I honestly think that it will probably look better as it wears a little bit. Because it's so clean and new, I notice every little imperfection.
/

Indeed. It will take on a small patina.

Try Murphys Oil Soap. Wont hurt the bamboo

I believe that RJ is a flooring guy. You might try sending a PM.

Dude, do NOT use Orange Glow or Murphy's or anything like that if it's a factory finished bamboo. Is your micro fiber pad a Bona-KemI? If so, keep using it and don't worry about an occasional streak. The Bona won't hurt your floor, the other stuff will.

Also, have you checked the manufacturer's website? Most of them have a care and maintenance page. That's the best advice to go buy. Follow their instructions and you won't have to worry about voiding the warranty on the finish.

FYI, I seem to talk to a few folks every year who are trying to figure out how to un-**** up their wood floors after cleaning them with the wrong products.

Right you are, sir. Notorious is also in the wood flooring business.

Like I said, I stuck with the plain microfiber sweeper/mop (from Target) and nothing but small squirts of water to dampen it here and there to this point. I've stayed away from any and all solutions or chemicals due to what I read online.

I'll definitely look up the bamboo maker's website as well. Thanks!

Weird question, but that's what CP is for:

With our new addition, I have a massive wall. If you knew my wife, you'd know that a massive wall means a massive piece of art which means a massive hit to my bank account. I about have her talked into hanging some pieces of driftwood that washed up at my parent's house (or as I call it to make it sound more attractive to her: "native, hand-selected driftwood from my ancestral home") as art instead of buying a piece.

Anyway, I'm thinking power wash the shit then hang it. Anyone have other ideas? I don't think it needs varnish or anything on it, since it's going to be inside.

Here's the basic look (though our pieces are about 12' long):
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pWBNTgsZgD...179%5B1%5D.jpg

How solid is it? When I think of driftwood, I think soft and a powerwasher might tear it up.

Good question. I drug it out of the lake a couple of weeks ago during low water while we were there for Easter. I didn't pay any too much attention, but I'm going to pick it up tomorrow afternoon. It felt fairly solid still, but you're right that the outside layers might get torn up.

I would apply a flat spray poly personally. That driftwood patina is what makes driftwood beautiful. Deep cleaning it would be detrimental from where I sit. But I would absolutely do something to seal it up.

If you're happy with the color, just hose any dirt off of it and call it good. If it's grayed out and you want to restore more of the natural color, then powerwashing would be good but you'll definitely want to exercise caution with it.

Even a spray poly is going to alter the color a bit. I'd avoid any finish, or at the very least test an inconspicuous area.

I heard my name. What's going on?

I'm concerned about organisms residing inside of the wood and then cleaning it in the future. You seal the boogers in and make it easier to clean and avoid incidental stains while running the risk of darkening the wood an indistinguishable shade or two. I take the risk at my house.

Homerun RJ.

Get some Bona Kemi Swedish floor cleaner and never look back.

Take that Orange Glo and set it on fire. That shit will make a floor look good short term, but it will completely **** it in the long run. Murphy's will kill any chance of doing a screen and recoat down the line.

Bona Kemi. Bona Kemi. Bona Kemi.

Grease spots on a concrete shop floor
 

sprinkle dry quickcrete and rub it in with your foot and sweep up the excess.

Or try the same thing with a little powdered laundry detergent.

latest project
 

since this spring, i've been building a small cabin for my family on a small private lake a few miles from my house.

It's not quite done, but we've been staying. Here are a couple of photos.

I'd like to make a couple of hanging lights out of old oil lanterns or coleman lantern. Is there any particular "right way" to do that other than cutting up the top and mounting it around a porcelin fixture?

Looks great, man!

Very nice!

I like it a lot. It's about 50 yards from the lake and maybe 75 from a small beach and long dock. Compared to the log castles your brother makes, it's a joke, but I built it on the cheap and it did turn out nice for what we need.

The first night staying, I saw 4 baby coons swimming and took the girls down and they got a look from 2-3' away, and a photo or two.

I figure I've only got a few years before they turn into teens and hate me, so I'm going to try to do right by them until then. Camping is something that I remember from when I was a kid, moreso than about any other weekend activity.

We're lucky....it's about 5 miles from home, very few other people even use the place so it's basically like having it to ourselves, in addition to a few friends that also use it.


I tore the tin off of an old barn, chopped the pine logs with an ax, and got a big ass pile of 12' pine tongue and groove for $.50/board. Those are the highlights. The only thing I really hosed up was the sliding door, can't get the damn thing square. The deck is 2nd hand lumber that looks pretty good once chemical and powerwashed, but I still need to stain/seal it. I'm thinking of adding a tin "cowboy porch" to sit under and drink beer in the rain too. Have a few tinker things to finish, like the door to complete the under-loft storage, but all minor stuff left.

