Home Improvement

Palum · Mar 13, 2025

Finished the wall and ceiling prep in the office today. I had to stop myself a bit when I was spending time touching up the wall above the door ... In the closet... Facing out towards the room ...

Unfortunately this room is made of doors and windows. Which will be a pain, since I only have two saw horses.

Hoping to finish wood filler, caulking, sanding and deglossing the trim, and then ceiling and new light fixture this weekend. Bonus points if I can get the casings and some doors done.

I'm going to have to choose light switches and door knobs soon, since this will be the first room with a non dimmer and an interior door. Going to most likely go with brushed nickel hardware and decorator paddle switches.

BrutulTM · Mar 13, 2025

Wayfair is kind of amazing. I have a set of patio furniture that is getting worn out so I searched for a 4 seat patio set and they have 5700 of them ranging from $89 to $14,000.

Kajiimagi · Mar 13, 2025

BrutulTM said:
Wayfair is kind of amazing. I have a set of patio furniture that is getting worn out so I searched for a 4 seat patio set and they have 5700 of them ranging from $89 to $14,000.

Pretty sure that is where we purchased our new TV cabinet. It's still going strong.

lurkingdirk · Mar 13, 2025

BrutulTM said:
Wayfair is kind of amazing. I have a set of patio furniture that is getting worn out so I searched for a 4 seat patio set and they have 5700 of them ranging from $89 to $14,000.

I'm going to go ahead and suggest that the $89 one isn't going to age well...

lurker · Mar 14, 2025

Met up with an old co-worker I hadn't seen in a while and he told me about how a small water leak caused $250k damage to his home while he was vacationing. Sounded to me like the line to his toilet sprung a leak and dumped water for 18 days before anyone shut it off. He has since installed these sensors all over his "new" house. I'm thinking of doing the same.

Govee Life Leak Dectectors

I figure between toilets, sinks and cloths washer I'll need 11 sensors. Also some version of this.

Remote controller water line shut off.

Seems pretty inexpensive overall, probably less than $300.

Anybody here done something similar and have any recommendations?

BrutulTM · Mar 14, 2025

lurkingdirk said:
I'm going to go ahead and suggest that the $89 one isn't going to age well...

I don't care if it crumbles into dust with the first stiff breeze, it's still kind of amazing to think that I could get something that looks like a 4 chair patio set delivered to my house for $89.

lurkingdirk · Mar 14, 2025

BrutulTM said:
I don't care if it crumbles into dust with the first stiff breeze, it's still kind of amazing to think that I could get something that looks like a 4 chair patio set delivered to my house for $89.

True enough. What a time to be alive.

300Lane1 · Mar 14, 2025

Skinner said:
Yes.

The stuff from Wayfair and even Ikea aren't that bad and I considered using them as a temporary solution, but a lot of their stuff seems to have balance issues and needs to be bolted to the walls which I’m not going to do.

I was looking for more of a “real wood” solution or close as possible opposed to all the particle board, mdf, ect stuff. Found a few ”amish” shops and some speciality stores that offer what I’m looking for and of course the price is premium. I might actually hold off and get a carpenter to do a built-in library depending on quote and just get the entire room redone.

Some of the sites I ended up saving for reference:

Gothic Cabin (no glass)

Vermont Furniture Designs

Crafters and Weavers

Gotcha. What you linked is nice and IS nicer than Wayfair.

Captain Suave · Mar 14, 2025

lurker said:
Anybody here done something similar and have any recommendations?

Seems like it'd be easier just to manually shut off the interior water when you go on vacation, if you're worried. Leaks are as likely to occur in walls or somewhere you haven't instrumented as anywhere else.

Kobayashi · Mar 14, 2025

lurker said:
Met up with an old co-worker I hadn't seen in a while and he told me about how a small water leak caused $250k damage to his home while he was vacationing. Sounded to me like the line to his toilet sprung a leak and dumped water for 18 days before anyone shut it off. He has since installed these sensors all over his "new" house. I'm thinking of doing the same.

Govee Life Leak Dectectors

I figure between toilets, sinks and cloths washer I'll need 11 sensors. Also some version of this.

Remote controller water line shut off.

Seems pretty inexpensive overall, probably less than $300.

Anybody here done something similar and have any recommendations?

