Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[CantDog]

Looking at purchasing one of two houses, both plaster walls built pre 1900. Am I setting myself to an early grave by teaching myself how to repair lime or gypsum plaster?

I enjoy projects, but have certainly never done anything like this before. I'm a good learner though, ha.

[powdrhound]

Flipping through a Handyman magazine at dad's house, I find an article that convinced me to start from scratch on our kitchen. Drew it up with Sketch-up, ordered the plywood, and dove in. I am on No schedule, I plan on enjoying myself.
The drawer unit needs it's fronts attached (painting takes me forever...) and the pantry needs it's doors and shelves.
But Alpine/Squaw is still open. Next month then. Or Mammoth in June? Definitely a long term project.

[::: :::]

Looking at purchasing one of two houses, both plaster walls built pre 1900. Am I setting myself to an early grave by teaching myself how to repair lime or gypsum plaster?

I enjoy projects, but have certainly never done anything like this before. I'm a good learner though, ha.

are you dealing with cracks? or installing new sections of wall finish?

if cracks, i'd suggest no need to do it with old recipe plaster, just fiberglass mesh and a bucket of modern mud

if you're matching a sand finish or a texture, then have at it and good luck --- that's a skill that takes time

if you're removing wallpaper down to plaster, shoot yourself now

[nickwm21]

[crackboy]

are you dealing with cracks? or installing new sections of wall finish?

if cracks, i'd suggest no need to do it with old recipe plaster, just fiberglass mesh and a bucket of modern mud

if you're matching a sand finish or a texture, then have at it and good luck --- that's a skill that takes time

if you're removing wallpaper down to plaster, shoot yourself now

yea, we gave up on stripping wallpaper and just put up 1/4" drywall over everything.

[BigDaddy]

are you dealing with cracks? or installing new sections of wall finish?

if cracks, i'd suggest no need to do it with old recipe plaster, just fiberglass mesh and a bucket of modern mud

if you're matching a sand finish or a texture, then have at it and good luck --- that's a skill that takes time

if you're removing wallpaper down to plaster, shoot yourself now

I agree with the plastering... A lost and tough to learn art.

But removing wallpaper isn't that hard... I've stripped more than Paris Hilton. Basically use hot water in a pump sprayer. Add some DIF or FAST (soap) to keep the water from evaporating too fast. You ,any have to score the paper with a tiger, but let the water do the work and it will come off in sheets.

[::: :::]

But removing wallpaper isn't that hard...

Haha, I should have had you over for some training then...

holy shit, that was one of the most thankless parts of our renovation! I'd rather carry buckets of demo'ed plaster up stairs out of a basement than do that again

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Curious what you guys think about this one: a few years ago I bought a house with a finished basement that has two bedrooms w/out egress windows.

I'm about to pay a guy to install the egress windows in both bedrooms. Seems like a no brainer for safety, adding light and making them legit, legal bedrooms.

Question I have is we also have a huge south facing wall in the basement "living room" and we're debating adding a massive egress window there at the same time. Basically as wide and tall as we can afford, ideally matching the 100" wide window that's right above where we'd install this new window (assuming our GC can install it there). It'll let in a shit ton of light, and because the house is built on a small hill we might even get mountain views out of this new window. This thing won't be cheap though, I don't have an estimate yet but I'm guessing maybe $6k+ for this one window? And that's on top of the other two egress windows I'm installing.

What I keep wondering about is a basement really worth the investment? Or are we just throwing good money at what's in the end still just a basement/not worth all that much no matter what we do to improve it?

[::: :::]

You need engineering for an opening that size

In my locale, we usually estimate $5k a location for retrofitting a conventionally sized egress window including 6" concrete retaining wall for the well

[ski-wpk]

I just saw a house last weekend that opened up the basement by adding an 8' plus window. Totally changed the space, almost didn't feel like a basement anymore. We added a big egress to our basement last year 6' tall x 4' wide and it also changed the space. The days of cheap basements are gone. Spend the cash, will be well worth it.

[riser4]

Curious what you guys think about this one: a few years ago I bought a house with a finished basement that has two bedrooms w/out egress windows.

