. I tried to put one in in the house we just finished but had issues venting it to the outside because of the way the joists for the floor above ran and ended up going with a worse option, a downdraft, instead.

Yeah, that was the results of my research, that down drafts are not the way we want to go, and that the in-ceiling flush one can work in the right circumstances and if done right. But there were too many variables, too much potential for it not to be ideal, and we don't get a do-over.

[iceman]

It's remodeling. Of course you get a do-over.

[Danno]

Ha! We don't have the money to deal with do-overs.

[Cruiser]

I put a hood in my last kitchen and again in this one. For residential use I think you need to look at it in terms of getting rid of some smoke and grease not all the smoke and grease. If you start from that perspective then you'll be satisfied with your hood's performance. And yeah, with my current setup running on high I have to crack a window or door in another room (buy not in the kitchen because it makes a breeze string enough to blow my stove out) to provide some makeup air otherwise I'll get a stinky down draft from my chimney.

After installing the cooktop and hood

[::: :::]

in my jurisdiction, any exhaust fan >= 400cfm needs a makeup air vent
check your local rules

IMHO, any exhaust fan worth installing is also going to be north of 400cfm
and the further that hood is from the source or fumes/steam/smells, the more cfm required to do anything worthwhile

[Nobody Famous]

Interesting discussion on ventilation hoods. Who would have thunk people on here know this niche topic.

Many of the manufacturers classify their vent hoods as 'island' and 'wall' (in addition to other categories, built in, built under, downdrafts, etc.).

I see minor differences at best between the island and wall models. If you exclude that the chimney on a wall hood is against the wall vs. the island hood the chimney is centered on the canopy, there are almost no differences. What is the downside to using an island hood against a wall? The island hoods have a sleeker and cooler look, so I'm considering this arrangement.

[::: :::]

Wall units will have more flexibility in making ducting connections to exit the space (to the side, not just the top like an island)

The other thing to consider is how loud these things get. A remote blower can help reduce the thunderous noise these things can make.

[Nobody Famous]

Wall units will have more flexibility in making ducting connections to exit the space (to the side, not just the top like an island)

The other thing to consider is how loud these things get. A remote blower can help reduce the thunderous noise these things can make.

Excellent insight, thanks.

Have been wondering about that last point. I saw a downdraft unit that does 1000 CFM if you use the external blower option. Unfortunately you can't do external mount in condos. I also notice the manufacturers do not proudly tout the noise level in dB like they do with higher end dishwashers (the dishwasher noise level reverse arms race as one guy put it.)

[Cruiser]

My island hood has blower and light controls on both sides so if it was wall mounted one set would be covered up.

Also, mine is like 800cfm and has 4 speeds. On the top speed it's pretty noisy but it sure moves some air. I have it ducted though the attic and out to the covered porch. But in my last house I had a wall mount unit that was ducted directly out the exterior wall behind it.

[Danno]

The good: popcorn ceiling did not have any asbestos content, yay!

The bad: one of the layers of flooring did have asbestos, boo!

Anyone have experience with asbestos abatement for flooring? Either general experience, cost, local recommendations?

Thankfully the flooring area isn't huge, maybe 200 sqft (there is a lot of popcorn ceiling, so if I had to choose, much better that it's flooring).

[::: :::]

If you want to cheap it, do it yourself and know it was done right and accept the risks.

Otherwise, hire a reputable company who will do a complete job and dispose of the material in a legal and ethical manner.

[Danno]

Don't think I'm cool with DIY, especially with a kiddo in the house.

[RootSkier]

What, exactly has asbestos? Is it asbestos tiles, some sort of mastic, or what?

[iceman]

Putting asbestos into the environment is almost always the wrong choice. Much better to encapsulate and leave in place if at all possible.