I have the older version of the govee ones - they send some tone to the base station, so, you're limited in how far away you can place each and still get it picked up audibly - you still get the alarm if not in range, just no notification. It's pretty decent though - I have one in my guest bathroom on the second floor, one under the kitchen sink, and another in my mudroom, which are all different corners of about a 2000 sq foot house.

I think the system could only handle maybe a maximum of 10 as well. They were a pain to set up, but have worked flawlessly once up and running. I've had them for 2 years and haven't needed to change a battery on a single one yet. You'll need to put the sensor in a place it'll reliably have water pooling in case of a leak, so, it's difficult to absolutely cover everything - I picked the places I was most concerned about.

For what you're looking to do, you might want to consider a Moen Flo or Flume 2. Both of those you put at the main water inlet to the house and they track usage and flag leaks based on pattern recognition. The Moen also functions as a disconnect. Some insurance companies will give you a break if you install one. If you have hard water I'd probably go with the Flume - the Flo's have a bunch of bad reviews for having their impeller seize up.

Edit: Forgot to add, the Govee app is a disjointed mess. The Chinese have this weird obsession with having a single app that does everything. So, it works with the entire range of products they produce. I bought some Govee Christmas lights last year and had to set them up in the app. I was a little confused when I noticed the app already on my phone, but then saw the leak detectors. So, now I can control these Christmas lights and those leak detectors all in the same place. The good news is, outside of the initial setup, you never have to use the app again for the sensors.

Palum · Mar 14, 2025

Arghh. So finished drywall repair and sanding I thought. Stupid screw pop would not stay filled on ceiling. Kept thinking it was enough, but turned out they didn't hit the strapping with the screw, so the drywall was flexing. Finally saw the slight flex in the light and put in a few more screws. How to ruin a head start on a painting weekend.

Kais · Mar 14, 2025

+1 for wayfair though started out incredibly skeptical and had to be talked into it. imo better than ikea for sure, though their fake leather is the cheapest kind imaginable. I spent months looking for barstools and ended up getting two pair of similar style that I really like and are solid built. Ended up going back for a bookcase and it's solid as well. Shipping was fast. Completely turned me around on them. It's laminates and chipboard so your kids likely wont inherit it but good all the same.

Nabi · Mar 14, 2025

Any recommendations for a kitchen vent hood? Budget of around 500. Was looking at this model, but not sure about the company.

Lanx · Mar 14, 2025

Kobayashi said:
I have the older version of the govee ones - they send some tone to the base station, so, you're limited in how far away you can place each and still get it picked up audibly - you still get the alarm if not in range, just no notification. It's pretty decent though - I have one in my guest bathroom on the second floor, one under the kitchen sink, and another in my mudroom, which are all different corners of about a 2000 sq foot house.

I think the system could only handle maybe a maximum of 10 as well. They were a pain to set up, but have worked flawlessly once up and running. I've had them for 2 years and haven't needed to change a battery on a single one yet. You'll need to put the sensor in a place it'll reliably have water pooling in case of a leak, so, it's difficult to absolutely cover everything - I picked the places I was most concerned about.

For what you're looking to do, you might want to consider a Moen Flo or Flume 2. Both of those you put at the main water inlet to the house and they track usage and flag leaks based on pattern recognition. The Moen also functions as a disconnect. Some insurance companies will give you a break if you install one. If you have hard water I'd probably go with the Flume - the Flo's have a bunch of bad reviews for having their impeller seize up.

Edit: Forgot to add, the Govee app is a disjointed mess. The Chinese have this weird obsession with having a single app that does everything. So, it works with the entire range of products they produce. I bought some Govee Christmas lights last year and had to set them up in the app. I was a little confused when I noticed the app already on my phone, but then saw the leak detectors. So, now I can control these Christmas lights and those leak detectors all in the same place. The good news is, outside of the initial setup, you never have to use the app again for the sensors.

yea fucking tya

Kajiimagi · Mar 15, 2025

lurker said:
Met up with an old co-worker I hadn't seen in a while and he told me about how a small water leak caused $250k damage to his home while he was vacationing. Sounded to me like the line to his toilet sprung a leak and dumped water for 18 days before anyone shut it off. He has since installed these sensors all over his "new" house. I'm thinking of doing the same.

