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Often times we are working within a budget on remodeling projects or home repairs.
DIY tile reglazing became the answer after a bit of t crossing and i dotting. So in order to get the best bang for our buck, the shower that needed a leak fixed in the wall will get partially rehabbed and then reglazed.
The first task @ hand was to exposed the dripping shower valve and 
replace with a new single handle mix version by Delta, then raising the shower head higher for less bending while bathing.
But, before we could start setting tile, we had to install a shower valve, lathe the shower wall and scratch and brown coat the type-s mortar base per exact waterproofing and tile adhesion.
The bathroom tile my clients choose for this was bought @ Home Depot and came in 8×8 boxes of 32 count. Smooth faced ceramic bathroom tile that matched the existing 1/8 spaced tile pattern. Thin set tile adhesive with literally no adjustments , because of our exact substrate float, made this bathroom tile remodel project very simple.
Any avid DIY’er can do any home improvement project with the right tools and steps. A comprehensive diy tiling job that can be thoroughly enjoyed for many years too come!
This approach to creating counter space is growing daily and will give identical appearance as some of the other more expensive counter top options. Using concrete on top of cabinetry or even a pass through shelve, can certainly change the look in any room or office. Outside of the concrete color or veining techniques, the mixing and pouring is essentially identical.
Here in this concrete counter form image with reinforced steel or rebar, 
we have used 4″ lag screws to anchor the #3 rebar, staggered every 24″O.C. The counter or shelve here is formed to 2″ in depth and 12″ wide with the length being 10′ long between the two end points of the adjacent walls. Because it sits atop a 2×4 framed wall, it will cantilever 2″ to the kitchen area and roughly 6″ pass the other side of the same wall into the living room.
The image to the right here shows the importance of protecting the wood framing beneath with flashing paper to act as a moisture barrier and future dry-rotting adherent. The small spacers under our #3 rebar allows the new aggregate pour to completely surround the reinforcement steel for optimum strength.
- plywood or melamine, plus screws to build the mold
- bagged counter-top mix (or “scratch” mix below)
- dyes or pigment if you’re coloring your counter-top
- grinder / polisher with water feed (can be rented)
- diamond polishing discs of various grit
- concrete mixer- concrete vibrating tool (can be rented)- dusts masks
…… Now DIY your own Concrete Counter-Top over almost any applicable surface!
Hand Saws are an important part of a Mister Fix-Its workshop. Hand saws come in a variety of designs depending on whether they’re needed for metal working or wood working. A metal cutting saw includes coarse, thick teeth whereas wood cutting hand saws utilize softer teeth. There are four basic categories of hand saws that a handyman or woman will come across.
The four types of hand saws are hacksaws, sheetsaws, junior hacksaws, and padsaws. A hacksaw can cut a wide range of metals and is best used for cutting pipes and bars, but not large metal sheets. Sheetsaws, on the other hand, are ideal for cutting large metal sheets to any depth. Junior hacksaws are much smaller than a normal hacksaw and may contain multiple adjustable blades for complex work. Padsaws have a pad handle which fastens with a clamp over one end of the blade, and are mainly used for jobs in confined spaces.
Trex Nightmare: Having had over $3,500.00 worth of Trex Decking installed. The material bought in Feb. 2005, for my front deck, is deteriorating. Not mold or mildew but flaking off of surface. This deck has had only rain water. Trex sent two people to evaluate my problem and their report to Trex resulted in them offering me $380.84 for replacing 220 lin ft. of decking.???
The story continues:
My quote for this replacement material amounted to $647.44. It will cost me another $400.00 in labor to dismantle and reinstall.—My back deck , installed late in 2005, has so far, shown problems on only 2 boards, 20 ft. long.—The problem starts with bubbling and then completely deteriorates by flaking off of surface material.–This was obviously a bad run of material, as several other decks of same time period have had exactly the same problem.Trex manufactures claim “to make it right” said they have been good about replacing the material but in my case they do not want to replace this much material. I have heard nothing from them since refusing their offer. Their warranty on their product is 25 yrs.–They want me to accept half price of material, do all the labor myself and sign a full and final release for all of my Trex decking. I bought 1540 lin. ft @Approx. $2.20 per ft. when doing my decks. The same material is now $2.60 per lin.ft.–
That story tells the truth about composite decking material, although it can be worked (drilled-notched-sawed) much like lumber, it is man made and this particular batch end up imploding itself. Internal mold issues caused premature delamination and forced a class action suite against TREX. I believe in lumber, built right the first time and looks and feels natural a redwood deck is the way to go.
If you plan on DIY decking in your future, weigh the difference and consider your geographical location. East coast vs. West coast IE., but either way it turns out, you will have improved to curb appeal of your home and will most likely recoup any out of pocket expense (ROI) from that home improvement. Here @ MY-DIY ……….Done Right the first Time!
