
Stuff around the house/flat/apartment/condo/etc.
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Boyle wrote:The most important thing about DIY home improvement is that you spend as much money doing it and repairing it and buying one-off tools as you would have to hire a good contractor to do it right the first time.
laklak wrote:Hey SS, did you rent the tile saw? Is it a wet saw? I picked up a decent Rigid 8 inch overhead wet saw for $75 at a pawn shop, they're around 300 new. Cheaper than renting multiple times if you're doing more tile work, and you can sell when you're finally finished.
Hardest part of floor tile is getting the mastic evenly spread so the tiles sit level. Takes practice and the right sized notched trowel, but once you get it down it's fast work. I use a 6 foot piece of good quality 2x12 to check the level across multiple rows and lay the mastic on a bit thick. Easier to clean up any excess that oozes out than pull up a tile to add more if it's sitting low. A heavy rubber mallet helps. It's very satisfying work.
laklak wrote:It's worth the extra time to make sure it's level, unless you are completely lacking in anything remotely resembling OCD. After a few weeks of walking on it and feeling that 1/32 inch difference with your toes it will drive you 'round the bend and you end up tearing out tiles. That way lies madness.
laklak wrote:
Are you thinking of refacing the fireplace?
Onyx8 wrote:
Be aware that stone requires a structure with 1/2 the allowed deflection than ceramic when you choose your materials for future wooden floors.
ScholasticSpastic wrote:Boyle wrote:The most important thing about DIY home improvement is that you spend as much money doing it and repairing it and buying one-off tools as you would have to hire a good contractor to do it right the first time.
Tile saw: $40
Tile snips: $10
Grout float: $6
Trowel: $10
Tiles: $600 (on clearance- 22 cases of 18ft2 each)
Saw blades: $65
Thinset: $100
Grout: $30
Total cost for 390ft2: $861
I left off the spacers because they were cost-negligible, and the knee pads because they'll be useful for other tasks. The bucket I decided to waste because I was too tired to rinse it out at the end of the process cost maybe $3.
I'm seeing estimates online for over $1000 for a 32ft2 bathroom floor.
Yep, I totally wasted money doing it myself.
ETA: Home Despot allowed me to take in the unused case of tiles I bought for a refund, so I didn't count that one. Also, don't be an idiot like I was and buy only the square footage you need. I lucked out, cut judiciously, and managed to use the broken tiles for piece work. But you should seriously consider buying at least 10% more tile than you calculate you'll need for the task. So let's add $60 to my total just for kicks. DIY was $921 for 390ft2 versus over $1000 for a space a tenth as big.
Onyx8 wrote:Lak; Try PEX buddy, you'll never go back. Ever tried to unglue CPVC? Or rotate it after the fact? You can do both with PEX. The pipe is more flexible too and easier to cut. And you can use shark-bites on it (not so much an issue in new construction) which I don't think you can with CPVC?
Boyle wrote:ScholasticSpastic wrote:Boyle wrote:The most important thing about DIY home improvement is that you spend as much money doing it and repairing it and buying one-off tools as you would have to hire a good contractor to do it right the first time.
Tile saw: $40
Tile snips: $10
Grout float: $6
Trowel: $10
Tiles: $600 (on clearance- 22 cases of 18ft2 each)
Saw blades: $65
Thinset: $100
Grout: $30
Total cost for 390ft2: $861
I left off the spacers because they were cost-negligible, and the knee pads because they'll be useful for other tasks. The bucket I decided to waste because I was too tired to rinse it out at the end of the process cost maybe $3.
I'm seeing estimates online for over $1000 for a 32ft2 bathroom floor.
Yep, I totally wasted money doing it myself.
ETA: Home Despot allowed me to take in the unused case of tiles I bought for a refund, so I didn't count that one. Also, don't be an idiot like I was and buy only the square footage you need. I lucked out, cut judiciously, and managed to use the broken tiles for piece work. But you should seriously consider buying at least 10% more tile than you calculate you'll need for the task. So let's add $60 to my total just for kicks. DIY was $921 for 390ft2 versus over $1000 for a space a tenth as big.
Yah, no joke it is cheaper, but I notice every little fuck up I make along the way. Then again, I like collecting tools, nice ones, so that might be more of an issue. I made my counter top from concrete, though, and saved like 2 grand even with buying every tool I needed, like a 5 inch angle grinder and all the random shit that goes into building a counter top. My fiance is just lucky we don't have room for a table saw or I'd have gotten a fuckin' Jet table saw and made the cabinets too. Which means I'd need a fancy laser level kit.
Also, +1 for PEX. PEX is love, PEX is life.
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