I like the DIY simplicity of it as well as the fact that you used a lot of repurposed materials. That, in itself, is a great aesthetic. Your kids will build some lasting memories there, that's for sure.

Cool! You got any shots from the outside?

Wow, you actually built that? That's damn impressive. You make me feel like a wuss. I wouldn't even know where to start on a project like that.

I've got a shot or two of the outside somewhere.
It's not anything impressive outside, it's just a 12x16 stick built shed basically, wood grain sheeting painted gray with shingles and a 16x16 deck.

I had some help from my brothers and a friend or two, and believe me it's not a bob villa project.

I've since done some additional "child proofing" of the deck and it's 1yr old tight now.

Here is the reason I did it.

It's not the difficult man. I had guidance and help from others with more talent, and those summers working construction in college and the woodshop classes pay off on stuff like this.

The walls are just 8" tongue and groove pine car siding. It's pretty much idiot proof, the trim is just 1x4 or 1x6 pine. I did a pine wood vault over the loft, but the rest is just barn tin on the bottom of the trusses.


If I had it to do over again, I'd have found 12' tin so I wouldn't have all of the splices...that was a pain in the ass. I'd also have more plug-ins with at least 1 up by the loft for phone charger and whatnot.

The cabinet inside was actually something we did for my company that I used as a demo table at trade shows, but it was too perfect to not use for storage. Storage space is at a premium inside a small cabin.

Iowanian has heard that before I am sure~ ;)

Awesome pic!

I'm getting ready to start a hardwood floor with my brother(hickory).

It's not a square room and includes some zigs-zags. I'd appreciate any advice on how to start, resources or tips-tricks so I don't help him F this up.

eHow.com is an excellent resource for home improvements. I found this link for you... http://www.ehow.com/how_5203841_trim...od-floors.html

Hope that helps. :thumb:

Measure twice, cut once

Heh. Find a pro to do it. I don't personally do our hardwood projects - not when a pro can do it in 1/4 of the time, do a better job, and costs me about the same in the long run.

String? You mean line right?

I appreciate that and in a perfect world he would, but we're going to do it, it's been decided.


Getting started is the biggest concern. If we get started properly, I'm pretty convinced we can do it and have it look fine. I'm assuming it's essentially like tile in that you've got to find the correct place to start so it finishes correctly, with the exception of starting near the edge instead of the center. I know there are a couple of flooring guys here....and if they were closer I'd see what could be arranged.

Loco, you go getting fancy on me about fishing terms and I'll shit in your tackle box.

I didn't read through this thread so sorry if it's a re-post but... you can clean pennies with taco bell sauce.

Anybody ever put up snow fence? I'm tired of having to push out the same 4 foot 20 yard wide 50 yard long drift every year in the driveway when we get a blizzard. Am thinking of two seperate fences about 80 feet apart to the NW prevailing wind. Any tips/secrets?

Your brother's name is Hickory?

That's ironic.

I've done quite a few laminate floors, never done hardwood but I imagine it would go down in a similar fashion. Stagger your joints, undercut door jambs and leave 1/4" gap around the edges.

In kitchens I've always squared it up to the largest section of cabinets. As far as other rooms I square it up in the most visible area, generally where you walk into the room, and go from there.

But I'm far from a pro so take that FWIW. notorious does this for a living so you may try PMing him if he doesn't pop into this thread.

I've wondered about them as well, I have nothing to break the wind to the north and my driveway sits a foot or so lower than the ground around it. And to make matters worse I have a 4' retaining wall on the south side, so I end up with a shitload of snow in it.

Understood

You might want to look at this if you're serious about putting one up.

Installing a snow fence......

My basic question was how far away from the driveway. This basically says 35 times the height. So for a 4 foot fence it should be no closer than 140 feet in real windy areas like mine. (top of a hill with no cover for miles)

Where are you getting the Hickory?
The small hardwood mill in Quasqueston Iowa has awesome prices for 2nds, perfect for cabins. Plus its all Iowa hardwood grown.
http://www.wlumber.com/

So while this thread is live, I have a question. We had a leak from a cracked bathtub upstairs. It caused water stains on the downstairs ceiling. The ceiling has that popcorn coating (or whatever its called), so will a paint roller work OK with that, or will it just take all the popcorn off?

It's dicey. When textured surfaces get wet, often it will loosen the texture and it will fall off when you roll it. Are you just going to paint the water stained area or the entire ceiling? And has the ceiling been painted before, or is it still raw?

Oh hell...my lot isn't anywhere big enough for that. The neighbor's yard is about 20' to the north. I've seen people put them up in the city, usually about 10-15' feet away from their driveways and I've always wondered if they did any good.

