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Can I remodel Mom's kitchen for $428?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbxN3CXQxM Supplies and Tools: Ammonia Ziplock bags Empty spray bottle Cordless screwdriver Masking tape Permanent marker Liquid TSP Liquid sandpaper Disposable latex gloves Box cutter Painter’s tape Drop cloths Zinsser Cover Stain 5 gallons White High Hide Oil-Based Interior/Exterior Primer and Sealer We used Stix Urethane Acrylic Waterborne Bonding Primer Spray Behr alkyd semi-gloss enamel (coventry grey) Rags New hardware Airless paint sprayer |
Sounds like procrastination. I busy myself with projects at my parents too.
My dad procrastinates by gardening, placing higher importance on getting the corn in on time than what to do about the old house that is crumbling with a bunch of junk inside, or getting various vehicles and equipment into running order. But hey, I don't need to grab corn at the grocery store during a 1 month period in August! |
Honestly, just spraying the TSP and wiping it off is probably the best ROI. I have plenty of things to do and I like woodgrain cabinets. One might argue that it is not what I like, but what Mom likes that matters, but even though she talks about us selling the place when she is able to argue with Dad again, I doubt my brother or I would have any desire to move.
[How crazy would it be to ask my sisters how much they have helped Mom financially over the years and then offer to buy them out?] I keep saying "Today I am knocking out [this project]!" This morning, after we put my brother on the van for his day program, I am pretty sure that I was planning on continuing to organize my stuff. I spent at least a full day looking for my wallet a week or two ago. Mom and my brother each spent hours looking and I think that my brother found it behind something, where it had fallen, but asking him where he found it did not yield anything but frustration. I keep trying to organize so that I do not spend as much time looking for my stuff. I hope to find all manner of things, like that crankshaft pulley bolt! However, before I resumed organizing, I thought I should look for paintless dent removal forums and see if someone would give me suggestions for my Accord roof and hood. Pull the dents adequately. Sand, paint, and clear coat, install sound insulation and the ceiling, and then put the interior back together. However, I had just started looking at forums when Mom decided she had enough of her back faucet, which needs to be fixed for the ninth time since she bought the house seventeen years ago. The kitchen sink also leaks, but not as badly. She called a plumber and still had not explained just the outside problem when I looked up how to fix both leaks. Unfortunately, I do not think that I have time to do anything before going and seeing a client or two. It was supposed to be four, but two clients that I previously dropped for excessive cancellations asked to reschedule, and then canceled. I have been waiting for the other family to confirm for almost a day. I have also called one new family four times in a week to try to start therapy. The dad called back once and left a voice mail. When I have called since I have asked him just to give me a day and time when they are available. I very well may be unavailable, but it gives us a starting point. I worry that if it is this difficult to start therapy, I will be unable to see them regularly. |
I was turning the gas main on and off as needed for a week because I botched a gas dryer install. Finally gathered the parts to make everything right, and plumbed in my NG grill on the deck too.
One thing at a time. Your dad should be the one helping out around the house. I'd start there if looking to ask family members to account for how they have contributed their portion. |
He is currently incorporeal. Otherwise, we would not try to sell the house.
We moved from California in 1992 and my parents lost money on the house from Dad's repairs. The plumber said they could not come out until tomorrow. Apparently Mom said "But it's leaking" and they said "Well, that changes everything!" I passed the plumber before I left her street. When I returned a couple of hours later she said he just left and charged $339 to fix the back faucet, but she did not have him look at the sink. I took it apart, found a washer that did not look right, drove to Ace, spent $3.88, drove back, installed it, and now the sink works perfectly, without leaks. I fixed the sink while leaning over Mom, who was cleaning up after the plumber. Well, one project down... |
Well I'm an arse, I know you've mentioned that before. I guess I was prepared to be hard on the guy based on what you've shared of him.
Plumbers are overpaid when fixing a leak/clog inside the house, and vastly underpaid when crawling under a house. It evens out. I spent a day pretending to be a plumber and it involved army crawling through puddles of animal urine and feces, over a dead cat, and spending hours on your back in a 2ft crawl space under a house drilling holes and routing pipes. Fix it yourself, or don't complain about the price... I heard of a story of someone that was living with their elderly dad rent free, and wouldn't fix leaks because "it wasn't his house". Had no regard for anything not their own. |
I mention a lot of stuff.