Govee Life Leak Dectectors

I figure between toilets, sinks and cloths washer I'll need 11 sensors. Also some version of this.

Remote controller water line shut off.

Seems pretty inexpensive overall, probably less than $300.

Anybody here done something similar and have any recommendations?

FWIW I bought 3 of these, 1 for the hot water heater, one under my kitchen sink, and one in my pump tank / water softener out building. They warn of leaks AND freezing temps. Also have their smart smoke/CO/air quality detectors

Water Leak + Freeze Detector | Kidde

Timing is everything when it comes to limiting water damage or frozen pipes. The Water Leak + Freeze Detector alerts you to water leaks or temperatures approaching freezing.

www.kidde.com

Palum · Mar 16, 2025

God damn 6 panel doors are a bitch to paint. They look nice and I'm not replacing solid 6 panel doors with shitty new hollow cores, but damn it's almost tempting. I know why they put those basic bitch flat doors in tract homes forever.

I had originally hoped to get this office done sooner to get a head start on the dining room nook before April but the room being made of windows and doors makes it just take longer.

Plus, a significant portion of my work time is completing stuff the builder never did. Caulking all the moulding seams, filling nail holes, etc. is all stuff that realistically they could have done at the time. Oh well. Thank goodness for Dynaflex 230, makes everything look much higher class. Just not having gaps between the wall and baseboard is huge.

lurkingdirk · Mar 16, 2025

Palum said:
God damn 6 panel doors are a bitch to paint. They look nice and I'm not replacing solid 6 panel doors with shitty new hollow cores, but damn it's almost tempting. I know why they put those basic bitch flat doors in tract homes forever.

I had originally hoped to get this office done sooner to get a head start on the dining room nook before April but the room being made of windows and doors makes it just take longer.

Plus, a significant portion of my work time is completing stuff the builder never did. Caulking all the moulding seams, filling nail holes, etc. is all stuff that realistically they could have done at the time. Oh well. Thank goodness for Dynaflex 230, makes everything look much higher class. Just not having gaps between the wall and baseboard is huge.

Solid core doors are totally worth it. If you put hollow core in, you'll regret it. And as much of a pain in the ass the 6 panel doors are to paint, it's worth it.

Lanx · Mar 16, 2025

Palum said:
God damn 6 panel doors are a bitch to paint. They look nice and I'm not replacing solid 6 panel doors with shitty new hollow cores, but damn it's almost tempting. I know why they put those basic bitch flat doors in tract homes forever.

I had originally hoped to get this office done sooner to get a head start on the dining room nook before April but the room being made of windows and doors makes it just take longer.

Plus, a significant portion of my work time is completing stuff the builder never did. Caulking all the moulding seams, filling nail holes, etc. is all stuff that realistically they could have done at the time. Oh well. Thank goodness for Dynaflex 230, makes everything look much higher class. Just not having gaps between the wall and baseboard is huge.

when i moved and gave my doors a new layer, i also had 6panels and was annoyed and i wanted to make use of my spray gun so i bought these

it worked well, just lay down a tarp on floor in the middle of the room, and i just unscrewed the doors and attached and sprayed

lurkingdirk · Mar 16, 2025

Or you could do it without the added cost by removing your doors (if you're going to remove them anyway) and spraying them while laying flat. Just give yourself an extra day to do both sides.

Captain Suave · Mar 16, 2025

lurkingdirk said:
Or you could do it without the added cost by removing your doors (if you're going to remove them anyway) and spraying them while laying flat. Just give yourself an extra day to do both sides.

Or if you're a real baller, you put in the screws off center so the door pivots on the sawhorse.

After I finish my current run of cabinets I'm going to build custom doors for my bedrooms and bathrooms. Current doors are hollow core. Kids want dog doors in them and everyone wants a little sonic privacy.

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Home Improvement

Palum

what Suineg set it to

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.

Kajiimagi

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint

lurker

Vyemm Raider

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint

300Lane1

Bronze Knight of the Realm

Captain Suave

Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.

Kobayashi

Ahn'Qiraj Raider

Palum

what Suineg set it to

Kais

Nabi

Lanx

Kajiimagi

Water Leak + Freeze Detector | Kidde

Palum

what Suineg set it to

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint

Lanx

lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint

Captain Suave

Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.