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You have many choices. The color and finish determines the best product for this application. If painting, a stain blocking acrylic primer and 100% acrylic finish paint in flat or with a satin sheen is best. If staining, you can use semi-transparent oil stain if the color, grain and texture of the wood is important; or a latex solid stain if an opaque finish is desired. No primer with either stain products. You have to decide what color and finish is desired, then the best assistance to match that desire is available at the professional paint stores (i.e. Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams; Kelley Moore etc.) Don’t forget to ask for preferred customer discount card, usually good for about 20% off retail.
Butcher block is oiled with unscented mineral oil. You can buy this at the hardware store. DO NOT use baby oil! Apply and let it soak in for half hour then wipe off excess. Let dry an hour and buff.
I really don’t feel like the expert that plumber tom has suggested in his post. I agree that a ventilation fan can help you make significant progress to reduce moisture. The bottom line for this shower is that you need to reduce moisture levels to prevent the formation of mildew and possibly mold. The least costly options are to install a high quality ventilation fan, leave the door to the bath open to increase circulation following showering, leave a squeegee in the shower and wipe down the walls after each use. A somewhat prophilactic treatment is to keep a sprayer with a dilute (20:1) water and bleach solution, to spray surfaces after use. The dilute solution is adequate to inhibit or even kill mildew. This dilution ratio will not have a lot of smell, and will not harm you or bathroom surfaces; but to be most effective should be combined with improved ventilation.
A forced air ventilation system can circulate more air, than a passive window, but keep in mind you need adequate makeup air. So, a makeup vent covered by a grill from the hall or bedroom is something you should consider if you don’t want to keep the door open. This way the fan draws dryer air into the room and exhausts excessive moisture. Makeup air can make a great difference in how effectively a bath vent fan works. Get the highest quality you can find, or you will hate the noise and not use it. Also consider putting the fan on a timer so it runs long enough to ventilate the moisture, but stops automatically avoiding wasting energy.
A remote mounted fan in the attic is the quietest solution. These are centrifugal fans rather than radial fans mounted in the ceiling. Really quiet and lots more flow. You need at least 60 cfm for one air change every 7.5 minutes. (room volume = 9x6x8? = 432 cf / 60 cfm). I recommend looking for 80 cfm to get an air change every 5 minutes.
Wide plank flooring can be found with engineered flooring. The real wood veneers on the surface have great character and depth. Don’t confuse this with laminate. Engineered floors have real wood that is constructed in cross-laid plys that are very stable and strong. They are often snap locking and easy to install, requiring no nails or glue. Some of these floors are hand scraped and have very rustic finishes. The wide plank (up to 7 inch) rustic styles tend to be expensive, but look around.
Do some searching for the floor style you like, then search the best price for that floor. Some names to consider: Appalachian, Anderson, Virginia Vintage, Kahrs, Buell, Harris Tarkett, and lots more.
Good luck, I’m sure you will find something or post back for more.
It sounds like these walls are very well prepped for painting. Wallpaper adhesive has been stripped, washed and double rinsed; and the walls were sanded and texture applied. I see no problems here. In fact, most quality interior paint is self-priming, and a separate primer may not be needed. I recommend you go to a professional paint store, take their suggestions for high quality interior paint and application products. You can’t really go wrong.
A 100% acrylic primer would be appropriate and easy to use. Examples: Benjamin Moore Acrylic All Purpose 023 primer or Super Spec 253; Kelley Moore 971 Acryl Prime. If you prime, ask for primer to be pre-tinted towards finish color.
The post by words o wisdom unfortunately are often true. We frequently see posts by folks who go to great lengths to uncover and restore wood flooring, only to find missing and stained floor boards. Keep in mind, if covered, there is often a reasons aside from the fact they just wanted wall to wall carpet.
There is also a possibility a finished hardwood floor does not exist at all. In 1926, homes were built with subfloors made of planks. These are subfloors and should not be confused with finished floors.
For hardwood floors to exist in this new home, there would have to be a subfloor, hardwood floor, underlayment and carpet. If hardwood floors ever existed, it sounds like they were removed, and replaced with the plywood nderlayment. Why? Because the thickness of the floor would not have worked with existing doors, base moldings and other ajoining room floor levels. Any removal of interior walls would have left a void in the harwood floor prompting the removal of the flooring and replacement with plywood.
A hardwood floor is relatively easy to remove and replace with a plywood underlayment to maintain the original floor height. I don’t know of a reason to install underlayment over a hardwood floor. Carpet padding would be enough. My guess…they don’t exist. Carls advice to look in the registers to see the entire floor profile is the best bet. You may need to cut a slot in the metal to see. If you dont see all-layers, subfloor, finish floor, plywood underlayment and carpet, the one thats missing is the hardwood.
Think of wood floors as a nice bonus if you find them and they are in good shape. Don’t be too disappointed if they do not exist at all.
Before you go out and buy this flooring, you need to determine if what you propose is feasible at all. Wide solid plank flooring is inherently unstable and is prone to expansion, cupping and other responses to moisture and environmental changes. I have never heard of it being applied in anything but a true nail-down application on a built subfloor. Engineered wood and laminates are the usual choices for floating a floor over concrete.