My one friend once asked "What happened with the Show Low girl?" I responded "So many girls, I think that we get them confused..." He replied "I only really keep track of a few, but they mostly live in my house." While tracking down that exchange (Facebook does not understand what quotation marks mean in a search!) I found a comment that he would need a database to keep track of the women that I have dated. I fix stuff. It bothers me. Stuff is not supposed to be broken. I fixed stuff that I noticed in the Army, when visiting my sister, and when I rented a room in Tempe for four years. I make sure to call this Mom's house, but I live here, and I try to take care of where I live. I also try to take care of Mom and my brother. By the way, I pay rent, about as much as I paid elsewhere. I really wish that I remember why I got on the computer. Oh well, time to go through my room again. If I were a crankshaft pulley bolt, where would I hide? (Where did I put it?!) |
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Just A Car Guy: that 10mm will be in the last place you think of, and the last place you can imagine... |
Nothin worse than your most recent repair efforts being the cause of your next problem.
I put things wherever is most convenient from the position in which I worked on it. That makes for some pretty stupid places usually. The things I use frequently I'm never in doubt of their whereabouts, as I develop a routine of 1 or 2 places only that I'll allow those items to live. I never forget my keys, phone, or wallet not because I am good at remembering, but precisely because I'm so bad that I won't leave it to memory. |
"Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch." Burt Munro in The World's Fastest Indian.
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My sister bought me a Tile for my keys. When I found it I planned on purchasing one for my wallet. Since I can ask Google "Where is my phone" and it will make it ring even if it is on silent, that should take care of everything, although I can also do that with Tile.
Except the battery was dead and my sister needed to pay extra (if it was even available) for a version with a replaceable battery. I cut it open and it was a simple watch battery, so I bought another, but something came loose, so I ordered something I hoped would fix it. I am pretty sure that when I ordered it Amazon said it would be here eleven days ago. Now it says maybe between August 9th and the 30th. Amazon, can we talk? |
I just bought a 2-pack Tile with replaceable battery on Prime Day for $35. Kinda a lot to just find your keys, but worth it to me to eliminate the daily "where are the keys" from my wife.
While I designate places that things live, my wife puts things like keys wherever they will fit, which is most places. |
I have designated places, but I do many things without thinking.
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Ooh! A new roof!
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Can you increase your home value $45,000 for $200?!
What?! No! Of course not! You should know that without clicking!
In Meet Kevin's followup to his kitchen "remodel" video, he rehashes various things he shared in previous videos, like painting your cabinets for some reason. He doesn't like "Yellow" woodgrain. Raise your hand if you care what he likes. Go on, we don't judge. Okay, we absolutely do, but how would we know if you raised your hand?!
It appears that I am missing one, but I am not watching this a third time! For those playing the home game, he says this can increase the value of your home by up to $48,000, about what was advertised, but the high end of the output would suggest the high end of the input: $4,055. That is an almost 12x return on your money, but how much of your time would it take? The other caveat is that he deals with half-million-dollar homes. I am sure that Mom's house would take just as much time and money, but would be worth at most 40% as much. The low end would be $2,480 for $26,500, 10.68x. Yay. Crazy thought: Start doing these for Mom and try to find work doing this for other people. Source! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VErctXiMaWI |
My thought is you get to enjoy the improvements while you live in the home, and then it boosts the resale value when you go to sell.
I just made a 153" projector screen for ~$150. It's not finished yet, but doesn't look too shabby. Had 30 people over for Super Bowl and got lots of compliments. https://www.avsforum.com/forum/attac...p;d=1580858534 https://www.avsforum.com/forum/attac...p;d=1580858534 https://www.avsforum.com/forum/attac...p;d=1580858534 |
I spent far too long looking into this and other distractions. I did go and tape a curtain liner from the dollar store over my Civic engine. I cut off bits for each bolt hole, put down some Gorilla Tape, and cut holes for each bolt hole.
