baconbits Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Real hardwood floors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 looks great! wheres all the windows?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJMC Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Pa system for karaoke... You have to be a fellow Asian. Nice work on the entertainment center! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baconbits Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I measured the rough openings of my windows and side door yesterday... going to head to a local window manufacturer (same business park) on my lunch break and see if they can give me a rough estimate from my measurements. Preparing a large container of Vaseline because 14/16 windows and the side door are masonry installs without wood framed openings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 good luck! all of our windows were replaced before we bought our house... with the exception of the picture window. that will be 2-3k.... :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted April 10, 2015 I Donated Share Posted April 10, 2015 Yeah, all but five of ours above grade were replaced, and there were two locations where they replaced two or three side-by-side windows with nice bays. We replaced the final five. We still haven't done the three basement windows, or the french doors. My parents' house is 1956-vintage with the original windows. Problem is, they have 19 regular double-hungs, plus a huge picture window with double-hungs on each side, plus a set of french doors, a side door, and the front door. I think the kitchen (25+ years old) and the bathrooms (original 1956, and one of them is pink and brown) are higher on their list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baconbits Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 (edited) My neighbor used to install windows while in college so he did all of his windows himself. His house is a structural carbon copy of mine so he's fairly familiar with it. He did his for about $3800 including the cost of windows, wood to frame out the openings, Tapcons, etc. He said he went with mid-range Pellas and was forced to go with picture windows for the 58x65 large front windows because the ratio was off... Pella said they couldn't do anything other than a bay or picture window in dimensions like that supposedly. I want to get a couple quotes from companies to determine what install versus bare window cost would be to see if it's worth it for me/my neighbor/a friend/my dad to install them. Our houses are brick framed, early 1940s vintage. I found a lot of 1941/42 dated newspapers when I tore apart the basement. Brick exterior, 1" air gap, brick frame (exterior walls only, interior walls are stud framed), then 3/4 x 1 furring strips, then 3/4" drywall. Everywhere. Even the ceilings. It's a bitch to run new electrical because all the boxes are sized for 1/2" drywall. Edited April 10, 2015 by baconbits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spec.B Dream Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Good luck with the windows. I found out after I moved into my house last summer that most windows needed to be replaced. $17k I'm still crying, but at least I can open AND close my windows now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baconbits Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Quote #1 based on my measurements and "quick math" of the salesman after I told him 14/16 were masonry installs - $12-14k. Hopefully I can stop at a different showroom after work for another estimate. Looks like I'll be doing them myself at this cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Windows are tough... Do them because you want them or because they're leaking... Otherwise, if you're doing them to save heating/cooling; you better plan on living there for 100 years to break even!!! LOL Our front picture window (the loan surviving, original window), sucks. It produces condensate all winter. Needs to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baconbits Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Several of them frost over in the winter and it's especially bad in the bathroom and kitchen. Several panes are cracked throughout the house. Drafts are terrible. My neighbor (we call each other neighbro LOL) noted that it's not that they cut down on heating/cooling bills but it cut down on the drafts and made the house feel better. Curb appeal is vastly improved. If I have to take out a home equity loan, that's not an issue... I've got roughly $30k in equity due to the family member discount so no matter what I do short of solid gold counter tops and a platinum toilet, I'm good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Good windows can also improve the resale value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Good windows can also improve the resale value. In a way, I guess... But not really. When most people buy a house, they anticipate certain systems to be in place and functioning. So, windows would be expected. If they're in need of drastic updating, the buyer will want a reduction in price. So replacing your windows will keep you house's value where it should be, but not 'add value' to what is expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted April 10, 2015 I Donated Share Posted April 10, 2015 Yeah, my parents don't give a crap about their windows. Most of them are still fully functional in terms of opening/closing, and almost all have storm windows, so they're effectively double-pane (although some of the storm windows are a bit of a PITA to deal with). Probably the only reason to replace them would be for looks. The five that hadn't been replaced in our house were single-pane with no storm windows, and one of them was in the master bathroom and probably contributed to drafts, so they were worth it. We also need to do the french door in the family room at some point, as it's drafty as hell. We're planning on just replacing it with windows, because it's in an inconvenient location for room layout anyway. We have a couch in front of it right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