If you want to update your countertops consider installing plastic laminate. Laminate comes in many colors, patterns, and designs. In order to execute the project you will need: plastic laminate, contact cement, hand saws, paint brush, roller, sand paper, work gloves, and a straight edge.
Steps:
1. Thoroughly clean and sand the surface where the laminate will be applied.
2. Cut the laminate sheets to size using fine-toothed hand saws, such as Disston hand saws.
3. Brush the contact cement on the clean, sanded surface, as well as to the back of the cut laminate pieces.
4. Let the cement sit for 15 minutes and then move the laminate pieces into position.
5. When the pieces are laid down, go over the top with a roller to evenly apply pressure, ensuring the laminate will stick.
6. To give the project a polished look, finish the trim in the same laminate, using the steps listed above.
The holidays are here and that means it’s time to head out into the traffic, the crowds and the long lines. If you’re anything like me then you have a long list of people to shop for and you’re probably not looking forward to it. With all the frustrations that come with holiday gift shopping it’s no wonder so many people are turning to the internet. With lower shipping rates and faster delivery times it’s finally economical and convenient to get all of our holiday shopping done from the comfort of our homes or offices.
My father can easily be called a master craftsman and boy can they be hard to shop for. At first you try to buy them excellent examples of fine woodworking but they often end up critiquing it more than appreciating it. And anything unrelated to woodworking seems to be entirely uninteresting. So this year I looked into some antique hand saws. I thought it would make a great decoration for his shop or just a nice memento of early American woodworking. Whatever he decides to do with it I know he’ll appreciate it!
When there is a will there is always a way for the DIY’er. Concrete mix [redi-mix] bags are sold in 90 lb bags, and there are like move your sleeping 13 year old, but with no handles. If you have a few bags to mix for that patio slab for instance, there is a great technique to facilitate this chore. Diy home improvements for your real estate portfolios. The object to save your back and ease the dumping process. All these types of jobs needs you to get the mix into your choice of mixing bin. IE, wheelbarrow/ electric mixer / bucket or whatever?
[A] 
The first step is to set and lay the bag of mix flat over a short piece of rebar, where the center of the bag will fold as you lift upwards on the rebar.[B] take a utility knife and cut the bag across the width [C] Now as you lift the rebar or halfing tool, the cement, ceramic tile grout or bag of mix, will split into half with the sides standing. The open tops set upright waiting for you to grab and dump into your mixing apparatus. The beauty lies in the fact that for an extra minute of work you’ll be able to continue this fun chore the whole entire day.
Water damaged wood is called DRY ROT , but what is this really, well this only happens when a porous piece of wood IE., lumber, timber, posts , siding or fascia board, all of these typically are an exterior specific wooden used product or term. The word DRY comes from the constant wetness or moisture has taken its toll on the wood and often as the moisture exposed wood dries out in between wetting it ROTS, and proceeds to further rotting as it takes on wetness repeatedly. The aspect of home improvements for all of us is, allowing the wetting to stop (sprinklers) or build and or fabricate for potential uncontrolled wet atmospheres (RAIN).
*
exterior posts water damage: easily avoidable by not cleaning porch with a garden hose
** exterior siding water damage: hose bib is too short and problem of dripping but did not drip past the face of the wood siding , therefor causing water damage.
*** wooden deck: potential slope problem or often a poor deck material that has fail over time from constant standing water.
An overall quick visual inspection will help you determine the reasons for some of these problems, then of coarse a direction to further travel for the solutions to correcting and saving you money.
When attacking just about every bath sink repair that we have done almost always, if we need to get under the sink to work on anything at all, there really isn’t much room to operate. And the typical human being is on average much larger than the area that needs attention. So that being said we as a general rule take the doors off the cabinet, where the work is ready to be commenced.
As tight and cumbersome as it is, this goes without saying. But any relief at all would behoove the DIYer, so take a word of advise, from someone who has been there more often than i care to mention. With 8 screws @ 2 per each hinge, on the doors, just a few minutes of extra labor time. But what is gained here is just a little bit more wiggle room to get that pipe wrench where you want it and to avoid beating the doors up with your knee’s and having another project to add to the DIY list!
Thin set is exactly this, a formulated powder mix that after mixing properly is designed to adhere almost any tile product out. This amazing substance can stick a rock to a ceiling and you’ll need a hammer and crow bar to demo it off after it’s cured. But thin set can also go on as thick set maybe even up to 2″ thick when 
necessary. The point here folks is if our floated substrate is’nt perfect than the thin set will take up any low areas behind our tile surface no matter how good or not so good. In any home improvement thin set is our friend and as we place each tile on, in or however you want to call it, each surface of each piece of tile has to be flush and flat. It’s all good in this hood as long as we believe it to be true and do what it takes to keep it that way.
