Home Improvement Today?

that's what I was thinking too...but wasn't sure...he was considering throwing a couple bags of quikcrete in the area and then top it off with soil.

 

You need to figure out why it's getting wet there and solve that problem or your pavers will sag and fail

 

^ what he said, then go from there

 

No way. Sand isn't stable enough.

That's like putting a band-aid on a broken leg and wondering why you are still walking funny 2 months later. You need to figure out what is causing the water and fix the underlying problem. Probably poor drainage of a gutter as you stated.

Once the soil dries, you'll need a layer of geo fabric on the existing soil, then 4-6" of compacted gravel/crusher run on top of that. Adding about 2" then compacting, then add more, compact more, etc until you achieve the desired thickness. Then you'll need a 1" layer of bedding sand screeded flat (Obviously allowing for appropriate pitch away from the house) for your pavers to lay on.

 

he ended up fixing his gutter, digging out the soggy stuff, filling it with compacted gravel, then putting dry top soil on top of it. we'll see if his methods work out.

 

Wallpaper question:

Is a steamer the best way to remove old wallpaper? My wife and I are buying a new home. Our offer was accepted. The only problem with the home is the wall-paper fairy threw up in there and it's everywhere.

I bought a Wagner Steamer a while ago but haven't used it on wallpaper yet (my wife uses it to clean with).

 

I'm doing my kitchen. Do any of you have experience I could draw on ? I have a few questions if so. Thanks.

 

wut questions

 

Thanks OZ. The sub floor is plywood. On top of that is 3/4" what I call saw dust and glue. It's real garbage - it blows up when wet and it's in the kitchen. I want to take that up and put down 7/16 plywood on top of the sub floor and laminate floor on top of that which is 5/16 total 12/16 = 3/4". I was going to use Advantech under the cabinets which is 23/32. 24/32 = 3/4. The laminate is a floating floor and needs to able the expand and contract with a 1/4" space around the edge. It couldn't do it if it was under the cabinets. Some people say to run the laminate under the fridge some say under the fridge, stove and dishwasher. I don't see the necessity of putting it under the stove and dishwasher. What do you say ? Is what I wrote too confusing ?

 

The sheet good you are refering to sounds like K3 board , it looks similar to medite

I always run finished floor under all the appliances

 

If there's more than a couple layers, just gut the walls and put up new drywall.

I'm not joking. Our house has wallpaper dating back to the early 1900's. We've counted at leas 6 layers, and beyond that we can't separate wallpaper from plaster. We spent FAR more time trying to rip the shit off than we would have tearing down the plaster/lath, putting up drywall, and then painting. We tried steam. We tried vinegar. We tried wall-paper stripper. We tried that tiger paper-scoring thing. We still have paper we can't scrape off without taking plaster with it.

 

Sounds like fun!!! The house we''re buying was built in the 1970s so I don't think it's that bad but there's a lot of it (almost every room and hallway and some on the ceilings). We bought it from the family whose father built the house.

Here are some pics:














It's got wood paneling as well. It looks like the designs from the 70s. Most of it is about chair height. I'm hoping we can just take it off to reveal drywall under it.

 

Jesus! Even on the ceiling?! At least we don't have it on the ceiling. That settles it. Burn it down and start over.

 

Wall paper that sucks I have been dealing with the same thing. For us warm water and a spray bottle has worked well. We have used plastic putty knifes to help get it off. Once its off clean walls with soapy water and lightly sand to get the rest of the glue off. Fix the drywall as I am sure there will be some suprises. Then use a drywall primer/sealer and paint.

I have been slowly working on the wall paper in my house. It is slow messy and time consuming. Have fun.

 

While it is dated, it looks like the previous owners took good care of it...That bodes well for what you can't see on the surface.

 

I have to agree with this. My house was build in 1980 and everything was original and the minimum was done to the place to take care of it. That place you have looks like it has been well maintaned.

 

It was very well taken care of. The whole place is super clean and well maintained. As far as upgrading the house, the only issue is the dated appearance. The inspector only found minor issues with the house as well. The most difficult being no chimney spark screen rain cover on the chimney. It was an elderly couple who were the original owners. They built it in 1970.

The man and his sons were electricians so everything is electric (and it was built when electricity was cheap) and it is all quality work with expansion in mind. There is a gas line at the street but it would have to be piped into the house.

It's 1.5 acres with 16 avocado trees, some orange trees, a lemon and a peach tree. There's some open space (it used to have 48 avocado trees). I'm thinking about installing solar panels. There's a company out here that can build it on the land or the house.

This is the outside looking south:


Here's the view from the Master Bedroom:


There are some more pictures of the outside in the Garden Thread
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/sp...your-garden-garden-bs-thread.html#post5177718

 

^^^ WOW nice place the exterior and gardens are fantastic. Take care of the wood though. My house has cedar shakes that where never treated except after they where first installed and look terrible now.

 

The roof shingles aren't wood. They are actually made with some kind of cement or concrete blend. I don't remember exactly what the inspector told us about them (as far as what they were made of) but he said it was in decent shape. The outside is freshly painted as well. He noted a few minor cracks in the roof tiles but said he didn't see any water damage.

We actually paid for our own inspector, even though the VA will also inspect it. My realtor (a friend of ours) recommended him because he's very thorough. There were two inspectors and they looked around the house for about 2 1/2 hours. My wife said he is the same guy who inspected her condo when she bought it about 9 years ago (same realtor too).

The house itself is built on top of a huge bolder. You can see in the access area under the house.

 

Has any one installed Konecto flooring ? If so how were the results ? Thanks.