I went from paying $380 a month for gas last winter to around $200 after sealing up all those crazy gaps around the old knob and tube wiring, has anyone else seen that kind of drop with just attic foam?
Over 2 weekends, I took them from dull orange shellac to a light honey tone using 36 grit then 80 grit. Did anyone else find the dust control nearly impossible no matter how good your vacuum setup is?
Had a chat with my buddy Mike over at Edmonton Plumbing Supply on 99 Street last weekend. He told me that for our freeze-thaw cycle here, PEX is actually way more forgiving than copper because it can expand a bit without bursting. At like $0.50 a foot for PEX versus $3 for copper, I'm rethinking my whole basement rough-in. Anyone else switch materials based on what the pros say?
I figured closed cell spray foam was the way to go for my garage attic in Edmonton, since everyone says it seals everything up tight. Had a crew come out last October and they did the whole thing for about $1800. Well this spring I noticed water stains on the drywall ceiling and found condensation pooling on the underside of the roof sheathing. Turns out I needed a vapor barrier on the warm side first, and the foam was trapping moisture inside. Now I'm looking at venting options or tearing it out and going with rigid foam instead. Anyone else dealt with this in our climate?
It melted the snow just fine but the electric bill spiked like crazy over those two cold snaps in January. Anyone else try those and find a way to make them not suck the power dry?
I needed some backsplash tile for a small bathroom reno and figured I'd save a few bucks at the Habitat ReStore. Honestly I wasn't expecting much but they had like 20 different boxes of subway tile and some really cool glass mosaics for like 3 bucks a square foot. The catch is most of them were clearly from someone's half finished project so you need to dig through and check for broken pieces and make sure you have enough. I ended up finding a full box of white 3x6 which would've been 40 bucks at Home Depot but I paid 12. The whole place is messy and you gotta take your time but it beats paying full price. Has anyone else had luck scoring good tile there or is it usually a bust?
Just needed to swap out a basement window on my 1950s bungalow. Thought it'd be a quick permit pickup. Nope. They wanted engineering drawings because it's a "structural alteration." Had to chase down a retired structural engineer. That cost me $400 and 3 weeks. Then the permit office lost my paperwork. Another 2 weeks waiting. Finally got the green light yesterday. Has anyone else dealt with the city dragging their feet on minor reno permits?
Found a DeWalt 735 on Kijiji last week for $400, seemed like a steal until I got it home and found the cutter head was jammed with old glue and the feed roller was slipping. Spent Saturday taking it apart, cleaned everything with mineral spirits and replaced the rubber roller with a part from Amazon ($35). Anyone else ever buy a used tool that turned into a bigger project than the reno itself?
I always thought it was overhyped till our December gas bill dropped by $140 compared to last year with fiberglass. Has anyone else seen that kind of savings after switching?
Pulled off the backer board in my Edmonton bungalow and found black mold spreading across the studs, so now I'm wondering if I should rip out the whole wall or just treat the spots and hope for the best, anyone dealt with this before?
Picked up a cheap heat gun from Canadian Tire for $30. Thought it would be a disaster on my 1950s baseboards in my Inglewood bungalow. Worked way faster than the paint stripper I was using before, and no harsh fumes. Only catch is if you hold it too long you'll scorch the wood like I did the first 10 minutes. Anyone else switch to heat over chemicals for old Edmonton houses?
Growing up my dad always cut baseboards with the finished side facing up on the miter saw. I just copied him without thinking about it. Then a few years ago an older trim carpenter I was working with on a house in Sherwood Park stopped me and said hey flip that board over, face down. I thought he was crazy at first. But he explained that the saw blade cuts upward so the bottom edge gets the tearout, not the top where people actually see it. I tried it on a piece of poplar and the difference was night and day. Now I never cut trim face up anymore. Has anyone else had a basic reno habit they unlearned after getting called out?
Old me would demo everything to studs on every bathroom Reno. Took forever and made a huge mess. Now I cut out only the damaged sections and feather in new compound. Saves me about 8 hours on a small job. Anyone else switched to less demolition?
I thought I had everything lined up for my basement finishing project in Edmonton. Turns out the city permit review took 22 days instead of the 5 business days they claim online. Had to redo my egress window drawing twice because the inspector said my measurements were off by half an inch. Anyone else get stuck waiting on permits way longer than expected around here?
I spent 3 days leveling a floor in my Edmonton bungalow before realizing the main beam had sunk about 4 inches on one side. Had to jack the whole house up an inch at a time with a bottle jack and cribbing. Anyone else find a surprise structural issue that added a week to their timeline?
I came home from work and found him painting that red waterproofing on the lumber curb like it was a shower pan. I said 'where's the foam curb?' and he just shrugged. Has anyone else had a contractor just do their own thing even after you showed them the product?
I used to think spray foam was the only way to go for insulation, but after doing a bedroom in my Edmonton basement suite, the sound transfer between rooms is way better with rockwool. Cost me about $400 more for the materials though. Anyone else tried this for interior walls?
I was at Ferguson Supply on 99 Street last week pricing out a bathroom reno for a client. The builder grade Delta they always spec costs about $90, but the ceramic cartridge inside is the same $5 part they use in the $400 model. Youre paying for the chrome finish, not the internals. Anyone else notice this pattern or is it just me?
I was all in on spray foam for my garage in Edmonton, but a city inspector told me it can trap moisture against the roof decking if not done right. Now I'm going with rigid foam board and sealing the seams with tape instead. Anyone else have issues with spray foam in this climate?
Ripped off the old baseboards in my 1950s bungalow last weekend and found a 2-inch gap behind every single one where the drywall ended way above the subfloor, so now I'm wondering if this is a common Edmonton builder thing or just my house being special, has anyone else dealt with that much dead space back there?
He told me to sand my mud joints at an angle instead of straight on, and it cut my finishing time in half on a 2000 square foot basement, has anyone else tried this method?
Last winter my main line backed up and water started pooling in the unfinished part of my basement on 82 Street. Called a guy named Rick from a local shop and he showed up at 9 PM in a snowstorm. He spent 45 minutes snaking the line and even showed me where the cleanout was so I could check it myself later. Said he'd rather teach me than have me call him again in a year lol. Charged me $150 for the emergency call which felt fair for being out that late. Anyone else have a tradesperson go above and beyond like that?
I had a corner in my Edmonton living room where the baseboard pulled away from the wall about a quarter inch after winter shifting. One side says caulking is the easy fix and it will flex with the house movement. The other side says trim work should Never be held together with caulk alone and I should have used a brad nailer to pull it back flush. I spent 45 minutes wedging it back and still had to use two nails to hold it. Now I'm looking at a small crack forming again after 3 weeks of warm weather. Which approach actually holds up in Alberta's climate swings?
Stopped by Flooring Liquidation Warehouse last Saturday after driving past it for months. They had laminate for like $0.79 a sq ft which is wild compared to Home Depot. But the selection was kinda messy and they only had 3 colors in stock for that price. Is there a catch with these places or is it just overstock? Anyone else bought from there and had issues with quality or installation?
I spent $400 on a Graco sprayer last month thinking it would make my cabinet reno way faster. Ended up with drips everywhere and had to sand down three sections before I got a thin enough coat. My buddy loaned me his Purdy brush and I did the whole set in two afternoons with way less mess. Anyone else find that spraying cabinets in Edmonton humidity just doesn't work well?