It's been painted before and, from what I've been told, I'll probably have to repaint the entire area to get everything the same whiteness. So I'd like to do the whole thing I suppose.

If I were going to the trouble of repainting the ceiling, I'd knock down the popcorn. It's "out".

I did it, just need a tarp, spray bottle and a wide drywall knife. Spray lightly, wait...scrape repeat. Then killz the stain and paint.

It depends. If you happen to have the same paint is was painted with before and it's not too discolored, you should be able to touch it up alright. Either way, I wouldn't roll the water stained areas, seal them with kilz and brush them in.

It will come down easily if it's raw, might be a bit more difficult since it's been painted.

Wouldn't that reveal the seams in the ceiling drywall? I'd definitely like to get rid of the popcorn though.

You don't take it all the way down. Hold the blade at an angle and it looks more like an orange peel.


Also, if you don't have the ability to texture and you happen to get a little deep in spots, you can do some "spot repairs" on the texture with spray cans of texture patch. very easy.

Sorry Iowanian, I have been framing my basement this morning.


Anyway, here is how to start a wood floor the easy way:

1. Measure for square-ness of the walls every 5 feet PERPENDICULAR to how you are going to run the wood. Take note of differences. Most cookie cutter house walls bow slightly inward in each corner, so don't measure near the corners. Be careful not to measure under sheetrock at one spot and not in another.

2. Run a starter row of wood flooring using VERY straight pieces along the wall tounge facing out. Do not eyeball them, use a straight edge to determine the right boards. I prefer the longest pieces I can find in each bundle. DO NOT NAIL YET!

3. Once you have laid out your first row, measure from the opposite wal to the edge of each board and generally lay them out so that they are as close to possible to being the same distance away. Be sure to leave a space between the wall and your floor that is a little smaller then the depth of baseboard.

4. Get your finish nailer and face nail the first board. Measure each end to assure that it is still square with the OPPOSITE wall. Take your long straight edge and place it against the nailed board and the next board in line. Straighten them up and nail the next board. Measure opposite wall to assure that your starter line is still straight.

5. Take straight edge and line up the rest of the wood until it meets the wall. Do not nail the wood until you know you are square all the way down the opposite wall. Take a lazer light or lay down and check to see how straight your first row line is. If it looks good, finish nail every 12" or so until finished.

6. Gentally tap the next row against the starter row while holding the starter straight with a flat bar pressed firmly against the wall. You can finish nail this row at a 45 angle above the toungue, but be careful not to shift your starter row.

7. Repeat until you are on your 4th row, than hammer away with the floor stapler/nailer every 8 inches, and within 2 inches of each end. Be sure to stagger joints no less than the width of the wood from each other. I prefer at least 6 inches myself, but use your own judgement.

8. Profit!

Engineered wood is usually straight as an arrow as opposed to 3/4" wood which can be crooked as a Baltimore Whore. See Bellawood, it is horrific.

Man that sounds like a lot of friggin' work.

Took 4 of us all day, but the wood floor is installed and looks pretty good.

That's tough work on the back, it would take a man to do that shit day in and day out.

Heh. I know. I do not enjoy it at all. If it took 4 of you a full day, it would have taken a guy who does it regularly about 3 hours. ;)

I took down some wallpaper in our kitchen. I'm going to paint it. It looks like there was a skim coat on the drywall, and it seems like it was applied unevenly. So, the wallpaper pulled some up with it when it came off. Now it just sort of looks like a paper there.
I could probably sand down the edges off the spots where the skim coat came up, but does the skim coat also act as a sort of protectant? I guess what I'm asking is, should I just put a skim coat on the whole area and sand it smooth? And how much of a hassle is it to work with? My wife is saying, "Just do a textured paint on the area," but I don't know. That doesn't seem right.

Unless you have some drywall experience, skimming is a pretty significant PITA. Unless there are nasty chunks you might consider the wife's alternative.

That sucks.

Oh god, don't do a textured paint. When you inevitably decide you hate it, it will be an even bigger mess to fix. If you could post a pic of what you're dealing with I could better advise you on what to do with it.

Lot of truth here....I can do drywall, but the time it takes me along with the hassle isn't worth it for me.

It does. Drywall mud is an art-form. They make it look easy on TV but there are dozens of rules to learn and master. I've done hundreds of hours of it and would consider myself to still be at an apprentice level. I usually let my workers handle it. They're a lot better.

I'll try.

The dark brown is the place where (what I think is skim coat) pulled up. It's sort of like a cardboard. When it first started coming up, I tried to just take my time and be super careful, but it came up regardless. Now, I'm afraid that if I paint on that metarial, it'll just soak into it.

