What did you do to your house today?

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

^I'm in the middle of planning out an island like that. I got a ton of questions.

Size of island?
Inches of overhang?
Is it all custom cabinets?
Are those cabinets in the back side? with push to open instead of handles?
Do you have a dishwasher? If so, where is it?
I don't see any gfci plugs on the island.

actually everything is from ikea diy except for the countertop
(ikea veddinge white door & blankett handle)

the island countertop is about 118" x 48" deep, there is back to back cabinet on both side of the island. (standard 24" cabinet at the front + 15" cabinet at the back, so the countertop has roughly 9" overhang)

The back side cabinet are push to open door, basically just storage
The front side are where all the drawers, sinks and dishwashers (next to the sink on the right)
There are power outlet inside the cabinet for the dishwasher & built in drawer lightings...but nothing outside on the island because of the waterfall edge. (I ran some wire and was going to put an outlet on the island toekick but I thought it looked weird so I didn't install it in the end)


Don't know how much price changed now, but all the ikea cabinet costed only $5K in 2016.
The quartz counter & waterfall edge cost >$6K even back then.

I had all the size and measurements planned out in sketchup. Ikea had their own software too but it was horrible to use..


btw, don't use those ikea plastic leg for the cabinet & island. They look like toy plastic and the countertop weight >700lbs...
I built a box frame with 2x6 lumber + plywood and just sit the cabinet on top.

[SSM_DC5]

Perfect! Almost every aspect is what I was planning! For the dishwasher on the end that meets the waterfall counter, did you put a cover panel there? Ikea's program auto-populates to put one there. But then it would need another cover panel for the 15" cabinet as a filler right?

I need to figure out a solution for gfci outlet because of code and I don't really want to put it on the waterfall sides. Toekick would be great if I meets code, which I have no idea if it does. I think I'll likely have to use 2-3 inches of filler and put the outlet between waterfall and dishwasher.

Does your flooring go under island?
Did you screw down your 2x6 to the floor? Then cabinet to the 2x6?

Did you happen to compare cost of 45 deg mitered waterfall vs 90 degree joint?

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

Perfect! Almost every aspect is what I was planning! For the dishwasher on the end that meets the waterfall counter, did you put a cover panel there? Ikea's program auto-populates to put one there. But then it would need another cover panel for the 15" cabinet as a filler right?

I need to figure out a solution for gfci outlet because of code and I don't really want to put it on the waterfall sides. Toekick would be great if I meets code, which I have no idea if it does. I think I'll likely have to use 2-3 inches of filler and put the outlet between waterfall and dishwasher.

Does your flooring go under island?
Did you screw down your 2x6 to the floor? Then cabinet to the 2x6?

Did you happen to compare cost of 45 deg mitered waterfall vs 90 degree joint?

The dishwasher is actually not on the side, it is the 2nd cabinet from the left, inbetween the side cabinet and sink cabinet, so didn't have any cover panel there.

I had the wood floor installed first and it goes all the way to the wall so all the cabinet can just sit on top.

I measured out exactly where I wanted the island to sit and put a few L-bracket on the 2x6 frame attached to the floor, so it wouldn't move around while I am working on it.

I didn't know they offer 90degree joint for the water fall edge... It is the same amount of materials used....I don't think there would be any price difference between doing a 45' cut vs 90' cut for the countertop fabricator?
The only reason I see doing a 90' cut is if you need the waterfall edge as a leg support the top? Otherwise the mitre edge def looks nicer

[SSM_DC5]

I'm told 45 deg is more on site work with polishing and not every company has the machine to do 45 deg cuts. I'm assuming 90 degrees is just slap it together and run away.

[ssjGoku69]

Originally Posted by Ferra

after around 6 years, [...] sent the video and receipts, and they sent me a new faucets for free...

Do you have a system for storing receipts for that long?

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by ssjGoku69

Do you have a system for storing receipts for that long?

For myself, all my Reno related receipts are together. All fits in a 1 inch binder.

[6793026]

i go with moen. yes it's more expensive but man, you just call them, they get ur name, and BAM, replacement shipped to door free of charge.

It was the shower hose that cracked / o ring but they didn't care, just sent me a new hose without even us shippping it back.

[snowball]

Originally Posted by ssjGoku69

Do you have a system for storing receipts for that long?

home depot email receipts my man

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by ssjGoku69

Do you have a system for storing receipts for that long?

it was online purchase from homedepot so I found it easily from my emails

If it was paper receipt I'd probably lose it in a week.

[SSM_DC5]

Kohler faucets any good? Thinking about picking up the one in Costco flyer.

[Traum]

Kohler and Moen are the 2 brands that my plumber swears by. He pretty much recommends against anything else LOL~

[bcrdukes]

I've had good results with Hansgrohe, Kohler, and Moen faucets. Delta has been hit and miss for me.

[SSM_DC5]

Great I'll go with that then. Save myself $40 over a Moen I saw on sale.

[EvoFire]

Is Grohe and Hansgrohe the same thing? I had a Grohe kitchen faucet at my townhouse. It had a bad cartridge and handle when it came in new, the whole faucet needed to be replaced. It just one day stopped working after 3 years of use and we ended up replacing it with a Moen. Didn't have time to deal with replacing it through mail.

I was working with a plumbing company when reno'ing the house, and they said they stopped recommending Grohe because they've been having too many returns/RMAs. Sure they'll replace it when new but it's still a hassle for the customer.

[sonick]

They are different:
Hansgrohe Faucets: Best In-Depth Independent Review
Grohe fau$cets: Best In-depth, Independent Review

Having been researching bathroom fixtures, the site above is a FANTASTIC resource for content and reviews around different bathroom fixture manufacturers.

