The DIY Home Improvement Thread..

AHB · **on:** January 30, 2013, 09:08:27 AM

No, it's not about Tool time with Tim, Al and not least Lisa or Heidi..

I've been doing alot of work around the house since we bought it nine years ago and hopefully you guys will share your DIY projects too.

A few weeks ago our fridge gave up and the love of my life wanted a bigger model, now we had to go shopping for a new anyway..

Only problem was that I had to do some moderation on the kitchen cupboard to make it fit and I had to stay clear of a radiator too..

Older "before" pic from when a bird flew in through the window last summer..

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #1 on:** January 30, 2013, 11:26:22 AM

I replaced two fridges just over a year ago (mine and a tenant's) and even though I measured the height of the cabinet and the actual height of the fridge on the showroom floor, they much have added castors or feet to the fridge as it somehow went from being an inch on the safe side to an inch and a half too big. Of course, with the delivery guys there anxious to get it in and on to their next job I had to act fast and tear out the bottom shelf of the cupboard!

In the last year I've had my furnace replaced (had the pros do that), had my air exchanger replaced (pros again) and been fixing up my existing kitchen cupboards, which are old, ratty and (were) quite disgusting to look at. I'd like to replace them, but there's not much of a budget for that right now.

I also have a couple of stairwells that I have been slowly puttering away at- one is a mint green which is not only hideous but is totally out of sync with the rest of the house, but I need to fix up some cracks before I paint it. I also want to run some additional wiring to change one light over from being on the tenant's panel to the house main since it's in a common area. I don't want to paint a wall just to knock holes in it to run wire.

Since we moved in we have replaced every appliance except the stoves, and I think they are next on the list, although I do want to install acrylic shower units and those new jet powered low flow toilets.

Def

Whoey · **Reply #2 on:** January 30, 2013, 11:47:47 AM

That's neat that your old fridge was off the floor, ours is way too big to do that... and our kitchen is way too small... our fridge is actually hidden in the living room/dining room which is next to the kitchen.

I'll have to dig around for the before/after pics of our living room, I designed/set it up and put it together myself although it's mostly IKEA cabinets...

Our kitchen was redone (by pros) just as we moved in. I have replaced our vitro ceramic hotplates as one (of the two total) burned out, which required pulling the built in oven to get at the vitro wiring... in a very tight space.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4w5lrwo378m2drc/-ixfRyMtGx

Another project we did was sand the coffee table... it was a horrible coloured shiny varnish... and now it's natural wood, looks like a whole different table...

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gqokutn9rdelsgn/KaY5AP-_wD

Must find (more) pics!

I find DIY very therapeutic even if it does stress me out at times as you typically have SWMBO telling you you're doing it wrong.

Mr. Whippy · **Reply #3 on:** January 30, 2013, 12:35:05 PM

1. I like your cooktop! Did you put that in too? What brand?

2. We love our SodaStream also.

3. That looks like a black cap chickadee. What do y'all call them over there?

4. Very nice finished look!

5. My home DIY will be coming as soon as I get pics for it.

AHB · **Reply #4 on:** January 30, 2013, 01:03:49 PM

Quote from: Whoey on January 30, 2013, 11:47:47 AM

I find DIY very therapeutic even if it does stress me out at times as you typically have SWMBO telling you you're doing it wrong.

They all do that, don't they..

1. I like your cooktop! Did you put that in too? What brand?
Yes, we changed the tabletops, but kept the original kitchen cabinets..

And it's a Bosch btw..

2. We love our SodaStream also.
We could buy around 100 litres of Sparkling water for the price of the Sodastream, but the wife really wanted it, so what can you do..

3. That looks like a black cap chickadee. What do y'all call them over there?
It's called a Musvit here..

4. Very nice finished look!
Thanks, I got two stainless steel plates cut up in various sizes and glued them up in straqtegic places..

5. My home DIY will be coming as soon as I get pics for it.
Looking forward to it..

dks · **Reply #5 on:** January 30, 2013, 02:01:53 PM

AHB, I have no idea how you managed with your original fridge; it looks too small.

Maybe the cold weather helps..

I first found the largest fridge available for sale, then designed the kitchen around it.
I think it has a 900 litre capacity and I was not able to find anything bigger at the time, about 6 years ago.

I am allways doing DIY though my building is relatively new and was made to my
specifications so I do not yet need to change anything. Maybe re-paint the inside.
My main DIY involves fixing doors, tiles, toilets showers and some work on several smaller fun projects I am doing sloooooowly. I made some tables a while back...

Whoey · **Reply #6 on:** January 30, 2013, 03:20:16 PM

Living room DIY/swap pics...

Entrance before

Entrance after

Main wall before

Main wall after

That's actually an old pic, since we have slightly rearranged the doors on the shelves, and it's our old CRT TV vs the new LED flatscreen... but more or less the same... The beige thing at the end is the fridge... it's now white as well so it blends nicely with the rest.

Mr. Whippy · **Reply #7 on:** January 30, 2013, 03:41:41 PM

This is the farm workshop, affectionately known as the Roverhood (named coined after playing the computer game, Neverhood).

It was a dirt floor pole barn with no power when we moved in, back in 1992 and wasn't part of the farm yet. We bought it, with 6 acres in 1994 to put the farm completely back together. After running on a generator for a while, we finally ran 50 amps, 240V to the building and started to upgrade. After pulling out a ton of useless shelving, I added a small office on one end, and put millings (ground off asphalt) into the shop for a more consistent floor.

After several years like that, I decided I wanted my tools and bikes on concrete pads, to keep moisture down. Where I work on tractors I prefer the millings because a) it's softer to kneel and lie on. b) oil and diesel fuel leaks are not a problem since it's old asphalt and c) The circada killers love to put their nests in it.

Here's me cutting rebar to use as stakes to hold the 4X6 timbers in place, before the concrete is poured:

Fresh concrete (floated by me):

Work bench and tire changer bolted to the new concrete:

Motorcycle parking pad:

nuphoria · **Reply #8 on:** January 30, 2013, 11:49:23 PM

I could really do with a couple of you guys round here for a bit!

Nice work

derekmac · **Reply #9 on:** January 31, 2013, 01:26:04 AM

My wife got tired of losing socks behind the washer and dryer, and wanted a place where she could sort the laundry, so I built this out of a scrap shipping crate.

She also wanted a little table by her chair in our rec room, so I built this, also out of scrap wood from a shipping crate.

This isn't an indoors improvement, but I kind of class yard work as home improvement. We took our backyard from this.

With a dumptruck load of dirt, to this.