Handy-Man Corner

[Iowanian]

I'm tired of bad Chiefs news.....


I thought it would be a good idea for a thread on the Handy-Man.

Do you have any Home remedies, gadgets you've made, advice on car repair, home maint, sollutions to kill weeds in your yard, bugs in your garden?

Use Coke to clean your batteries? That type of stuff.
Home made floor dry?

[RJ]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Ok, now for the final phase of the "getting my place ready to sell" project. Carpet.

How much should I expect to pay (labor and materials)? I'm guessing I have around 300 sq feet to carpet, and I just want some cheap carpet.

Depending on installation costs in your area a low end carpet will cost between $1.90 - $2.50 per s/f.

Your guess of 300 s/f.....is the carpet going in just one room or maybe 2 bedrooms?

[RJ]

Originally Posted by Phobia

Carpet is generally sold by the yard. You're looking at 10 yards.

You should be able to get incredibly cheap carpet installed - all inclusive for around $1000. If you're selling your place, upgrade the pad. It will make the carpet feel more expensive than it is.

300 s/f is approximately 33 s/y. One s/y = nine s/f.

I believe it was 1999 when the federal government decided that carpet should be sould by s/f. The idea was that it would be easier for the consumer to compare different product types if they were all priced the same way. I'm really not sure why the government cares about how flooring is priced, but it does.

These days, carpet prices per foot range from about $2-$6 installed w/pad.

Has it been that long ago? Wow.

Yeah, I got my math backwards.

[Rooster]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Front door at my first house was one of the bigger "Oh crap" projects I got into in that project.
Everything was so out of whack that it was quite an ordeal.
Have some lumber, plenty of shims, some insulation to stuff, caulking and some edging.

I can't imagine your project not being easier than that mess was....

The front door is a project that I have been putting off for a while now. I know that once I get into it I will have an 'Oh crap' project too.

[Iowanian]

The scariest part of the front door project for me was.....Once you've torn it out, removed the frame....there is no turning back. There is no walking away from it for a day or two.
You get it fixed or your home is exposed to the elements and sticky fingers of thieves....not to mention the critters of the night.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by RJ

Depending on installation costs in your area a low end carpet will cost between $1.90 - $2.50 per s/f.

Your guess of 300 s/f.....is the carpet going in just one room or maybe 2 bedrooms?

Living room and a hallway.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Anyone ever put in a door and door frame? Need to replace my front door. New door is 80" and old one is about 84" tall. Obviously, I'm going to have to added facer board on the outside and sheetrock on the inside. I will have my uncle who is fairly experienced at home improvements help guide me. Do you guys have any other advice on this?

1. Make sure what you are securing your frame to is secure to the structure. Since you're losing 4" in height, I'd suggest lagging a 4x4 [actually about 3 3/4 x 3 3/4, giving you room for shims] into the full width of the transom. Make sure that, if there are dimensional differences in the width as well, that the difference is filled with solid stock. Within a 1/4" of dimensionality.
2. True in all planes, horizontally, vertically, and front to back. Secure your shims tentatively [ie, 1/2 driven nails] to secure true, then check the door for free motion.
3. Don't lock everything down until you have true in all planes and free motion, then secure to the structure with 3 nails across the top, and 5 down each side, all appropriately shimmed of course.

Wood is not a good insulator. Your door header is already providing sufficient support for the 80" door. I would scab ONE 2X4 in at 81" and fill the space with insulation. That will give you a more energy efficient installation.

[Rooster]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

The scariest part of the front door project for me was.....Once you've torn it out, removed the frame....there is no turning back. There is no walking away from it for a day or two.
You get it fixed or your home is exposed to the elements and sticky fingers of thieves....not to mention the critters of the night.

Exactly! I think that aspect makes me the most nervous. I am really bad about making my other projects last longer than they should.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Phobia

Wood is not a good insulator. Your door header is already providing sufficient support for the 80" door. I would scab ONE 2X4 in at 81" and fill the space with insulation. That will give you a more energy efficient installation.

Potayto, potahto. I prefer the brick shithouse approach to the energy efficient approach.

[RJ]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Living room and a hallway.

Ok, then your estimate is probably about right. I only asked because most folks are way bad about guesstimating square footage.

If you're just looking for cheap "realtor beige" carpet you can probably get the job done for about $700 +/-.

[Saulbadguy]

Not too bad, I suppose.

We just tore out the old kitchen floor.

THREE layers of vinyl flooring. One for each decade the house has been around.

If you were putting down a laminate, why didn't you just drop it on top of the vinyl.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Phobia

If you were putting down a laminate, why didn't you just drop it on top of the vinyl.

I suppose one of us should've mentioned that.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by Phobia

If you were putting down a laminate, why didn't you just drop it on top of the vinyl.

It was damaged, and alot of the corners and sides were peeling up. I thought about trimming it out but then I think they would be uneven.

Anyways, it wasn't a big deal to tear it all out, about 30 min of work.