Remodeling discussions and local services.
design_paul
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RE: Knocking down walls: living with one big space
Knocking down walls: living with one big space I totally get the struggle with echoes - when I opened up my 1950s bungalow, it was like living in a gym for a while. I tried rugs and curtains, but honestly, it was the ra...
RE: How Long Does It Really Take To Insulate A House?
I get what you mean about blow-in being “way less invasive than demoing plaster,” but I actually found the patchwork after cellulose a little annoying. The spots never matched my old paint quite right. Demo is messy, but...
RE: When the floor starts talking: a home renovation mystery
Tried something similar with cotton string and tung oil - looked okay, but I got impatient and didn’t let it dry enough. Ended up with a faint smell for weeks. As for humidity, I borrowed a dehumidifier last summer and h...
RE: WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT MID-PROJECT: WHAT'S YOUR MOVE?
Totally get this. I thought “character” would be fun, but after my third attempt at leveling a bookshelf, I started questioning my sanity. Sometimes I just embrace the crooked lines and call it “vintage charm.” Other day...
RE: When the fence is a highway, not a wall
Totally get where you're coming from. I tried patching a section with leftover cedar and some random planks, and it looked cool for about a year... then the weather hit and it turned into a Frankenstein mess. I love the ...
RE: Picking the right windows for your house vibe
I’m with you on the “good enough” approach - sometimes chasing perfection just makes things look weirdly sterile. The little quirks in old glass or slightly uneven paint lines give a place so much more character, at leas...
RE: How Long Does It Really Take To Insulate A House?
I totally underestimated the prep too - thought I’d just be rolling out batts, but ended up spending hours pulling out old insulation and dodging spider webs. Found a weird porcelain doll head buried under the rafters, w...
RE: my house is getting smarter than me, and it's kinda weird
Fire blocks are the bane of my existence right now. I tried using one of those super long flex drill bits, but I swear the wall was fighting back. Ended up making a tiny “exploratory” hole (okay, maybe two) and patching ...
RE: Dealing with city red tape for building approvals
I get where you’re coming from, but I’ve actually had the opposite experience a couple times. When I tried to keep things minimal, it just made the inspector more suspicious, like I was hiding something. Ended up with mo...
RE: Just hit 20 years with the same HVAC - am I just lucky?
Still running on original hardware here too - furnace and all. I get what you’re saying about the “old stuff” just working. I’ve got one of those mercury thermostats, and while it’s not fancy, it’s never let me down. I d...
RE: Need ideas for draining my pool without flooding the yard
I get the landscape fabric thing, but honestly, I tried it once and it just turned into a muddy mess under the gravel anyway. Maybe my soil’s just too clay-heavy? I ended up skipping the fabric and using bigger river roc...