I just do not know how well it will work. Sure, there is oil in an engine, but it does not seem like there is any there, yet not even the Gorilla Tape is sticking to the aluminum. I guess that I get to hold it down with one hand and drill with the other. I really hope that it works! One client is in a group home and had four no-shows last month. He was supposed to go on probation if he no-showed again within the next month, but Office Lady gave him one more chance--and then told me to confirm with the manager each and every week. Seriously? Is that reasonable? So, the manager confirmed, but apparently that was after he called up staff and had them pick up the kid from school. He was sent home early for behavior, so when I showed up the staff said that we shouldn't try. You really think the manager should have mentioned this instead of confirming. |
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Grease is the solution to keeping chips out of your engine From: https://www.motorcycleclassics.com/m...-plug-rethread |
Don't you need to remove the grease residue before installing the bolt?
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I wonder how this video compares to Kevin's. This guy has been renovating for decades and does not rely on clickbait, but this was recorded live and I do not think that he had the organization or polish beforehand. I really do not remember most of his suggestions, just that everyone says to renovate kitchens and bathrooms, but he says that even a DIY guy can lose money there, it is cheaper to add on to a home [space permitting] than make an old basement livable, if you remodel the bathroom install heated floors and prevent moisture problems, and building your own deck will raise your home value more than the cost of tools and materials anywhere in the country:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU6YnPBc0Ec It is over two hours! Of course I watched it at 2x, but I really wish that he or a commenter listed the 10 improvements and time stamps. Part of the reason that it is so long is that he answered many questions from the audience. |
Kevin's Krazy Kash Kreator
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My family has been trying to mess it up again. If they didn't take naps I would never be able to get ahead! However, I made oatmeal raisin cookies, and I am only sharing them when my family cleans, so that seems to be working. For now. We are not painting Mom's cabinets, we like the wood grain, but since there aren't handles they are pretty dirty in places. Kevin says to spray TSP on them. I thought that fake marble contact paper was tacky for a cheap kitchen, while basic women seem to love it. They also seem to take too many shortcuts. I just want it to look like laminate in good condition, not scratched, faded, and overheated laminate. Mom wants fake marble, but I looked on Wednesday, and couldn't get any here by Saturday, although I need to see what kind of Contact Paper Dollar Tree has. Contact paper isn't paper. It is plastic. Kevin calls it Formica foil tops. They aren't foil either! Allegedly nobody else in-town sells it. Mom still wants a light over the sink. She told me "Don't wire it, just plug it into the outlet!" For some reason I feel nervous about switches by lights by the sink! Kevin says to soak your gas stove burners, etc. in ammonia in Ziploc bags overnight, so I will do that. Have you ever had a nasty range hood? It seems like nobody has this problem. All of the instructions that I find on-line say "Just wipe it!" Really? When I have tried to clean this various cleaners don't seem to have any effect. I sprayed it down today and almost nothing happened, but I poured Dawn all over it, let it sit, started scrubbing, and the first spot looked clean almost right away! :) However, scrubbing the rest of it just made me tired! ...until the paint started peeling! I don't think that should have been so easy! Some of the paint had already bubbled off, so I am just going to scrape off the rest, remove the hood, take it out back, degrease it again, sand, use high heat appliance paint, and reinstall. The stove has some similar issues, but I would need to take the whole oven out back! |
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This is what you seek. https://i.postimg.cc/MT5FwfbB/10-BB5...CF75-F4-C2.jpg Use full strength or dilute as needed for finer things. It will clean your cabinet doors as well as the range hood and stove. Do not use full strength on car finishes. It can remove the gloss and etch the surface of the paint permanently. This is my go to cleaner. It is cheap and works well. If you have a “dollar tree” store in your area it only costs a buck. They also carry the complete line of “Awesome“ products which are AWESOME. 😎 Especially the laundry cleaner with oxy clean. It cleans work clothes better than anything else I have used and is only a buck too. :turtle: > . |
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Why is there an emojo? How do I make that go away?