im2c0ol Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Real hardwood floors? Nah, i wish! More work today. -more staining -got 1 table in the back refinish -made new counter top for the bottoms found someone threw away. Got a nice looking table now. -flat bed frame for my king mattress. 16' Legacy Mods: 55w HID + XB35 5500k, LEDS upgrades, XB Type T Fog, 20mm SB. Custom Footwell Illiminate Kit; http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/15-legacy-outback-footwell-illumination-kit-237567.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baconbits Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Replaced my side entry door over the weekend. I leaned on my neighbor quite a bit because he's already done it on his house. I did all the labor, he just gave me some pointers because I've never used Tapcons before. Here's my journey starting at around 10am Saturday and finishing at about 8pm Sunday. 1) Screen door closer mounting point is rotting and tearing out. 2) Outside view starting out. 3) Inside view starting out. HORRID sealing around the door slab on everything but the hinge side and the single pane glass sucked. Drafts in the bottom cause the sill and bottom weather strip on the door to frost over. 4) New goodies. Steel door without window, lock/deadbolt set, Tapcons, jamb extensions 5) Screen door off. 6) Old door frame cut out. Note brick frame of house and no stud walls. FML 7) "Hole" for the sill. I put a 3/4" bed of brick mortar down and set a pressure treated 2x6 on top and got that thing A+ level. Nailed it from underneath the landing in the basement, followed by a second 2x6 and then a 1x6 to get it to the height of the subfloor on the landing. 8) Door frame in and Tapcon'd. I hate Tapcons. 9) Door in, jamb extensions on. 10) Where it's at today. I had to rip down some pressure treated 2x4s and cut a 3/4 x 3/4 relief in the backside so I could have it cover the mortar and brick... essentially made some longer, custom jamb extensions to finally get everything sealed to the brick. Caulked the hell out of everything. Screen door to come today (weather permitting) and then some paint to follow. Still need to wire up the door bell again and then do interior trim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baconbits Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 When I showed the sill "hole," it looks like there's a lot of termite-chewed wood in there but it's actually sandy, like the mortar on the bottom crumbed. Vacuumed that out before putting a fresh bed of mortar in, similar to how you put mortar behind tile backer board. Check out the water damage on the bottom of the old sill... woof. Not having any more of that, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Put some tar paper between the bottom sill and the mortar as well. That will reduce the amount of humidity passing from the mortar to the wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 (edited) Nice work! I've hung 4 exterior doors in this house alone. It's always a pain in the ass. F Tapcons btw. I have put in far too many of those. I was always under the notion of the Ramset gun being a waste of money, etc... I was wrong, the Ramset is AWESOME!!!!!!!! Literally, the whole thing is over in a fraction of a second. No drilling... vacuuming out the hole... drilling more... Putting in the blue screw.... backing it out... Doing it again. Having it stop 1" short.... Doing it again.... stripping out the head..... snapping off the top.... LOL Put down some rubber mulch this weekend. good times. Edited April 13, 2015 by jasejase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baconbits Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Nice work! I've hung 4 exterior doors in this house alone. It's always a pain in the ass. F Tapcons btw. I have put in far too many of those. I was always under the notion of the Ramset gun being a waste of money, etc... I was wrong, the Ramset is AWESOME!!!!!!!! Literally, the whole thing is over in a fraction of a second. No drilling... vacuuming out the hole... drilling more... Putting in the blue screw.... backing it out... Doing it again. Having it stop 1" short.... Doing it again.... stripping out the head..... snapping off the top.... LOL Put down some rubber mulch this weekend. good times. I have a feeling it would be FAR easier in a stud-framed house. Trim off, sawzall with metal blade down the side to cut all screws kick door frame and it falls out. I've asked about the Ramset and my neighbor is terrified about it popping bricks and not holding. He's got me thinking it would just shatter every brick I try it in and without a hammer drill, I was relegated to putting the Tapcons into the mortar joints and not the brick itself. I hope to never use them again short of maybe securing something to my basement floor like a work bench or something. I'd probably just use those heavy duty hammer-in inserts and bolts at that point. I need to figure out what I'd do when installing windows though... neighbor said he used Tapcons for everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 they make low charged ramset rounds too... But I have no experience with them, in brick! Hopefully you at least had a good hammer drill! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baconbits Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I've got a bunch of loose bricks laying around (actual structural bricks, not pavers) that we used for garden edging... I suppose I could try a Ramset in those and see how it works. Ramsetting 2x4s to brick though... nails would have to be pretty long. Do they make them ~3" long? I'll admit, I've never looked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 yep... I believe they sure do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
im2c0ol Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 (edited) Dad help me run new gas line to the electric stove so we can upgrade to gas later on. Added an end cap there in case i want to run one more to the back yard stove for bbq and cooking outdoor. Once i get new stove the cabinet remove i could then move the gas valve over to the left hiden in the cabinet. Edited April 14, 2015 by im2c0ol 16' Legacy Mods: 55w HID + XB35 5500k, LEDS upgrades, XB Type T Fog, 20mm SB. Custom Footwell Illiminate Kit; http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/15-legacy-outback-footwell-illumination-kit-237567.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baconbits Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 New storm door in. One of the cheaper ones from Lowe's... vastly better than what I took out of there last weekend. I just couldn't stomach paying $250+ for a storm door when the entry door was $147. Just need to paint the entry door, trim, jamb, interior trim, and rewire the door bell. Window Nation window quote from yesterday: $16k. Guy was a douche... spent half the quote-consultation time bad mouthing all other window companies in the area versus talking up his own. Looks like I'm doing them myself with the help of a neighbor for $5k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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