[bcrdukes]

Grohe and Hansgrohe are different companies, but the founders are related to one another.

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by Traum

Kohler and Moen are the 2 brands that my plumber swears by. He pretty much recommends against anything else LOL~

I’ll only buy Kohler going forward.

I purchased a pretty fancy Kohler kitchen faucet from Lowes, it was like $550 with a 25% off promo, so not a cheap peice

Fast forward about a year or so and it’s got this cheapo toggle switch from the spray modes, I phoned Kohler and the woman I got was able to resolve everything in one go, sent me all the replacement parts instantly, registered my faucet when I hadn’t previously etc.

Fast forward the part shows up and I didn’t realize I needed to remove a part from the old one and install it on the new one so I phoned them back, instantly sent me another peice, Albeit the same peice. I finally figured it out but they also told me that if there were further issues they would replace the $700 faucet all
Together.

I was tempted to just say it wasn’t working and get a total replacement but they’d been so good didn’t want to scam them lol

But my plumber said the same thing, best service and customer support hands down

[winson604]

When I moved into our newly built townhome 5 years ago I already expected some if not a ton of cheap stuff from the developer and while it was true all the units did get nice Kohler kitchen sink faucet, I looked it up and it was close to $900. Anyway it has the button on there where you can switch flows but that part of it is poorly made and within a year a lot of people's buttons got jammed. I called them and without any hesitation resolved the issue, sent replacement parts. In the end probably half the complex flooded called them around the same time for the same reason and they all had the same treatment.

[Hondaracer]

Yea I bet it’s the same stupid shit as mine

$800 faucet with a plastic toggle mounted on a plastic bracket. Stupid design

[sonick]

After putting in our patio last year the area surrounding it was just bare dirt with weeds. Finally got around to finishing it off.

Dug a nice deep trench lined with weed fabric (posted a few weeks back), then today finally got around to ordering half a yard of river rock and filled it in.

Really wanted to make sure we had clean lines between the grass and the rock, and hoping the effort of digging a good 3-5 inch deep trench will prevent future weeds.

[GIZZ]

Changed the garage seal, loaded it with steel wool. Not exactly happy with the 4" seal, I just ordered another 6".

Been fighting with wasps this past week. They are entering in the gap between the chimney and the Hardie board. After googling they only live 2-3 weeks I first started sealing them in, after noticing the wall buzzing I decided better to draw them all out before resealing. I bought doubles of every wasp trap Canadian tire has and also 2 wasp glue traps off amazon. I baited with the stuff Canadian tire sells, also added wet cat food. Amazingly all the traps are working. I think I caught the queen yesterday, it's 2-3 times as big as the others. I also found 2 more nests on my property. I've been hitting them with the backpack sprayer loaded with Dawn/water.

I loaded the crack with the foam wasp killer, its supposed to make the nest inhabitable in 48 hours. I'll wait until tomorrow, I plan to fill the cracks with steel wool and cover over with quikrete mortar repair caulk.

Always something to do. I see condo living on the horizon.

[SSM_DC5]

Sealing before getting rid of the wasps is a bad idea. Friends neighbour had an issue with wasps, friends dad thought he was being a good neighbour and sealed up the hole. Well shortly after the people in the house needed to move out temporarily because the wasps made a whole into the house and needed pest control to do their thing inside the house.

This guy Ramit has a show on Netflix, but I recently listened to this video on YouTube and he's against homeownership. Cliff notes: The gains people see in the purchase price vs the price they sold for is great and appealing, but what people don't factor is all the money they need to sink in to maintain the thing. He encourages renting because if there's a problem with the place, it's the landlords problem. Use the extra money you have from renting to invest in other things instead ie bonds, index funds, etc.


https://youtu.be/ORqd9QAC8OY?si=JJ2n_V4k17SG53gn

[GIZZ]

As I sat back and listened to the wall buzzing, I knew it was a mistake. I had them come down my chimney one summer, that was bad enough. Got it sealed up today. I'll just sit back and relax, wait for the next thing that needs fixing.

And some housing markets aren't appreciating like here. A friend just told me his alberta rental apartment is worth half of what's owing, horrible. But here, I think most have doubled up the past 10 years, who knew? I know people in the neighbourhood, they pay to get everything done. If I had to do that I'd have no money for anything else. I see the Netlix guy's point, I'll have to check it out.

[donk.]

Originally Posted by GIZZ

And some housing markets aren't appreciating like here. A friend just told me his alberta rental apartment is worth half of what's owing, horrible.

Apparently the place I bought in Regina was sold for 250k 10 years ago, it heavily dropped in value since then.

Il report back in 10 years if it's halved or doubled in value

Alot of people in Vancouver are blind to the free capital gains they have made over the years

[unit]

we're getting our house painted and also the bathroom reno'd.
the shower tub is an older size standard, 30" x 30".
newer ones are always like 32" x 32" or bigger.

the old owner redid the shower not too long ago with a tile surround and glass shower door that's actually not too bad, but they re-used the shower tub, probably because of this exact reason.

without demoing and moving the wall and plumbing, and possibly having to deal with a load bearing wall, the only options are to re-use the shower tub (ew), or to do a tile floor.

i asked the contractor who is doing the painting if he could make some suggestions for me and he said he could just paint it and it would be completely fine. i have a hard time believing this. i can see it becoming dirty and worn, and also difficult to clean. the guy is insistent that it will be good, and he has been very good and picky about the paint job around the house so i trust his workmanship, but that just seems wrong.

if we can't find a replacement floor tub then im thinking im gonna get the floor tiled instead. would anyone actually go the other route and get it painted? money is somewhat important but im not penny pinching if it's going to look like shit in a year or two.