Saving up to gut my kitchen next Winter. Whoever remodeled it previously did a horrible job, and the layout is impossibility awkward. The floors are also in rough shape due to a prior roof leak, so I'm looking forward to covering them with tile.
this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2025
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Outside: replace collapsing retaining wall of railroad ties with ecology blocks. (Reuse railtoad ties to line planters and walk path.) This is tied with fixing a collapsing fence panel.
Inside: Tossup between getting an electrician to troubleshoot chronically flickering lights in the master bathroom and closet, and getting the atticspace finished so the garage ceases to be perpetual overflow storage space.
I have an old stone foundation and recently discovered that, at some point, the mortar holding it all together turns to dust. I have to tear down all basement walls to expose the foundation so a guy can come in and do "repointing" (scraping away the old dusty mortar and reapplying with new mortar). FML.
There’s a good This Old House video on that. Not the most complicated job in the world. Depending on how handy you are you could demo drywall, repoint, hang new drywall and let a pro finish it. Any estimates on cost?
I saw that video a while back. The guy said it would not cost over $5,000.00 in a worst case scenario but most likely a lot less. He won't know for sure until I expose the foundation so he can make a more educated guess.
Bit of a random comment, but I love how nice lemmy is! You've helped the poster completely unsolicited, without being asked. It's really nice of you.
I've noticed what looks like some rotted spots up in the soffits up by the roof peak that needs to get fixed up.
Get rid of the carpet. I'm looking to replace it with hemp wood from Kentucky. It isn't the cheapest option but I love everything about it!
Guest bed and dining table+chairs. First time guests are staying over at our house next month, so we need to set up the guest bedroom. We also just eat on the kitchen bar, so now we actually need to have a proper dining furniture set.
That's a fair size purchase. Any ideas what type you're gonna get?
Yeah I've been looking at a counter or bar height dining set that seats 4. We already have height-adjustable bar stools, so we'd like to make it consistent. We have a futon that can be converted into a bed so I'm gonna use this visit as an excuse to move it to the guest room, and buy a recliner love seat to pair with our other sofa. Then I'll probably just buy an extra twin bed so we have the flexibility to put the futon and twin-bed together (for couples) or separately in different rooms.
Those are really good ideas, I approve. The flexibility is great it gives you options
I have to buy a home 🙂 Already making plans how to renovate it, but I'm not even close to actually buying it.
I'm in an awkward position of having enough savings for a downpayment, but being too afraid to enter a 30 year mortgage.
It's a serious commitment but, if it is going to be your home as opposed to an investment, then it makes sense to do it typically. Obviously I don't know your situation but it's my view that paying towards your own home makes better financial sense than renting in the long term.
I'm renting right now, so I can't do much. But I think my next to-do is to get some fabric and starch it up like wallpaper. This place needs some help being cozy.
I’ve heard about that but never seen it done! You need to post pictures!
I don't even know what this is talking about, so I'd like to see some pictures, too.
Omg that sounds amazing. What kind of wallpaper?
I could really use a new couch (mine has been in use for more than a decade, is very worn and stained at this point), but my seven-month-old puppy has just decided to start chewing on furniture.
Showing the dog that it's your toy and not theirs by getting in between you and them.that's the answer.
Didn't say it was easy. But there's videos
I'll look them up, thanks.
Congratulations on not having to buy a couch for a couple of years.
😆
The worst part is that we had plans to get a new one in the last year or two because it's just so run down. But we had a puppy, so we decided to wait (though fortunately she never damaged any furniture...aside from a different couch that she peed all over).
And then she died right when she hit 2 years old (cancer). So we waited a few months and got a new puppy.
We've been waiting to replace this couch for years now.
Get by the fence fixed. A 15’ section blew down in the heavy winds we had a few days ago, I think the posts rotted, could have been due to the fiber install by it, because the rest of the fence seems fine. I don’t have time to learn to sink a post right now, so I’ll need to find a contractor to do it
We had our fence posts fall down twice last year (Two different portions of the fence). I had to dig out and pull up the old rotten post and the now unattached concrete out of the ground. It was a simple process of just digging and pull up the concrete but a ton of work since its large and heavy. We then put a new post directly in the hole and used Sika PostFix instead of concrete to stabilize. We then used a pre-built fence section to replace the rotting boards. It was pretty simple but a huge pain in the butt.
I know that our fence is on its last legs. So we are trying to keep it standing as best and cheap as possible until we fix the whole thing
How long did it take you to do it?