This.

Get a pro, especially if the drywall is exposed to a lot of light. Every seam will show if not done correctly.

Oh hell, that's the paper layer of the drywall you're pulling up. Whoever put up that wallpaper should be shot, you NEVER hang it on bare drywall. Shit like that pisses me off.

But anyway, it needs to be sealed up, Kilz2 works good for that. It will harden the surface into something you can work with. Then it will need to be scraped, skim coated, sanded, probably skimmed again and primed before you paint.

In other words, it's going to be a lot of work. And a textured paint won't hide that much damage. I definitely would not recommend going that route.

Agreed. Also agree with NOT putting wallpaper straight onto bare drywall paper.

Alright bros, I've got the handy-man know how of a first trimester embryo, but I'm taking on my first home improvement project this weekend. Refinishing my stairs.

I've got the carpet up, original oak woods underneath. Unfortunately, the risers are painted white, the treads are bare but have paint splatter on them. I pulled up the tack strips and dug out the staples. I only have one broken tread to replace, the rest seem in excellent condition. I'm going to start sanding today, stain the treads, clean up the risers, and lay some grip strips.

Any guidance, tips, prayers, wishes for death or terminal illness are appreciated.

Sounds like you have a good plan. While you're cutting the new tread, harvest the oak sawdust. Mix it with some wood glue to create a stainable putty to fill the holes your tack strips and staples left behind.

If you can pull the treads completely out without breaking them, that will make the job 10000x easier. Most of the time that is impossible.

When I do stairs, I usually start with 60 grit edger, followed by 60 grit orbital, 80 grit, 120 grit orbital. Take a very sharp chisel to shave the nasty old finish off the corners, and prepare to finger sand the piss out of them.

When doing the final finger sand in the corners, remember to blend your sand marks together by bringing it out at least 3-4 inches past where the orbital sand ended. If you are worried, just hand sand the entire tread to final grit.

Filler putty before the 60 grit orbital, or you will be changing out orbital pads constantly. Invest in some stainable filler at your local hardware since the homemade stuff can be messy and if done improperly will leave "glue streaking". That occurs when the stain doesn't take to the wood because of glue residue seals it off.

Good luck, and get ready for a wood dust storm!

Can't offer much advice on the wood floors but I suppose I'll take the opportunity to post a couple pics of my latest project.

Before, an 80s era oak light grid covered nearly the entire kitchen. Several of the light fixtures had fallen and others weren't working and some were just burnt out. The whole grid was starting to sag as well. It was also ridiculously overdone, 12 2-bulb fixtures was way, way more light than the room required.

http://oi43.tinypic.com/23mmba.jpg


And the after pic, new grid and panels with a bank of 4 2-bulb fixtures in the center, and recessed lighting over the countertops, with both sets switched independently so we can use whichever is necessary.

http://oi39.tinypic.com/2e4humx.jpg


I spent the better part of 3 days of my vacation this past week working on this, so while KCunited is busting his ass on those floors, I'm going to be relaxing next to the woodstove.

Great stuff on the filler, hadn't thought of that. I suppose I had better cover the furniture as well.

Thanks.

Shit, cover everything. May want to drape plastic around the area if possible to try to contain some of the dust. And when you're done, change your furnace filter.

And while I'm at it, here's what my spring project will be. My patio awning kinda fell during this last snowstorm. I had added an additional support to it when I rebuilt the adjacent sun room so I'm a bit puzzled at what caused it to come down. Luckily it missed the propane Weber, but the charcoal Weber wasn't so lucky. And even luckier that it didn't come down when I was under it because I do spend a lot of time out there in the summer.

http://oi42.tinypic.com/ei10uh.jpg

Nice work! :thumb:

Our kitchen had a drop ceiling w/ 1 florescent fixture. I hated it! Then, one day Gonzo hit one of the tiles w/ a broom and my project began.

Come to find out, the previous owners didn't care for the faux brick that outlined the area above the cabinets, so they installed a drop ceiling. After looking at it, I fell in love and made it work w/ my remodel. Unfortunately our kitchen isn't that big, but by removing the drop ceiling it makes it "appear" bigger.

The original drywall lid is still up there, but significant damage was done to it when they wired the the dozen florescent fixtures. Restoring it, and removing the hideous sunflower wallpaper on the soffits would've added more time that I didn't really have, plus I would've had to go into the attic to do my wiring...not fun. Would've saved me a little money too, but right now I have more money than time so I went the quicker and easier route. I'm not a real big fan of drop ceilings in residential applications but I think it works well enough in this case.

****ing nice Bug. That looks really really nice.

Listen to notorious about the filler because he's right. If you're not incredibly careful with a DIY putty, you'll have streaking where you stain.