DIY

[Pickle Juice]

Any do-it-yourself enthusiasts?

I have developed a pretty wide range of skills. It seems that I can do almost anything around the house I decide to try to do. So far anyway. My latest new project was becoming a chimney sweep. Not crazy about walking across the roof. But it beats crawling around under the house. And it saves me having to pay someone else to come out and not even do half as good a job as I can.

For those who aren't familiar, most homes in the western US don't have basements. They just have teeny tiny crawlspaces that you have to bellycrawl through if you want to do something under there, like running cables or fixing plumbing. You can't even get up on your hands and knees.

 

[Forster]

I did not know most homes in the western US don't have basements. I've never lived in a house without one... well except my parents tri-level for 2.5 years that thing had a half basement and a crawl space and it did suck.

But yeah I'm kind of a DIY person.

 

[Pickle Juice]

Yeah it's something to do with not needing basements where the ground doesn't freeze every winter. A foundation wall is poured that supports the outer walls of the house, and the rest is supported by concrete piers.

 

[Forster]

Well our ground freezes every winter, lol. The houses that don't have basements are generally built where the ground water level is high. When my sis built her house 5 feet down... water. Played hell with their septic system. Fortunately when she got divorced he got the house and she got cashed out (at the high of the housing bubble, lol). He screwed her financially so many other ways though.

 

[Forster]

One of my favorite DIY projects... reloading. Go even as far as casting my own bullets.

Reloading bench

Shotshell reloader & Pro-melt (for melting lead)

Various bullet molds:

 

[Moll Flanders]

I'm useless at DIY! It's a great skill to have though.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I used to really be into DIY, but now I'm mostly too lazy.

My house has a crawl space rather than a basement but I believe it's tall enough to half-stand up in. (I'd have to ask my husband for sure, though, as I always send him down there instead of going myself.) I'm in the Midwestern US, where most newer houses have a basement, but older houses can have either. A sump pump is required either way, as there is usually a lot of leaking in basements, especially in older houses.

 

[AlmandineSky]

I'm not very good at DYI, I think mainly because I just depend on my husband to do it lol. When he's deployed and something has to be done I find a way to do it myself. Unless it's something big like having the furnace replaced then of course I go to someone for that. I like the decorating type DYI stuff. My husband is the one to do the fixing stuff and then I'm the one to do the prettying up of stuff like painting the rooms and redoing molding and whatnot.

 

[Pickle Juice]

I do it mostly out of necessity, and because labor is so costly. I can buy much nicer things if I install them myself than if I pay to have a job done. I will do big stuff too. I did replace my water heater not too long ago. It's electric though. I have no gas lines here. I like monkeying around with electricity but I would be very wary of tinkering with gas lines and gas powered appliances.

 

[Forster]

I do it mostly out of necessity, and because labor is so costly. I can buy much nicer things if I install them myself than if I pay to have a job done. I will do big stuff too. I did replace my water heater not too long ago. It's electric though. I have no gas lines here. I like monkeying around with electricity but I would be very wary of tinkering with gas lines and gas powered appliances.

I'll change out receptacles and light fixtures, etc. but if it includes stringing new wire I call an electrician. Won't touch gas either.

I did replace the roof on my garage (metal) and put new garage doors up. Never did it before, pretty easy actually.

 

[Pickle Juice]

I will run wire and plumbing in new construction. I have had to replace a few circuit breakers, and troubleshoot three way switch set-ups, but I haven't needed to run wire in existing walls yet.

 

[Forster]

I do like to piddle around with woodworking too, but that's probably more of a hobby than DIY. Bookshelves, clock bases, chessboards etc.

 

[Pickle Juice]

I suppose it depends on the scale of the project. I am also in the process of building a bookcase, but it is set into the wall, and goes from floor to ceiling.

One of these days I need to organize my pictures and post some of my projects.