I did the whole thing including getting the wood in an afternoon / most of a day. The real trick is that the cement is really deep in there so digging low enough to get it all out by hand was a lot of work. Also it was hard to tell when the cement stopped. I needed to get it done because there was a gap in our fence that our dog could get out of and it happened on the one warm day in February the first time and early March the second time so nice weather was not a given. So I went fast.
That reminds me, I also need to redo my fence.
I have 23 fence posts that will probably need to all be pulled and replaced, and then do all of the rafters and whatnot.
Yay
Sounds terrible. Good luck
My bedroom window has swollen to the point it no longer shuts 100% (wood frame). I have no clue how much that will cost to repair.
I feel like for wooden windows all you would have to do is pull the trim and then you can remove the glass slider and sand it down so that it will slide correctly and then reassemble.
That definitely seems like something that could be done weekend warrior style with a couple of cheap tools and a few YouTube videos.
It’s a crank window not a slider? Maybe that makes more sense?
Air con. Deposit is down just waiting on the installation before completing the payment.
I just bought and installed a set of Nanoleaf hanging lights last weekend, but I haven’t figured out how to have them strobe a color scene automatically. This weekend I’m going to work with the scenes on the Nanoleaf app, and the porting process to the Home app, to see if I can get it to work.
I travel for work and am gone M-F, so I only have the weekends to try these things.
Sounds good. What's your plans for the colour and strobe pattern?
Currently the Nanoleaf app doesn’t let me adjust scenes (saved settings for a color strobing preset) unless I’m on the same local network as the device I’m working with. I can sit here* halfway across the state and use my camera to review adjustments for live settings, but I can’t adjust the damn saved ‘scene’ preferences and port it to the Home app’s automation preferences without being actively on the network.
Anyway, I’ll try that when I get back. I really want to locate some cool aurora like color schemes, or just use a rainbow splash because that works too. Right now I’m just using a static warm yellow.
Oh they'll look lovely! Good choices
I just patched some drywall. The paper was tearing and stuff. Now I've gotta sand, primer, and paint the room. Then, replace a seal for a toilet and hopefully that Just Works™️ then I can reinstall the floor I had to rip up. Then replace the trim 😵💫 this is too much
Fucking hell thats a lot. I'm in awe you have those skills...I had to post to dadforaminute asking a) what hammer and nails I need to buy to put up a picture b) how hard I bang the hammer. So honestly, respect
Those are good questions! I've never thought of that. I'd just pick up anything like a damn caveman.
It's not that I have the skills yet. Outside of painting a wall, it's all new territory 🤣
Haha
I wish I had a house so I could do some of the things mentioned in this thread. Apartments are so blah and I'd love to have a yard or appliances or something.
I was just going to answer that I need to buy a vacuum cleaner but they're even expensive used 🤷
Needs painting again. It's been ten years, and it's weatherboard.
Costs money. And time.
Just had the bathroom flooring redone and some boxing removed, which has exposed some wall that wasn't visible before. Need to fill in, sand and repaint this section so it matches the rest of the room!
Windex.
We are in the middle of our spring glow-up. So we just got a new fridge yesterday which means we had to move the old one and paint the radiator and baseboards in the kitchen. Before that we did painting in our nursery and replacing the light fixture in that room. We also painting our primary bathroom (walls, ceiling, vanity etc.) and replaced the light fixture in that room as well.
Our next project is to replace our sink in the kitchen which we have to double and triple and then quadruple check the dimensions before we buy it and get a plumber to install it. We still have to do some spot painting to cover up where our new mini-splits were installed last year. We are doing some hardcore nesting since we are expecting our first baby in September. Trying to get the house as finished before the weather gets nice and we can spend time outside.
Get rid of a pine tree that's encroaching on pool plumbing and dumping tons of needles and pollen into the pool.
Let's see, internally I have some trim to paint, and I need to install the motion sensor LED lighted stairway paths on the internal and external stairs and install the tops for the steps.
I might redo the motion sensor under cabinet lighting because the modules that are there are 4,000 Kelvin and I would prefer 3,300 Kelvin.
After that, I need to clean and organize, I have one countertop to replace, A few doors to shorten to account for the new flooring that I just installed.
Then it'll be time to redo the bathrooms.
They're just going to get a light update with a new bathtub, new countertop and sink, new vanity, and painted walls.
Once that's done, I'll probably hire somebody to paint the interior.
Oh yeah, and I need to dig trenches and install the external 12 volt lighting for the driveway.
Lots to do. I could easily spend the rest of the year just doing all of that, but once it's done, the only thing left to do would be to like paint or replace internal doors so that they'll match the new trim and possibly rework the railing on the stairs to make them a little safer, a little more up to date.