I'm about to pay a guy to install the egress windows in both bedrooms. Seems like a no brainer for safety, adding light and making them legit, legal bedrooms.

Question I have is we also have a huge south facing wall in the basement "living room" and we're debating adding a massive egress window there at the same time. Basically as wide and tall as we can afford, ideally matching the 100" wide window that's on the floor above where we'd install this new window (assuming our GC can install it there). It'll let in a shit ton of light, and because the house is built on a small hill we might even get mountain views out of this new window. This thing won't be cheap though, I don't have an estimate yet but I'm guessing maybe $6k+ for this one window? And that's on top of the other two egress windows I'm installing.

What I keep wondering about is a basement really worth the investment? Or are we just throwing good money at what's in the end still just a basement/not worth all that much no matter what we do to improve it?

The advice I have been given on basements is that upgrades there are mostly for your own enjoyment and not going to payoff in increased value, especially on paper. They may sway a potential buyer. I certainly would be willing to give a second look, pay a little more, bid a little higher on a house with a sweet, dry basement. But, I have been told they don't increase the value of the home. YMMV.

The idea of a sunny basement with a nice living room is appealing It would take a strong plan from an engineer to convince me to potentially compromise my basement like that. I have always wanted a walk-out basement though.

[iceman]

The advice I have been given on basements is that upgrades there are mostly for your own enjoyment and not going to payoff in increased value, especially on paper. They may sway a potential buyer. I certainly would be willing to give a second look, pay a little more, bid a little higher on a house with a sweet, dry basement. But, I have been told they don't increase the value of the home. YMMV.

This is right on in normal situations but in your situation on the hill like that you might do a little better. Could you do some excavation and put in a slider instead of the big window? A walk-out basement is a plus and you're ripping shit up anyways.

edit: like riser said, basically.

[kathleenturneroverdrive]

Walk out is interesting but probably isn't doable/desirable where we'd put these windows. The south facing wall faces a fairly busy intersection (by Bozeman standards). I like the idea but I'd probably want the walkout on a more private side of the house if I went that route.

I think I'll get the design/bid on the window either way since I'm def adding the other egress Windows. Will update then once I know the cost.

[tuco]

But removing wallpaper isn't that hard...

All depends on what substrate the paper was adhered to.....can be real simple or it can be a gigantic pain in the ass!

[liv2ski]

if you're removing wallpaper down to plaster, shoot yourself now

OMG, you had to remind me. If it is in the budget, have someone do it for you. It has been awhile, but there were 3-4 layers stuck on top of each other. It took a long time to get that shit off in a hallway and a bedroom. After that, I paid someone to do the other 2 bedrooms.

[Nobody Famous]

Is it a do or a don't to buy certain things from Costco?

I've been seeing sinks and faucets (all made in Germany), shower heads, manufactured flooring (the stuff you buy off the shelf, not the 'call to schedule in home samples') for about $3 psf. Today I saw some interesting dimmable LED recessed lighting fixtures, rectangular 12x12, 1400 lumens.

As I see it, the pros are Costco vets things and and uses pretty high standards, plus their excellent return policy. The cons are their once and done way of choosing items and manufacturers, what is there today probably won't be there in six months, and in one year's time they may decide to get out entirely from building and remodeling supplies.

[BigDaddy]

Toilets, sinks and most items in box stores are generally dumbed down to meet their discount price margins. I had an American Standard toilet crack after a week.

They are great about returns and I still shop there often. However, if I really want quality, I'll go elsewhere. Their enclosed trailers had much thinner floors, walls and a weaker suspension. I paid $800 more for the same size and brand, but a much better built version from a dealer. It's often not apples and apples.

[Obstruction]

Looking at purchasing one of two houses, both plaster walls built pre 1900. Am I setting myself to an early grave by teaching myself how to repair lime or gypsum plaster?

I enjoy projects, but have certainly never done anything like this before. I'm a good learner though, ha.

Some thoughts on old house plaster in case you decide to take the plunge. (Sorry it turned out to be book length.)