The best way to get the windows to open is to cut the paint film with a knife blade and free the window from the stops and jambs using a thin putty knife, working all around the inside, and outside of the sash. Once the sash is free, it will rais and lower easily. The window may be held in the jambs by a stop molding. This could carefully removed. The following link illustrates this with pictures and even a video. If we are talking about an older double-hung window, this may help.
http://www.easy2.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_index.asp?page_id=35694621#watch
The 1100 asphalt is a standard specification for Michigan Department of Transportation. The link shows this spec in an Oakland County document specifying asphalt for replacement of paving:
http://www.rcocweb.org/permits/guide_undgrd_specs_IV.aspNote the public road only requires 3-inches compacted. I expect you would find similar specfications throughout your area. Good choice.
You need to look at the maximum pressure requirement of your tools and the cubic feet per minute necessary to drive them. Paint and texture guns, sandblasters, grinders and most rotating tools have a high volume cfm and low pressure requirements while nailers need 90 to 100 psi and low volume. Look at the compressor rating to see what the output is in both pressure and cfm.
If you are looking a oiless direct drive compressor, keep in mind these are extremely loud, 80 to 100 decibles. The noise rating may be listed, but if you are uncertain, ask the salesperson to operate the compressor. You may be amazed! If you will be working in proximity to the compressor, consider an oil lubricated (belt drive) pump. These generally have higher cfm outputs and slightly lower pressure ratings. They will last much longer than oiless pumps. The tank volume is simply reserve air that can minimize cycling of the compressor pump. The pump rating is much more important. Large tanks are heavy and make the unit less portable. 8-gallons is not much reserve, but is very portable, but you need to have adequate pump capacity to drive the tools.
There is an excellent article here to help you understand more about selecting a compressor and the different types available:
http://www.sawdustmaking.com/AirCompressors/air_compressor.htmIf the whole block has heaved, it might be possible to flip it over, excavate the root and apply an aggregate base, then flip the block back into place. That block weighs over 400 lbs, so ask for some help from a neighbor if possible.
If the block cannot be salvaged, break it up and dispose. You can repour the section using about 5 bags of premix cement. You need about 5.3 cubic feet of quickcrete. Even with the purchase of a float, edger and some forming lumber the project should cost under $40 DIY. Do not build a ramp up to the cracked section, the uneven ramp would not make your insurance company happy, and the raised block will be unstable and may continue to move. You need to use an axe or adze to remove the “root” of your problem.
A rising tide raises all ships. Your home has a current market value. What you paid originally has little relevance, your decisions need to be based on the current market. You may have good reasons to move, such as living in an established, stable, quiet neighborhood with owner occupied homes; or a larger home; or better schools; or more land, etc. etc. The incremental cost between what you can sell for and what you will pay is your cost of buying into that new investment. Your reinvested equity will reduce the mortgage costs on that new home substantially; but total costs will be higher.
The potential return on investment is both monetary and intangible. Buying in a desireable area, that is owner occupied seems like a better long-term investment, than risking the relative decline in value inferred by being surrounded by student housing. The intangible aspect is the value you perceive in owning the larger home in a nicer area. In your case, I agree that an addition to the existing home may not be as good an investment as cashing out and buying new/existing housing that meets your needs and current financial situation.
I think there is a fairly easy solution to your question. Ask the contractor for references or to see a recently completed job in your area that used the proposed aggregate specification. I am certain he can refer you to another completed project so you can see the aesthetic qualities of the paving. Most contractors use the same highway paving grade specified in your State. These specifications vary, but usually limit aggregate to a nominal maximum size between 3/8 and 1/2 inch. Larger aggregate requires more fine filler and can result in voids.
Personally, I would be reluctant to second-guess the “formula” for HMA, provided it conforms to accepted State Transportation department standards. You contractor does not mix this stuff, he has it delivered from a batch plant, spreads and compacts it. His control over the aggregate specification may be limited on such a small job. On the other hand, he may get a bargain price for material using recycled aggregate.
Within a few months of laying the driveway, you should sealcoat it. At that point the size of the aggregate will be mostly invisible. Best thing would be to follow up on references and look at completed work.
I think the Addon left off at least half the cost of new construction, let alone an addition, or, maybe that was what they paid in the 70s. If you can get materials and labor for $50, more power to you. Here, costs start at just under $100 and go up from there depending on quality, complexity, fit and finish, plumbing, electrical etc.
Additions can cost from a little more than new construction to twice the cost due to constraints of fitting and working with the existing structure and the cost of demolition. An addition can be a perfect solution. I think the argument for buying new, rather than adding on comes from the fear of over-building. If your property becomes the highest price or value in a given market, that creates problems for recovering your investment. As long as you keep an eye on your total investment costs, and your relative position in the real estate market, that you can make the right decision.
I have done a number of additions at different homes, from kitchens and bedrooms to master suites. They have all worked out in terms of functionality and cost-recovery; and we got to enjoy the use of those additions while we lived there.
