Wayyyyy OT: Good Home Repair/Remodeling sites?

so you bought one of those houses too? my house was built in 1918, how about yours?

1. Rent Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House w/Cary Grant so you will see that things could be worse.

1. HGTV (the tv channel website has good stuff, but I have found lots of info by just googling things. for example, french drains, sump pumps, negative slopes, how to fix plaster..... a great place to get started.

2. Be prepared to kiss model building good bye for awhile. I've been moved since last September. I';ve bought around 20 more models since then, but have not even unpacked my model stuff yet.

1. And for the weekends, well guess what you will be doing!

Craig

My personal favorite is "The Money Pit" Starring Shelly Long and Tom Hanks

The scene where the bathtub falls thru a couple of floors is to die for!

If you have ANY major repair, please hire a qualified contractor. (i.e.; know where your limitations are and then stop)

Nothing I hate more than being called in to fix what a well meaning homeowner messed up, and couldn't do.

Always cost more than ya thought this way.......

Allan

DIY, Home Depot, Ask This Old House

-- Chuck Ryan Springfield OH

I'm a firm believer in Dirty Harry's quote, "A man's got to know his limitations..." Believe me, I know mine. 8-)

Don McIntyre Clarksville, TN

Haven't bought it yet! It was built in 1965 and is a good, solid brick house. The lady who owned it was, um, let's just say, "untidy." Needs new windows, flooring in the kitchen and d/r, garage door and some siding. Also looking at having a heat pump put in. The place has radiant heat but for some (very) odd reason, it was installed in the ceiling! So on top of what we pay for the house we're looking at another $10-15K I think. 8-(

Don McIntyre Clarksville, TN

10-15k I spent in 2 hours here in California. My house is over 600k. Probably 99k in TN.

And in regard to knowing your limitations, I learned it was much cheaper to just write the check and have someone else do the work. You have to put a value on your time as well....and you can't bring legal action on yourself if you screw up the project.

And I thought that radiant heating tubes were only put in the floor - the ceiling?

Craig

DON'T DO IT!!! I am just completing (in the next month or two) a two year project like this. It has taken double the time and triple the $$$$ we exoected, you can kiss off modeling and, for that matter, your life as it exists. We haven't had a kitchen for 2 months (this was scheduled to be 2 to 3 weeks).

If you get some sub contractors you will find they all lie, don't show up, and try to find ways to pad the bill and, oh yes, they will always be a little short of cash and want some money to keep them going. If you give them $$$$ they won't show up until they need more money.

You are about to open Pandora's Box..........

I did try and warn him :)

Allan

It was a theory that worked if done properly. By putting radiant heat in the ceiling it made the surfaces you were most likely to touch warm so the room felt warm. It also required a radiant heat floor to work properly.

I have to agree. In my case, everything has taken about double the cost and time that I had thought, and in the end I've had to rely on contractors much more than I had anticipated due to my lack of skills. I will never, ever, purchase a handyman's special again. Oh, and not to tar everyone with the same brush, but I've found many of the contractors (plumbers and electricians especially) are less-than-reliable and have a way of completely surpassing original quotes due to "unforeseen circumstances".

Just to confuse the issue, I just finished a complete remodel on a split level 2600sq ft. house. I consider myself a novice for the most part (especially at model building). I subbed out the roof, breaker box replacement, new windows, carpet, and the granite counters. The rest I did myself. It did take twice the time I originally planned for (6 mo. instead or 3) and came in about 15% over budget, but I learned a lot and made a substantial profit. None of the work was mentally difficult. Yes, drywall is nasty labor but not hard to do. I spent about 40k. If I paid someone else, that same amount wouldn't even pay for the kitchen! Plan carefully, but go for it!

Here's the house if you're interested:

Chris

Well, the floor installation I can understand. Hey, I like having warm feet in the winter. But, if I remember some basic physics, heat rises! I sure don't want to just warm up the attic in the winter. OBTW, thanks to all for the advice.

D> D>

In Maryland you only pay 30% down and unless it is a major project with "draws" for materials written into the contract with verifiable milestones you pay nothing more until the job is completed to your satisfaction. Contractors may not vary above the written estimate by more than 10% either. Knowing all that and the other little legal requirements is beyond the average homeowner though. Probably one of the few good things about living in the Peoples' Repbulik of Maryland.

Air heated by convection rises, radiant heat does not rely on convection. Check out those infrared heat lamps at a buffet sometime, same principle.