Recently finished a wallpaper removal, plaster repair job in the front parlor of my 1880's built home with horsehair and lath plaster. (Over ther years I've done most of the rooms in the house.). Save yourself a world of aggravation and get a fargin steamer! A cheap one on Amazon runs about $50. It's slow going but it's much less hassle than the spray bottle etc. also get one of the round gizmos to score the paper and razor blade scrapers.

I actually like theses walls. Because the surface is so hard it's a lot easier to get paper off of than blueboard and skim and way easier than plain drywall. You also don't have to worry about steam and water penetrating the surface.

Hope your walls are in good shape but if they're not here's a few thoughts on repairing them.

I'm in the camp that prefers to repair old plaster rather than put blue board and skim over it. Couple of reasons. Blueboard and skim creates issues with existing molding. Crown and base either needs to be removed or you'll lose depth. Permanent removal is going to give you an oddly modern look in an old house. Changes in depth might be ok with thin board and simple molding but it's rarely going to be as nice as the original. Another reason is that you can't really marry blueboard and skim to a horsehair and lath wall well so you end up doing whole walls or rooms over (certainly what a plaster contractor will want to do given the choice). Often the repair is only a couple of feet square and you can save your nice old wall.

Now when the plaster is detached from the lath you'll be faced with some serious fun. If the wall feels soft or has deep cracks you should secure it to the lath by drilling, injecting some conditioner then adhesive (liquid nail type stuff will work with a caulking gun) and screwing it down to the lath with large plastic washer/spacers. Let it set up a day or so and then start refinishing with plaster patch of yor choice. If you have a deep hole, all the way through to the lath it's a good idea to find some special mud designed to act as a "brown coat" and make sure you "key" (or score) it so the surface coat adheres properly.

Exterior Corners are a real treat. My self taught method is to do many layers with ample material and shape it til your happy. An old timer clued me into running a damp towel held in both hands down the corner.

Lot of videos on working with this stuff out there. One supplier big Wally's http://www.plastermagic.com is particularly informative but the stuff he sells is sorta pricey.

Good luck.

[crackboy]

we actually put the hardwood laminate from costco in our office. came out nice, has a nice feel to it.

backing on it is decent too.

[Nobody Famous]

Saw this posted on Houzz with no replies. Let's see what the collective thinks.

They make standard 60" x 30/32" bathtubs in spa/jaccuzi/hydrotherapy versions (examples). I'm thinking of one in a bathroom remodel.

Is this ... too much "stuff" crammed into a 60" wide bathroom, hard to access if need to maintain, an under performer compared to bigger units? Stuff: All the plumbing, electrical, pumps, heater (optional), hoses, etc. needed to make the water jets and air bubbles work.

This would be for the second bathroom in a two bath condo, where the first bath has a modern walk in shower. This the second bath is for the next buyer who wants a place to give the kids/grandkids a bath. And obviously for me to use after a long ride.

[::: :::]

I'm not a fan of owning a jetted tub, but I'm happy to use one when available


The equip access is usually via a hatch in an adjacent wall.

(Can't answer whether it's too much stuff crammed in a bath without a pic/dwg of the layout...also your link goes to a Ferguson page with a bunch of units so I'm not sure which you're referring to)

Here's the link to the first unit's spec sheet, as an example:
http://image.shop.ferguson.com/prodi...2lineaspec.pdf

[iceman]

Is this ... too much "stuff" crammed into a 60" wide bathroom, hard to access if need to maintain, an under performer compared to bigger units?"

Dude of course all of that is true. And you're not getting the money back from the next sale either. But you want it, so if you can afford it...

[old goat]

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.

[Foggy_Goggles]

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. A 30-32" tub is not huge. Remember, by code you need 15" from the center of the shitter to the tub on one side and the vanity of the other. So it would go 30" (tub) 30" (shitter) 24" (vanity). You can get smaller vanities or use a pedestal but they kinda suck. 12" clearance is OK for normal sized people.

Don't pay "retail" for anything at Ferguson. Their contractor (plumber) discount is huge.

[Foggy_Goggles]

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!