As you can see, I decided to update the theme for the DIY Blog. It took awhile to get it just right, but I think it looks cool. It’s certainly more stylish then the previous theme. I also think that it adds usability as well because there is less clutter, offers direct access to the categories, has clearer post formatting, and is in a generally more pleasing color pallette.

Let me know what you think. If you have problems with it, if you don’t like it, if you can think of additional things I can do to make it better–please add comments if you’re so inclined–thank you!

So far I’ve posted more in January than I had in the previous three months combined I think. I am back in the DIY spirit again, and I want to make 2007 a very productive year. I also want to be able to share more of my journey with you, so that’s why I am making more of an effort to update and revise this blog. Thanks for coming by!

 Share

Hi Folks. I just opened a Flickr account the other day and I finally uploaded the first set of photos. It’s the set that we took while removing the toilet in the master bathroom. It was one of the first steps we did in preparing for the bathroom remodel. Basically we took the toilet out and moved it to the other side of the room, then we took out the vanity, the shower, and surrounding drywall. Then while we worked on the other areas of the bathroom, and framed and drywalled the new wall, we had set the toilet on the floor where the shower used to be.

Anyway, here’s the link to the How to Remove a Toilet set of photos. Go check ‘em out. I have been working on my long-overdue tutorials, and this is a taste of what the photos will look like for all of those projects. Thanks!

 Share

I have been talking about all sorts of projects, using all sorts of consumable products and tools. Well, Northern Tool doesn’t do this very often, but they are offering free shipping on UPS Ground orders over $150. Now, if you’re buying any decent power tools, or construction equipment and supplies, then you’re probably going to hit this threshold pretty easily.

They have a wide range of products including –

This store is great because you can get just about everything you need in one place.  It is especially useful if you have any commercial interests or work as a contractor because they have high-end equipment and a larger variety of products that most companies overlook.  So check Northern Tools and Equipment out, you won’t be disappointed.

 Share

Hints on Laying Slate Tile

Basically these are hints and tips that you can reference for most types of tile, but we happen to be using Indian slate tile in our bathroom remodel currently.

• You’ll use a lot of tile adhesive, even in a small space, so if you have any more than 65-75 sqaure feet to cover, I recommend getting the five gallon bucket of adhesive. If you have under 75 square feet you can probably get two or three, one gallon buckets.
• Before you lay down your tile adhesive, make a general plan of where you want your tiles to go. This is mostly important when using slate tile because of the irregularity in the pattern and colors. What I did was take them all out of the boxes and stacked them in another area according to general hues and colors. I also separated the really cool, interesting tiles into the ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ piles. This helps when you are placing the tiles into a pleasing arrangement.
• Lay a few rows at a time, and try not to work yourself into a corner! It’s just like painting a floor in that way…leave yourself a way out.
• It’s best to wait at least one day, prefferably two, before walking on set tiles. Even after two days try not to twist your feet when walking. Take slow, gentle steps and pickup and place your feet straight up and down. Tiles can shift even after quite dry.
• After you’re done laying tile for the day, or for a specific area, wipe off the excess tile adhesive around the edges of your finished area. If this extra stuff dries it can be a pain to remove later.

More to come!

 Share

We got some more things done in the bathroom this afternoon. The first, and biggest, thing that we did was secure the vanity in place with shims, screws, and the top with construction adhesive. It was difficult trying to shim the vanity level because neither the back or side walls were plumb. This meant that I had to place shims in different places while trying to hold the vanity up, checking for level, and also checking to see how flush I could get it to both the back and side.

After some wrangling I got it fairly close, but it’s not perfect. To tell you the truth I am not really crazy about it. I guess you can always expect there to be some uneven walls and weird angles no matter how old the house is. Although in this house I think anybody would be in trouble because of the lack of any 90 degree angles. Oh well.

Once that was screwed in place to the back wall, we added a thin bead of construction adhesive around the top of the vanity. I tried to place it on the inside edge of the wood so that when the granite top pushed down, it wouldn’t squish out the excess all over the nicely finished wood. We did have a tiny bit of overrun, but it wasn’t too bad and we just wiped it off with an old towel. Before long that was dry and we went on to the next few rows of tile. Basically we laid down the adhesive, made the crossing pattern with the notched trowel, threw down the first set of spacers, and put in the tiles.

We actually picked out a good mix of colors and textures ahead of time to save us the trouble once we had the wet adhesive on the floor. Since we’re using slate tile there’s more to think about when laying out the pattern because they are anything but consistent. After about sixteen or so we came to the spot where we couldn’t put any additional full tiles in place.

We’re going to wait until next weekend probably to rent a wet saw and do all of the cuts in one day and finish the initial tile installation. Then after a few days we’ll wipe down all of the tile with a sponge and warm water to clean them. Next it will be a few coats of floor-grade tile sealer–although I am not sure which brand yet–and then we’ll do the grout. After another day or two we may add one final coat of sealer.

That’s it for now. It’s just nice to see a major element like the floor going into place. Take care and have a great week!

 Share

Thought I would throw a little update on the DIY Blog.  The early part of the last week we finished off replacing the last bits of old plumbing, like the fittings for the hot and cold lines under the sink.  Then we drilled the holes in the back of the vanity for the pipes and drain trap to fit through.  After that it was just as simple as sliding the vanity in place, shimming up the front a little bit to push it flush to the wall, screwing it into the back wall with 2 1/2 screws, and then putting construction adhesive on and positioning the granite countertop.

I was out of town the past couple of days in Chicago, but I was told that we had some help while I was gone!  A friend came over and started putting in the 6 x 6 slate tile.  It was a little weird at first because I had been so used to doing just about every part of all the projects we’ve done in this house.  But we hired a drywall guy to finish out the complex drywall installation around the new shower, and now a friend is helping with the tile.  I am just happy that people are willing to help and that our friends are skilled and care enough to do that kind of hard work.

Well, I myself am working on editing the past few months worth of pictures to put here, and develop into full tutorials.  This has been keeping me pretty busy.  Also since I am in school for a business management degree at Malone College, I also have a lot of other writing, reading, and project work to do.  To top things off, my boss and a co-worker convinced me to write a book on my expertise in the search engine marketing field.  By day I work for an Online Marketing Agency where I am a Search Engine Marketing Specialist.  So we talked about how that might work and I really think I can do it.

I know that last point isn’t about our home improvement projects, but it’s going to be a big part of my life over the next couple of months.  I hope it doesn’t take away from my time developing this site’s content and working on my companion site and it’s tutorials.  But honestly there will probably be gaps in new posts.  Until my next post, have a great day and happy remodeling!

Joe

 Share

I’ve been promising pictures of our renovation projects for a while now…and I have been so busy that this was the last thing that I could force myself to do. Anyway, I’ve finally downloaded the past few months worth of pictures from my digital camera and am ready to start posting some pics.

Basically in this post I am going to give you some shots of the bathroom remodel–specifically the shower portion of the project–that were before and during the demolition phase. Later on I will post the complete project with photos, tutorials and the whole deal, all in one separate area so it will be easy to navigate and access.

 Share