 

[AlmandineSky]

DYI today: Painting the baby room! I found out that with latex paint it's safe for a pregnant woman to paint IF the room is well ventilated. Unfortunately it isn't. It has one tiny window and is in the very corner of the house so even with all the windows open it doesn't make a bit of difference in that room. Plus it's almost always raining here (it is today). Also, for some reason the paint fumes always trigger my IBS and makes me cramp a lot and stuff so it's probably not a good idea while pregnant. But my husband and my friend are painting the room. I masked it off and got it ready last night. All they gotta do is get the paint on the walls. I'm super jealous though because I LOVE painting. I'm at least making them a nice dinner tonight for doing it.

 

[nog]

I'm a DIY person I guess. My current house, I ripped out the ceiling, reinsulated, refinished the floors, retextured, and painted. I still have some kitchen remodeling to do and some upgrades in the bathroom.

I just bought a slightly larger house with a lot twice the size (more garden and food growing. ). I realized the walls had been textured over that fake wall paneling, so I figured I'd remove that and put up sheetrock, maybe insulate if there were none. The original part of the house was built in the late 1800s and I found no studs. After researching, it's called plank construction, vertical rough cut 1+ inch by 12 to 18 inch boards. So I'll be reframing (and putting up sheetrock and so on), running new wiring, eventually replumbing. Basically gut the house and re do it. Big project.

The new house has an old garage, so I'll finally have a nice workshop.

 

[KLS52]

So NOT a DIY person. Wish I was. The mind is willing but the body is weak. I can and have painted but I don't like doing it. It's more out of necessity than anything else because if I don't do it the job won't get done. I'm in the process of painting the kitchen cabinets since we can't afford to change them.

The annoying thing is that I have a perfectly capable spouse...he can pretty much do anything. It's just getting him to do it. He did build an awesome deck in our backyard...got it 3/4 done in a matter of a few weekends and then took five years to finish it, lol. Wish I had half of his knowledge/capability. I'd gut my bathroom because it's a total disaster.

I came across this link on Yahoo...some really cool/inexpensive ideas. I love it!

http://realestate.yahoo.com/news/a-diy-north-carolina-home.html

 

[nog]

In terms of DIY, I've seen some houses in real life and online have visible conduit for wiring purposes as well as visible copper plumbing. I've liked the look of it when it's done with care. I've also seen a lot more done terribly.

Does anyone have any links or book recommendations for this kind of project?

 

[I Heart Corey Haim!!]

oh yeah have always been totally been diy....got that from my parents and my sweetie is totally diy....he does everything well from creating his own things, fixing things ect and has made me some really awesome stuff.

peace

 

[jeneticallymodified]

DYI today: Painting the baby room! I found out that with latex paint it's safe for a pregnant woman to paint IF the room is well ventilated. Unfortunately it isn't. It has one tiny window and is in the very corner of the house so even with all the windows open it doesn't make a bit of difference in that room. Plus it's almost always raining here (it is today). Also, for some reason the paint fumes always trigger my IBS and makes me cramp a lot and stuff so it's probably not a good idea while pregnant. But my husband and my friend are painting the room. I masked it off and got it ready last night. All they gotta do is get the paint on the walls. I'm super jealous though because I LOVE painting. I'm at least making them a nice dinner tonight for doing it.

is DYI short for 'Do Yourself Injury' instead of Destroy It Yourself (DIY) ?

i'm glad you've got somebody else doing the painting.

I have ADD, so i'm really good at starting DIY projects (the destroy bit) and lousy at finishing them. and i always get the urge to start painting a room at about 3am (which is great news for the bf who has to get up and do the cutting in around 5am, by which point i'm bored.

i've taken sledgehammers to many things. i've also put some of them back together better than they were previously. SOME of them.

 

[Pickle Juice]

Demolition is the best part. And, if you lack skills and funds, demolition will save you a lot of money. Most professionals do not like the demolition and hauling stage, so if you can do that yourself you can save lots of money.