I have that cleaner and a refill in the garage. It doesn't remove Gorilla Tape! :) I think that I tried five different things. Maybe I shouldn't have bought them from Dollar Tree, but I was only out $5! :) One product to rule them all?! One does not simply spray LA's Totally Awesome and call it done? :) Kevin says to use liquid TSP on cabinets. There isn't a liquid TSP, the company makes a liquid TSP alternative, although if that were important I am sure that "Alternative" would be bigger on the bottle. Mom says that is a stripper, so it makes sense to use if you are going to paint cabinets, but not to just clean. I quickly looked for my LA's Totally Awesome, but just found the refill (and their citrus cleaner). I will try it on the cabinets and shower when I find it. Everyone and everything says that you just spray range hoods and showers and then wipe, but that hasn't worked for me, although when I find it, I will try it on the remaining range hood paint. Bob Vila says to mix a squirt of dish soap and equal parts hot water and vinegar. Dollar Tree [and LA's Totally Awesome] confuse me. They had a thirty-ounce bottle of Ultra Deluxe dish soap and a fifty-ounce bottle of Ultra Concentrated. I would expect that to go the other way. I bought the big bottle and their vinegar, sprayed down half of the shower, set a time for 15 minutes, and then used my homemade brush attachment on my cordless screwdriver to scrub it down. Most of the worst spots cleaned up nicely, but I didn't notice any overall improvement. I rinsed it with the detachable showerhead, but it didn't seem to do anything, so I scrubbed a little with a white washcloth, which only slightly discolored. I wondered if it needed to stay wet, so I sprayed it down twice, fifteen minutes apart, and scrubbed again immediately after the second time. It didn't seem to do anything. Have I shared The Hacksmith's answer to dishes? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQybdFb-uW4 I am going to try that with my remaining solution and see if Dollar Tree scrub pads and a Dollar Tree binder clip do a better job. I tried soaking the gas burner parts in ammonia overnight like Kevin said:https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1614371698 It changed color right away, although it seemed like the drip plates benefitted far more than the grates. The deposits on both seemed softer, but steel wool didn't do much to the grate, although most of the stuff on the drip plate cleaned up easily. Mom said "Just use oven cleaner!" Dollar Tree sells that, too! :) I think that I will set up the metal shelves that I pulled out of the shed, put the stove parts on that, and let it air out in the backyard. I put the bag in a basin of water to push out some of the air, although a vacuum sealer would do a better job. I flushed the brown ammonia, rinsed the bag, and put the other front burner, plate, and diffuser in with Home Depot ammonia, but it is still yellow! |
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For the stove components?
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Bare metal. It will take the paint right off, unless you use ground walnuts shells or plastic media.
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Oven cleaner didn't seem to clean the stove grates and plates. I bought 3 more bottles of ammonia and soaked everything together.
It was underwhelming. Did I hit the point of diminishing returns? Mom told me to use Mr. Clean on the shower. I let it wait 15 minutes and used my power brush. That worked better than anything else, but my batteries ran out before I finished, and they were freshly-charged when I started! I cleared and cleaned the counters and tried putting down contact paper. I don't think that they emphasize how much water you need enough. I sprayed the counter, but it quickly dried. I think that you need to pour the water! If it isn't standing it isn't enough! You also need to make it as simple as possible. I tried to start in the corner, but I was trying to deal with the backsplash (in a corner), and the leading edge (also in a corner). I put it down next to the sink and thought that I did a good job, but I couldn't push it into the corner with the backsplash, so I ended up with a bit of a gap. I struggled to line up another sheet and just didn't seem to be able to get the other side straight--or get it into the corner with the backsplash. Then I noticed a bubble in the first sheet and tried to gently work it with a credit card, but I ended up with a hole. The second sheet was even worse, so I removed everything, and my family immediately covered the counter with junk. Also, some people use squeegees, but I couldn't find a good one. Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Family Dollar didn't have anything. Walmart had one with a handle that extended 8'. I bought a Rain-X one from O'Reilly's and I am going to record a video of how hilariously horrible it is. All that it does is squeak and streak and it does both terribly. I covered the junk with towels and sprayed some cabinets with orange cleaner, then wiped it down. There are still many bits of dried food, but it looks much better, although it still looks a little grey where we grab them. |
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